Restaurants Canada Show open for business

March 2, 2015, Toronto — More than 12,000 restaurateurs, caterers, bar owners and other foodservice providers are expected at The Restaurants Canada Show, which began on Sunday at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place. This annual trade event, the largest of its kind in Canada, runs March 1-3.

“Our industry touches people in every community, from coast to coast. We nourish both the nation and the economy,” says Donna Dooher, interim president and CEO of Restaurants Canada. “The Restaurants Canada Show is as much a celebration of this great industry as it is a showcase for new products, ideas and trends that will inspire and delight, and help fuel a thriving restaurant scene.”

Show Facts:

• More than 12,000 foodservice professionals expected to attend
• 1,100 exhibitor booths
• Ten on-stage demos from celebrities like Dan Aykroyd, Lynn Crawford, Anna Olson
• Over 30 educational seminars on a variety of foodservice topics including U.S. bar expert Jon Taffer, race car driver Alex Tagliani and world record oyster shucker Patrick McMurray
• A Guinness World Record attempt in the Pizza Pavilion on March 2
• Final round of the Restaurant Innovation Competition, sponsored by Frankie Tomatto’s

About the restaurant industry:

• 90,000 locations across Canada
• 1.2 million direct jobs
• 282,000 spin-off jobs
• Canada’s top job creator in 2014, with 31,300 new jobs
• The number one source of first-time jobs