Bistro black
Black shirt, black trousers and a long brand-color apron. Looks like it belongs behind a sample counter.
Best for: Sampling counters, demo linesNational Restaurant Association Show 2027 staffing for brands that sample, cook and sell on the floor: sampling hosts, demo presenters, lead reps and camera-ready models. Local Chicago people at $85 an hour each.
86Travel fees, flights and hotel nights: off the menu.
Real Purple eventSources: nationalrestaurantshow.com home and press pages (May 22–25, 2027, McCormick Place, Chicago); official exhibitor FAQs (2027 show hours, exhibitor badge allowance, sampling and age rules); the organizer’s 2026 post-show release dated May 21, 2026, linked from the Show Highlights page (55,000+ attendees, about 2,300 exhibiting companies from 44 countries, attendees from 112 countries, 720,000 sq ft, 650 debut companies). 2027 figures are not published yet. Checked October 2026.
The National Restaurant Association Show is the yearly foodservice market in Chicago, where operators, dealers and distributors come to taste, test and order. Purple Exhibits supplies National Restaurant Association Show booth staff for that work: sampling hosts, demo presenters who narrate while your chef cooks, booth reps who scan and qualify, greeters, buyer meeting hosts and trade show models for press moments. Any role costs $85 an hour per person, four hours at the least. The crew lives in the Chicago area, so flights, hotels and travel fees never show up on your bill. The 2027 edition runs Saturday to Tuesday, May 22–25, at McCormick Place, and the show returns to Chicago every May. We learn your menu items, portion sizes and talking points before the floor opens, so the visitor who tastes at 4:45 on Monday hears the same story as the first one on Saturday. Book by mid-March for the widest choice; rush crews need 72 hours’ notice.
Sampling hosts and counter crews from real Purple Exhibits food and drink booths. Warm with every visitor, quick with a portion, careful with the facts.
Cookie tray serviceSampling host
Light blue button-down, dark skirt and an open tray of cookies. She walks the aisle edge, offers a taste and asks what kind of kitchen the visitor runs.
Olive counter for twoCounter hosts
Two hosts in black blazers and lanyards hand out olives in small cups from a white counter. One serves, one stands ready for the next guest.
A host in a navy blazer and red lanyard pours frozen drink samples from a barrel-front dispenser while a teammate in a striped top keeps the group talking.
That is the rhythm we bring to the National Restaurant Association Show: a taste, one clear line about the product, and a quick handoff to the person who can take the order.
Book Restaurant Show staffReal Purple Exhibits events.
Four uniforms that work on a foodservice floor. Put the whole crew in one, or match each look to the job.
Black shirt, black trousers and a long brand-color apron. Looks like it belongs behind a sample counter.
Best for: Sampling counters, demo linesA light blue button-down with a dark skirt or trousers. Fresh and friendly for walking the aisle with a tray.
Best for: Aisle sampling, greetingA fitted black blazer over a plain top, with a lanyard. Smart enough for chain buyers, easy to work in.
Best for: Lead desk, sales tableYour logo tee, dark bottoms and clean sneakers. Right for tech and equipment booths with lots of moving around.
Best for: TECH Pavilion, equipment demosSend brand colors, aprons or logo shirts with your booking. Hair is tied back at every sample counter, and we pick closed, cushioned shoes for four days on concrete.
Set your booth, your sample counters, your demo times and your booked meetings. The specials board lists the crew, prices it at $85 an hour on the posted 2027 hours and checks it against your exhibitor badge allowance.
Six stations most tasting and equipment booths have, and who covers each one. Select a station to read the job.
Sample 20×30 tasting booth, not drawn to scale. Send your real floor plan and we pin each staffer’s station on it.
Put sampling on the open side of the booth, where the aisle can see it. A sampling host hands out portions, says the product name and one fact, and asks the visitor what kind of operation they run.
Your chef or equipment specialist runs the cooking. A product presenter with a headset mic narrates the demo, counts down the next start time and gathers a small group from the aisle.
Standing at the aisle line, the greeter glances at each badge and asks whether the visitor runs restaurants, sells equipment or writes for the trade press, then walks them to the teammate who handles that group.
A booth rep scans each badge and types two lines of notes: number of locations, what they tasted, and the next step. Your sales team gets a clean list every evening.
Chain buyers and dealers often book a time. A meeting host keeps the list, seats each group away from the sampling noise and brings water while your sales lead finishes the last call.
Refrigeration, dry storage and hand washing belong in the first layout. Hosts restock cups, napkins and portions from here so the front counter never looks empty.
Brands that have booked Purple
The show spreads across three McCormick Place buildings and a set of themed pavilions. Each area brings a different visitor, so we brief the crew for the aisle you are in. For halls, freight and labor, see our McCormick Place venue guide.
Award winners. The show presents the Kitchen Innovations Awards, the FABI Awards for food and beverage, and the Technology Innovation Awards. If your product wins, tell us: greeters learn the award name, and an ambassador can point visitors from the showcase to your booth.
Food on the floor comes with rules. These come from the show’s exhibitor FAQs, and every Purple staffer hears them in the morning brief.
The exhibitor FAQs say you may hand out only what you make or sell. Anything else is bought from the venue caterer. Our hosts follow the same line.
Food sampling and alcohol sampling requests go in with the service kit, and alcohol needs approval from show management. Tell us early so the crew plan matches what is approved.
Cooking and heating appliances must be listed, approved and ventilated; propane, butane and charcoal are out. Your chef runs the equipment. Our presenters talk, plate and hand out.
The FAQs ask for a listed ABC extinguisher where you cook. We show every staffer where it sits during the morning walkthrough.
No one under 16 may be on the floor, and ages 16 to 18 need an adult with them. Nobody under 18 is allowed during move-in or move-out.
Exhibitors get five badges for the first 100 sq ft and three more for each extra 100 sq ft. Every crew member needs one, which is why our crew builder counts them for you.
Summarized from the official exhibitor FAQs, checked October 2026. Your exhibitor service kit has the final wording.
Three full days and one short one. The crew arrives an hour before the floor opens, so counters are stocked and the demo board is posted by 9:30.
Opening day. Operators walk the whole floor and taste a lot. Sampling hosts set a steady pace and reps log each first visit with a note.
Busy aisles from the first hour. Breaks are staggered so the sample counter and the demo line are never both short.
Return visits and booked meetings. The meeting host runs the sales table while presenters keep the demo times on the board.
Short final day. Last orders, follow-up dates and a clean pack-down of counters and back of house with your team.
Floor hours as posted in the official exhibitor FAQs for 2027. If the show changes them, we move call times to match.
Seven positions, the work each one does on a foodservice floor, how many you usually need and when to lock them in.
| Role | What they do at the Restaurant Show | How many | Book by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sampling host | Hands out your own products at the counter, names each item and starts the conversation | One or two per counter | Mid-March |
| Product presenter | Narrates the cooking or equipment demo on a headset mic while your chef cooks | One per demo line | Mid-March |
| Booth rep | Scans badges and writes short notes on location count, interest and next step | One per lead desk | Late March |
| Greeter | Reads badges on the aisle and routes operators, dealers and press | One for 20×20 and up | Late March |
| Meeting host | Keeps the appointment list and seats buyers at the sales table | One per sales table | Early April |
| Brand ambassador | Works the aisle edge with sell sheets and points people to the next demo time | One per busy aisle side | Early April |
| Trade show model | Poses with new equipment or menu items for press and your content team | One per photo block | Mid-April |
The jobs foodservice exhibitors hand us most, all billed at the same $85 hourly rate. Demo-heavy booths can read more on our product demonstrators for cooking and equipment demos page, and tasting booths on our brand ambassadors for sampling and aisle traffic page. Showing at other Chicago events this year? Our Chicago trade show models and booth staff page lists every hall we cover.
Models stand beside a new oven, a plated signature dish or a drinks display while press and your social team shoot. Product names and the one-line story are learned ahead of time.
Hosts plate and hand out your own products, name each item and keep the counter stocked and tidy, following the show’s sampling rules.
A presenter narrates on a headset mic while your chef or specialist cooks, posts the next demo time and gathers the crowd.
Reps scan badges and add short notes on location count, interest and next step, so your sales team can call the right people first.
Ambassadors work the aisle with sell sheets and point people to the next demo or tasting.
A host owns the meeting calendar at your sales table or hotel suite, welcomes each chain buyer or dealer by name and keeps sessions from running into each other.
For a session, tasting or dinner you host during show week: names, badges and a short line at the door.
Useful in the Global Food Expo aisles, where buyers arrive from many countries. Name the languages you need on the request form and the quote lists who can cover them.
Briefed on your menu, quick with a portion and focused on operators who buy. These five roles cover most booths at the National Restaurant Association Show.
Presenters on a headset mic who talk a crowd through a cooking or equipment demo while your chef works.
Ambassadors who scan a visitor badge on the aisle and pass the operator to the right person in your booth.
Hosts at a tasting counter who plate your own products, name each item and keep the line moving.
Hostesses who welcome chain buyers and dealers to a client lounge and keep meetings on time.
Reps with a tablet who talk through the line with a buyer and log the next step for your sales team.
Send the menuProducts, portions, demo times and approved claims.
Taste-test before doorsCounter, demo and lead flow rehearsed at your booth.
Every operator loggedScanned, noted and handed to your sales team.
From the January service kit to the Tuesday pack-down, in order. Tick items off as you go; this browser remembers them.
Planning the booth itself? Our National Restaurant Association Show 2027 exhibitor guide covers layout, utilities and the build schedule. Food brands often book us again in winter for Winter Fancy Food Show booth staff, and the same Chicago crew works McCormick Place for ProMat staffing in the spring.
Walkthrough at the booth, sampling and demo rehearsal, sell sheets checked against your brief.
Crews on the floor in the South, North and Lakeside halls, plus hosts for suite meetings nearby.
Dealer dinners and receptions in Fulton Market, the West Loop and along the lakefront.
Getting in. Our crews ride the CTA Green Line to Cermak–McCormick Place or the Metra Electric line to the McCormick Place stop, so parking is not on your bill. Badge pickup for the show is in the South Building and the Lakeside Center lobby.
Six typical Restaurant Show crews, from a single 10×10 counter to a pavilion block, each worked out at the flat hourly rate.
| Booth | Typical crew per shift | People | Per day | Whole show |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10×10 inline | A sampling host and a booth rep | 2 | $1,360 | $5,440 |
| 10×20 inline | A sampling host, a greeter and a rep | 3 | $2,040 | $8,160 |
| 20×20 island with a demo | A presenter, two sampling hosts and a rep | 4 | $2,720 | $10,880 |
| 20×30 with a sales table | A presenter, two sampling hosts, a rep, a greeter and a meeting host | 6 | $4,080 | $16,320 |
| Large island or pavilion block | Two presenters, four sampling hosts, two reps, a greeter and a meeting host | 10 | $6,800 | $27,200 |
| One-day tasting push | Two sampling hosts for a single day (4-hour minimum each) | 2 | $1,360 | $5,440 |
8-hour days × 4 show days × $85 per person per hour. No travel, hotel or agency markup.
A 20×20 island with one sample counter and a cooking demo needs a presenter, two sampling hosts and a rep. Compare a local Chicago crew with flying the same four people in for show week.
| Restaurant Show 20×20, four show days | Cost |
|---|---|
| Purple local staff | |
| Travel, hotel, per-diem | $0 |
| Your Restaurant Show total |
| Typical fly-in agency, same team | Cost |
|---|---|
| Staff hours at $85 | |
| Round-trip flights ~$390 each | |
| Hotel South Loop, show week in May · ~$330/night | |
| Per-diem ~$86/day | |
| Fly-in total |
Compared on what actually changes your results and your invoice in National Restaurant Association Show.
| Purple local crew | Fly-in staffing agency | General temp agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay per hour | One flat $85, models to reps | Day rate plus travel costs | Cheap, but not booth-trained |
| Travel and hotel | $0. The team lives in Restaurant Show | About $390 flight plus $330/night per person | $0 |
| Local knowledge | Halls, transit and shortcuts | Arrives with a map | Depends on the person |
| The Restaurant Show edge | Counter, demo and lead flow rehearsed at your booth. | Not local | Not specialised |
| Trained on your product | Briefing call and cheat sheet | Sometimes, for a fee | No |
| Lead capture | Qualifies and tags every scan | Varies | Not part of the job |
| Backup staff | Standby crew in town | Flights don’t happen same day | Unknown |
| Exhibit and staff together | Design, build and staff | People only | People only |
Fly-in costs use the same typical Restaurant Show rates as the budget above. Other agencies’ pricing varies.
About three minutes. No deposit to ask.
We’ll email your quote within 24 hours, usually much sooner. Need it now? Call (800) 994-8030.
Call (800) 994-8030 and ask for the Restaurant Show desk.
Each staffer is $85 an hour, and every booking runs at least four hours. That one rate covers sampling hosts, demo presenters, reps, greeters, meeting hosts and models alike. Because the crew is based in Chicago, nothing is added for getting them to McCormick Place.
May 22–25, 2027, at McCormick Place in Chicago. The posted floor hours are 9:30 am–5 pm Saturday to Monday and 9:30 am–3 pm on Tuesday. The show comes back to Chicago every May.
The organizer’s 2026 post-show release counted more than 55,000 foodservice professionals, about 2,300 exhibiting companies and 720,000 sq ft of exhibit space. Figures for 2027 are not published yet.
Start with one sampling host per counter and one presenter per demo line, then add a booth rep for leads. From 20×20 up, add a greeter, and a meeting host if buyers book times. The crew builder on this page does the math.
Yes. Hosts plate and hand out your own products under the show’s sampling rules. Your chef runs the cooking equipment. Pouring alcohol needs an approved request from show management first.
Yes. Every crew member needs an exhibitor badge. The show gives five badges for the first 100 sq ft and three more for each extra 100 sq ft, so a 20×20 gets fourteen. We send names well before the deadline.
They narrate it. Your chef or equipment specialist does the cooking, and our presenter talks the crowd through each step on a headset mic and posts the next start time.
Yes. Reps scan badges, ask about location count and buying role, and add a short note for each lead on your scanner or tablet. Pricing talks stay with your sales team.
Booking by mid-March gets you first pick of hosts and presenters for Memorial Day weekend. Later requests are fine too; a rush crew needs at least 72 hours’ notice.
Briefed backups wait on call in Chicago from Saturday through Tuesday. When a backup does not reach your counter inside two hours, you pay nothing for that shift.
No. Exhibitors hire Purple Exhibits on their own, and we have no tie to the National Restaurant Association, Informa or the show itself.
Right here: phone (800) 994-8030 or fill in the request form further up. Our people already live in Chicago and know the South, North and Lakeside buildings, so getting them to your booth costs you nothing extra.
Sure. Many exhibitors want a model only for Saturday, for a press slot or for one dinner. Any single booking needs at least four hours, billed at $85 an hour.
Models bill like everyone else on the crew: $85 an hour. Eight hours on the floor comes to $680 per model, and four days of eight hours comes to $2,720.
We can. Our exhibit team designs and builds foodservice booths with tasting counters, cook lines and seated sales corners, and one project manager then handles both the build and the crew.
A lot of foodservice deals are closed at dinner, not at the counter. Same rate, same briefing.
Guest list, seating plan and a short welcome for your dealer network.
We send: HostessesPrivate walk-throughs of a new line for chain buyers and consultants.
We send: Meeting hosts, booth repsA launch moment for food media and your content team.
We send: Models, product presentersCheck-in, seating and a clean handover to your speaker.
We send: Registration staffDoor list, wristbands and a photo wall for partners.
We send: Brand ambassadors, door hostsStaffing by show
Chicago and this show
Staffing by role
Purple Exhibits is an independent exhibit and staffing company. We staff exhibitors at the National Restaurant Association Show; we are not affiliated with the National Restaurant Association or Informa. Show names belong to their owners.
Send your booth plan and what you serve. A Restaurant Show price within 24 hours.
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