ORLANDO, FL – The 2018 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show will be offering two exciting competitions for chefs and bartenders to enter and have the chance to win $1,000, bragging rights and gain exposure to over 100 media outlets as well as 8,000 industry peers. Both competitions, Hip Sip: Battle of the Modern Bartender and The Rapid Fire Challenge: Chicken, Honey and Beer Edition are looking for leading bartenders and chefs to compete at the Expo taking place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, September 6-8, 2018. Entries for both events can be sent to Patricia Copela at pcopela@urban-expo.com. Act fast: the deadline for the Rapid Fire Challenge is Friday, August 10th and the deadline for the Hip Sip Competition is Friday, August 17th.
The inaugural Hip Sip: Battle of the Modern Bartender is open to any bartender currently working in the bar, restaurant or spirits industry. To enter, bartenders must submit recipes that are expressed in ounces, drops, or dashes and scaled for a single serving. No frozen drinks are permitted in this competition. Applicants must also attach a video submission, no longer than 1-2 minutes, and a photo of the cocktail and recipe is required. Bartenders will be judged based on creativity, use of product, taste, presentation and flair. The nine finalists chosen will be announced on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 and must be available to compete on Thursday, September 6 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show. The bartenders will battle in their respective spirit category and the three winners of those rounds will advance into a sudden death round for the opportunity to be crowned the overall winner. For more information about Hip Sip: Battle of the Modern Bartender, visit https://www.flrestaurantandlodgingshow.com/hip-sip-florida.
The Rapid Fire Challenge: Chicken, Honey and Beer Edition will take place on Friday, September 7 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm in honor of National Chicken and National Honey month. Chefs and restaurants are invited to submit their finest and most creative dish featuring chicken, honey and beer. Submissions must include the recipe for a dish featuring bacon and a 1-2-minute video, plus a bio and headshot of the chef. All entries will be entered into peer voting and the final three competitors will be announced on Friday, August 17th. The competitors will be asked to present a 20-minute demo of their chicken, honey and beer dish to a panel of three esteemed industry judges and live audience who will vote on the winner and crown the Rapid Fire Champion. Please note chefs must be available to compete on Friday, September 7 at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show. For more information about the Rapid Fire Challenge visit https://www.flrestaurantandlodgingshow.com/rapid-fire-challenge.
The 2018 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show will provide 8,000 industry professionals with access to the hottest menu trends, state of the art design and decor, a renowned education program, several culinary demonstrations, and 450+ of the leading vendors and purveyors dedicated to serving the restaurant & foodservice community.The tradeshow and conference, is managed by Clarion UX, (www.clarionux.com) and sponsored by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (www.frla.org). The 2018 event will be co-located Healthy Food Expo Florida, and attendees will have access to both events with just one badge. For more information, visit www.flrestaurantandlodgingshow.com.
Source: The 2018 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show