PRESS RELEASE
Dolores Bennison or Denise Hill

Opening the Show as the keynote speaker at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday is Theodore M. Fowler, FMP, President and CEO of Golden Corral Corporation and Chairman of the National Restaurant Association. Fowler’s topic is "Turning the Tables for the Industry—For America." As an industry veteran, Fowler will talk about the industry’s economy and what the National Restaurant Association is doing to turn the tables for the industry.

Sponsored by Gordon Food Service, the pizza bakeoff known as "Mid-America Pizza Pizzazz" is held on both days on the main exhibit floor. In its eighth year and with expanded parameters, this year’s Pizza Pizzazz competition includes a chance to win an all expense paid trip to Italy to compete in the world pizza championships. A maximum of forty-five pizza operators compete each day will bake their creations before a gallery of industry professionals. The two-day event with gourmet pizzas on Sunday and traditional pizzas on Monday is judged each day by a panel of twenty critics who rule on appearance, marketability and taste. Each participant receives an official Pizza Pizzazz gift and cash prizes are awarded to the top three winners in each category. The 1^st place winners in each category will go on to Italy.

The Chef’s Challenge 2002, sponsored by The Wasserstrom Company, Enodis Corporation and the American Culinary Federation-Columbus Chapter, gives top chefs an opportunity to test their creativity. The first day’s competition is the four-hour mystery basket. Presented with a basket of ingredients unknown to the chefs prior to the competition, teams of two put their heads together and create and prepare a magnificent original menu. Preparing the four-course dinner in front of a group of peers, the chefs race the clock. Day two has individual chefs prepare (given only one hour) their own original entrée and plate presentations and a Junior Hot Food Competition. James Decker, CEC, of The Lakes Country Club in Columbus and Chuck Steadman of Hocking College in Nelsonville coordinate the two-day competition. Four master judges critique contestants on creativity and originality. Contestants vie for honors, cash prizes and the culinary gold.

On Monday morning Wallingford Coffee is sponsoring an industry breakfast featuring Jim Cowler, Divisional Vice President of Buca Di Beppo in Minneapolis. Recognized in Bon Appetit as one of America’s "Best New Restaurants," Crowler will provide a behind the scenes look at the restaurant concept.

On Sunday Pizza Shoptalks, sponsored by Gordon Food Service, include Dave Ostrander, of Dave Ostrander Consulting in "Big Dave Unleashed." Big Dave shares some of his easy-to-implement tips to beat the competition with guerilla marketing strategies and savvy.

Designed for soft serve and ice cream operators and sponsored by National Products Company. ADI, Inc. and Instantwhip, "Creating Profits with Cakes" shows operators how easy and simple it is to increase the profit line with ice cream cakes and pies for those special occasions and holidays. At the Monday morning breakfast for both soft serve and pizza operators, Dan Young, CEO of Young’s Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs, Ohio, shares his successful history on a family business that has grown to $6 million a year. Young’s presentation is "Not All Hits are Home Runs, but Single Hits Count." According to Young, the key to success in this new era lies in developing community partnerships with local organizations and your employees who will share in marketing your business.

Other programs include: a must-attend for owners and operators, "The Pitfalls of Ignorance, Arrogance & Lust--Sexual Misconduct in Your Workplace" by Debbie Adams of Frost, Brown, Todd, LLC in Cincinnati; "Single Operator’s Success Stories," a roundtable of independent operators—Jay Haverstick of Jay’s Restaurant, Dayton, Rick Cassara of John Q’s, Cleveland, and Michael Comisar of Maisonette, Cincinnati--who will discuss their disasters and high points in their own operations. Karen Doggett with TLC Professional Development and Kathleen Ruppert with KMMR will present a 3-hour employee ServSafe training; a ServSafe Train-the-Trainer program, which provides supervisors with the guidelines for training their employees in serving safe food; and the National Restaurant Association’s Foodservice Managers Professional (FMP) review and exam for owners and managers. New to Ohio is the FISH! Philosophy, introduced in San Francisco in 2001, and gives operators a heads-up on employee attitude and customer service (cost $49).

Open only to the industry, show registration is $15 on-site. For exhibit information contact Exhibition Productions Inc. at 1-800-909-SHOW. For show information or registration for educational sessions, contact the Ohio Restaurant Association at (800) 282-9049. The Show Office may be contacted after Friday, February 15 at 614-827-2840.

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