For the sixth consecutive year, the Japan Pavilion at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York will acquaint the industry with the unique flavors and exciting new culinary innovations of Japan during March 4 – 6, 2012 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City. Located on the show floor, the Pavilion will provide an exclusive opportunity to encounter enticing food and products from all over Japan in one place.

The Japan Pavilion will include over 40 diverse Japanese exhibitors, all upholding Japanese cuisine’s high level of quality and safety. In addition to the hundreds of products offered, visitors can look forward to learning more about the business of ramen to umami basics to how sushi robots work. The feature-packed Pavilion includes:

• The Soul Food of Japan. Showcasing the latest Japanese ingredients, kitchenware and equipment, this section includes demonstrations on how to best incorporate these ingredients into the American foodservice industry and current U.S. food trends.
• The Japanese Bar. Offering a variety of sake and other Japanese spirits including unique Japanese cocktails made with sake, shochu, and umeshu. Japanese beers and wines will be featured as well.
• Special Exhibitions. Featuring seminars and demonstrations such as:
? Ramen Seminar: The A to Z of Opening a Ramen Restaurant
? Umami Seminar: The new ways of cooking with umami ingredients
? Recipe Contest: The third annual Ferdinand Metz Culinary Challenge
? Business Seminar: An overview of the Japanese food business in the US
? Cooking Seminar: How to select, fillet, and store fresh fish, with an emphasis on knife techniques

• Business Partnership Opportunities. Business partnership opportunities, including opportunities for ramen restaurants and for those interested in opening kaiten sushi franchises.
• Creating the Perfect Menu Seminars. The how-tos in developing healthy, nutritious, menu plans for foodservice, casual dining, and corporate cafeterias.

As a preview to the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show, the Japan Week kickoff show will take place on March 1 – 3, 2012 in Grand Central Station. Open to the public, the show will feature new food products by leading companies as well as cultural performances. Additionally, Japan Week includes Dine Out For Japan, a campaign from March 7 – 11, 2012 that aims to donate a portion of people’s eating out dollars to the relief efforts for the March 2011 earthquake disaster.

The Show, which is the only all-encompassing event in New York exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry, is also home to more than 500 leading vendors and manufacturers showcasing their products, the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum, and a number of exciting and business building features and special events. ‘)}