Highlights From 2020 IRFSNY, Healthy Food Expo And Coffee Fest

Winners Announced for Several Culinary and Beverage Competitions

The recent International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, Healthy Food Expo New York and Coffee Fest held at the Javits Center, March 8-10, continues to be a showcase for talent and innovation.

The 2020 IRFSNY event provided industry professionals with the opportunity to attend several culinary competitions and awards programs. Below are the highlights and the winners from the various events.

• The Torch Award, given to outstanding chefs and/or restaurateurs, was presented to Jeffrey LaPadula, April Tam Smith and Timothy Carberry with P.S. Kitchen by Melissa Autilio Fleischut, President & CEO of NYSRA. These three individuals have created a very successful restaurant where they donate 100% of profits to sustainable charitable work locally and overseas.
• The Beacon Award was presented to Allison Kave, Baker, Bartender, Co-Founder and Keavy Landreth, Co-Owner, Butter & Scotch by Kathleen Wood, Founder, Kathleen Wood Partners during the Foodservice Council for Women Panel. The Beacon Award recognizes woman leaders who has truly served the industry through leadership, contributions, and inspiration.
• The exhibit hall offered new products and innovations from 500 exhibiting companies covering 90,000 square feet of exhibit space.  Innovative Product Awards were presented including:

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    The Best in Show Winner – RTE Cuisine for their Super Grain Medley.

  • The 1st Place Runner Up – Allie’s GF Goodies for their Totally Free Granola.
  • The 2nd Place Runner Up – Oumph! for their Plant Based Protein Chef Style
  • Best In Show Winner: Food Trends Experience – Homestead Farm Products for their local raw milk cheese and natural ice cream.
  • Coffee Fest People’s Choice Winner – Lotus POWER UP Plant Energy Concentrate
  • Best in Show for Pitch the Press – PathSpot Tech for their Hand Scanner which instantly detects invisible signs of bacteria and viruses that cause foodborne illness
  • Coffee Fest had two exciting competitions.

• • • Latte Art World Championship Open: Congrats to Henry Berrios from Puerto Rico who battled it out against the very best and proved himself as the king of pours in all of New York City. Congrats to Daisuke Tanaka on finishing 2nd and Zhong Hu on finishing 3rd.
    • The US Cold Brew Championships, sponsored by Alto Cold Brew: First place finisher, Kyle Mervau of Electric City Roasting Company will move onto the U.S. Cold Brew Championship finals out in Anaheim, CA. Gregg Roberson of Saxbys came in 2nd place and Travis Bell of Black Acres Roastery place 3rd.

• • Center Stage, sponsored by Total Food Service, featured culinary demonstrations from renowned Chef Chris Jaeckle, Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, Chef Max Cavaleri, & Thomas McQuillan, Chef Marc Forgione, Jackie Topol MS, RD, and Chef Jonathan Scinto and more.
  • New to the event was the Cake Design and Gelato Competitions, sponsored by David Rosen Company, Modecor and MEC3. The 1st place winner in the Cake Design Competition was Maraiza Velazquez, 2nd place was Lisamarie Gonzalez, and 3rd place was Ryan Del Franco. The 1st place winner Gelato competition was Monica Cione, 2nd Place – Robert Mahler, and 3rd place – Lauren Tamm.

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    Richard Leonardo, Chef, Daniel Restaurant won $1,000 for the Rapid Fire Challenge: Dessert Edition for his Sakanti Bali Chocolate Sablee. The event is sponsored and moderated by Total Foodservice and co-sponsored by Boldric.

  • Kristo Tomingas, Butterfly Cocktail Catering won the Hip Sip: Battle of the Modern Bartender Competition – Cocktails & Coffee, sponsored by Professional Bartenders Association and Bar Business Magazine.  Kristo beat out six other bartenders and won $1,000 for the most creative and inventive mix of cocktail and coffee called Ring of Life.
  • The education program expanded to offer 120 sessions with over 200 subject matter experts who spoke on a variety of important topics for restaurant and foodservice professionals, coffee shop owners and those involved with healthy foods.
  • At the close of the Show, City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men, women, and children, were able to rescue 4,500 lbs. of food.
  • The 2021 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show, Coffee Fest and Healthy Food Expo New York will be held March 7-9, 2021 back at the Javits Center in New York City.

The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York has provided thousands of industry professionals with access to the hottest menu trends, state of the art design and decor, a renowned education program, special events, and hundreds of leading vendors and purveyors dedicated to serving the restaurant & foodservice community, since 1993. The show is produced in partnership with the New York State Restaurant Association (www.nysra.org)

About Coffee Fest: Coffee Fest is a trade-only event serving the specialty coffee and gourmet tea industries since 1992. Coffee Fest draws more than 10,000 attendees, exhibitors and competitors a year, connecting regional coffee communities through regional tradeshow events especially designed for specialty coffee and tea professionals. For more details about Coffee Fest, to see the winners of Coffee Fest competitions and much more, visit www.coffeefest.com.

Healthy Food Expo New York will bring attendees access to the latest healthy products from organic, vegan, gluten-free and allergy-safe to hormone-free, non-GMO, plant-based, low-sodium, low-fat, and more. Attendees will be able to enjoy samples, demos, education and special events – all designed to incorporate healthy foods into a business model to drive profits. The Healthy Food Expo will offer education sessions focused on hot topics including Trending Healthy Ingredients, Plant-Based Proteins, Food Allergies, Gluten-Free Options, Sourcing Local Food, Healthy Beverage Category, and much more. Visit https://www.healthyfoodexpos.com/healthy-food-new-york for all of the latest information.

The three trade shows are owned and managed by Clarion Events (www.clarionevents.com), which produces 37 events across 13 sectors of both trade and consumer events, and is the U.S. division of Clarion Events, UK, and backed by The Blackstone Group has become one of the fastest growing event companies in the U.S. with aggressive growth through both acquisition and launch.  Clarion acquired PennWell in early 2018, bringing 4 Tradeshow 200 events into the U.S. portfolio and super-charging the already rapid growth. Clarion UX has offices in Trumbull, CT; Kennesaw, GA; Boca Raton, FL; Tacoma, WA, and Fairlawn, NJ.