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// NEWS
SUSTAINABILITY
Meadowlands Restaurants Urged To "Go Green" For Super Bowl With the national spotlight soon to shine on the Meadowlands for next year's Super Bowl, environmental organizations are working to ensure that the area is "greener" than ever.
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peakers from the Green Restaurant Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Football League talked to about 50 members of the food service and energy industries last month at the Meadowlands Environment Center in Lyndhurst, providing strategies for businesses to reduce their energy usage - and costs. "You can find your profits in the trash can in the restaurant business," said Mark D. Koeck, sales manager for
Restaurants notoriously don't come out of their businesses. Because you know what they're doing right now? They're preparing lunch. energy management company Powerhouse Dynamics of Newton, Mass. Koeck wasn't exaggerating. According to John Filippelli of the EPA, restaurants throw away approximately 30 percent of their food - around
$48.2 billion worth of food a year. "Ninety-five percent of the waste that a restaurant creates can be eliminated, reduced, or composted," said Michael Oshman, founder of the Boston-based Green Restaurant Organization. Oshman, who started the GRA in 1990 at the age of 19, spoke about his ambitious goals to make the Meadowlands area a GRA-approved "Green Dining Destination." He will be working with the New Jersey Restaurant Association and the state Chamber of Commerce to promote his cause and he is seeking 4-8 restaurants in the area to use as case studies, tracking the benefits of environment-friendly practices. Most of the event's attendees were not restaurant owners or managers. Oshman wasn't surprised - he said the organization is planning to recruit by literally going door-to-door and pitching the idea. "Restaurants notoriously don't come out of their businesses," Oshman said after the speakers finished at around 11 a.m. "Because you know what they're doing right now? They're preparing lunch." The GRA's guidelines urge restaurants to make economical decisions about energy. Oshman said buying specific kinds of lighting, HVAC systems and other products can help sig-
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Oshman said buying specific kinds of lighting, HVAC systems and other products can help significantly reduce both short term and long-term costs.
nificantly reduce both short term and long-term costs. He also listed some intangible benefits of helping the environment, including increased media attention, positive staff morale, and heightened customer attraction - a recent study found that 79 percent of customers prefer dining at "green" restaurants. While many of those in attendance represented energy companies, some members of the food service industry were present. Catherine Medrano, the executive chef of the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, was there to "get some guidance on how to go green efficiently and make the right choices," she said.
// NEWS
MILESTONES
NYC’s Fatty Crab Teams With Philly Restaurateur Starr For National Roll Out Stephen Starr who imported Brooklyn BBQ king Fette Sau to Philadelphia is set to bring another major New York restaurant concept to the Keystone State and to outposts across the country.
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ew York restaurant group Fatty Crew, owner of the popular Fatty Crab and Fatty 'Cue concepts, has inked a deal with Philadelphia-based restaurateur Stephen Starr to go national. Mr. Starr, owner of Buddakan and Morimoto, will help open Fatty Crab restaurants in eight cities in the U.S. and one in London. The Starr partnership signals the latest growth spurt in Fatty Crew's expansion of its Southeast Asian dining concept, which aims to grow to a $60 million to $80 million company within the next five years. Fatty Crew owns four restaurants in New York City, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands and a recently opened Fatty Crab in Hong Kong. "We traveled the country and the world to figure out what spots we wanted to hit next," said President Rick Camac. "Our last stop was in Philly, the closest city to us, and all the restaurants I loved were Stephen Starr restaurants." That gave Mr. Camac the idea to reach out directly to Mr. Starr to gauge his interest in opening up a series of Fatty Crab restaurants together. “Very simply, I love their operation and I love
Starr, who came to New York in 2006 with Morimoto and Buddakan, copies of two of his 20 Philadelphia restaurants will be the operator and will run the day-to-day management.
their name,” said Mr. Starr. “We want to be a part of their growth, and I think with our name and their culinary credentials, we can do really well.” Starr, who came to New York in 2006 with Morimoto and Buddakan, copies of two of his 20 Philadelphia restaurants will be the operator and will run the day-to-day management. Fatty Crew will collaborate on the dining experience and develop city-specific menus that focus on local and seasonal ingre-
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dients. Chef Zakary Pelaccio, while still a partner in Fatty Crew, stepped out of the day-to-day operations two years ago to focus on his restaurant venture Fish & Game in Hudson, N.Y., though he may consult on new menus. The move comes on the heels of Starr's successful bid to handle catering at the New York Botanical Gardens. Stephen Starr Events will start doing the food in the cafes at the Botanical Garden, with an emphasis on herbs and vegetables. His company is also dishing up lamb Tellicherry and Goan spiced clams at Serai, the cafe in the Rubin Museum of Art, which features the art of the Himalayas. And he is serving Italian food at Caffè Storico at the New-York Historical Society. This fall, he will take charge of the cafes, bars and banquet areas at Carnegie Hall, beginning with the season’s opening night, Oct. 2, when the Philadelphia Orchestra, from his hometown, will perform. The first joint venture will open in Washington, D.C., in about three to six months. The team is seeking existing restaurant spaces, cutting down on build-out time and expenses. Each new
eatery will cost between $600,000 and $2 million, depending on the size and location. The Starr partnership is part of Mr. Camac’s business plan to grow Fatty Crew. He will continue to run the existing Fatty Crew-owned and -operated stores, maintain licensing deals such as the Williams-Sonoma Fatty ’Cue sauce collection, develop partnerships such as the one with Starr, continue to grow its wholesale business with outlets such as the Barclays Center food court and FreshDirect, and build a new catering division.
Main Office: 282 Railroad Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers: Leslie & Fred Klashman Advertising Director: Michael Scinto Creative Director: Ross Moody Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Wyman Philbrook Noelle Ifshin Andrew Catalano 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 2013 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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// INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
FROM
The Real Deal on Restaurant Real Estate in NYC When finding a studio apartment in New York City can become a full-time job for home hunters, it’s hard to imagine what finding a space to rent for a restaurant might be like. The old adage, “location, location, location,” is, of course, important, but what about kitchen exhaust, lease terms, and liquor licenses?
A
seminar at the law offices of Davis and Gilbert LLP in New York City discussed just such issues. The event was cosponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association and was attended by a mix of real estate and law profes-
sionals as well as restaurant owners and employees. The ideal real estate situation for your restaurant involves limiting the surprises, said Robert Karin, a real estate partner at Davis and Gilbert who’s been involved in restaurant leases for big chains, like McDonalds and Smashburger, and high-end establish-
If the perfect space for your high-end restaurant is at a mall, there’s a miss-match of markets. Identify the market and make sure the right patrons will come to the location you’re interested in,
The ideal real estate situation for your restaurant involves limiting the surprises, said Robert Karin, a real estate partner at Davis and Gilbert.
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ments, like Marc Murphy’s Landmarc. “When you’re developing a restaurant those surprises can be very expensive,” he said. A restaurant’s real estate decisions impact many aspects of the business. “Being in the right location for that right market you identified” is important, said Lawrence Cohen, the hospitality group leader at Marks Paneth and Shron, an accounting firm. He was previously the CEO of the Griffin Group, which owned and operated hotels, among other ventures.
“If the perfect space for your highend restaurant is at a mall, there’s a miss-match of markets, said Cohen. Identify the market and make sure the right patrons will come to the location you’re interested in,” Cohen said. Too many people think, “If you build it, they will come.” Finding restaurant real estate is different than finding home properties in many ways. When renting an apartment it’s unlikely renters will gut a kitchen, but that’s just what many restaurants end up doing. Find out what the construction regulations are and what updates you can do to the kitchen exhaust, electricity, and plumbing, Karin and Cohen suggested. Getting proper licenses might also hold up your lease or your opening date. Do you need to get a liquor license? This could take 3-5 months. Do you have your heart set on an outdoor space? Getting approval could take “forever” warns Karin. Both Karin and Cohen strongly suggest not going into restaurant real estate alone. A professional can help you negotiate to get the lease you want and warn you of issues before they arise. Taiki Wakayama, the president of W and E Hospitality, Inc, attended the seminar. The lease negation discussions were particularly helpful, he said, because he recently spent time working in Japan where businesses operate quite differently. “It’s a bit more efficient. It only takes a month to open a restaurant,” he said. Imagine that. Contact The New York State Restaurant Association in NYC: 212.398.9160 in New York State: 518.452.4222 www.nysra.org
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// INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
WITH FRED SAMPSON
Re-Visiting What Seems to Be A Major Consumer Complaint In a recent column, I informed you that Nassau and Suffolk counties, both located in New York State, had passed legislation requiring food-service operators to provide written notice of the prices of all restaurant specials offered to their customers.
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t could be a listing of the specials and prices at each table, a list of the specials and prices presented with the menu, or, finally, a prominently displayed posting, such as a blackboard or whiteboard, listing the specials and prices. You will note that verbally transmitted information is NOT an option. Why am I bringing this to your attention again? Because I recently read three different food critics who stated that they cannot understand why establishments continue to NOT have servers offer the price of the specials or have a printed list of the specials with prices. In fact, one critic stated that failure to do so would affect her review. About four years ago, I brought this consumer issue to your attention I have asked the editor if she would publish it again. In the event it has been your policy, for whatever reason, not to offer this information to your guests, you might want to reconsider. From a reader… “Hi, Fred, I keep getting hit with this. Go into a family-type operation and the wait staff begins to recite the nightly specials. The list goes on and on. Of course, no one can possibly remember all of this, so he/she leaves a card afterward the card contains the items and a brief description but no prices!!! “I understand in some high-end establishments this is protocol. At least, that is what some knowledgeable res-
Fred G. Sampson,
President of Sampson Consulting, Inc. fredsampson1@comcast.net
taurant people have told me. I disagree, but okay. It’s like, if you have to ask the price, you don’t belong in here. But now this high-end special idea is filtering down to the local Mom and Pop, and it drives me wild. “Talk to me and your readership about this soon, okay?” My response… About three years ago, I conducted a survey of a group of frequent and, I would say, knowledgeable diners. One of the questions I asked was, “What is your reaction when your server describes today’s specials?” Each question was accompanied by enough space for detailed answers. While the vast majority said they were interested, 90 percent stated that they wanted to know the price and were annoyed if they had to ask. Other comments included, “the server speaks so fast and, as a result, it is difficult to follow him or her”; “when there are many specials and the server is describing the ingredients, it’s almost impossible
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While the vast majority said they were interested in specials, 90 percent stated that they wanted to know the price and were annoyed if they had to ask.
to remember any of them”; and “if the server has any type of accent, it becomes difficult to thoroughly understand them.” One of the respondents summed up the feelings of the group as follows: “Specials should always be accompanied by their prices and not show up on the bill as a rude surprise. Many restaurants print up their specials as an addendum to their menus,
which is very helpful.” One respondent said he had to ask for the price of desserts, which were also recited, and the server acted like if you have to ask the prices, maybe you don’t belong here. I have also had friends tell me they feel somewhat embarrassed by having to ask for prices; particularly if they are with friends, they insist on knowing how much they are spending. For those operators who feel that verbalizing prices is not necessary or is unsophisticated, think about this. About ten years ago, in a New York Times editorial, the industry was taken into task about the wait staff failing to inform guests of the prices of specials. There was also an insinuation that perhaps such a practice should be prohibited. Certainly the last thing we need is another law, but it does appear to be an irritant to a majority of restaurant patrons, which can be eliminated. (At the time this article was written, the Nassau/Suffolk County laws had not been passed.) And finally, I have been associated with the food service industry for six decades, and I still do not understand why management would not have servers include the price when verbally presenting the specials. There is an axiom in our industry that the first 15 minutes of server-guest communications is critical to insuring a satisfactory experience for the guests, and I might add, that includes the attitude of the server as well. If including the price when reciting the specials enhances this relationship, why not do it? I realize that many of you reading this do not have your servers offering prices when presenting the specials. I would very much appreciate hearing from you as to why. My e-mail address is fredsampson1@comcast.net. I will not quote you.
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// EVENTS
METRO NEW YORK FOODSERVICE EVENTS
"Javits Is Cooking" Set To Take Center Stage At IHMRS Look for a brand new look and feel to the upcoming International Hotel and Motel and Restaurant Show at the Javits Center in New York this November.
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ith the backdrop of a newly renovated and rechristened Javits facility, show manager Phil Robinson has unveiled plans to recharge the 98th annual IHMRS set will run Saturday, November 9, through Tuesday, November 12, 2013, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. “This year's show will launch our new approach to creating a uniquely New York experience,” noted Robinson. “We have identified 6 key themes that will enable restaurateurs and food service operators to come away from the show with answers that they can put to work im-
mediately to make them more profitable." "From our Locally Sourced pavilion to our Grab N' Go and Gluten Free concepts, the goal is to create a program of cooking demonstrations, the chance to learn from specialists and network with fellow restaurateurs and even meet a celebrity signing their latest book," Robinson continued. In addition, the show will feature pavilions dedicated to Baking, Yogurt, and Mix & Mock (beverages/ cocktails). "This new approach will enable the show exhibitor to maximize their trade show expenditure by laser focusing their resources on their priority products for each of the
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6 key themes that we have identified, " Robinson added. "With everything from the Cronut to Greek yogurt and issues including the replacement of room service at local hotels, our goal
was to create a new level of access for our exhibitors and attendees." Following the Hospitality Leadership Forum, a full day of conference and networking activities, on Saturday, November 9, the IHMRS will feature three days of exhibits of new products and services for hotels and foodservice properties from Sunday, November 10, through Tuesday, November 12. IHMRS is co-located with the 4th annual Boutique Design New York (BDNY), featuring suppliers of high-end, unique and innovative interior design products for hospitality. The combined market presents over 1,000 hospitality industry suppliers and attracts more than 22,000 trade visitors. IHMRS is sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), the Hotel Association of New York City, Inc. (HANYC), and the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association (NYSH&TA), and is managed by Hospitality Media Group (HMG).
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// NEWS
CATERING
Abigail Kirsch Expands Empire with Stamford Loading Dock Acquisition Abigail Kirsch Catering has announced its latest partnership with The Loading Dock & Studio Space in Stamford, CT. Located in Fairfield County, CT, The Loading Dock, which was designed by NY architect Jeremiah Bailey of EOA and Paula Fox Interiors, offers 10,700 square
The Loading Dock draws clients from all of Westchester and Fairfield. Events run the gamut from weddings to corporate parties to photo shoots and charity fundraisers. Last year, Ridgefield High School decided to hold its prom at the site, with 400 students attending the party. Recently, The Loading Dock launched Studio Space, which presents an alternative look with its exposed brick walls and diminutive size. The site is used as an add-on to parties. If someone is planning a
feet of industrial, loft-like white space.
W
ith multiple rooms (including a game room) the sleek space is perfect for mitzvahs, weddings, corporate meetings and holiday celebrations. In a style similar to New York’s Meatpacking District, The Studio Space provides 3,200 square feet of exposed brick walls and cement floors, making this urban chic room ideal for more intimate gatherings. In 2014, the firm will be the exclusive caterer and operator of these unique event spaces. "We have developed a boutique service for The Loading Dock & Studio Space in which clients will be able to design menus and decor that are reflective of who they are; a very personalized approach," noted the firm's president Jim Kirsch. Clients are often drawn to the structure, designed by New York architect Robin Elmslie-Osler, for its minimalism and prefer to maintain that feeling by using simple lounge furniture and some lighting to create a look that is fabulously industrial
chic. Still, there are others interested in a truly unique ambience, like the charity-event hosts whose theme was “Bollywood.” Abigail Kirsch will be taking over for the owner of the property: Mimi Sternlicht. Sternlicht has always been involved in creative businesses. She started her career as a creative
director in advertising and has been known to attend design meetings with her husband, Barry S. Sternlicht – founding chairman and CEO of the Starwood Capital Group and creator of the Starwood Hotels. One of her most notable contributions was coming up with the “W” brand name for the luxury boutique hotels.
The firm's President Jim Kirsch
wedding or a bar mitzvah and wants to have the service on the premises, this gives the client another room and another feel. The intimate setting is also ideal for smaller events like Sweet 16s, Quinceañeras and dinner parties. Recently, the locale was used for a Jack Wills fashion show and a Reebok exercise video. Sternlicht opened the Loading Abigail Kirsch Catering has announced its latest partnership with The Loading Dock & Studio Space in Stamford, CT.
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// EYE
METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE
James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne New York Heated Up the Hamptons with Andrew Zimmern James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York Heated Up the Hamptons with Andrew Zimmern on July 20th.
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n Saturday, July 20, the James Beard Foundation toasted Andrew Zimmern, T V- p e r s o n a l i t y, chef, food writer and teacher at their annual Hamptons tasting party and fundraiser, Chefs & Champagne® New York. Zimmern, the creator, host and co-executive producer of Travel Channel’s hit series, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Bizarre Foods America, was
among more than 1,000 guests who attended the benefit at the Wölffer Estate in Sagaponack, N.Y. The event featured flowing champagne, the wines of Wölffer Estate Vineyard, Stella Artois® Belgian lager and delicious tastings from a select group of more than 35 fine chefs, including numerous James Beard Award winners. Notable guests included Ted Allen, multiple JBF Award-winning cookbook author and TV personality of the series Queer Eye and Chopped, as well
as iconic African-American restaurateur and lifestyle expert, B. Smith. The James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York is considered the East End’s premiere culinary event. A silent auction consisting of fine dining experiences, wines and spirits, cookware, and culinary travel packages raised over $65,000 to support the James Beard Foundation’s mission and educational programs, including culinary student scholarships and the organization's annual food conference
on sustainability, public health, and nutrition. Silent auction items included a chance to attend opening night of the New York Film Festival and Dansk Classic Enameled Cast-Iron Cookware by Mario Batali. Carrying on its long tradition of supporting culinary education, the James Beard Foundation was proud to announce Jhonel Faelnar of Jamaica, NY as the 2013 Christian Wölffer Scholarship recipient. Established in 2006, the Christian Wölffer Scholarship assists students in their study of food and wine, and with this honor Jhonel will begin the Intensive Sommelier Program at the International Culinary Center this fall. Also in attendance was multiple James Beard Foundation Scholarship recipient Christina Cassel, who is pursuing an advanced degree from Johnson & Wales University with the goal of teaching. Chefs & Champagne® New York participating chefs included: • Franklin Becker, Cast Iron, NYC • Ari Bokovza and Colleen Grapes,
Participating chefs with honoree Andrew Zimmern and James Beard Foundation President Susan Ungaro at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser held at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in the Hamptons on July 20, 2013. Photo courtesy of the James Beard Foundation 24 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
• • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
The Harrison, NYC Anthony Bucco, Ryland Inn, Whitehouse Station, NJ Floyd Cardoz, North End Grill, NYC Patrick Feury, Nectar, Berwyn, PA Timothy Fischer, Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs Resort, Hamburg, NJ Tom Fraker, Melissa’s Alex Guarnaschelli**, Butter Restaurant and The Darby, NYC Evan Hanczor, Parish Hall, Brooklyn, NY Todd Jacobs, Fresh, Bridgehampton, NY Stefan Karlsson, Fond, Gothenburg, Sweden Dan Kluger, ABC Kitchen, NYC Matthew Lightner, Atera, NYC Dean James Max and Ali Goss, Parallel Post, Trumbull, CT Shane McBride, Balthazar and Schiller’s Liquor Bar, NYC James McDevitt, ESquared Hospitality, NYC George Mendes, Aldea, NYC James Merker, Mile End Delicatessen, NYC Ashley Merriman, The Waverly Inn, NYC Eric Miller, Madison & Main, Sag
Chef John Suley’s Chilled Maine Lobster Salad with Avocado, Hearts of Palm, Compressed Pineapple, and Lemongrass–Vanilla Vinaigrette Photo courtesy of the James Beard Foundation
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• • • • •
•
Harbor, NY Todd Mitgang, Crave Fishbar, NYC Masaharu Morimoto, Morimoto and Tribeca Canvas, NYC Billy Oliva, Delmonico’s, NYC and Southampton, NY Ron Paprocki, Gotham Bar and Grill, NYC Carolina Perego, Citarella and Fulton, NYC Bryan Petroff and Doug Quint, Big Gay Ice Cream, NYC Maricel Presilla**, Cucharamama and Zafra, Hoboken, NJ Olivier Quignon, Bar Boulud, NYC Michel Richard**, Central Michel Richard, Washington D.C. and Villard Michel Richard, NYC Rosa Ross; Scrimshaw, Greenport, NY Alex Stupak, Empellón Cocina and Empellón Taqueria, NYC John A Suley, Celebrity Cruises® Abby Swain, Craft and Craftbar, NYC Jason Weiner, Almond and L&W Oyster Co., Bridgehampton, NY and NYC Hayan Yi, Corkbuzz Wine Studio, NYC
Participating chef Timothy Fisher’s Blue Crab with Huitlacoche and Sweet Corn Photo by Mark Von Holden
• •
Zac Young, David Burke Kitchen, NYC * * James Beard Award Winner
This year’s guest of honor announced a charitable partnership with eyebobs, a leading U.S. eyewear company specializing in reading glasses. In collaboration with eyebobs, a portion of the proceeds from “The Zimm,” Zimmern’s new style of limited-edition eyeglass frames, will be dedicated to
(From L-R): Dan Gasby, JBF President Susan Ungaro, B. Smith, 2013 Honoree Andrew Zimmern and 2013 Honoree Ted Allen Photo by Mark Von Holden
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furthering the James Beard Foundation’s mission and programs. The event sponsors are Badoit® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water; Celebrity Cruises®; Delta Air Lines; evian® Natural Spring Water; ForbesLife; Forever Cheese; Melissa’s; Roland Foods; Royal Cup Coffee; Skuna Bay Salmon; Stella Artois®; VerTerra; Wölffer Estate Vineyard; WVVH-Hamptons TV®.
VIP after party sponsored by Empire City Casino at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne® New York fundraiser Photo by Phil Gross
// Q&A
Wayne Kostroski Taste of the NFL Founder, Minneapolis, MN
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e are so excited to have you coming to New York this year. I cannot tell you.
Well I, as well. There are extra special years, our twentieth anniversary in North Texas was amazing, and our Tropicana year, in Saint Pe-
tersburg when we took over Tropicana field was an amazing year. Two years from now our twenty fifth anniversary is coming up. This will be the top of the 23 years, because I keep saying to people it's New York. And even better it's Brooklyn. We are so pumped.
What year did this begin? And where did this whole idea come from? It started in Minnesota in 1992. A couple years before that Minnesota was announced to be the host for Super Bowl XXVI. The host committee started, growing and being put together and I was asked to serve as the chair of the restaurant committee and coordinate the 3,000 restaurants in Minnesota. The term that the Super Bowl was here I was going to be the president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association. So that kind of overlapped, and it made sense.
So are you a restaurateur by trade? Is that your background? Oh God, that's my day job. Yes I've had about 10 restaurants over the last 35 years. That's what I do for a living and for the last number of years I've been
states across the country through SYSCO, US Food Services, etc. So that's how I make a living. This is all volunteer work and I'm blessed.
That's fantastic- what a great story. Well, that's why I know food service and that's why I knew when the Super Bowl was coming here. And I've been involved with hunger programs for about 10 plus years and I’m also on the board of Share Our Strength, and on the board of Jeff Bridges' End Hunger Network and so the idea came to me. Our fine dining restaurant offers different benefits for hunger around the country. Wolfgang Puck has his Meals on Wheels. And, in Chicago we have a charitable event we send our restaurant to, and in Miami etc. We would participate in different events so from my end, I was in the business that I knew and how incredibly charitable
The hip scene in Brooklyn is exactly what we need. To make this work, we've got to bring the kind of fresh and youthfulness into this event after 22 years.
Wayne Kostroski is set to bring the excitement of the Super Bowl's annual food service signature event: Taste of the NFL to Brooklyn in February
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winding down the restaurants. I have one now that's been around about 15 years and then we have a food service operation at the Minnesota state fair for 15 years. It allows me to pay the bills and the mortgages. Really our Franklin Street Bakery operation. It's a wholesale bakery where we specialize in great breads and ship to over 20
the hospitality industry is and plus I knew a lot of chefs on restaurant tours. And it made sense to create an event. The hip scene in Brooklyn is exactly what we need. To make this work, we've got to bring the kind of fresh and youthfulness into this event after 22 years. And I can't think of a better place to do it than Brooklyn but I
mean you ask anybody on the street and they'll tell you for 20 minutes why they're proud to be there. And then, you know, we've got Ted Allan who lives there and couldn't be prouder of Brooklyn. Andrew Zimmern spent some of his growing up time in Brooklyn. One of our board members is from Brooklyn. As I talk to more people, if you and I aren't from Brooklyn, what's wrong with us? It's amazing how many people are willing to, and interested to step up and really shine a huge spotlight on Brooklyn. And I have to tell you, there's very little doubt in my mind, short of a Hurricane Sandy coming through there's very little doubt in my mind that this year's event will be the largest net event, we will top. A million dollars. We will beat North Texas. But also, because it's New York and you know, Bobby Flay is on our board. And our supporters and people ready to go with us are Tom Colicchio and Thomas Keller. In New York we're doing an event with Danny Meyer and Share our Strength in September. We're doing something at the New York Athletic Club in November. It's going to be a season-long
It's going to be a season-long campaign to raise awareness and dollars for hunger. This year Cake Boss’, Buddy is going to make a cake of Super Bowl worthiness. campaign to raise awareness and dollars for hunger. This year Cake Boss’, Buddy is going to make a cake of Super Bowl worthiness.
If a New York restaurant owner or If you're a food distributor or somebody in the industry and you want to be either affiliated with the Taste of NFL, or you want to be affiliated with one of the lead up events what kind of opportunity is there to get involved, and how does one go about getting involved? To help out you know, I believe in the hospitality industry and I believe in this country. I mean I'm not running
Kostroski has harnessed the power of his superb management skills to keep the yearly event fresh and local
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for office here. But if someone identifies a need to someone, that someone will at least consider, pretty quickly if they can help, and if they can they'll do it, and if they can't, they can't. In the hospitality industry, we are incredibly giving. Who do you always turn to first when someone puts on a charity? So, we made a conscious shift about 15 years ago to really focus on our volunteer base being culinary schools, culinary students and part of that was to have them work elbow to elbow, planting the seed with their heroes that, you know, you should be involved with I'm here prepping this dish for Taste of NFL tomorrow night or tonight. If you are a culinary student, you know you are helping me, thank you very much. But let me tell you I am Bobby Flay, I am Todd English, I am whatever and I'm here because I think we should be helping in our community. Now, since we've been around for 22 years, I run into so many kitchen workers and chefs and restaurant people who have said, you know, I helped out at your Atlanta event in 1994 and now I've got my own restaurant.
So, where do you see this 10 years down the road? God willing, nobody will be hungry anymore. But in the off chance that somebody still might be hungry where are you headed and where are we going? We really do play in the grand scheme of things but unfortunately a pretty
small role in the cause and effect. And really the purpose continues to be, you know, is to spotlight the issue as often as we can. Not only to benefit "the event" of the kick hundred challenge or whatever but just to raise the awareness that, you know, it's not always checkbooks or anything else. Look, around at your neighbor. Hunger is an invisible issue. If you see someone in a box under a bridge, obviously, they're homeless, I mean okay? You get that. You see that. And, then, when you build a house with Habitat for Humanity or repair houses and all those great things that happened to you, have an end result and you look at and say, there, now there's a house, people can live in it. Hunger is, you know, so tricky, so invisible. Working together and particularly with the chefs and the players who could be making a lot of money signing autographs. Super Bowl weekend and chefs would certainly rather be in the restaurant, you know, taking care of their guests. But they are here so I've got to continue to find ways to have them feel fulfilled. They have got to find that their work is good. And a lot of that has come through a season long with this Kick Hunger Challenge and other things. That they're active in their community now, players and chefs, through the entire season. And this just isn't a get together party, raise money; now we've solved the problems, see you later. And there's Tom Colicchio's film A Place at the Table. The part of the message, if you will, is that he's not asking for a dime. He's saying we need to change. Hence the political will. We've got to, change the visibility and the awareness of what's going on here. And, get both sides of the isle, and every office you can to say locally and nationally we're involved.
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// FOOD SAFETY
WITH NOELLE IFSHIN
A Well Trained Staff is Your Secret Weapon Restaurant owners are often frustrated by not achieving their goals in relation to quality, customer satisfaction and financial benchmarks, yet many times they have not given themselves the appropriate tools to do so.
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ools for your restaurant such as the newest, most integrated POS system, the most expensive kitchen and bar equipment, and even the best operating systems and procedures do not mean anything without a well-trained staff. People run your business and your business is only as good as your peo-
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Noelle Ifshin, President & CEO, 4Q Consulting New York, NY
ple. An effective training program is an owner’s key tool to ensure consistency in product and customer service, which is a basic tenant of running a restaurant. Here are four key elements of such a program: Proper Training Materials Codifying operating procedures so they make sense to you is easy, however organizing and presenting the materials in a way that your staff will understand them may not be. Your staff probably comprises a diverse combination of people from different socio-
n o e l l e @ 4 Q C o n s u l t .c o m continued on page 86
// PASTRY CHEF OF THE MONTH
PRESENTED BY IRINOX
Biagio Settepani,
Co-owner & Executive Pastry Chef at Pasticceria Bruno
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iagio Settepani began his career at the age of 13 in a small pastry shop in Brooklyn, New York, spending his next few years learning as much as he could. At the age of 21 he took over the reins of Bruno Bakery, a well known bakery and cafe in New York City. Since then, his dedication to excellence has brought him around the world in search of knowledge. He has competed nationally and internationally for over a decade, earning him several medals and numerous accolades. In 2001, he became a C.M.B. (certified master baker). He now runs together with his family, two retail shops in Staten Island, and one in New York City. He still finds time to share his knowledge by teaching at various schools to the new generation of pastry chefs. You’ve been baking since you were a young teen. What was it like, starting out so young? I came to this country in 1973. I actually started working at a bakery quite by accident! My parents wanted me to do something with my life, not run in the streets. So I started working in a small pastry shop in the Bronx, and I found I liked it.
the books – my brother and I decided to buy another bakery by NYU, and we went from retail to wholesale, where we had 140 accounts – restaurants and hotels and shops. And the rest is history. How has the business changed in the last 30 years? The mom-and-pop bakeries are pretty much over. Today you can’t be just a bakery; you also need other kinds of food. I also believe that outsourcing today is a good idea. You might be better off in the long run, rather than dealing with a staff, equipment, suppliers. Biagio Settepani is the Co-owner & Executive Pastry Chef at Pasticceria Bruno Bakery and Restaurant
I was there a long time. But after my first year in college, I wanted to work full-time. Baking was my passion. I asked my boss and he said, “We’ll try it for one night and then in six months we’ll see.” It sounds funny but it really hurt me. I stayed another four or five months but all the time, I was looking for my own place and finally, I found it, a little shop in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn – for $19,000. My parents helped me buy it. After I ran it for a couple of years – doing the whole thing – baking, ordering, waiting on customers,
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Who would you say has inspired you most? Without a doubt, that would have to be Robert Ellinger. I met him once at a demonstration given by a German company and the second time, we took a class together in Gettysburg and then we became friends and I looked up to him as a professional, more than anybody else in this industry. Robert was one of those guys, if you have a question, you just picked up the phone and he was like a walking library. He never let his sickness stop him, and when I have a rough day, I think of Robert, and I stop complaining.
What’s the hot, new thing today in pastry? Classical is coming back. It’s like the fashions, you know? What’s hot today may not be hot tomorrow, but it will be back. Last year it was cupcakes. This year it’s the cronut, half-crossant, half-doughnut. Everyone is always looking for a new idea. But there are no new ideas. They’re old ideas
The mom-and-pop bakeries are pretty much over. Today you can’t be just a bakery; you also need other kinds of food. I also believe that outsourcing today is a good idea.
that are renovated. Another trend is gluten-free. We try to satisfy everyone. We have some sugar - free items, lactose-free, and now, gluten-free. You became a certified master baker in 2001, and have won numerous awards in competitions. What is that like for you? Of course, it is wonderful! But you have to work very hard, harder than you ever thought you could, and
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// EVENTS
METRO NEW YORK FOODSERVICE EVENTS
Highlights From New York's Summer Fancy Food Show The Summer Fancy Food Show, North America's largest specialty food and beverage event, took place at the Javits center last month. The industry-only event is a showcase for over 180,000 different food and beverage products as well as ancillary industries such as printing, packaging, and point of sale systems.
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s you might imagine, fitting all that into a venue required a lot of space. This year the event took up two floors of the Javits Center as well as the North Hall. It was great to see the Javits take the wrapping off of a multi-million dollar upgrade of the center. For upcoming exhibitors and attendees for the IHMRS show in the fall, it will mean
a beautiful new venue to get the most out of their fall show week. The halls were divided into national sections with the major food exporters like Italy and Spain occupying large swaths of space on the main floor, with smaller producers like Great Britain and Morocco in relatively small spaces. EYE finds that the show offers a window into new taste trends and every year more exhibitors at Fancy Food
A large contingent of International buyers came to the Colavita booth to display their latest offerings 32 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
package products for foodservice. The show is marked by endless nibbling, cheese, charcuterie, sweets and even alcoholic beverages. This year the big trend was gluten free products: everything from popcorn to frozen tandoori chicken was labeled as such. There was far less discussion of non-GMO foods, but I predict that by next year that this discussion will be as prevalent as gluten was this year. There was also a lot of cheese, it was everywhere. You could also find plenty of domestically produced charcuterie. Montclair chocolate master Susan Fine of The Chocolate Path came to the event. “I come because I’m always on the lookout for new, highquality products,” said Fine. “It’s also a chance to hear the stories behind new companies, face-to-face. You learn things you can’t find on the Internet or get by phone.” While Susan sampled dark chocolates with laser focus, she also cast a wider net in search of overall food trends. EYE found that adding natural fruit flavors, such as coconuts, pear, pomegranate, and blood orange to chocolate is still very much in vogue. A bit more cutting edge were the teainfused chocolates, such as those pro-
Jamie Wichlacz anchored Belgiosio's Javits booth
duced by the Tea Room. The California-based company introduced their Lapsang Souchong chocolate bar fusion at the show, where it was offered alongside their Raspberry Rooibos, Earl Grey, and Black Masala Chai bars. As with ice cream and other sweets, it was hard to find a line of chocolates that didn’t offer a “caramel sea salt” flavor. Speaking of sodium chloride, many companies are mixing all sorts of flavors into sea salt. Smoked Bacon Chipotle salt, anyone? And how long before someone combines that with chocolate? One of the most curious new products were Christine Le Tennier’s “Flavor Pearls.” The tiny, luminescent balls, made of thin alginate (also known as seaweed extract), pop in your mouth and release powerful savory and sweet flavors such as balsamic vinegar, truffles, maple syrup, and pink grapefruit. The strawberry and black currant pearls would pair perfectly and look lovely tossed into Holly’s Yankee Doodle Cocktail.
Now in its 59th year, the show is the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty foods and beverages in North America and a must-attend event for top names in retailing and foodservice in the U.S. and abroad. This year’s event marked the official launch of the Specialty Food Association’s new brand to promote and recognize the industry: Specialty Food. Craft. Care. Joy. The newly named Association, formerly the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc., created, owns and operates the Fancy Food Show. Returning to its longtime home in New York after two years in Washington, D.C., the show is the largest to date, with 354,000 square feet of exhibit space. More than 2,400 companies from across the United States and 80 countries and regions are presenting their latest cheeses, chocolates, vinegars, oils, grains and other specialty foods at the event. “Our show celebrates the passion and creativity that fuel specialty food,” says Ann Daw, president of the Specialty Food Association. “This is our largest show ever, and center stage are new and innovative foods and beverages that come directly from people who care about producing top-quality food.” Show highlights included a keynote address on taste and innovation by internationally-acclaimed Chef Marcus Samuelsson, owner of Red Rooster in Harlem and The New York Times bestselling author of Yes, Chef. He will also present the 41st annual sofi Awards for the outstanding specialty foods of the year, and awards for the Outstanding Specialty Food Retailers of the year. A full menu of workshops and seminars, including “Start-Up Sunday” for beginning food entrepreneurs and roundtables on the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act. Cooking demos from top chefs presented by the Specialty Food Association and Cooking Channel, including José Andrés, Sara Moulton, Kelsey Nixon and Roger
Mooking. The Specialty Food Association celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2012. It is a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs established in 1952 in New York to foster commerce and interest in the specialty food industry. Today there are more than 3,000 members in the U.S. and abroad. The Specialty Food
Association operates the Summer and Winter Fancy Food Shows and presents the sofi™ Awards honoring excellence in specialty food. A donation of 150,000+ pounds of specialty food to City Harvest was delivered at show’s end.
Sarabeth's Sarabeth Levine captured top honors for her new tomato soup
Bazzini's Nancy Friedman (R) helped buyers update their grab and go strategies Sunny Kim and Josh Hodapp led a large contingent of Dean and DeLuca's NYC based buying team
Roland Foods’ Lisa Kartzman (c) welcomed a number of guests to the firm's new booth
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Many of New York's best-known restaurant brands including La Esquina brought the flavors of their restaurants’ new retail offerings at the show
// INSURANCE
FIORITO ON INSURANCE
Keeping Your Business Ingredients Fresh, Outside of the Kitchen Restaurant and food service companies should continuously be updating their office procedures the way they would treat the items on their menu.
Bob Fiorito, Vice President of Business Development at Hub International Robert.Fiorito@ hubinternational.com
amongst others to make sure you are properly and effectively running your business. Below is just a sampling of the vital aspects of your office procedures that you should strongly monitor and may want to consider outsourcing or paying closer attention to:
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uccessful restaurants understand the importance of evaluating and updating their menus based on season, consumer appetites, and simply to stay current; however, what a successful restaurant also needs to understand is the importance of treating the ‘behind the scenes’ factors of their operations in a similar fashion. A restaurant requires proper management of financials (such as cash flow, and fixed cost), payroll, computer software updates, and much more. Your overall operations and office procedures are what will truly affect your bottom line. There are options available to help you properly manage these items and make your life easier, that you may not even be aware of unless you are evaluating your current objectives and processes. It is imperative to seek advice from trusted advisors and professional service firms, including payroll companies, insurance brokers, legal and accounting firms,
exist. Many restaurants do not consider the importance of keeping their software up to date. Choosing the right software for your company is important to your productivity, accuracy and overall bottom line. The right software can keep all of your business and financial data accessible and organized. When you hire an IT consul-
There are options available to help you properly manage these items and make your life easier, that you may not even be aware of unless you are evaluating your current objectives and processes. Computer Software & Hardware New software is constantly being developed and marketed to large corporations and small businesses. There are programs available that could make your life easier and keep your business running more efficiently, and you may not even know that they
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tant or other recognized expert, you can gain insight into which servers, programs and other software/hardware can meet your needs and your budget according to your business plans. Without spending time on IT purchasing decisions, you'll be able to focus more on the core of your work.
It’s also of the utmost importance to make sure that your systems are properly configured to avoid hacking or other types of extortion – see cyber liability section below for insurance to protect against these perils.
Payroll and Employee Benefits Managing payroll and staying compliant with the Department of Labor rules and regulations can be a time consuming challenge. Calculating employee earnings, factoring deductions and benefits and getting checks out on time are just some of the aspects companies big and small must abide with when it comes to payroll. For many companies, the solution to keep this in good order is to utilize payroll accounting software or payroll management companies. With all of the Health Care Reform (HCR) requirements being implemented, managing the employment status of your employees is more vital than ever. Starting in 2015, a “large employer” (defined as an employer who employed an average of at least 50 full time employees for a calendar year) will be subject to a penalty under the federal HCR law if it fails to provide minimum value health benefits to all full-time workers. Determining full time status is crucial and can be complicated. A full-time employee is an indi-
vidual who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week. Proposed regulations are expected to provide that 130 hours of service in a calendar month would be treated as the monthly equivalent of 30 hours of service per week. In other words, for a 12-month measurement period the employer would add up all of an individual’s work hours for 12 months and then divide by 12. Is that number more than 130? If yes, then the employee is considered full time. Contracting out your payroll management will not only assist you with HCR compliance, but it will free you and your personnel up to handle other matters and help optimize productivity.
able for comfort in today's cyber business world. Review your business insurance program with your broker to make sure you are protected in case of a breach – this requires an additional cyber liability policy in most cases to get adequate coverage for these and other losses. Speak with your insurance advi-
Online Presence/Cyber Liability Insurance Almost every restaurant or food service business has some kind of network, database, or online presence that puts it at risk for litigation. If you have website content, your company can be targeted for violating copyright or intellectual property laws. Consider the following scenarios: Personal and financial information of customers sits on your servers, and is hacked. A company laptop that is stolen or forgotten in a taxi can launch a long and costly nightmare involving theft or extortion. An employee posting on a blog, social media page, or discussion forum can make your company liable for slander or defamation. Yet many businesses do not have insurance that covers these risks nor are they aware if their software has the proper malware protection in place. As your company grows and succeeds, savvy business people understand that a higher profile equals higher risk. Look at your current insurance program and make sure it matches your current needs and has grown with you as you’ve expanded or made changes. Chances are, you have left yourself too vulner35 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
sor to make sure you have the proper protection in place, and for advice on consultants and procedures necessary to make your restaurant the business it truly is. Robert Fiorito serves as Vice President, Hub International Northeast where he specializes in providing insurance brokerage services to the res-
taurant industry. As a 20-year veteran and former restaurateur himself, Bob has worked with a wide array of restaurant and food service businesses, ranging from fast-food chains to upscale, “white tablecloth" dining establishments. For more information, please visit www.hubfiorito.com
// MEET THE NEWSMAKER
Lee Schrager, Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.
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or those that don’t know you, tell us a little about your background. Where are you from? Where did you study? What’s your food and wine background? I’m from Massapequa, NY and studied at the CIA. My first job in the culinary world was working at the take-out counter of a Chinese place. What led you to become a world-famous Food and Wine festival organizer? Tenacity. With the thousands of New York restaurants, how do you possibly plan all the events into four days? Strategically. We use a variety of venues throughout the city and we’re always on the lookout for new places. Our program is constantly evolving until the day our tickets go on sale. Talk a little about the NYC Festival’s program. Is it specifically built for the city and what are some of the staple events that make it such a great event? New this year, we’ve moved our central hub into Midtown West and Hudson New York serves as our Headquarter Hotel. Both new and returning signature events are taking place at new locations – with Pier 94 as the new home of the Southern Wine & Spirits of New York Trade Tasting presented by Bever-
age Media Group and our Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite featuring KitchenAid Culinary Demonstrations presented by MasterCard. The adjacent Pier 92 will host the Festival’s iconic Blue Moon Burger Bash presented by Pat LaFrieda Meats hosted by Rachael Ray and Olmeca Altos Tequila presents Tacos & Tequila hosted by Bobby Flay, as well as new events including: Jets + Chefs Ultimate Tailgate presented by diet Pepsi hosted by Joe Namath & Mario Batali, and La Sagra Sunday Slices sponsored by Time Out New York hosted by Anne Burrell & Adam Richman.
Strategically. We use a variety of venues throughout the city and we’re always on the lookout for new places. Our program is constantly evolving until the day our tickets go on sale.
Lee Brian Schrager, one of the nation’s preeminent event planners and public relations experts, serves as the Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. He joined the company in 2000 and oversees projects for the company in all 35 states in which it does business.
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Who are some of the partners that help make the festival come together and how does their role help? All of our partners are important to us in a variety of ways – starting with our title sponsor Food Network and presenting sponsor FOOD & WINE. Our friends at The New York Times, Delta and MasterCard, our official card, and many others, all contribute to our success.
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// NEWS
HEALTH INSPECTION
Letter Grade Consulting Offers Solutions For Health Department Inspections’ Portfolio Of NYC A restaurant owner’s biggest fear is being shut down by the health department. With the use of social media, public awareness of food borne illness has spread like the plague in cyber space. In New York City, the difference between an “A” or a “B” letter grade in your window can make or break your restaurant business.
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duo of two of the industry’s young and brightest stars; Rada Tarnovsky and Leon Lubarsky, have teamed up to create Letter Grade Consulting (LGC). The Brooklyn based firm has created a portfolio of solutions to establish a strategy that enables the restaurateur to stay ahead of the strict demands of the health department. “A client of ours did some studies and research and he found out that if his A grade dropped to a B, that would cost him roughly 30% in revenue,” Tarnovsky explains the difference between letter grades. “The city also put out a number stating that restaurants that have an A letter grade have 9.7% greater income than those who don’t,” Lubarsky noted on statistics. Initially, Letter Grade Consulting based their idea off their desire to assist food service establishments in complying with NYC health department regulations, which has become a key element to their survival, and ultimately a philosophy. “When we moved our law practice to a new loca-
We strive to provide operators with the tools necessary in order to ensure compliance. tion in Carroll Gardens, where we were surrounded by restaurants, we saw the struggles and disconnect between the health department and restaurants. It was a natural progression to make a bridge between the two,” Tarnovsky stated. With a common goal to give the customer a “worry-free” meal, LGC provides programs to help improve your business. This philosophy has spread like wild fire and seems to be a necessity for most restaurants in the Metro NYC area. Earlier this month, NYC Food Service Restaurants slapped the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) with $150 million lawsuit
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claiming that violations issued during health department inspections were excessive and unjust. Although this caused revenue for the city, there was ultimately a loss of business. Forty restaurants filed the complaint in NY Supreme Court claiming that the inspectors were not properly trained and that most of the fines given had nothing to do with food. According to the team behind LGC “Food service establishments have a duty to serve and prepare food in an environment that operates according to the rules and regulations set out by the health code. Consumers have a fundamental right to eat food
that is free from contamination and prepared in clean violation free surroundings. The Letter Grade System’s requirement of posting a grade in the window has not changed any rights or responsibilities of operators. What it has done, is given consumers access to information so that they are able make informed decisions when choosing where to dine. Although compliance with this system is not new, or impossible, it requires consistent oversight. We strive to provide operators with the tools necessary in order to ensure compliance.” LGC offers services, solutions, education, training, attorney tribunal representation and much more. They serve various establishments including corporate cafeterias, restaurant chains, upscale restaurants, hotels, catering companies and local eateries. “We inspect for everything every single time to eliminate error. Our monthly mock inspections take out the element of panic.” Their fundamental objective is to maintain a violation free kitchen and testimonials prove just that. “We give them a daily protocol to follow so they know what to do and what to look for,” Tarnovsky notes on the system they established to help restaurant owners succeed. Letter Grade Consulting has opened the eyes of many in the Metro NYC area. “We believe that the system is here to stay for all of the good reasons of why it was implemented. We live in an age of social media and awareness so it is here to stay, ” Tarnovsky notes on the increased knowledge of this philosophy. With similar letter grading headed for outposts across the country, look for LGC to become a national leader as well in the near future.
// FOOD SAFETY
WITH WYMAN PHILBROOK
Developing a HACCP Plan & System Building on solid foundation of Prerequisite Programs to control food safety risks.
I
n the last couple of monthly columns we addressed risk-based systems and a general overview of what are Prerequisite Programs (PRPs). I wrote about the two major food safety systems for foodservice establishments, active managerial control and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). In this column we will focus on the later. I have found in my years of consulting and operations, that HACCP
Wyman Philbrook
Owner of Philbrook Food & Beverage Consulting And Training philbrook_fandb@comcast.net
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is sometimes misunderstood in retail operations. In many cases it is a regulatory requirement due to risk level or a process that is used in a facility. As previously stated in past columns, the perception is that an operator only needs a written plan to turn into the regulatory department so that a variance or approval is issued to use a special process or deviate from existing guidelines i.e. FDA Food Code. Many operators will reach out to a consulting company like mine, which are specializing in HACCP and ask two questions- How quickly can you write a plan? - How much will it cost? HACCP is more than a stack of papers.
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// CHEFCETERA
UP CLOSE WITH METRO NEW YORK'S CHEFS
Executive Chef Massimo Fedozzi Graceful Rose, Port Jefferson, NY
and experienced many different work environments. It is very easy for me to adapt to new situations and work environments. I guess I was lucky enough to already know the language and open a restaurant for childhood friends in Manhattan.
While growing up in Northern Italy, Fedozzi was intimately involved with food from a young age. He learned about pastas and antipasti at his parents’ salumi shops in Genova and delighted in the meals and aromas while his family gathered around the kitchen table.
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luent in English, Italian and Spanish, he was expected to become a translator, but followed his true passion and attended the Marco Polo Culinary Institute in Genova. Fedozzi’s career began in the kitchens of some of Europe’s most renowned establishments including: The Savoy Hotel in London, England; Louis XII Restaurant in Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Grand Hotel Park in Gstaad, Switzerland. At Ristorante Aladino in Genova, Fedozzi became one of the first chefs in Italy to present nouvelle cuisine. He strives to share his enthusiasm for taste and presentation and lives by the philosophy that “the quality of ingredients is everything and simplicity of execution is a must.”
Are you using sustainable sources for your dishes? As much as I can. I have been lucky enough to work for companies that are very committed to sustainability and I always try to follow those guidelines as strictly as possible. What advice would you give to young chefs just getting started? To really take a hard look at this profession. It is a very rewarding job but it can be extremely difficult. They have to be willing to work very hard if they want to be successful.
What inspired you to become a chef, where did you study? My parents. Watching them creating culinary masterpieces inspired me and introduced me to the culinary world. I studied at the Marco Polo Culinary Institute of Genova where I got a Master in Culinary and a bachelor in Hotel & Restaurant Administration. What was the transition like coming from Italy to the States in terms of working in a restaurant for you? I spent a lot of time working abroad
Have any mentors? What have you learned from them? All the great Chefs/Teachers I worked with in the past, but most of all my parents. They taught me to be humble, to have respect for others and to work hard. What are a few of your favorite ingredients to cook with? Most definitely, house made pasta, fresh herbs and EVOO.
Fedozzi’s career began in the kitchens of some of Europe’s most renowned establishments including: The Savoy Hotel in London, England; Louis XII Restaurant in Monte Carlo, Monaco; and Grand Hotel Park in Gstaad, Switzerland. At Ristorante Aladino in Genova, Fedozzi became one of the first chefs in Italy to present nouvelle cuisine.
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Do you change your menu seasonally? What’s the process in developing new menu entrées? Right now I don’t. In menu development, the most important fundamental is the study of the demographic in which you are cooking so you may establish and build the taste for your audience. After that, the availability of products especially if you are using local and seasonal ingredients is critical. Another
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// EYE
METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE
24th Annual Wine, Spirits & Culinary Celebration & Casino Evening New York Cooks For Natalie, Benefits The Natalie Toedter Scholarship Foundation
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YE notes that the 24th Annual Wine, Spirits & Culinary Celebration & Casino Evening was once again held at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers last month. The mission once again was to raise money for the Natalie Toedter Scholarship Fund to support students in their culinary education — our future chefs, in cooperation with C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) and culinary schools in the New York Metropolitan Area — The Culinary Institute of America, Johnson And Wales, New York Technical College and other philanthropic venues. Attendees enjoyed a wide variety of extraordinary food and desserts prepared by leading chefs, plus fine wines and spirits contributed by prestigious wine distributors. For one night only, the wonderful
(L to R) Joseph Manfredi & Carmine A. Marletta
creations of the chefs of some of the finest restaurants included: Philip De Maiolo - Pier 60 Chelsea Piers, NYC; Kirk Avondoglio Perona Farms, NJ; David Burke David Burke's, NJ, NYC, Chicago, LasVegas; Ikuo Kamata Chez Kama, Great Neck, NY; Sani Hebaj Marriott New York Downtown, NYC; Randy Zablo Foremost Caterers, Moonachie, NJ; Uwe Toedter Columbia University; Armando Monterroso New York Marriott Marquis; John Halligan Park Steak House, Park Ridge, NJ; Michael Lomonaco Porterhouse, NYC; Ben Pollinger Oceana Restaurant, NYC; Mark Arnao Ritz-Carlton Central Park, NYC plus many more in one place at one time. Uwe Toedter stated, “We have come together to enjoy a selection of delicious foods prepared by some of New York’s finest chefs and some chefs who have joined us from far away. Here you may sample great food, paired with an
(L to R) Rossano Philip, Sylvestry K., & Nick Eltz
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assortment of fine wines and spirits — all at one place under one roof — supplied by our local distributors. This generosity is for one purpose only — to raise money for the Natalie Toedter Scholarship Program. We are most proud to see the dedication, encouragement and support from the chef community and our suppliers at this evening’s event. We are excited to share the extensive list of generous prize donations from New York landmark hotels and superb restaurants and many friends and supporters from around the country. We aim to make tonight’s event memorable for all — our chefs, suppliers and supporters, and most of all you, the guests and friends of Escoffier! Although we can look back on a very successful year, this year will be even more rewarding. Our aim is to preserve and continue the dream of Natalie Toedter with the scholarship
in her name that will make a dream become reality for another young student. We can do this only with your support, and we appreciate all of your continued assistance. The funds raised this evening will go toward the Natalie Toedter Scholarship Program to assist deserving students pursuing careers in the hospitality industry in the New York metropolitan area. Keep in mind that ‘the students of today will be the chefs of tomorrow!’ We wish to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the talented chefs, wineries, spirit sponsors and all the other participants in this evening’s festivities. Last, but certainly not least, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to you, our guests, for supporting the efforts of Les Amis d’Escoffier of New York and the Natalie Toedter Scholarship Program!” Uwe Toedter, who served as executive chef at the New York Hilton and Columbia University established the scholarship for young women interested in pursuing a career in the hospitality industry, in memory of his daughter Natalie, who passed away unexpectedly of heart failure at the age of 21."Natalie's dream was to be in the hospitality industry," Toedter explained.
(L to R) Uwe Toedter, Jens Stumpf, Kurt Keller, Philip De Mailo
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// MEET THE NEWSMAKER
PIZZA
George Pastorok,
ketplace.
Co-Owner of GG’s Wood Fire Pizza, Milford, CT
C
onnecticut Chef and Restaurateur, George Pastorok, has earned a great reputation in the Nutmeg state for offering mouthwatering offerings at reasonable prices over the years with in smaller towns where great restaurants are hard to come by. His most popular restaurant operation was a highend steakhouse out of Newtown, CT called G.P. Cheffields. Though the very successful steakhouse has been closed for quite sometime as George Pastorok left the foodservice industry to focus on his insurance business, he still had a passion to get back into the foodservice industry. George partnered with his brother Gregory to open a new pizza establishment called GG’s Wood Fire Pizza. What or who inspired you to become a chef, any culinary training? I had many sources of inspiration that led me to become a chef, well the obvious answer coming from an Italian family, my mom and grandmother, but there are more influences such as, Pacelli’s Bakery or Frances Pastry Shoppe, going to Sorrento’s Market and Venetian Gardens, or into a basement of a home that was converted into a small restaurant where Nonna’s and Zia’s would be making macaroni, sauce, tying and frying braciole, pressing pizzelle’s. There I found people to be so happy, and never did I encounter someone that was cooking not to be in a good
GG's Wood Fired Pizza restaurant owners George Pastorok (R) and his brother Gregory (L), pose with their Italian brick oven in Milford, CT.
mood and it was obvious they loved what they were doing. My love and passion for food came from working alongside my grandmother, her sisters and my mother, helping roll pasta, stuff and cut ravioli, rolling meatballs, and frosting cookies. This led me to Johnson and Wales in Providence R.I, where I studied Culinary Arts and Business. Back in the 70’s and 80’s JW was not only teaching you how to cook, but how to run a business. They were not looking to compete with the other schools that pumped out chefs with no idea how to run a kitchen. After closing G.P. Cheffields and leaving the food industry for some
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time, what brought you back? After selling G.P. Cheffields to the Vazzano’s in 2003, I went on to sell food for Dairyland The Chef’s Warehouse for a couple of years. This education on the road opened my eyes to many different styles of restaurants; in my travels I saw the true business side of running a restaurant. I absorbed all the management styles and buying procedures from some of the great restaurant owners in CT. So when I made my mind up that I was going back to the food industry I pulled on all the resources I had obtained during my stint at Dairyland and worked on a concept that I knew would make both me happy cooking and be economically prosperous in today’s mar-
Why a pizza establishment so close to the ever popular New Haven Style pizza locations rather than another upscale restaurant? Opening a Pizza parlor, I love that phrase, just reminds me of going to the old Jennies on Grant St. or Jerry’s Pizza in Bridgeport CT. When my brother Gregory and I decided we were going to do a Pizza Parlor so close to two of the most famous pizza parlors in the country, we weren’t worried but the people around us were. I felt that if we could make our pizza with the same passion from our high end dining establishments, and use the best ingredients available we could be successful wherever we opened. You’re using a Mugnaini 160 oven imported from Italy? How was the decision made over some of the other popular ovens in the market? Using the Mugnaini oven from Italy was a great choice of oven for us. We had looked at others but kept coming back to the Mugnaini. My first encounter was when my friend Gianni Strano from Brewster NY had one installed at his home. It made delicious pizzas and when we made our way to Mario Batali’s Tarrytown location and the Westport spot we knew we had found our oven. At that point we realized we could bake the style of pizza we wanted to make in the Mugnaini. In your opinion, is there a difference in using wood or coal as a heat source for your oven? Using wood has made a difference in our pizza that you can’t get using a coal-fired oven. The high heat and flame results in a charring of the
dough that imparts the flavor of the seasoned oven floor and the wood we burn. The double fermentation process we use to make our dough allows the dough to fully cook in the short amount of time it spends in the oven. This process makes our pizza more digestible and does not leave you with that feeling of stuffiness after polishing off a pie by yourself! Your main focus is pizza, any other menu items? Our main focus is pizza; it truly is the star of GG’s. We have also developed a wood-fired chicken wing that is delicious and already has its own following of wing connoisseurs. Our wings bring back memories when we all ate chicken with the skin on. The oven chars and crisps the wings and gives them an off the grill taste, but does it in minutes as we put them directly over the burning wood. We also have beautiful salads, all of which can be ordered family style for the table. The same goes for our pasta dishes. My fourteen-year-old daughter Belle makes our cavatelli, which she learned to make beside my mom. All our desserts are made here at the restaurant. We have a great Italian cookie plate, a bungalow cake inspired by one of my mentors Dominic Picarazzi of Frances bakery, and also make the sorbets and plan on having Italian Ice for the summer months. We also have a great local source; Bucks Ice Cream here in Milford for salted caramel and vanilla bean ice cream. You play a key role in marketing the restaurant. What are some of those responsibilities and how important are they for running a successful restaurant? Using Groupon, Facebook, etc.?
I felt that if we could make our pizza with the same passion from our high end dining establishments, and use the best ingredients available we could be successful wherever we opened.
My brother Gregory has really opened my eyes to the value of social networking and the Internet to market our establishment. Right now we are relying on a lot of word of mouth to spread the word of our opening, but we also use Facebook and Twitter to talk about specials we have or upcoming events. We would like to have our website be a place where people can find out about upcoming events, as well as be interactive and a place where we can all chat about what’s going on. We are also marketing the restaurant through our local presence with school groups and sports teams. What are a few of your most essential ingredients for a great pie? Where are you sourcing your ingredients? Our pizza ingredients are fresh and simple. We use San Marzano tomatoes from Italy, imported Buffalo mozzarella as well as our own fresh mozzarella. We also make our own sausage and use a pepperoni made in
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Seattle that we slice ourselves. We use the Mugnaini oven to wood fire the onions, peppers, tomatoes and vegetables we use as toppings. Our clams come in daily right off a boat that goes out of Devon CT. The time we spent over the years in fine dining has taught us using the highest quality ingredients and treating food with respect will yield a great product. Our idol Dominic Demarco of Di Fara’s in Brooklyn extols this philosophy as you watch him make each pie, hand grating the Grana Padano, tearing at the buffalo mozzarella and clipping the fresh basil as his pizza leaves the oven. I use Dairyland- The Chefs Warehouse as my lead purveyor, and my salesperson Tim Mullen is an exchef who always points us in the right direction when choosing a product for the menu. Work with any local CT consultants and dealers for seating, kitchen equipment and installation?
Since coming back to CT in 1986 and opening our first CT restaurant we have developed some great relationships within the food industry. So when I decided to jump back in this time, we had a readily available stream of purveyors, printers, architects, and construction guys we have used in the past. We have had a relationship with Warehouse Store Fixtures in Waterbury since 1986 when I dealt with Oscar Silverman, a man of great integrity who has since passed. His son’s David and Roy have taken up his passion and compassion for their clients, and David helped us in the early design stages and supplied us with all of our kitchen equipment. Creative Wholesale Meat in Fairfield CT owner John Cuddy has been with us since 1996, John’s knowledge of the wholesale meat industry is second to none. The restaurant industry has a broad range of foods, what’s your buying approach? All of our relationships over the years have made buying an easy task. You still will need to know the market and have multiple purveyors for items that define your menu to keep everybody on their toes. I always try to buy the best quality ingredients for the restaurant, and not all are the same, for example you can buy hundreds of great extra virgin olive oils from all over the world, but if I need one to dance a peppery dance on your tongue, I will find the right one. In your opinion, what’s the biggest changes you’ve seen in the restaurant/pizza industry whether good, bad or both? One of the big changes I have seen
continued on page 83
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// SCOOP Marsal Teams With Jersey Pizzeria To Anchor Expansion Scoop says for Ray Daruku, the challenge of growing his Ray's Traditional pizza empire has been to find an oven that would enable each of his units to maintain the quality of the original pie. So when it came time to add his latest in Hillside, New Jersey to restaurants in Rochelle Park and Creskill, Daruku turned to Marsal Ovens. In the world of pizza ovens, Marsal &
INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE Sons Inc. has been offering premium quality ovens for over forty years. They refer to themselves as “The new standard in the pizza industry.” For Ray’s traditional pizza, this stands true. Having been in the business since 1999, Ray’s Traditional only uses the best. Having been in the industry for a decade, he has encountered many ovens and has found that “Marsal’s ovens are just the best. With consistency and everything. Just the best.” The SD series commercial deck ovens have a
For Ray Daruku, the challenge of growing his Ray's Traditional pizza empire has been to find an oven that would enable each of his units to maintain the quality of the original pie. two-inch-thick cooking surface and an exclusive left-to-right burner system, ensuring that every pie has part of the burner system directly underneath it. “When you put the pie in the oven, you don’t even have to move it. The consistency is perfect,” Ray noted. Even heat distributions is what allows for this consistency.
ebrates the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America with an awards ceremony at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York City. But while the chefs themselves get the honor, attendees - mostly industry professionals get to sample desserts from all 10 pastry chefs. While it's relatively easy and convenient for the NYC pastry chefs to create desserts for the 300+ guests, there's always chefs who travel to NYC and have to sort out a kitchen in which to make their desserts. Sometimes this proves a challenge. One of this year's Top Ten is Roy Shvartzapel, from Houston, Texas. Currently working on the opening of Common Bond, his new bakery in Houston, Shvartzapel
NYC’s ICE Hosts Pastry “Oscars” The Garden State's Ray's Traditional Pizza chain has built its new menu around the flexibiility of the Marsal oven
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SCOOP says “Who are the best pastry chefs in America today?” Every year Dessert Professional magazine cel-
New Yorkers topped the 2013 Pastry Awards at ICE
connected himself to a commercial kitchen in Queens, NY, where he spent a week creating an array of pastries for the crowd, and a few cakes that were "just to be displayed." Then tragedy hit the morning of the Awards, an assistant at the kitchen where Shvartzapel was working managed to spill the entire speed-rack full of 20 trays of pastries, sending 500 individual petits gâteaux tumbling to the ground.
Paramus Lands First Shake Shack In Jersey Scoop sees that Shake Shack, the super-popular burgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshake restaurant that has drawn lines of customers everywhere is now opened, from Manhattan to Washington, D.C. to Istanbul, and is coming to Paramus. Edwin Bragg, director of marketing and communications for Shake Shack, confirmed what has been rumored around Paramus since April - that the borough had landed New Jersey's first Shake Shack location. Shake Shack will move into the space formerly occupied by the Stacks pancake restaurant. Workers are gutting the interior and beginning the remodeling project. Bragg said the Paramus Shake Shack is scheduled to open in the fall. The Shake Shack chain was born
in 2001 when New York restaurateur Danny Meyer opened a hot dog stand in Madison Square Park in Manhattan to help raise funds to restore the park. The stand was an instant hit, attracting long lines of patrons, and by 2004 it had moved into a permanent location in the park, and had expanded its menu to include burgers, fries, and ultra-rich shakes. The chain now has more than 30 locations in the United States - including the Mets' Citi Field - and in foreign cities, including London, Dubai, and two locations in Istanbul. Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group also operates fine-dining restaurants in New York City, including the Union Square
The Shake Shack chain was born in 2001 when New York restaurateur Danny Meyer opened a hot dog stand in Madison Square Park in Manhattan to help raise funds to restore the park.
CONNECTICUT NEW YORK
NEW JERSEY
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• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
181 Marsh Hill Road 91 Brainard Road 566 Hamilton Avenue 15-06 132nd Street 1966 Broadhollow Road 720 Stewart Avenue 43-40 57th Avenue 1335 Lakeland Avenue 650 S. Columbus Avenue 305 S. Regent St. 777 Secaucus Road 45 East Wesley Street 140 South Avenue 1135 Springfield Road
Danny Meyer is set to open a Shake Shack unit in Paramus
Café and Gramercy Tavern. Shake Shack is the latest competitor in the burger and milkshake category to enter the North Jersey market, following rapidly expanding chains such as Smashburger and the Sonic drive-in restaurants. Shake Shack falls into a category that food analysts call "better burger" - restaurants that feature 100 percent Angus beef, and hormoneand antibiotic-free meats.
In A Twist, Manhattan Bar Is Served ‘On The Rocks’ SCOOP sees that a new Midtown bar Minus5, it’s not just manners that compel patrons to use a coaster. Without one, their glasses, made of ice, might fuse with the bar, which is also made out of ice. The same goes for the walls, the
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Orange, CT 06477 Hartford, CT 06114 Brooklyn, NY 11232 College Point, NY 11356 Farmingdale, NY 11735 Garden City, NY 11530 Maspeth, NY 11378 Bohemia, NY 11716 Mt. Vernon, NY 10550 Port Chester, NY 10573 Secaucus, NJ 07094 S. Hackensack, NJ 07606 S. Plainfield, NJ 07080 Union, NJ 07083
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shelves, even the chairs. The bar’s co-founder, restaurant and entertainment entrepreneur Robert Sabes, is betting his ice bars are the next hot trend. He opened the first two American Minus5 locations in Las Vegas in 2008. Last month, Minus5 Manhattan opened the doors into its 23-degree Fahrenheit interior. (That’s minus 5 degrees centigrade, hence the name.) Inside the bar, a New York motif is etched into the icy walls: the Manhattan skyline; the Brooklyn Bridge; win-
Without a coaster, their glasses, made of ice, might fuse with the bar, which is also made out of ice. try trees that are meant to evoke Central Park; and a carving of the Statue of Liberty. There’s also a “boardroom” for business-inclined New Yorkers, with ice benches covered in faux deerskin. Mr. Sabe was so convinced ice bars were the next big thing, he and co-owner
203-795-9900 860-549-4000 718-768-0555 718-762-1000 631-752-3900 516-794-9200 718-707-9330 631-218-1818 914-665-6868 914-935-0220 201-601-4755 201-996-1991 908-791-2740 908-964-5544 continued on next page
Craig Ling put three years and more than $5 million into the Manhattan bar, which is at the Hilton on Sixth Avenue. Minus5 was a tough sell at times when seeking out locations, said Mr. Sabes. Nobody in the U.S. has heard of the likes of an ice bar. He and Mr. Ling, who opened the first Minus5 locations in Australia and New Zealand, finally talked the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas into housing the first American location. Messrs. Sabes and Ling are “in expansion mode” with Minus5, said Mr. Sabes. They’re looking at locations in Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago and San Francisco among other cities. Minus5 Manhattan’s $20 cover charge comes with a borrowed parka and gloves. For a little more, patrons get a faux fur coat, or, as part of a VIP package, a signature Russian-style hat. Minus5 Manhattan fits about 50 or 60 patrons, most of whom stay in the
Bubby’s in The Meatpacking District will include a takeout area with an oldfashioned soda fountain shop.
frigid temps for somewhere around 45 minutes. In Las Vegas, though, said Mr. Sabes, a group of Canadians took it upon themselves to set a record and stayed in the bar for six hours.
Bubby’s To Pull Off SodaFountain Takeout Scoop hears that The Meatpacking District is going to get a little more wholesome this fall. Bubby’s, which is
slated to open just its second US store in that neighborhood the first week in September, will include a takeout area with an old-fashioned soda fountain shop. "Like the iconic Tribeca original, made famous by glamorous diners like John Kennedy the new location at 71-73 Gansevoort St. will be open from 6am to 4am daily," Chef/Owner Ron Silver said. In the morning, the 2,800 square-foot restaurant will offer coffee and pastries from a takeout window along with cold-pressed juices. That will morph to sandwiches and picnic lunches for the High Line crowd during the day and burgers and fries for the late nightclub crawling crowd. The restaurant will have 85 seats in the dining room, and a coffee and soda fountain takeout spot in the back. The soda fountain shop concept will allow Bubby’s to “showcase things that are hidden in the basement in Tribeca,” like the way the restaurant makes its own soda and pies about 10 pies now, and they change seasonally.
New Jersey’s Local Smoke BBQ Sets Sights On National Title Scoop notes that Local Smoke BBQ, a team with a restaurant in Cookstown, took the New Jersey barbecue championship at the recent event in North Wildwood last month. The team states: We are a competition barbecue team specializing in the art of smoking chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket. We've represented New Jersey at contests all over the country including Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada and in almost every state from Virginia to Vermont. We have collected over 100 awards including three NJ State Championship titles. Highlights include 1st place in Ribs against 488 teams at the American Royal BBQ contest in Kansas City (which is known as the World Series of BBQ) and 1st place in Brisket at the National BBQ Festival in Douglas, GA. 52 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
The Garden State's local Smoke BBQ Team have set their sights on a National Championship
The New Jersey State Barbecue Championship, a three-day open-air festival featuring championship barbecue competition; live cooking demonstrations, special displays, and food and beverage vendors to satisfy every taste and appetite. The Anglesea Blues Festival℠ featured both national and regional blues musicians and was held in conjunction with the New Jersey State Barbecue Championship. Throughout the
The team states: We are a competition barbecue team specializing in the art of smoking chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket.
weekend, free live entertainment was featured as well as additional acts in neighboring establishments. The championship competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), the world's largest association of barbecue enthusiasts. Over $10,000 in cash and prizes were awarded at the 2013 New Jersey State Barbecue Championship. The competition was officiated by representatives of KCBS and a panel of volunteer
judges, many of whom are certified in the art and science of judging competitive barbecue. The Grand Champion of the New Jersey State Barbecue Championship℠ is eligible to compete in the invitation only world championship, the American Royale, held annually in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition, the New Jersey State Barbecue Championship is one of an elite group of qualifying events for the World Food Championships, entitling our Grand Champion to compete in the World Food Championships in Las Vegas, NV where the total prize purse is $300,000. Pizza professional Agron Dushaj is utilizing the latest from Long Island based Marsal ovens to maintain the very highest quality of pizza baking at the Garden State’s newest location in Hillside, NJ.
Scoop looks forward to superstar meat purveyor’s Pat LaFrieda’s book, currently billed on its Amazon page as Untitled Cookbook Memoir.
Meat Man Pat LaFrieda Jr. Writing Double-Cut Memoir and Cookbook Scoop looks forward to superstar meat purveyor’s Pat LaFrieda’s book, currently billed on its Amazon page in the leanest possible way as Untitled Cookbook Memoir. What kind of literary debut can we expect from the guy who took the hamburger-eating world a major step forward with LaFrieda's custom Black Label Blend? Grind on and find out. There will be
There will be "frenching, rolling and tying," apparently, in addition to meat-buying tips (which include "inexpensive and unusual cuts"), and then more advanced home butchering techniques. 53 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
"frenching, rolling and tying," apparently, in addition to meat-buying tips (which include "inexpensive and unusual cuts"), and then more advanced home butchering techniques. Pat Jr.'s family narrative will weave through the pages like a larding needle, telling the story of how the company "used passion and hard work to build an unparalleled meat empire." There'll also be "100 gorgeous coffee-table worthy photos of meat," and additional reci-
pes from the kitchen at Raoul's and allstars like Jimmy Bradley, Josh Capon, and Lidia Bastianich. The publisher is keeping mum for now on whether the book, which comes out May 6, 2014, will also include specs on how to make your own Black Label blend at home.
DiCarlo Family Feted At Long Island Gala Scoop notes that the Family Service League is pleased to announce the
success of the Summer Gala, an annual Hampton’s favorite, which took place last month under the grand tent on The Great Lawn in Westhampton Beach. The festive South Beach atmosphere combined with so many FSL supporters made this a truly special event. A wonderful evening for a great cause! The Gala co-chairs, Linda Bohlsen and Scott J. Skorobohaty, helped create an extraordinary evening. Donald
Michael and Teresa DiCarlo with Mr. and Mrs. Vincent DiCarlo
John DiCarlo Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Wagner, Mr. and Mrs. John DiCarlo Sr.
Eversoll received the Fay J Lindner Humanitarian Award and DiCarlo Food Service received the Corporate Leadership Award. Barbara Page received the Vaughan Spilsbury Family Advocacy Award and New York State Senator John J. Flanagan received the Government Leadership Award. The 500 guests enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, dinner, followed by dancing and shopping for unique designer gifts and services at the auction. All proceeds from the Gala support the programs and services that the agency provides for 50,000 individuals and families in need each year. Founded in 1926, FSL is a Long Island based non-profit human services organization providing the region’s largest safety net for over 50,000 people in need. Services are provided through more than 50 different programs, in over 22 Long Island locations, all addressing some of the most prevalent and pressing human needs in our communities. FSL delivers tangible help and crisis intervention across a broad spectrum of service areas including counseling to children, families and adults who suffer with emotional problems, developmental disabilities, alcohol and substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse and at-risk youth as well as many training and job development programs.
NYC’s Smoking Ban Marks 10th Anniversary Scoop says smoky restaurants and offices and even smoke-filled bars, buses and trains are mostly a historical image in New York as the state marks the 10th anniversary of its landmark indoor smoking ban, which advocates say saved thousands of lives while most of its opponents' worst fears blew away. Few measures in Albany changed life in New York more. The law relegated most smokers outdoors while relieving nonsmokers from facing secondhand smoke every day at work. "The passage of New York 54 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
and lost their businesses," said association Executive Director Scott Wexler. "But in the long term, it did not have the impact the industry feared.” For 18 months after the law was enacted, business dropped off and bars and restaurants closed or cut jobs as smokers stayed home or went to private clubs and fraternal groups. Wexler said restaurants saw a 3 to 4 percent loss of business, while bars saw an 18 percent decline and the association lost 20 percent of its memState's Clean Indoor Air Act was a historic moment for public health," said Blair Horner, Vice President of Advocacy at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "In 2002, the average New York bar or restaurant was essentially a hotbox of deadly carcinogens. For hospitality workers clocking an eight-hour shift, this was an incredibly dangerous situation. In the decade ending in 2009, smoking
In 2002, the average New York bar or restaurant was essentially a hotbox of deadly carcinogens.
among New York adults declined from 22 percent to 17 percent. The share of smokers seeking to quit increased to 65 percent, from 54 percent,” Horner said. But before that, it cost jobs and businesses, said the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association, which sued the state over the ban on behalf of restaurant and bar owners who were "petrified by the law." But not for long. "People lost their jobs 55 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
bership. Today, few owners complain unless they are in direct competition with private clubs or bars without outdoor patios where smoking is allowed. Business returned quickly, but most operators didn't get the bump in business that anti-smokers predicted. Several operators did say new customers were attracted by the smoke-free environment. "On the restaurant side of the business, our members are now saying the things the anti-smoking advocates said they would experience:
It's nice going home not smelling of smoke, it's cheaper to keep the restaurant clean and they don't know how they worked in a smoking environment before," Wexler said.
// NEWS
TRADE SHOWS
New Tri-State Food Expo for Food Service & Retail Market to Debut October 2013 The Tri-State Food Expo (tri-statefoodexpo.com), a new trade show for the burgeoning New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state food service and retail food industry, will debut at the Meadowlands Convention Center in Secaucus, New Jersey October 1 – 2, 2013.
“T
he Tri-State Food Expo will be the first of its kind to exclusively serve the growing food service and retail food and beverage markets across New Jersey, western Connecticut and the New York region including New York City, Long Island and those counties bordering northern New Jersey,” said Bob Callahan, show director. “The early response from ex-
hibitors, buyers, and the region’s trade associations has been very positive, exceeding our expectations.” Building further interest in the event, is Diversified’s recently confirmed partnership with the New Jersey Restaurant Association (NJRA), an association representing more than 23,000 eating and drinking establishments in the Garden State. The NJRA’s restaurant and vendor
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members will benefit from the partnership in special attendee pricing, and exclusive exhibit space access at the Expo. “This show is unique and more affordable than most trade events, as we will provide booth furnishings for exhibitors, saving them the expense and inconvenience of bringing them,” said Mr. Callahan. “Holding the event in the Meadowlands Exposition Center also
gives us the flexibility to keep visitor and exhibitor costs down. In addition to the turnkey booth package, the facility offers easy access, inexpensive hotel accommodations and ample parking.” The Expo will be open to qualified retail and foodservice trade buyers. Buyers must be affiliated with food service establishments, institutional dining, retailers or retail food service. Exhibitors will include food and equipment manufacturers, manufacturing agents and suppliers, food and equipment distributors, dealers, brokers and traders. The Tri-State Food Expo attendee registration will be available in June 2013. For additional information on attending, visit www.tri-statefoodexpo.com. For information on exhibiting your product or service, contact Harrison Hines, hhines@divcom.com, (207) 842-5664
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// NEWS
RESTAURANTS
Morton’s Returns To Manhattan After Long Absence In yet another sign of a reviving downtown, Morton's The Steakhouse reopened at the World Trade Center last month after more than a decade's absence from the neighborhood.
T
he national chain's new location, at 136 Washington St., is just a stone's throw from where it was before the Twin Towers fell. The new Morton's sits in front of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and across from the W hotel, giving it access to hoards of tourists. Tilman Fertitta, chairman of corporate parent Landry's Restaurants, who made an appearance at the recent grand opening, has lightened up Morton's design since he bought the chain in 2011. The split-level space with a groundfloor lounge is decorated primarily in black, but Mr. Fertitta installed a glass façade. The lower-level dining room, with surprisingly low ceilings, seats 92. Decor aside, the chophouse is likely to be embraced by the expense-accounttoting finance types who will fill the rising towers in the neighborhood. Morton's The Steakhouse (formerly Morton's of Chicago) was founded in 1978 by Arnie Morton and Klaus Fritsch. Today, there are 76 locations in the chain. Morton's locations are decorated with a similar style, concept and decor. Approximately 80% of the business for Morton's is based on business expense accounts, with an average guest bill being $88. 80% of the entrees ordered are beef, while that total makes up 38% of the restaurant's overall sales. In December 2011, Morton’s Restau-
The National Chain is yet another milestone in the Renaissance of the Financial District
rant Group, Inc. announced that it had signed a definitive agreement with Fertitta’s wholly owned company Fertitta Morton’s Restaurants Inc. an affiliate of Landry’s, Inc., whereby Feritta, through an acquisition subsidiary, acquire all of the outstanding shares of Morton’s for a 34% premium. In 2012 Fertitta was one of 21 newcomers to the 2012 list of the World’s Billionaires. Ranked at number 854 with a net worth of $1.5 billion. Fertitta was raised in Galveston,
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Texas, and attended Texas Tech University and the University of Houston where he studied business administration and hospitality management. He showed an entrepreneurial streak even in college when he started his own firm focused on marketing and sales and, after college, development and construction. From there, Fertitta began building homes while selling Shaklee vitamins on the side. He moved full-time into foodservice in 1986 working as a real estate specialist for Landry's. It was only a few short months before he bought the chain. Initially, he was not the largest advocate for Landry's as a restaurant, but agreed that they had great food. He saw potential, and knew he could make it his own. In 1988 he became the sole owner, buying out the Landry's brothers and other investors. After some early troubles, Fertitta expanded the chain to include nearly a dozen restaurant chains and individual entities. Referred to by Forbes as The World's Richest Restaurateur, Fertitta is an extremely successful businessman. He attributes his successes to the privatization of his restaurants, ensuring he could invest in any properties he thought suitable. He believes it is not necessarily the quality of the food served at a restaurant that brings in the money, but the location. Placing most of his restaurants on the coast, he realizes that people want to enjoy
seafood, by the sea. But his restaurant success does not end there; he has also acquired the well-known Rainforest Cafe, which earned him the title of “a brash, arrogant, bargain-basement, bottom-feeing acquisition nemesis.” Words spoken by the previous owner and founder of Rainforest Cafe. Along with his business savvy, Fertitta is known for his cutthroat attitude. He focuses on companies that are going under, that he knows need his help to get on their feet, purchases them and makes them his own. Taking ownership of every restaurant on the Kemah Boardwalk in Texas, he turned the small shrimping attraction into “the Land of Landry's”, into a popular theme park. As the economy improves, Fertitta is seeing fewer chances to make his moves. He has turned his attention to casinos, an industry which he is already both familiar, and successful with. Purchasing the Trump Marina in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2011, he rebranded it as the Golden Nugget Atlantic City. He has plans to renovate and rebrand another property in Biloxi, Mississippi as a Golden Nugget. Fertitta now operates 56 brands and 421 locations. He owns the Golden Nugget Casinos, Houston's Kemah Boardwalk, the Tower of the Americas in San Antonio and the San Luis Resort in Galveston. Using Landry's as his crutch, he entered into the restaurant world as an investor and has come out a complete success. The new Manhattan outpost is 10,500 square foot Morton’s which is being managed by Kimberly Geherin, has a bar on the street level and the main dining room and boardrooms on a lower level. The restaurant’s wine list includes entries at over $5000 a bottle and introduced “power hours” that feature $6 plates between 4:30-6:30 pm and after 9 pm.
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Adolfo Carrión, Jr.,
John Liu
Independent Mayoral Candidate
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ow would you work with borough presidents to ensure restaurants have a fair hearing at the community boards?
Having been a borough president, I know this process all too well. And having been a district manager of a local community board, I know the headaches that businesses go through and the terrible experience that they usually have with the city bureaucracy–waiting for permits, certificates of occupancy, waiting for sign-offs on licensing, the multiple agencies they often have to go through and of course the economic impact on their businesses and the economy in general. Having said that, I would commission my team–my fiveborough team–to work on two levels with the borough presidents. One to give regular briefings and presentations on all of the business services we provide and the polices behind them to borough boards. The other would be to dispatch a local team from the borough Business Solution Centers to each of the community boards on a regular basis. We need to make government more user-friendly. This is not about the government’s convenience. It’s about the convenience of the citizenry and businesses of New York.
Do you support the culture of fining that has existed under the current administration? I recently heard a story of a small business that got fined something like $14,000 for some items associated with a toy gun. It was a little package that had a badge, a toy gun and some other
Democratic Mayoral Candidate o you support the culture of fining that has existed under the current administration?
things for kids. It cost the guy about $65 to buy a small case of these toys and rather than the city coming in and saying look I am going to give you a warning, you can’t sell that item because they don’t have the bright orange cap on the front. The city rather than saying this is a problem you have to stop, they fined him thousands of dollars and now the guy has to go hire a lawyer to try to bring that back down. At the end of the day, it practically puts him out of business. These are hand-to-mouth businesses. They are stretched financially. Every penny counts. The city should not be in the business of punishing small businesses like restaurants. They should be in the business of helping them to get through difficult times and comply with the rules. The city government works for the businesses and not the other way around. The city should not be using small business as its ATM.
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I do not support a culture of targeting small businesses and entrepreneurs who are trying to create economic industries and jobs that are vital to the city’s economy. Fines only impose a monetary punishment to those who have not obeyed the rules and regulations. Fines should not be seen as a revenue generator for the city, and the city should not be balancing its budget on the back of small business owners. Instead, we should be doing everything we can to foster and support our small business. They are critical to our economy and provide accessible jobs. A better approach to supporting small businesses that usually obey the rules is to enforce the rules on those that do not. Those who do not are usually just a handful of bad apples and enforcement can be done in a rigorous, frequent manner with the coordination of multiple agencies and community groups. Agencies need to go back to the basics of education before enforcement. As mayor, I would direct personnel from the Department of Small Business services to work with business owners and help them come into compliance. Through cooperation we can support business and ensure that restaurants are safe and following health regulations.
How would you enhance or reform the Department of Small Business Services
and/ or the Small Business Acceleration Team? The Department of Small Business Services could be enhanced through the expansion of its Business Outreach Team. If the city wants to truly help businesses succeed, they need to be available for businesses when they need them and on their time. The Business Outreach Team could use more experienced field staff who can spend more time out in the field reaching out to business owners and listening to their needs and bringing much-needed resources and services directly to them. The truth is, business owners usually do not have the time or money to travel to an agency or center to get help, let alone pay fines. Business owners are usually found in their place of business, and that’s where the department needs to start providing assistance.
Sal Albanese
Erick Salgado
Democratic Mayoral Candidate
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ow would you enhance or reform the Department of Small Business Services and/ or the Small Business Acceleration Team?
Small businesses have been operating in a constant state of crisis for too long in this city. In neighborhoods like mine in Bay Ridge, they not only serve the community, they employ it and offer their services and space to help schools, nonprofits, and other community groups. It's time for them to have a Mayor that helps them in return. Many small business owners are immigrant entrepreneurs. As an immigrant myself, I want to ensure that all city agencies that work with small businesses are culturally and linguistically competent. I'll also drag them into the 21st century by bringing permitting and licensing online, making applications easier and processing time faster so that business owners aren't forced to sit in limbo and lose money while bureaucracy muddles along.
How would you work with borough presidents to ensure restaurants have a fair hearing at the community boards? In every neighborhood that I visit, at least one restaurateur tells me they just aren't being heard. They feel shaken down and then ignored by their government. That's just not right. I'll have an open line of communication with borough presidents and encourage them to give restaurant-owners and associations a seat at the table when important restaurant-related policies are being considered.
Democratic Mayoral Candidate ow would you enhance or reform the Department of Small Business Services and/ or the Small Business Acceleration Team?
I would put as much of the permit procurement process as possible, and all information important to restaurants just starting up, online in an easy to understand format. For example, promotion of the map of new restaurants must be improved and the information included on it needs to be enhanced to provide such information as type of cuisine.
How would you work with borough presidents to ensure restaurants have a fair hearing at the community boards? Do you support the culture of fining that has existed under the current administration? Absolutely not. Health and safety rules are, as the name suggests, meant to protect the health and safety of customers and employees. They are not meant solely as revenue generators for the city. Under my administration, inspectors would operate under a "warn first, help second, fine third" approach. If an inspection turned up violations, owners would be given a warning and helped to understand how they can bring themselves up to code. They would be given a period to correct the violations, after which, if they have not done so, they would be fined appropriately. Instead of "dine and dash," we've been practicing "fine and dash." That's not how you protect the public or encourage small businesses to improve.
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I would have a representative from the Mayor's Office at each community board meeting with instructions to work with the district managers and board members to overcome any obstacles that may come up for a proposed restaurant. My representative would make it known that he/she will remain after the meeting to listen to any objections from the community so that my office may expeditiously respond to them, as well as any allegations that the proposal is not receiving fair treatment from the community board.
Do you support the culture of fining that has existed under the current administration? No. I would eliminate quotas that help to drive the inspectors' pens and make certain that restaurants are not looked
at as ATM's providing revenue for the city. Summonses should only be issued for serious violations. The city should work with the restaurateur to eliminate lesser problems without a fine.
How would you streamline the permit process for restaurants, alcohol licenses? I would put as much of the permit process as possible online with easy to understand instructions in several languages.
For complete interviews and access to more NYC Mayoral Candidates, visit us at www.totalfood.com/nycmayoral-forum
Bill Thompson
Bill de Blasio
Democratic Mayoral Candidate
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ow would you enhance or reform the Department of Small Business Services and/ or the Small Business Acceleration Team?
ow would you work with borough presidents to ensure restaurants have a fair hearing at the community boards?
I will end the excessive fines and fees on our city’s small businesses. The city's current quota system is outrageous–and it will end when I'm Mayor. Small businesses aren't ATM machines for city revenue; they help us create jobs and develop communities.
How would you work with borough presidents to ensure restaurants have a fair hearing at the community boards? Restaurants should not be punished, lose their liquor licenses or be shut down. I will work with all parties involved, including borough presidents, to ensure that restaurants are given a fair hearing before community boards.
How do you clarify for restaurant owners the regulations that pertain to them? It’s impossible to learn a lesson from getting punished without knowing what you are getting punished for. In regards to restaurants–and all other businesses, for that matter–I will work to make our city’s rules and regulations easier to understand as Mayor. That way, a business can do things right the first time–saving time and money.
Do you support the culture of fining that has existed under the current administration?
Democratic Mayoral Candidate
As Mayor, I will ensure that the city stops nickel and diming businesses through aggressive fines. These last 12 years have shown that fining doesn’t teach businesses anything, especially when they are fined for violations they did not know even existed. We need to reform the current system and eliminate excessive fines on businesses.
What are your views on the paid-sick leave legislation? Do you see any other wage/hour legislation coming? I am a staunch supporter of paid-sick leave. We should no longer force parents to choose between holding their jobs and caring for loved ones–paidsick leave legislation is an excellent way to ensure just that.
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Both community leaders and business owners must be involved in a conversation about how we can grow local economies while protecting the public’s health. As Mayor, I will work with borough presidents to develop an open dialogue between restaurant owners and neighborhood leaders about defining a fair set of criteria against which the development and management of restaurants can be judged by community boards. I will also work with borough presidents on the development of economic development hubs that will help businesses navigate regulatory rules, comply with wage and labor laws and avoid consumer and health violations.
How would you enhance or reform the Department of Small Business Services and/ or the Small Business Acceleration Team? The Department of Small Business Services must work more closely with community-based organizations to increase knowledge of services. SBS currently dispenses services through brick and mortar centers that place the onus on businesses to seek out help. The agency should partner with cultural, religious and communityaffiliated groups to disseminate information about the programs it offers. I believe that SBS should change its current outreach strategy by increasing the amount of resources allotted to reaching immigrant businesses at their place of business. A targeted campaign that
goes from business to business will be a more effective means of reaching immigrant businesses, many of which do not have a history of seeking out services at government centers.
For complete interviews and access to more NYC Mayoral Candidates, visit us at www.totalfood.com/nycmayoral-forum
Tyler Pager is a freelance writer based in West Harrison, New York. He is a rising freshman at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He was named the 2013 New York State Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association. His work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Caller and The Daily Northwestern.
// NEWS
EDUCATION
New ICE Program Highlights the Art of Professional Cake Decorating Their ever-increasing public profile and place in our celebratory rites have created a booming business trend within the culinary world.
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roducing these pieces requires a trained eye that understands scale, form and composition and a practiced hand that can execute a vision for turning raw ingredients into edible art. ICE's Techniques and Art of Professional Cake Decorating was developed for anyone with an interest in pursuing a rewarding career in cake decorating. This multi faceted, 240hour program was developed and is led by ICE's award-winning Chef Instructor Toba Garrett. The program starts with the basics
ICE's Techniques and Art of Professional Cake Decorating was developed for anyone with an interest in pursuing a rewarding career in cake decorating.
ICE's Techniques and Art of Professional Cake Decorating was developed for anyone with an interest in pursuing a rewarding career in cake decorating. of piping and moves on to explore all intricate elements of decorating, including the many international styles of cake artistry, such as Nirvana, Lambeth, Australian and Oriental string. With the final lessons of the program supported by renowned ChefInstructors Elisa Strauss and Collette Peters, you will also learn contemporary designs, airbrushing techniques, painting with precision, novelty cakes, advanced sugar floral work and hand sculpting skills. Finally, at the conclusion of the program, you will have the confidence to tackle any cake project and will present a grand finale of stunning cakes and sugar artistry. For graduates of ICE's other pro-
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grams wanting to specialize in cake decorating or existing business owners looking to take their products to a higher level, this culinary school pastry program provides the intensive training and guidance necessary to establish a competitive advantage in this lucrative component of the food world. With over a dozen international gold and silver medals, Master Chef-Instructor Toba Garrett is one of the most respected artists in her field and a seasoned instructor with years of experience. Chef Garrett is the author of Professional Cake Decorating, the first professional cake decorating textbook designed at teaching all aspect of cake art, The Well-Decorated Cake and Creative
Cookies – Delicious Decorating for any Occasion. Garrett's work has appeared on national TV and in countless magazines, and in 2010, Garrett was named one of the 10 best cake artists in the U.S. In 2011, her book Wedding Cake Art and Design – a Professional Approach received an IACP award in the "Professional Kitchen" category. An ICE Pastry & Baking Arts graduate, Elisa Strauss founded Confetti Cakes in 2000 after her study at ICE, as well as Vassar College and the Art Institute of Chicago. Her creations have made numerous appearances on TV (Today Show, Sex and the City, The View, Martha, Food Network's “Extreme Cake Challenge” where she won the grand prize), and countless publications (InStyle, Martha Stewart Weddings, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Elle, Vogue, Modern Bride, New York magazine, BRIDES, Elegant Bride, The Knot) and in 2008 was selected as one of America’s Top Ten Pastry Chef’s in Pastry Art and Design. Elisa’s first book, The Confetti Cakes Cookbook, is in its sixth printing, and her second book entitled Confetti Cakes for Kids was released in the Fall of 2008. Program Start Date: 8/16 Schedule: 1:00-5:00pm, Mon-Fri Duration: 240 hours over 12 weeks Tuition: $13,653.93 Financial Aid: Sallie Mae loans may be available to those who qualify. Approved as licensed program by New York State Department of Education. This program is not within the scope of ACCSC accreditation. It is not designed to provide vocational training and is intended for students pursuing continuing education.
// THE WAITRESS CONFESSIONS
WITH THE WAITRESS
8 Tips On How to Train a New Waiter/Waitress The Waitress has been working in the food and service industry for over 8 years having experienced the restaurant business from several different angles. Her experience is anything from hostess to waitress and expeditor to floor manager which has inspired her
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to share her personal advice for servers everywhere and her thoughts on the restaurant business. She uses her everyday experiences to gather ideas for her blog, 'The Waitress Confessions.' To contact The Waitress or to read her blog visit thewaitressconfessions. wordpress.com or follow her via Twitter: @WConfessions
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here’s a certain sense of pride you should have if your boss has assigned a server-in-training to you. It means that you’re doing your job well and are capable of showing someone else the ropes. So take a moment to congratulate yourself: you are a great server! But what happens when you’re unsure of how exactly to train someone? You may have been doing the job for so long that you know everything as if second nature, so teaching someone else without forgetting something can be a little nerve wracking. Some restaurants have a strict training policy, but others kind of just throw you into it, so be prepared no matter which category your job falls into. Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind when training: does the person you’re training have experience…or not? At first, I would suggest treating each new employee as if they’re learning for the first time and work from there. The more experi-
ence you see, the less you’ll be teaching about how to be an actual server and the more you’ll be teaching about the working system of your particular restaurant. Either way, here are a few 8 tips on how to train a new waiter/ waitress.
TIP #1: Get Organized There are so many things that need to be taught that some of us don’t even know where to begin. If you have enough notice from your boss on when the first day of training is, take some time before then to make a list of everything that needs to be shown to the newcomer. What’s the first
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thing you want to show them? What are the most important things that the trainee should memorize? What do they need to learn first in order to learn the way the restaurant is run? Here’s an example of a list of priorities, starting with the first day of training: • Menu Knowledge • Wine List Knowledge (if applicable) • Floor Plan Knowledge (table numbers, bar area, sections, etc.) • Tour of the restaurant (so the trainee knows where everything is: bathrooms, stock rooms, fridges, stations, etc) • How to
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clock in and clock out Cleaning tasks and side works Tables (presentation, cleaning, preparations, etc) The “running” system of the restaurants (how to run drinks from the bar, salads, soups, hot food, etc) How to greet customers How to take orders How to ring up the orders (POS System) Any steps of service (check backs, recooks, how to handle any complaints, etc) Serving coffee and dessert Presenting the check Closing duties Closing cleaning tasks and restocking Sales report at the end of the shift Rules of the restaurant
Make sure you follow a certain schedule so that their training makes sense. You don’t want to start showing them how to take orders if they haven’t even begun to memorize the menu (although, in my opinion, the trainee should have at least 85% of the menu memorized by their first day of training. Tip of the Day: Learn Your Menu.) Following your list of priorities will help you make sure you didn’t skip a step.
TIP #2: Shadowing A very important step. Have your trainee “shadow” your every move. Before they even take an order, have them watch every step you take. Tell them to note how you speak with the customers, your tone of voice, your facial features, your posture, etc. Every little thing is important and if your restaurant has a way of presenting specials, up-selling promotions, or even describing the catch of the day
make sure that your trainee knows the proper way to do these things. Consistency is very important in the restaurant business. Also, when it comes time to picking up the speed and running drinks and food, it’s important that your trainee recognizes the pace of your particular restaurant and learns how to keep up with it. At a quickly paced restaurant, the last thing you want is for your trainee to get stuck in 2nd gear when they should be shifting it up a few notches. Tell them to keep up with you and that you want them 2 steps behind at all times.
TIP #3: Answer their questions No matter how naive the question may seem, just answer it in a polite way. It may seem like common sense to you, but remember that every restaurant is different and they just want to know how things run at their new place of work. The more questions they ask, the better. Take note, however, if they are asking the same questions over and over. They are there to learn and soak up as much knowledge as they can, but if they can’t retain any of the things you are teaching them, it may be a red flag.
TIP #4: Ask questions This is the best way for new servers to learn, especially when it comes to learning the menu. Ask them to describe certain dishes for you. If they stumble or come out with a wishywashy description, show them the correct way of describing the restaurants’ meals and tell them to practice. Ask them to name all the beers the restaurant offers on tap. They may respond, for example, like this “Uh…Heineken…um, Guinness….” so be prepared to show off a little and show them how you list off all the beers. Asking questions before customers get a chance to ask them is the best way for them to be prepared when it comes time for them to take orders. Feel free to ask
questions out of the blue and don’t be afraid to put them on the spot. During a rush, they’ll need to be prepared so catch them off guard so when the time comes they aren’t flailing for answers.
TIP #5: Role play Pretend you are a customer and go through a dry run of taking a table’s order. Have them come up to you (pretending to be a customer) and act out a service. If you think it’s silly…well it is a little. But it’s the best way for you to get an idea of how they will be once faced with real customers. Remember, they will be practicing on your tables, so you want them to make as little mistakes as possible. A dry run will help you to correct any bad habits, mistakes, and allow you to make suggestions. Also, it will give the trainee a chance to get out their nerves before heading over to their first table.
TIP #6: Shadow them Once the training has been done and you are ready to see them in action, let them take the reigns for a while. Inform them that they will be handling everything from A to Z and you’ll be following them to make sure that they are serving the guests properly. Be ready to jump in when they aren’t sure and take mental notes on anything that they are doing that doesn’t meet your restaurant’s standards. At the end of the day, go over what they need to work on, point out any strong points or things that they did perfectly, and ask if they have any questions or comments about how they believe their service was.
TIP #7: Give them space If your trainee is catching on quickly and is starting to really get a feel for the job, give them a bit of space. Back off and let them take the wheel for a bit. See how they do on their own. Let them make a few minor mistakes so that they will learn (while making sure it doesn’t affect your customer’s
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dining experience of course). Make a few comments here and there such as “Hurry it up a bit” or “You forgot to order their drinks” and ask a few questions to help guide them such as “What are you forgetting on that table?” or “What’s your priority right now?” But other than that, pretend that they are working alone. It’s the best way for you to see if they are capable of handling the job and the best way for them to get a real sense of what is expected of them.
TIP #8: Teach them how to Spoil Their Customers Every restaurant has a different way of spoiling their customers. Whether it
be offering a drink on the house for a regular customer or going above and beyond the steps of service, there are always ways that you can teach someone how the restaurants’ customers prefer to be served. Your trainee may have worked at a previous restaurant that wasn’t as keen about giving good service as you, so make sure they live up to the standards of the restaurant. Now you’re all set for the basics of training a new waiter/waitress. Of course, there are so many other little details, but this will help give you an overview of what to do and tricks on how to get the best out of your trainee.
// NEWS
DEBUT
Restaurant Equippers Brings Dynamic New Approach to E&S with Debut Of New Jersey Store Restaurant Equippers opened its third warehouse store last month in Pennsauken, NJ. With 20 percent of the US population within two hours of the store, the Columbus, Ohiobased company has brought its special approach to Equipment and Supply with its 40,000-sq.-ft. store in Pennsauken, N.J.
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t has an existing customer base in the region, including clients from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. The new warehouse, like its existing counterpart in Southfield, Mich., will be serviced from Restaurant Equippers’ 200,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Ohio. “The Greater Philadelphia store will provide tremendous opportunities not only to expand our presence in the region, but also to deliver our brand of service and product offerings to a broader base of customers looking for a reliable supplier,” said Restaurant Equippers President Larry Dach. "Demand from current customers on the East Coast, plus the potential sales growth from new customers, convinced us that a brick-and-mortar store made sense," Dach noted. "When we look at Philadelphia, we already have 10,000 customers and we mail more than 100,000 catalogs to potential customers within 100 miles of this location." "We stock absolutely everything a restaurant needs at low warehouse prices," added Howard Task , the firm's
(L toR) Scott Sugarman (Family Member), Larry Dach/Restaurant Equippers President, Pennsauken Township Mayor Rick Taylor, Debbi Dach Sugarman (RE Vice President) Jim Ellis, Pennsauken Chamber of Commerce President
Vice President. "Customers literally drive away with any and every item necessary to open their doors. "Our customers know, if you need 40 chairs quickly, if you need freezers, refrigerators, you name it, 99 percent of it we'll have in stock. Just bring your truck in and you can drive it away." The store has opened in The Point, a former multiplex movie theater site at NJ 38 and NJ 70 in Pennsauken near the NJ Turnpike, I-295, and the Ben Franklin Bridge to Center City Philadelphia. "We're a warehouse store. We have low
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prices on restaurant equipment, and we have restaurant supplies," Dave Kelly, the chain's marketing director, said. Why Pennsauken? "We have a strong client base there now with our catalogue and our direct mail and our Web site," said Kelly. "We have clients in Philadelphia, New York, Maryland. We have clients in Western Pennsylvania who drive to our Columbus store. So we looked at markets in the East," and Philly was central, and affordable. Restaurant Equippers has created a
much talked about strategy that blends on-line retailing with "bricks and mortar." "We successfully operate three channels that provide restaurant operators with flexibility and convenience. We operate a robust web store, mail 3.2 million catalogues annually, and with the addition of the New Jersey store the company now has three warehouse stores open to the public,” Task continued. In each of its channels, Restaurant Equippers has focused on customer service. "We understand that many restaurateurs do not want to spend thousands of dollars online for refrigeration and cooking equipment without talking to a professional that can assist them with their needs,” Dach added. "All of our associates have restaurant experience - from owning an independent restaurant to managing a major chain restaurant to working in the back room or as wait staff. We also have continuing education classes at each store throughout the year. When we talk with our customers 99% of the time the #1 reason they tell us that they shop Restaurant Equippers is the knowledge and friendliness of our associates. I am very proud of our store associates." With stores in Ohio and Michigan, Restaurant Equippers, owned by the children of founder Morris Dach, operates some of "the largest restaurant equipment warehouses in the country," says Brandon Anapol of Metro Commercial Real Estate, who negotiated the lease for the chain. The Point was represented by the Glimcher Group Inc. "We are the fastest growing mass merchandiser of restaurant equipment and supply in the country," added Task. "But we never forget that our success has always been the ability to work one on one with every customer.”
Newsmaker, from page 36 It’s great that you have volunteers. How many work the festival and what are some of those roles? In 2012, more than 1,600 volunteers donated over 11,000 hours of time to help us produce the Festival. They work in a variety of roles, including event registration, logistics management, sponsorship assistance, marketing, and more. What hunger-relief programs benefit from the festival? To date, the Festival has raised more than $6 million for our beneficiaries Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. This is the festival’s 6th year. What made you feel there was a need for the 1st festival and how has it evolved? There was nothing like it on such a large scale – we bring together that great mix of pop culture and white tablecloth lifestyle experiences so that there really is something for everyone.
Abigail, from page 18 What does the NYC Wine and Food Festival experience entail? We have 100+ events over the four days – from grand walk-around tastings and late-night parties, to intimate dinners, educational seminars and brunches – so the experience can be whatever suits you. What are the most challenging issues when creating a festival of this magnitude? Aligning all of the elements – venue, event theme, talent, and sponsors – to create the best experience possible. Whether you’re a foodie or a foodservice professional, is there a learning experience to take away from this event for everyone? We hope the learning experience is packaged in with the fun – whether it’s tasting a new wine or spirit, seeing a new product, meeting your favorite chef, or discovering a new restaurant/ venue.
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Dock in 2007 when she couldn’t find just the right setting for her son Will’s bar mitzvah back in December 2007. The Greenwich resident was looking for something cool, something stylish—a Connecticut venue that felt, well, more like a SoHo loft. For Abigail Kirsch the entry into Connecticut marks yet another chapter as one of the legendary success stories in Metro New York food service. It was the mid-sixties when Abigail Kirsch started a cooking school in the basement of her home. A few years later, when success mandated a move to a storefront, Abigail’s husband Bob sold his business and joined her to co-found the catering business. Their son Jim joined his parents full-time in 1980 and they never looked back. The family partnership expanded to include Alison Awerbuch, who joined the company in 1984 and took over culinary leadership from Abigail in 1990. What started as a small business serving predominately Westchester
and Fairfield Counties quickly expanded to include Manhattan and the entire tri-state area. In 1990 the Kirschs opened Tappan Hill Mansion and began operating their first exclusive venue. Since Tappan Hill, the family has added The New York Botanical Garden, Pier Sixty and The Lighthouse, and Stage 6 at Steiner Studios to their exclusive venue portfolio. The business also operates cafes as part of its venue operations and caters major sports events. Today Abigail Kirsch, Catering Relationships is recognized as the market leader for excellence in the greater New York metropolitan area. At the core of its success is an obsessive commitment to perfection. The Kirschs recognized early on that their business was only as successful as their last event. With this focus as a cornerstone, all associates work in unison to provide extraordinary guest experiences.
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// MIXOLOGY
WITH WARREN BOBROW
Metro New York Mixology Busted Barrel Rum is a magnificent creature. Produced with love from Louisiana cane molasses, Busted Barrel is made by the first distillery in New Jersey since Prohibition.
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ersey Artisan Spirits also has plans for a whiskey and possibly a vodka to join their expressive rums. But first, what makes artisan rum an important purchase? Perhaps it is the nature of the craft itself. And the fact it’s from New Jersey! Busted Barrel comes in a handsome bottle somewhat shaped like a pot still. A pot still is just that, shaped like a pot! A column still is shaped like a tall column. Each has very specific tastes that come from deep within. I love a pot still for the deep flavors that are unlocked through the slower distillation process. Column stills although visually exciting are different beasts entirely. They offer a different flavor profile. I like them both equally for each of their flavors. The technology is primitive and it’s also high tech. Distilling is an art like brewing beer, baking bread or roasting coffee. It’s only hindered by a lack of space and spending power. It’s not inexpensive to distill; you must have a good source of liquid capital. It’s not at all far fetched to imagine distillation an applied art. Busted Barrel Rum is made with care at an old Curtiss-Wright hanger in Fairfield, New Jersey. This is a part of New
minutes or so, filling a large carboy with life giving fluids. It’s very impressive to watch. Brant Braue and Krista Haley are the gregarious owners of Jersey Artisan Distilling. They are in synch with each other and the workings of this fledgling distillery. Their rum is their life with Krista filling out her days as an attorney. Brant is an engineer charged with the constant experimentation and implementation of
Distiller Magazine and the American Distilling Institute take some of the arcane and give new clarity to this very new industry with roots dating back thousands of years. Rum is a marvelous creature when made well. It can be slurped with cola, imbibed straight with coconut water ice in a daiquiri with fresh lime juice, woven into a mint julep with mint and lime simple syrup or even used to marinate chicken and fish
Rum is a marvelous creature when made well. It can be slurped with cola, imbibed straight with coconut water ice in a daiquiri with Warren Bobrow Warren Bobrow is the cocktail writer for Williams-Sonoma, Foodista, Voda Magazine and the 501c3 not for profit Wild River Review/Wild Table, where he also serves as
fresh lime juice, woven into a mint julep with mint and lime simple syrup or even used to marinate chicken and fish.
an editor. www.cocktailwhisperer.com
Jersey that is off the beaten path. The hanger has magnificent trellis work that binds the curved ceiling to the walls. The floors are poured concrete and it’s obvious from the outset that this building was constructed for building aircraft. It looks like it could survive a direct hit from a bomb. Set off the main drag you might mistake it for a hanger left over from the Cold War and the nearby Fairfield Airport. The small pot still drips out a precious amount of distillate every few
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the distillery systems. There is always something to do in a distillery and being charged with the ultimate responsibility of the safety of the still and that of his neighbors, Brant is hyper vigilant to this task. Recent fires at Tuthilltown Distillery in Gardiner, NY stand as a striking reminder that good practices must remain at the forefront of the distilling industry. The rules are so old, yet in the eyes of the regulators, everything is brand new and open to new scrutiny. Fortunately industry publications such as
as they do in the Caribbean Islands. Rum used to be the most valuable currency of the Colonial era and it was once used as a means of trade between New England, New Jersey and the southern reaches of the Caribbean. Busted Barrel Rum, now available in New Jersey with New York and Connecticut on the radar, is worldclass rum. The light rum is reminiscent of Rhum Agricole (Agricultural rum from Martinique) in nose. The color is crystal clear and the nose
is pure cane with dried leather and stone fruits predominating the long finish redolent of citrus skins. Busted Barrel is also aging their dark rum in small charred oak casks, each charged with the task of bringing the powerfully untamed white rum into a softer state of affairs. I enjoy the caramelized nut aromas and freshly cut pineapple nose of this rum. It’s fabulous in a punch or simply with a squeeze of lime and a dollop of cane sugar syrup. If I was to suggest a punch for this highly expressive rum I’d suggest the rum version of my Tales of the Cocktail/ Whiskey
I call this punch the Anstruthers Tricklet after the antagonist doctor in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel: Treasure Island. The good
be the best you can be when it comes to what we eat and drink. That’s why we are in this business. It’s eating AND drinking that makes the world go around!
Anstruthers Tricklet Punch Ingredients
doctor was known to blast the minds of his
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sailors with their daily punch and this one
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certainly will not disappoint.
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Busted Barrel Rum, now available in New Jersey with New York and Connecticut on the radar, is world-class rum. The light rum is reminiscent of Rhum Agricole (Agricultural rum from Martinique) in nose.
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• Luau punch. I made this drink with rye whiskey but rum would work perfectly and deliciously. I call this punch the Anstruthers Tricklet after the antagonist doctor in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel: Treasure Island. The good doctor was known to blast the minds of his sailors with their daily punch and this one certainly will not disappoint. I would highly suggest getting a gang of your friends together because this recipe will erase the minds of lesser folks. As in all my cocktails you can cut the ingredients down in amounts, but you must NEVER skimp on the ingredients. You MUST use freshly squeezed juices. There really is no excuse for using frozen concentrates. I’m sure this makes the juice market very nervous, but for my drinks I must insist on the very best! And besides if you are entertaining, doesn’t it make sense to use the very best you can afford? I think so. As my friends at Employees Only in New York City do, fresh ingredients always, and great ice, and great glassware, it’s all meaningful. I think it’s important to
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• • • • •
1 Bottle Busted Barrel Dark Rum 2 Bottles Busted Barrel Light Rum 1 Quart Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice ½ Quart Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice ½ Quart Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice 2 – 750 ml. bottles Wilkes and Wilson Lime, Mint Simple Syrup 4- 750 ml. bottles Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water 2 Quarts sweetened Coconut Milk 1 Quart Monin Peach Puree (all natural from France) 20 drops Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters 10 drops Peychaud’s Bitters
Preparation 1. Place a large hunk of ice in a punch bowl 2. Add all liquid ingredients 3. The punch will appear to be “broken” from the coconut milk, but worry not; the solids will attach themselves to the ice rendering the punch nearly crystalline. 4. Stir and serve. Will serve about fifty.
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Chefcetera, from page 40 important parameter is food trends. At my current restaurant after taking all of these items into account we have a menu of items that does not change throughout the years. We do offer a variety of specials to showcase seasonal ingredients and offer regulars something new if they are interested in venturing outside their “usual” order. On the equipment side, do you have pieces of equipment that you like to use that makes your job easier in preparing dishes? Old style Chefs will probably say your hands and a good knife are enough, but I welcome any piece of equipment that saves me time without sacrificing quality. Why knead by hand when I can use an electric mixer? The restaurant industry has a very broad range of foods, what’s your buying approach? Do you go out to bid on
a regular basis or do you look for loyalty from vendors? I believe 100% in loyalty. I prefer to pay more for a better quality ingredient from a vendor that I trust. The restaurant business can be fierce on Long Island, especially during the summer season. How do you compete? Price and quality. Lately, quality seems to be slipping in vendors and in other restaurants and we refuse to let that happen here – I do not give up! Price is also a driving factor for many people when choosing a restaurant and we believe some people are willing to pay more for a better product of higher quality. It’s also always necessary to find new ways to reach new customers and increase revenue. What roles does the vendor community on both the equipment and food supply side play? Extremely vital – without quality control in both those areas I cannot be my best. I refuse to stand for anything less and
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therefore we are always seeking quality vendors (who we remain loyal to) for both our equipment and food supply. There’s always talks of healthier eating, are your customers looking for that at your locations, and if so, how do you cater to the growing demand? Again, it depends on demographic. Younger customers are more prone to look for healthier eating options. It is very easy to cater to them; just eliminate all the unhealthy ingredients, something we did for centuries in Italy with the Mediterranean diet. We have all the tools in place to prepare a healthier version of our dishes. Do you feel that the restaurant industry suffers too much from Zagat, Yelp, and other consumer review sights? Are consumers depending too much on reviews? I don’t particularly like Yelp; anybody can write anything about anybody – whether they have been to the restaurant or not. It’s entirely possible a competitor put a
bad review up to try to steal customers. Zagat it is just too political. I do place a lot of relevance on some food blogs that I believe have both authority and followers. Those writers tend to be credentialed and have more knowledge and experience when it comes to critiquing restaurants. Whether good, bad or a mix of both, what are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen in our industry over the years? Definitely guests are more informed about food and wine. Our profession changed enormously in the past thirty years. The profession and particularly chefs have been elevated and some turned into stars, and this is thanks to the media and most of all the Food Network. Fresh ingredients are more available, accessible and more affordable than in previous years. I only wish we trained our young chefs better and there was a stronger mentoring process.
Philbrook, from page 39 It is a well-thought out preventive system to address possible hazards that is built on the Prerequisite Programs (PRPs) we addressed in previous columns. The plan and system needs to be developed by members of the company because after a consultant completes his part in assisting with its creation, the company needs to implement and maintain it. Before taking the first steps in developing a HACCP plan a company should assess the effectiveness of their PRPs. Are they complete? Is the operation implementing them as written? Are they effective in addressing the areas they apply to? The preliminary steps of developing a HACCP plan are: Assemble the HACCP Team- The team should consist of employees who have skills and knowledge of different areas in the food produc-
tion process. Each member can contribute and verify what happens in their specific area. One member is designated as the HACCP Coordinator and should be trained in HACCP. A member who is part of management can address issues of expenses and commitment. Many companies hire a consultant to guide the team or bring them in even earlier to assess the existing PRPs. Describe the Product or Process & its Distribution Based on what is being produced a description can be a specific item or similar items that are essentially produced the same way such as NO Cook, Simple Cook (prepared cooked & served) or Complex Cook (prepared, cooked, cooled, reheated and served) The description should be very detailed about packaging, labeling and distribution.
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Describe its Intended Use & Consumer- Is the product ready-to-eat? Does the product need to be refrigerated or reheated? Will the product be served to a segment of the population that has a reduced or compromised immune system? (i.e. the young, elderly or sick).
determine if it is accurate or whether something has been missed. When these preliminary steps are complete you have your team established with accurate product/process descriptions and flow diagrams. The principles of developing a HACCP plan can now be started.
Develop a Flow Diagram Document each step of what happens to the ingredients and packaging from the time it is received until it is shipped or served. Think about storage, preparation, cooking, cooling reheating, holding, packaging and shipping. Include all variables that happen sometimes but not always. The diverse knowledge of the team assists in ensuring an accurate picture of the process. Confirm the Flow Diagram On-SiteTake your documented Flow Diagram and follow the actual process to
The Seven Principles of HACCP are: Conduct a Hazard Analysis Using the process steps outlined in your flow diagram systematically look at the ingredients, packaging, equipment, use by consumer and process to determine if a Hazard (Biological, Chemical or Physical) is possible at this step. Determine the likelihood of the hazard happening based on your PRPs in place, history in your company or similar businesses and the most current scientific information. (i.e. Will not happen -
Very likely) Based on history and scientific information also determine the severity and consequences if the hazard did occur. (i.e. Minor injury, Hospitalization or Death) Determine the Critical Control Point When a significant hazard is identified, it must be controlled somewhere in the process. The essential point where the hazard is prevented, eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level is the Critical Control Point. A Control Point is where the hazard can be controlled but is not the essential point. Example: Refrigeration is a Control Point for raw chicken but the Critical Control Point is cooking. In Ready-to-Eat (RTE) food refrigeration is the Critical Control Point. Establish Critical Limits Critical Limits (CLs) are the parameters used to determine if the Critical Control Points is “in” or “out” of control. We know that according to the FDA Food Code, chicken must be cooked to 1650 F for 15 sec. This is a critical limit in our CCP for cooking chicken. Besides time/temperature, other CLs are water activity, pH, line speed etc. CLs need to be measurable or visually confirmed. The screen for physical hazards is in place or it is not. Establish Monitoring Procedures The CLs need to be checked to insure the CCPs are in control so a method must be established to monitor them. The procedures should outline how it is monitored, how often and by whom. Monitoring is documented.
gated to determine the cause for the loss of control so it can be prevented in the future. Establish Verification Procedures Verification is made up of two partsVerifying and Validating The best way to remember the difference is- Verifying is ensuring that you are doing what you say you are doing and Validating is ensuring that what you are doing is effective. When a supervisor conducts a check of monitoring records or a 3rd party auditor checks your HACCP system that is verifying. When a lab confirms that there are no food-borne pathogens in your food product that is validating. Establish Record-keeping and Documentation Procedures Monitoring, Corrective Actions, Verification as well as the HACCP plan and all changes need to be documented. The records provide a history of how your HACCP plan is working and will indicate issues of concern that need to be addressed by management. The HACCP plan is an evolving document that needs to be assessed and updated whenever there is a change with product, ingredient, packaging, process, equipment or in science. The HACCP Plan and all PRPs make up your HACCP System. The parts all work together to prevent and/or control hazards of concern. Next month we will discuss what happens in a Food-borne Illness (FBI) Outbreak.
Establish Corrective Actions When monitoring determines that the CCP is not under control; a predetermined action must be implemented and documented. Corrective Action brings the CCP back under control and addresses how to handle food product that was produced since the last time it was under control. All deviations should be investi77 • August 2013 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
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// BUSINESS COACHING
Here Is How Your Marketing Can Be Fun And Profitable
3.
Everyone is looking for that one marketing strategy that will get their business to the level of revenue & profitability that they always dreamed about.
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t does not work that way and that is why many business owners stop their marketing efforts because it does not work. Marketing should be fun, and running a business should be FUN. The definition of a business- “Commercial profitable enterprise that works without You”- Fun. If your business is not this it is a JOB- “Just Over Broke” not Fun. Here is how to make Your business FUN. Marketing is not an expense; it is an investment and needs to be treated as an investment. This means you must track your results and know the return on investment for each strategy. This is my first clue of whether you are running a business or a job. successful entrepreneurs test andmeasure, others do not. Too many business owners say it is too hard to track, I can’t do it, I don’t know how to do it and there is not enough time to do it. Here is how you can make marketing fun and profitable: KEEP SCORE! Every game or sport you play you keep score and it is fun when you win. This is the same with your business. Here are some things you want to keep score of: #new customers, # repeat Customers, average $$ sale, Average # people per group (Restaurant), Cost of Acquisition, # of cars in parking lot vs. # customers in same period, Lifetime value of customer (How much $$$
4.
Tom Maier President Action Business Coaching NE Shelton, CT
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t o m m a i e r @ a c t i o n c o a c h .c o m
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Marketing is being creative in ideas, not
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just dollars spent. Ask yourself “What do people know us for” and “What is our WOW factor?” 8. spent in a year), # times a repeat customer returns. These can be tracked by averages, some will be high and some low, You want to know the averages. This information helps you plan your marketing. Marketing is being creative in ideas not just dollars spent. Ask yourself “What do people know us for” and “What is our WOW factor?” Here are some samples of fun creative WOW factors: 1. A downtown restaurant has a relationship with a women’s
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clothing store across the street. Every day at lunch someone from the women’s clothing store will model an outfit walking through the restaurant, fifteen minutes later she returns in another outfit. It becomes a fashion show. The restaurant’s customers love it; the restaurant loves it and the women’s clothing store benefits. 2. A deli has an artist come in once a month and does caricatures of best customers, which are displayed in the store. People always
9. 10.
11.
tell others did you see my picture in … A restaurant owner every week selects a hair salon to deliver afree lunch with a variety of samples and gives each hairdresser a one free meal to come to the restaurant. Where does news spread faster facebook or the hair salon? A restaurant has a popular health club across the street. They have an owner of the health club, who is also a nutritionist; work with the chef to create the “XYZ Health Club menu “specifically designed to continue healthy habits outside of the gym.” A restaurant teaches all employees to know the names of any repeat customer, and have one employee say hello to that person at some point during the meal. I call it the norm factor from the show “CHEERS.” A discount is determined by the weight of one person in a group. This will attract big eaters. In all the restaurants I have eaten in over the years only one server asked me for my card and sent me a Thank You note to ask for him the next time I return. I will never forget and have returned many times. A restaurant has cooking classes on traditionally slow nights. Give a VIP card that gets you discounts at other local businesses. Be known in title and deliver the goods “Gigantic sandwich shop,” Belly Buster… Every time the receptionist places a lunch order for their company the restaurant gives her a lunch for Free or something extra. When people ask her where they should order from today what is her answer?
continued on page 93
// RESTAURANT MARKETING
WITH OLA AYENI
5 Must Do's This Summer To Expand Your Restaurant’s Profit
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et Up An Outdoor Dining Area
Outside is a classic family favorite. Who doesn’t like sunshine joined by a favorite entree! Create a fun outdoor dining area using the good old basics like tables, chairs, and a friendly staff! Customers will stay longer ordering drinks enjoying the summer breeze.
Have A Summer Themed Promotion, Switch Up Your Menu Sunny Saturday Brunch, or Summer Fest Chicken night, choose a holiday or theme that reminds customers that summer dining isn’t restricted to their at home grill. Be purposely colorful and make these themes presentable. Take pictures and showcase these themes on table tents. Switch up the menu as well. Add summer favorites such as salads, berry themed dishes, and cold fun drinks to entice your customer’s summer taste buds.
Reach Out To Local Businesses Have a volunteer, the over eager waitress, or even the staff member that enjoys to go above and beyond reach out to newly engaged, new grads, or any local businesses and organizations that are celebrating any milestones. When reaching out, boast about your fabulous menu, and what your business can do to make their big day special.
Ola Ayeni,
Founder of Dining Dialog & myeateria.com ola@myeateria.com
Join In At An Outdoor Festival There are a ton of outdoor festivals, and what do all festivals have in common…FOOD! Join in at a local popular festival and offer sampling, or tasting portions at a lower cost. Place an energetic staff at your booth, and the customers will definitely follow up with you at your restaurant. Don’t forget to collect customer’s information, while handing out coupons that will get them to visit you at your restaurant.
Don’t Forget Great Customer Service Winter, summer, spring, or fall customer service is what is needed all year round. In the summer more people are dining out, and a new crowd can be overwhelming. Keep in mind that your dish is what sells them, but your service is what keeps them coming back. Get your staffed prepped and prepared for whatever crowd may come in.
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Ola Ayeni is the founder of Dining Dialog and myeateria.com. eateria™is a whole new way for restaurant, food, and hospitality businesses to interact with their customers based on their on-the-go lifestyle. eateria™utilizes the best combination of email, social media and text message marketing. A place where everything is unlimited. For restaurant marketing tips, visit our eateria™blog at eateria.org/ blog/.
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Newsmaker, from page 47
Pastry Professional, from page 30
since I came back to the biz is the availability of produce items that were once specialty items. Ten years ago to get baby arugula you had to order days in advance. Prices still knock me off my feet and during the last ten years in the private sector I would shake every time I had to buy meat, fish and liquor at retail prices and I still do when checking invoices. Food is very expensive and as a chef and owner you must be very careful how you utilize your ingredients to be most cost effective and at the same time please your diner by giving a perceived value. I believe that some of the changes in restaurants in CT have been for the good; places like Plan B have raised the expectations in food quality and service in so called chain restaurants and I see that many of the big chains are following suit in raising their quality. As for the pizza industry the chains will always affect the marketplace and set the price bar. Patrons will always have their “go to” place and this is where GG’s Wood Fired Pizza would like to fit in. As we plan to grow, develop our menu, add locations we want to be that neighborhoods “go to” place. A place where consistency is key, all around in the high quality of the food, atmosphere, value and the friendliness we pride ourselves on.
along the way, you have to help the people around you. When I am the captain, I’m the production guy, the food guy, because that’s what I do. When I do a competition, I pick people for what they are good at – good at chocolate, good at sugar. We work together as a team and winning is the reward! What would you tell young people wanting to start out today? You have to sacrifice. You have to be willing to work hard. And you need to move around a little, so you get lots of experience. You may have to work as an apprentice for two years – with no financial backing. But you have to do it. You have to love it and be willing to do whatever you have to, to get where you want to be. Nothing good comes without work!
Looking into your crystal ball, where do you see GG’s in 5 years? "I don't know what my title or where GG’s will be in five years. The goal is to be three deep by the end of 2016, but I'd love to think I'll still be grinding it out in the kitchen to please the public, taking on responsibility and continuing to learn, to teach and to contribute to the success of our employees."
You’ve said baking is your passion. But how do you square passion with profit? One thing you never do is compromise quality. And when I create something, I try to stay true to my roots. Use the topquality ingredients, and if the price has to be a little higher, then that’s the way it has to be. What’s ahead for you? My daughter just graduated from college, a marketing major. So my future would be to expand the life of what I’ve created, bring it into the future with my kids. We have our two locations in Sam Allen’s, and our original shop is in the Village, 506 LaGuardia Place. And I also want to give back, to teach the new generation of pastry chefs.
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// NEWS
CHAINS
Growing Fast Casual Chain Targets State of New Jersey as Key Development Focus; Plans to Add 140 Jobs Over Next Two Years MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes Targets Opening Two Restaurants in New Jersey in 2013. MOOYAH, a fast casual, “better burger,” fries and shakes chain, recently announced a focused growth plan targeted in New Jersey.
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he quickly expanding burger brand, through the leadership of locally-based development agents Anthony D’Amore and Thomas Mascia, will open one location in the next 120 days in Garwood with plans to add 140 jobs throughout Union County, Garwood, and Clark, New Jersey by the end of 2014. “MOOYAH is a tremendous family brand. We want all families to enjoy outstanding service with quality products every day. The freshness of our ingredients is a key driver to bringing potential franchisees into the MOOYAH family,” said D’Amore, Development Agent for the state of New Jersey, noting that the brand celebrated a banner year in 2012 with double-digit unit growth. “We are looking for great service-minded franchisees who are team players with a passion for the brand.” MOOYAH is initially focused on opening a flagship location in Union County, New Jersey, prior to expanding like a bubble throughout surrounding areas. This development strategy was first established in Dallas, in which MOOYAH boosts 22 locations. “Paired with our strong North American growth, including our recent 50th restaurant opening milestone in the
United States, strong and targeted individual market development is increasingly a large part of our strategic expansion plans,” said Michael Mabry, Director of Franchise of MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes. “We want to ensure our business model can financially succeed in different market scenarios and secure consistency across the network. Paired with the local developer, we have the ability to penetrate a market with someone embed-
ded within the local business community.” MOOYAH saw tremendous growth in the last several years, expanding from a Texas brand into an emerging national player and leader in the growing better burger segment of fast casual dining. The brand is currently in 10 states. In 2013, MOOYAH plans to continue expansion and grow internationally, to total nearly 70 restaurants. One way MOOYAH is able to differ-
entiate itself is through the flexibility in its menu, including the launch of its better-for-you, Under 600 Calories menu, designed to support the taste desires of females and the health conscious consumer. “MOOYAH began as a simple concept revolving around friendly people serving the freshest, most delicious burgers, fries, and shakes available. As our brand continues to expand, we are evolving that concept to include a wider array of choices to appeal to every guest’s individual tastes and favor-
MOOYAH prides itself on being a family friendly business, from the Guests we serve to the franchisees who open restaurants with the goal of running them with people they consider family.
“We want all families to enjoy outstanding service with quality products every day. The freshness of our ingredients is a key driver to bringing potential franchisees into the MOOYAH family,” said Anthony D’Amore, Development Agent for the State of New Jersey.
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ites,” said Bill Spae, MOOYAH’s CEO and President. Additionally, its family friendly environment helps MOOYAH standout above its competition. “MOOYAH prides itself on being a family friendly business, from the Guests we serve to the franchisees who open restaurants with the goal of running them with people they consider family. We designed the restaurant concept with family in mind so everyone would feel welcome and comfortable,” said Alexis Barnett Gillette, Director of Marketing.
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Ifshin, from page 29 economic backgrounds and cultures with varying levels of education; additionally, research shows that people learn in three very distinct ways: visually, auditorily or tactilely. A training program that takes all of these factors into consideration should include: job specific written manuals (perhaps in more than one language), demonstrations and/or illustrated step-by-step procedure instructions, and hands-on or role-playing exercises. Validate & Reinforce Your Training To validate the efficacy of your training you must quiz, test and confirm that the information has been learned and absorbed. It is also important for managers to reward and reinforce the “good behaviors” done on the job - those that follow operating procedures as trained, as we discussed in
our blog Keeping Employees Happy at Work – Happy Employees Part 2. Through reinforcement, you will discover who needs more training, how effective your training is, and perhaps what changes need to be made to your program. Train Your Trainers Many restaurants often make the mistake of assigning their best employees the task of training new staff without taking the time to instruct them on proper training techniques and methods. Just because an employee is good at what he or she does, does not mean that he or she can teach someone else how to do it. Your trainers must be fully inoculated with company culture including policies, procedures and daily work tasks, as well as customer service values; they must have a com-
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plete understanding of the written manual for the job they are training; and they must be taught how to impart information in the way you want, so that training is consistent. ABT – Always Be Training! Training should be ongoing, not limited to the initial on-boarding process, and incorporated into the daily routine of your operations. As we wrote in our blog Are your Pre-Service Meetings a Waste of Time?, there is an opportunity every day to share new information and keep your staff’s knowledge up-to-date. Work closely with your managers on what needs to be retrained, as they should be most aware of how policies and procedures are being followed by their direct reports. A well-run restaurant can survive
without the newest technology or the latest equipment. However, it cannot succeed without people trained to execute your vision, product and service ideals. If you do not invest the time and energy to have a full training program, hitting your business targets becomes increasingly difficult. As an owner or operator, a well-trained staff – from your Executive Chef to your Bussers – is your primary and most valuable tool. Don’t know where to begin? Ask yourself, do you have operational guidelines in place so you can be as profitable as possible? 4Q Consulting can develop customized operational guidelines and training programs to meet your needs: Email us today for a free business consultation at www.4qconsult.com.
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// MEET THE NEWSMAKERS
Anthony Mulé & Dennis Soriano, Waste to Water/BIO-EZ in Wethersfield, CT
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hat led to the creation of BIO-EZ? Mulé: The BIO-EZ system was created in Korea to address a drastic reduction in landfill space. Waste to Water purchased the intellectual property from the Korean designers after a disappointing launch of the Korean made units. These units do the job of a typical garbage disposal while using approximately 1/10 of the water and produce an effluent more easily treated at treatment works than a garbage disposal’s product. How does BIO-EZ work? Soriano: BIO-EZ has truly revolutionized food waste disposal by basing it on the principle that waste should be dealt with at its source. As waste is generated, it is placed into the Bio-Ez, which completes the decomposition process automatically with the addition of bacteria. There is no residual food waste to remove. The machine creates a liquid that sends it back into the eco system with a fully biodegradable liquid. Why Bio-Ez instead of composting? Soriano: Composting is great for the environment. However, composting of food waste in NYC has the same limitations as traditional hauling. Food waste has to be stored on site and hauled by diesel trucks to a facility licensed to accept food waste, the closest to NYC is currently Delaware, these trucks create green house gas emissions. The use of 1 BioEZXL eliminates
is negligible.
BIO-EZ is designed to handle food waste at its origin. Since the food waste is not left to putrefy, the smell along with the cost for the hauling will simply go away.
1.5 Municipal Solid Waste trailers from the roads each month. How much energy is required to run the unit? Mulé: The units use surprisingly little electricity. About 4.7 KWH per day.
Who will service the unit? Mulé: Waste to Water is part of a national service cooperative that guarantees a service technician within 60 miles of a placement and a 24 hr. response time. What impact will installing Bio-Ez have on those horrible smells?
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Mulé: BIO-EZ is designed to handle food waste at its origin. Since the food waste is not left to putrefy, the smell along with the cost for the hauling will simply go away. Sounds great to be able to dump a liquid. What exactly is in that liquid? Soriano: The liquid is a high strength “gray water” that contains micro nutrient and organic matter that is perfectly suited for treatment by municipal water treatment facilities. How much can we expect to save? Soriano: It’s a huge cost savings in that we eliminate equipment rental, hauling and landfill charges. Keep in mind that in NYC traditional hauling charges can be as much as $85-$100 per ton. Our units can operate at around $58 per ton without accounting for the cost of the employee. Since the use of our unit is no different than the use of a garbage compactor, I think the labor
Will the unit help us get rid of the flies we have? Soriano: Flies are attracted to putrefying waste. The unit will deal with the majority of your food waste without an offending odor that can attract flies and vermin. How much waste do we need to be generating for Bio-Ez to make sense? Mulé: Waste to Water is currently manufacturing units that can handle between 350-2000 lbs per day. R&D is working towards a smaller model for under counter use in smaller venues. Besides the bottom line, what other impact can BIO-EZ have? Soriano: We’re creating a better environment and also from an economic standpoint we’re eliminating material going into landfills and we’re also eliminating one and a half trucks per month. We’re helping to reduce the carbon, gas and contribute positively to the environment. What role will M. Tucker play in the process? Soriano: We like to work with M. Tucker because they already have a well established relationship with the people we’re trying to reach also a trust factor and we can prove to them this is what we say it is. They carry with them their excellent reputations and the trust factor between buyer and seller that’s representing a new product.
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// NEWS
LOCAL BUSINESS
Sage Brings RV Tour to Metro NYC to Promote Local Dining If $100 is spent at non-local businesses and restaurants, only 43 of those dollars are returned to the city. For every $100 spent, the amount of money the city saves really adds up!
T
his is extremely important for local restaurants, who haven’t had the highest of success rates over the past decade. This money saved returns to cities in the form of supplies purchased, wages, new jobs, and profit for other local businesses. Identifying the need for consumer education of the importance of shopping locally coupled with the growing trend
of businesses buying local, software company Sage is currently embarking on a 16-city nationwide decked-out RV tour where top executives are meeting with their small business customers in order to show appreciation and spread the message of shopping locally throughout American cities. Sage, a leading provider of business management software and services for more than six million small to midsized
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businesses worldwide, is continuing its 16-city, 50-day Sage Listens RV Relay, which included a stop in New York City and New Jersey last month. In addition to hosting two special events, Sage executives met with several customers in the New York City metropolitan area. The Sage Listens RV Relay team met with Garden State MLS, a residential property listing company with the most comprehensive property
listings in North Jersey, prior to hosting a lunch for New York City-based Net@ work, a Sage business partner, near Bryant Park. Executives also hosted a cocktail reception at Westminster Hotel in Livingston, N.J, for numerous Sage customers and Livingston, N.J.-based SWK Technologies, Inc., a Sage partner. “As one of the leading metropolitan areas in the country, and perhaps the largest, New York City either serves as home to many existing small businesses and entrepreneurs or as an attractive lure for entrepreneurs aspiring to launch new businesses,” said Brad Smith, Executive Vice President, customer experience, Sage North America. “We’re proud to support our New York City and surrounding area customers in their success and excited to meet with a few of them over the next two days.”
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Maier, from page 79 12. A new restaurant puts an offer on Facebook that anyone who comes in for the first time his or her meal is Free. Their facebook grows by thousands and so did their business in just a month. 13. True Story – My friend was at a restaurant where he knew the owner. It was a slow night about four people at the bar. Snooky from The Jersey shore stopped in on her way to an appearance and had dinner in the back room with her group. She tweeted that she was having a great dinner at the restaurant located at xxxx. Within the hour it was five deep at the bar. I don’t get it but it works. 14. I know a Dentist with $100,000’s worth of state-of-the-art equipment and everyone knows him for the Cappuccino machine and the three sugar free blueberry
muffins he gives you when you leave. You can only see him by Referral Only. Many people say, “I am not that creative or I could never think of these ideas.” Wrong, there is a simple process you can follow to create these ideas. You need to spend time working ON the business not just In the business. Not every idea will work, that is why you are testing and measuring all
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your strategies. Marketing is Simple not Easy. You need to commit your time and not all the time but $$$. Even when it makes sense to outsource some of your marketing (example Search Engine Optimization, website…), I want my clients to know the fundamentals on building a Marketing plan that is FUN and Profitable.
Tom Maier runs a Business Coaching firm, which is part of ActionCoach Business Coaching, the World’s #1 business coaching firm. If you have any questions or want more information contact Tom at 203-763-4005 or email tommaier@actioncoach.com. His website is www.actioncoach.com/ tommaier.
Call Vic Rose: 732-864-2220
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