It’s almost time to “Innovate the Plate,” where trends and strategies will be explored inside and out during the annual PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo July 28-30 at the Portola Hotel & Spa in the DeAnza Ballroom/Foyer and the Custom House Plaza Tent in beautiful Monterey, CA.
Billed “the premier event focused on fresh produce in foodservice,” PMA Foodservice brings more than 1,800 attendees to the venue, including some 600 buyers and well over 150 exhibitors.
A list of attendees is available to PMA members, and you can access it and other information at https://www.pma.com/events/foodservice#.
In addition to the great networking opportunities, the event also provides informative sessions featuring leading chefs and foodservice industry leaders discussing topics near and dear to onion producers’ hearts.
The Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onion Committee has kept a strong presence at PMA Foodservice, even after reducing its promotion budget two years ago, and IEOOC/USA Onions is among those reaping rewards from this premier event.
The Committee, which exhibits at the July event and at PMA Fresh Summit later in the year, considers the foodservice expo vital to their promotion efforts and will again co-host with Southwind Farms a VIP customer brunch prior to the opening of the expo on July 30, between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at the Montrio Bistro in downtown Monterey, just blocks away from the expo.
Montrio Chef Tony Baker and his staff are overseeing the event and will prepare signature dishes featuring USA onions from the Treasure Valley of Idaho-Eastern Oregon and fingerling potatoes from Southwind Farms.
This is the fourth brunch hosted by IEOOC at the Montrio and the third in conjunction with Southwind. According to Committee reps and Southwind partners, the co-hosted event is a win-win for both organizations and their customers because the two entities grow products along the famous Snake River and also share many of the same customers.
Over past few years the brunch has grown in both scope and stature, and customers now contact the Committee and Southwind execs to say they’re looking forward to connecting outside the expo hall. Everyone involved agrees the brunch is a perfect networking opportunity, and the food… well, it’s fabulous!
Customers of Idaho-E. Oregon onion shippers may request an invite by contacting the main office in Parma, ID at 208-722-5111.
