Highlights from the 2019 National Restaurant Association Show

The 100^th Anniversary 2019 National Restaurant Association Show is a wrap! Our booth was a hub of excitement each day as Master Instructor, Chef Leo Spizzirri took the stage to put our custom-tiled Napoli120 through its paces. The food was amazing and the cooking tips he gave out were extremely helpful.

Click Here To Jump Straight To Leo’s Upcoming “Mastering Your Oven Course” on June 29!

4-Day Trade Show Extravaganza

The show itself featured over 2,300 vendors in 3 buildings and close to 30,000 attendees! They structured the show around both general product and services areas, and several curated pavilions, featuring items like organic and natural foods, an Italian food pavilion, the global food expo, and a bar area for restaurant alcohol innovations and suppliers. Additionally, they hosted a Tech Pavilion, and a Startup Area to increase networking and visibility for these segments. The Association also brought in several chefs and speakers to host discussions, classes, and demonstrations to entertain and educate the attendees on a wide variety of topics and tracks, from cooking to business.

100 Years of Wow! and a really big cake!

Forno Bravo jumped right into the demo/education arena by hosting live cooking demos twice a day from our booth.

In-Booth Cooking Demos

With a focus primarily on artisan pizza, Chef Leo, co-founder of the North American Pizza and Culinary Academy (NAPCA) really put on a show, demonstrating several different ways to use pizza dough to increase your restaurant’s menu and make better use of wood or gas fired ovens.

For example, on the first day of the show, Chef Leo created his fresh pizza sauce onsite for the crowd. He also baked classic pizzas like the Margherita, innovative ones featuring ingredients like thin-sliced porchetta and fresh arugula, and a vegetarian, shredded-zucchini+ pizza. He also created a dessert pizza with caramelized raw sugar, sweetened ricotta cheese, and grated chocolate.

In other demos, he included heartier dishes like toasted Italian sandwiches with a fresh made bread similar to a pita, as well as calzone, and his signature Solle nel Piatto (sun on the plate) pizza, a huge crowd favorite. After the official demo time ended, Chef Leo’s apprentice continued baking for the crowds, so that more people could have a taste. Samples flew off the table as fast as we could cut them!

Chef Leo making pizza for the crowd

Click here or on the image below to watch the video of one of Chef Leo’s demonstrations that we recorded live at the show. You will pick up tips for making and stretching dough, using peels to place and turn pizza like a pro, and to get ideas of new dishes to try in your own oven!

Introducing Attendees to our Brand

Another highlight of the show was the opportunity the Forno Bravo team had to answer questions and talk with attendees about our ovens . While many knew about our commercial line, and loved the tile job on the big Napoli (snapping pictures like crazy,) and they enjoyed hearing about and seeing the recently debuted, new modulating gas burner. Others were pleasantly surprised to learn about the broad range of residential ovens we offered as well. Finally, many folks came in to take a closer look at the new Viaggio100 Mobile Drop-in, which we also had on display in the booth. We always say that Forno Bravo is about building a community. The show was a chance to expand that community of friends and customers even more!

Viaggio Mobile Drop-In Display

Come Learn from Chef Leo in Person at a Special Class on June 29th

The talented instructors at the North American Pizza and Culinary Academy are offering a special “Mastering Your Oven” 1–day course on June 29, 2019. This hands-on class will be taught at the academy in Lisle, IL using the school’s 3 Forno Bravo ovens. The course is specifically designed for Forno Bravo oven owners, but also for anyone wanting to increase their wood fired cooking skills. Build confidence, increase your cooking enjoyment, and learn to get the most from your oven! Space is limited.

Click here for more details and to Register! (Bonus: Forno Bravo customers receive 20% off registration.)

Upcoming Class to Help you Master Your Oven