Based in Minnesota, Ecolab Inc. provides products and services for cleaning, sanitizing, food safety, and infection prevention. Restaurants form a good chunk of the company's client base, so when the National Restaurant Association Show came to McCormick Place last month, Ecolab set up a booth to showcase its latest goods. To complement its presence at the convention center, the company hosted a client appreciation party on May 23 at the Fairmont Chicago.
To ensure on-the-ground assistance, Ecolab's director of event marketing, Debbie Tollifson, enlisted some familiar local vendors. The function returned to the downtown hotel for the 15th consecutive year, and director of catering Wayne Harth had a heavy hand in management and logstistics. Tom Kehoe, president of Kehoe Designs, made his 11th turn as the event designer. "This year, the look was all about modesty and clean environment," Kehoe said.
About a year and a half ago, Ecolab went through a rebranding that resulted in a new logo. Kehoe played off its colors with a white-and-blue palette. He also arranged for decor that would showcase the company's work. "For a few years, I've asked [Ecolab] if I can make a sculpture out of their products," Kehoe said, and this year he got his wish. Soap dispensers lined the base of the registration desk, and glass racks from restaurant dishwashers formed its back wall.
To encourage networking among the 700 attendees, Harth and Tollifson kept the event a reception. "We had soft seating and Delano tables so that people could lounge and graze, but there was no formal sit-down component," Kehoe said.
Food stations included Lucite rolling carts plied with chilled poached shrimp or cheese and crackers, an Asian station where chefs prepared dim sum in bamboo steamers, and a dessert table that doled out martini glasses filled with berries and kumquats.
