The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York opens this Sunday, March 8th at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. Over 16,000 restaurant and foodservice industry professionals will gather to see and sample thousands of products, services, and equipment from more than 500 leading vendors, and participate in 40+ educational programs and many special events. The event is sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association and managed and produced by Urban Expositions. Following are a few of the event highlights:

The Exhibit Hall will feature more than 550 leading vendors showcasing thousands of new products and services. There will be several specialty areas including Dessert Cart Pavilion, Gourmet Way Pavilion, New Exhibitor Pavilion, Food Trends, Pride of New York/Taste NY and others.

Dynamic List of Chefs, Including Television Host & Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton, to Present Culinary Demonstrations. Sara Moulton, nationally recognized chef, Food Network and Good Morning America television host, author, and educator will join Ferdinand Metz, CMC, President emeritus of the Culinary Institute of America in for a one on one interview followed by a cooking demonstration. Monday, March 9 at 12:30 pm.

Culinary Demonstration Theater – An educational, interactive, and entertaining area featuring Executive Chef and Partner at Louro, David Santos; Celebrity Chef of Food Network’s Chopped, Anton Testino; Executive Chef at Casellula Cheese and Wine Café, Megan Johnson; Certified Master Chef, Fritz Sonnenschmidt; Celebrity Chef, Sara Moulton; Executive Chef of David Burke Fabrick, Adin Languille; Instructor at National Gourmet Institute, Olivia Roskowski; Executive Pastry Chef, Robert Valencia; Executive Chef at Mira Sushi & Izakaya, Brian Tsao; and Barret Beyer, of Gordon Ramsey’s Hell Kitchen.

“The Pub” is a NEW area and will showcase dozens of innovative craft beverages including craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, wine sorbae, moonshine and whiskey. One of the top 5 trends for restaurants is alcohol sales with a focus on micro-distilled/artisan liquor, locally produced beer/spirits, onsite barrel-aged drinks, culinary cocktails, and regional signature cocktails.

Pride of New York/Taste NY Marketplace – Pride of NY/Taste of NY will provide a unique opportunity for restaurant and foodservice professionals to discover food processors who will be featuring delicious new products including locally grown produce, handcrafted spirits and whiskeys, yogurts and cheeses, honey and maple syrup, breads and bakery products, wines and craft beers and much more.

3rd Annual Farm to City Expo will take place on Tuesday, March 10th from 12 – 2:30 pm and will focus on “Going with the Grain: The Renaissance of NYS Grain Production”. Sponsored by Empire State Development; NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets; College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Cornell University; and Grow NYC.

The Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum- Over 40 educational sessions will be offered at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum, the gold-standard, industry-leading educational conference dedicated to foodservice professional development. Industry experts will educate attendees on hot new trends, increasing revenue and loyalty, operational excellence, delivering the optimal customer experience, and much more. Admission to all is included with show badge, there is no additional registration fee required.

Women’s Entrepreneur Circle – Join leading Women Entrepreneurs in a robust and highly interactive session on what it takes to win in business and life. This high energy – action packed – session will take place Sunday March 8th from 10-11:30 a.m. The lineup of winning industry leaders sharing their insights, resources and “secrets” for winning in today’s competitive marketplace include Kathleen Wood, Kathleen Wood Partners; Betsy Craig, MenuTrinfo; Sandy Korem, The Catering Coach; and Sara Moulton, Celebrity Chef & Author.

The JRO Umami Pavilion – 2015 is the 9th consecutive yea that JRO (the Organization to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad) is hosting the Umami Pavilion. They will introduce eight new sections this year: Japanese Rice, Sake, Wagu, Umami, Ramen, Soba, Japanese Green Tea and sweets; all essential Japanese ingredients. The JRO Umami Pavilion has a mission to enlighten the industry about umami, the essence of Japanese cuisine that is becoming well known by chefs as an ingredient to develop flavor. The 2015 Umami Recipe Contest winners will be announced at the Show, with the Grand Prize winner receiving a round-trip flight to Japan and special visits including working Japanese kitchen and tour of a Japanese food manufacturer, valued at $20,000.

Food Trends Experience – A tasty adventure providing direct access to product, flavors and ingredients driving the most recent trends in the market – healthy, organic, sustainable, ethnic, artisanal, and more! Presented within the Show, the Food Trends Experience is the fastest and most convenient way to see, taste, discover and learn about the new culinary innovations that will inspire creative and fresh menu ideas, delight customers and drive profits.

New Product Showcase – Providing a first look at the latest products to hit the marketplace, uncover the new products to update your menu, increase efficiencies and expand your menu. The New Product Showcase is sponsored by Kraft.

US Pastry Competition – Paris Gourmet presents the 26th Annual U.S. Pastry Competition on Sunday, March 8, 2015, where 20 rising stars of the pastry world have been selected to compete for the coveted title, Pastry Chef of the Year. The theme for this year’s event is “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend”.

Book Signing – M Tucker has just announced two exclusive book signings. On Monday, March 9th see Harold Dieterle at 11:00 am signing copies of “Harold’s Kitchen Notebook”; and George Mendes at 12:00 noon signing copies of “My Portugal”. Be sure to stop by M Tucker in Booth 2213! ‘)}