NRA Show 2010

2010 National Restaurant Association Show

Last weekend was the 2010 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, and being a fan of trade shows, I decided to check it out.  It’s just as ridiculously ginormous as the Home & Housewares Show (1600 exhibitors, 50,000 attendees) but geared towards products/services for the foodservice industry instead of consumers.  And it was food sample heaven!  I think about every third booth was doling out samples.  Cookies, hot dogs, coffee, juices, burgers, you name it, someone was there with a booth for it and offering samples.  And since they toiled so hard to make the food, it seemed rude to turn their offers down.  : )  Yes, dear readers, I do this all for you.

While, predictably, much of what was on offer at the NRA show didn’t fit into our purview here at the Foodie Forkful (unless you’re looking for reviews of industrial ice makers and reservation system software – let me know) but there were a few cool finds (which I’ll tell you about in detail in a couple further postings) and some noteworthy trends you might be interested in.  Because while most of us love to cook at home, we also eat out frequently, and so can expect to see the end results of alot of the activity from the NRA show.

First, natural & organic continue to be big.  No surprise there.  Also there was a huge gluten-free section, including a delicious gluten-free beer I got to try, made with sorghum.  Good news for the gluten-intolerant who still wants a brewski.  Many other offerings highlighted the lack of a variety of allergens like wheat, soy, dairy, peanuts, eggs, etc, which is great news for the growing number of people whose dining options have been limited due to allergens.

On a random note, guacamole seemed big.  I swear there were a dozen differing booths touting their guacs.

Food trucks were also big.  One company (which I’ll highlight later), which offers turn-key food truck infrastructure for those wanting to start a food truck of their own, had a whole darn truck in their booth.  Time to take grandma’s fried chicken recipe on the road!

Gourmet foods with international pedigrees were also highly visible: New Zealand and South Korea both had huge booths highlighting their native foods and ingredients, and both South American and Canadian beef had their cheerleaders there too.

One of the most interesting trends was technological.  I talked to four different companies (of probably a dozen) that develop Apps for the iPhone and Blackberry for restaurants.  For really minimal cost to the restaurants (like 35 bucks a month), these apps will allow for online ordering, making reservations, or even putting your name on the wait list.

So what does all this mean for the average foodie?  Basically, I think you can expect to see at least one of your favorite restaurants offer an ordering app in the near future.  You’re also going to find more gluten-free options, more natural and organic choices, and the growth of food trucks outside of the west coast (rumor has it that Chicago is working to become more food truck friendly…).  And oh yeah, you’re gonna see more guacamole too.  Enjoy!

© 2009 The Foodie Forkful.