The Squawking Goat sandwich from Hot Concepts winner Maple Street Biscuit Co., which features fried chicken, goat cheese and pepper jelly.

Rachard Dennis of Subway shows off one of the reception’s signature cocktails.

Hot Concepts winner Mulberry’s & Vine’s signature charred avocado.

Attendees celebrated the Golden Chain and Norman Award winners at a gala dinner on the last night of the show. National Restaurant Association CEO Dawn Sweeney kicked off the awards ceremony and was later honored by Nation’s Restaurant News for her commitment to the restaurant industry.

The team from Bloomin’ Brands cheers as executive chairman Liz Smith heads to the stage to accept her Golden Chain award.

Scott Svenson of MOD Pizza accepts his Golden Chain Award

Golden Chain winner Julie Felss Masino of Taco Bell with NRN’s Jenna Telesca.

Golden Chain winner Tim McEnery of Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants, center, cheers for a fellow winner.

Golden Chain winner Sam Fox addresses the crowd after accepting his award.

Alice Elliot of The Elliot Group accepts the Norman Award, which honors an executive committed to mentoring and developing people, in the spirit of the late casual-dining pioneer Norman Brinker. Joining here, from left, are Jenna Telesca, editor-in-chief of NRN; Sarah Lockyer, group publisher of the Informa Restaurant and Food Group; and Susannah Sellers-Ryan of award sponsor PepsiCo Foodservice.

Alice Elliot of The Elliot Group shares her memories of the late Norman Brinker as she accepted the 10th annual Norman Award.

Igor Liskovets, pictured, and Cedric Dupont of Google delivered a keynote address on mobile search trends and how restaurants can better leverage digital marketing tools to drive traffic.

Datassential’s Jack Li spoke about emerging culinary and consumer trends.

On the opening day of the show, participants on the “From Plant to Table” tour visited four local businesses that make or sell CBD products. Here attendees have a custom CBD-infused menu at Hank’s Texas Barbecue. The tour was sponsored by Datassential and also featured research from the firm on this fast-growing market.

CBD tour participants also got a backstage tour of Seed & Smith, a cannabis cultivation facility and dispensary.

Nearly 900 foodservice professionals gathered in Denver for the 60th annual MUFSO. Attendees were greeted by a MUFSO flower wall as they entered the conference floor.

Attendees tasted food and drinks, sampled tools and learned about new products and services from more than 100 exhibitors.

Attendees mingled during a happy hour reception at the Supplier Showcase.

Ramon Solarzano, director of culinary R&D for Garden Fresh Restaurants prepares his winning dish in the Texas Pete Kitchen Hero Cook-off. The competition pitted four corporate chefs against one another and included a $10,000 donation to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry on the winner’s behalf. 

The opening night reception, Taste of Denver, featured dishes from five local chefs. The event was sponsored by Daiya and Ventura Foods.

Denver chef Jennifer Jasinski of Ultreia, far right, and her team serve up a tapas-inspired selection of jamon croquettes, manchego and chorizo, marcona almonds and chicken liver toasts.

Tim McEnery addresses the audience as Liz Smith and Scott Svenson look on. The executives address such issues as delivery, plant-based food trends, balancing technology and hospitality, and how concerns about a coming recession impact their strategies.

Alice Elliot of The Elliot Group, far left, moderates a panel discussion with fellow winners of this year’s MUFSO leadership awards. Norman Award winner Elliot is joined by, from left, Sam Fox of Fox Restaurant Concepts, Julie Felss Masino of Taco Bell, Tim McEnery of Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants, Elizabeth Smith of Bloomin’ Brands and Scott Svenson of MOD Pizza. The panel was sponsored by CardFree.

Entrepreneur and author Gary Vaynerchuk delivered a keynote address Tuesday morning that covered the power of branding, how companies can maximize their marketing ROI and how to adapt to AI voice technology and other shifts. The panel was sponsored by MomentFeed.