COLUMBUS, Ohio – The ninth annual North America Pizza & Ice Cream Show (NAPICS) will be held Jan. 29 and 30, 2012 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The event is projected to attract a national audience of approximately 4,200 pizzeria and ice cream shop operators.
NAPICS is a show for pizza and ice cream professionals – owners, managers and operators – and provides a forum for meeting a variety of food and equipment vendors while networking with peers and learning from experts. NAPICS will feature exhibits and demonstrations of new products and equipment, and seminars and workshops covering tried and true “how to” procedures and innovative methodologies. Approximately 175 exhibitors will demonstrate the latest advances in equipment for pizzerias and ice cream shops and will provide samples of new food products, including a variety of products for Italian dishes, coffees and dessert items, as well as pizza and ice cream.
Educational offerings will also be held during the show. This year, the Ohio Restaurant, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, CareWorks Consultants, Inc. and RiskControl360° are teaming up to offer a “Hiring for Safety” seminar. The seminar will be held on Jan. 30, 2012 from 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. in Room E171. The free course, which satisfies BWC’s two-hour training requirement, was designed specifically for the restaurant industry. The course will address how back-of-the-house safety processes and effective safety training can help keep down the costs of running a successful business.
Registration is $70 per person after Jan. 25, 2012 or on-site. Visit www.napics.com to register. The show is open Jan. 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Jan. 30 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. NAPICS is a trade-only event and not open to the public. No one under 14 will be admitted.
Pizza Pizzazz is Primo
The 18th annual North America Pizza Pizzazz, the longest running pizza-making competition in the United States, will feature competitors vying for a cash prize of $6,000 each in gourmet and traditional categories plus a media assistance package. The gourmet competition kicks off at 9 a.m. Jan. 29 and the traditional competition does likewise at 9 a.m. on Jan. 30, both in the Greater Columbus Convention Center on the NAPICS exhibition floor. Awards are announced daily for each competition at 3:30 p.m.
Annually, more than 100 contestants compete in first-round bake offs with the top six in each category continuing on to the championship rounds where they again prepare their original entry. A panel of judges rules on appearance, marketability and taste.
Student Chefs Perform
The ninth annual Ohio ProStart® Student Invitational will be held Jan. 29 and 30, 2012 at NAPICS in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The event, only for Ohio ProStart schools, is the premier competition for high school culinary arts students in Ohio.
More than 260 students comprising 49 teams from approximately 26 schools will compete in culinary and management competitions. The culinary competition showcases each team’s best recipes. The management competition challenges teams to develop a restaurant concept. Teams are comprised of two to four students and can be mixed with juniors and seniors. The goal of the competition is to give students additional exposure to the foodservice industry through competition and the chance to view a world-class industry trade show.
The winning team from each event will be sent all travel-related expenses paid to the National ProStart Student Invitational being held in Baltimore, Maryland on Apr. 27-29, 2012.
SPECIAL NOTES:
Trade Show Only – Not Open to General Public
Excellent visuals available on NAPICS exhibition floor, at the Pizza Pizzazz Competition and during the Ohio ProStart® Student Invitational.
