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TORONTO, ON – April 10, 2025 - Restaurants Canada celebrated 80 years of its RC Show this week, welcoming hospitality and foodservice professionals back to its annual three-day event at Toronto’s Enercare Centre. This year’s show, which took place from April 7-9 brought together an impressive number of Canada’s leading hospitality and foodservice professionals and industry leaders to drive opportunities and fuel industry growth.
"This year, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of RC Show, a milestone that highlights the sheer size, strength, resilience, and collaboration of our industry," said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada. "Together, we’ve built tremendous momentum, and it’s being recognized. We were honored to have Premier Ford and many Cabinet Ministers join us at the opening, emphasizing the sector's importance to the economy and the communities we serve. RC Show fuels our industry forward with innovative ideas, technologies, and trends, while supporting our advocacy efforts at Restaurants Canada to create vibrant, thriving foodservice communities."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy delivered opening remarks at the RC Show’s Opening Ceremony. The Premier took the opportunity to reiterate the Ontario government's commitment to increase the LCBO wholesale discount from 10% to 15% to support foodservice businesses and the nearly 500,000 Ontarians they employ. This move is expected to save the average full-service restaurant $8,000 to $10,000 annually, allowing them to protect jobs, invest in their employees and innovation, and drive local economies across the province.
RC Show 2025, themed FUEL: Your potential, people, prosperity & passion, focused on empowering individuals and fuelling business success through innovation. Spanning over 350,000 square feet, the show floor featured 11 pavilions; dedicated spaces to celebrate diverse communities and their local innovations. Highlights from this year’s pavilions included the return of the Black Experience, which won the Best First-Year Booth award in 2024, the Ontario pavilion that grew to feature over 40 local businesses, and the Indigenous Pavilion which proudly spotlighted remarkable Indigenous companies from across the country. With nearly 1,300 exhibitors, 7 live competitions, and 9 stages of programming, the event not only showcased global and local brands but also celebrated industry trailblazers while offering a dynamic platform for the latest innovations.
This world-class trade event featured an exceptional lineup of speakers, and four exceptional keynotes, who embody innovation, vision, passion and a deep commitment to the industry we all love. Chef José Andrés, renowned chef, humanitarian, and founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), joined the show for an intimate fireside chat where he discussed the resilience of the foodservice industry and how to inspire professionals to lead with purpose and thrive in an era of rapid transformation. Chef Tu? Nguy?n, better known as @TwayDaBae, culinary keynote, took the stage alongside knife-skills expert Chef Wallace Wong, followed by a fireside chat with Trevor Lui. Shingo Gokan, bar & beverage keynote, bartender and founder of Fivesenses FZCO, shared industry insights and tidbits on branding, adapting to new markets, and balancing artistry with high-volume service. Michèle Boudria, leadership keynote, spoke to her role in building up McDonald’s Canada to make the right, bold decisions while navigating the complexities of leading a large-scale business in a dynamic industry.
The show’s seven live competitions shone a spotlight on Canada’s best and brightest chefs, pizza-makers, mixologists, baristas and shuckers. This year’s competition winners are listed below.
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Bocuse d’Or National Finalist: Chef Keith Pears
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Beyond the Rail Cocktail Competition: 1st Place - Jae Han, 2nd Place - Nick Benyamen, 3rd Place - Hannah Kivlin
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Breakfast Sandwich Competition: 1st Place - Aleem Syed, 2nd Place - Prathamesh Patil, 3rd Place - Rishika Bhansali
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Creative Pizza Competition: 1st Place - Kyle Mackay, 2nd Place - Anne Turic, 3rd Place - Jie Yan
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Garland Canada Culinary Competition: 1st Place - Maya Petten, 2nd Place - Tia Huszczo, 3rd Place - Cleo Mariz Valerio, Runner Up - Alijah Casellas, Fan Favourite - Kiran Ruhela
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John Bil Oyster Shucking Competition: 1st Place - Eamon Clark, 2nd Place - Chris Manocchio, 3rd Place - Brooke Kotak, Cleanest Plate - Tristan McConnell
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Latte Art Competition: 1st Place - Kevin Yip, 2nd Place - Wanying Wang, 3rd Place - Ehsen Khatib
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The World Pastry Cup National Finalists: Chef Christophe Sportellini and Chef Nicolas Belorgey
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Traditional Pizza Competition: 1st Place - Bart Nadherny, 2nd Place - Katelynn Dingwell, 3rd Place - Jordan Chin-Ting
This year’s show floor featured cutting-edge technology and sustainable solutions to innovative culinary tools and locally sourced ingredients—exhibitors showcased the latest advancements shaping the foodservice, hospitality, and beverage sectors. This year’s exhibitor Booth Awards placed a spotlight on the standout contributions exhibitors brought to show, with top honours going to DoorDash for the Best Small Booth, Bondi Produce for Best Large Booth, Nella Cutlery for Best Experiential Booth, and last but definitely not least, Fairlee by Lassonde for Best First-Year Booth.
When one event wraps up, another is already underway, and with that: RC Show is moving to the International Centre on March 8-10, 2026! While the venue is changing, Restaurants Canada’s commitment to fuelling the potential of Canada’s foodservice and hospitality industry remains the same—the move to the International Centre opens more possibilities to deliver on that promise. For more information, visit www.rcshow.com.
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For general press information, logos and more reference our Digital Media Kit.
Official RC Show 2025 photography can be accessed here.
RC Show – Celebrating 80 years
RC Show, produced and hosted annually by Restaurants Canada, is the nation’s leading foodservice and hospitality event. Held at Toronto’s Enercare Centre, it draws nearly 25,000 industry professionals for three dynamic days of connection and discovery. The show highlights the most innovative products, emerging trends, and transformative ideas through world-class speakers, leadership panels, live competitions, hands-on workshops, immersive events, and unmatched networking opportunities. A one-stop destination for the tools and insights to grow foodservice businesses and shape the future of the industry, RC Show is not to be missed. Learn more at www.rcshow.com.
To learn more about how to support Restaurants Canada’s work on behalf of the Canadian foodservice industry, contact Edyta Dhillon at EDhillon@restaurantscanada.org.
Restaurants Canada
Since 1944 Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit member-based trade association advancing the potential of Canada’s diverse and dynamic foodservice industry through member programs, research, advocacy, resources and events. Restaurants Canada is a growing community of 100,000 FOODSERVICE BUSINESSES, including restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions, and suppliers. Canada’s foodservice sector is a $114 BILLION INDUSTRY. As Canada’s number one source of first jobs, we directly employ more than ONE MILLION PEOPLE.
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