For years, food shows have followed the same formula: booths, samples, vendor brochures. But US Foods is flipping that script with Food Fanatics 2025, an immersive event designed to inform, inspire, and recharge restaurant operators.
At the center of this transformation are two people who know the grind of the industry inside and out.
Chef Scott McCurdy has spent over two decades with US Foods, working directly with culinary teams to improve systems, menus, and margins. Lance Reynolds is a former restaurant operator who now serves as a Restaurant Operations Consultant, helping independent restaurants build stronger businesses. Together, they’re on a mission to turn Food Fanatics from a sales event into a lifeline for hospitality professionals.
Held August 19–20 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Food Fanatics is less about selling products and more about building community and solving real operational challenges.
“It’s not just about tasting food,” says Chef Scott McCurdy, who’s been with US Foods for 20 years. “It’s about inspiring operators with tools and ideas they can actually use.”
Running a Restaurant Has Never Been Harder
Staffing shortages. Rising wages. Supply chain volatility. Insurance hikes. According to Lance Reynolds, a former restaurant operator and now a Restaurant Operations Consultant at US Foods, it’s never been more challenging to keep a restaurant profitable.
“Everything’s more expensive now,” Reynolds says. “Operators have to become foundationally strong businesspeople if they want to survive.”
That’s where Food Fanatics comes in.
More Than a Food Show
Food Fanatics 2025 isn’t your typical line-of-booths experience. It’s an education-rich, hospitality-first event packed with culinary demos, operator workshops, and real conversations about profitability, marketing, AI, and labor.
“Most operators have their heads down just grinding,” Reynolds says. “But when you step outside your four walls and connect with others, magic happens.”
US Foods is using the event to showcase what its Food Fanatics teams do best: empower operators with real, personalized support. “This isn’t about US Foods being more efficient,” says Reynolds. “It’s about helping restaurant teams be more efficient—and more profitable.”
Why Community Still Matters
Beyond tools and tech, the real draw of Food Fanatics is the chance to connect with others in the industry. It’s a rare opportunity to step away from the chaos, share stories, ask for help, and walk away with new ideas and some much-needed encouragement.
“I had a customer come up to me in tears,” says McCurdy. “He said it was the first time in years he felt hopeful again. That’s why we do this. That’s the whole point.”
Reynolds has had similar moments. “You don’t always realize how much people need this space until they tell you,” he says. “One operator told me, ‘I didn’t think anyone understood what I was going through.’ That stuck with me.”
In a business that can be isolating, those moments matter. They remind everyone—from operators to consultants to chefs—that they are not alone, and that progress is possible.
Food Fanatics 2025 is not just a trade show. It is a lifeline. Whether you are struggling or scaling, this event is built to offer clarity, connection, and real help.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More
