Tomlinson Industries announces their S® and SP® Series faucets have been granted a trademark registration for the configuration and design of the faucets. S® and SP® Series self-closing faucets are designed for gravity and low-pressure applications and are standard equipment on most commercial coffee urns and iced tea dispensers.

In February, Great Place to Work Institute announced the five recipients of the 2006 Great Place to Work Awards. Acuity, CXtec, The J.M. Smucker Company, Four Seasons Hotels, and QuikTrip are being recognized for the innovative and successful approaches they have taken to build great workplaces for their employees. The five honorees were selected this year with particular attention to a culturespecific practice, program, or collection of programs that exemplifies one of the five dimensions of the Great Place to Work Model: Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie.

At the end of 2005 Maywood Furniture became an approved banquet table vendor for the Hilton Family. And effective April 1, 2006, Maywood Furniture became an approved banquet table vendor for Avendra LLC.

The world's best flair bartenders will convergeat Harrah’s Carnaval Court to contend for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes in the annual international bartending competition, Ultimate Flair Bartending Championship in May. Contestants flip, spin, throw, balance, and catch bottles, drinks, and bar staples as they compete in one of four divisions: professional, semi-professional, tandem or female. The first- prize winner will be awarded $10,000 cash and the coveted championship ring, and a total of 10 cash prizes will be presented to the top finalists. The Smirnoff Vodka-sponsored event, formerly known as "King of the Ring,” is the nation’s highest-paying flair bartending competition and is sanctioned by the World Entertainment Bartender Federation.

The World Tea Expo, held in Las Vegas in March, hosted 4,122 participants. A forum for tea companies to display products and connect with thousands of buyers, the Expo also featured a full program of entertaining events and educational seminars. Among the highlights were performances of Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies, Chado Chef cooking with tea demonstrations featuring chefs such as Rick Moonen and Kerry Simon, and a keynote address from founder, CEO, and president of Jones Soda Co., Peter van Stolk. The Expo played host to the country’s first tea auction, in which teashop owners and tea connoisseurs could purchase one-of-a-kind premium teas from the Nilgiri region in India; 42 teas from 14 estates were auctioned. The Expo kicked off with the Iced Tea Shake-Off competition. Entrants were judged by a panel of experts, including chef Rick Moonen and Jeffrey Hattrick, afternoon tea maitre d’ at the Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix ( see winners on page 12). In 2007, the World Tea Expo will be held June 9–11 at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta. For information, go to www.worldteaexpo.com.

Hershey’s Food Service has created a new lodging brochure, “Build Guest Satisfaction and a Competitive Edge,” using 3-D images and illustrations to demonstrate the revenue opportunities available to hoteliers. The brochure provides hotel operators, GMs, executive chefs, and F&B directors an educational resource on how to drive sales and maximize guest satisfaction. Hershey says they recognize the hotel business is segmented and each venue within the property has its own revenue center and unique sales opportunities. With Hershey’s food service lodging brochure, Hershey’s helps hotels use brands, place products, and engage guests as they move through the property.

McCain Foods USA announced the Grand Prize winners in their Energize Your Menu promotion: Steven Stahr, owner of Big Fat Greek Sandwich in North Platte, Nebraska, received a full-day menu consultation in his kitchen working side-byside with McCain corporate executive chef, John DaLoia, CEC. Utilizing over 34 years culinary experience, Chef DaLoia evaluated the Big Fat Greek Sandwich menu and worked with Mr. Stahr to develop new on-trend menu offerings through simple culinary solutions to please patrons and drive profitable business results. Three additional operators, Sandy Winder, owner of Scobee Diner in Little Neck, New York; Julie Kenney, owner of Sunset House Food in Cody, Wyoming; and Jon Sweede, owner of Po’ Boys Creole Cafe in Tallahassee, Florida, were each awarded $1,000. Operators received automatic entry in the Energize Your Menu promotion with each eligible McCain 2005 product rebate submission or by following the official rules listed online at www.mccainusa.com.

Montague begins the ascent toward their 150th anniversary in 2007 with a larger facility, high-tech equipment purchases, and new and long- time employees. After decades of success, Montague continues to offer the expertise and experience of building customized equipment.

On December 1, Cres Cor added the GPS™ (Global Product Search) feature to their website (www.crescor.com). A massive catalog with hundreds of mobile foodservice products can intimidate even the savviest foodservice professional. Today’s interest in finding information online drove Cres Cor to offer a solution to take the question out of the equation. “Our goal is to help customers from all levels find the product that suits their specific needs, easily, in one minute or less. By answering three or four simple questions, the GPS leads the audience to the right product. We anticipate this system will be a useful tool for our sales force, dealers, and consultants, as well as for end users,” says Cliff Baggott, president/CEO.

Southern Aluminum announces the launch of a redesigned website at www.southernaluminum.com. The company’s complete product line is now featured online where visitors can easily access the information they need. The website will be updated regularly with Southern Aluminum’s most up-to-date information.

The Convotherm by Cleveland Combi Oven-Steamer has been named by the National Restaurant Association as a 2006 Kitchen Innovation Award winner. Introduced last year and one of the most versatile appliances made for the American market, it unites the benefits of the world’s most sophisticated ovens and steamers into one simple, foolproof oven that provides operational freedom and superior food quality. This honor is presented by the association each year to recognize the most innovative foodservice equipment products. Judging was conducted by an independentpanel of industry experts comprised of foodservice operators, consultants and dealers. Winners will be featured in an exclusive interactive demonstration area during the National Restaurant Show May 20–23 in Chicago. More than 4,000 attendees visited the kitchen innovations pavilion last year. Cleveland Range, Inc., www.clevelandrange.com, an Enodis company, is a leading manufacturer of commercial steam-cooking equipment, offering complete lines of convection and pressure steamers, steam-jacketed kettles, tilting skillets/ braising pans, combination steam and convection (“combi”) ovens, rotisseries, and cook-chill systems.

American Metalcraft’s new elevation station is a versatile buffet system and includes full-size and half-size display frames that accommodate a wide variety of hanging racks, holding chafers, bowls, baskets, and platters. New to American Metalcraft's product line, it is featured in the company’s 2006 product catalog. For a FREE copy, contact American Metalcraft, 800-333-9133, www.amnow.com.