I just arrived back from the International Housewares Association (IHA) expo in Chicago. It was a fun show to go to, and a great place for those who love kitchen equipment. There were over 2,000 exhibitors showing kitchen and housewares, and I only visited a fraction of them. This time I was mostly focusing on glassware as I am trying to launch a glassware business in the fall sometime, but it was hard to keep away from all the new and unique products.
It was also interesting to attend the cooking theater where several celebrity chefs were giving demonstrations. All in all, I saw Cat Cora, Mario Batali, Paula Deen, Rick Bayless, Todd English, Michael Symon, Ming Tsai, and Stephanie Izard (Top Chef Champion 2008). Richard Blais from the 2008 Top Chef season was also working the SousVide Supreme booth right next to the theater. I also got to see Emeril Lagasse when he made a stop at the All-Clad exhibit. There were also a few other Top Chef contestants hanging around.
On Monday I also attended a benefit dinner at The Publican restaurant sponsored by the Grammy-award winning chamber music ensemble, Eighth Blackbird. You can read about the benefit here. It was a fantastic time with great food and music. Eighth Blackbird performed a concert before the meal and then we walked over to The Publican restaurant where Mario Batali and chef of The Publican, Paul Kahan, prepared a wonderful meal. It was a really good time.
Anyhow, after I finish sorting through all the information that I collected during my visit, I will be featuring some interesting products from the IHA show.
