Last month, we had the pleasure to attend the National Restaurant Show in Chicago. While we always look forward to this annual event, we were especially excited this year because we went with Tess. Who's Tess? She's our new social media and marketing manager.
Hi Tess!
Hey Folks! Tess here, P3's new marketing maven. A little about me -- I have five years of marketing experience. Food brings us together, and I can't wait to be a part of that. When I'm not rocking P3's social media and other marketing, I usually make ice cream. I love coming up with new flavors and making recipes around dietary restrictions. My current favorite is a Raspberry, Honey, and Orange sorbet!
You have several years of marketing experience. Have you worked in the foodservice space before? If not, what are you most excited to learn about in the foodservice industry?
Though most of my marketing experience is in other sectors, I have done foodservice marketing before. I was a freelance marketing manager for P3s upstate friends, Lake Effect Sales & Marketing. I have also worked in kitchens and counters, so I have seen the other side and have a scar from a panini press to prove it.
Was this your first National Restaurant Association event? What did you think? I heard there were some funny dreams about foodservice equipment.
Not only was this my first NRA it was my first foodservice conference, and it was more than I could have imagined. Of course, the festivities started the night before the actual show. P3 was named TableCraft's Rep of the Year, so we went to dinner with our friends at TableCraft to celebrate. Going into dinner, I was a little nervous because I had never met the TableCraft team, but within 10 minutes, we were making jokes, planning our next trip to see each other, and eating way too much. That was a theme that really followed the weekend. Everyone I met was welcoming, easy to talk and joke with, and always up to eat more.
Walking into the show on Saturday morning, the energy and excitement were palpable. I was blown away seeing the room and the booths, feeling like a kid in a candy shop. I turned to Kim, eyes wide, and commented at how big the room was. She laughed and said, "Tess...this is the small room." It was amazing to meet the teams behind our manufacturers, touch and test the products I've heard about, and learn what makes our manufacturers different. We spent about an hour talking with Ken at Scotsman, learning about their ice and machines. I had never thought much about how ice was made and the difference a quality machine made to the overall taste, but since NRA, it's the first thing I look at when I'm served a drink.
Yes, the dreams! After learning and seeing so much, my brain was trying to process everything, so I kept dreaming about fryers and combi ovens. In one dream, to see if I was listening, Ken from Scotsman asked me to explain how an ice machine worked; that one was more of a nightmare.
What were you most excited to see amongst the P3 brands at the show?
I tend to get really excited about tabletop. I absolutely love what's new from BauscherHepp, Vertex, and Elite. Everything they make is lovely, and creating content by plating on their stuff is fun. That said, I was more interested and inspired by the equipment than I thought I would be. The folks at Scotsman, Welbilt, and Moyer Diebel understand the pain points in commercial kitchens and work to address them.
Any trends that you saw in the industry that caught your eye?
One thing I love about the foodservice industry is that it's continually growing and changing, reacting to what the market needs. We are in a labor shortage, and the technology of foodservice equipment is addressing that. Automated combi ovens, pizza ovens with moving stones, and fryers that automatically take food out of the hot oil. It was amazing to see!
What are you most excited about tackling as a new P3 team member?
What am I most excited about? Can I say try dry-aged beef? I've never had it before! No, in all seriousness, I'm eager to learn more about the industry, meet the people behind it, and provide information. P3's salespeople are some of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met. They all have so much experience in every part of the industry. When people open a new kitchen or pick a new piece of equipment, they don't know what they don't know. P3's team knows the questions to ask and what they need to make sure their kitchen is moving. I'm most excited about getting that message out there. This team is here to help; they know what you're dealing with and honestly want to help.
