The National Restaurant Association is now accepting applications for the 2017 Kitchen Innovations Awards. Now in its 13th year, the KI Awards program recognizes and celebrates meaningful advancements in foodservice equipment and technology. Recipients of the 2017 KI Awards will be featured in the popular Kitchen Innovations Pavilion at NRA Show 2017, to be held May 20—23 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
“Receiving a KI Award means that out of a thousand different companies, we are recognized for having an outstanding product,” says Michael Bush, president of IceLink, a 2015 KI Award recipient. “What it does is bring a sense of credibility, a sense of value, of recognition and lets everyone know that the product is one that is going to bring value to the industry.”
KI Award recipients enjoy exclusive benefits including publicity though the NRA’s media relations efforts, listings in NRA Show marketing and promotional materials, placement on the NRA Show website, and featured placement on the NRA Show floor in the Kitchen Innovations Pavilion where thousands of operators, dealers, consultants and media professionals can demo the products over the course of four days.
The deadline to apply for a 2017 KI Award is December 5. To be considered, equipment and technology products must be introduced or have been introduced to the marketplace between May 2015 and May 2017. These products must demonstrate considerable benefits to foodservice operators as determined by our independent panel of industry experts, including Dan Bendall (Principal, FoodStrategy, Inc.), Jeff Cook (Chief Engineer, Restaurant Solutions Group, McDonald’s Corporation), Richard Eisenbarth, FCSI (President/COO, Cini-Little International), Foster F. Frable, Jr., FCSI, Associate AIA (President, Clevenger Frable LaVallee), Randy Homer (Program Manager, Food & Beverage Operations Asset Management, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts), Jim Krueger, Jr., CMCE, NRAMF (Chief, Air Force Food & Beverage Policy, Procedures, Business Development & Strategic Initiatives Air Force Services Activity (AFSVA)), Aaron Lamotte (Senior Director, Performance Interiors, Sodexo Performance Interiors), Steve Otto (Director, Capital Equipment Purchasing, Darden), Kathleen H. Seelye, FFCSI, LEED (Managing Partner, Ricca Design Studios).
