Showing Off
At the 2007 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in
New York City, Hotel F&B explored the trade show floor and found these noteworthy products and vendors.
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Cleveland Range
Mini combi versatile enough for all outlets.
John Lanning shows off the new mini combi oven. This is the new product the folks at Cleveland Range are most excited about. Manufactured in North America, this little oven works like a bigger model, enabling you to serve great food in all your remote and small footprint outlets. It's also easy to use, allowing greater labor flexibility.
CONTACT: 800-338-2204, www.clevelandrange.com
Europaeus
Big pieces in big demand for banquets.
Responding to customer requests for larger serving pieces, Europaeus President Daniel Salvati introduces the company's new collection of oversize melamine serveware. The new products from the popular Oca Bianca include the enormous "Super Bowl," one of the largest bowls on the market for banquets and catering; the 27-inch diameter black and white Yin Yang serving platter; and a super-sized square platter. Salvati says that the durable Oca Bianca melamine serveware is the best solution for avoiding chips and breaks while maintaining an elegant presentation. All
Oca Bianca pieces are dishwasher safe as well as chip- and stain-resistant.
CONTACT: 800-992-3876, www.europaeus.com
Fortessa
Trendsetters for every part of the table.
Fortessa’s Accentz line was originally designed to complement traditional dinnerware and make the table a bit more jazzy.
Now, hoteliers are looking at doing the whole table in Accentz and also using it more in banquet and catering.
A deluxe tour of the Fortessa booth by Eric Hamberger, VP of sales & operations, yielded a goldmine of interesting products. First we looked at the Tritan glassware, reinforced in three places: the bottom of the bowl, the middle of the stem, and where the stem meets the base. We also saw a variety of glassware colors that the company says have been particularly successful in banquet and catering to give tables an individual look.
Many of the unique glassware shapes are in the After Hours line, meant for
serving signature and specialty drinks. The Festini line of martini glasses also caught our eye. They have a lot of heft to them
and come different colors to match flavored martinis, such as the "Lemon-tini," "Apple-tini," and "Choco-tini" glasses, among others.
Finally, we got to the china and dinnerware. Fortessa takes a lot of pride in reintroducing bone china to the hotel market. Buyers love the luminosity and pure whiteness, although it’s not Fortessa’s biggest line.
They are currently selling a lot of their Ojo line and the super-strong Vitraluxe
product, particularly to establishments that don’t just want accent pieces.
CONTACT: 800-238-6797, www.fortessa.com
Global Allies
Stacking chairs with style.
A walk through the luxury products area of the show floor introduced us to stacking chairs that do not look like typical stacking chairs. According to President David Cline, Global Allies combines durable construction and meticulous attention to detail with creative, fashion-forward design and high-quality materials, to create stacking banquet chairs that are both functional and stylish. Products, available in contemporary and classic fabrics and finishes, include the luxurious Ultra Series stacking chairs, flex-back chairs, and Chiavari chairs. A wheeled transporter with color-matched padding is also available.
CONTACT: 877-879-4562, www.globalallies.com
Kold-Draft
Ice keeps drinks under 40 degrees for 40 minutes.
Joe Kaiser and Becky Standley were excited about their on-floor demonstration consisting of a tumbler filled with extra-large Kold-Draft ice cubes and Scotch, with a temperature probe inserted. The drink was timed to see how long it would stay under 40 degrees. We didn’t stay for the entire demonstration, but
we were told they were averaging about 40 minutes for a drink to reach or surpass the 40 degree mark.
CONTACT: 800-840-9577, www.kold-draft.com
Maywood Furniture
Working with Benchmark Hospitality to continuously
improve their line.
 Andrea Faley demonstrates the locking mechanism on the Maywood table being exhibited in their booth.
The version we looked at had a thin plywood top with a laminate surface that took the weight down significantly, from 52 pounds to 38-40 pounds. That’s an exciting development for hotels where the tables are always in motion from one event to the next.
Maywood has recently introduced a conference line of tables. While we were there, Scott McMinn, VP at Benchmark
Hospitality, dropped by and commented on them. He told us that, upon initial inspection of the new tables, he insisted
on a modesty panel, and the company responded. Now McMinn is asking for more: he wants a durable top so the tables resist wear
from constant banging and moving, and he wants it to be lightweight. And that’s not all—he also wants wheels on it.
Ken Persson, VP at Maywood, says the company is now working on these suggestions and will introduce more innovations in 2008. Stay tuned.
CONTACT: 800-338-2204, www.maywood.com (banquet tables)
or www.folding-tables.maywood.com (conference tables)
Milliken & Company
Milliken makes dramatic improvement in its damask product and introduces trendy new colors.
Above left: Steve Bobo shows off the new Damask HD fabric that really pops compared to the former product. Right: New colors such as paprika, saffron, chocolate, and sandalwood are exotic yet natural.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)
Milliken's Steve Bobo showed us the company’s new colors and the new Damask HD weave. The new Damask HD product really pops compared to the old.
In seeing the two fabrics side by side at the show, the difference was dramatic. Look closely in the
above left photo at the black fabric display. The top swatch is the new Damask HD fabric; the bottom is the old. Note how the pattern is significantly more visible in the top swatch.
According to an official press release, the new Damask HD enables "bold designs pop like never before" and the spun/filament fabric creates the "soft, natural feel of cotton." Additionally, "lab tests show that high-performance Damask HD retains its pattern and color definition four times longer than cotton and polyester/cotton blends while resisting pilling and shedding." Damask HD can also be washed at a lower temperature,
resulting in additional energy savings.
We also saw several elegant new colors, such as paprika, saffron, chocolate, a sage green (that is doing especially well), and sandalwood.
CONTACT: www.millikentablelinen.com
RATIONAL Cooking Systems
Non-stop cooking showed off this combi oven’s versatility.
A RATIONAL chef prepares to cook ribs in the combi oven. At RATIONAL’s booth, we watched as their chefs cooked non-stop with no menu item omitted. This unit is versatile. During the show it cooked pizza, chicken wings, croissants, bread, muffins, pasta, you name it. On Sunday morning, breakfast was cooked and served from the booth, including an eggs benedict entrée that was very popular with attendees and fellow exhibitors. In addition to the cooking demonstration, the company displayed a stand-alone control panel, prompting several visitors to ask if they could purchase and retrofit it to their existing ovens. The answer is, of course, no. However, it is standard on all their cooking units.
CONTACT: 800-338-2204, www.rationalusa.com
Tablecloth Company
Easy-care, no-iron table linens in fabrics and colors
for every need.
Tablecloth Company introduced several new
patterns at the show, including Colleen, shown here (at top) in blue.
Colleen's woven plaid looks like taffeta but is machine washable, like all
Tablecloth Company fabrics. According to company representative Denise Glatter,
the combination of blues and browns, prominently displayed in their booth, is
currently very popular in table décor.
CONTACT: 800-227-5251, www.tablecloth.com
Villeroy & Boch
The wood-grained Zingana is classic yet warm.
It may look hip, but Villeroy’s new Zingana pattern wasn’t developed because of the green trend sweeping the country. It’s actually patterned from an African hardwood and thus complements the wood interior design schemes of many restaurants. At the show booth, Zingana was paired with the all-purpose Marchesi pattern. The combination works because the rims of both patterns are big and wide, keeping the scale of the tableware compatible. The company calls Zingana "new traditional," a term we heard often at the show.
CONTACT: 609-734-7817, www1.villeroy-boch.com
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