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SHOW PREVIEW
25th Annual Catersource Show Set for New Orleans
For its 25th anniversary, the Catersource Conference and plays and décor; the most up-to-date transport and holding units;
Tradeshow is heading back to New Orleans, La., the site kitchen innovations for cooking indoors and outdoors; serving
of the first event. Thousands of catering, club and foodservice equipment geared for catering; the latest software options; and
personnel from around the world, including those representing upcoming trends in plastics and disposables, linens and china.
the military, will converge on the Crescent City March 12-15. For the second year, International Military Community
As always, one of the high- TRADE SHOW Executives’Association (IMCEA)
lights of Catersource is the trade Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has arranged a discount for its
show, scheduled to take place at members who attend the show.
the Ernest N. Morial Convention “We were able to do Catersource
Center on Tuesday, March 14, from • • Tuesday, March 14, 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. • • again last year after a four-year
• • Wednesday, March 15, 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. • •
11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday, absence,” said Melissa Wells,
March 15, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. director of marketing and com-
More than 400 exhibitor booths munications with IMCEA. “From
will be on the show floor launching the government point of view, the
new products and services designed training dollars just weren’t there.
specifically for catering businesses; They hadn’t been sending anyone.”
showing new and innovative ways to Wells said that 35 to 40 IMCEA
use existing products; offering spe- members attended the show last
cial discounts and show promotions; year. “We did a breakout session
sharing food and beverage samples for them, where we had speaker
and recipes; and demonstrating the Bill Pannhoff speak to them about
newest catering techniques. things that they can do in their or-
Catering and club personnel have ganizations to help with catering
the opportunity to discover new buf- on a budget because a lot of the
fet and tabletop ideas; creative dis- budgets are tight within the military
community.”
Pannhoff graduated with honors from the military’s Club
Management & Culinary Arts School, spent time with the
Army Culinary Arts Team, and was a general’s enlisted aide
and the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of
a military bed and breakfast. He has a degree in foodservice
management, a certificate in military club management and
military culinary upgrade program.
Wells said that IMCEA will have the same type of pro-
gram if enough members are able to attend the show. “Last
year, once we realized we were going to have a good group,
we decided to do this,” she said. “They were able to work
through some issues. We had some folks from IMCOM there,
so they were able to talk with them as well. It was a really
nice breakout session.”
The two-day trade show event allows attendees to meet
with vendors face-to-face, discover new suppliers and, of
course, sample some of the best catering-tailored foods and
beverages in the world.
Attendees can also explore the more than 100 educational
sessions throughout the week. The sessions include the latest
and most pertinent issues facing the catering industry. Par-
ticipants will walk away with winning strategies, invaluable
tools, new ideas and the latest trends and proven techniques
for catering today, according to show organizers.
Educational sessions are organized into specialty tracks,
including Best Business Practices; College & University; Cu-
linary; Management & Lifestyle; Operations; Sales & Market-
ing; Weddings; Trends & Design; Events; and Winning Ways.
A new addition this year is the “Art of Catering Food”
program. The program will help participating attendees learn
trends and techniques used by successful chefs throughout
the industry. —MCH
26 MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY | FEBRUARY 2017
