The National Restaurant Association Show held annually during May in Chicago is the leading event for the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industries. The show brings together professionals from around the world to explore innovations, trends and solutions that shape the future of foodservice. The show offers attendees an unmatched opportunity to network, discover new products and gain insights from industry leaders.
Some trends this year included: 1) menu items focusing on more plant-based options, 2) restaurants adapting more to consumer preferences, including increasing requests from diners for customized options related to allergy considerations and special diets, 3) more convenient ordering and payment options, 4) robots in the kitchen preparing and serving your food and 5) how AI can improve restaurant efficiency and customer service, and using AI for customer interactions.
The industry presents awards for technology and new foods. One of the more innovative ones was the OMM egg maker, which is designed for coffee shops to hotels, from quick-service to full-service restaurants. Many operators want to serve high-quality eggs but struggle with space, labor, quality and consistency. The machine allows the restaurant employee to simply load up to 36 eggs into machine’s compact, countertop cooker and touch a screen. About three "hands-free" minutes later, out come perfectly cooked, sunny-side-up eggs, in pairs, on a convenient peel. How cool! See it at https://www.bridgeappliances.com.
As a former restaurant owner, I know firsthand that in a fast-paced kitchen, especially for new employees, it is easy to lose track of what food was placed on the grill first and what should be served next. The PreciTaste Grill Station Assistant uses advanced vision AI technology to precisely monitor every item on the grill and help the grill operators keep the quality to high standards. The system automatically overlays virtual squares on a video display of the grill in the kitchen and gives the crew simple visual cues about each item’s readiness to serve. No timers, no buzzers and far less food waste.
New food items also received awards. In the past I have written about poke bowls. Poke and all other types of bowls are becoming more popular.
The Western United Fish Company dba Annasea Foods Group announced two new poke meal kit varieties: 10 oz. California Roll Ahi Poke and 10 oz. Sweet Chili Tofu Poke. Responding to the ongoing demand for poke, the two new frozen poke kits offer a new way for customers to easily make poke at home using traditional poke recipe sauce packets. There is a choice of either premium, sustainable, traceable Ahi tuna and imitation crab or Japanese style deep fried tofu. According to their promotional materials “the poke bowl, has shown 167% growth on menus in the past four years.” Surveys show that 24% of consumers want to (but haven’t yet) tried a poke bowl despite a 167% increase in bowls on restaurant menus.
One of the major exhibitors at the National Restaurant Association Show is Springfield’s own BUNN Corporation. BUNN is an international provider of beverage equipment. I always take pride when traveling to see the BUNN name on a restaurant coffee maker or beverage machine.
If you have stopped in at their Pease’s at BUNN Gourmet store in the Gables Shopping Center, you may have noticed two new beverage machines. One is the new “Premia” by BUNN. It is a very smart brewer that automatically grinds, brews and manages freshness for optimal coffee availability during peak times while reducing waste during slower dayparts. This next evolution of equipment delivers hot and iced coffee with a drip-style flavor profile. The system automatically monitors freshness and drains expired beans.
The other new beverage machine is BUNN’s “JDF 4-Tap,” which is a cold beverage dispenser that is capable of serving a wide variety of cold beverages from concentrates for popular selections like juices, lemonades, iced teas, mocktails and cold coffees.
My thanks to Brandi Goodin, BUNN vice president of marketing and Desiree Logsdon, BUNN senior vice president for their helpful information. Last month I featured the new Weber “Smoque” grill. The problem was that they had not arrived in Springfield. Well, Alan, the Ace on Wabash manager, informed me that they just arrived and they were in the process of assembling. Stop by and see one.
About
Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.
Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.