A flurry of activity always surrounds the National Restaurant Association show. On Saturday, May 17, the hottest ticket in town was a ringside seat to the “lucha libre” wrestling event at Castle nightclub, hosted by Mission Foodservice and Sysco. The companies presented an unforgettable night of live wrestling, along with authentic-inspired street fare and cocktails.
Lucha libre is a high-flying style of professional wrestling in Mexico, dating back to 1863. It’s known for agile wrestlers (“luchadores”) who wear traditional colorful masks, performing complex holds and acrobatic maneuvers. The event showcased the legendary sport with three live matches featuring professional athletes from Chicago-based wrestling company Resistance Pro (cofounded by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan). More than 200 influential chefs, operators, manufacturers, distributors and representatives of the media experienced the action firsthand as the luchadores battled it out in the ring…and sometimes tumbled out into the crowd! Tom Daley, Vice President of Foodservice at Mission Foods and Diego Rondon, Senior Director of Multicultural Marketing at Sysco, even surprised the audience with a takedown of legendary wrestler Egotistico Fantastico.
Guests were treated to an array of street-food inspired bites and tasty beverages including pollo verde tacos, mini pork belly tostadas and a “Mango Lucharita” cocktail, all featuring products and ingredients from Mission Foodservice and Sysco. To top off the evening, the luchadores mingled with the crowd and invited guests to strike their fiercest poses at the photo wall.
ABOUT SYSCO
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. The company operates 193 distribution facilities serving approximately 425,000 customers. For Fiscal Year 2013 that ended June 29, 2013, the company generated record sales of more than $44 billion. Connect with Sysco on Facebook or Twitter.
ABOUT MISSION FOODSERVICE
Mission Foods, headquartered in Irving (Dallas area), Texas and Gruma S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican corporation, was founded in 1949, and is one of the largest tortilla manufacturers in the United States. Gruma S.A. de C.V. is the parent company of Mission Foods (Gruma Corporation) and is a leading Mexican producer of corn masa flour and tortilla products. It has operations in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.missionfoodservice.com.
ABOUT CSSI
CSSI is a unique Chicago-based foodservice agency combining comprehensive marketing services with culinary consulting and strategy. With a staff that includes trained chefs and seasoned advertising professionals, CSSI helps grow brands, build markets and generate sales. The agency works on behalf of leading manufacturers and commodity marketing associations, securing product placements and developing innovative concepts that reach menu decision makers at the “Top 250” chains. For more information, please visit www.cssiculinary.com.
