Applications Open for 2027 Kitchen Innovations Awards

Now through Dec. 16, equipment manufacturers can apply for the 2027 Kitchen Innovations Awards, part of the National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place.

The KI Awards recognize solutions across areas including automation and robotics, integrated data systems and off-premise service. See last year’s recipients here.

“The Kitchen Innovations Awards have always been about spotlighting the products that solve the real, everyday challenges our operators face—labor pressures, food safety, energy costs, and speed of service,” says Tom Cindric, president of exhibitions for Informa Connect Foodservice Group. “Every year, this program gives the industry a trusted, curated look at the technologies genuinely moving foodservice forward, and it gives the innovators behind them the recognition they’ve earned.”

The 2027 KI Awards will be judged by the following panel of foodservice leaders:

• Dan Bendall, principal of FoodStrategy
• Cha Nye Farley, director of facilities at Cedartown Foods
• Christine Guyott, executive principal/partner at Rippe Associates
• Frank Inoa, vice president, design, engineering and equipment innovation at Inspire Brands
• Jim Krueger Jr., chief, Air Force and U.S. Space Force Food and Beverage at Air Force Services Center – AFSVC
• Phillip Landgraf, executive at Ricca Design Studios
• Juan Martinez, principal at Profitality Labor Guru
• Alfred Spear, manager, food and beverage program design and development at Walt Disney World Resort)

For more information and to apply, visit nationalrestaurantshow.com/home/kitchen-innovations-application.