EATS—The Equipment, Automation and Technology Show for Food & Beverage—has announced that Food Network’s BBQ Brawl 2023 champion and renowned pitmaster Dominique Leach will bring her bold barbecue flavors to the EATS Kitchen stage at EATS 2025, taking place October 28–30 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Chef Leach, founder of the celebrated Lexington Betty Smokehouse, is known nationwide for her soulful approach to barbecue. A classically trained chef turned pitmaster, she has been featured on Chopped and Fire Masters, and has been recognized as one of the “Best Barbecue in Chicago” by Good Morning America.
On Wednesday, October 29, attendees will get a taste of Chef Leach’s signature style during a live cooking demonstration, where she’ll blend her fine-dining background with flavors inspired by her grandmother’s kitchen. Her appearance at the show adds even more energy to the EATS Kitchen, where food meets innovation and industry professionals connect with the people shaping what’s next.
About EATS Kitchen
EATS Kitchen is a new, immersive feature area at EATS 2025 designed to bridge culinary artistry and scalable food production. Through live demonstrations led by celebrity chefs and industry experts, EATS Kitchen showcases how recipes evolve into packaged products—highlighting ingredient versatility, technique refinement, and operational scalability.
This experiential space gives attendees a firsthand look at the challenges and decisions involved in taking a product from concept to shelf, while also providing suppliers and equipment manufacturers with valuable insights into the real-world needs of food and beverage processors.
EATS Kitchen joins a robust lineup of show floor features at EATS 2025, including sector-focused education stages, Food for Thought sessions, and live production lines—each designed to equip attendees with the tools, strategies, and connections needed to drive business growth.
Registration for the show is now open. Secure your spot today and join the food & beverage industry’s top professionals this October in Chicago for three full days of innovation, fresh ideas, and real-world learning.
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Your contact:
Kim Porter
kim.porter@usa.messefrankfurt.com
Messe Frankfurt Inc.
2859 Paces Ferry Rd SE #1600
Atlanta, GA 30339
www.us.messefrankfurt.com
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
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Sustainability at Messe Frankfurt
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Background information on Messe Frankfurt Inc.
www.messefrankfurt.com/hintergrundinformationen
Food Technologies Brand:
Messe Frankfurt is supporting the dynamic growth of the food industry with four trade fairs on four continents. The industry meets at the events in Argentina, Thailand, the USA and Germany. The international trade fairs showcase trends and innovations and bring together experts from all over the world.
Find out more at: www.food-technologies.messefrankfurt.com
Background information on Food Production Solutions Association
The Food Production Solutions Association (FPSA) is a global trade association serving suppliers in the food and beverage industries. The Association's programs and services support members’ success by providing assistance in marketing their products and services, overall improvement in key business practices and many opportunities to network among industry colleagues. Programs and services to achieve these objectives include EATS - The Equipment, Automation and Technology Show for Food & Beverage (industry leading trade show), electronic media marketing, education, market intelligence, research, and advocation of critical industry issues such as food safety, sanitary design of equipment, and global trade. FPSA members are organized in vertical industry councils which focus on specific needs and concerns that are unique to each industry sector. FPSA councils currently represent the Bakery, Beverage, Dairy, Pet Food, Prepared Foods and Meat sectors.