Oceanaire docks in Boston`s Scollay Square – Page 3

Transcription

Oceanaire docks in Boston’s Scollay Square – Page 3
Foodservice East
Volume
Volume
82, 82,
Number
Number
4 3•
•Wintertide,
Fall, 2007
2008 •
• THETHE
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
PUBLICATION
PUBLICATION
FORFOR
THETHE
$80$80
BILLION
BILLION
NORTHEAST
NORTHEAST
FOODSERVICE
FOODSERVICE
INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
OFFERING INFORMED REPORTING & COMMENTARY FOR THE FOODSERVICE PROFESSIONAL
Operators debate outlook for what all view
as a challenging year ahead in the Northeast
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE
FOOD FOR
THOUGHT
The kitchen as classroom
For Eric Brennan, executive chef of Boston’s Excelsior, the kitchen is a place
where he imparts skills
and knowledge while
learning himself from his
co-workers.
Page 4
FOODTRAK
Servinging hot meals
and hope
David Waters steers
Community Servings into
a new era this year from
within the organization’s
new industrial kitchen,
which enables it to serve
more clients.
Page 6
Let’s talk...
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B
OSTON – There’s a chill
in the air this winter as
operators struggle to
make sense of predictions of
economic weakness and contraction, ranging from the
dreaded “R” word to forecasts
that so-called ‘kitchen table
issues’ could drive consumers back to their own kitchen
tables as they react to diminishing discretionary income
by cutting back on food away
from home.
While few would deny that
2008 brings with it many
challenges, most still agree
that, as Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association
president and chief executive
officer put it: “Dining out is
not reserved for special occasions anymore, but plays an
essential role in how we live
our lives every day.”
“Consumers,” she says,
“want help to fit quality meals
into their busy schedules, and
require a lot of variety when
doing so.”
that only high-income households have been able to elevate their living standards in
recent years.
From 2000 to 2005, consumption among high-income households rose while
remaining stagnant for middle-income households and
declining among those in the
lower-income group. The top
fifth of US households made
39 percent of all consumer expenditures in ’05, the largest
share on record.
Late last year, data from
OUTLOOK
Continued on page 14
Segments previously seen as
insulated report a slowdown
in customer spending
Faced with higher gas prices, rising heating bills and a
declining housing market,
consumers have been feeling
the pinch for some time now
according to data from the
Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities which reported late
last year that Labor Department data for 2005 showed
New York Burger Co. plans to franchise
N
PERIODICAL
EW YORK – Madeline Poley, co-owner
of Soho Charcuterie in
the late 70’s, is enjoying a roll
–a custom brioche bun to be
exact - as she and her partner,
Spiro Zisimatos, prepare to
franchise their two-unit New
York Burger Co., an awarding winning concept they first
opened three and a half years
ago as the culmination of their
passion for food.
“People say ‘oh, you’re
healthy foods,’” says
Poley, “but we’re not.
Burgers
are
All-natural
burgers,
chicken and
sandwiches for
young
professionals
the number one comfort food,
and we also sell a lot of salads,
around 1,500 a week. This is
the next generation of fast
food.”
From the beginning, the
focus has been on all natural,
upscale burgers, Poley says
recalling that when she and
Zisimatos decided to do a concept together, it was the “the
period of the Mad Cow scare.
I’d been watching the trend
toward organic and natural
NEW YORK BURGER
Uno raises the bar with
two new “siblings”
W
EST ROXBURY,
MA – Uno Chicago
Grill is introducing
a “new way of thinking about
hospitality” this winter as two
“siblings” join its family.
The newest ‘legs’ as Senior
Vice President of Marketing
Rick Hendrie calls them, are
Uno-Plus and Uno Due Go,
created to initiate “an experiential revolution” and at the
same time, transform the way
the company reaches consumers in a variety of locations
and venues.
Declaring that: “The tried
and true in casual dining has
been unsuccessful,” the chain
began a test in the Boston
UNO
2
Foodservice East • Wintertide, 2008
Danny Meyer to speak at NEFS in April
B
OSTON – The New
England
Foodservice
& Lodging Expo opens
April 6 at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center with
an array of guest speakers,
new products, chef demonstrations and educational programs.
Wycliffe “Wyc” Grousbeck,
managing partner, governor
and chief executive officer of
the Boston Celtics will give the
keynote at 1PM on Sunday.
FSE
FOODSERVICE EAST
FOODSERVICE EAST
(0885-6877)
The Business-to-Business
Publication of the $80 Billion
Northeast Foodservice Industry
Published by
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FOODSERVICE EAST is published six
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to Foodservice East, 197 Eighth St.,
#728, Charlestown, MA 02129-4234.
April
April show
show
set
set for
for
BCEC
BCEC
On Mon., April 7 at 1, wellknown restaurateur Danny
Meyer, founder of Union
Square Hospitality Group
in New York City, shares his
winning philosophy about
‘Enlightened Hospitality’ in
“Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality
in Business” at 1 PM in the
Demonstration/Keynote area
on the Show floor.
Meyer will reveal his approach to leadership, explaining how it takes great service
and hospitality to rise to the
top. His Union Square Cafe,
voted Most Popular in the ’08
Zagat Guide, exemplifies his
theory that service is the ‘delivery’ technique of an operator’s product while hospitality
is how the delivery makes the
customer feel.
This year’s Conference Program includes such sessions
as:
• Restaurant Trends 2008
– Charlie Perkins of the Boston Restaurant Group’s look
at what’s happening in the
Greater Boston restaurant
scene in terms of openings,
closings, locations and trends
• Online Success: How to
Use Internet Marketing to
Find, Get and Keep Customers
• Opening, Operating and
NEFS #723
Expanding Your Restaurant:
The Essentials You Need for
Success – a panel discussion
• Tell Me a Story’ – How to
Use the Behavioral Interview
to Help You Hire the Right
Person
• IRS Update for Restaurateurs
For a complete list, visit
http://www.nefs-expo.com/conferences.
On Sunday, Apr. 6, following the Show at 5:30, the
Massachusetts
Restaurant
Association hosts a Welcome
Reception at the BCEC for exhibitors and attendees.
The MRA Annual Awards
Dinner takes place Mon., Apr.
7 at 6 PM at the new Renaissance Boston Waterfront hotel.
Tickets are $90 a person with
reservations required. For details, go to www.marestaurant.
org or call 508-303-9905.
Honorees include Restaurateur of the Year: David Colella
of Brasserie Jo at the Colonnade Hotel; Purveyor Executive of the Year: A Raymond
Tye, United Liquors; Salesperson of the Year: A. Stuart
Berry, Paul W. Marks Co.; and
Chef of the Year: Ken Oringer,
Clio, Toro, KO Prime and La
Verdad.
Other highlights include
New
England’s
Greatest
Chefs, daily demonstrations of
techniques and culinary ideas;
Lift Your Spirits/Raise Your
Bottom Line – a dedicated
area on the Show floor for new
beverage products; Serving
Up Style Fashion Show; Specialty Food Pavilion put on by
the Massachusetts Specialty
Foods Association, an Acoustic Corner in Booth 1355 with
local acoustic musicians, and
the Organic Pavilion.
Meyer to share
winning philosophy
Wintertide, 2008 • Foodservice East
3
Oceanaire docks in Boston’s Scollay Square
B
OSTON – Oceanaire
Seafood Room, a 300seat restaurant with
the ambience of a 1930’s ocean
liner, docked this winter in
old Scollay Square, virtually
across from City Hall.
The sleek new establishment occupies the historic
residence of Colonel William
Scollay that over the years has
housed various banks whose
vaults remain in use today, albeit for different purposes.
An
‘unchain-like’
group of 15 high-end
seafood restaurants
in major metropolitan
centers across the US,
Oceanaire began in
1998 as a “power seafood” concept, recalls
Chairman and CEO
Terry Ryan.
The goal was to offer “a great dining experience and the high-
crackers on the tables and the
condiments such as Old Bay
Seasoning and Tabasco sauce
over the raw bar.
“Not everyone who comes
wine list has bottles from $30
to $600. We want to be accessible to more customers, and
some may come in several
times on different days for dif-
excellence is the every day pursuit. We work hard to show the
value. It’s all little things.”
With price points slightly
above those at McCormick &
Schmick or Legal Sea Foods,
Oceanaire’s average check is
estimated at $55 to $75.
Executive Chef and Operating Partner Dan Enos joined
Oceanaire from Capital Grille.
A native of Massachusetts,
he “knows the seafood here
and what people like.”
Menu items include
Wild Alaskan King
Salmon, Alaskan Halibut “T-Bone,” jumbo
lump crab cakes, a
fried fisherman’s platter, grilled Cape Neddick or George’s Bank
“Not everyone who comes in is
wearing a suit,” says President Terry
Ryan. “We want to be accessible.”
A “dichotomy
of high-end and
simple”
characterizes
Oceanaire
concept
It’s “the little
things” that
keep
the ship on
course, Ryan
says
est quality food, service and
hospitality.”
At the heart of Oceanaire is
a unique blend of sophistication and comfort. That “dichotomy of high-end and simple,”
Ryan explains, is captured in
the catsup bottles and oyster
sea scallops and more.
“We send our chefs all
over the world to gain
a broader knowledge of
seafood,” says Ryan.
Menu changes with
market availability
of “ultra-fresh
seafood” from
around the globe
into our restaurants is wearing a suit,” he observes. “And
when people walk in wearing
jeans and boots, they may be
wearing a thousand dollars
worth of clothing. Our oyster
bar is casual and makes you
feel like ‘I could eat here.’ Our
Terry Ryan plans one or two new units a year
ferent reasons – oysters and a
glass of champagne at the bar
one night, a full dinner another.”
More than 25 species of “ultra-fresh” seafood is flown in
from around the world at least
once a day, changing with market availability.
Boston is the second unit in
the Northeast, following one
in Philadelphia. This Spring,
plans call for an opening in
Cincinnati.
“We want to do one or two
a year with the right partners and be sure they’re done
right,” says Ryan. Right now,
he’s working on a lease for a
Chicago site in 2010.
“We want to be unchainlike but have a commonality of
goals and purpose,” Ryan adds.
“It’s the true spirit of entrepreneurship. Our managers and
chefs have a vested interest in
what happens in each restaurant. Our employee manual is
as applicable to me as it is to
the dishwasher, for example,
and I have the same benefits
as everyone else. Our mission is to have the best food,
the best people and to have
fun. The restaurants are like
a 1930’s supper club and the
idea of ‘power seafood’ is steak
cuts of fish,”
“We like to say this is where
LifeSavor to benefit
Community Servings
B
OSTON – Community
Servings, which delivered its first meal to a
man dying from AIDS in 1990,
will hold its annual LifeSavor
fund-raiser on March 27 at the
Langham Hotel with a cocktail
reception and live and silent
auctions.
Additionally, 85 Boston restaurants will feature intimate
dinner parties hosted by individual donors or corporate
sponsors.
Last year, the event generated $560,000 with 96 cents
of every dollar raised going directly to feed acutely ill clients
in 16 eastern Massachusetts
communities.
Last summer, Community
Servings moved to a major new
industrial kitchen and nutrition center in Jamaica Plain
where it has the capability to
double the number of people it
feeds and offer additional programming.
To inquire about ways the
restaurant industry can help,
go to www.servings.org.
4
Keeping it simple and fresh are key
to
Chef
Eric
Brennan’s
creative
menus
FOOD
FOR
Thought
A culinary dialogue
of current perspectives
and techniques
B
OSTON – What creates a
chef ’s palate?
From early childhood, Eric
Brennan, now executive chef
of Excelsior in this city’s Back
Bay, was developing his, influenced by a mother who was a
“great cook” and summer visits to his grandparents’ farm
in upstate New York where he
learned important lessons.
As a third grader studying French in his elementary
school on Long Island, he discovered the joys of escargot
and duck a l’orange on a field
trip to a French restaurant.
Dismissing the pre-set
meal of boeuf bourguignon,
he spent his own money on
a three-course menu that
sounded more
appeal-
Retention is a big
issue for this
industry, Brennan
says. “I thought
about why I stay”
and applied that
to the crew.”
ing.
The
garlicky
escargot
amazed him, he recalls. “I
couldn’t believe it.
That was part
of working my
taste buds and
I later made
it at home.
I also made
boeuf bour-
guignon later for the entire
class.”
He fell in love with the
food and by high school, was
working after school in restaurants.
Starting as a dishwasher,
he made his way up to breakfast cook and prep chef, working at a country club where
weekend breakfast for 250
Ingredients
are primary
to a chef
who enjoys
doing
classics with
a “twist”
golfers was “fast and furious.”
In 1980 Brennan entered
the Culinary Institute of
America where he “was really
turned on and just kept pursuing it.”
That pursuit of excellence
led him to Boston as executive
sous chef at the Four Seasons
Hotel, and later to properties
in Santa Barbara and Toronto.
The early influence of working on his grandfather’s farm
in Cooperstown gave him a
life-long love of fresh, seasonal ingredients.
“I try to keep everything
simple and fresh and concentrate on the ingredients,”
he says of his culinary ‘style’
or perspective. “We change
menus four or five times a year
and our clientele often tells us
what they want. I like to do a
twist on classical items, like a
lobster tail schnitzel or steak
tartare or au poivre. A ‘Diane
tartare’ is in development, he
discloses, incorporating elements from hot preparation
to a cold one with crushed
green peppercorns, “a
spritz of cognac” and
a seared top. It’s
kind of fun.”
Brennan takes
an almost mischievous pleasure
in creating “something
unusual
with
ingredients
you know,” such as
swordfish
served
with Iranian raisin
caponata, or New
Zealand
saddle
BRENNAN
Continued on page 5
5
Excelsior focuses on price and value perception
with the aim of attracting new guests
BRENNAN
Continued from page 4
of venison with a blintz using creamy goat cheese with
mushrooms, onion and boar
bacon.
“I like a place where you
can grow yourself,” he observes. Working with Ken
Himmel’s American Restaurant Group has proven to be
such an opportunity. “Ken is
fantastic. I like his ideas and
he’s very down to earth with
a big heart.” The new restaurant and market planned for
the Back Bay will present
challenges for the culinary
staff that he looks forward to
meeting.
“You have to be fortunate
and have the right people
working with you,” he observes. “I learn from them.”
Going from the environment of a large hotel at Four
Seasons to independent restaurants was also an educational experience. Brennan
learned about recruitment
and retention issues at The
Harvest in Cambridge, his
last post before Excelsior.
“We couldn’t pay as much as
our restaurants in Boston be-
“I like a place
where you can
grow ...”
cause we had a smaller check
average, so some cooks would
leave for $1 more an hour to
go somewhere else. It was
hard to keep them. One day
we asked them who wanted to
go to an oyster farm and about
15 of us made a big trip to one
of our purveyors. None of us
had ever seen how oysters
were farmed before. We made
a big event of it. We had lunch
and even got to catch oysters,.
The next day, the staff wanted
to shuck the oysters they’d
caught and we did a big dinner with all oysters.” Since
then, trips to various purveyors have become both a learning and bonding experience
for his crews.
Such occasions develop
a team spirit, Brennan declares. “No matter where I
am, they’re like family. I want
a good environment and these
trips really saved us. I started
to hold on to people because
there has to be something
there that’s more than money.
I thought about why I stay in
a joy and put that toward the
people working with me.”
At a time when business
has become increasingly competitive, he works on ways to
make a full upscale dining
experience more accessible by
focusing on “prices and value.
We have a bar menu, and we
offer a $50 prix fixe meal. We’ll
take a hit on it to attract new
people and bring them in.”
In an era when many restaurants no longer want to be
seen as “special occasion” places, he observes: “Special occasion dining is a good thing! We
want them to spend on special occasions here. We’re not
afraid to put decent proteins
on the plate to lure them, like
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
a venison carpacchio or sea
scallops with Maine crab.”
The early winter has been
a bit slower this year than
last, but the end of the week
and weekends are busy.
“We’re doing a themed wine
and food pairing promotion in
the bar, very casual, $35, and
we talk about wines from, say,
the Tuscan coast. We do a
roasted eggplant breaded and
topped with Parmesan and
fresh mozzarella and wood
roasted tomatoes plus ravioli
with Fontina with black truffles or a grilled buffalo hanger
steak. We have a DJ on Friday
nights. That’s want we do to
‘battle.’”
Food today, he notes, has become “part of our culture and
it’s entertaining.” A decade
from now, Brennan envisions
a “soft retirement – maybe
teaching. I can’t imagine myself not working. But this is
where I need to be right now.”
Chef Eric Brennan’s Celery Root
‘Pappardelle’ and Pancetta Alfredo
(Serves 4 side dishes)
Ingredients:
2 ea Large Celery Root, Peeled
2 cups Heavy Cream
2 ea Egg Yolks
½ Spanish Onion, julienne
6 oz Pancetta, small dice
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
¼ cup Reggiano Parmesan Cheese, grated
Seasoning: a pinch or 2 of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 Tblsp freshly chopped Italian Parsley
Method:
Square off celery root and slice thin on a meat slicer, then
cut into wide ribbons. In a deep skillet, heat olive oil and
add pancetta…render over medium heat …add onions and
carmelize. Add celery root, mix and add cream. Simmer until celery root is tender. Temper egg yolks w/ warm cream
little by little then pour back into skillet. Bring mixture to
just below a simmer while stirring and mixture thickens,
then finish w/ parmesan and seasonings. Plate and top w/
parsley.
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6
FSE
FoodTrak:
Navigating
The New
Terrain
in
Community
Service
B
OSTON - We all
need an angel – a
guardian to watch
over us and protect us from life’s
twists and turns.
David Waters of Community Servings here has been
playing the role of angel for
14 years, joining the group
that serves hot meals to the
critically ill back in 1996 after
six years of volunteering and
serving on the board. He became executive director three
years later.
This winter, he’s bracing
for yet another year of raising funds for what is now a
greatly expanded program
that stretches beyond Boston’s
most disenfranchised communities, encompassing 16 cities
and towns in Eastern Massachusetts.
It’s not an easy
task. Seventeen
years ago, the
group, whose motto is “Delivering
Meals. Delivering
Hope,” served its
first hot homedelivered meal to
a man dying of
AIDS.
This year, Waters takes an optimistic stance toward generating
donations during
tough economic
times. “We get a
large amount of
support from the
restaurant community and the
real estate community
regionally,” he points
out. “When these
industries
are
hurting, we suffer as well – and
ultimately have
to limit the number of critically
ill clients we can
One hot home-delivered meal at a time,
Community Servings brings hope to the dying
feed. However, another school
of thought is that donations
increase during difficult times
because donors are more
aware of the tenuous quality
to all our economic resources
– ‘there but for the grace of
God go I.’
Today, relocated to a stateof-the-art industrial kitchen
in Boston’s Jamaica Plain
neighborhood,
Community
Servings has served more
than three million meals to
the critically ill since the first
one in 1990.
Thanks to volunteers and
donors, the service and delivery model is, Waters points
out, extremely efficient. It
costs $5 a day to provide both
lunch and dinner plus a snack
to a single client.
Waters shrugs off his role
in raising funds, marshalling
volunteers and engaging foodservice operators in the effort,
calling it “a daunting task but
if you believe in it, it will happen.”
“We’re all looking for ways
to make a meaningful difference,” he declares.
The move to a 13,000 sq.
ft., $8 million nutrition center
designed for its specific needs
will allow Community Servings to eventually double its
base of 700 clients.
“We now have 800 volunteers a month which is most
rewarding,” he explains. “It’s
such a direct way to help
people. To help with food is rewarding both from the nutrition side and emotionally. We
design our menus to be ethnic
comfort foods. People are more
likely to eat them when they
don’t feel like eating.”
In 2004, the program was
extended to include persons
with life threatening diseases
other than AIDS. “Our clients
had family members who were
ill, and we realized our 40 different medically tailored diets
a day were as applicable for
them.” Such clients now constitute 30 percent of the total,
he says.
The challenge, he says, “is
making it all work. We have to
raise lots of money and make
it cost-effective. You want to
have good customer service to
both our clients and our donors. We have been lucky to
Restaurant
industry raises
$1 million a
year for
Community
Servings fund
raising events
build a community that cares
about what we care about.
People (clients) use us as they
might have used a church or a
Masonic lodge in the past.”
Others might find the challenges overwhelming. “Our
new building costs more to
run so we have to raise more
A “daunting task”
designed to “make a
meaningful difference”
PHOTOS: Betsy Cullen
to pay those costs, Our electric
bill, formerly $2,500 a month,
is now $10,000.”
In the early 90’s, Waters was
general manager of Upstairs
at the Pudding in Cambridge,
MA where he supervised the
renovation of the kitchen, an
experience that stood him in
good stead in planning the
efficient flow of Community
Servings’ new facility.
“He did a great job getting
input from the line cooks, the
sous chef, the volunteers and
everybody,” recalls MaryCatherine Deibel, co-owner of
the restaurant, now Upstairs
on the Square and a longtime
Community Servings board
member.
This year, Community
Servings expects to expand
service to Lowell, MA, Waters
discloses. Three new projects
are also in the works for 2008,
he adds. They include:
• A three-month foodservice job-training program to
give skills to people from Food
Stamps, rehab or core release
programs. The trainees would
be “a free set of hands” for
Community Servings and will
receive Serv-Safe Certification.
• Selling meals to other
non-profits such as a parochial school that formerly
purchased meals from a local
pizza shop.
• A “small program in
South Africa” where the group
is “taking our experience and
teaching people
how to feed persons with AIDS.”
Community Servings will participate with groups
from three other
cities and send
people to South
Africa from its
staff. “We saw
what’s going on
there and struggled with how
to help through
large-scale feeding
programs,”
explains Waters.
As in the past,
fund
raising
events are a key
part of keeping
the program alive
and include LifeSavor, a cocktail
reception and live
and silent auctions and dinner
at tables of 10 donated by local resWATERS
Continued on
page 7
7
An ambitious mission to serve critically ill patients
who are homebound increases services capacity
WATERS
taurants each spring as well
as Pie in the Sky, a program
each November in which local
chefs and bakers bake pies to
be sold for Thanksgiving to
benefit Community Servings.
Around 150 area restaurants
A kitchen a chef can hug
Design allows for better flow
B
OSTON – The new
Community Servings
industrial kitchen, designed for the most efficient
flow possible, has, as its centerpiece, a blast chiller, says
Executive Director David Waters.
“It allows us to chill food
after cooking before we package and sent it out to clients,
and also allows us to flashfreeze entrees that are going
Three new
projects
in the works
for ‘08
out to our weekly clients with
no freezer burn or flavor degradation. We were able to find
one with doors on two sides, so
food rolls in hot from one side
of the kitchen and comes out
cold into the packaging area.”
The chiller and a combi
steamer are, he says, “Chef ’s
favorite pieces of equipment.
We often joke that we’ve
caught him hugging them
when no one is looking. We
are able to take a whole rolling rack of food, steam and
roast, etc. It’s more efficient
and more quantity of food
cooked at one time, and it also
allows us to bake almost 1,500
pies for our Thanksgiving pie
sale.”
Another successful innovation has been three
walk-ins for raw product that have doors
on two sides. “Food
is stocked from
shipping/receiving
side and removed
by chefs on the
kitchen
side.
Neither function
gets in the way
of the other and
makes for a better
production
flow through the
kitchen.”
are involved in the events
which raise $800,000 a year,
says Waters who points out
that the $25 sale of a pie can
feed a client for a week.
Grants and fund raising
make up the remainder of the
$2.56 million budget annually.
Clients, Waters points
out, come from diverse backgrounds, representing a host
Delivery route
to grow
to include
Lowell, MA
of ethnicities and are unable
to shop or cook for themselves.
The medically tailored, nutritious meals and daily contact
“have an immediate impact
on our clients, many of whom
would be hungry and alone
without us,” he adds. “We help
them avoid hospitalization
and an accelerated decline in
their health, keeping families
together longer.”
Upgrading your fryer?
Buying a new one?
Call C.R. Peterson Assoc.
and ask how you can receive a
$1,000 rebate on selected Pitco fryers
Cultural Food NY to move to Meadowlands
N
EW YORK – Kosherfest, All Asia Food and
Expo Comida Latina,
the three components of Cultural Food New York which,
for the past several years, has
co-located with the International Hotel-Motel & Restaurant Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center each
November, is moving to the
Meadowlands this fall.
The event will take place
at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus, NJ
on Nov. 11-12 with new events
and programs.
Last fall, more than at-
tendees, exhibitors and press
attended Cultural Food New
York, according to Show Director Brian Randall. More
than 700 exhibiting firms participated in the 2007 shows.
CRP
Call today
1-800-257-4040
CR Peterson Associates Inc
8
Baked goods line
all allergen free
Non-allergenic
PRODUCTS
F
ood allergies and
gluten intolerance
are on the rise in America, with Celiac disease
affecting nearly three
million people. More
purveyors are responding with products that
satisfy this highly
specific dietary need for
gluten-free foods.
Full line of yogurts
gluten-free
Brown Cow Farm is said to be the
first yogurt maker to have all its
products Certified Gluten Free, except for its Fruit & Whole Grains.
The products are made from the
most wholesome natural ingredients and live active cultures,
and come in choice of cream-top,
non-fat and low-fat. No artificial
growth hormones are used. Visit
www.browncowfarm.com.
Gak’s Snacks offers wholesome
baked goods with no peanuts, tree
nuts, eggs, wheat or dairy and no
soy except for soy lecithin which
is tolerated by many people with
soy allergies, in some products.
The cookies and coffee cake are
Certified Organic by the NH Dept.
of Agriculture and Markets. Gak’s
Snacks uses the Whole Grains
stamp and is both Kosher and
vegan.
No tree nuts, peanuts, eggs,
wheat or dairy are allowed in the
kitchen at any time. Five varieties of cookies and both apple and
cranberry coffee cakes are available. Go to www.gakssnacks.com
Gluten-free
chicken nuggets
Murray’s Chicken introduces new
gluten-free chicken nuggets made
from premium, all white meat,
tender chicken breast and glutenfree bread crumbs. The nuggets
are fully cooked before packaging,
all natural and contain no trans
fats. They are made in a plant that
makes only gluten-free products
and are certified by the GlutenFree Certification Organization.
Murray’s poultry is raised without
antibiotics, growth drugs or hormones and has a Certified Humane
designation. Visit www.murrayschicken.com.
Organic ketchup
low glycemic
Creamy soy nut
for foodservice
Soy Nut Butter Co, introduces
creamy soy nut butter and chocolate soy nut butter in four pound
tubs for foodservice. Also available is a peanut butter substitute
in four varieties – original, honey,
unsweetened and chocolate. Visit
www.soynutbutter.com.
Brown rice pasta
with no wheat
Non-soy cream
from Green Rabbit
Lundberg Family Farms offers a
line of organic brown rice pastas
with no wheat, gluten, cholesterol
or dairy products. Choose from
eight varieties of risottos including
butternut squash, cheddar, creamy
Parmesan, garlic Primavera, organic Alfredo, organic Florentine,
organic Porcini mushroom and organic Tuscan. Go to www.lundberg.
com/products/pasta.
Green Rabbit LLC’s MimicCreme,
a cream substitute, is said to be
the first all natural, Kosher, vegan,
lactose free, gluten free non-dairy
and non-soy product of its kind.
Made from a blend of cashews
and almonds, the product is naturally rich in amino acids and antioxidant vitamins and contains no
trans fats, saturated fat or cholesterol. Find out more at www.mimicCreme.com.
N
ew guidelines developed by the Food
Allergy & Anaphylaxis
Network (FAAN) aim to
help school officials and
families deal with children
who have food allergies.
The guidelines were developed in collaboration with
NSBA, the National Association of School Nurses,
National Association of
Elementary School Principals, and the American
School Food Services Association.
Wholemato organic agave ketchup
is out to spark a healthy ketchup
revolution, and take quality to a
new level and bring\product to
foodservice.
The product
is made from
premium ripe
organic tomatoes, a blend
of spices and
agave
nectar, a natural
sweetener
comprised primarily of fructose which is
said to not adversely impact
blood glucose
and insulin,
making it ideal
for diabetics
and hyperactive children. The ketchup was
certified by the Glycemic Research
Institute with a low score of seven
per tablespoon. Most ketchups are
sweetened with high calorie fructose corn syrup. A recent study
found that products such as Wholemato Organic Agave Ketchup contain as much as 57 percent more
lycopene than brands using conventional tomatoes. Lycopene is
a powerful carotenoid antioxidant
that helps to prevent and repair
damaged cells and is also believed
to fight ‘free radicals’ in the body.
Visit www.wholemato.com.
New eggnog is
lactose-free
Lactaid® eggnog made from real
milk and cream allows the lactoseintolerant to enjoy the beverage
without the unpleasant side effects. Visit www,lactaid.com.
Wintertide
PRODUCTS
Air curtain solution to chilly dining areas
The Café at the Frick, a
white tablecloth restaurant
in a converted coach house on
the former estate of the industrialist, the late Henry Clay
Frick, was having a problem
with drafts when customers in
long waiting lines would hold
the door ajar. “We all froze in
the winter before we devised
the air curtain solution,” says
Manager John Muth.
Pomegranate
green added to tea
Sweet Leaf Tea introduces new
organic pomegranate green tea
with only 60 calories per 8-oz. serving. Said to have more antioxidant
EGCGs than any other bottled tea,
the product is all natural and made
with real cane sugar. It joins a line
of 11 traditional and three organic
iced tea flavors. The tea comes in
original 16-oz. glass bottles, halfgallon plastic bottles or 12-oz. and
20-oz. plastic bottles. Visit www.
sweetleaftea.com.
Effortless cutting
of large onions
Nemco’s Easy Onion Slicer offers
effortless cutting of large onions
and other large, firm produce such
as citrus. The new pre-tensioned
cartridge blade set means operators no longer have to be concerned with the time-consuming
chore of correctly tightening the
blades and the cartridge design
makes interchanging blades a simple pop-in/pop-out procedure that
saves time, ensures proper blade
tensioning for a consistent quality
cut and minimizes risk of injury.
Visit www.nemcofoodequip.com.
Remodeling the Pittsburgh
restaurant’s entrance was not
an option so the establishment
used a Berner International
Zephyr model air curtain and
digital control technology, the
Intelliswitch™ on the inside
top of the doorway to provide
an air stream directed outside
the doorway and away from
diners at a 15-degree angle.
The air curtain includes a
thermostatically
controlled
electric heater that warms
the air stream when temperatures drop below 74 degrees.
A sensor activates the unit
when the door is opened. Once
it’s closed, a controller runs
the air curtain until the door
area’s temperature is raised
to ambient temperature. In
the summer, the air curtain
segregates hot humid air from
indoor air conditioning, reducing the cooling load. Visit
www.berner.com
Fizz-Ed juices
add sparkle
®
Apple & Eve adds sparkled
to the juice category with new
Fizz-Ed®, a sparkling water and fruit juice product in
four flavors: orange mango,
pomegranate, cherry and
green apple. Each eight oz.
can contains 70 percent juice
and 30 percent sparkling water. Rolled out last fall to help
school foodservice operators
offer alternatives to high-calorie beverages, the product is
all natural. Visit www.appleandeve.com
Premium vodka
enters US markets
Poland’s best selling premium vodka, ranked the #1 in a blind tasting of 108 vodkas by the Beverage
Testing Institute and by La Revue
du Vin de France, has entered the
US market. The moderately priced
vodka is made from Danowski
rye, said to be the highest quality
vodka grain in Poland. Visit www.
vodkasobieski.com,
9
Hospitals step up to the plate to meet demand for upscale offerings
N
EW YORK – Hospital
foodservice has a new
look this year and it
is multi-colored as operators
step up to the plate to offer patients and customers a variety
of ethnic cuisine.
A recent survey of culinary
trends conducted by the National Society of Healthcare
Foodservice
Management
(HFM), which represents some
2,000 foodservice professionals, found that hospitals are
offering trendy healthy alternatives much like those their
commercial counterparts are
serving, along with a diverse
menu of ethnic fare that goes
meets the desires of and increasingly diverse client base.
HFM President Mary Angela Miller, administrative
director at Ohio State University Medical Center in Colum-
Mexican foods are
the most popular
ethnic fare,
followed by
Chinese foods, says
the HFM survey
bus, OH, sees the trend as one
of “keeping up” with factors
impacting restaurants today.
“Healthcare foodservice directors are constantly updating their menus,” she says, “
to meet the changing needs
and expectations of their cus-
tomers.”
According to the survey, 28
percent of healthcare facilities
contacted are incorporating
dark chocolate and pomegranates into the menu; 32 percent
are using flax seeds; 57 percent incorporated probiotics
(micro-organisms found in yogurt and other foods that may
promote good intenstinal ‘flora’ and 69 percent have made
soy milk a staple.
Additionally, 73 percent
of respondents are serving
whole grain cereals and 96
International Restaurant & Foodservice Show
of New York celebrates 15 years
N
EW YORK – The 15th
Annual International
Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York takes
place March 9-11 at the Javits
Convention Center with presentations and culinary demonstrations from three of the
country’s top chefs.
Thomas Keller, Jasper
White and Ferdinand Metz
participate in the show, says
Event Director for Reed’s Restaurant & Foodservice Shows
Ron Matthews.
“They personify the opportunities that are available to
talented people in this indus-
New Metz
Foodservice
Forum
among
highlights of
expo
�
try and the restaurant and
foodservice professionals who
attend these presentations
New Year’s Greetings
ANTHONY’S PIER 4
140 Northern Avenue, Boston
ANTHONY’S PIER 4 CAFÉ &
HAWTHORNE BY THE SEA TAVERN
�
153 Humphrey Street, Swampscott
ANTHONY’S CUMMAQUID INN
Route 6A, Yarmouth Port (Cape Cod)
Anthony Athanas, President
will be inspired to hear from
all three icons.”
On Sunday, March 9,
Thomas Keller, chef and owner of The French Laundry,
Bouchon and the Bouchon
Bakery in Yountville, CA;
Bouchon in Las Vegas; and
Per Chef and Bouchon Bakery
at New York’s Time Warner
Center will speak in Room
1C03 at 1:30 PM followed by a
culinary demonstration at 3 in
the Education Theater on the
Show floor.
Jasper White, creator of
Jasper’s in Boston in ’83 and
later, Summer Shack in Cambridge, MA where high quality
seafood is served in a 300-seat
casual setting, will serve on
the “Successful Restaurateurs
Panel” at 9 AM, Mon., March
10. At 12:30 he hosts a culinary demo in the Education
Theater.
Culinary Institute of America President Emeritus Ferdinand Metz, who is a Certified
Master Chef and chairman,
conducts the Ferdinand Metz
NY SHOW
percent are offering whole
grain breads with meals.
Taking a healthy course,
operators are steering customers away from high-calorie sodas and carbonated drinks by
offering alternatives, Some 75
percent of facilities surveyed
are serving vitamin water, 56
offer fruit smoothies and 33
percent are promoting fresh
juices,
Meanwhile, menu offerings
have moved from traditional
American fare to everything
from Native American to Portuguese dishes. The most popular ethnic cuisine, the survey
showed, is Mexican, which is
served at 92 percent of the
participating member hospitals. Second is Chinese food,
now offered at 90 percent and
Middle Eastern cuisine, which
appears on 42 percent of the
menus.
At breakfast, 53 percent
offer ethnic items such as
breakfast burritos or huevos
rancheros.
BOOTH#
1004 & 911
NEFS
10
RIHTA appoints new board members
CRANSTON, RI – The Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism
Assn. named Ted Schroeder, general manager of the Newport
Hotel and Marina, chairman of its board of directors
First New England Hotel Indigo opens
INDUSTRY
NEWTON, MA – The first Hotel Indigo in New England
opened here this winter adjacent to the Riverside MBTA station. The 191-room property is run by Peabody Hotel Group.
The renovation of a former Holiday Inn is designed for guests
who desire luxury, service and an alternative to traditional hotels without sacrificing any of the business amenities they have
come to expect. The hotel has a cogeneration power system that
recaptures used energy, and will operate a voluntary conservation program, to encourage guests to reuse linens and towels
and reduce water, energy and detergent use. The property is using recyclable glass and reducing plastic use wherever possible
and takeout meals will be packaged in biodegradable containers
made of sugar cane.
Can a legendary site rise from the ashes?
NEW YORK – Can a new restaurant ‘replace’ Joe Baum’s legendary Windows on the World, which was destroyed on 9/11?
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is seeking potential developers of a 34,000 sq. ft. restaurant atop the new
Freedom Tower, otherwise known as 1 World Trade Center,
scheduled to open in 2013, according to the New York Times.
The “skyline restaurant” would be sited on the 100th and 101st
floors of the new building, served by five express elevators and
offering a panoramic view some 1,250 ft. above the street. The
chosen developer may also be selected to operate an observation
deck on the 102nd floor, the Port Authority says.
Ninety Nine accelerates re-branding
WOBURN, MA – Ninety Nine will accelerate its “Dressed to
the Nines” rebranding, with 40 more units this year getting new
platewear, uniforms and service standards, and a lighter, more
contemporary décor. Two to four new restaurants are planned,
says Chairman and CEO Gregory Burns of parent company,
O’Charley’s. Sales at the chain were up 0.9 percent in 2007, “a
challenging year,” he says.
Health inspection scores matter to consumers
ATLANTA – Health inspection scores are of growing importance to consumers, a study by Orkin shows. The pest control
firm’s research shows that when asked to rank a list of health
issues associated with restaurants, 33 percent ranked properly
cooked food first, with employee hygiene coming in a close second at 30 percent. Additionally, four in 10 diners said they would
not eat in a restaurant with a health inspection score of less
than 90 percent.
Einstein Bros. Bagels opens 74th college outlet
PHILADELPHIA – Einstein Bros. Bagels opened at the University of Pennsylvania last fall, the 74th unit on a college or
university campus.
GBCVB names Paul Colella board chairman
BOSTON – Longtime Boston hotelier, Paul Colella, vice president and managing director of the Druker Company’s three hotels here, The Colonnade, Midtown Hotel and Inn at Longwood,
was appointed chairman of the board of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
IHG expanding Holiday Inn Express in Northeast
GLASSBORO, NJ – A new 100-room Holiday Inn Express
is scheduled to open here in the fall of 2009, geared to valueconscious business and leisure travelers, says InterContinental
Hotels Group. SORA Holdings, LLC,, master redeveloper here,
in partnership with Sandalwood Management/Sunset Management, will build the hotel. Sandalwood Management/Sunset
Management principals King and Paul Patel own more than a
dozen hotels throughout the Northeast including two near the
University of Maryland, College Park, and are currently developing three additional Holiday Inns in Maryland and New Jersey.
Benihana to open four units in Northeast this year
MIAMI – Benihana expects to open three teppanyaki restaurants in 2008 in the Northeast, at the Meadowlands, NJ and in
Plymouth Meeting, PA and Westwood, MA. Additionally, a new
RA Sushi is also slated for the Westwood Station development
south of Boston.
Dunkin’ heads for Mars
CIA introduces courses in Manhattan
CANTON, MA – Dunkin’ Donuts and Mars Inc. have teamed
up with Dunkin’ creating beverages such as Milky Way hot chocolate, an M’s® donut and a triple chocolate muffin.
NEW YORK – The Culinary Institute of America introduced
its first-ever courses for food enthusiasts and industry professionals in partnership with Astor Wines and Spirits here in the
new Astor Center, the former Devinne Press Building, at 399
Lafayette St. at East 4th St. Courses for industry professionals
will focus on wine education, business and service. For information on the programs, visit www.ciachef.edu/astorcenter.com.
Study looks at reimbursable vended school meals
OXFORD, MS – The National Food Service Management Institute here has been studying the feasibility of a new concept,
vended reimbursable meals for school foodservice at the high
school level.
The study was designed to system operational requirements,
potential barriers to implementation, and criteria for determining success. Two vending machines per school in each participating district successfully vended reimbursable lunches to high
school students. Three considerations were critical to the outcome; regulations, technology, and support. The ability to integrate point-of-sale software, cashless and vending machine technology, and school district electronic record keeping applications
was the key element in implementing electronic compliance
with US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National School
Lunch Program (NSLP) regulations. The interface of technology
with regulations allowed identification of legitimate reimbursable lunches; accurate provision of free and reduced price meals
to eligible students; correct charges for full-pay meals, second
meals and à la carte items, and maintenance of confidentiality
of meal eligibility category, the study says.
Imported wine prices expected to rise sharply
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Look for 30 to 40 percent increases in
the price of imported wines, according to several importers and
winery representatives at the Tour de Champagne. which made
its first visit to Boston recently.
AFFI takes part in Produce First!
MCLEAN, VA – The American Frozen Food Institute participated in the third annual Produce First! Coordinated by the
Produce for Better Health Foundation at the Culinary Institute
of America’s Greystone Campus, the event joined together chefs,
restaurateurs, foodservice operators, hotels and supermarkets
with members of the fruit and vegetable industry with a goal of
developing new options for making fruits and vegetables more
available to the growing number of consumers who rely on away
from home purchases for meals and snacks.
Daphne’s Café eyes Northeast growth
SAN DIEGO – Daphne’s Greek Café recently filed UFOCs in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New Jersey as part of a
plan to expand nationwide. The fast casual chain, which has 80
units presently, was founded in 1991
Win-win game developed to help NH Food Bank
DERRY, NH – Great New Hampshire Restaurants, LLC,
owner of Cactus Jack’s and T-Bones, has come up with a creative
way to help the NH Food Bank this year with a reward program
that rewards members with a $10 dining certificate each time
they accumulate 100 points. The Let’s Trade A Meal game gives
Payback$® members the opportunity to trade in their certificate
for a chance to play the game and win a great prize. Every time
a Payback$® member trades-in their certificate, T-Bones and
CJ’s will donate $2.50 to the NH Food Bank which can provide
four meals from each dollar they receive. Thanks to donations
of prizes, the game will award over $100,000 in prizes from a
$30,000 Volvo to a $5,000 CD.
SFM to explore sustainability at conference
NEW YORK – Reducing food and packaging waste, improving energy efficiency of equipment and facilities and many other
strategies for sustainability will be discussed during the Society
for Foodservice Management (SFM) Critical Issues Conference
from 12:30 to 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15th at the ColgatePalmolive Building, 300 Park Ave. Titled “Exploring Sustainability: Dig Deeper with SFM,” the conference will feature
keynote speaker Arlin Wasserman, vice president for corporate
citizenship for Sodexo USA, as well as a series of workshops
by leading industry experts. The event, hosted by Sodexo, will
focus on providing foodservice professionals with valuable tips
and tools for reducing their industry’s impact on the environment. Visit www.sfm-online.org.
11
C OMMENTARY
Liability – Nothing to sneeze at
alleged to cause
adverse health
affects in huince the beginning of life
mans, include:
on this planet there has
Stachybotrys
been a life form known
chartarum
as mold.
Aspergillus
As will be discussed, mold
Penicillium
is a naturally recurring fungus
Cladosporium
found in both outdoor and inThe fact that
door environments. Recently,
mold (or mycoas public awareness of alleged
toxins) exists in
health complaints or property
a building does
damage resulting from mold exnot
translate
posure has been heightened, the
into any health
potential for liability has arisen
hazard
since
in many areas, including:
the levels may
employer liability for worknot exceed those
er’s compensation;
in the ambient
employer liability for a
outside environhealth hazard under the Ocment. Further,
cupational Safety and Health
in order for there to be huAct (OSHA);
man exposure, there must be
employer liability to accommold (spores or their related
modate employees who may
byproducts) present in the air,
have a ìdisabilityî affected
which an individual must eiby mold exposure under the
ther inhale, swallow or come
Americans with Disabilities
into physical contact.
Act (ADA);
Since mold is present in the
landowner liability to tenoutdoor environment, most
ants, invitees and other perindividuals suffer no adverse
sons who come to the property
health affects from exposure.
(negligence);
Mold exposure will affect each
contractor liability for the
individual in a different fashdesign, construction or mainion, depending upon the level
tenance of a building which
of exposure and the state of
develops
mold
problems
the individual’s health, in(breach of contract, warrant,
cluding sensitivities to cheminegligence).
cals or allergies.
At present, there is a lack
MOLD
of consensus in the scientific
Mold is simply a form of
community as
fungus that exto the relationists
naturally
ship between alin outdoor and
leged exposure
indoor environto mold and
ments. Molds,
adverse health
which are found
Liability can be
affects. In adindoors, typicalreduced by
dition, there are
ly originate in
developing a program
no established
the outdoor enfederal regulavironment and
tions
setting
enter a building
permissible exthrough a variposure
limits
ety of airborne
(PEL) for expomeans, includsure, although various federal
ing open windows and dooragencies have issued volunways, and HVAC systems.
tary guidelines.
People can also bring the mold
into the building on their clothMULTIPLE LEGAL LIABILITIES
ing or other articles, including
Despite the foregoing unplants and other vegetation.
certainties about whether and
In order to initially estabat what levels of mold expolish themselves and to sussure there may be negative
tain their growth, mold must
health affects, the potential
have moisture, oxygen and
legal liabilities are growing in
some organic material as a
several areas.
food source. Typically, mold
develops in a building where
WORKER’S COMPENSATION
there is an ongoing moisture
If an employee can prove exproblem due to leaking water
posure to mold and causation
or condensation.
of the adverse health affect in
the workplace, worker’s comCLAIMED HEALTH HAZARD
pensation liability may exist.
As the mold metabolizes its
This liability can include disfood source, it produces myability benefits and medical
cotoxins as byproducts. The
treatment expenses.
typical mycotoxins, which are
crimination.
Mark A. Lies, II
S
LANDOWNER/
CONTRACTOR
LIABILITY
OSHA has
no specific
regulations
regarding
exposure
Outside the
e m p l o y e r- e m ployee relationship, significant
liability can exist for the owner
of the premises
where the mold
exists to tenants or invitees,
or for the contractor or other
professional
(architect, engineer) who initially designed,
constructed or has maintained
the premises where the alleged
mold developed. These claims
can include personal injury or
property damage, including
potential punitive damages
if the defendant’s conduct is
intentional or reckless regarding the potential hazard and
its response.
RESPONSE PLAN
In order to avoid or reduce
potential liability for mold exposure claims, the responsible
OSHA
party should consider develWhile OSHA has no speoping a program which seeks
cific regulation relating to
to prevent the mold from demold exposure, it can employ
veloping in the first place
the General Duty Clause
and, if necessary, to respond
(Section 5(a)(1)), to regulate
promptly to such infestation if
a recognized health hazard,
it occurs.
which can cause serious inThe following steps should
jury or death. The author has
be considered:
participated in OSHA inspecDevelop a comprehensive
tions responding to employee
indoor environmental quality
complaints concerning mold
(IEQ) plan to prevent indoor
exposure. The agency has isair quality problems from desued information to employers
veloping, including:
on how to respond. OSHA can
proper operation of the
issue citations with monetary
HVAC system;
penalties for such hazards.
oversight of activities of occupants and contractors that
ADA
affect indoor air quality;
In addition, if an employee
develop effective means to
can prove that he or she has
timely communicate to ema disability (e.g., impairment
ployees about indoor air qualof a major life
ity, encouraging
activity,
such
them to promptas
breathing)
ly report any
which is negaunusual conditively affected
tions or health
Mold is present
by exposure to
complaints;
indoors and out
mold, the emeducate manployer may have
agement of oca duty to accupants
and
commodate the
building owners
employee by reabout
indoor
assignment to a
air quality isposition where
sues, including
there will not be such expomold, to ensure that there is
sure, or other means, such as
coordination of the indoor air
ventilation or remediation.
quality programs, particular
Failure to make such an acprojects within tenant spaces
commodation may result in
(renovation or redecoration);
a charge of employment disDevelop a prompt, coordi-
nated response plan to complaints which arise, including engagement of industrial
hygienists, mechanical engineers, mycotoxicologists, occupational medicine physicians,
to evaluate the nature and extent of any alleged mold conditions and to develop a comprehensive remediation plan.
CONCLUSION
Despite an ongoing scientific controversy, mold-related
complaints and legal liability
will undoubtedly increase. By
developing a competent IEQ
program, this liability can be
substantially reduced for the
various classes of potentially
liable parties.
Mark A. Lies, II is a Labor
and Employment Law attorney and partner with the law
firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP,
Chicago, IL
Technomic report
looks at growing
Hispanic market
C
HICAGO – The Hispanic population in the US
is growing faster than
any other group, a study by
Technomic shows, reaching
nearly 15 percent of the population at around 44 million.
The purchasing power of
Hispanics was expected to
exceed $863 billion in 2007,
according to Executive Vice
President of Technomic Information Services Darren
Tristano.
It marked the first time
Hispanics controlled more disposable income than any other
US minority group.
“Successful foodservice operators and suppliers will need
to keep abreast of what these
new consumers will expect on
restaurant menus, how frequently they’ll dine out, and
how to best serve them.”
A survey of over 1,000 US
Hispanic consumers found
that:
• Mexican is the most-preferred cuisine, as indicated by
58 percent of survey respondents. Italian was a distant
second at 19 percent, followed
by American at 11 percent.
• Authenticity of Latinostyle entrees is of less concern
than the general taste, and if
such foods are offered, they
should be served with Latinostyle beverages.
• Spending at full-service
restaurants showed a $14.80
check average at lunch and
$20 at dinner.
.
12
Coffee sleeves help
insulate hot cups
WINTER
PRODUCTS
Parade
ON
New liqueurs in
three fruit flavors
Castle Brands Inc. introduce three
new Pallini liqueurs made from
the finest fruits – Limoncello,
Raspicello and Peachello. Serve
chilled, on the rocks or in cocktails. For recipes, visit www.castlebrandsinc.com.
Cage free eggs by
Egg Innovations
Egg Innovations, the single largest
producer of eggs certified by Humane Farm Animal Care, produces
eggs that meet the highest national
standards for animal welfare and
nutrition within a family farming
model, supplying foodservice operators in 35 states. For information,
visit www.egginnovations.com.
New Crown series
delivers product
Taylor’s New Crown® series
of soft serve equipment delivers product continuously even
under heavy demand. The series
includes a full line of single and
twin twist flavor capabilities plus
Taylor’s optional Heat Treatment
system. Smart technology features
NAFEM protocol connectivity. The
microprocessor control includes
a simple unit interface, product
safety features, service diagnostics and can be set for multiple
international languages. Go to
www.taylornewengland.com or
www.taylorct.com.
New Wave Flute coffee sleeves
from Java Jacket protect customers’ hands from hot beverages and
come in one size to fit cups from
10 to 20 oz. Sleeves can be custom
imprinted. Go to www.javajacket.
com.
Tech support for
full Faema line
Jason Enterprises offers the largest inventory of genuine Faema
parts along with the complete Faema equipment line from one group
110-watt self-contained units to
the X5 Grand Italia series of fully
automatic espresso machines.
With 20-plus years in sales and
support for Faema, Jason offers
comprehensive tech support. Visit
www.faema.com.
Let experts help
buy, sell or lease
Boston Restaurant Group, founded in 1990 by Charlie Perkins, a
former restaurant manager and
multi-unit operator, specializes in
selling, leasing and appraising restaurants. The company helps new
buyers in the acquisition and startup process, does general operations consulting and provides expert witness services.. Visit www.
bostonrestaurantgroup.com.
New spreads
have no trans fats
Unilever introduces new formulations of Country Crock® and
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter®
with no trans fats, cholesterol, or
partially hydrogenated oils per
serving. They join the company’s
Promise® to meet growing demand for healthy spread options.
Each spread contains less than
0.2g per 14g serving to help patrons
maintain a healthy heart and come
in individual, pre-portioned tubs to
bulk pails. For more information,
visit www.unileverfoodsolutios.us.
Combi oven increases production
while reducing time, labor & upkeep
Blodgett’s BCX-14 Combi is built
for years of rigorous commercial
use and designed to help operators increase production. Features
include user-friendly controls,
cutting edge technology and ease
of operation with Blodgett’s exclusive Steam On Demand which lets
the operator inject steam at the
touch of a button. In addition, a
four speed, bi-directional fan eliminates hot spots, a switch vents
the oven cavity and the exclusive
Time to Delime indicator with Deliming system delimes the oven at
the flick of a switch with minimal
Grafton Village Cheese Co. produces premium handcrafted natural
aged cheddars the old fashioned,
traditional way in small batches
for rich, flavorful cheeses that
are creamy and smooth. Choose
from garlic cheddar, sage cheddar,
maple smoked cheddar, premium
cheddar (aged one year), classic
Reserve (two years), Four Star
(four years), and Gold (over three
years for a limited edition robust
cheddar). Go to www.graftonvillagecheese.com.
E-Boost tables for
focus and energy
E-Boost, an add-water vitamin
supplement said to boost focus, immunity, energy and recovery, comes
individually packaged and delivers
B12, C, magnesium, zinc, potassium, amino acids and SHTP, according to the creators, John McDonald,
owner of New York’s Lever House
restaurant, MercBar and 44, and
Josh Taekman who sell the product
at upscale locations and hotel minibars. Go to www.eboost.com.
New packaging for
Clontarf whiskey
Castle Brands’ Clontarf Irish Whiskey has a new updated look with
a stylized warrior mask – an icon
that brings together symbols of its
quality and heritage. The whiskey
pays homage to a famous battle at
which High King Brian Boru drove
foreign invaders from Ireland’s
shores in 1014. Tripled distilled,
Clontarf is aged to smoothness and
has a new tagline, “The new Irish.”
Go to www.castlebrandsinc.com.
Sanitizing wipes
kill MRSA
Handwashing is the first line of defense against germs such as MRSA,
the deadly staph infection. NicePak introduces Sani-Hands II hand
sanitizing wipes and Sani-Hands®
for Kids Antimicrobial Alcohol Gel
Hand Wipes, said to kill 99.99 percent of germs. For information, go
to www.nicepak.com/commercial.
Natural cheddars
in small batches
Nozzle technology
cuts water usage
Hobart’s new nozzle technology on
its C-line of warewashers cuts water usage by more than half, along
with associated sanitary sewer
costs, and also cuts the energy used
to heat the water in half. The dish
machines are ENERGY STAR®
rated by the US Environmental
Protection Agency and employ
the Opti-Rinse™ system that uses
more than 50 percent less water
and energy than industry fan-spray
nozzles yet deliver stronger performance. Hobart estimates the savings using C-44 with Opti-Rinse™
at up to $6,400 a year. Visit www.
hobartcorp.com.
interaction with descaling fluids.
Plus the oven comes with four
bright halogen lights for superior
product visibility. A detachable
core temperature probe gives precise probe placement and ease of
cleaning and sanitizing.
Other pluses include a two step
door latch to keep the operator
safe from escaping steam, a dual
thermal glass window swings open
for cleaning between the panes
and a no spill door mounted drip
pan keeps floors dry. Visit www.
Blodgett.com or www.crpeterson.
com
MicroBan protects
Rubbermaid
Rubbermaid’s new Sturdy Chair
Youth Seat comes with anti-microbial protection built in for a clean,
hygienic dining environment.
The non-porous surface is said to
clean more easily and stay clean
longer. The chair meets stringent
safety standards. Go to www.rcpworksmarter.com.
Kunde reserve
in new packaging
Kunde Estate Winery’s sustainably farmed 2004 Century Vines
Zinfandel, a luxury Reserve wine
crafted from vines planted more
than 125 years ago, was recently
released. The 2004 Century Vines
Zinfandel is one of three wines in
Kunde Estate’s Reserve tier, which
also includes estate Chardonnay
and Cabernet Sauvignon. All three
wines carry new packaging inspired by Kunde Estates’ original
wine label dating back to the early
1900s. Go to www.kunde.com.
Sustainable fish
from tilapia farm
HQ Sustainable Maritime Producers, certified for its organic
standards for tilapia production,
also holds HACCP certification
from US FDA. Fish are raised in
water certified as organic and
feed is sourced from locally grown
organic crops 100 percent free of
genetically modified organisms.
Go to http://www.hqfish.com.
Trago tequilas
move into Boston
Trago (meaning sip in Spanish)
entered the Boston area this year
with its three ultra-premium
tequilas: Silver (smooth, slightly
spicy with full-bodied agave
flavor); Reposado (‘rested’ for four
months) and Anejo, 100 percent
Weber blue agave tequila (aged
for 18 months in used American
bourbon barrels for rich, amber
color). Visit www.trago-tequila.
com.
Packard supplies
paper rolls plus
Packard Papers offers a complete
line of hospitality industry guest
checks, specialty papers, fax machines, POS systems, cash registers, ribbons, credit card verification items and more. Packard
also provides recycled paper rolls
for cash registers and adding machines. Call for quantity pricing.
www.packardpaper.com.
Rhode Island launches green program for state’s
hospitality and tourism and restaurant operations
C
RANSTON, RI – A self-certification program for the
lodging and foodserivce industry statewide begins this year,
thanks to a new Rhode Island
Hospitality and Tourism Association (RIHTA) and the state
Department of Environmental
Management (DEM) program
called “Green Hospitality &
Tourism Certification.”
The goal is to chart a road
map for hospitality and tourism businesses to employ
green practices with a focus
on energy conservation, water
conservation, waste minimization and recycling as well
as sustainable operating and
purchasing practices.
“Things fester in your
mind,” says Dale Venturini,
president and chief executive officer of the trade association. She’d been thinking
of doing a program and asked
DEM about bringing in other
groups to get it underway.
Initially, Venturini and DEM
did a self-inspection booklet,
which was sent to 20 hotels.
“We’ve readjusted it and are
ready to start training,” she
says. Businesses are required
to complete the workbook that
measures business policies
and practices. On completion,
it is reviewed and scored by
DEM, which will give operations with above 100 on the
assessment DEM Green certification.
Training began in January
for the lodging segment, with
restaurant and foodservice
programs kicking off in February and the transportation,
venues and events segments
in March.
The initial certified businesses will be announced in
conjunction with Earth Day in
April, Venturini says.
“It feels great to know you’re
First certifications to be
announced on Earth Day
doing something meaningful
and the key is to celebrate it,”
she observes. “Today’s customers are much more sophisticate and conference groups
now ask how green we are.”
The program, Venturini
continues, sets “real – and re-
Dine Safer™ program launched
to raise the bar on food safety
NN ARBOR, MI – NSF
International is partnering with the RI Department of Health (HEALTH)
to create a state-of-the-art
food safety audit and certification program that raises
the bar on food safety, the
group says, by recognizing
restaurants using Industry
Best Practices.
The effort will help meet
demand for more accessible
information on the food
safety status of restaurants
and other foodservice operations.
“We encourage food establishments to participate
in this program to improve
food safety and greatly reduce the risk of foodborne
illness,” says RI Dept. of
Health Director Dr. David
Gifford.
The program allows the
department to focus on
other establishments that
pose “a much greater risk
of foodborne illness,” he
adds.
When inspection information was first posted on
line, adds Rhode Island
Initial effort underway
with RI Health Dept.
Tourism & Hospitality
President and CEO Dale
Venturini, “it got 44,000
hits in the first 24 hours.
We have consultants helping restaurants get their
food safety plans together
and are working with the
Health Department on selfinspection because they
only have seven or eight
inspectors for 8,000 facilities.”
The voluntary food safety certification program
combines federal and state
regulations with Industry
Best Practices in food safety, workplace safety and
sanitation. The NSF Dine
Safer™ mark given to certified operations will be displayed in various locations
within the establishment
and on websites so customers will know all applicable
food safety requirements
have been met.
M A R K E T
BUSINESS SERVICES
FSE is live on
the web –
Join us!
Our new website, www.foodserviceeast.com, is drawing visitors
who are spending upwards
of six minutes on the site. We
have received numerous e-mails
expressing readers’ pleasure
with the ease of navigation
and content on the site. Please
call us at 617-242-2217
for online rates or email us at
[email protected].
COMPUTER SERVICES
SUPPLIER’S CORNER
Castle Brands taps Chip Hartnett
NEW YORK – Charles “Chip” Hartnett became director of
national accounts, a new position at this emerging international
spirits company, from brand director for the Mid-Atlantic states.
The company manufactures vodka, rum, whiskey and liqueurs.
5th generation cheesemaker joins Grafton Village Cheese
alistic – standards for which
companies can strive and attain. Many of our businesses
are already employing green
practices, and this program
will further enhance the hospitality and tourism industry’s
leadership in being green.”
A
GRAFTON, VT – Adam Mueller, a fifth generation cheesemaker, joins Grafton Village Cheese Co. as president from vice
president of his family’s Minerva Dairy, Minerva, OH. Grafton
Village Cheese was previously headed by the president of its
parent company, the nonprofit Windham Foundation.
New corporate executive chef named at AGAR
TAUNTON, MA – Chef Jeffrey
Merry joins AGAR Supply Co., a
major independent New England
broadline food distributor and the
third largest in the US, as corporate
executive chef from executive chef
at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Natick,
MA. A 25-year veteran of the foodservice industry, Merry will work with
independent restaurant customers,
helping them with menu solutions
and cost-cutting resolutions to assist
them in adding value to the plate
and becoming more profitable.
XPIENT names two new executives
CHARLOTTE, NC – XPIENT, restaurant and software development specialists, named Sean Dugan chief operating officer. He most recently was director of brand delivery for Denny’s
with responsibility for restaurant systems. Separately, Flavio
Diomede was appointed chief technology officer from program
director and vice president of software development for Torex
Hospitality where he led McDonald’s Next Generation POS project.
David Henkes promoted at Technomic
CHICAGO – David Henkes, executive director of Technomic’s
Adult Beverage Insights Group, was promoted to vice president.
He joined the consulting firm in 1996.
Peter McFarland becomes president of Merco
NEW PORT RICHEY, FL – Peter McFarland was elevated to
president of Merco from vice president of sales and marketing
for Garland Group, another Enodis plc company. Previously, he
was president of Blodgett’s MagiKitch’n.
McDonald’s honors first Technology Supplier of the Year
OAK BROOK, IL – McDonald’s USA named its first Technology Supplier of the Year, ParTech Inc., a provider of POS technology, for its innovation and ongoing support services.
P L A C E
EQUIPMENT
PAPER CORP.
PAPER & RIBBONS FOR:
>> POINT OF SALE
>> CASH REGISTERS
>> CREDIT CARD VERIFICATION
>> GUEST CHECKS
>> BUSINESS FORMS
1-800-289-9696
800-357-3535
13
FAX
www.packardpaper.com
E A S T
EQUIPMENT
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
14
Dining out has become integral part of life and
customers won’t give it up, operators say
OUTLOOK
the Congressional Budget Office showed that while aggregate household income grew
$1.1 trillion in the period from
2003 to 2005, those gains did
not flow broadly throughout
the income scale, says Jared
Bernstein of the Economic
Policy Institute.
The concentration of gains
in household income among
the nation’s wealthiest households is, he says, “unsustainable in a democratic society.”
Early this year, Technomic
revised its foodservice industry forecast downward for
’08 from 5.3 percent nominal
growth (after inflation of 4.0
percent) to 3.86 percent. Restaurants and bars, which comprise 67.4 percent of the total,
are expected to see sales gains
of 5.0 percent, down from the
originally forecast 5.4 percent.
Non-commercial
categories, expected to advance 4.4
percent, are forecast to gain
only 3.8 percent.
The National Restaurant
Association’s outlook calls for
total sales across the industry
to advance 4.4 percent for real
growth of 0.9 percent. Eating
and drinking places alone will
see a 4.4 percent gain with
real growth of 0.8 percent.
Growth for non-commercial
operations will be 3.0 percent
or a real growth change of 0.4
percent.
In New England, total
foodservice sales are expected
to advance 4.1 percent while
Mid-Atlantic will see a 4.6
percent gain, with total sales
in the region reaching $92.1
billion.
Since last summer, consumers have begun cutting back
and eating at home more, according to The Nielsen Company, which reported 41 percent were eating out less in
December compared to only
31 percent in June.
Their findings jibe with
those of other forecasters
who see belt-tightening that
stretches from quick service
customers to the high-end,
two segments generally considered recession-resistant if
not recession-proof.
How this is affecting the
foodservice industry is still a
matter for debate as forecasters weigh the variables. However, one factor, says Dennis
Lombardi at WD Partners in
Columbus, OH, may be the behavior of the so-called “aspirational diner.” The question, he
says, is will they stretch their
budgets to continue dining beyond their means. “You need
to watch the lower middle
income diner to see to what
extent this will dwindle,” he
says. “Also, will business dining be pulled back?”
Other industry analysts
such as Technomic Vice President Darren Tristano observes that much of the gains
over the past five or six years
have come from expansion,
price increases and inflation.
Research shows that “people
are eating at home instead of
trading down,” he says. “Un-
til the housing market starts
to recover, it could be a tough
year.”
At the New England Economic Partnership, a state-bystate look at economies across
the region anticipates modest
job growth in Connecticut; slow
employment growth in Maine;
a slowdown in Massachusetts followed by a moderate
rebound; employment gains
in New Hampshire; sluggish
gross state product and jobs
growth in Rhode Island and
slow economic growth in Vermont, followed by a rebound
Resiliency of foodservice will
help operators, Technomic says
C
HICAGO – Even in the
midst of “a lot of negative news from Wall Street,
Technomic’s Joe Pawlak sees
positives even as the economy slows this year.
Restaurant employment,
he points out, continues to
grow. The weaker US dollar
has “propped up foodservice
in 2007 and will again in
2008 as more foreign tourists travel to our cities.”
Operators face the challenges of “much higher food
costs continuing, and more
competition from other types
of venues such as supermarkets and takeout and delivery which are taking a larger
share of business.”
People, he says, “are trading down. That’s been the
pattern of the last few slowdowns.” If the economy goes
into recession, he expects
more value-priced menus as
operators react to a decrease
in discretionary dollars for
dining away from home. “We
expect weaker business and
less unit construction, with
casual dining particularly
impacted.”
“But,” he continues, “we
see cause for optimism.
Personal disposable income
– the money left after taxes
– has a good correlation with
foodservice growth. Last fall
it was up 2.7 percent. Wages
are going up and this will
somewhat stymie a slowdown. And despite unemployment going up, five percent, even 5.5 percent, is still
a good number. That means
95 percent employment.”
Foodservice, he declares,
“exhibited resiliency” in
slowdowns in the 80s and
90s. The industry “slowed
but kept positive growth.
In ’91, food costs were up at
the same level as now. Are
higher costs this year the
new baseline? Yes. For the
next several months, corn
and energy costs will drive
food prices. Distributors will
be called on to help operators
use products more efficiently
in terms of yield and versatility.”
in coming years.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.com, observed
last fall that the probability
of a recession was around 40
percent, but predicted that
”the economy will struggle but
will avoid recession. Unemployment has started to tick
higher and will be over five
percent by mid-’08.”
New England, he says, “has
already gone through a bit
of a correction since March,
2006…In the Northeast,” he
adds, “the potential for improvement in the housing
market could settle out earlier, sometime in ’08.”
Yet another forecaster,
Global Insight’s Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh,
sees the economy as now being in “the danger zone” with
very weak first and second
quarter growth this year. He
expects annual growth in ’08
of 1.9 percent or lower, but ex-
Suppliers
see growth
opportunities
ahead this
year in
many segments
pects a rebound in the second
half of the year.
At the same time, Behrahvesh expects inflation to “edge
down.” On a brighter note,
he believes that “if oil prices
continue to fall and end up in
the $75-$80 a barrel range,”
the economy “will probably be
able to avoid a recession.”
Meanwhile, as Wall Street
weighs McDonald’s and Starbuck’s sluggish December
sales as a potential indicator
of what lies ahead for foodservice this year, the industry
itself takes a more positive
stance, with NRA pointing out
that ’08 will be the 17th consecutive year of real growth
both in industry sales and
industry employment. Foodservice, says NRA, will add
two million jobs in the next
decade.
Foodservice added 16,000
jobs a month from Nov.
through Jan., a bright spot in
a bleak Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report. However,
even foodservice job growth
slowed, BLS notes, falling
from adding 28,000 jobs a
month in the 12 month period
ended Oct., 2007.
“With
consumers
now
spending 48 percent of their
food budget in restaurants,
our industry is a major part
of Americans’ lifestyles,” declares President and CEO
Sweeney.
Similarly, Rick Hendrie,
senior vice president, marketOUTLOOK
Taking a cautious
growth stance,
Burtons focuses
on improvements
N
ORTH READING, MA
– While casual dining has
had its struggles as a category
this past year, Burtons Grill, a
four unit dinnerhouse concept
is making its way through
a contracting economy with
“cautious” growth plans as it
“takes advantage of this soft
time in our expansion to make
improvements in all areas of
our business,” says its founder, Kevin Harron.
“We
expect
significant
growth in 2009 and beyond,”
Harron says, adding that the
company is “also considering
developing another ‘concept’
under the Burtons brand.”
The past three years, he
points out, have seen rents
rise “to the ridiculous/prohibitive point.” The softening
economic climate this year, he
hopes, “bring them more in
line with what is reasonable
for restaurants.”
Harron anticipates failures
and contractions in some categories, but believes that the
“baby boomer” generations
“still controls the dollars, and
will continue to eat out, just
making better decisions as to
where.”
Burtons has yet to see reduced expense account activity, Harron says. He views
today’s consumers as “wanting more innovation, better quality, flexibility in food
preparation and consistency.”
When the industry struggles,
he observes, “ironically, decisions are often made…that
run contrary to these needs
– e.g. lower quality ingredients, labor reductions, more
pressures on store managers
to squeeze results, etc.”
15
A challenging year ahead in the Northeast
OUTLOOK
ing at Uno Chicago Grill, West
Roxbury, MA, says: “There’s a
way to manage these difficult
times. We’ll do what we need
to do to generate traffic.”
The economy, he adds, is
“affecting consumer behavior
but the middle and upper middle class have incorporated
this (eating away from home)
into how they live and they
want new experiences. It’s
much more than just a price/
value equation. They want to
be catered to and nurtured,
and they want ever higher
quality.”
Uno’s saw sales soften in
December but has had seven
quarters of positive same store
sales, he notes.
On the supplier side, Keith
Carpenter, president of Wood
Stone, manufacturer of wood
and gas fired ovens, rotisseries and tandoori equipment,
is “very optimistic for 2008
and looking forward to a good
year for our industry – maybe
not as good as the last three
years, but they were an anomaly in how vibrant they were.
2008 holds much promise and
(the industry) will continue
to grow in many market segments in realistic proportions
when spread over a seven or
10 year average.”
In Manhattan, Faith Hope
Consolo, vice president of
Prudential Douglas Elliman’s
Retail Leasing and Sales Division, agrees, noting that the
city saw “another banner year
in 2007” and continued growth
and expansion of restaurants
across the city with “deals in
process going forward and
business at a frantic pace.”
The Palm, she notes, is
looking in the Financial District as is Houston’s. “Times
Sales Projectsion
for the Northeast
Today’s
guests
want to be
nurtured,
catered to and
given new
experiences
Square continues to be a real
magnate. Food is still fashion. Danny Meyer’s group is
growing and Shelly Fireman’s
Brooklyn Diner opened a second location in Times Square
and is looking at DC and Atlanta, as well as Boston and
Philadelphia for sites for his
several concepts. The BLT
Group is looking in Soho
“We’re also seeing every fast
food concept – lots of it fashionable sandwich and salad
concepts.. ”
She expects continued
growth in lower Manhattan
where residential development is creating “seven-daya-week opportunities” for restaurants.
Years ago, she adds, “landlords saw restaurants as a nono. Today they are a necessary
amenity.” Consolo estimates
average rents at $200 to $250
a square foot and “much higher” in Times Square.
In New England, Fresh
City’s Larry Reinstein sees
business in the region as
“harder than in the rest of the
country,” but believes operators will “have to battle it out
and perform.”
Sales projection (000)
- 2008 Source NRA
This year, he continues,
will be one of “tight margins.”
In a less than strong year, operators will have to “be smart
in deals. I expect more on-line
ordering. It’s a great opportunity.”
At Au Bon Pain this year,
the chain celebrates its 30th
anniversary and President
Sue Morelli sees the challenges ahead forcing operators to
“take a look at their business
model.”
She thinks ABP willl be
“insulated from the worst of
it,” she observes, adding: “Our
last quarter sales were up just
north of fiv percent.
President Terry Ryan at
Oceanaire, the seafood chain
that recently opened its first
New England restaurant,
expects “less tolerance of inferior food and service” this
year from customers. “We’ll
all have to step up to that.
There’s obviously a problem
(with the economy) but consumers know good quality and
they don’t mind paying for it.”
Casual dining chains such
as Ruby Tuesday’s have struggled especially this year, bearing the brunt of consumer cutbacks.
While some in the segment
- Darden’s Olive Garden got
one - are promoting value with
$9.95 entrees, Ruby Tuesday’s
Chairman, Founder and CEO
Denny Gill will tack a different tack, announcing it will
open no new units for the next
three years or “when it makes
economic sense, when demand
comes back.”
Others, among them Steve
Silverstein, president of Not
Your Average Joe’s in South
Dartmouth, MA, think “all
boats rise and fall with the
economy – some just less.
These are tough times for
sales and profits, exacerbated
by sales struggles and costs.”
Sodexho eyes retail brands
growth in Northeast
A
LLENTOWN, PA – Sodexho’s Retail Brands
Group
subsidiary,
plans “aggressive expansion”
into the Eastern US this year
for its Jazzman’s Cafes, Salsa
Rico and Pandini’s brands.
After four years of developing a franchising infrastructure, the group is starting to
move the concepts beyond
their origins as kiosks in college, university and healthcare settings into strip malls
and freestanding locations,
says Vice President Franchise
Development Ray Torres.
“We
are
accelerating
growth,” Torres notes, “and
are looking at freestanding
opportunities, especially with
drive-thru possibilities. We
will also have the option with
our Pandini’s and Salsa Rico
concepts for beer and wine.”
All three brands fall into
the fast casual segment where
average checks, according to
Technomic, Inc., range from
$7 to $10, says Torres who is
seeing franchise development
efforts “starting to come to-
Sales growth %
of change from 2008
Share Our Strength plans campaign this
fall to put an end to childhood hunger
ASHINGTON
–
Share
Our
Strength’s
Great
American Dine Out, an event
each fall to help end childhood
hunger in America, is asking
restaurants to take part this
year by
Mobilizing consumers to
dine out and raise millions of
dollars to help weave a net no
hungry child can fall through.
Operates can log on to www.
greatamericandineout.org
and select any day or days
within the campaign to participate and designate a contribution of between one and
five percent of sales during
that timeframe.
New England
CT
$5,186,758
4.1%
ME
$1,795,000
3.7%
MA
$12,122,840
4.0%
NH
$2,166,930
4.8%
RI
$1,863,998
4.5%
VT
$816,480,
3.8%
Mid-Atlantic
NY
$28,066,802
4.7%
NJ
$12,411,066
4.8%
PA
$15,73,532
4.1%
Total projected sales
$80,163,415 4.4%
2007 total sales
$76,763,485
W
Share Our Strength will
be building awareness of the
campaign through media and
corporate partners and will
have a website with downloadable marketing and promotional tools as well as tips
and best practices for what
restaurants can do to promote
the effort.
Funds will be used to help
promote, increase and facilitate kids’ access to nutritious
foods where they live, learn
and play, as well as to support
organizations offering high
quality nutrition education to
low-income families through
SOS’ Operation Frontline program.
Customers want
that “little
indulgence”
gether” as he focuses efforts
on 21 states this year.
“I love this segment,” says
Torres. “The consumer wants
that little indulgence and feels
they deserve it. They vote with
their dollars.”
He’d like to do a dozen “high
quality deals” this year, he
says, calling the biggest challenge “making sure we stay focused.” The brands were born
out of Sodexho’s core business
where they were “operationally developed” before the division became a subsidiary and
began franchising.
Currently, Retail Brands
Group is working in Westchester County, NY with New York
State Restaurant Association
Executive Vice President and
long-time restaurateur Chuck
Hunt and his son, Kevin,
franchisees, to open two units,
Pandini’s, an Italian bistro
with pizza and pasta prepared
right before the guests, and a
Jazzman’s bakery-café/coffeehouse featuring sustainably
sourced coffees, in a “waterfront revitalization zone” in
Yonkers early this summer.
A Pandini’s will open soon
with a franchisee in Bethlehem, PA, he adds. At the fresh
Mex grill concept, Salsa Rico,
“we’re looking in Allentown,”
Torres continues. The first
franchised unit opened a year
ago in Lehigh, PA, and the
concept, he says, is “growing
by leaps and bounds.”
Full-size units of the brands
range in size from 1,500 to
3,000 sq. ft.
New England Foodservice & Lodging
Exposition & Conference
New England Foodservice &
Lodging Expo is your chance
to meet with key vendors while making connections
with new ones. Come and see the newest products and
latest trends happening in the industry today. Leave the
floor with cost effective products and ideas to add to
your business mix that will keep your customers happy
and coming back for more.
Stay up to date
For the latest information, on new products,
special events, and more, sign up for our monthly
newsletter at www.nefs-expo.com.
Register Today!
Receive half off exhibit
hall and MRA passports!
Pre-register online or by phone
using priority code: 8510 at
www.nefs-expo.com or 972-620-3017
Your
Key
Ingredients
to
Success
For exhibiting information
contact Beth Schultz at 207-443-3083
or at [email protected].
Sponsored by:
April 6 - 8, 2008
Show Hours: Sunday 10am – 5pm | Monday 10am – 5pm | Tuesday 10am – 4pm
Tel: 207.842.5508 | Toll Free: 800-368-7932 | Fax: 207.842.5509 | Email: [email protected]
Produced by:
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
www.nefs-expo.com
WINTERTIDE
PRODUCTS
Parade
ON
1 Litre spring water
drawn from source
1 Litre artesian spring water comes
directly from the source at the Au
Sable River in Au Sable State Forest in northern Michigan where
confining layers of rock and clay
are said to impede contamination.
Artesian well water is water from
a well that taps an aquifer or layers of porous rock, sand and earth
containing water under pressure
from surrounding upper layers
of rock or clay. When tapped, the
pressure in the aquifer, commonly
called artesian pressure, pushes
the water above the level of the
aquifer, sometimes to the surface.
The award winning water has a
clean, crisp taste and comes in
half litre and one litre sizes. Go to
www.1litre.com.
“Bold Flavors”of
artisan condiments
Greek Island Spice’s new “Bold
Flavors” exhibit, shown at the International New York Restaurant
and Foodservice Show, includes
artisan sauces featuring the flavors
of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and
the Mediterranean, all manufactured with no trans fats or added
artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Sauces include Moroccan
Chermoula, Malaysian Curry Paste
and Sonoma Harvest Chutney. The
company’s line of condiments is
manufactured in small batches
and packed fresh for refrigeration.
Visit www.greekislandspice.com.
Faema Enova
elegance & quality Enyme-based
cleaners tough
Enova, a new espresso machine
from Faema, brings combines excellence in functionality with el- on grease
egant styling. Results are assured
by the adjustable thermal balancing system which allows the temperature of each group to be set
easily according to the type of coffee used, a first for an entry level
machine from Faema.
Enova comes in 2- and 3-groups,
automatic and semi-automatic.
A new feature in the automatic
model allows the use of tall cups
or glasses. Visit www.faemasource.
com.
Mini pastry shells
bake in minutes
Pepperidge Farm introduces new
puff pastry mini shells offer new
possibilities for appetizers and
popular bite-size desserts, says the
company. Recipes, video demonstrations and more are available at
www.puffpastry.com.
Hobart introduces a new line of
cleaning products, The Enzyme
Factor, specially developed to
help restaurants and commercial
kitchens fight grease and win. The
cleaners, blended with organic enzyme formulas, use nature’s power
to clean and remove grease from
floors, drains, grease traps and
equipment.
The enzymes break down organic matter and the cleaners are
biodegradable, non-corrosive, and
contain no caustic ingredients.
They are also free of bleach and
ammonia.
Products include Grease &
Waste Digester, No-Rinse Floor
Cleaner; Glass & Stainless Steel
Cleaner and Cleaner & Degreaser;
and Oven Equipment Cleaner. Visit
www.hobartservice.com.
17
Pork loin ribs
with tangy sauce
Bake flat breads
in compact oven
The Broaster Company introduces
new Broaster® Recipe pork loin
back ribs with BBQ sauce, the
company’s first fully cooked product. Individually quick frozen and
packed in two 5-lb. pouches per
case, the ribs may be heated and
served from a microwave, convection or conventional oven. It is the
27th selection in a line designed
for expansive profit opportunities
for a wide range of foodservice
establishments including restaurants, bars, C-stores, supermarkets, nightclubs, colleges and
universities and others. Visit www.
broaster.com/brffoods.htm.
Wood Stone’s Bistro Dual BurnerTunnel of Flame compact stone
hearth oven with two burner wells
on either side of the hearth simplifies cooking flat breads without
turning them. The oven, the first
ever listed pita bread oven, may be
used for pizzas, proteins, vegetables, seafood or desserts. Standard
door opening is 24 in. wide by 10
in. high with a cooking surface 34
in. by 31 in. for 7.4 sq. ft. of usable
deck space Go to www.woodstonecorp.com.
Soundog boxes
drive bar revenues
Soundog’s 4-inch tabletop audio
box uses wireless audio technology
that allows customers to interact
with the TV to head play-by-play
commentary of sporting events.
Digital push buttons let customers select the announcing team of
choice and use easy on/off volume
controls. Some operators claim
revenue increases of up to 15 percent. Visit www.sproxusa.com.
Sugar-free cakes
from Sweet Lilly’s
Sweet Lilly’s No-Sugar-Added
Strawberry Shortcake, No-Sugar-Added Peach Shortcake and
No-Sugar-Added New York Style
Cheesecake each use an all-natural, high-quality non-sugar substitute to achieve the sweetness customers desire without associated
caloric or diabetic concerns. The
cakes come frozen in 8” and 10”
versions, uncut or precut and have
shelf lives of up to six months. The
yellow shortcakes are layered with
real cream cheese icing made with
an all-natural sugar substitute and
no-sugar-added fruit topping. All
three selections contain no trans
fats and are certified Kosher. For
information, visit www.sweetlillysdesserts.com.
Sustainable fish
from many sources
Clean Fish, a seafood broker
supplying such high-end white
tablecloth restaurants as Thomas
Keller’s Per Se and the French
Laundry, has expanded into the
Boston area, now serving Sel de la
Terre, Lumiere, O Ya and others.
The company finds both wild and
farmed seafood from domestic and
international sources that have
the taste profile and ecological
pedigree fine dining chefs seek.
New to the Boston area is Fisherman’s Daughter wild shrimp from
the Gulf of Sonora, free of common chemical additives and 100
percent natural, along with other
selections including Loch Duart
prize winning salmon; Nova Scotia
Arctic Charr; Queen Conch; Australis Barramundi; Hooker’s Haddock; Texas Redfish and more. Go
to www.cleanfish.com.
Hook-Its put end
to storage issue
Hook-Its, retractable hooks
for under tables or bars, put
an end to problems with handbag storage and help end clutter under the table, Hooks
hold up to 40 lbs. and adhere
vertically or horizontally. The
design is said to deter security
issues by providing a safe environment for personal items
while keeping traffic areas
clean. Go to www.hookits.com
for more information.
New feta cheese
In two flavors
DCI Cheese Co. introduces new branded feta cheeses
with flavors such as Mediterranean with tomato, basil,
garlic, oregano and more and
Peppercorn. The cheeses are
made from cow’s milk, making it milder than traditional
tangy sheep’s milk products.
New labels carry a “Robust
Mediterranean” tagline. Visit
www.dcicheeseco.com.
Softer, chewable
nugget ice cubes
Stack Manitowoc’s 22-inch Soft
Qube nugget ice machine on a
B240 bin and make up to 477 lbs.
of softer, chewable textured nugget ice a day. Model SN4500 has a
two-year parts and labor warranty
and an additional three years of
parts coverage on the compressor.
For information, call 800-545-5720
or visit www.manitowocice.com.
18
faces
&
places
CLINK – This new restaurant in Boston’s Liberty Hotel named Joseph Margate
executive chef. He most recently was sous-chef at Union
Square Hospitality Group’s
Eleven Madison Park in
New York City.
•
MASSACHUSETTS
LODGING ASSN. – Recipients of MLA’s Stars of the
Industry Awards included
Employees of the Year Yanni
Chen, Eliot Hotel; Shaikh
Akhias, The Lenox Hotel,
and Matt Lohnes, Westin
Waltham-Boston; Managers
of the Year Stephanie Turcotte, Beechwood Hotel,
Worcester; Claudette Jeune,
Sheraton
Commander,
Cambridge’ Bob Elam, The
Langham, Boston; David
Grossberg, Colonial Inn,
Concord; James Carmody,
Seaport Hotel, Boston; and
Alex Attia, The Charles Hotel, Cambridge.
•
RABAR
CHOW FUN FOOD GROUP
– Nicholas E. Rabar was
named executive chef of this
Providence restaurant group’s
new Chinese Laundry from
five years as corporate chef.
Opening in February, the restaurant specializes in PanAsian cuisine with Kobe beef
from Japan, heirloom Berkshire pork, rare truffles and
foie gras from France, and
exotic fish from Hawaii. The
menu will celebrate the flavors
of China, Thailand, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Vietnam and
Japan.
•
AU BON PAIN – Jens
Retlev becomes director of
culinary, a new post, from corporate chef. In his new role,
he will spearhead the adaptation of the chain’s core menu
for international franchises in
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,
Kuwait and Thailand. Retlev
will bring regional tastes and
local flair to menus in each
market. He joined ABP in
2004 from Blount Seafood
where he was director of culinary. Earlier, Steve “Coach”
Ambrose and Ted Bangdanos received the Louis Kane
Award for employees and
franchisees that “go beyond
the ordinary.”
•
ed director of sales and marketing from that post with
the Caribbean Hilton, San
Juan.
•
MONTAROU
Photo: Chris Guillen
NASS
SQUIRES – A former private chef, Joseph Cancelmo
and Executive Chef Eric Marresh opened this Worcester,
MA restaurant with a multicultural menu.
•
THE MODERN – Union
Square Hospitality Group
named Belinda Chang wine
director for the restaurants at
the Museum of Modern Art in
New York from corporate director of wine and spirits with
Chef Rick Tramonto’s Cenitare in Chicago.
•
GREYDANUS
RETLEV
GREATER
BOSTON
FOOD BANK – Paul Swindelhurst was named executive vice president of marketing and development and
will lead a $35 million capital
campaign, “Fighting Hunger,
Feeding Hope.” He has been
chief advancement officer for
the Rashi School in Newton,
MA.
•
SONOMA GRILLE – Yves
Carreau, owner of this Pittsburgh restaurant as well as coowner of Seviche in the city’s
Cultural District, was named
2007 Restaurateur of the Year
by the Western Chapter of the
Pennsylvania Restaurant Association.
•
ARAMARK – Ron Iori becomes senior vice president of
communications and public
affairs. He brings 30 years experience in communications
to the post and most recently
was senior vice president of
communications for H&R
Block in Kansas City, MO.
•
WESTIN HOTELS– In
Boston at Copley Place,
Frank Guzzi moves to director of sales from director of
group strategy for Marriott
International. At the chain’s
Boston Waterfront property,
Stephen Nass was appoint-
CHANG
INTER-CONTINENTAL
HOTEL GROUP – David
Greydanus was appointed
senior vice president of North
American operations from
senior vice president, brand
management at the Waldorf-Astoria
Collection
for Hilton. Separately, Boston Executive Chef Didier
Montarou was honored as
Executive Chef of the Year. In
Somerset-Bridgewater, NJ, a
former Marriott becomes a
439-room Crowne Plaza. In
other Boston appointments,
Kenneth Ng, a 20-year veteran of the industry in New
England, becomes director
of sales and marketing from
that post at the Hotel@MIT
in Cambridge. Elsewhere, in
Edison, NJ, a five story, 169room Crowne Plaza opened.
•
NG
McGRAW
Wagama names
Ed McGraw
BOSTON – Edward
McGraw, a former vice
president of real estate for
Carlson
Restaurants,
joins Wagamama, the
Japanese noodle concept,
as vice president of development to steer the company’s expansion throughout
the East Coast.
McGraw, with 20-plus
years experience in real estate and development, will
oversee real estate, site location, design and construction. Wagama serves freshly prepared, Asian-inspired
noodle and rice dishes and
salads, and opened its initial US units in Boston and
Cambridge, MA in 2007.
FRIENDLY’S
–
John
Bowie, most recently senior
vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Division at Wendy’s
International, was named
senior vice president for company operations. In his 13
years with the chain he also
served as Eastern Division
vice president. Before joining
Wendy’s, he was assistant to
the president of Barrett Restaurants, Abington, MA.
•
KRISPY KREME – Chairman James Morgan assumes
the post of president following
the resignation of President
and CEO Daryl Brewster for
personal reasons.
•
MORGANS HOTEL GROUP
– Interim chief executive Fred
Kleisner was elected president and chief executive officer
following the resignation of W.
Edward Scheetz.
•
SCHOOL
NUTRITION
ASSN. – Elected to the Board
of Directors late last year from
the Northeast were Northeast
Regional Director Debbie
Works, who is manager at
the Benton (ME) Elementary
School and Foodservice Employee/Manager Representative Paule Ralph, foodservice coordinator, Nashua (NH)
School District.
•
WOMEN CHEFS & RESTAURATEURS – Maureen
Pothier of Johnson & Wales
University becomes presiFACES
FELDER
faces
&
places
FACES
dent of this group that promotes education and advancement of women in foodservice.
A Certified Executive Chef,
she is a former restaurateur.
Separately the group gave
its first Educator of The Year
Award to Culinary Institute
of America Associate Dean for
Culinary Arts Eve Felder for
dedication to teaching and to
serving as an inspiration to
other women in the industry.
•
MITCHELL’S FISH MARKET – At the newest, eight
unit in Stamford, CT, Terry
Davidson was named executive chef from that post at the
Pittsburgh Waterfront restaurant.
•
BERTUCCI’S – James
Quackenbush, most recently chief development officer
for O’Charley’s three brands,
joins this Northborough, MAbased company as senior vice
president of development, a
new post, with responsibility
for all real estate and development functions for Bertucci’s
and Vinny T’s.
•
BRUEGGER’S – Paula
Doyle was promoted to vice
president of marketing from
senior marketing director for
this bakery café chain that
celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
•
PERSEPHONE – At this
new Fort Point Channel restaurant in Boston, Derek
Wilson was named general
manager from posts at Ambrosia and Rowes Wharf
Restaurant and Jeff Pond,
formerly at Tomasso Trattoria, Southborough, MA, was
appointed chef de cuisine
•
OMNI BOSTON HOTEL
– In new appointments at this
historic downtown property,
Dominique Marty, previous-
ly at the Doubletree Hotel,
Westborough, MA becomes
general manager; Edward
Casey was named director
of sales from that post with
the Danvers, MA Sheraton
Ferncroft, and Sean Moesman, former general manager
of Meritage at Boston Harbor Hotel, was named director of food and beverage.
•
VILLA
ENTERPRISES
– This multi-concept franchisor opened a new Villa Fresh
Italian Kitchen at the Philadelphia International Airport
late last year in Terminal A
East.
•
OCEANAIRE SEAFOOD
ROOM - Dan Enos, former
executive chef at Capital
Grille in Chestnut Hill, MA
and more recently, Phoenix,
AZ, assumes that post at this
new Boston restaurant. Separately, John Szymanski,
previously general manager
at the chain’s Dallas unit, was
named general manager.
•
JACK’S OYSTER HOUSE
– In Albany, NY, Luc Pasquier becomes executive chef
of this restaurant, said to be
the oldest continuously run
family operation in North
America. He succeeds Dale
Miller who left after 10 years
to become executive chef of
The Inn at Erlowest in Lake
George, NY. Pasquier most
recently was executive chef
of the French Consulate in
past 16 years, he has served
in various culinary posts with
Boston’s Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston Harbor Hotel, the Bay Tower Room
in Boston, in Cambridge at
the Hotel@MIT, at Boston’s
Nine Zero and most recently
at the Four Seasons Resort
Maldives.
•
From left to right: Certified
Master Chef Luc Pasquier
joins Jack’s Oyster House
owner and President Brad
Rosenstein on his first day
at the well known establishment.
New York City and is former
owner of a hotel/restaurant in
Chalon, France and the godson of André Soltner, owner
of Lutece, the 43-year-old
French restaurant in Manhattan that closed in ’04.
•
CHEZ HENRI – Cambridge, MA-based Chef Henri
names Mark Thompson sous
chef from stints with the west
suburban catering firm, Currier & Chives and Pava in
Newton Centre, MA.
•
NEW ENGLAND CULINARY INSTITUTE – Executive Chef Mark Molinaro
received the Executive Chef
Certification of the American
Culinary Federation and will
attend an ACF “train the
trainer” seminar to become an
ACF trainer at NECI.
•
MOLINARO
DUNKIN’ BRANDS – Will
Kussell was elevated to president and chief brand officer
for Dunkin’ Donuts from
brands chief operating officer
and Srinivas Kumar, previously vice president of International (Americas, Canada,
Middle East and Europe) assumes the post of chief brand
officer for Baskin-Robbins
Worldwide.
•
DESTINATION HOTELS
& RESORTS – Kim Lambrechts will be the director of
food and beverage for the new
Stowe Mountain Lodge,
set to open this April. Born in
Korea and raised in Belgium,
his career has spanned numerous posts in Belgium and
in 1992, at the Boston Vista
Waltham as chef. Over the
LAMBRECHTS
WESTIN COPLEY PLACE
– Jillian Stevens moves to
catering sales manager for
this 803-room Boston hotel
focusing on the philanthropic
market. Most recently she
was catering sales manager
at the Cambridge, MA, Hyatt
and earlier, held posts with
Aramark at Boston University and the Boston Marriott
Newton (MA).
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20
New York Burger prepares for franchising
NEW YORK BURGER
and started to look at natural
beef.”
Early this year they became the first quick service
restaurant in the Northeast to
use Niman Ranch products.
Her ‘pedigree’ goes back to
the mid-70’s and early1980’s
when, with partner Francine
Scherer, she owned Soho Charcuterie, a cutting edge restaurant feature New American
cuisine in the Village, with a
prepared foods-to-go component.
Today, she’s on the cusp of a
hot new trend. Top chefs such
as Todd English and Bobby
Flay have new burger concepts in the works this year,
“Burgers are more popular
than ever, and represent some
of the hottest trends in the in-
Concept is a
“throwback to
real food ...”
dustry,” says Executive Vice
President Darren Tristano at
Technomic Information Services in Chicago.
“Given the overall strength
in the segment and consumer
interest in variety and customization, burgers provide a
great avenue for innovation
and sales growth.”
While the category traditionally is dominated by quick
service operators, who represent 33 percent of US limited
service restaurant sales, it is
viewed today as an opportunity for higher-end
operators in an economic downtown.
Customization,
Tristano
notes,
has become very
popular as have
“build your own
burger”
options. A survey
of 1,200 consumers showed
85 percent eat
burgers once a
month or more.
Poley has long
had a fascination,
she says, with “bring
quality to quick service.”
When she and Zisimatos opened the first New York
Burger Co., she recalls, “he
was nervous about a $5-plus
burger, but I thought it would
appeal to young business professionals.”
The first location on Park
Avenue South between 23rd
and 24th Sts., had a number
of young professionals in advertising. “We put up a sign
that New York Burger Co. was
coming and they got excited.
By the time we opened the
door, they practically tore it
down.”
The decision to franchise
was “a long process,” Poley de-
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L.A.S. ASSOCIATES
PO Box 119
9016 Route 5 & 20
West Bloomfield, NY 14585
TOLL FREE: 877.322.5019
Fax: 585-582-1987
[email protected]
Concept reflects a
passion for food
clares. “We
were approached by people from Chi-
cago, Oman, Japan, but we’re
not ready to do that. We want
to do it slowly in the greater
metropolitan area. We’re doing a new look for our future
restaurants – a retro look because the concept is a throwback to real food. It will
have an earth-friendly
feeling.”
A unit may open
this year at JFK
Airport in the JetBlue terminal,
she adds, with a
franchisee.
“We’re more
than just burgers, although
we won two
“Best Burger
in New York”
awards
from
AOL. The menu
includes
free
range char-grilled
chicken sandwiches,
chili, hot dogs, and a
variety of burgers in addition to nine salads.
Checks average $10 to
$11 per person at the two operations, which together sell
around 5,000 burgers a week.
The six oz. natural chargrilled burgers come in three
varieties – Chicago, with bacon, cheddar, and house-made
Thousand Island dressing at
$6.75 alone or $9.75 with fries,
salad and a beverage; Dallas,
with Monterey Jack cheese,
fire grilled onions and fresh
BBQ sauce ($7.25 and $10.25)
and Seattle, made with Portobello mushrooms, onions and a
steak-sauce type burger sauce
($7.75 and $10.25. Also available are a turkey burger with
maple Dijon sauce ($5.75 and
$8.75) and a Mediterranean
veggie burger with chickpeas,
herbs and a cucumber, dill yogurt sauce on a whole wheat
bun ($5.95 and $8.95).
The Chicago burger is the
top seller, says Poley.
Three chicken sandwiches
priced from $6.75 to $8.50,
and salads priced from $6.50
to $9.75 are also available.
“We serve a broad demographic,” she continues. “The
trend now is mini so we’re
doing those with each of the
burgers.”
New York show celebrates 15 years
NY SHOW
Foodservice Forum on Tues.
at 9:30 AM with a special keynote presentation, “Honesty
in Food.”
Other highlights this year
will be the 1st Annual New
York Wine Expo from the producers of the Boston Wine
Expo, The consumer and trade
event with more than 100 wine
makers will be co-located with
the Show. A Catering Symposium, a full day of education,
networking and discussion,
will offer workshops for cater-
Chef Competition
announced by CA
Date Commission
I
NDIO, CA – The California
Date Commission invites
professional chefs to take part
in the 2008 Chef Competition
and show their creative and
adventuresome side with California dates.
Chefs will compete for Best
of Show with a prize of $1,500
and for first place in three categories – appetizers, entrees
and desserts – with prizes of
$1,000 each. The chef winning
the popular votes in the People’s Choice competition will
receive $750.
For details and entry forms,
go to www.datesaregreat.com.
The deadline for entry is Feb.
29.
ers, and the PMQ New York
Pizza Show will co-locate with
the Show featuring the America’s Plate Competition and the
U.S. Pizza Team trials.
The 19th Annual U.S. Pastry Competition with a theme,
“Under the Sea” will take
place at the Show where pastry professionals compete for
the title, “Pastry Chef of the
Year.”
Two other events include a
Japanese Demonstration Theater with 15 food and product
vendors will be back by demand in the Japanese Pavilion, and the Ultimate Barista
Challenge hosted by WholeCup Coffee Consulting.
Chef Peter Dwyer
receives ACF gold medal
H
ilton Hartford (CT)
Executive Chef Peter Dwyer received
his first American Culinary
Federation (ACF) gold
metal at the 2008 Myrtle
Beach ACF Southeastern
Chefs’ Competition. Dwyer
competed in both the Hot
Foods Mystery Box Competition and the Cold Food
Salon, taking home the
gold medal in the Contemporary Hot Foods Mystery
Basket for his seared skirt
steak with potato and tarragon rissole, tempura asparagus and slivered garlic sautéed spinach with
sake infused veal glace
and scallion tomato compote. He was also awarded
a bronze medal in the Cold
Hors D’oeuvres category
for his Indochine Variété
de Crevettes, a tasting of
Indochinese shrimp.
21
Uno-Plus emphasizes the guest experience
UNO
and Providence markets of
an unconditional money-back
guarantee – “You like it or you
don’t pay,” says Hendrie.
From an enhanced version
of Uno’s original concept to a
new quick casual operation,
the ‘siblings’ extend the chain’s
reach to a broader base of consumers, positioning it to take
advantage of current trends in
the economy.
Both ideas, however, were
“percolating for the last several years,” says Hendrie, who
recalls that from the beginning of President and CEO
Frank Guidara’s tenure, he
had Uno-Plus in mind.
“He applied it first to the
menu in the fall of ’05,” Hendrie notes, “and it grew from
there. Uno Due Go has been
on the fast track for the last
six months.”
Late last year, Uno-Plus,
a more upscale version of
the traditional Uno Chicago
Grill,opened in a 5,600 sq.
ft. former Bickford’s space
in Swampscott, MA, north of
Boston with an average all
day check of $14.60.
Uno-Plus takes the original
concept up a notch, focusing on
the customer and molding the
guest experience. “Our older
units will be getting Uno-Plus
hospitality,” Hendrie says.
“We are trying to find out if
the guest is here with family
or for business and bond with
them. The guest must feel
that servers are genuinely attentive without being cloying.
They must feel embraced and
The role of
beverages is
elevated with
screened off
Bar Uno lounge
acknowledged, and service
must work in a genuine team
fashion with no such thing as
‘that’s not my table.’”
The experience starts as
the guest arrives. “In Swampscott,” says Hendrie, “it’s a
more dramatic building with
decorative architectural details to create both a sense of
drama and a light touch, and
that filters through the entire
experience.”
Even before arriving at the
glass entryway, guests are
greeted by large planters with
seasonal blooms.
The building is “a visual
arena, Uno Due Go has no table service and features dramatic displays of fruits, sandwiches and salads much like
a market, says Hendrie. The
concept will be a franchise vehicle, at least initially.
The first unit opens at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport this
winter offering “a dynamic
embrace of healthy/nutritious
food with dozens of choices
with dramatically lower calorie counts,” Franchisees, Hen-
“Unexpected surprises,” says Hendrie,
will both engage and delight guests
A team
approach to
service means
puts an end to
‘it’s not
my table’
HENDRIE
delight,” he continues. Inside,
the bar has been reconfigured
into a lounge called Bar Uno.
“In casual dining, the liquor
mix has been going down but
at Uno, it’s been going up.”
Bar Uno can take up to onethird of the square footage of
the new concept and offers a
plush seating area, sectioned
off from the dining room.
A second Uno-Plus opens
this winter in the Winter Garden area of Orlando, FL in a
6,300 sq. ft. building.
The restaurant features a
fireplace and exposed kitchen,
part of the effort to encourage
guests to relax and unwind.
“When we look at the word
‘restaurant,’ we see restore,”
Guidara points out, calling
the changes “an artisanal approach to hospitality.”
Beyond the physical changes, Uno is making a major investment in hiring and training as it seeks to create what
Hendrie calls “genuine moments of hospitality and unexpected surprises. Uno Plus
doesn’t require a new building, just a new way of thinking,” he says.
A more sophisticated menu
design is used for Uno-Plus,
he says, but the menu is the
same with the original deep
dish pizza, grilled mahi-mahi
with mango salsa, Certified
Angus Beef, Chablis drenched
US Potato Board opens recipe contest
D
ENVER - The United
States Potato Board is
inviting
professional
chefs to show off their state’s
unique cuisine—and their favorite potato dish—by entering the 50 States of Potato
Recipe Contest.
The grand prize winner will
win a trip to Napa Valley to attend the Worlds of Flavor Conference, to be held at the Culinary Institute of America at
Greystone in November. The
first prize winner will receive
$500; the second prize winner
will receive $250 and a winner from each state will win
a Healthy Mr. Potato Head
character.
Recipes will be judged on
their regional flair, creativity
and originality, taste and presentation. Entries are due no
later than May 31. For complete rules and entry form,
visit
www.potatogoodness.
com/contest.
chicken and the many other
dinner options with premium
ingredients introduced over
the past several years.
Additionally, the wine list,
chosen by Corporate Beverage
Manager Marc Sachs, offers
domestic and international
wines focused on quality and
value. Discounted wine by the
bottle may be selected for the
same price as that of three
glasses of wine, essentially
making the fourth glass free.
Turning to the quick casual
drie adds, are excited by the
possibilities of the concept
which has an average ticket of
$8 to $9.
The new concepts join the
company’s Uno Express, which
is in numerous airport, school,
college and hospital venues.
That ‘leg’ will receive an upgraded look and new kiosk. A
fourth leg, Uno products in supermarkets, is getting a new
look in packaging.
“Our brand will speak
in a single voice,” declares
Hendrie. “Each extension is
tweaked for the channel it is
in.”
Hot Ideas for Summer Profits
CINDERS SLIMFOLD
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Slimfold 6’-Portable dimensions: 82” x 26” x 7.5”
Slimfold 3’-Portable dimensions: 44” x 26” x 8.5”
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L.A.S. ASSOCIATES
PO Box 119
9016 Route 5 & 20
West Bloomfield, NY 14585
TOLL FREE: 877.322.5019
Fax: 585-582-1987
[email protected]
22
Kraft Group and CBS launch entertainment/sports venue
F
Inspired by the success of
Kraft’s successful New England Patriots franchise, the
three-story complex with
15,000 sq. ft. will have dining booths equipped with TV
monitors and will be open for
lunch and dinner. Outdoor terrace dining will also be available.
Photos, mementos and
other artifacts of various TV
shows will be incorporated
into the complex along with
a Heritage Wall featuring
75 years of TV programming
on 130 high-definition TVs
throughout the restaurant
Memorabilia will be
extensively displayed
Restaurants take message to cyberspace – Page 3
When you want to reach the $80 billion
Northeast foodservice industry,
is your beneficial
advertising medium.
Foodservice East
Volume 82, Number 2
•
Mid-Year/Summer, 2007
•
FSE
THE BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS PUBLICATION FOR THE $80 BILLION NORTHEAST FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY
OFFERING INFORMED REPORTING & COMMENTARY FOR THE FOODSERVICE PROFESSIONAL
A good summer season
shapes up in Northeast
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE
FOOD FOR
THOUGHT
Stepping into the future
Frank McClelland charts
a new course for two highend Boston
restaurants.
Page 4
FOODTRAK
Ligurian fare in Boston
Rocca pioneers in luring
urbanites to a new area
in Boston’s South End.
AN FSE NEWS ANALYSIS
Rising prices of fuel and
food coupled with the cooling
housing market are hitting vacation travelers in the pocketbook this summer, with June
consumer purchases showing
the biggest decline in nearly
two years.
That
notwithstanding,
state and federal industry officials expect leisure/vacation
travel business to increase
1.4 percent this year over last
summer with Americans expected to take nearly 330 person-trips, a record high num-
Consumers
expected
to take
higher
gas prices
in stride
ber, according to the Travel
Industry Association (TIA).
“Higher gasoline prices are
having somewhat of an effect
on consumer spending power
Page 6
Tipping point seen at $3.50/gallon when l/3 of
travelers say they would cancel plans for trips
Back to school brings
concerns for healthy foods
Wellness plans in place,
operators prepare for
new battles against
child obesity
Page 8
Foodservice East
Now Online
foodserviceeast.com
but continued positive spending patterns mean that the
summer travel season will be
typical of what we have seen
in the past,” said Dr. Suzanne
Cook, senior vice president of
research for TIA earlier this
year.
“However,” she added, “we
do expect some consumers to
adapt to the economic realities by modifying their travel
behavior in response to higher
prices in many travel services.”
This year, TIA believes,
consumers are taking high
gas prices “in stride” more
than in years past and have
not changed driving habits.
Gas prices in June were up
five percent from a year-ago.
The greater likelihood, industry officials say, is that
consumer will “modify” summer travel plans, in response
to higher prices in many travel services.
While TIA research shows
the “tipping point” at which
travelers would cancel trips at
$3.50/gallon, Cook observes:
“We don’t expect to see this...
What we might see are modest attempts to economize on
accommodations, food and activities, but not much more.”
The National Retail Federation, which surveyed conOUTLOOK
Operators
raise the bar
for beverage
outlets
BOSTON – Restaurateurs
across the Northeast are ‘raising the bar’ this year, discovering new ways to turn the
bar into a separate revenue
opportunity rather than a
holding area for guests waiting for tables.
The bar, says Craig Miller,
chairman, president and chief
executive officer of Ruth’s
Chris, “has become more important...We’re seeing younger
people – under 35 – finding us
For 80 years, FSE has combined
quality, credibility, industry leading knowledge, service and in-depth
coverage of the major decision makers in the Northeast in a manner
not duplicated elsewhere.
No longer a
“holding tank,”
today’s bars are
becoming
profit centers in
their own right...
RI Tourism Division
PERIODICAL
“BENEFICIAL”
OXBORO, MA – Dining
will not be the only item
on the menu when the
Kraft Group and CBS open a
first of its kind entertainment
and sports venue, the CBS
Scene Restaurant and Bar,
here this fall at Patriot Place,
the major new shopping, dining and entertainment complex at Gillette Stadium.
The venue will include dining and function space, an extensive memorabilia display
and broadcasting facilities for
the CBS Network, CBS Sports
and the company’s local Boston TV and radio properties,
“Of all the regional
foodservice publications, I’ve used
in the last decade, Foodservice East
has been the one publication that has
generated response for me. Your reader
service inquiry card has shown me time and
again that advertising in FSE is beneficial.”
because they like to dine out at
the high end and we see them
in our bars and lounges.”
Responding to the “income
pinches” consumers today are
feeling, the chain has initiated various programs to bring
in customers at “non-peak”
times, he discloses, including
a test of lower priced items
earlier in the evening at 5
PM.
Similarly, Morton’s is seeing more single diners in its
BEVERAGE
For information, call
(Advertiser’s name on request) Foodservice East 800-852-5212
or e-mail us at [email protected]
MARCH 9-11, 2008 • JACOB K. JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER • NEW YORK, NY
Great food is
only half the story.
(Great business education is the other half.)
NYSRA PRESENTS:
Attend the 2008 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York in March
and benefit from FREE EDUCATION at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum.
• Over 20 education sessions encompassing restaurant operations,
business strategies and the latest foodservice trends
• More than 600 unique foodservice industry exhibits
• Innovative New Product Gallery
• Japanese Demonstration Theater
• Annual U.S. Pastry Competition
• PMQ’s New York Pizza Show
• Catering Symposium
• New York Wine Expo
Experience a floor full of new products and an educational forum full of new ideas.
Register today by calling: 1-888-334-8705 or visit: www.internationalrestaurantny.com
PRODUCED AND MANAGED BY:
CODE: FSE
©2007 REED ELSEVIER, INC.
OWNED & SPONSORED BY:
WWW.NYSRA.ORG
NYFOOD08001_08AD_FSE.indd 1
10/19/07 3:06:39 PM

Oceanaire docks in Boston`s Scollay Square – Page 3

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