In honor of March Madness, the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York is asking chefs to submit their best meatball recipes for Meatball Madness, the theme of the Rapid Fire Challenge, sponsored by Total Food Service. The chef with the winning recipe will be crowned the New York Restaurant Show Rapid Fire Champion, receive a prize of $1,000, and gain exposure to over 100 media outlets as well as 20,000 industry peers. The competition will take place on Monday, March 5, 3:30 – 5:00 pm at the Javits Center in New York.

“The Rapid Fire Challenge is one of the show’s most exciting events and each year we look forward to the creative, and of course, delicious recipes that our participants submit,” said Tom Loughran, Vice President. “We are thrilled to work with Total Food Service as the sponsor again this year, and extend our thanks to Publisher Fred Klashman for moderating the event and bringing together a great panel of judges who are excited to crown a new Rapid Fire Champion.”

The esteemed judges who will be crowning the champion include:
● Donatella Arpaia – Celebrity Chef and Founder of Prova Pizzabar
● Maria Loi – Chef, Restaurateur, Greek Food Ambassador, Author, Healthy Lifestyle Expert
● Gennaro Pecchia – Host, Gennaro Eats @ TheBeachNYC

To participate, chefs are asked to submit a 1-2 minute video about their recipe and why they should be the Meatball Madness Champion. Submissions must be received no later than Wednesday, January 10, 2018 and sent to Patricia Copela at pcopela@urban-expo.com. All videos will be added to the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of NY Facebook page for peer voting to select the top three finalists who will go on to face off at the Show. Online peer voting will take place from January 15 – 19, 2018. For the full submission guidelines and more information about the 2018 Rapid Fire Challenge, click here.

Now in its 25th year, the International Restaurant Show brings together over 20,000 restaurant and foodservice professionals with 550+ vendors to demo (or taste) the latest products and services in the industry. The three-day event offers several feature areas on the Show floor including the Food Trends Experience, Taste NY and Craft Beverage Showcase, the new Healthy Pavilion and Pubware and Equipment Pavilion. With 40+ education sessions, the Center Stage featuring celebrity chef demonstrations and the Paris Gourmet US Pastry Competition, this is the place to be March 4-6. All industry professionals from restaurants, catering and foodservice are invited to attend. Register by February 3, 2018 to save. For more information, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com.