Top reasons to attend the EXPO—August will be here before you know it!

Celebrating its 61^st year, the Louisiana Foodservice & Hospitality EXPO is a one-stop shop for all your restaurant needs—whether they are products, services or education. While the benefits are many, it’s always helpful to be reminded of why it’s an excellent idea to make the short trip to New Orleans this summer. Here are some of great things that you have to look forward to…

The EXPO is a must for restaurant owners, managers, buyers, hotel food and beverage directors and chefs. It’s the only place in Louisiana to gain valuable industry knowledge and shop hundreds of companies under one roof. 

Since its inception in 2012, the IDEA ZONE has become a fast growing draw for attendees. Expert, express presentations are held all three-days during the EXPO and cover emerging trends, best business practices and professional development. Be sure to look for the complete line-up in the summer issue of a la carte magazine and on our website.

The Great American Seafood Cook-Off will co-locate within the EXPO for the 11^th year in a row. Get a front row seat to see chefs from across the country battle it out to be crowned the King or Queen of American Seafood on Saturday, August 2, 2014. The competition takes place in the Seafood Pavilion, where attendees can find seafood offerings from Gulf Coast exhibitors and across the country. Who will represent Louisiana in the cook-off? That will be decided during the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off, which is held at the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience, May 24 in New Orleans. The Great American Seafood Cook-Off is produced by the Louisiana Seafood Promotionand Marketing Board and sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The EXPO is held annually in New Orleans, and we want you to take full advantage. After you hit the show floor, make sure you take time to the Big Easy streets. The city, known world-wide for its ambience and culture has so much to offer. The EXPO shares the weekend with the Whitney White Linen Night and the Satchmo Summerfest, both free. And what’s a trip to New Orleans without indulging in one or two (or three) of its famous restaurants? The EXPO partners with the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau to bring attendees a useful travel website with all the fun things to do and see in the city, recently ranked the 5^th in the Top 25 U.S. Destinations by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site. Plan your nighttime in New Orleans here.

In its second year of sponsorship, the Farm to Table International Symposium (F2Ti) will be held in conjunction with the EXPO. F2Ti features the brightest thought leaders and leading practitioners in the burgeoning farm-to-table movement. This year’s theme, “The Process,” examines the agricultural-culinary cycle at all levels and features its own organic urban farm research project, in partnership with the LSU Ag Center and the SoFAB Institute. The event will take place August 2-4 at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center.

To see the full EXPO line up, visit our website here. Register to attend the EXPO today here. 

Thank you to this year’s Platinum Sponsors!

Heartland Payment Systems, Louisiana Cookin’, CapitalOne, Republic National Distributing Company, Louisiana Restaurant Association Self Insurer’s Fund, UnitedHealthcare and the LRA Education Foundation.

Gold Sponsor—Midlands; and Silver Sponsors—Fisher & Phillips, LLP and Johnson, Johnson, Barrios & Yacoubian.