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LASplash.com: Los Angeles Events Western Foodservice Hospitality Expo Review – An Array of Gourmet Delights By Judith Orr
The Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo is a trade show for Gourmet Restaurants to find their next best thing.
We began our day there at around 11 AM thinking that was a reasonable time to arrive. Five minutes in we realized that getting there at 8:30 when it began, might have been a much better idea.
Where to begin was our most pressing concern and the smells that filled the convention center were calling. The first aisle was filled with culinary delights such as Duck Pate, Tuna Sashimi with Avocado Cream, various types of Chinese dumplings, and beef, chicken, or shrimp cooked in many different ways.
Along with the food were vendors hawking all different types of professional wares including dishware, cookware, tabletopware, and machines to do just about anything conceivable in the kitchen.
One thing I found particularly interesting was the surprising fact that what I thought may have been a specialty food of a particular restaurant may not have even been made there and may in fact have been purchased from one of the vendors at the show.
There was everything there you could think of including every type of gourmet dessert imaginable, including icees, smoothies, many types of homemade gelato with the big fluffy peaks. I found that there were the manufacturers of the machines and then there were the makers of the ingredient mixes. I saw a few companies that had that wonderful fluffy gelato with the peaks, but then I realized they tasted very differently and found it was due to the fact that they had purchased different ingredient mixes. There were also frozen yogurts, and soft ice cream as well as ice cream mixed with various ingredients much like Cold Stone.
Treats like chocolates, and flavored popcorn and even chocolate popcorn were part of the extravaganza. All kinds of appetizers, snacks, sweets and savories were available to try.
Every gourmet coffee manufacturer also made a showing at the Expo, as well as soda drinks, tea drinks, lemonades, smoothies, and every type of icee’.
***image3*** Alcohol infused beverages of all varieties also made a showing including everything from beers, wines and sparkling wines, to vodka drinks, creamy alcohol based drinks, various mixes and infusions, and even colored sugars to dip your glasses in to make that super yummy martini.
Even all types of faux food to use as decorations in however one would see fit was displayed and shown. It looked pretty darned good too I must say. Good thing I was completely full by the time I reached that part of the expo or I may have bit into something I wouldn’t have been too happy about. **image24**
A favored part of the Expo was a cooking demonstration and cocktail party we attended at the Thai Pavilion, put on by World Renowned Chef Tommy Tang, host of the culinary travels show on PBS “ Let’s Get Cooking.” Thai and Fusion cooking has taken the world by storm and the Thai theatre provided restaurateurs all the necessary tools and information needed to participate in this quickly moving popular trend in the food industry. Also sponsoring the Thai Pavilion was Thailand Department of Export Promotion (DEP) and the Royal Government of Thailand. An extensive array of products including beverages, fruits, rice, cookware and tabletopware filled the Thai Pavilion. www.letsgetcooking.com
Besides the demonstrations by Tommy Tang, Nick Christiansen, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, Irvine, Mikel Kim (formerly of the French Laundry and Chez Panise) and Sal Marino of Il Grano, also demonstrated some of their specialty dishes. Katsuya Uechi, creator of the immensely successful KATSUYA restaurants, and Executive Director of the esteemed Sushi Institute of America in Los Angeles, did a sushi demonstration on Sunday.
To read my article on Tommy Tang click here. Another memorable part of the event was a massage by Yolanda Holly of Medi-Rub Corp., who manufactures the World’s Finest Massagers! www.medirubmassagers.com All in all it was a great event and one I will certainly attend again. For information: www.westernfoodexpo.com All Photos © Judith Orr Photography Published Aug 31, 2008 © Copyright 2003-2004 by LA Splash.com |
