THE SPRING 2023 ESD NRA SHOW TOUR
On Monday, 22 May 2023 from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM CT, Eta Sigma Delta students and faculty meet at the National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Schools that joined ICHRIE for this event were Penn State University, University of South Florida, New Mexico State University, and Rochester Institute of Technology.
A special thanks to Stacy Hodge and Elizabeth Holden with Winsight for providing our student discount and arranging our special events!!
To begin the day, we meet with Bruce Faber, owner of the EHS Hospitality Group, who moderated a panel of impressive industry leaders including Food Network TV Personality, Chef and Community Advocate, Lamar Moore, owner of Feed the Family Catering and Big Thanks Drinks, LeBrandon Hickey, and Restaurant Manager of Trulee, Jovahnny Montes de Oca.
After the classroom presentation and Show floor presentation with Mr. Faber, the ESD group went for a backstage tour of McCormick Place with members of the ASM Global's SAVOR…Chicago at McCormick Square team including Chanda Dumara, Melita Moore, and VP of Culinary, Doug Bradley. SAVOR…Chicago at McCormick Square delivers exceptional food experiences and impeccable service for clients 365 days a year at McCormick Place as the venue's exclusive food and beverage provider.
It was an honor for ICHRIE and ESD to spend time with SAVOR…Chicago at McCormick Square, as they are the first convention center in the world to receive Green Seal ® certification for environmentally responsible food purchasing, operations and management. On the tour behind the scenes of McCormick Square, ESD students and faculty got to see this first hand by visiting behind the walls of the NRA Show, sustainability spaces, culinary kitchens, the rooftop garden managed by Windy City Harvest, meet with SAVOR...Chicago at McCormick Square's human resource members, and meet some of the over 1,000 culinary employees at McCormick Place in Chicago.
During the tour, ESD students and faculty also spent time with Riley Finnegan, McCormick Place Rooftop Farm Coordinator, with Chicago Botanic Garden's urban agriculture program builds resilient & sustainable communities through food, health, and jobs, Windy City Harvest.
After our exciting and informative tour, we all headed to the convention floor to meet with NRA Show vendors... and even visit the tables of some of our own members like East Carolina University, University of Florida, Florida International University, University of South Florida and University of Houston.
Thank you to all the faculty, students, bus drivers, partners and sponsors that made this event possible.
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