// NEWS
AWARDS
NYC's Sirhal Of Restaurant Associates Tabbed For IFMA Silver Plate Honors Total Food hears that The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) has named the 2015 winners of the Silver Plate Awards, which recognize excellence in eight foodservice segments.
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he winners were chosen by a jury of industry trade press editors, other foodservice experts and the chairman of the International
Gold & Silver Plate Society for their outstanding industry achievements and commitment to innovation. The list of award winners is led by
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Ed Sirhal; president of Manhattan based Restaurant Associates. On May 18th, in Chicago, he will be presented with the Silver Plate award in the Busi-
ness & Industry/Foodservice Management category. Sirhal began his career with Restaurant Associates in 1991 responsible for New Business Development. He was responsible for the expansion and growth of the company and spearheaded its successful diversification from public restaurants to contract foodservice markets. Since Sirhal joined RA, the company has grown from a $50 million dollar division with 14 clients to $600 million with 140 premier clients. The veteran industry executive is also a nominee for IFMA's Gold Plate, which is the association’s award for the foodservice operator of the year.
continued on page 93
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// EYE
METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE
22nd Annual ACF Long Island Chapter’s Award Gala On Monday night March 9th, some of Long Island’s finest chefs, restaurateurs, and industry professionals gathered at the one of the region’s finest restaurants to celebrate the 22-year history of the Long Island Chapter of the American Culinary Federation.
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he evening featured the presentation of Monroe College Scholarships and the Chapter’s annual awards honoring the best of Long Island in Culinary and Hospitality industry. In attendance were special guests and many past award recipients and honorees. The 2015 ACFLI Culinary Excellence Honoree was Chef Christian J. Fischer CEC AADP KM WMCS. Chef Christian is the VP of Culinary Innovations for Chartwells Higher Education Division. Born in Austria, Chef Fischer trained with Master Chef Ewald Janosh at the 5 star Stenizer Hotel. His resume also includes stints with Flik International, Lackmann Culinary and as Corporate Executive Chef with Nestle USA. The ACFLI Excellence Award honors the region’s restaurants, restaurant groups and industry leaders. Past recipients include Whitsons Food Service Company, J. Kings Foods, Lessing Restaurant Group, The Bohlson Restaurant Group and the Long Island Farm Bureau. This year’s ACFLI Chef of the Year is Chef Andrew Krug CEC CCA, Executive Chef at North Hills CC. Chef Krug is entering his 14th season at North
Hills CC. Some of his past experience includes, Sous Chef at Seawane CC and Sous Chef at Brookville CC. Chef Krug is a graduate of NYIT. The Pastry Chef of the Year was presented to Chef Abraham Chavez, Pastry Chef at Nassau CC. A self-taught baker, Chef Chavez started as a dishwasher at Piping Rock CC and while
helping out the Pastry Chef discovered his passion for baking. The honoree for Chef Educator of the Year is Chef Robert Ellinger CMB CEPC. As a Certified Master Baker and Executive Pastry Chef, Chef Ellinger started passing on his passion and his baking knowledge in 1986 in a Adult Ed program in Port Washington. In
(Left to Right) Gerard Molloy CEPC AAC - Chapter President, Chef Andrew Krug CEC (Left to Right) Gerard Molloy CEPC AAC - Chapter President, Chef Andrew Krug CEC CCA, Chef Frank Costantino CEC CCE CCA AAC - 2014 ACFLI Chef of the Year and Chef CCA, Chef Frank Costantino CEC CCE CCA AAC - 2014 ACFLI Chef of the Year and Chef Andrew Whitcomb CEC Andrew Whitcomb CEC
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the same year Chef Ellinger opened the acclaimed “Baked to Perfection” pastry shop in Port Washington NY. In 2014 he completed his dream and opened the Ellinger Baking Institute so he could continue to share his 35 years of knowledge and experience. The chapter’s Chef Professionalism Award was presented to Chef Eric Pellizzari CEC CCE. This award given in honor of Dr. L.J. Minor, is presented to a Chef that exemplifies the highest standards in professionalism through mentorship, continuing education and community involvement. A French born and trained Chef, Chef Pellizzari is a prime example of these traits. On top of his busy teaching schedule and his Judging obligations as an ACF Certified Judge, Chef Pellizzari still finds time to coach the Monroe College Student Team and serve as an ACF Certification mentor to many as they try to achieve their personal and professional goals. The 2015 Student Member of the year was presented to the Monroe College Student Hot Food Team. This year marks the team’s first New York State Hot Food competition championship. Winning this title last November with a gold medal allowed the team to qualify to compete at the ACF North East Regional Cook Off, which took place in January in Buffalo NY. The team finished in second place with a gold medal with just .29 of a point separating the top 2 teams. The team is coached by Chef Frank Cosatntino CEC CCE CCA ACC Ed.d - Dean of the School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts at Monroe College, Chef Eric Pellizzari CEC CCE and Chef Shamel Donnigan CPC.
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// NEWS
CAFETERIAS
Facebook Debuts New Dining Facility in Manhattan Headquarters Facebook's employees are well-fed. Very well-fed. Staffers at the company's New York office
ers to get up and move a little, if just from the hot bar to the waffle station. That may sound trite, but short walking breaks can help combat the damages caused by sitting all day. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced last year that the company's splashy internal motto, "move fast and break things," would change to "move fast with stable infra."
have the pleasure of eating at Desimone's, a spacious dining hall that has been operating since 2014. Let's be clear: Desimone's is no ordinary corporate break room.
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hef Nathaniel Eckhaus, who has cooked in the frenetic kitchens of high-end New York restaurants like Blue Smoke and Eleven Madison Park, dishes out breakfast, lunch and dinner five days a week at the location. He explained that it's intentionally designed "like a high school cafeteria, only in an all-grown-up format," to cultivate connection and satisfy all kinds of appetites. The employees actually sit together over their meals and talk to one another. "Desimone's has transpired into an almost work-free zone during meal periods, where coworkers just get to catch up over really good food," the chef said. "Best of both worlds, in my eyes." Truly. Anyone can talk about food. Especially when there's an eggand-hamburger masterpiece smothered in cheese and sandwiched between a glazed doughnut. The seating at Desimone's is arranged just like a school cafeteria, encouraging face-to-face conversations -- in real life, not through a device. This turns out to be a wise investment for the company: Studies show that strong social ties at the office increase an employee's performance
Main Office: 282 Railroad Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers: Leslie & Fred Klashman Advertising Director: Michael Scinto Creative Director: Ross Moody Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Laurie Forster Morgan Tucker Fred Sampson Cindi Avila Staff Writers Deborah Hirsch Intern Alexis Robinson "Desimone's has transpired into an almost work-free zone during meal periods, where coworkers just get to catch up over really good food," the chef said.
and passion for her work. Desimone's helps New York Facebookers turn their colleagues into real-life friends. Eckhaus' model doesn't just encourage fun times; it could help transform great workers into excellent ones. Research shows that taking regular breaks during the workday fosters creativity and focus, and that feeling relaxed can help people make
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insightful connections. At Facebook, stress-relief is built in to the office infrastructure, which may contribute to the company's success. A Harvard study found that for every dollar a company spends on wellness programs, it makes back $3.27 in the form of lower health costs, and the equivalent of $2.73 in reduced absenteeism. The cafeteria set-up also forces din-
Phone: 203.661.9090 Fax: 203.661.9325 Email: tfs@totalfood.com Web: www.totalfood.com
Total Food Service ISSN No. 1060-8966 is published monthly by IDA Publishing, Inc., 282 Railroad Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Phone: 203.661.9090. This issue copyright 2015 by IDA Publishing Inc. Contents in full or part may not be reproduced without permission. Not responsible for advertisers claims or statements.Periodicals Postage paid at the post office, Greenwich, CT and additional mailing offices. Additional entry at the post office in Pittsburg, PA. Subscription rate in USA is $36 per year; single copy; $3.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Food Service, P.O. Box 2507, Greenwich, CT 06836
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// EYE
METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE
Megas Yeeros Debuts New US Headquarters In Lynhurst For the last eight years, Megas Yeeros has rolled out gyros in Greece, becoming the country's largest producer of these tasty sandwiches.
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nd now for Tri-State restaurant chains looking to add a hot new product to their menus, the Megas Yeero – roasted meat turning on a spit – is here. Highlighting New Jersey as a welcoming home for foreign direct investment, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno joined Greece-based Megas Yeeros, LLC last month to celebrate the grand opening of its new 40,000-square-foot production and headquarters facility in Lyndhurst, which will create approximately 110 new jobs. “We know that companies have their pick of locations when expanding, and it is our job to nurture an inviting, business-friendly environment that attracts companies like Megas Yeeros,” said Acting Governor Guadagno. “Megas Yeeros has flourished in Greece and Europe, and, when the time came, they chose
New Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno (2nd R) and Lyndhurst Mayor Robert Giangeruso (2nd L)
New Jersey as the home for their American manufacturing facility because they saw a proactive Administration eager to partner with them to achieve success.” Nikos Loustas General Manager of Megas Yeeros explains that the company stacks meat the same way ancient Greeks did, thousands of years ago. “Now both Megas Yeeros (US) &
Leading Tri-State restaurateurs led by Nick Livanos (C) and John Livanos (R) were on hand for the festivities
(L to R) Gyro World’s Dimitris and Thanasi Petridis and Iacovos Kotjapashis of Optima Foods
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Megas Gyros (GR) are made with handstacked, fresh, whole muscle meats and marinated with authentic natural ingredients, like Greek yogurt, olive oil, honey, and oregano. The result is a healthy, delicious gyro/yeero that is much more appealing to today’s consumers seeking to eat a more fresh and healthy product,” he adds. Megas Yeeros worked with the Business Action Center and the Economic Development Authority during its expansion into the US market. “Megas Yeeros is thrilled to be operating in the great state of New Jersey,” said the firm's owner Nikos Stergiou, “Our growing company with roots in Greece will continue to expand, adding local jobs and becoming more involved in the local communities. We currently have
(L to R) Performance Food Group’s Jim Taskalos and Cory Perez were welcomed at the opening
distribution for our products throughout the northeast, Chicago, the midAtlantic, and Connecticut; and growing every day. Megas Yeeros is quickly becoming part of the rich tradition of successful profitable companies with their headquarters in New Jersey.” Megas Yeeros is committed to quality, safety and consistency, Loustas notes. “We support and thoroughly train our customers and distributors on the proper handling and serving of our products. We know the importance of maintaining healthy standards,” he says. “In an industry filled with fast foods, preservatives and fillers, we provide a healthy, clean-label product. We’ve carried this commitment to quality, safety and consistency into our operations in the U.S. by making sure our new facility is USDA- and Hazard-Analysis-CriticalControl-Point-certified.” With the rising popularity of Greek cuisine and especially, Greek yogurt, Loustas says he knew it was the right time for his business to expand into the North American market. “We now have a clear opportunity to elevate the current Gyro experience. It’s the perfect time for a better yeero, especially with the massive increase in interest from Millennials and Gen X-ers looking for a healthier dining experience,” he concluded.
(L to R) New York Jets’ Jeff Fernandez, Nikos Stergio of Megas Yeeros and Mario Giovatto Advertising’s Steve Giovatto
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// NEWS
RESTAURANT HISTORY
Visionary Industry Leader Elliot to Celebrate Restaurant Museum Launch in NYC There are museums for art. There are museums for history. There are even museums for dinosaurs. But one for the history of food?
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lice Elliot thinks so, and she's determined to put all her industry clout and prestige behind it. The owner of The Elliot Group, is sponsoring a celebration of “The Elliott Restaurant Memorabilia Collection,” highlighting what she calls the “great treasures of our industry” at Gotham Hall on April 29 at 6:30 p.m. “Break Bread with Us” will honor Greg Dollarhyde, chairman of Zoes Kitchen, with the Mentor of the Year Award and present its 13th True Trep award, given to an industry entrepreneur who's done something exceptional in his or her line of business, to Tim McEnery of Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants in Arlington Heights, Ill. The Elliot Group, begun as a retained executive search firm that works with finance, institutional and equity businesses, and now with retail and the multi-unit service sector, follows Elliot's heart. “For over 35 years I've been practicing and now I'm in the restaurant space, which equates with my deep love and devotion to the restaurant industry,” she says. “The restaurant industry hasn't always had the respect it deserves. And we've been front and center in dignifying the contributions people make who work inside this industry, regardless of their position in the indus-
try.” That's where the memorabilia project was born. “The genesis of this idea originated years ago when we realized the companies that are emerging today or are legends in the restaurant space all started somewhere and wouldn't it be wonderful to celebrate this history?” she says. According to Elliot, the essence of the restaurant industry has had a positive impact on every aspect of both the history and economy of the U.S. “Wouldn't it be cool to celebrate and honor those companies that, even in their early stages of growth, may not have realized what they ultimately have become, had the moxie and tenacity to grow and change people's lives – to build formidable brands that are part of the tapestry of America?” she says. “So, about 2 ½ yrs ago, we started asking companies – clients and non-clients – to consider donating something to us that was unique, that somehow memorialized and highlighted the infancy of
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their company, recognizing that we'd be very respectful of it, not use it for commercial purposes, but to build a story of how this great industry has grown.” Elliot says her firm has a lot of respect for the elements of the culinary world. “But it was more about the actual companies and their dreams of building something great that propelled this idea,” she adds. And what memorabilia! “The early beefeater uniform with the hat and stocks from the Campton Hotel groups, the original bocci ball from Bertucci's before they grew into a major chain, are there. PF Chang donated a soldier, and Logan's Road House, an early jukebox. We have the first menu from Uno restaurants. But here's the bigger story,” she says. “Starbucks donated an early espresso machine that weighs 400 pounds and a coffee grinder, Pepsi and Coca Cola have donated what means the most to them. The underlying theme is that everyone has come together to participate for the greater cause of celebrating the industry they chose to be in.” Elliot says the project has taken on a life of its own. “It's become a point of pride both internally in companies looking far and wide to find something unique, and it's served as a reaffirmation of what the restaurant industry is
all about. It's the crossroads of America. You can start with a dream and, with moxie, build something great that to this day continues, whether you come from the industry or not. It's a reaffirming of human capital, a reaffirmation of what community actually means – curiosity, authenticity, collaboration, an element of leadership, of aspiring higher, sharing, but really wanting to see someone – not just you – win.” Elliot says that her group purposely sought out companies of all sizes. “TGIF gave us part of an original propeller. Snooze Eatery framed their very first dollar bill. We're celebrating everything in between.” The recipient of the collection when the exhibit is over will be the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Educational Foundation. “They're in the best position to not only inspire students all over the country but by virtue of the NRA's trade show in Chicago every year, and all the various activities they host, they will take the responsibility to shepherd this great mission,” Elliot says, “not just to the industry but at some point, to consumers as well.” The collection will be launched at the gala in April. “Those companies that have been front and center towards donating memorabilia will be coming from all over the country for this special evening,” she says. “We've hired a staging company that will stage all the items at Gotham Hall, and an historian who will talk about the items showcased. Our goal for that evening is the introducing of a select group of these items to celebrate and to bring everyone together for this one very magical night. It's a springboard to what this collection can be! it's something that will never end, can always be added on to, has no finite conclusion. It will be the first dedicated and defined collection of the restaurant industry.”
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// NEWS
BREAKING GROUND
Chinatown Breaks Ground on Massive Gourmet Food Emporium When it comes to food, Chinatown is a wonderland of bakeries, seafood restaurants, Dim sum houses, and tea shops, but now it’s about to break ground on what the Chronicle is calling “the most ambitious culinary development project the neighborhood has seen in 30 years.”
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t’s a 20,000-square-foot, $15 million gourmet food emporium called China Live, which will open at 644 Broadway. The ground floor will include a Chinese market and café that features organic products. Cyprus Properties Group, which backed the purchase of the building in 2013, describes it as a “Ferry Building-style food emporium.” Others have compared it to Eataly, New York’s Italian food market. The second level will feature a cocktail bar, private dining area, and
Eight Tables by George Chen, which will have a seasonal tasting menu for about $200 a pop. Largely unoccupied for years, the building was once home to dim sum eatery Gold Mountain and a bustling 437-seat theater. The space, on the cusp of Chinatown and North Beach, is certainly desirable for developers; Zagat, SFist, Refinery29, and others have already deemed it among the city’s most anticipated restaurant openings of 2015. A second China Live is likely to open
The ground floor will include a Chinese market and café that features organic products. Cyprus Properties Group, which backed the purchase of the building in 2013, describes it as a “Ferry Building-style food emporium.”
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in New York, followed by one in Los Angeles. It’s uncertain how this project will impact a neighborhood mostly untouched by gentrification. Though those involved in the project say it will generate hundreds of jobs and attract
tech money to an area that’s struggled in recent years while the rest of San Francisco has boomed, the offerings at China Live seem incongruous with the surroundings. Chinatown residents, whose average income is less than that of the city at large, are surely not the target demographic for this upscale development. Moreover, it’s likely China Live will siphon tourist dollars from the many small, familyowned Chinese restaurants nearby. In this case, as in countless others, the line between revitalizing an area and turning it into a playground for money between encouraging new business and preserving a neighborhood’s culture remains unclear, and will until China Live opens later this year.
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// FOOD IS FASHION
WITH FAITH HOPE CONSOLO
How to Avoid Your Own Kitchen Nightmare You’re an aspiring restaurateur who has all seen the TV shows and read “Kitchen Confidential.” You think you know exactly how – and how not – to run that bistro you’ve dreamed of opening for years.
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nd then reality sets in. Your space is too big – or too small. Critical ingredients aren’t delivered. Your clientele doesn’t know you exist. You can’t keep a staff. You run out of money. There are good reasons why more than half of restaurants fail in their first year. But one doesn’t have to be yours. Following is a recipe for success – as with any dish, you’ll have to tweak this, add a pinch of that to suit your own tastes. But ignoring any of these steps will likely lead to a culinary disaster. Decide what you are – and what you’re not. Are you a white-tablecloth steakhouse with a fabulous wine list? Or a vegan takeout eatery geared toward daytime office workers? Decide your identity, then create a detailed business plan (including every single thing you will buy – yes, the salt shakers count) that will spell out what you are, and how you will earn the money to pay back your investors. Pick the right size space in the right location. Once you’ve decided whether your dream is an evening location, breakfast/lunch spot, takeaway spe-
Faith Hope Consolo, Douglas Elliman Real Estate fc o n s o l o @ e l l i m a n .c o m
cialist, fine dining or casual, you can decide where you want to be. The key is to be patient – and picky. A great location may turn up, but it’s either too large or too small – or too expensive. The wrong space or rent will destroy a promising business faster than any other problem. Get professional advice to find your location and structure your agreement properly. It’s a smart investment in your business. Pick the right staff. Entrepreneurs who are so busy dealing with day-today operations often don’t take the extra time to call past employers or check references. Many experts recommend that you hire an experienced restaurant manager to oversee staff and operations management, allowing you to indulge your passion – creating culinary experiences.
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Pick the right staff. Entrepreneurs who are so busy dealing with day-to-day operations often don’t take the extra time to call past employers or check references.
Train Train Train your staff. You can’t be everywhere all at once, especially if you’re cooking. Your staff will
be your face to the public. Train them to represent you well, from how they speak to your customers, to using the right software to avoid overbooking or underbooking. Even so, be prepared to fill in yourself, from chopping vegetables to washing a dish, to mixing a martini as needed. Keep track of your supplies, from foodstuffs to tablecloths to teaspoons to cleaning items to paper products. Wasting precious storage space because you’ve ordered too many napkins – or running out during the evening rush – is just bad business. Create a marketing plan. Your customers have to know you’re there, and you can’t rely on word of mouth when every dime is precious. Social media can assist, but nothing on the Internet substitutes for giving out samples, working with the community, offering discounts and giving out menus. That requires planning, people, and time. Use them all well. Financing. Odds are that you’re not funding this dream from limitless funds. Be prepared to lose money – a lot of money – for at least the first six months of operation. You’ll experience something unexpected, have nights where you serve one party, go over budget, and have staff turnover, all of which costs money. Have sufficient capital to keep you going as you establish your business. Make great food at the right price. Ultimately, the perfect lease, the right staff, great marketing and efficient management mean nothing if the reason your restaurant exists – to provide a great dining experience – fails. Outsource what you can, from site selection to management, so you can do what you love. Good luck!
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// INSURANCE
FIORITO ON INSURANCE
Voluntary Benefits Are Now Necessary Benefits: Providing More Options to Employees Without Increasing Your Costs Your restaurant’s most valuable assets are your employees. And your largest expense? Most likely, also your employees.
Bob Fiorito, Vice President of Business Development at Hub International Robert.Fiorito@ hubinternational.com
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ising health care costs, health care reform, and the impending Cadillac Tax are causing employers to rethink their benefits strategy and embrace voluntary benefits as a means to address these challenges and to attract and retain top talent. Voluntary benefits can help employers provide added incentives to employees without having to allocate additional dollars to their budget. Today, offering voluntary benefit solutions is a win win strategy for employers and their employees. They allow employers to – • Provide more choices to meet the needs of your workforce • Help them protect the financial health, wellness and security of your employees and their families • Add benefits to their employee benefits program without adding to their costs • Help them address the rising costs of major medical health insurance • Attract and retain top quality employees
Similarly, they allow employees to • Reduce out-of-pocket expenses • Be more knowledgeable, engaged and satisfied in their benefits program • Be more financially prepared for an accident, illness or unplanned health event or legal matter • In a recent AFLAC Workforces Report, employees surveyed reported that: • 69% said they regularly under estimated the costs related to an injury or an illness • 49% said they have less than $1,000 in savings to help pay for unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses (27% said they have less than $500) • 66% said they wouldn’t be able to adjust to the large financial costs associated with a serious illness or injury • 53% would have to borrow and/ or use a credit card to help pay for medical bills • 13% said they’ve already been contacted by a collection agency about medical bills • 10% have had their credit scores affected by high medical bills • “These needs sometimes become more exacerbated in the restaurant industry if the employees find themselves at the lower end of the wage scale, ” said Ciro J. Giue, Vice
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President and Voluntary Benefits Practice Leader, HUB International Northeast. “These employees, we find, are the ones who really can’t afford to be without these necessary voluntary benefits.” Most employers, restaurants included, realize the importance of securing the loyalty and retention of existing employees, improving productivity and remaining competitive. And employees agree that they're more productive during work hours and think more highly of their employer if they're offered a range of benefits, including voluntary benefits [1]. Knowing this, 68% of employers said they plan to re-evaluate their benefits strategy, and include voluntary benefit solutions, to help offset the impact of healthcare reform [2]. Voluntary Benefits: The Solution Historically, ancillary benefits have provided companies with a cost-effective and personalized suite of products, but in today's environment where employees and their families are likely to incur more out-of-pocket expenses, voluntary benefits can also serve as a means to empower the employee with choice - driving the consumerization of benefits. Today's shift to consumer-driven health plans has placed more importance on engaging voluntary strategies. In fact, 40% of employers report they are preparing to shift to consumer-driven healthcare plans (CDHPs) in order to avoid the
2018 Cadillac tax; and 44% plan to consider a CDHP with voluntary benefits in the next three to five years. Why Implement Voluntary Benefits? Voluntary benefits like those described above are available to employees through their personal election. They contribute to an employee's work-life balance, are cost efficient and portable. Today's employers are including voluntary benefits as a vital component of their overall employee benefits strategy because: • They can be 100% employee paid with premiums paid via pre-tax payroll deductions • Most prices for policies are locked in once issued and will not go up in cost - so there is no annual renewal • The employer provides the benefit options from which employees select only those most relevant to their needs and their budget • Benefits administration is streamlined by automatically deducting the cost through payroll deductions and employer self billing options Remaining competitive, attracting and retaining top talent and ensuring the financial well being of employees can be supported through a comprehensive voluntary benefits program. But, which options are the best match for your employee base? Contact your Employee Benefits consultant for an assessment of your current benefits strategy and for a customized list of voluntary benefits that can empower both you and your employees. [1] LifeHealthPro “Employees Favor Companies That Offer Voluntary Benefits,” Warren Hersch (July 2013), quoting a WellPoint Survey. [2] Deloitte (2012). 2012 Deloitte Survey of US Employers: Opinions About the US Health Care System and Plans for Employee Health Benefits
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// Q&A
EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEWS
Jim Calvin, President of the New York Association of Convenience Stores Convenience stores have gone from places where you can just buy a big soda to where you might even buy dinner these days. Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS) talks about the growth of this “neighborhood” industry.
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hat's the mission of NYACS? The mission is to lead, safeguard and forge a favorable environment for New York State’s community of neighborhood convenience stores. And we do that in a lot of ways, from constantly delivering vital knowledge to the trade to maintaining a unified voice on public policy issues. We also offer ways for members to share ideas and address common challenges and build relationships. You use the word "neighborhood.” Tell us why. The vast majority of our member convenience stores are not along the interstate. They're situated in neighborhoods and urban areas or in small towns where they truly are the neighborhood, the convenience store or mini-mart or bodega. You always think of the Circle K or
Jim Calvin is the President at the New York Association of Convenience Stores
7-11 when you think about convenience stores. But are they really not the mainstay of the industry? The reality is that over half the convenience stores in the country are single-store enterprises. There's still a surprising number and percentage of
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convenience stores that do not have the familiar-sounding brand or chain name, but rather it's Fred's Deli Mart or Mary's Mini Mart. It seems like convenience stores have come a long way from the days of just selling sodas and chips. Many of them have, to varying degrees - and some, whole hog – jumped into foodservice. Others have experimented and are slowly and gradually taking further steps to expand. They didn't just wake up one day and say, I think we will try food service. In New York State, most of them were forced. The tobacco category, which historically has been the biggest product category in terms of inside sales for convenience stores nationwide, began to erode as New York State and also New York City dramatically increased the excise tax on cigarettes. And as that happened, more and more convenience store customers began seeking out untaxed sources from, for example, Indian reservations, over the Internet, street dealers, bootleggers, you name it. What percentage of cigarettes are now sold outside convenience stores? How has this affected the convenience store? Believe it or not, half the cigarettes that are consumed in New York State today were purchased without the collection of any New York State tax, which means they weren't sold in any licensed convenience store. And so, that means a whole lot less customers coming through the door. The convenience store's relationship with the tobacco category was not just about direct sales of tobacco. It was also about driving foot traffic. Research shows that the cigarette customer historically has come into the
convenience store more frequently than the non-cigarette customer. And those cigarette customers usually buy something else while they're there. Where you used to sell cartons of cigarettes, now you're selling packs of cigarettes and you're selling a lot less of them and so overall your sales are down and so they began to explore, how can we replace the sales volume, the customer traffic that the tobacco category had been generating in the past and many of them turned to food service. That was the genesis here in New York State. It’s not the gradual decline in the adult smoking rate; it's more a matter of the shrinking tobacco category in convenience stores. It's still there. It's still very important and I don't expect it to go away. But it has created the need for development and enhancement of new destination product categories for convenience stores and food service is one that many of them are turning to. Do trade shows and other external marketing events reflect this trend away from selling tobacco products? Tobacco is still a key product category for convenience stores, but foodservice has now taken part of the center stage in the industry, and at the trade shows where industry players get together, there's a lot more hot food, more prepared foods, specialty foods, a lot more coffee and hot beverage than there ever was before. Many convenience stores are putting a premium on quality products and equipment and programs that will help them to evolve and improve their foodservice offering. Do you see a move towards more food service exhibitors at your show this year than you may have in the past?
It’s been gradual. But it has a larger presence every year and I think probably other convenience store trade shows as well. Are there any common characteristics within those successes that you're seeing that are making it work? There's a single store enterprise in Ithaca, NY called Shortstop Deli that has done a phenomenal job with foodservice for many, many years. They even were written up in Gourmet Magazine, before Gourmet Magazine stopped publishing. And they're so laser-focused on their food service program as their bread and butter that they stopped selling beer and tobacco and they're still thriving. Which is pretty crazy in a college town, if you think about it! Then there’s the Nice N Easy grocery shops, a chain in central New York that has earned national awards for their foodservice innovation. Nice and Easy actually has three full-time executive chefs on staff producing menus and sourcing products and doing product selection. They've done a tremendous job. Those are just two examples, but there are many others in our membership who are really, reinventing their business model and achieving success with it. But the characteristics that make these businesses succeed is continuous learning – they are thirsty for knowledge about what works and what doesn't, communicating with other non-competing retailers in other areas. What have you tried and has it worked? Might it work in our stores? A constant flow of information. Read as much as they can. Talk to as many people as they can. They also listen to their customers, about what they like and what they don't like in terms of the food, the price, the packaging. Is it hot enough? Is the quality right? That customer feedback helps to guide your foodservice program as you move forward. But the most important is commitment – of resources, space inside
your store, fixtures, counters and ovens and sinks and all sorts of food prep equipment. And it all has to be constantly upgraded. It requires a commitment of labor. More people, more hours. It's not for the faint of heart. It's not something to enter into lightly. What legislative issues do you see ahead? Some of them have to do with motor fuel - 75% of our member stores sell gas. Also, the tax evasion stampede with regard to cigarettes and tobacco products continues to get worse. And we're still trying to get the state to take some action to step up enforcement of laws prohibiting underage sales of tobacco and beer and lottery. We are always vigilant about the attempts to increase taxes, increase fees on any of the products that we sell - beer, gas, tobacco, soft drinks, etc. That's always a priority. The runaway credit card swipe fees that retailers have to pay to credit card companies to process the purchase. That's a huge issue for us. So there's a whole host of things on our list but usually what happens is we end up playing defense. Is there anything that a restaurateur can learn from the convenience store operator? Convenience stores are laboratories. Progressive ones, at least. If you go in today and then you go into the same store three months from now, a lot will be different in terms of what is being sold, how it's being sold and the way the products are marketed. There is constant change in terms of what's offered. There’s no tolerance for products that don't move. So you have to add something and take something away and continue to experiment with what's the right combination – foodservice or coffee or what have you. If you don't keep paddling, you will die.
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// RESTAURANT EXPERT
WITH DAVID SCOTT PETERS
5 Things You Can Do Now to Cut Food Costs Here are five easy-to-implement systems that will help you weather any economic storm – from the economy to slow tourist traffic - and also help your business in the long run.
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Raise prices. People who eat in your restaurant on a regular basis have come to expect a certain level of quality. If you start offering lesser quality ingredients, it will be noticed, and you’ll pay the price in the long run. And you don’t have to raise prices by much to have an impact, as long as you’re implementing changes in other areas. Purchase smarter. This is a twoparter. Order a descending dollar report from your vendor to review what you spent the most money on down to the least amount of money. This isn’t necessarily in volume, but in price per item. It’s not that I ordered 10 cases, it’s that I spent $1,000 — which could have been 1 case. Based on these figures, you can try to find like or better products at cheaper prices, which can have a huge impact on your business. For example, you can take something you usually spend $3,000 a month on and get it down to $2,500. I’ve had members cut their spending by 5, 7, even 10 percent. Second, get a prime vendor agree-
David Scott Peters, Restaurant Coach d av i d @ t h e re s t a u ra n t ex p e r t .c o m
ment. Rather than order small amounts of product from a large number of food distributors, you’re better off to order most, if not all, of your product from one distributor. Yes, you might be getting a killer deal on cheese from one vendor, but in the meantime, you’re getting railed in your janitorial and paper items from another. Recipe costing cards. Create a recipe costing card for every item on your menu – including your bar drinks. Include everything down to the single piece of lettuce. If you’re a quick service restaurant, you can include the cost of the to-go packaging. Making these cards and training everyone to them eliminates waste and over-portioning. Plus it provides a great training tool.
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Create a recipe costing card for every item on your menu – including your bar drinks. Include everything down to the single piece of lettuce. If you’re a quick service restaurant, you can include the cost of the to-go packaging.
Menu engineering. If you have them at your disposal, run a few reports through your POS system. Look at your item-by-item sales mix report and your key item report. These will tell you what items are ordered most often and how much they cost you to make. Combine your recipe costing cards with your POS reports, and you’ll see the dogs on your menu. The dogs are the ones that don’t sell, or the ones that do sell, but cost you money to sell. Encourage people to purchase the higher priced items on your menu. Waste sheets. Waste includes a burned steak, food that spoiled because it was buried in the back of the walk-in and wasn’t rotated properly, and serving portions that are too large (this ties in to the importance of recipe costing cards). The waste sheet includes what the item was, that it was wasted, why it was wasted and how much that cost. Some people also like to put how much money it would have been worth if you sold it. Keep track of what gets wasted, and you’ll see a drop in waste. It’s an automatic drop in your food cost. These five suggestions focus purely on cost of goods sold. That’s just one area within your restaurant. There are margins all over your restaurant where you can have an impact. Imagine the possibilities. David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. Learn more about how you can help you and your restaurant at www.TheRestaurantExpert.com.
// NEWS
ICE SOLUTIONS
Award Winning TD Marketing Sets Sites On Creating Ice Making Solutions With New ITV Ice Maker Pact
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our firm is very quickly building a reputation for excellence in both the local national marketplaces. Frank Doyle: We’re very proud. We’ve won a couple of awards. We went to NAFEM and didn’t go anticipating anything. But we were awarded the 2014 Beverage Air Sales Rep of the Year and that is a huge accomplishment because the business has been in our family for over 35 years. Then Howard McCray Refrigeration, also another family-owned business, awarded us the 2014 Rep of the Year. And then we went to a sales meeting at ColdZone, owned by Reem Refrigeration, one of the world’s largest HVAC manufacturing companies, and we were awarded the Pacesetters Award for 2014. It just goes to show we are an extremely enthusiastic and very motivated rep firm. We don’t sit back and wait for the phone to ring to take orders. We actually are that aggressive where we go out and get orders and our follow-up is fantastic. That’s how we were able to achieve these goals. What do you think sets you apart? Customer service is extremely important to us. We’re the type of firm where, if something needs to be handled in the field, it gets handled by us. If something comes in with legs instead of casters, we’re the first people out there to make it right. We know it’s just a part of doing business. Equipment is going to break. We make sure we take care of those problems and that it doesn’t drag out, that problems go away as quickly as we can make them go away. Our goal is within
24 hours to have your equipment up and running to your satisfaction. A big part of our business is support after the sale. Put that all together and that’s why TD Marketing has been so successful over the years. You have a new relationship with ITV. What attracted you to the line? It’s absolutely the people behind the product. I’ve learned as a manufacturer’s rep, plus my factory experience, that it’s the people behind the product who make the real difference. When I personally met with Javier Rivera face-to-face, I saw the passion in his eyes and his facial expressions when he was presenting his line to all his manufacturers at NAFEM and I said, that’s a person who believes not only in his product but in his team and that’s what takes a product to the next level. When you’re able to stand behind a product, put your face, your name, on that product, you know what’s going out the door is going to be the highest quality product out there and a lot of it has to do with being family- owned. A lot of the manufacturers we rep-
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resent are family-owned businesses and we’re passionate about supporting and representing these companies because we believe in quality. After the sale, service support is so critical to keep these pizzerias and country clubs and delis and restaurants and nightclubs up and running. They need immediate attention, immediate service. It’s inevitable that things are going to break. How you handle it is critical to your future success. That’s how you get testimonials and repeat business.
That’s how you move forward. Working with a man like Javier, who believes in his product, puts out the most quality product and will guarantee ice, tells me right there, what they’re doing is serious. They’re not a fly-bynight imported-type brand. They’ve been manufacturing commercial ice machines in Spain for over 35 years in over 100 countries worldwide. It’s a serious manufacturer. All we have to do is show people the man behind the machine. What are some of the key features behind the ITV line? Why should a dealer or consultant spec ITV? Simplicity. We really made it easy. We
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// SCOOP Skidmore College Is The First Liberal Arts College In The State Of New York To Achieve MSC Certification For Sustainable, WildCaught Seafood Scoop says kudos to Skidmore College, as the school recently became the first liberal arts college in New York to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody certification, the world’s leading certification program for sustainable, wildcaught seafood. Skidmore’s Dining Services offers MSC certified sustainable seafood in the full-service Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, which serves more than 4,000 meals to students, faculty and staff on a daily basis. A variety of seafood is offered weekly on the dining hall menus and includes MSC certified haddock, pollock, and cod. Skidmore plans to add more species of sustainable fish to the menu in the future. MSC Chain of Custody certification ensures that in every step of the chain - from the fishers, to the processor, to the distributor and the end user - MSC certified seafood is not mixed with or sub-
INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE
A variety of seafood is offered weekly on the dining hall menus and includes MSC certified haddock, pollock, and cod. Skidmore plans to add more species of sustainable fish to the menu in the future.
stituted for non-certified seafood. It also provides assurance that seafood bearing the blue MSC ecolabel can be traced back to a fishery that has been certified as sustainable and well managed against the global, sciencebased MSC standard. “Sustainability is a key theme in our dining facilities and we’re committed to reducing impact on the environment and increas-
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ing sustainable initiatives,” said Mark Miller, director of Skidmore’s Dining Services. “MSC Chain of Custody certification is a sign of our commitment to sustainability. Skidmore’s Dining Services believes that by obtaining MSC certification, college students and staff are able to contribute to the health of the world’s oceans by choosing seafood that can be traced back to fisheries that have achieved the MSC standard for sustainable fishing.” Skidmore Dining introduced MSC certified seafood at Skidmore’s fourth annual American Culinary Federation (ACF) Conference and Competition held in January. The three-day event offered chefs in the industry the opportunity to participate in demonstrations, educational sessions, and an ACF-sanctioned culinary competition during which MSC certified sea scallop samples were served and Skidmore’s team won a gold medal. Additional sustainability initiatives led by Skidmore Dining Services include composting coffee-grounds, zero-sort recycling, efforts to repurpose fryer oil product as fuel, elimi-
nating trays from the dining hall, and re-fillable water-bottle stations that have saved the equivalent of 171,816 bottles to date from being used and discarded. “We congratulate Skidmore College for their leadership and efforts to recognize and reward sustainable fishing practices through the achievement of MSC Chain of Custody certification,” said Geoff Bolan, MSC’s U.S. program director. “Skidmore Dining’s commitment to offer seafood that has been certified to the global, science-based MSC standard, will help to ensure sustainable seafood for this and future generations.”
Jersey’s Joe Ferri Leads Roster Of NAFEM Foodservice Awards
Scoop says for the past 23 years, Ferri has been a partner at Lttle Falls, NJ based Pecinka Ferri. The Garden State independent manufacturers rep firm, specializes in the sales and marketing of a wide diversity of lines to the Tri-State food service dealer and consultant community. He recently wrapped up his term as national
resentative agencies in the United States, Canada and Mexico engaged in the sales and marketing of commercial foodservice equipment, supplies, tabletop and furnishings.
Rodriquez Set To Lead A Chef’s Tour Of Cuba
(2nd L) Outgoing National MAFSI President Joe Ferri of New Jersey's Pecinka Ferri was awarded NAFEM's Doctorate of Foodservice
president of MAFSI-Manufacturers' Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry. Among the highlights of his tenure at MAFSI, was the association introduction of MAFSI SpecPath™: patent-pending software program/database of all 11-4000 projects in North America. The goal of the innovative program was to not only track specs and projects but to provide real market intelligence for use by all segments of the industry’s infrastructure. With over 46,000 specifications written every year in North America, past efforts at nationally identifying specs were overly ambitious. This, as we all know, is a com-
plicated problem. But, we believe we’ve hit upon an elegant solution that will assist our members in collecting and tracking specification credits, and will also allow for tracking of origination and destination. MAFSI SpecPath™ will ensure our MAFSI Reps have the knowledge and information to get paid for every 11-4000 spec that comes in or out of their territory. It also empowers our manufacturer members by giving them vital business intelligence regarding specification. MAFSI is 65 year-old non-profit trade association comprised of 275 independent manufacturers' rep-
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Scoop says The James Beard-award winning chef Douglas Rodriguez, who is the co-owner of the restaurant Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia, will lead a new tour of Cuba: the sevennight “Art, History, Architecture and Cuisine of the Cuba of Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow” with stops in Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Pinar del Rio. Food will, of course, be a focus. Travelers will buy freshly caught seafood at a pier outside Havana and cook it at a restaurant in the city that evening, go to a cooperative farm in the town of Alamar to learn about local irrigation techniques, and sample two varieties of pork at a farm in Pinar del Rio and dine at restaurants owned by chefs with whom Mr. Rodriguez has become friendly over the course of his five trips to the country. “Cuba isn’t known for its cuisine, and chefs there have limited resources, but I want to show travelers that they can still create excellent quality food,” he said. And of course, no trip there is complete without getting a taste
of the historical side as well.” Dates are May 22 to 29. Prices from $6,475 a person, which includes round-trip airfare from Miami to Cuba, onground transportation, entrance fees, tours and most meals.
Greenwich, Stamford Chefs Honored At Great Chefs Event Scoop notes that tonight in a home somewhere in Greenwich, Debra Ponzek will be helping get dinner on the table, but it won't be her table,
Scoop says The James Beard-award winning chef Douglas Rodriguez, who is the co-owner of the restaurant Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia, will lead a new tour of Cuba
and it won't even be her house. "In this kind of town, everyone is running to get to everything they have to," said Ponzek, on a recent morning at the Riverside location of Aux Delices, a specialty food shop business
she runs with her husband, Gregory Addonizio. "I get it. I do cook every night, but it takes time, even if you are doing a simple thing." Nearly 20 years ago, the Greenwich couple opened Aux Delices in a two-story, sunny spot along the Post Road. This is the first of what would grow to be four locations, with two stores in Greenwich and one each in Darien and Westport. The award-winning chef watched customers grab prepared sandwiches and salads from the store's display cases as she spoke. Flying out the door as well were some store favorites - lasagna Bolognese, turkey tettrazini, shrimp salad, kale salad and turkey
chili - that can go easily from store to oven or microwave and to the family table. "A lot of the way the business was shaped and the way it has grown is based on what people were looking for, for their own families," said the mother of three and author of four cookbooks. "Even when I worked in New York, I liked a simpler approach to food and that has stayed with us." Ponzek caught the attention of critics and culinary fans early in her career in the 1980s, during a seven-year turn as executive chef at New York City's Montrachet, becoming the first female chef to be awarded three stars by the New York Times three con-
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secutive times. Growing up in New Jersey, she said she did not aspire to be a chef, though she began cooking around the age of 9 or 10. As she made her way through high school and into college, some 30 years ago, there were few celebrity chefs to inspire hopefuls. Instead, she studied biomedical engineering at Boston University. It was Ponzek's next-door neighbor in New Jersey with friends who owned a New York City restaurant that Ponzek would visit that would change her career path. "When I met them, it just sort of opened that world up to me." She went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America, which her hus-
band also attended. It was there that she integrated the skills and training she was acquiring with her intrinsic approach to food. "I guess I always start with simple ingredients or ingredients that I love," Ponzek said.” Even at Montrachet, we were on a budget and we had to be imaginative with simple, day-to-day ingredients. You always have to be great, and I hold that very much to heart," she said. "I want the food to be very good, consistently."
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// NEWS
DISTRIBUTION
The Roscoe NY Beer Co. Expands Distribution Of All Three Handcrafted Beers Across New York State and Connecticut A small business from “Trout Town,USA” with ambition as big as their hometown pride goes from hometown-only sales to distribution across 22 different counties.
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ans of Roscoe NY Beer Co.’s Trout TownTM Craft beer will now have more ways to enjoy their favorite hand crafted beer. The Roscoe NY Beer Co. recently announced new distribu-
tion, expanding availability of Trout Town™ handcraft beers across Connecticut, the state of New York and to the five boroughs of New York City in April 2015. The Roscoe NY Beer Co. currently
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offers three different types of handcrafted beers, the Trout Town™ Rainbow Red Ale, Trout Town™ American Brown Ale and Trout Town™ American Amber Ale, which are currently already available through Dana Dis-
tributors, Dutchess Beer Distributors, Northern Eagle Beverage Company and Dichello Distributors and will be available in April 2015 with both Grapes & Greens and Ippolito Distributing. “Brewing beer is a true art form and with the combination of my skills and guidance from everyone else on the team at the Roscoe NY Beer Co., we have created three great craft beers that can be enjoyed by everyone,” explains Joshua Hughes, Brew Master for Roscoe NY Beer Co. and maker of Trout Town™ craft beer. “Now with our expanded distribution we are able to share our hard work and passion with more beer drinkers across New York and Connecticut.”
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// LITTLE M. TUCKER
WITH MORGAN TUCKER
A Different Kind Of Sales Person On March 12th 2015, the foodservice industry lost one of the most unique sales professionals and M. Tucker lost one of the most cherished members of our family.
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s we share the tragic news with our world, my heart breaks. But each time I recount the story, the response is the same….anyone but Scott. Scott Clayman was the kindest man. He was the most selfless and devoted man. Scott was a different kind of sales person. He was an advisor to his customers who always put their agenda first. He didn’t sell. His sense of connectedness was impeccable. No one put more time or energy into their business. Customers responded to his character, hard work and dedication…. as did everyone at Tucker. He was a student and a teacher. He recognized the need to understand all the facets of the business, and excel by having a distinct area of expertise. He didn’t take himself seriously, but he was reverent about his family and customers. He was the most regimented and dedicated sales person I have ever encountered. When I left the world of operations to join my family business, there was no discussion who I should train under. Scott Clayman taught me how to be the best version of myself. We were very different but he was inquisitive and dedicated to my success and helped me to create my path and style in food service. He inspired me to embrace what would differentiate me in the industry and that assistance ultimately helped me to find my most valuable as-
Morgan Tucker, M. Tucker m p t u c ke r @ m t u c ke r.c o m
sets as a salesperson. Scott enlisted the support of everyone around him with his demeanor and commitment, not with a demanding voice, but by his presence. He modestly led our sales force by example. He was driven to get the most out of his strengths and abilities, without compromise. Scott respected anyone who cared. His commitment was unequivocal: to his customers and his family, and to our company. It should be no surprise that Scott’s largest customer was the revered Union Square Hospitality Group. Everything he did was in service to others and to enrich the lives around him. Scott truly enjoyed living a life of “enlightened hospitality." The most difficult thing to hear after
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Scott’s untimely death was the idea that one could die from working too hard, from caring too much, or from having too much passion. I question if Scott died from giving his craft and his family 100% of himself. Did he die from being too selfless, too loyal, or from putting others first? Scott was innately kind and dedicated and there is no justification for why he is gone. For 21 years, we shared a family. Please join me in supporting Scott’s real family and the education of his children by contributing to his memorial fund. www. scottclaymansmemorialfund.mydagsite.com/
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// NEWS
FOODSERVICE ENTERTAINMENT
Manhattan's Network FoodyTv Is A Place Where Educational Cooking Is Top Priority FoodyTV’s line up of popular shows include: The Flaming Greek With Kami, Firehouse Kitchen, The Story of Cooking, Taste This TV, Healthy Living, Therapeutic Cuisine, Regal Fare, The Untamed Chef, Chef Murphs Kitchen, Stress Free Cooking and Tina’s Ageless Kitchen.
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oodyTV’s studio is located in New York and has 4 state of the
art kitchen studios to film new and existing shows. The network is al-
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ways looking for new talent so if you have an idea, pitch it soon. One
could get in on the ground level of the next food TV explosion and its called FoodyTV. FoodyTV’s line up of popular shows include: The Flaming Greek With Kami, Firehouse Kitchen, The Story of Cooking, Taste This TV, Healthy Living, Therapeutic Cuisine, Regal Fare, The Untamed Chef, Chef Murphs Kitchen, Stress Free Cooking and Tina’s Ageless Kitchen. FoodyTV’s studio is located in New York and has 4 state of the art kitchen studios to film new and existing shows. The network is always looking for new talent so if you have an idea, pitch it soon. One could get in
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// NEWS
FUNDRAISERS
Chef Francois Payard's Macaron Day NYC Raises Money for City Harvest Every day, Francois Payard brought a batch of the previous day's French macarons in order for him to assure that the ones sold in his shops have matured to perfection.
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he reason for the day-old macarons? "We never eat macarons fresh," Payard said. And that's because French macarons need time in the refrigerator to moisten, as the shell can be hard after baking. The recipe, Payard says, is simple almond flour, egg whites and confectioner's sugar compose their vibrant shells, and sandwiched in between is either a flavored ganache or jam. Last month marked the 6th annual Macaron Day in New York City, an event that Payard spearheaded in 2010, inspired by the same event that began 10 years ago in Paris. French macarons are the "heart and soul" of WOOPS!, said Ellie Lippel, the vice president of Marketing and Business Development at WOOPS! Fifteen bakeries around the city gave out one free French macaron to each customer who mentioned Macaron Day. In order to have participated, Payard said the establishment must bake and sell their own macarons every day - they cannot purchase them elsewhere and the macarons cannot be frozen. While the promise of a free macaron may attract visitors to the shops, one main purpose of the day was to raise money for City Harvest, an organization that collects excess food from
restaurants, bakeries and other food establishments and delivers it to more than 500 community food programs. “Each participating bakery donated a percentage of their macaron sales to City Harvest,” Payard said. “Payard's shops, which produce 8,000 to 10,000 macarons each day, have eight flavors on hand at all times, including a flavor of the month,” Payard said. In the past, they've offered a white mint chocolate and blood orange, and next month's flavor will be apricot passion fruit. Carolina Olsson, the director of operations for Sugar and Plumm, which offered visitors the choice between their signature passion fruit macaron or their mini chocolate, salted caramel or raspberry macaron, said people have come to love the macaron because it is artisan and vibrant. There are no shortcuts to take when making French macarons, and Sugar and Plumm really makes theirs from the ground up, Olsson said, beginning by grinding their own almond flour. Sugar and Plumm sells the classic vanilla and chocolate macarons, but Olsson said other bestsellers include their rosewater lychee and pistachio. WOOPS!, another establishment which participated in Macaron Day, also offered the classics, but Ellie Lippel, vice president of Marketing and Business Development at WOOPS!,
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said people also love their red velvet, rose and green tea flavors. The four WOOPS! locations in New York City offered their visitors the choice between Nutella, vanilla and raspberry macarons in honor of Macaron Day. "When you're looking at a display of macarons, you can't help
but smile." She said macarons are more than just a sweet fix, they are an experience What Lippel likes most about City Harvest is the effort they put into engaging local businesses. "City Harvest works hand in hand with the people and the businesses to make this a better city for everybody," she said. "I would not like to be in New York City without City Harvest." WOOPS! offers 18 flavors of French macarons in their stores, and will soon roll out a lavender one for Easter. "I think this is the beginning of the love affair with macarons," Lippel said. "We have to remember that the rest of the country is just now getting acquainted with macarons, and I think it's going to be a staple confection as it is in Europe and France."
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// NEWS
FOOD INNOVATIONS
PCI Frozen Foods Is Taking Pizza Out Of The Box With New Pizza Cones You wouldn't think pizza and a cone go together. But Yoni Glatzer, owner of PCI Frozen Food does with his new pizza cones.
there was a cone standing there and not a drop of water leaking through. That seal also gives you that crunch. By the time you finish, fill it, bake it, that seal becomes the crunch and it is something delicious, it's heaven.” The entrepreneur originally thought he was going to hit pizza shops but once distributors started to get wind of the product, the business took a completely different turn. “Pizza cones started going into schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. I totally didn't see caterers coming into the picture either, but
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he New Jersey based company with their own 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art HACCP approved facility, uses only top quality ingredients with this unique partially pre-baked crispy cone. “I like to do things nobody else does, something unusual, original,” says Yoni Glatzer, President of PCI Frozen Foods. “So I found a very interesting product called pizza cones. I saw a couple of stores open up in New York City and Brooklyn, but neither succeeded and it made me wonder why didn't it work, why isn't anyone else doing this? So he took a little trip to Italy, where they sell hotcakes, and he discovered that a chain offering franchises was the way to make it work. “You have to sell a lot of cones just to cover your rent in this country,” he says. But opening a franchise, which is often an investment of up to $500,000 here, is not possible for most people. Glatzer thought long and hard, and decided he could do it, but not without some challenges. “It's very complicated to create these cones.”
Glatzer's hope for the future is that his product will find its way into supermarkets
“I like to do things nobody else does, something unusual, original,” says Yoni Glatzer, President of PCI Frozen Foods.
Glatzer decided to do a Parve dough. “I did it myself. I did a lot of testing, brought in experts, until I had the perfect dough. They're very unique. It's not just a piece of dough folded in half with a seam that gets messy, but a piece of dough that comes from the bottom up and it has extra crunch
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on the bottom,” he explains. “The air pockets of dough are sealed, and because of all this, the cones won't leak. No mess. When I was starting out, I was in the factory testing the dough and I made a cone and filled it up with water. When I was cleaning up about five hours later, I realized
when I started making mini cones, caterers took it for hors d'oeuvres and I went down another alley I didn't expect,” Glatzer says. What Glatzer originally thought was only going to be attractive to only certain foodservice operators and theme parks is now in almost any institution you can think of. Glatzer's hope for the future is that his product will find its way into supermarkets. PCI Frozen Foods is working with distributors, Jamac Frozen Foods Corp and S. Bertram
Inc. on a regional level, along with Performance Foodservice / Roma Food on a national level. “That's how I found out where it's going. I said, which pizza shops? And my distributors said its not just pizzerias, it's schools, hospitals, and large food service operations too. We receive
calls all the time, where's the product, where can I get it? It’s perfect for school functions, like PTA meetings and open houses. They serve the pizza cones with cheese and sauce, vegetables, even jello, mousse and hot chocolate. The staff just went crazy.” He suspects that the popularity of his product comes from kids in neighborhoods around the schools asking for them at local shops and restaurants. “One caterer heated a cone in the oven. When it became hot, he dipped it into chocolate and walnuts and put in a scoop of Haagen-Dazs ice cream, and it was like a cold souffle. Like a hot cookie, cold ice cream and the way it melts on the bottom and the ice cream gets soft.
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The entrepreneur originally thought he was going to hit pizza shops but once distributors started to get wind of the product, the business took a completely different turn.
Oh boy!” But his dream is to distribute filled frozen pizza cones to supermarkets.
“Mendelsohn's Pizza in Brooklyn has our cones and freezes them with their own cheese, sauce and toppings, and makes margarita, mushroom-vegetable and chili versions that come in a pack with a few cones. It includes a little cardboard oven pan, diamondshaped, with a hole on top, that can stand in an oven up to 450 degrees. You just defrost it, stick it in the oven and you have your pizza cone. If you could buy it at your local supermarket, what could be better than that?” To learn more about PCI Frozen Foods Pizza Cones, please visit www. pcifrozenfoods.com or call 1-732707-9009.
// NEWS
OPENINGS
High Street On Market to Open in NYC Buoyed by its wildly successful first year and a half, High Street on Market the casual sibling of Fork in Old City - plans to open a second location in Lower Manhattan.
E
llen Yin and chef Eli Kulp say they have signed a deal at the corner of Hudson and Horatio Streets in the West
Village and expect to open in the late summer or early fall. The High Street concept - ingredient-driven American foods and stel-
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lar baked goods served from breakfast through dinner in a cozy cafe setting - will remain. This location is a third larger than the original at 308
Market St. "You'll very much know you're in a High Street, with certain touches very specific to New York," said Kulp, who moved from his longtime home of New York to Philadelphia three years ago to become chef at Fork, next door to High Street. "We probably won't have a map of Philadelphia on the wall, though." Kulp recently became a partner in Fork and High Street. High Street Hospitality Group operates those restaurants as well as a kitchen and a bar in the AKA Rittenhouse Square. "We decided to strike while the iron's hot," said Yin, who said the real estate deal at 637 Hudson St. almost
literally fell in their lap after they initially had considered setting up in other areas such as Brooklyn, the Lower East Side, NoMad and Chelsea. "We're thinking we can expand this concept." Unlike many other restaurant groups that dabble in assorted ethnic concepts, Yin and Kulp plan to hew to contemporary American cuisine. An expansion to New York - where Kulp has plenty of connections - seemed
"You'll very much know you're in a High Street, with certain touches very specific to New York," said Kulp, who moved from his longtime home of New York to Philadelphia three years ago to become chef at Fork, next door to High Street.
like a better fit than simply adding a restaurant in the Philadelphia area. "We feel like we’ve covered a lot of ground in Philadelphia," Yin said. Kulp described Philadelphia as a "busy, full market." High Street has picked up all sorts of accolades since its September 2013 opening. It was
High Street Hospitality Group operates those restaurants as well as a kitchen and a bar in the AKA Rittenhouse Square.
Craig LaBan's 2014 restaurant of the year. Bon Appetit named it No. 2 in the country in its annual “America’s Best New Restaurants” issue. Travel and Leisure named it one of the best new restaurants in the world. Its baker, Alex Bois, is a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef, 2015 and was the subject of Bon Appetit’s “How Chef Alex Bois Creates Some of the Country’s Best Bread and Bagels.” Kulp himself was Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef for 2014. Meanwhile, Fork pastry chef Samantha Kincaid was named one of Food & Wine's best new pastry chefs for 2014, and a.kitchen and a.bar chef de cuisine Jon Nodler is also a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef, 2015. A dish of angry crab spaghetti from High Street on Market also helped Philadelphia cinch the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Ed Rendell and Michael Nutter took Democratic National Committee members to dinner there during a scouting trip.
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// MIXOLOGY
WITH WARREN BOBROW
Zing Zang Zing Zang is an uncommon name for a most delicious Bloody Mary mix. Even without the bright green label and their name emblazoned boldly upon it, this is seriously good stuff, worthy of your most expensive vodka, gin or tequila.
Warren Bobrow Warren Bobrow is a barman/author. He’s written for Whole Foods, Foodista, and Williams-Sonoma along with three books
I
don’t always eat enough vegetables in my diet, so isn’t it nice to know that I can drink my vegetables in the form of a Zing Zang Bloody Mary? What I need to do is first find a fine vodka to make that “day drink” healthy. For this I’ve found that Double Cross Vodka is the perfect amalgamation of smooth to flavorful to mixable. Healthy you might say? Yes, indeed.
Because a vodka based drink is healthy enough alone as a liniment for a sprained muscle! The addition of vegetables in the form of a fine Bloody Mary mix like Zing Zang, well this is what makes the filling in your glass into something that resembles a well-balanced meal! But what does this have to do with Zing Zang? Probably nothing- but for the sake of argument, and I’m sipping
on mixology. Warren appeared in the Saveur 100.www.cocktailwhisperer.com
on a very “day-drinking” version of my illustration of how you should try your Zing Zang. This stuff is seriously delicious! Is it the vodka? Or is it the Zing Zang? What you taste is very personal indeed. I’ll leave that outcome to more than just to chance. Tasting notes: Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix: Celery right upfront gives way to little tiny chunks of tomato and herbswhat kind? I’m not sure, but there is a nice flavor balance at work. There is a bit of burn in the finish, not too much- just right. This mix is certainly a crowd pleaser and it would fit in mixed with any of the three liquors I mentioned prior. For Vodka, I’d use the Double Cross. For the tequila, I’d use Casa Noble Reposado and for the gin version I’d use something like Hendrick’s because you need a more assertive flavor profile against the potency of the spices at work in Zing Zang. This would be the perfect breakfast cocktail with a pickle,
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perhaps a steamed shrimp and a few olives. I’d also add a few chunks of lemons and limes- because we don’t drink enough citrus and scurvy still occurs in the 21st century! But all fun aside, Zing Zang makes a darned good Bloody Mary mix. You can even enjoy it without alcohol, it’s that good. I’d step up the citrus a bit if you are not using liquor to give a counterpoint to the celery and herb mix that is added to the aforementioned tomato blend. Or for some serious fun, add vodka and top it off with a lager beer! That’s a highway!
Shall We Talk of Business, Sir? Ingredients: • 4 oz. Zing Zang “Award Winning” Bloody Mary Mix • 1 oz. Freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice • 1 oz. Freshly squeezed and strained lime juice • 2 oz. liquor of your choice (I used Double Cross Vodka) Garnish: Pickles, Olives, Cucumbers, pickled tomatoes, more olives, fried chicken, Steamed Shrimp.. that sort of thing. Preparation: 1. To a Boston Shaker, filled ¾ with ice, add the Zing Zang 2. Add the lemon and lime juices 3. Add the vodka –or gin.. or tequila.. or whatever you desire! 4. Add a few teaspoons of olive juice 5. Cap and shake to combine- don’t over shake, this is not a race! 6. Pour into a chilled Long (tall) Collins style glass and garnish away! Cheers!
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// CHEF OF THE MONTH PRESENTED BY
Coralene Franklin Coralene T. Franklin was introduced to the BCA in her final year of culinary school in 2006. She is proud to say that The BCA has linked her to key people, and that partnership has resulted in the publication of her recipes as well as access to a network of endless professionals in the culinary field.
C
oralene was raised in Harlem by a single mother, and is the mother of 3 beautiful children and partner to a wonderful fiancée. Coralene's love for food and cooking began at the age of 5 while helping under the watchful eye of her Grandmother Coralene (her namesake), mother and aunt. Coralene's childhood mentor cooks would allow her to do small things like crack eggs while explaining each step of the cooking process. Coralene comes from a long line of great cooks who also specialize in awesome Southern and West Indian cuisine, and her culinary history includes a grandmother who owned and operated a mom & pop shop where Black performers would come to dine after performing in the segregated South. They also raised her to understand that education was important as well. After working in Data Entry for 7 years and becoming a Certified Nurse's Aide, Coralene took the next step to pursue her dream. With the encouragement of her children, she entered Culinary School and her love of food and family continues to this day. Coralene is often con-
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Coralene T. Franklin was introduced to the BCA in her final year of culinary school in 2006. She is proud to say that The BCA has linked her to key people, and that partnership has resulted in the publication of her recipes as well as access to a network of endless professionals in the culinary field.
sidered the "go to" person at her church and in her community for outstanding cakes and all things Traditional Southern cuisine, and she greatly enjoys living her dream.
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// IRFSNY SHOW
SHOW COVERAGE
Angelopo America’s Corporate Chef Geert Piferoen with CEO Jack Kramer
New Foods And Culinary Products Take Center Stage At 22nd Annual International Restaurant & Foodservice Show Of New York Thousands of new products and services for restaurants and foodservice establishments were on display last month at the 22nd Annual International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York.
O
ver 17,500 industry professionals including buyers from high end restaurants, multi-unit operations and foodservice establishments from throughout New York and the surrounding states networked and conducted business during the threeday trade show and conference which was held March 8-10, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The event is owned by Urban Expositions and sponsored by the New York
State Restaurant Association. "What a great event, from the culinary demonstration theater to the new PUB Pavilion and conference seminars and Education Station we saw packed crowds enjoy all of our feature areas," said Ron Mathews, Vice President, Restaurant & Foodservice Portfolio, Urban Expositions, producers of the event. "We thank the New York State Restaurant Association and their members, our exhibitors, attendees, speakers, and press who came out to support the only event in New York
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Urban Expo Vice President, Ron Mathews
Commercial refrigeration consultants Robert Rivera, David Berke, Kevin Sampson, and Bob Levine of Americold Inc
Morgan Paige Tucker, Silena Mejia, and Tess Rex of Little M.Tucker brought the latest in trends and tabletop supplies to IRFSNY
President and CEO, Mary Gibb of Agencia International (2nd L) and team brought a new standard to event staffing needs at this year’s show
Tri-State Marketing’s Bart Gobioff and Lynne Schultz
DMM’s Brian Mahoney and Turbo Air’s Phillip Han took home honors for their new self-condenser cleaner
Megas Yeeros' Sokratis Ballas, Robert Carcich, Nikos Stergious, Alex Dano, and Dion Kontoulas
The show provided an opportunity for local foodservice operators to prepare for the upcoming spring season
exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry." Pitch the Press a new event, which recognized 20 hand selected exhibitors who had a new product or service, by a panel of four judges including Michael Scinto from Total Food Service, Marjorie Borrell from Fast Casual, Sara Webber from Catering Magazine and Jeffrey Dryfoos from Dessert Professional. The following exhibitors were given two minutes each to pitch their product to a group of industry editors: Advanced Gourmet's PacoJet 2; Borax Paper and Imperial's Serutun Disinfection Wipes; Brooklyn Piggies' Pigs in a Blanket; Dyson's Airblade; Equipex's Adventy's Cooktop; GeeFree's Gluten Free Puff Pastry; Gillies' Iced Coffee on Tap; Guittard's New Chocolate; KomBrewCha's Tea-Beer Brew; Koopert Cress' Architecture Aromatique; Limation's Premium Limeade; M Tucker's Arcobaleno Pasta Machine; MochiDoki's Mochi Ice Cream; Nodur Salt's Flavored Salt from Iceland; Ozeki Saki's Jello-Sake Shot; Paris Gourmet's GelaTech; PreGel's Pancake and
"The Pub" a NEW area on the show floor was packed with attendees throughout the show where they were able to taste 20 innovative craft beverages including craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, wine sorbae, moonshine and whiskey. Maple Syrup Gelato; Superior Farms American Lamb's Lamb Bacon; Swiss Chalet's Felchlin Costa Rica 40% Milk Chocolate; Touch Bistro's New IPAD POS; and TurboAir's Self-Condenser Cleaner. The Winners of the People's Choice Awards for the Innovative New Prod-
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New POS exhibitor TouchBistro was on hand with Gino Donati, Brittany Jewett, and Cameron Lillico
Canplas Industries’ Chris Atwell and Todd Lubas
uct Gallery and the Best New Product for the Food Trends Experienced were announced. The Best in Show was awarded to The Smokehouse of NY for their smoked seafood products. The first runner up was Amagansett Sea Salt; and the second runner up was GreenBox for their eco-friendly pizza box made from recycled and recyclable materials. Best New Product for the Food Trends Experience was Carousel Cakes for their new Drizzle Layer cakes. The Culinary Demonstration Theater included a terrific presentation by Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton; as well as Chef Anton Testino from the Food Network's Chopped; Certified Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt; David Santos, Executive Chef and Partner at Louro; Megan Johnson, Executive Chef at Casellula Cheese and Wine Café; Adin Langille, Executive Chef of David Burke Fabrick; Olivia Roskowski, Instructor at National Gourmet Institute; Robert Valencia, Executive Pastry Chef; Brian Tsao, Executive Chef at Mira Sushi & Izakaya; and Barret Beyer of Gordon Ramsey's
Day & Nite’s Chris Matheson, Michael Milaccio , and Greg Weiss
Industry Veteran, Elliot Horowitz of Elliot Horowitz Associates
Hell Kitchen. "The Pub" a NEW area on the show floor was packed with attendees throughout the show where they were able to taste 20 innovative craft beverages including craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, wine sorbae, moonshine and whiskey. The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York was pleased to announce that for the 9th consecutive year, the JRO (the Organization to Promote Japanese Restaurants Abroad) hosted the Umami Pavilion on the tradeshow floor. The exhibitors within the Umami Pavilion introduced eight new sections this year: Japanese Rice, Sake, Wagu, Umami, Ramen, Soba, Japanese Green Tea and sweets; all essential Japanese ingredients. The JRO Umami Pavilion has a mission to enlighten the industry about umami, the essence of Japanese cuisine that is becoming well known by chefs as an ingredient to develop flavor. Generally understood as a savory flavor, umami has been recognized in Japan for thousands of years but is a
Tom Clements and Tom Gallagher of Clements-Stella Marketing with TD Marketing’s Frank Doyle and Frank Schweighardt
(L to R) JC's Lina Zolotushko, Jaimie Hochman, Lynette Celli Rigdon, Julie Coloneri, and Vicki Monaloy
relatively new concept in the States. It is the flavor that characterizes Japanese and other Asian cuisine. Umami has had increasing influence in current taste preferences because of the growing interest in umami-packed ingredients, such as miso, soy sauce, and konbu. JRO Umami Pavilion hosted cooking demonstrations for three days to show “Wagu”, “Ramen”, how to make the best rice, how to enhance the umami flavor in dishes. There were also discussions on Japanese condiments and the science of the flavor. JRO was proud to announce that UNESCO added traditional Japanese cuisine or “Washoku” onto its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. JRO has continued to support Japanese restaurants overseas and convey to the world the appeal of Japanese food and culture. This leading trade show and conference brought together thousands of foodservice, restaurant and hospitality professionals from New York State, and featured more than 500 leading vendors, accompanying the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum education sessions and buzz
Arcobelano President Antonio Adiletta offered new fresh pasta making solutions to attendees
Malachy Parts & Services’ Rich Farrell Jr and John Alfano
building special events. The 16,000+ restaurant and foodservice operators who attended the 2015 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York had the opportunity to participate in over 40 educational sessions at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum, the gold-standard, industry-leading educational conference dedicated to foodservice professional development. Industry experts educated attendees on hot new trends, increasing revenue and loyalty, operational excellence, delivering the optimal customer experience, and much more. “The Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum was a valuable tool for professionals in the industry to gain new business insight and learn about the latest industry trends from leading experts that they can apply directly to their operations,” said Ron Mathews, Vice President, Restaurant and Foodservice Events Portfolio. “This year, the Forum offered a terrific line up of top chefs who presented in the culinary demonstration theater as well as sessions for attendees to learn how to produce winning
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Superior Farm's Northeast Regional Sales Manager, Eric Anahory
AllergyEats Founder and CEO Paul Antico with Marc Wakem and Jesse Pezzullo
The 16,000+ restaurant and foodservice operators who attended the 2015 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York had the opportunity to participate in over 40 educational sessions at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum.
teams, achieve operational excellence, improve leadership, stay on top of hot trends, increase business loyalty, manage catering, boost customer experience, maximize profits, minimize risks, and create the optimal customer
Michael Sass and sons from GeeFree Foods brought new gluten free offerings for foodservice operators to IRFSNY
Romano Gatland’s Christopher Brady and wife Joan with Total Food Service’s own Michael Scinto alongside Stony Johnson
experience.” A few highlights from the Forum included: The Food Trends Demonstration Theater which featured live demonstrations from top chefs including headliner Sara Moulton, Chef, Cookbook Author, host of “Sara’s Weeknight Dinners”, and former Executive Chef of Gourmet Magazine. Additional presenters included Certified Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt; Anton Testino, “Food Network’s Chopped”; Barret Beyer, “Hell’s Kitchen”; Megan Johnson, Executive Chef at Caselulla Cheese & Wine Cafe in Hell’s Kitchen; Brian Tsao, Chef at Mira Sushi & Izakaya; David Santos, Executive Chef & Partner at Louro; and more. Women’s Entrepreneurs Circle – A highly interactive session where panelists Kathleen Wood, Kathleen Wood Partners; Betsy Craig, MenuTrinfo; and Sandy Korem, The Catering Coach discussed what it takes to win in business and life. Farm to City Expo took place on Tuesday, March 10. Restaurant owners and foodservice professionals learned how buying locally can improve their bottom line. This session was organized by the New
York State Department of Agriculture & Markets and Empire State Development to help people identify New York-produced food and beverages. Ferdinand Metz is a Certified Master Chef and President Emeritus of the Culinary Institute of America. He is also the past President of the World Association of Chefs Societies and the past Chairman of the NRAEF. Ferdinand Metz was selected to lead the Forum because of his breadth and depth of experience, which includes his influence on the American foodservice industry and for his achievements in the culinary industry having received the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the James Beard Foundation, the American Academy of Chefs, The World Association of Chefs and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). The competition for the coveted title of Pastry Chef of the Year at Paris Gourmet’s U.S. Pastry Competition’s theme was Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend: Ladies Luxuries. Pastry chefs with more than three years experience submitted an original recipe using Cacao Noel Chocolate and Ravifruit fruit
Curtis Confalone, Carilyn Torres & Katherine Thomas and team of Big Apple Dessert
Restaurant Depot’s Judith Gonzalez, Douglas Trabal, John Hickey, and Alyssa Ferrante
puree; a chocolate bonbon recipe; and a recipe for a plated dessert. Each participating chef also submitted a chocolate showpiece which relates to the theme of Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend and was judged on the use of chocolate/sugar, visual appeal, artistic presentation, technique and originality, and successful theme execution. Board members of the Societe Culinaire Philanthropique, one of the oldest and most prestigious chef associations in the world, presided over the judging procedures. Contest awards totaled over $10,000.00. “The Paris Gourmet U.S. Pastry Competition was one of the highlights of the Show; one that our attendees including restaurant owners and operators and members of the international press look forward to each year,” said Ron Mathews. The main sponsor of the event, Paris Gourmet, is a leading specialty food importer and distributor based in New Jersey sourcing products worldwide, including North America. Other sponsors included Cacao Noel Chocolate, Pastry 1 (pastry ingredients), Beurremont Butter,
Gourmand and Maison de Choix. New products from the sponsors were on display as well. The Pride of New York Marketplace/Taste NY Pavilion previewed exclusive products from New York growers and producers. Pride of NY/Taste NY provided a unique opportunity for restaurant and foodservice professionals to discover food processors who featured delicious new products including locally grown produce, handcrafted spirits and whiskeys, yogurts and cheeses, honey and maple syrup, breads and bakery products, wines and craft beers and much more. “The Pride of New York Marketplace/Taste NY Pavilion brought our attendees face-to-face with family farmers and purveyors who have made New York State one of America's leading suppliers of food and agricultural products. This is a one of a kind opportunity to find resources all under one roof, that addresses guest’s desires for local ingredients and farm-to-table fare,” said Ron Mathews. Pride of NY/ Taste NY was part of the Food Trends Experience, a tasting event featuring over
A pioneer of blast chilling and highquality food preservation, Ira Kaplan of Irinox USA
100 exhibitors providing direct access to product, flavors and ingredients driving the most recent trends in the market – healthy, organic, sustainable, ethnic, artisanal, and more. In addition to the Marketplace, attendees were invited to the Farm to City Expo. Sara Moulton, nationally recognized chef, television host, author and educator joined Ferdinand Metz, CMC, President emeritus of the Culinary Institute of America in a Culinary Demonstration on the show floor. Chefs Moulton and Metz joined an impressive list of chefs who were on stage during the three-day event including Anton Testino, Megan Johnson, Bryan Tsao and others. These live cooking demos were part of the Food Trends Demonstration Theater. “A highlighted feature of the event was the Food Trends Demonstration Theater and this year was no exception as our featured chefs l presented culinary demonstrations and provided audience members with tips on how to incorporate the latest trends into the menu offerings as well as provide delicious samples,” said Ron Mathews. “We were thrilled to be hosting Sara Moulton
Air Comfort Service Group’s Mitch Ott, Ken Smith, Pat Fava, and Dan McCaffrey Crescent Duck’s Blake Corwin, Ashley Rempe, and Pierce Corwin
Italcrust was at this year’s show to offer a better, healthier, ready to go crust for chefs
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The Culinary Depot team brought the latest in foodservice equipment solutions
CLVMarketing’s Jim Voorhees (L) and Tom O’Halloran (R) with American Metalcraft’s Sean Baker-Hewes (C)
The Roger and Sons team led by Joe Cirone (4th from R)
Imperial Bad & Paper Company’s show booth always impresses!
Waring's Daniel DeBari with CLVMarketing’s Chip Little
Cardinal International’s Eric Weiss (R)
Equipex’s Irina Mirsky-Zayas and Gary Licht show off the new Adventys Cooktop which was recognized for one of the best new products at this year’s show
The Kontos team was on hand offering the latest in Mediterranean food offerings
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Contract Furniture’s Northeast & MidAtlantic Region Vice President Gene Trivell with Senior Project Manager, George Agcaoili
B.S.E Marketings’s Jeff Hessel with Young Block’s Hal Block
American Trading’s Amanda Blattner with team
Thermo King’s John Mackey, Sub Zero’s Joshua Kaufman and Cathia Almeida along side Koeppel Auto Group’s George Castillo
who sat down for a one on one interview with Ferdinand Metz followed by their cooking demonstration.” Sara Moulton, a CIA grad, joined Ferdinand Metz to review highlights from her illustrious 30 year career, including working in restaurants throughout the US and Europe, her mentorship with Julia Child, her positions as Food Editor of Good Morning America and executive chef of Gourmet Magazine, her time on the Food Network, and current role of author of several cookbooks and host of “Sara’s Weeknight Dinners”. Sara also discussed her involvement with helping women in the industry, including founding the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. After the interview Ferdinand and Sara cooked one of Sara’s recipes together and Sara was available for a question and answer session and book signing. The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York gave an exciting new feature for the 2015 event called “The Pub”. The NEW area showcased innovative alcoholic
Delivery Concept’s Gary Sample Jr. exhibited the latest in multi-temperature vehicle solutions
Admiration Foods’ Patrice Costa, Beverly Barcelona, Corporate Chef/Vice President Vincent Barcelona, and Erica Diaz Culinary Software Services’ Amber Brown provided leading-edge restaurant software solutions at this year’s show
E&A Hotel & Restaurant Supplies’ Bob Alban with Joe Ferri Jr. and Joe Ferri of Pecinka Ferri Associates
beverages including craft beer, cider, wine, spirits, wine sorbae, moonshine and whiskey. The top 5 trends for restaurants in alcohol sales according to the National Restaurant Association are micro-distilled/artisan liquor, locally produced beer/spirits, onsite barrel-aged drinks, culinary cocktails, and regional signature cocktails were all featured in “The Pub”. “According to The Brewer’s Association, American craft beer sales volume grew at a double-digit pace nationally in each of the past several years,” said Ron Mathews. “It is notable that American craft beer, which is the most expensive segment of the beer category, is out-performing the overall market, including imports. This is good news for restaurants looking for ways to increase sales and we were excited to offer our attendees an opportunity to sample and bring new offerings to their patrons.” This new destination on the show floor showcased approximately 20 innovative craft beverages. “The Pub” included: Estrella Galicia Beer, Maeloc Cider,
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Libbey Glassware’s Sandra Kravetz, Matthew Kuhlmeier, Adam Neid, Brad Busby and Lee Spielman
Blue Point Brewing Company, Smuttynose Brewing Company, Crabbies Alcoholic Ginger Beer, Alphabet City Brewing Company, Singha Beer, North Coast Brewing Company, Sixpoint Brewery, Duvel USA, Frosae wine sorbae, WhistlePig Whiskey, as well as many others who joined these market leaders at the event. "We saw the opportunity to showcase our Galician beer, Maeloc cider and wine to the New York market as one we couldn’t pass up. The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show is a premiere event for the restaurant/foodservice industry and we were thrilled to be involved,” said Matt Szymanski, US Managing Director, Balearic Beverage USA, the first sponsor to commit to “The Pub”. Ben Amato, President of Frosae Wine Sorbae, LLC, added, “Since introducing our Frosae Wine Sorbae with under 5% alcohol last year, we have seen tremendous interest from consumers in the marketplace. The 2015 International Restaurant & Food-
Donald Platkin and James Magee of Ruggiero Seafood
service Show of New York will help us focus on restaurants and foodservice professionals. We see the event as a key launching pad for our strategic growth.” In addition to “The Pub”, the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York will feature the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum educational program, Annual Farm to City Expo, Food Trends Experience, Culinary Demonstration Theater, US Pastry Competition, Japan Pavilion, and 500+ exhibiting companies showcasing thousands of new products. “What a great event, from the culinary demonstration theater to the new PUB Pavilion and conference seminars and Education Station we saw packed crowds enjoy all of our feature areas,” said Ron Mathews. “We thank the New York State Restaurant Association and their members, our exhibitors, attendees, speakers, and press who came out to support the only event in New York exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry.
// INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
WITH FRED SAMPSON
Responding to Changing Times In 1965, a woman from Phoenix walked into the New York City office of the New York State Restaurant Association to discuss the idea of no-smoking sections in restaurants.
Fred G. Sampson,
President of Sampson Consulting, Inc. fredgsampson@juno.com
H
er husband had passed away due to smoking, and she was starting a movement—not to ban smoking, but control it in public places such as restaurants. As most of you know, it took 35 years for this to happen, but happen it did! It was the most dramatic intrusion by government to prohibit the actions of restaurant patrons. Prohibition of alcohol was the first, but proved to be a failure and that law was repealed in 1933. The no-smoking section in a restaurant was the first health-related issue, which dealt with patrons’ choices. About 10 years later, groups who were soon labeled as “food police” started lobbying the federal government to require food manufacturers to list nutrition facts on many of their packaged products, which they eventually did. This, in my mind, did more to not only educate the general public about nutrition when eating at home, but when eating out as well. It became a primer of nutritional facts and terms such as saturated fat, trans fat, polyunsaturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, to name a few. These labels also listed the calories per serving. Little did a segment of the foodservice industry, the quick service
restaurant, realize that it too would soon be faced with this same burden. The recent regulations issued by the Food and Drug Administration mandate that restaurant companies with 20 or more establishments, movie theaters, and pizza places in all 50 states will have to post calories on their menus. These regulations are the most far-reaching mandates ever imposed by the federal government because they include certain foods in supermarkets, vending machines, amusement parks, and alcoholic beverages, but not mixed drinks at bars. As I pointed out in a recent article dealing with mixed drinks, there are as many ways of preparing them as there are ways of making pizzas. It is my understanding that the pizza industry has already advised the FDA that it will be impossible for them to comply with the regulations as written. While this was occurring, the industry was taking its own initiative in dealing with the public’s request for more healthful offerings. Most successful companies find that they must respond to guests’ requests, or lose the guests. While the list might not satisfy the food police, all of the items listed were due to consumer requests: decaffeinated coffee, light beer, and menu items that have the approval of the American Heart Association. Some quick service chains are voluntarily removing soda options from their kids’ menu. Veggie burgers are
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The New York Times stated in a recent article that many more have what is known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and still others follow a gluten-free diet because it tends to help control weight gain.
now offered as an option on sandwich listings. Most restaurants have or are attempting to reduce sodium. Fat-free items appear on many menus. Special requests are also receiving attention. The two million people in America who suffer from celiac disease are finding more locations offering gluten-free items on their menu. The New York Times stated in a recent article that many more have what is known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and still others follow a gluten-free diet because it tends to help control weight gain. In order to offer gluten-free food, the cooking utensils must be free of gluten. Some manufacturers have full lines of gluten-free cookware. You must make sure that your prep table
is likewise gluten free. Simply put, it means, for many operators, investing in special equipment to become gluten free. The demand has grown to a point that food manufacturers are also producing gluten-free products for the foodservice industry. They too must respond to their customers, which are restaurants. As an example, the pizza segment is now offering gluten-free pizzas. Pizza Hut recently announced that a 10-inch gluten-free crust is now available. It will be limited to two choices: 10-inch cheese-only and pepperoni pizzas. The dough is being supplied by Udi’s, a gluten-free baking company owned by Boulder Brands, according to The New York Times. One of the concerns of the culinary community is the possibility of prohibiting the use of certain ingredients, for example, salt. Many have reduced its usage, but eliminating it entirely could dramatically change recipes that are signature dishes of many chefs and establishments. I think it fair to say that the industry has evolved into a highly regulated one. There is the health department, labor, consumer affairs, the state liquor authority, and building and fire departments. Most of them require some kind of signage, which, if not properly posted, could result in a fine. The foodservice industry truly is operating in an increasing “regulatory revolving door” environment. Most of those in this industry are mindful of their responsibilities and make every effort to serve wholesome, healthy foods in clean surroundings. We have and will continue to respond to our guests’ requests and needs. While it might sound elementary, you must respond to change if you plan to stay in business.
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Le District, Brookfield Place NYC Contractor
Designer
Equipment & Supply Dealer
Operator
Custom Fabricator
Paul Murphy, Account Manager, cm&b Danvers, MA
Mariela Alvarez, Project Manager, ICRAVE New York, NY
Bob Finkelstein President, BFA Associates Boonton, NJ
Peter Poulakakos Co-Owner, HPH NYC New York, NY
Ray Broussard President, Maverick Stainless Dallas, TX
Peter Poulakakos' Approach The developer Brookfield always had a vision for this space to be a marketplace. It was then up to them to create a concept and focus on what the concept would be. They always planned it as the second phase. They opened Hudson Eats last year as an anchor to their vision of bringing different retailers together to form that
food court. We arrived at the French concept as we were working on the project. We realized, between the culinary talent and the people we wanted to bring on board, a lot of them were highly French-trained. At the same time, we’re all quite familiar with the mastery of French cooking and the Francophone culture of cooking and we loved how it translated to so many different parts and components of the
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market. We started to embrace that early on. Then we felt that it was the focus and the specialized message we wanted to send throughout the whole place. The whole project took roughly 2 1/2 years. We’ve always had a focus on fine French pastry, and that spins off some of our restaurants where we have welltrained French chefs. Right now we don’t have any French restaurants. Our
two main focuses are pastry and wine. We’re all wine connoisseurs. A lot of our establishments have great wine lists, and a vast majority are French wines. That's how we decided on this particular concept. So far we’ve done two great moves, and we’re about to do a third. We picked a beautiful spot with a great team; we’ve hired a tremendously knowledgeable, energized, talented management team. And the
third move is bringing in the people to execute. As for equipment, our culinary director Jordi Valles selected all the components and pieces that we needed to have a successful project. It was exactly what we wanted to do, bring in highprofile European equipment to get the job done that we needed in each component. But we wanted to make sure the space still had a utilitarian feel to it. So we mixed in American product to make sure it’s not just like a Rolls Royce and you get the feeling that you have to have the most expensive steaks in every component. We wanted to have that sense that you could walk up and feel that neighborhood feeling. BFA handled the equipment. I’ve known Bob Finkelstein for 15 years. I like their experience, their sensibility, being able to meet the requirements we were looking for -- high-profile equipment along with the regular and not having to succumb to one design. You tell them what you want in the component and they flip the switch. It’s a good quality they have. We could have spent a fortune on some of the islands that were built but instead, they went back to a midrange with Southbend and had them flexed or changed to what we needed so we ended up with a very high-quality piece of value-engineered versus having to spend a ton of money because of the shape we wanted. It created value for us, and it followed the parameters of what we wanted for the design. I can't say enough about ICRAVE’s vision. They nailed it; they hit it from the presentation to Brookfield all the way through the project. We wanted to make sure this market wasn’t just a market designed for the corporate downtown Wall Street crowd; the way people would envision it. We wanted to make sure it was built for the residents of the area as well as the people who work in that area. A diverse group of people work there. After that, we wanted to make sure we
had this urban environment -- small kiosks where you could wander and walk through the market instead of just standing to one side and seeing all the way down. We wanted people to take the journey, have that sense of smell, that feel of looking at the product and wandering through. We wanted a commonality of design so you knew who we were and what we were about, and we did it through
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a basic sleek industrial design that permeates the whole place. We added on layers in each district and further layers in each component to give each its own identity. The boucherie is a slightly different background than the rotisserie. That was basically what we wanted, that was the mission of the design and ICRAVE took it even further, brought so much to the table with it. We took it to the next level with ICRAVE and brought
the whole signage package, from the signs down to the menu boards, to them. We’ve worked together on everything. In our other restaurant, we pick our graphic teams, different professionals come in. From a technology standpoint, we’re using a lot of new-based technology -- some Wi-Fi, some hard-wired, some areas have iPads, some areas more traditional hardware-looking POS equip-
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ment. We're taking it to another level the way we charge and ring things up. We did look for a slightly more sophisticated back-of-the house component to control the product. At some point, it all comes to one area and goes out to a lot of different areas so we’ve put a system together to track that. Jordi is experienced in this; he’s run the helm of many fine hotels where there are multiple outlets. We won't really know how Le District will take off until the people come in, how everything works, how everything moves. Up until now we’ve had a tremendous amount of knowledgeable people put everything together. Everything seems to click right, despite some minor adjustments. We’ll have to wait and see. But I'm excited about what's coming!
Bob Finkelstein's Approach It's one of the biggest jobs we've ever done. But it was also one of the most
exciting. I'm talking about Le District, the new gastronomic destination at Brookfield Place, with four different “districts” or areas for dining and shopping. It's not just the location – overlooking New York Harbor's Cove Marina and right across the street from the World Trade Center. But it's what's going on inside that will make it a tourist's – and a diner's – paradise. We were called in to tweak the original design by owners Harry and Peter Poulakakos of HPH Restaurant Group, a Manhattan restaurant and development group which owns Harry's Cafe and Steak, Vintry Wine & Whiskey, Harry's Italian, Financier Patisserie and the Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, among others. Turns out Vinny Longabardi, who works for us, grew up in Brooklyn with Harry and Peter. It's a small world! It started out as one of the biggest projects I'd ever done, from a design stage. It's a lot of retail; it's not your typical
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Tri-State Marketing's Ed Yuter who has been affiliated with Federal Industries for some 20 plus years brought his expertise to an extensive footprint of the Wisconsin based manufacturer's innovative cases
restaurant I normally handle. It's actually an incredible combination of four French markets. Cafe District, a chocolaterie and patisserie, where customers can sample macaron or glacee, Market
District, a boulangerie, fromagerie, charcutiere, rotisserie, or bouchiere, and where you can sit and relax with a glass of wine at the buvette wine bar Garden District, a destination for quick
and easy shopping at a flower shop, wine store, juice bar, coffee station and prepared foods bar Restaurant District, an area that offers casual, fine and private dining alongside an absinthe bar/ patio with grand outdoor dining terraces and chef's table concept. We've done some stores but this was a step up for us, with a high-profile architect, Anthony Mrkic and his team from ICRAVE, who did JFK, and such a palatial location. It was like a football field! But our job was not so much design as value engineering and coordinating all the contractors. It was a pretty big undertaking for us. A tremendous amount of manpower. Over 50 truckloads of equipment had to be delivered to the space, and the logistics of working down there were very, very difficult.
Manitowoc's ice machines were selected for Le District as a result of its reputation for durability and energy efficiency
We had to meet every week at the job site. Usually on a restaurant you go to one meeting, but with this project, it was every week. That had to be coordinated, too. Just the size and complexity of the site alone was overwhelming. There's a prep kitchen downstairs, a back-of-the-house kitchen upstairs, and a pair of beautiful Southbend island/ Waldorf style cooking suites. Southbend did a great job of providing a suite that builds in all of the features that are typically European in an American made product. There are many European chefs working here, and that's what they're used to working with. There were just so many details on this project! A lot of foodservice equipment was getting built into the various millwork stations, and we also had to coordinate the large mass of deli cases and showcases needed for the project. We had tremendous amounts of foodservice equipment and showcase-type equipment. We have a full bakery so we have rack ovens, big croupers, two spiral mixers. In the baking kitchen, there's a window where you can see what's going on. The warehousing, getting everything installed, dealing with the garbage, a lot of energy went into this one. The interesting part is that I didn't do a lot of design. It was more taking an existing design, tweaking it, making it work, making all the trades adapt to what we had to do. It was our expertise in the value engineering side of things that got us the project, how we could figure out ways to make some custom things standard, change some brands, cut out some options. The rep and manufacturing community were solidly behind us, which always
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We put a tremendous amount of Federal cases into the project. Like us, it one of their largest projects ever. We had to modify all the cases; they were not standard. BFA brought Maverick Stainless ability to create the highest quality custom fabrication solutions to the Le District project
helps. The reps had to help us get some extra discounts to bring things in line. We had a certain amount of European equipment; Revent ovens, FPM mixers and proofers. We put a tremendous amount of Federal cases into the project. Like us, it one of their largest projects ever. We had to modify all the cases; they were not standard. Federal worked with us to keep the modification charge to a minimum. As for beverages, we have two big bars, a wine bar and full bar. We put a nice Chill-Rite system in, coordinating the beer runs throughout the place. The beer box is in the basement; so we had to go up across the first-floor ceiling, back down -- a lot of pulling. Long runs with beer lines, patching where we had to patch. We couldn't get an elbow in to turn. That was fun! We used Perfect Core to install the beer lines. We worked closely with the General Contractor on the project: cm&b-Construction Management
and Builders out of Danvers, Mass. We probably spent a third of the time on the kitchens. The rest was all the retail satellite locations. We had to have hoods and ventilation. And there were challenges. The kitchen downstairs was one level below street level and we had severe height restrictions. We like to have at least 9' but were given only 7 1/2', so we had to use a lot of lowprofile equipment that would fit under the hoods. We used Captive Aire’s highefficiency filters, but we didn't have a Smog Hog. The sides of the ducts are all massive and because you're combining so many hoods together, you have to be careful. We didn't install the ductwork but were responsible for coordinating everything, how the ductwork would run, what we could do, couldn't do. We had 13 Arctic walk-ins, eight downstairs; all water-cooled using the building water, with a massive built rack
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A blend of Pentair and Everpure filtration solutions were specified to support a vast diversity of beverage needs throughout the 30,000 square foot project
system. For the eight walk-ins downstairs, we used the rack system. The five upstairs were individual units. We used multiple walk-ins, not just one huge one, because there were a couple of areas where there were two compartments separated by prep rooms. Upstairs the boxes were in different areas. We had two glass-door boxes for grab and go and the other three were each in different departments, one for seafood, one for the back-of-the-house kitchen upstairs, another one for the bakery. As for ice, we put in seven Manitowoc ice machines, five downstairs and two upstairs, for small cubes, large cubes, and crushed ice. We also had two big dish washing stations upstairs and a Meiko pot-washer downstairs. The dishwashers were leased from Ecolab. We had seven glass-washers throughout the project, also from Ecolab. In the front of the house, we have a crepe and gelato area, and the crepe machines are right out in
front of the customers. Belgian waffles are out front on the back counter, and the gelato is displayed in special Oscartek gelato cases. The pastry display is horseshoe-shaped. It's a semicircle display case, three pieces to make up the curve. When you first walk in, it's breathtaking. Noone's ever done French at this level and this volume. Getting it built, having the facilities to manage $3 million worth of kitchen equipment, it's massive. It's the biggest project we've ever done, and with things we don't normally handle, like the revents, the rack ovens, the deck ovens, the proof ovens, the spiral mixers, stuff that a regular restaurant doesn't touch. We were coordinating everything, installing it, getting it to work, having to bring stuff in, in smaller pieces. It was a huge, huge deal and we're so proud we could do it.
Mariela Alvarez’s Approach Our vision was this amazing market in
New York that’s like no other, a really vibrant street life market where you went from vendor to vendor, each one selling something different, each one with its own personality, all with a food specialty. And from that, the whole idea of four districts emerged. We picked different materials for each space, laid them out differently so that there was always this element of discovery and delight at every turn. The whole idea was every counter has space to buy food but you can also sit down to eat. Each has multiple functions. It’s not one layer of experience but always something new to discover. You get access to the Café District from the Winter Garden and we knew from the beginning that Brookfield wanted that part to be more high-end. So when we started picking materials, we had this concept of the space as a shell and adding value to it with these basic materials -- the concrete, the metals, the
Southbend's Island cooking suites brought comfort to a staff of Le District's European trained culinary team and the rigorous demands they face
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Revent's ovens were specified to bring an authentic European flair to Le District's baked goods
wood, to give it its own identity. Since the Café District was to be high-end, we used brass instead of blackened steel and a darker stained wood rather than raw butcher block. We have some copper, some brass, stained wood and concrete and the feeling is not exposed, like in the market, but covered by the beams. Signage was another important element. The Market District is more industrial, so we used blackened steel, and livened it up with signage. In the Café District, although the signs are illuminated to have that wow factor in the Winter Garden, when we tuck away into the deeper spaces of the market, it’s more about the quantity and the layering of them. It’s kind of like a cohesive palette so the whole space reads as one identity. All the finishes are slightly different. The part of the design we’re very enthusiastic about is the cooking displays. Le
District's owner, Peter Poulakakos, always wanted to bring the food to the forefront and this whole idea of being French comes out in the food. The displays were a way of opening everything up and exposing that element that makes the district French. Some of the delight elements come into play with the open kitchens. You can see all the way from the market into the different restaurant kitchens and the bakery. All of them have some sort of cooking component. We wanted the Market District to be a
real New York urban market, with four or five basic shell materials, white tile, concrete, metal, to feel raw and honest. So we used real materials rather than relying on plasters and decorative elements. Its function is what it is. It’s all very utilitarian. The furniture follows the whole concept, too, although there’s not much in the market other than stools in each station. We got to be more playful in the restaurant, the bar, and the little chefs’ tasting rooms, tucked away in the back of the market.
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We used furniture to give identity to those spaces, sticking to the whole concept of having a limited palette and allowing the expression to be in what those elements are. The banquettes in the restaurant and bar were custom, as were the stools. In the chef’s tasting room we worked with Design Within Reach and have classic furniture pieces. We did have a cheese cave in this project that I wish was still there, just like a little tuckaway, a surprise that was hidden. But the chef’s tasting room
also gives that. In the end, our goal was to manage the complexity of having so many different stations, the coordination that goes into making sure they all work together and that it flows, making sure from an architectural standpoint that it comes together, and from a branding standpoint, that it’s cohesive and robust enough to make a place that feels unique. I feel we accomplished that!
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// MEET THE NEWSMAKER
Kathleen Wood, Founder & CEO of Kathleen Wood Partners, LLC
W
hat were some of the highlights of your presentation at the IRFSNY show in New
York? I still have my consulting practice counseling with partners, and we primarily work with a growth company. So we have to get clarity about where they are, about where they want to go. And then we work with them to put together a strategic course of action that gets them there in the most productive and profitable way possible. The best news is, I work with clients in the restaurant business and they are all doing extraordinarily well. One was named restaurant of the year in Louisiana. Another was named the best sports bar in North America by ESPN. So I feel very proud of their accomplishments. I'm very thrilled to be a part of their path to success. Were there any common themes in those two companies that you saw? The flip side of New York is that it's quite different than anywhere else and that sets restaurants there apart. But they all have in common a passion to win. They have to have the internal fortitude to make the tough decisions, the right decisions to win, but they also are trying to achieve that success through the balance of being a great business leader but also a great community leader at the same time. And, I think that's really part of their success. Companies that want to work with me typically are in a po-
Kathleen is the founder of Kathleen Wood Partners, LLC, an innovative growth strategy firm, specializing in shifting leaders and businesses to new levels of success
sition where they want to grow. They want to grow effectively, but they want to grow for all the right reasons. None of these companies start out saying, I just want to be the winner. They all say I want to build a great company. What makes a great company? What it really starts with is the leader. Over the last 20 years of consulting with various companies, you must aim at the four attributes of leadership that separate the good from the bad. And the first one is the clarity of the leader, the leader's vision of what they believe, of what they want to achieve. The second one is their ability to attract and retain key members who also believe and want to achieve that vision. The third thing is really then putting together the plan of action that takes this clarity and alignment and allows people to execute at a level of success that even they
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thought wasn't possible before. And the fourth? Take the risk when risk was necessary. They had the internal fortitude to make the tough decisions when that was necessary, but they also had the strength to be able to celebrate the success of the team and that the team was moving the organization in the right direction. And in my mind, those are four distinct choices that leaders all have.
Is there any rhyme or reason to the type of leader that ends up able to land on the ability to execute on all four? There're a lot of people who want to be decisive when it comes time to making a tough decision but they just get stuck. Or, I think there are a lot of leaders who say, I'm very clear about my vision but then they don't necessarily hear it with their team or they don't hire people who necessarily believe it. But then they don't have the guts to let those people go so they can have people on their team who are truly supporting them in their vision and their mission. And when you look past that leader, you can see that their team is aligned with them.
You can see that they all understand where they're going. You can also see that growth is not an easy thing. A lot of these teams get bonded through some of the challenging times equally as much as through the exciting times. One of the great stories in the marketplace this year is what happened with Shake Shack with this IPO. And now, of course, here we are with a first set of quarterly earnings and having a difficult and challenging time of keeping up to what the street expects of it. What's the lesson here? You've got to look at success as a long-term proposition. And, one bad quarter, one bad month, one bad period of time, does not mean the success or the failure of a business. The real test is, what are you going to do with that information. History shows that a leader would have a clear vision, and a clear plan of action, that they would evaluate, they would take this as their opportunity to figure out what went wrong. Where's the opportunity? What do we have to do differently and how do we keep on our task? A leader isn't defined by a bad quarter. A leader takes the bad quarter and uses it to leap. Instead of being defined, they refine what they're doing. We can't have Wall Street define who we are. We can't let the weather define who we are. But what we can do is take the data that we're given and use it to refine what we want to do and how we want to do it. What advice do you have for someone who has a smaller business, maybe one unit or a couple of units? The first advice I always give to people is, if you don't have time to plan now, when you go out of business, you'll have time to plan. 87 • April 2015 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
// HOW GREEN ARE YOUR WAYS?
WITH PETER KAPLAN
Maximize Your Efficiency While new infrastructure is sometimes expensive like natural gas fired standalone boilers, or alternate generation sources. Efficiency doesn’t always require a major financial outlay.
W
hile expensive upgrades are sometimes a necessity, smart inexpensive upgrades can really make a difference on your total energy over-head. United Energy Consultants has compiled a Spring Shopping List for you that can have a dramatic impact on your
Peter Kaplan, COO & President of United Energy Consultants peter@uecnow.com
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bottom-line. Energy-efficient light bulbs. White paper studies show that (LED) bulbs are at least 75 percent more efficient than conventional lightbulbs and also do not need to be changed nearly as frequently. Recent upgrades to LEDs provide lighting that is soothing,
warm, and a quality light. They can be dimmed, and also used as accent lighting for your place of business. Although startup costs are a bit more, over the long haul you will reduce your consumption and therefore reduce your overhead by implementing smarter lighting. In addition to this, recent technology has made start-up costs much lower than they used to be. Water Conservation. Implementing a slow flow system can reduce your energy costs substantially by using less hot water. Water-efficient shower heads and faucet aerators typically cost less than $20 and only take a few minutes to install. Also, don’t forget to repair leaks! Even a small leak over a long period of time can add up in
price, and also damage walls, electric, and ductwork. Insulation. Insulating your walls correctly can keep a home or business cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter by putting a layering between you and the natural seasonal elements. A lot of people insulate their walls but forget that insulating water pipes will reduce heat loss, and
not using as much energy. There is no reason to run your AC or heat to fully cool or heat your home or business while no one is there. Smart thermostats, optimize savings by scheduling in advance how and when you want your climate control to work. Many of these thermostats are controllable
Implementing a slow flow system can reduce your energy costs substantially by using less hot water. Water-efficient shower heads and faucet aerators typically cost less than $20 and only take a few minutes to install. Also, don’t forget to repair leaks!
increase the water temperature as much as 4°F. This allows you to save energy by not running your HVAC system on high during peak weather days. Again, this is very inexpensive to install and can really make a difference. Smart temperature thermostats. Automate your cooling and heating system so that when you are away from home or business you are 89 • April 2015 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
from your tablet and/or phone, and literally place you in the driver seat while you are not physically there. Prices vary due to functionality but there are many basic, inexpensive models on the market. Over time, these systems pay for themselves. United Energy Consultants is a
leading cost management energy consulting firm. They have been creating results driven solutions for NY Metro businesses for the last decade. Please inquire about our “0 out of pocket auditing” so you can see the power of energy savings.
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Roscoe, from page 38 With a beautiful light copper amber color and white foamy head, Trout TownTM American Amber Ale (5.0% ABV) has a light body, nice toasted notes and a subtle citrus hop finish that is not overly bitter. Trout TownTM Rainbow Red Ale (7.5% ABV) pours a deep amber color with hues of dark red and is complimented by a floral and citrus hop aroma and a rich malt taste that carries into a smooth, but apparent hop bitterness. Rich chocolate and pronounced coffee flavors take over Trout TownTM Brown Ale (5.5% ABV), but unlike typical brown ales the flavor is bold, but the beer is
Queens, Rockland, State Island, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. Pouring onto the craft beer scene in April of 2013, the Roscoe, NYbased beer company was created by folks that enjoy the great outdoors, embrace their community and value all the wonderful things their country has to offer. Committed to offer-
light in body. Trout Town™ beers can now be found in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex and New Haven counties in Connecticut and the following counties throughout the state of New York: Bronx, Brooklyn, Chenango, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Manhattan, Nassau, Orange, Ostego, 92 • April 2015 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
ing the finest products, Roscoe NY Beer Co. (RBC) uses all natural ingredients to maintain and stay true to the American Beer making traditions borne from European ancestry. Their flagship brew, Trout Town American Amber Ale™ pours a deep amber color, with a clean nose, balanced hops and malt, and ends with a light citrus
finish. With hopes to expand brewery operation in the near future, Roscoe NY Beer Co. will continue to craft new, seasonal brews as their business continues to grow.
Silver Plate, from page 2 Sirhal; is one of seven Silver Plate winners who will compete for the top honors. Julie Jones was named this year’s top operator in healthcare feeding and Mary Hill was honored as the best in school foodservice in the announcement of the 2015 Silver Plate
Mary Hill was honored as the best in school foodservice in the announcement today of the 2015 Silver Plate Award winners by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.
Award winners by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) and Nona Golledge finished first in the Colleges & Universities competition. They join Jones, direction of nutrition services at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and Hill, executive director of food services for Jackson Public Schools in Jackson, MS. Also competing for that honor are Silver Plate winners in three restaurant categories. John Miller, CEO of Denny’s Restaurants, won in the Chain Full Service/ Multi-Concept classification; Kat Cole, group president of Focus presidents, in the Chain Limited Service group; and Michael C. Gibbons, CEO of Main Street Ventures, in the Independent Restaurants/Multi-Concept category. The top vote getter will be announced at the 61st Annual Gold & Silver Plate Celebration on Monday, May 18 during the National Restaurant Association’s annual conference in Chicago.
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// LIZ ON TABLETOP
TABLETOP SOLUTIONS
Club Managers Face Change On The Plate Every season has an opening day. For many in the Northeast it is presumed that Memorial day is the start of the summer season.
I
n reality any club manager will tell you that the club season begins in earnest on Mother's Day. It’s the first real big day. Remember with restaurants it’s the one day of the year where nobody cooks at home. Think of it as pretty and shining and spanking new. Most clubs have already finished with the painting and the replacement of curtains. Now it's
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Liz Weiss, President, H. Weiss LLC ewe i s s @ h we i s s . n e t
time to get ready for the height of a club's food and beverage season. The Club Managers Show comes at a good time to shop for new culinary ideas. If you are not in the club business, it’s probably easy to assume that a manager looks at their club from two perspectives: outside venues including poolside, halfway houses and then the dining areas inside. But the reality is, a successful club manager is looking at which venues can generate the most function revenue with weddings, bar mitzvahs and special events. Typically those revenues are maximized in the dining rooms with catered events from non-members. When you do the math, obviously a room full for a function is going to generate far more revenue than a weekday night with your members
only eating dinner. So it makes sense that a club manager shopping for their function business, needs to create a look and style that is condusive to a more upscale presentation. Think of it this way, wouldn't you serve a $20 glass of wine in a nicer glass than a $5.00 glass. What we have found is that clubs today are competing with local restaurants. So with a chef who may very well have been trained at the CIA, the quality of the food rather than the logo on the plate has become a key ingredient to the club's reputation both with its membership and in competing for its share of outside function revenue. In the 50's and 60's, a club's tabletop featured color band encased in gold with a verge line and a service plate. The food was typically what I call a third, a third and a third with a chicken leg, quarter mash potatoes and peas each taking the same space on the plate. It was very traditional and it emphasized the clubbiness of
the club, rather than the food. Today a typical plating at a club looks like a restaurant's plate of food. They are competing in the dining room for the dollars that the membership is going to spend in local restaurants. A club today needs to think about what you are serving rather than the name on the plate. Many of us in the northeast have become foodies. Today's club members want an experience like they would have in a restaurant. So part of that is a more white plated look that has replaced much of the logoed table top. We are seeing many pretty options. They feature different heights. The 12"x 20" vessel has been replaced by a smaller 10” x 10”. No more big thick pans. Today it’s all about the menu with smaller batches that looks prettier and fresher. Buffets have always been a big part of the club season. Not as many as there used to be so they need to look nicer with real focus from members
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on temperature and cleanliness. With our industry focused on HACCP with hot and cold, you can't just put warm things out on platters. Old chafers just don't cut it. Today it’s all about the vessels. We've found solutions for our customers from American Metalcraft’s Vidacasa which features matching hot and cold eutectic plates. Other bright spots are Oneida’s Eurobuffet which mixes wood and metal and Steelite, both of which also have some really nice induction chafers to mix in. Eutectic works more effectively for cold so many clubs are still focused on using induction for hot. In many cases however with older facilities, the wiring infrastructure isn't in place in many clubs to handle the electric needed for it. We like the approach of dropping an induction stove into a counter or what's really cool is to put the induction underneath and then put Smart Stone on the top. These stones are cut from a living rock of granite, stone and
/or quartz and then combined with a polymer which in some cases even has crushed beer bottles in it to create an amazing surface. There's a win-win for many of our clubs with it because by using the stone made from recycled product they are able to be green and sustainable. So in many cases, we are turning to a great cart maker like Forbes and having them create a cart in which we can drop the induction vessels underneath with a stone on the top. Please let someone who has experience help you with this. Not every chafer works with every range. So our suggestion is to find a resource (yesyou can call us) that has been through many projects to find the right mix of induction and stones. We've done and have built a base of knowledge by watching stones crack. You simply can't get this expertise from a web site.
// EYE
METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE
The Annual Partridge Club's St. Patrick's Day Party EYE joined fellow Partridge Club members welcoming the wearing of the green at the club's annual St. Patrick's Day shindig at the Union League Club.
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ennis Sweeney once again brought his touch of humor to the festivities, as the event marked the quickly approaching Spring season. The event marked the passing of the reigns from outgoing Partridge president Fred Klashman of TFS to Marc Fuchs of M. Tucker. EYE toasted St. Patty's Day with club execs; Barbara Kane's addition to the club membership roster brought fellow Ecolab notables Mark Tuchman and Bob Makely to the annual
(L to R) A vast contingent of club managers enjoyed the festivities led by Rory Godfrey of the Appawamis Club, Leewoods’ Mario DiPreta and Nissequoque’s Bill Chandler
(L to R) Romano Gatland’s Chris Brady and healthcare foodservice exec Barry Schlossberg
event. EYE visited with food reps, including: G.A.F. Selig's Ashley Moore and John Arena. Among the large contingent club managers were the Princeton Club's Jason Pallen, Hagen Freihoff of Greenwich Country Club, Woodway's TJ Diagne, Rhy Waddington and Liliana Braswell of Winged Foot, Martina Halsey of the Greenwich Field Club and Bonnie Briar's Kevin Burke. Pepsi's Steve Bussell, Jayme Mont-
(L to R) the JPMorgan duo of Bill Adams and Charles Stock
The Patridge Club’s new marketing visionary Charlene Goff welcomed Restaurant Associates’ Dick Cattani
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gomery and Margaret Brandow joined guests including Pizza Luca's Alex Barantsevitch. EYE toasted the big day with Partridge member's George Hannau, Mr. and Mrs. Ross Gnesin, Lou Rozzo of Rozzo Fish, PBAC's Michael Posternak, Steve Bauer and Larry Cantamessa as well as one of the club's truly bright young visionaries Morgan Tucker of M. Tucker. There was big news out of the annual event as the club announced a special
(L to R) Dorit Shur of Pepsi and Fresh and Tasty’s Peter Fernandez
(L to R) Jacobs Beer Doland’s Bob Doland and Ed Hull enjoyed the holiday revelry
event set for the Time Building in midtown on April 14th. Wine guru Kevin Zraly of Windows on the World fame will treat guests to a once in a lifetime wine experience. EYE can't say enough about the Partridge Club's scholarship initiatives, which are led by Marc Sarrazin of DeBragga and Spitler. The event raised Partridge grants, which go to such noted institutions as the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales, Cornell University, the University of Massachusetts and Paul Smith College. The Partridge Club was formed in 1935 at the Victoria Hotel in New York City. The membership was made up of leading purveyors to the hotel, club and restaurant trade. The Holiday luncheon brought the mission of the Partridge Foundation to raise scholarship funds for institutions of higher learning providing training for students pursuing a career in the Hospitality Industry.
(L to R) PBAC’s Keith Fitzgerald and Patrick LaMont of Brookdale University Hospital
(L to R) GAF Seelig’s Wendy Seelig and Glady’s Mouton DeStefano of the Food and Beverage Association
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TD Marketing, from page 33 took out a lot of the bells and whistles that complicate ice machines, made it user-friendly, easy to operate, easy to clean. Just like many domestic icemakers today, you have to provide options for customers who expect different types of ice shapes and sizes and we offer that -- the half-dice, the fulldice, the full cube for those specialty high-end liquors. And the material being used – the 304 series stainless steel, with everything insulated and anti-microbial finishes so bacteria can’t grow. Water and energy usage are always top priority for ITV, making sure we can produce ice using less water and less energy than any other manufacturer out there and still get the high production. What do you like about its Spika model? The footprint of the ice machine itself,
the size, is what’s so great. It gets into those small spaces that larger machines can’t. And the size and shape of the half-dice cube. It’s a chewable, softer cube; it gives you very good displacement in the glass to provide the optimum profitability for operators. More ice in the cup sometimes means less beverage, which generates more profitability for operators. New York has a lot of seafood restaurants. Tell me about the Alpha line flaker product. Flaked ice is used for display purposes. For seafood markets, buffets, salad bars, it’s just fantastic. It’s not just larger supermarkets but smaller boutique stores that are specializing in quality meats and fishes these days. They want to show ice’s freshness. It’s the first thing when you see something on ice, it’s fresh, that’s what it means. That flaked ice from the Alpha
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will stay in formation a lot longer than a cubed ice, so it’s not going to water down. It’s going to show the highestquality product for an end-user to display. Our flakers are manufactured of the highest-quality materials. Our 304 series is stainless steel with built-in technology to notify or assist that machine. If it senses any kind of obstruction or freeze-up, the machine will shut itself down so it doesn’t cause any major damage to the internal parts of the equipment. It’s a smart-running flaked ice machine. You also do bins and filtration, so it’s a complete package. There are different markets, differentsized bins, including dispensing bins for hotels. We’re an approved supplier for Choice Hotels, which are all over the world. We developed an insulated hotel dispensing system that’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing dis-
pensers to look at. Our cubers fit right on top for those hotel apps. Then we took it into our line of standard bins, a 500-lb stainless steel insulated bin with a stainless steel cover and a 900lb stainless steel bin with a stainless steel cover. It’s important for aesthetics and these machines that will be seen by customers. You want to provide something that’s a little more pleasing to the eye, rounded corners and stainless steel legs standard. We really want to make an attractive piece of equipment. A lot of kitchens today are front-of-the-house and seen by customers. How would a dealer get in touch with you? For more information, call us. Or talk to your service companies. Chances are, they’ll recommend us!
FoodyTv, from page 44 on the ground level of the next food TV explosion and its called FoodyTV. The networks clean and fresh look is taking down the industry and number of subscribers jump on a daily basis. One of the neat features of the network is the “Chef Live Answer Question”. Here Foody’s can ask a question from a REAL chef and
work. Ciminera who has a long list of successes on national TV such Taste This TV, which can be seen on PBS and Create, was glad to climb aboard. “FoodyTV is the new network for watching food shows. Especially in an age where people know that eating healthy can prevent diseases who wants to watch shows that
get a live answer right away. It’s like having your own personal chef right there in your kitchen. The networks clean and fresh look is taking down the industry and number of subscribers jump on a daily basis. One of the neat features of the network is the “Chef Live Answer Question”. Here Foody’s can ask a question from a REAL chef and get a live answer right away. It’s like having your own personal chef right there in your kitchen. Then comes a new network called FoodyTV, a place where educational cooking is top priority. This network is quickly growing at a fast pace attracting viewers who want to really learn about cooking. FoodyTV has managed to secure some of the best talent for its show line up. Some of Food Networks top stars such as David Rosengarten have joined this new network in food. The network can be found at www.foodytv.com. In 2014, FoodyTV recruited Chef and TV icon Joe Ciminera to be the spokesperson and face of the net-
encourage un-healthy practices”. You may have seen many funny, humorous commercials airing on national TV where Joe is announcing FoodyTV to the public. FoodyTV has strategically found a niche in the market and is airing on what they feel will be the “New” way of watching TV in the worldwide. Then comes a new network called FoodyTV, a place where educational cooking is top priority. This network is quickly growing at a fast pace attracting viewers who want to really learn about cooking. FoodyTV has managed to secure some of the best talent for its show line up. Some of Food Networks top stars such as David Rosengarten have joined this new network in food. The network can be found at www.foodytv.com.
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// EYE
METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE
C-CAP Benefit Raises More Than One Million Dollars On Tuesday, March 3rd, Former Chairman & CEO of Time Warner Richard Parsons and Executive Chef & Harlem Restaurateur Alexander Smalls were honored in front of 800 guests at the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).
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he benefit raised more than one million dollars celebrating the organization’s milestone achievement of 25 years of
Chef Bryce Shuman of Betony brought the excitement of his hit Midtown eatery to C-CAP '15
transforming lives through the culinary arts and looking towards the future as the organization continues to be a bridge to the industry for the
next generation of top chefs. The evening featured luxurious cuisine from an all-star lineup of 43 of New York City’s hottest chefs and
restaurateurs. Daniel Boulud, Bryce Shuman, Rich Torrisi, Ben Pollinger, Michael Tong, Michael Poiarkoff, Maria Loi and Markus Glocker were just some of the incredible talent serving up exquisite dishes as well as five C-CAP alumni Thiago Silva of Catch, Cesar Gutierrez of Lexington Brass, Kelvin Fernandez of La Marina, Veronica Rivera of Restaurant Marc Forgione and Mame Sow, Executive Pastry Chef at the honorees’ restaurants The Cecil and Minton’s. Honorees Richard Parsons and Alexander Smalls were acknowledged for their achievements and contributions to the culinary industry as well as their commitment to diversity in the kitchen. Guests moved from table to table, sampling some of the finest foods such as curry crusted cod, short rib arepas, and sweet potato creme brûlée. Cooking alongside these all-
Rick Smilow(L) led his ICE-Institute of Culinary Education team to the annual event
The evening co-honorees Mr. and Mrs. Dick Parsons of the Cecil in Harlem
(L to R) Two of the industry's most philanthropic chefs: Daniel Boulud and Marcus Samuelsson Flank C-CAP founders Mr. and Mrs. Richard Grausman
Noted New York city toque Michael White of Altamarea Restaurants welcomed C-CAP guests
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Porterhouse's Michael Lomonaco's smile always lights up a room
star chefs were more than 60 New York City C-CAP high school culinary students, eager to put their mark on the culinary world. Funds raised at the C-CAP Benefit support the national not-for-profit’s mission of providing scholarships, education and career opportunities in the culinary arts to disadvantaged youth. As well as five C-CAP Alumni hosting tables for their restaurants including Kelvin Fernandez of La Marina, Cesar Gutierrez of Lexington Brass, Sean Quinn of Chadwick’s, Veronica Rivera of Restaurant Marc Forgione, Thiago Silva of Catch and Mame Sow of Minton’s. Cooking alongside the chefs was more than 60 New York
Funds raised at the C-CAP Benefit support the national not-forprofit’s mission of providing scholarships, education and career opportunities in the culinary arts to disadvantaged youth.
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City C-CAP high school students and alumni, eager to put their mark on the culinary world. As this year’s honorees, Parsons and Smalls received the C-CAP Honors Award. Chef Smalls said it best in his acceptance remarks, “This is a new moment of doing good and eating well.” Past recipients include: Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, Lidia Bastianich, Thomas Keller, Charlie Palmer, Danny Meyer & Michael Romano, Alfred Portale, Jacques Pepin, Michael White, Tony May, Michael McCarty, Michael Lomonaco, Drew Nieporent, Egidiana & Sirio Maccioni, Nina & Tim Zagat, and Saul Zabar & Stanley Zabar. The co-chairs for this year's event
were Vincent Mai, Chairman and CEO of Cranemere, LLC and Alberto Cribiore, Vice Chairman of Citigroup. The Vice Chairs were Mark Weiss, and Susan and Richard Grausman, and the Chef Chair was Marcus Samuelsson. CBS2 NY News Anchorman Maurice DuBois was the Master of Ceremonies. The festivities included a silent auction and a live auction run by Jamie Ritchie, CEO and President of Sotheby’s Wine. The list of participating chefs and restaurants and the dishes served is as follows:
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