That's how Chef Kevin Hickey of The Four Seasons Chicago referred to FE&S' Dealer of the Year and Industry Awards Gala while addressing the crowd at this year's event.
The coifed and couture, black-tie audience proved that it was not above some good old-fashioned self-deprecating Midwestern humor by their overwhelming response. And based on the subsequent buzz Chef Hickey's comments generated, it's safe to say that the industry's premier foodservice-equipment-and-supplies-oriented awards event has a new moniker.
Take a moment to check out the pictures and videos from this year's event by clicking here. Not to be missed is Fred Singer's acceptance speech on behalf of Singer Equipment Company, our Dealer of the Year.
Speaking of awards, we have just received word that Joe Carbonara, editor in chief, and his talented team are finalists in at least five categories for editorial excellence as judged by the publishing industry organizations the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) and Trade Association Business Periodical International (TABPI). We will share the results on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as they become official.
As a former distributor sales rep, I am always impressed at how consistently FE&S' DSRs of the Month cite product knowledge as an important point of difference in the field. DSRs have to be experts at not only knowing the products they represent but also knowing where to find the answers quickly to the questions that they don't have in their hip pockets. This resource management can mean the difference in establishing trust with both new and existing clients.
With this in mind, we publish FE&S' Product Knowledge Guide every other year. Of course, this information is not just for DSRs, but for everyone in the foodservice industry for whom this kind of information is essential, including design consultants, operators, reps, service agents and the like. The Product Knowledge Guide provides an overview of 23 different products, outlines what's new and innovative in that category and even offers a few specifying tips. We hope that you find it to be a valuable resource.
