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Volume 7, Issue 23 June 8, 2007 |
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Weekly News in Review
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| Can McDonald's Alter the Dictionary? |
The late Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said that the meaning of a word was derived from the way it is used in language. Not according to McDonald's. The fast-food giant is currently lobbying dictionary publishers to change the meaning of the word McJob — or remove it altogether — on the grounds that it denigrates the company's employees.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: Time |
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| Restaurants vs. Bloggers: Rage Against the Machine |
Ten years ago, in dining destinations like San Francisco, Chicago and New York, restaurant critics at newspapers and magazines reigned supreme as the final arbiters of who served up the richest foie gras, the most interesting wine list and the overall best dining experience.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: ABC News |
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| Chinese restaurants a nutritionist's nightmare, group says |
The typical Chinese restaurant menu is a sea of nutritional no-nos, a consumer group has found.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: Health Beach |
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| Fuel prices eating up bottom line at local restaurants |
Had a Coke at a restaurant lately? Considered catering a meal? Depending on where you go, it could all cost you more.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: The Clarion-Ledger |
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| Outback Gets Vote Needed For Sale |
A monthlong standoff came to an end Tuesday when stockholders of OSI Restaurant Partners just barely approved selling it to two buyout firms. Now industry experts and perhaps employees, too, wonder whether a sale of OSI's brands is on the horizon.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: The Tampa Tribune |
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| The Specialist |
If there is a system or store struggling, Aslam Khan, CEO of Falcon Holdings, Church’s largest franchisee group, is the man the people turn to for help. His 21-year journey with Church’s began behind the counter.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: QSR Magazine |
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| Ted's Montana Grill Installs First Solar Panels |
The Ted's Montana Grill restaurant in Tallahassee, recently became the city's first restaurant to use photovoltaics (PV) -- or solar power -- to conserve energy. It also marks the first Ted's Montana Grill nationwide to use solar power.
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Read Article Browse All News | Source: SYS-CON Publications |
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More News | Casual Dining News | QSR News | Fast Casual News | Manufacturer News
Be sure to visit Foodservice.com daily for the latest industry news!
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| For information about sponsoring this newsletter, please visit our Marketing Center |
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Safe Portion Control Solutions
By Joe Dunbar
I guess everyone is aware of the smaller coffee cans now for sale in the supermarkets. The traditional one pound coffee can has shrunk to as little as 11 ounces for certain brands. Each item sold has a little shelf tag with the cost per pound so savvy shoppers can see the true cost per pound differential. The questions for cutting your portion size involve: when? (if at all); how much?; and, what are the other alternatives? If you are worried about both a higher food cost percentage and the local restaurant competition, I can recommend a few safe portion control solutions. The magnitude of the portion size reduction is key. Not too many people noticed when the cans of coffee stayed in the 15 to 16 ounce zone. When the coffee cans went to 14 ounces, the media picked up on the change. Today, there is some concern in the marketplace about portion size. The recent press regarding super burger sizes at some of the top QSR groups is negative. Trans fats are out. So is this a good time to reduce the portion size of your top selling item by one sixteenth? That's 6.25% less cost for the same sales price. If your food cost was 35% before hand, you'd have a new 32.8% projected figure. Maybe it is a good time but you may want to take a few extra steps to insure success. If many of your patrons are currently leaving food on their plate when the busboy comes around, they will most likely ignore this incremental move. An important point here involves frequency. These moves should be made...
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"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
- Jim Ryun
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Employee Health – Part 4- Responsibilities of the Permit Holder, Person in Charge, Food Employee and Conditional Employees
Our goal for writing these articles is to give you, the operator, a better understanding of the current 2005 FDA Food Code.
Question: I really need some assistance in creating an employee illness policy, can you help?
Answer: The purpose of employee health observations are to reduce the likelihood that certain viral and bacterial agents will not be transmitted from the infected food workers into the food. The agents of concern are known to be readily transmissible via food that has been contaminated by ill food workers. Over the next few months we’ll explore Chapter Two of the 2005 Food Code.
Yes! The development and effective implementation of an employee health policy based on the provisions in Subpart 2-201 may help to prevent foodborne illness associated with contamination of food by ill or infected food employees. The person in charge and food employees should be familiar with and able to provide the following information through direct dialogue when interviewed by facility managers or regulatory officials.
When designing and implementing an employee health policy, the following information should be considered and addressed:
Details Available in our Food Safety Area
For further information, contact your local, regional or state regulatory agency.
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The Market Reports are unavailable this week, but will return this Friday.
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The Employment Center is your gateway
for posting job listings or your resume
into 3 of the most
popular sites
in the foodservice industry.
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The Quagmire of Rising Costs
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The cost of gas has reached $3+ per gallon and there is no relief in sight. How does this effect you? Besides increasing every cost of doing business it reduces sales by forcing the average consumer ( your guests ) to reprioritize their spending - in a recent 2007 AAA survey, 31.1% of those surveyed are dining out less .
If you are not currently feeling the pinch because the season is currently in your favor, count your blessings and start planning because just as sure as the Minimum Wage will increase, you will soon enough. But what will you do? Will you increase your prices to cover the increase in costs and risk increasing the decline in your guest counts? Will you continue on “as is” and absorb the increase? How will you increase sales and reduce your costs?
Not Sure? Join the crowd. This is uncharted waters for even old school operators that survived the Carter Gas Crisis in the 70’s , the Iran/Iraq War in the 80’s , the end of the Cold War & “Dress in a Bag” scandal in the 90’s and most recently the impact of terrorism, war and horrendous act of nature in the new millennium - this time it appears the stage has been set for a long term drama.
As I see it , metaphorically we have all just been served an Elephant for dinner and told we could not have dessert until we clean our plate, so what do we do? I suggest - relaxing , take a deep breath and get started eating - one bite at a time. Sure it will take a great deal of will power, but it can be done. But don’t try eating as if it were a sprint race, think of it as more of a marathon and incorporate short, intermediate and long term goals to accomplish the task.
I know, easier said than done - but since you have your life savings , credit, blood, sweat and tears on the line -you have absolutely every reason to try and none not to - so by all means try with a positive mental attitude and an open mind. Revisit your past marketing attempts , especially the ones that failed - those will be the ones that teach you the most about overcoming your current obstacle generating guest counts. Revisit your menu if it is older than 3-6 months consider having it re-engineered to not only account for increased food costs but for your overall increase in the cost of doing business. If you are not absolutely certain how to properly do this - trust me when I say it is worth having it done professionally at least once to get you started. Don’t worry about “market pricing” or matching the price structure of your competition - at least not at this point because there is a very good chance they have not yet figured out a plan of action , so take the drivers seat and lead the way because if you don’t it will be harder to be competitive with your doors locked. There are a many ways to eat this Elephant , don’t be afraid to try. If you keep in mind that your guests will not mind you increasing what you ask of them as long as it’s a fair trade and you return the favor by continuing to give them the same level of service they have came to expect from you - DO NOT cut corners - instead pour it on.
Since most of you live hundreds of miles apart - feel free to share the things working for you, the things that don’t and who knows maybe everyone will benefit. I’ll be happy to toss in my share if your interested - but lets see how it goes - until then , I wish you all the best.
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PESTO Change-O
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Okay, I'll prolly get reamed for this one, but anyway.....
Is it completely sacrilegious to add a bit of butter to Pesto? Or is this an acceptable practice?
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Best Way to Cook A Really Thick Burger Through & Through?
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I've would like to offer a really thick burger (around an inch OR inch and a quarter in the middle). Years ago I recall tasting one (char-broiled) at an affair in the park and it was delicious!!! This burger will probably be hand made. I already know lots of people here like their burgers well done.
Is there a best way to cook a really thick burger completly well done without drying it out? It has to be juicy. I have a gridde, a char-broil gas grill (lava rocks - usually add contained wood chips), under griddle broiler, pizza oven and Electric wood smoker.
I was thinking the best way to go was the gas grill, but I'm open to any suggestions if someone knows a better way. I guess it doesn't necessarily have to be char-broiled, though it would be nice. The smoker is probably not an option although it cooks really, really tender wood smoked meats & BBQ, it takes several hours for them to get that way.
My neice says her George Foreman grill cooks thick juicy burgers really fast through and through because the heat is applied from both sides. That sounds really nice but probably wouldn't help if my cook got orders for about 20 cheese burgers which he sometimes does.
So my ears are open, thanks you very much.
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I am famous for playing hard to get
I am famous for playing hard to get, yet the few that are graced with my presence find me on a small tropical tree cultivated in parts of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. I am the reigning queen member of the Guttiferaceae family and am actually referred to as “Queen of the Tropical Fruits.” I grow at my own leisure, which is usually in a timely fashion, and I am difficult to propagate, even down right persnickety. My thick vibrant skin is strikingly handsome. I share the same purplish red skin color as a pomegranate, but I am far more beautiful, both inside and out. My insides are segmented into small pulpy white to ivory sections. My pulp is delicate, yet powerfully sweet and juicy. My exotic flavor has been described as a mixture of pineapple, apricot, orange and grape. Taste me and I will practically melt in your mouth. My pulp can be pureed and used as a topping for ice cream, sherbet or tossed in fruit salad. Most take delight in scooping me right out of my chilled skin. In Indonesia, lucky for them, I am actually abundant, and I am often used in recipes for pickles and vinegar. If you are blessed with fashion sense, you may be wearing my eye catching color on your belt, shoes, wallet or gloves because my skin contains tannins, used for dying certain materials. I contain potassium and vitamin C as well as traces of iron and niacin. If my name were broken down you would find the name of another member of the fruit family, but believe me there is no relation. Contrary to popular opinion I never had a Bar-Mitzvah and have no religious affiliations.
What am I?
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The Food Quiz has is brought to you by Culinary Specialty Produce, a specialty produce broker that scours the world for the very best in specialty produce. Contact them at 908-789-4700 or by sending an email to info@culinaryproduce.com.
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