Celebrity chefs — you watch them create masterpieces on TV, and now you have a chance to see them up close and personal in the World Culinary Showcase at the 2011 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. The cooking demonstration theater provides event attendees an interactive setting to soak up the passion, innovation and inspiration shared by world-class culinary masters who perform live on stage. NRA Show 2011 will be held May 21-24 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

“We look forward to welcoming some of the world’s most talented culinary artists to NRA Show 2011,” said C.W. Craig Reed, Convention Chair for NRA Show 2011 and Director of Food and Beverage, Broadmoor Hotel. “These chefs operate highly successful restaurants, and attribute much of their success to the culinary innovation they apply to their menus. Our World Culinary Showcase will offer a rare glimpse into their creative process.”

The World Culinary Showcase, running all four days of the NRA Show, will feature:

Rick Bayless, chef/owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago – television host, author, champion of Mexican cuisine, and winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters Season 1.

Wylie Dufresne, chef/owner of wd-50 in New York City – leading American proponent of molecular gastronomy.

Tiffani Faison, chef/owner, Workshop & Mercantile in Boston – contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef Season 1, and recently on Top Chef All-Stars.

John Folse, executive chef, Restaurant R’evolution – Louisiana’s culinary ambassador to the world.

Gale Gand, partner and executive pastry chef, Tru in Chicago – television star and cookbook author.

Marcus Samuelsson, chef/owner, Red Rooster in New York City and C-House in Chicago – Bravo’s Top Chef Masters Season 2 winner, and guest chef for the first Obama Administration state dinner.

Kevin Sbraga, chef/restaurateur – winner of Bravo’s Top Chef Season 7.

Rick Tramonto, executive chef, Restaurant R’evolution in New Orleans – award-winning cookbook author and James Beard Award winner.

A special session, “An Inside Look at Innovation in Chains and Independents,” will be held in the World Culinary Showcase on Monday, May 23. Moderated by The Culinary Edge Founder Aaron Noveshen, the session will feature Wylie Dufresne and McDonald’s Director of Culinary Innovation Dan Coudreaut sharing insights on the similarities and differences between chains and independent restaurants in terms of the role that innovation plays in menu development.

Additional chefs will be added to the World Culinary Showcase lineup this spring. Several of these chefs will also be signing their latest books in the Celebrity Book Signing area of the NRA Show, including Bayless, Folse, Gand, Samuelsson and Tramonto. For a full schedule of the World Culinary Showcase and Celebrity Book Signings, visit www.restaurant.org/show.

The annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest and most comprehensive global gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals. The event attracts tens of thousands of attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 100+ countries, and showcases more products, services, innovative ideas and other growth opportunities than any other industry event. For more information, visit the Show website at www.restaurant.org/show.

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 960,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.