Equipment pick-up – and an exhibit

Hey – lunch!

It was a bright and vocal crowd exchanging animated assessments of vivid, colorful equipment displays.

Friendly vendors rolled out a series of enticing appetizers, entrees, desserts and beverages, illustrating just how well all this exciting new equipment works.

C-CAP Arizona’s executive director Jill Smith and a troupe of volunteers led by National Restaurant Supply’s Phoenix team put together a small extravaganza of eq

uipment and cooking demonstrations. It was a brief introduction to a side of the industry new to many participants.

Around 60 C-CAP students, parents and teachers travelled across the state, coming

from Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and Flagstaff. They turned National Restaurant Supply into a virtual hive of activity as they buzzed around exhibitors, crowding in for samples and descriptions of equipment.

Participating vendors included Hamilton Beach, ACP – Amana, Dexter, Cambro Manufacturing and San Jamar, among others. Active demonstrations, dynamic presenters and exciting products kept things humming.

ACP-Amana’s professional convection oven provided a major focus, especially with C-CAP graduates Brian Moore, Heidi Janeke and Jelani Port offering assistance and commentary.

Highlight of the afternoon was kit presentation. All participating C-CAP students received a large plastic tub. Inside, a slotted spoon, a whip, a cool handle skillet, a cutting board, two mixing bowls, a high-heat spatula, peeler, measuring spoons, a paring knife and a chef’s knife – everything a chef needs to set up a work station.

“Having your own knife is one of the most important things to a chef,” Jill says. “These are yours, to keep and take care of.”

Like the exhibits, the kits were made possible through National Restaurant Supply