December 2018 - Total Food Service

NEWS

OBITUARIES

Industry Toasts O’Neal’s Iconic 60-Year Manhattan Career With Passing

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ichael O’Neal, a civicminded New York restaurateur who, with his actor brother, Patrick, upgraded the emblematic Irish bar into an American bistro that beckoned singles and celebrities, died last month in Manhattan, where he was an owner of a number of its wellknown eating establishments.

After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in business, he was a food service officer in the Air Force for five years before joining his brother in New York. After the O’Neals noticed a lack of restaurants in their neighborhood and decided to open one, Michael, who was already training with Restaurant Associates, enrolled in a cooking school run by Dione Lucas, a celebrated English chef in New York who had studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

The O’Neal brothers owned two destination restaurants near Lincoln Center: the Ginger Man, whose name was inspired by J. P. Donleavy’s lusty novel and play about a roguish barfly, being portrayed Off Broadway at the time by Patrick O’Neal; and O’Neal’s Baloon, distinguished by its enclosed

More than a businessman, Michael O’Neal was also an independent-minded leader of state and national restaurant owners’ associations. sidewalk cafe and its enigmatic name (an imaginative spelling to comply with an obscure State Liquor Authority ban on the word saloon). It was immortalized as the place where Woody Allen and Diane Keaton meet for their last lunch in the 1977 movie “Annie Hall.”

In a 60-year career, Michael O’Neal ran a dozen more Manhattan restaurants as well, among them the Boat Basin Cafe, along the Hudson River on the western end of 79th Street, and the Ballfields Cafe, a popular spot south of the Sheep Meadow in Central Park. The brothers also owned the Landmark Tavern, which bills itself as one of the oldest continually operating establishments in New York City, on 11th Avenue and West 46th Street in Midtown.

“I first met Michael in the early seventies, who at the time was run-

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ning the Ginger Man at a meeting at the 21 Club for new members of the New York State Restaurant Association,” noted Fred Sampson retired Executive Director of the New York State Restaurant Association. “It was the beginning of a long and fruitful period for the association and he was one of our major representatives.

He served as president of the New York City Chapter, the state association, and served for twelve years as a member of the National Restaurant Association as a director,” Sampson continued: “He was a dear friend and truly an advocate for our industry. He testified at industry hearings at the city, state, and federal levels and was articulate and forceful.”

The O’Neal brothers were integral to Manhattan’s Upper West Side revival sparked by the construction of Lincoln Center for the Performing

Main Office 282 Railroad Ave. Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers Leslie & Fred Klashman Advertising Director Michael Scinto Art Director Mark Sahm Director of Public Relations and Special Events Joyce Appelman Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Faith Hope Consolo Morgan Tucker Fred Sampson

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 Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. Phone: 203.661.9090. This issue copyright 2018 by IDA Publishing Inc. Contents in full or part may not be reproduced without permission. Not responsible for advertisers claims or statements.

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Arts in the early 1960s. Melding the ambience of P. J. Clarke’s, an authentic 19th-century Irish saloon on the East Side, with that of the original Friday’s, the prototypical Upper East Side singles bar, they opened the Ginger Man during those years in a former garage on West 64th Street.

“There was never a more ‘active’ restaurant operator in NYC through

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 3

NEWS TECHNOLOGY Resy Acquires Reserve In The Fierce Tussle Over Restaurant Reservations

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penTable is still the biggest player, but that dominance is under challenge

by Resy and other rivals.

Resy, the restaurant-reservation service founded in 2014, recently said that it had acquired its smaller competitor Reserve.

Though Resy is the nation’s largest privately held reservation service, it is still small in comparison with OpenTable, which was bought by the publicly traded Priceline Group (now called Booking Holdings) in 2014 for $2.6 billion and is used by nearly

We’re attacking and dismantling some very stale, inadequate, overpriced products,” Ben Leventhal, one of Resy’s founders and its chief executive, said.

50,000 restaurants around the world.

But Resy’s expansion is the latest sign that OpenTable’s dominance in the field may be threatened as small, young companies fiercely pursue restaurants’ business with lower fees

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and newer technology.

With the addition of Reserve, which works with about 1,000 restaurants, most of them in Chicago, Washington and Boston, will now serve about 4,000 restaurants in the

United States. And since April, when it connected several international reservation platforms to its technology, Resy is used by 10,000 restaurants worldwide.

In April, Resy also bought ClubKviar, a luxury reservation service in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. A year ago, Resy acquired Servy, a market research service, which it will integrate into its own software, allowing restaurants to survey their customers

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 5

NEWS

CHEFS

Benno Brings Iconic Culinary Skills To NYC’s Evelyn Hotel

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hef Jonathan Benno, an under-the-radar chef deserving of global attention, is in the process of opening three new restaurants at The Evelyn Hotel, in New York’s NoMad neighborhood.

Jonathan Benno’s latest, the crown jewel of his collection of spots in the restored Evelyn Hotel, is finally poised to open. Finally is the operative term here as the chef, who cooked at Per Se and Lincoln Ristorante, said he has been waiting about 30 years to open his own restaurant, spending the past five or so years on this project.

The dining room, at the back of the hotel past his Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria and the informal Leonelli Taberna is fairly intimate, with 45 seats and another 10 at the bar. The décor suggests Art Deco and Modernist design, and includes original wal-

Jonathan Benno’s latest, the crown jewel of his collection of spots in the restored Evelyn Hotel, is finally poised to open. nut woodwork, restored mosaic floors and a dramatic light fixture that hangs from a central skylight.

Benno has tapped his French and Italian training and experience for a Mediterranean menu with a focus on Liguria, in Northern Italy, and Provence, in Southern France.

There’s a risotto with squash and chestnuts; skate almondine; olive oilpoached steelhead trout; a terrine of sweetbreads, rabbit and foie gras; and short ribs niçoise-style. Pastas include

Chef Jonathan Benno and some of his cuisine from Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria

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spaghetti made with burnt wheat (grano arso) and dressed with seafood, lumache with lobster fra diavolo, and classic agnolotti del plin with duck and foie gras. “I could not resist doing the pastas,” Mr. Benno said. The pastry chef, Lindsey Bittner, also taps into Mediterranean fare with a rosemary flan, chocolate babka with pistachio halvah, and pears with goat cheese.

Having spent seven years as the chef de cuisine at Per Se, and another seven as head chef of Lincoln, Benno brings authority to the already established culinary scene of the neighborhood.

Leonelli Taberna, the first to open this June, is a casual, yet sophisticated space that strays from the mainstream contemporary vibe of the surrounding neighborhood. Much of the original details, like the tiled floors, were preserved in an effort to highlight the Art Deco style of the space, without seeming too forced. Art glass panels are accentuated by gold metal detailing, fresh white tile and dark-stained wood.

The dishes are a sophisticated, yet approachable spin on traditional Italian cuisine. You won’t find all the usual Italian staples; instead are artfullycrafted plates that display the chef’s

years of experience working with culinary kingpins like Thomas Keller and Tom Colicchio. The food is nothing short of stellar, but what else would you expect from a man who helmed the kitchen in a laundry list of Michelin-starred restaurants.

Benno’s second space, an Italian bakery and café called Leonelli Focacceria e Pasticceria, opened earlier this month and his final project, the fine-dining, Mediterranean restaurant Benno is set for a fall opening a Mediterranean restaurant.

“I’ve been fortunate in my career to have worked the past 25 years in New York. Many on my team are people that I’ve worked with in the past, and we’ve been crafting this concept now for close to two years. The food is meant to hit on a lot of the notes that we’ve touched before: an accessible, neighborhood restaurant for a diverse clientele. A portion of the menu is devoted to lighter snacks meant for sharing, taking our inspiration from classic eateries around Rome.”

“I fell in love with this space five years ago. It’s a beautiful building, built in 1905, and it has great bones, much of which we were able to preserve and restore. The design firm Parts and Labor Design did a wonderful job with the renovation. We have a beautiful space to work in.”

“The menu is our interpretation of classic Italian dishes. Because of my experience at Lincoln, I learned a lot about Italian cuisine and ingredients.

We’re also opening at a great time of year for local ingredients as the green market kicked off recently.”

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 7

LITTLE M. TUCKER

WITH MORGAN TUCKER

Female Artisans Are Reshaping The Way We Look At Tabletop

Morgan Tucker is Director of Business Development at M. Tucker, a division of Singer Equipment Company. Ms.

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ach December, Total Food Service Magazine celebrates the women in foodservice who are moving our industry forward by setting a place at the table for other women in the hospitality community.

Now, as we step into 2019, it seems the echo created by these industry influencers is finally resonating.

Sharing the spotlight with local leaders who are amongst some of my greatest allies and inspiration in the Top Women in Metro New York Foodservice Issue, I’d also like to personally showcase a few of my favorite female makers in this year’s publication.

The following artisans are coupling innovative design

with an industry understanding of what plays on the international tabletop stage to reshape the way we look at dining room diversity and our approach to making everyone feel welcome.

Catherine Hurand designs imaginative glass vessels with uninhibited style.

Whether for signature dishes or display purposes, her expressive collections often conjure an air of sensual femininity.

Trained by the most prestigious Parisian schools of Fine Arts and Decorative Arts, Catherine Hurand is a true sculptress. Five her of

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iconic collections are on display at the Steelite flagship showroom in New York City.

Known for their diverse creative partnerships, Serax is constantly searching for passionate design partners that create unforgettable shapes, materials, and style. Of their 85 designers, 38 are female.

Three of these craftswomen are at the forefront of the developmental discovery process – producing traditional handicraft with inventive personality.

Terres De Reves is both the name of Anita Le Grelle’s company and her collection for Serax.

Tucker works with a wide diversity of acclaimed restaurateurs, celebrated chefs, and industry leaders across the U.S. Andrew Beres, Sarah Bulmer and Morgan Tucker curate LMT. LMT is a harmonized portfolio of tabletop collections. Our products speak to a contemporary aesthetic while occasionally borrowing from the past. To consult with our team, please email lmt@singerequipment.com.

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 9

MIXOLOGY

WITH WARREN BOBROW

Punch Season: My Favorite Time Of The Year, By Far!

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unch, if you are not running at least one Punch per week you’re losing out on some really fun times in your cocktail lounge. Why not?

Making Punch requires only a few really basic things. Desire to make something different is certainly a good reason. Another reason is here in the NY/Metro area, we have a lit-

Warren Bobrow is the creator of the popular blog The Cocktail Whisperer and the author of nearly half a

tle something named History. They say that George Washington was fond of Punch and that’s probably more plausible than; “George Washington Slept Here” signs that are all over this region. The history side is the savories (or sweetest) thing about the interest in Punch.

The other part of Punch is the cost. Everyone in the bar industry

knows that the bottom of the bottle shows up infrequently. There are times that a bottle will languish on the shelf with an inch or two of expensive spirits- for weeks on end without being sold. The solution?

Punch! Building a Punch will empower your staff as well. Think of the art of making Punch as a team building exercise. Places like Cure in New Orleans (think Tales of the Cocktail) and all the wonderful Punch drinks that grace their elegant and nearly endless bar.

Punch is raised to a higher level in my six books as well. (So, get studying!) There are dozens of recipes available and many you’d never heard about as well.

A Colonial Cider Punch-Cocktail ( Whisperer Style) This will keep the attention of at least thirty thirsty folks Ingredients: • 1 oz. Jade Absinthe – for the wash • 1-750ml. bottle of Laird’s 100 Proof, Bottled in Bond Apple Brandy • 1 Quart fresh Apple Juice • 4 oz. Pickett’s Ginger Beer Syrup • 12 oz. Seltzer Water- to mix with the Ginger Beer Syrup

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dozen books, including Apothecary Cocktails, Whiskey Cocktails, Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails, and his most recent book Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, & Tonics.

•

Angostura and Cinnamon

Preparation: 1. Wash the inside of a fancy cut crystal Punch Bowl with the absinthe 2. Add a large block of ice 3. Add the Laird’s Apple Brandy 4. Add the Apple Juice (or cider) 5. Add the Pickett’s Ginger Syrup 6. Mix with the Seltzer Water 7. Serve 8. Dot with Angostura and scrape some fresh cinnamon over the top A Bourbon Milk Punch Ingredients: • 1-750ml. bottle of Bourbon. I used Buffalo Trace • 2 Quarts Heavy Cream • ½ cup real vanilla extract • 1 Quart whole milk (regular) • Lots of fresh nutmeg • 1 cup Chai Tea • Preparation:

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 11

NEWS

COLD BREW COFFEE SOLUTIONS

Cold Brew Coffee – On Tap! The Future Of Coffee And How To Serve It

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oday, the hottest brews in town are actually the coolest.

Restaurants, cafes and coffee chains have fresh options when it comes to feeding customers’ cold brew needs. Out with pitchers of hot coffee and in with Cold Brew Coffee on Tap! Just look at the numbers.

Sales of traditional hot coffee have been declining (down 3% between 2012 and 2016) and fast food giants like McDonald’s are seeing their hot coffee sales drop dramatically while their cold frappes soar (an average of 80 per store daily).

Starbucks also sees cold coffee drinks as the future of their business.

“We are relentlessly focused to innovate in all things cold coffee,” says Sharon Rothstein, Global Chief Marketing Officer. “And that starts with cold brew.” The coffee giant forecasts that by the year 2021, nearly 50% of its beverage mix will be in cold, up 35% since 2013.

While cold coffee drinks are not exactly a new concept, its explosive growth is relatively new.

In years past, cold brew coffee was kept in covered pitchers or gallon jugs in the refrigerator. Dispensing it was a matter of pouring from a pitcher, jug or urn. Not too difficult, but inefficient and not necessarily the most appeal-

ing.

It’s far easier and more attractive to the customer to dispense cold brew coffee from a tap, especially when it’s nitro cold brew coffee! So, how do you get cold brew coffee on tap pouring in your establishment? It’s easy...

Options for Serving Nitro Cold Brew on Tap Fresh, cold brew coffee on tap is efficient and fresh. What may not be clear are the options you have for serving it within your establishment, courtesy of Micro Matic.

Ready to Drink (RTD) Coffee Single servings of cold brew are available packaged in your choice of cans or bottles. Think “on draft” simi-

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lar to keg packaging but filled with cold brew coffee. You can brew your own signature blend or purchase kegs from a brewer and a few select coffee keg distributors.

If you’re into artisanal, hand-crafted coffee blends and want to manage every step of the brewing process – you can! Brew the coffee cold at ambient temp for 8 to 16 hours. When it’s ready, simply pour it into what’s called a Corny Keg (traditionally used for craft soda or craft beer). The standard size for a Corny Keg is 5 gallons, but can also be found in 2.5 and 3 gallon sizes. Many roasters are producing cold brew and packaging it in kegs. There are local distributors throughout the United States that carry a number of different brands to choose from.

Bag-in-Box (BiB) Coffee Perhaps you’re in a large volume setting and need to serve multiple cups in an institution, convenience store or entertainment venue setting. Allow us to introduce you to Bag-in-Box (BIB) cold brew coffee concentrate to solve the operational challenges and enable any foodservice operator to deliver cold specialty coffee beverages in volume.

The concentrates typically range from 4:1 up to 15:1 with even higher concentrates available. The industry norms are 5:1 and 7:1 (water-to-concentrate) in 1 gallon BIBs. The volume calculation is simple: take the BIB size and look at the ratio, a 7:1 ratio is 7 gallons of water to 1 gallon of concentrate = 8 gallons of cold brew. A higher concentrate can produce even more product from the same gallon BIB (a 15:1 can produce 16 gallons of finished product).

This package delivers coffee shop quality cold brew with no labor or waste. Products are shipped fresh and offer longer shelf life and a lower cost per serving than kegged coffee alternatives. BIB producers offer a large variety of standard brews/flavors and many will custom produce runs to

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 13

THE FOODIE QUIPPER

WITH JOE FERRI

The Twelve Days of Ventless

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re you sick and tired of red-suited jolly old elves getting stuck in your ductwork?

Do the ghosts of holidays past continue to haunt you with flue cleaning costs from yule log soot and menorah candle creosote?

Do the mushroom fans on your roof prevent you from installing blow-up holiday décor?

Well, then sit back in your onehorse-open sleigh and twice-check my list of presents this year.

On the twelfth day of Ventless, my dealer brought to me: • Twelve hobs from CookTek • Eleven Lang inductions • Ten Frialators • Nine ductless Wells hoods • Eight Blodgett Combi’s • Seven Southbend steamers • Six Vaporguard Insingers • Five Gold Star ovens • Four TurboChefs • Three Hoodinis • Two Perfect Fry’s • And a Pitco under a Wells hood!

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Why risk being on the Fire Department’s naughty list when instead you can easily install a plug & play electric ductless cooking appliance?

Remember, ceilings are meant for hanging mistletoe, not ugly ventilation ducts, and roofs are meant for the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

Let safety be on your wish list for the holidays and every day. Ventless electric equipment has no open flames flickering through frosted windowpanes. Let’s face it, chestnuts on an open fire are much better suited to city sidewalks dressed in holiday style.

Ventless appliances are perfect for all of your holiday baking, roasting, steaming and frying, whether the menu calls for roast goose and cookies, or brisket and jelly donuts.

The reduced maintenance needed will afford you plenty of extra time to deck the halls with holly, break out the dreidels and polish the nutcrackers.

Joe Ferri (AKA the Foodiequipper) was conceived in a Greenwich Village speakeasy’s walk-in box, the love child of the hat check girl and bartender. He is in his fifth decade of (somewhat) gainful employment in the foodservice industry. He is past chairman of MAFSI and currently COO of Pecinka Ferri Assoc., a NY area equipment, furnishings and supplies representative. Follow Joe @ joeferri on Twitter.

There’s no need to share any more of your gelt than you need to, as the total cost of ownership will be equal to or lower than that of traditional vented equipment. Scrooges will be pleased with the new life breathed into their facilities.

So, while everyone else has settled down for a long winter’s nap (with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads), give yourself the gift of portability, tax advantage and safety: a new ventless kitchen installation.

Old Father Time will not be waiting on you for auld lang syne, and you definitely won’t need to send a team of (those game-playing) reindeer to the north pole to get your equipment either, as it is readily available and all made right here in the ol’ US of A. You have but one choice to make for your holiday wish: do you want it wrapped in a blue and silver bow, or a red and green one?

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 15

CHEFCETERA

Tomoyuki Kobayashi Executive Chef, 1221 at MFP in the Roslyn Hotel

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omoyuki Kobayashi, the first Japanese chef in the United States to earn the Academic Culinaire de France Diplome, showcases his Japanese and French training at a new Long Island restaurant, 1221 at MFP in the Roslyn Hotel. Tomo, who grew up in the kitchen of his family’s inn, has blended his culinary experience in Japan with his classical French training at notable restaurants including Lespanisse, Alain Ducasse and Asiate at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, to offer a modern American menu with several cultural influences. Hospitality is a hallmark for Tomo with an emphasis on exceptional service.

Total Food Service had the opportunity to talk to Tomo Kobayashi about his inspirations, trainings, and ambitions for 1221 at MFP. What experiences growing up inspired you to become a chef?

When I was a child, my family owned a small inn, Kobayashi Ryokan, in my home town, Yamaguchi Prefecture Japan. I would watch my aunt cook banquets of traditional Japanese food for the guests and was always intrigued. I would often assist by preparing the ingredients for the dishes and always thought that cooking was such an exciting thing to do. Throughout my childhood I would often see famous hotel executive chefs on TV and was amazed by their tall white hats and cool uniforms and wanted to become part of that too.

How did training in Japan differ from

the training in the United States?

In Japan, training involved a lot of spiritualism. In my generation, the belief was that in order to start cooking you must have a strong mental stability. On the other hand, in the United States, I learned about the country’s culture and way of life. In order to serve them you must first know how they live. America is a giant melting pot after all, especially in New York.

phisticated preparations such as beef kimchi raclette and black bass with spiced miso broth.

How do you source product for your menu at 1221? Do you plan your menu around the seasons?

We incorporate organic and local products in our menu all year round.

Long Island has such an inspiring bounty of locally sourced products.

It elevates our menus to source what we can from our surrounding areas.

We have planned menus for all four seasons at 1221 to take advantage of the ingredients that have limited availability throughout the year.

Who are your culinary mentors and what were some of the most important things they taught you?

My culinary mentor is Tomoyuki Kobayashi, Executive Chef, 1221 at MFP in the Roslyn Hotel (photo by Eric Striffler) chef Christian Delouvrier.

He taught me many important things, but one of hospitality and service. However, What new kitchen techthing I will never forget is, “I learn they also taught me the importance nology are you excited about and from you, you learn from me.” I reof communication with your staff and why? spect this quote of his and it is very peers. Communicating with the entire I’m a little more old fashioned, but important to me because it has been team in the kitchen is the key element do understand the importance of my guide throughout my entire career. to successful service. In order to keep embracing new technologies. Things You never know what can inspire you. things efficient, you must clearly state like the “plancha,” a steam convecIt can be other chefs, a book, or even what you want them to do. tion oven and a salamander are necyour kids. essary. Most recently, to help improve How would you describe your menu and maintain service, we purchased a How did your time in top kitchens direction at 1221 at MFP? c-vap. It’s a wet and dry heat holding such as Lespinasse, Alain Ducasse Our menu offers both French and oven that will help our busier nights. and The Modern prepare you for runJapanese influenced modern AmeriRegardless, I believe the basic culinary ning your own kitchen? can cuisine. I like to offer traditional skills are most important to perfect.

At all of these establishments, my items, such as salmon rillettes and You can’t rely on technology to carry learning focused on the high standards chicken ballotine, and also more soout the kitchen.

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 17

NEWS

PAYROLL SOLUTIONS

4 Key Payroll Management Reports Managers Cannot Live Without Article contributed Solutions

by

Valiant

A

s they say, “Data is King” – in a world where margins are tight, turnover is a reality, and companies need to maximize profit while minimizing costs, having insight into the workforce data can make all the difference. Using Payroll Management Solutions, the common initial goal is to gain control over the workforce operations and how employees are paid. However, as this control is managed and as they get insight into the information that is being produced, visibility comes to the forefront for making better decisions.

Too often, companies don’t always know what exactly they need to see.

When you automate the workforce for the first time, or you do so in a way that gives you this meaningful insight, there can be what we call “Data Paralysis”. This means, that we have so much information into operations that we don’t even know where to start. We want to create meaningful reports that tell us the best story of our workforce.

Here are the most common reports that food service businesses simply cannot live without.

1. FICA Tip Tax Credit Report:

One of the more important ways employers can realize cost savings is through the FICA Tip Tax Credit. The IRS wants to ensure that you are reporting your staff tip earnings, and this report helps to identify how tip wages are getting taxed, but there is more to this. Employers can request a tax credit on tips, and can get up to 7.62% back on all tips throughout the year: What is the value?

By reporting on tax tip credits, employers are eligible to save hundreds on each employee through the reporting. If your non-exempt employees are compensated at the minimum wage rate, you can be eligible for this credit. This report helps to keep an accurate track of the tips and wages, and what the FICA tip taxes are, as well as the potential credit. A huge time-saving from having to manually track this data.

2. Tip Reporting: As part of any operation in the Food Service, Employees are required to report tip income and allocated tips. This is required by the IRS in form 8027 for income reporting. This report breaks out the direct and indirect tips earned by employee and provides a detailed report:

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 19

NEWS

KITCHEN SOLUTIONS

Entrepreneurial Trio Brings Fresh Approach With Water Saving Innovation

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lateScrape is a breakthrough product created by an inspiring startup company, and driven by the entrepreneurial trio of Stephen Zoeller, Nate Stein and Ryan Kruse.

This ultimate water saving solution for dishwashing has recently been tested by the Food Service Technology Center. The results of a 200 plate comparison proves PlateScrape saves 93% more water than the average low flow CEO Nate Stein preparing the PlateScrape for dish usage spray nozzle. In addition, the PlateScape was twice as fast cleaning all of those heaving waves in both the catering and ogy eliminates the water and energy ily baked-on tomato-paste-plates. party rental industries, as other waste as it simultaneously cleans Dishwashing is the dirtiest problem utensils can also be easily cleaned both sides of the plates in a dunk in any kitchen and PlateScrape has through this system besides plates. and a scrub. emerged as the single most effective In addition, PlateScrape has already “We take great pride that Plasolution to clean plates with a surattained patent pending status, to teScrape can significantly reduce prisingly little amount of water. secure its foothold in the United waste in the industry. Did you know “Our award-winning brushes efStates. This amazing blend of inthat 52% of all water being used fortlessly clean some of the most novation and technology is shaping in a restaurant comes solely from stubborn eggs, cheeses, or dried the future of the foodservice induskitchen dishwashing?” Stein consauces,” Noted Nate Stein, CEO and try. tinued. PlateScrape also brings an inventor of the product. “Using the It started with an immediate waimpressive track record of electric PlateScrape is also very simple, you ter conservation strategy, “Saving savings. “We are enabling our usjust need to dunk the dirty plates water is saving the planet and curers to save 3,689 kWh of electricity through our interlocking brushes rent dishwashing processes wastes per year, which means that they can and that’s it,” he added. a lot of water,” Stein explained. Plasave more than $373 on electricity, PlateScrape’s is quickly makteScrape’s revolutionary technoland as much as $114 on gas,” Stein

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added.

The PlateScrape system can work alongside all models of dishwashers. From large flight machines in healthcare and military operations to the traditional door machine at a restaurant, PlateScrape creates energy and labor efficiency.

For many operators, as well as E&S and Jan-San dealers and distributors that support them, it’s the bottom line results PlateScrape delivers that have attracted them to the product. Food Service Technology Center testing verified that a spray nozzle costs $518 per sanitizing 200,000 plates, whereas the PlateScrape costs only $17 in water.

Pre-sanitizing more than 600 dirty plates with just 4.5 gallons of water has enabled operators to save thousands of dollars.

Restaurants will also greatly benefit from PlateScrape’s innovative solution. “Our goal is for 1% of restaurants in America to switch to the PlateScrape, so that we can come together as an industry to save water. We are on a mission to save 220 million gallons of water by 2020,” Kruse concluded.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 21

EYE

HX: The Conference & Marketplace

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE brings you the latest trends and insights in the

REGISTER TODAY AT:

www.thehotelexperience.com

hospitality and dining industry.

HX Brings Creative Agenda Of F&B Strategies To Javits Stand-Alone 2-Day Conference On floor educational sessions

300+ Exhibitors showcasing the latest products & services Network with over 7,000 hospitality professionals

O

nce again, the annual HX: The Hotel Experience took center stage at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The show offered a wide diversity of fare for the food and beverage professional. The show’s marriage with the BDNY show has given it a hip new feel and look.

This year’s show featured many new and fresh changes. The show debuted a new HX: The Marketplace. It brought buyers and sellers together and featured some 300 exhibitors. On-Stage F&B was highlighted by some 30 plus educational sessions on the show floor.

Once again, HX 2018 show manager Phil Robinson teamed with the New

York City Hospitality Alliance’s Andrew agreement in a hotel. A session on NOVEMBER 11-12, 2018 | NEW YORK CITY Rigie, to create a fast paced lineup of How to Craft a Cocktail MenuSpeakers JACOB K. JAVITS CONVENTION CENTER educational seminars. They included included Dave Oz of Bathtub Gin and a Show-Sunday focus on Going Green The 18th Room and Good Ice Marketin 2018: Panelists included Brice Jones ing’s Karl Franz. of the Freehold Brooklyn, Diner/NYC’s The opening day line up concluded PRESENTED & PRODUCED ElizabethBY:Murray and The Loveage’s with Ariel Palitz, New York City’s Senior Tarajia Morrell.

Executive Director Office of Nightlife, The Future of Restaurants in Hotels giving her perspective on how to balwas also a big draw on Sunday. Cobi ance industry and community issues.

Levi, Principal of Act 2 Hospitality The Monday program included Group, joined Lana Trevisan of Two writer Andrea Strong and Assante Roads Hospitality to discuss “What do Public Relations’ Marie Assante delvchefs and restaurateurs need to know ing into the mind of reporters who about landing a highly sought after cover the hospitality industry. There hotel deal?” This panel discussed the was also a very educational presenrisks and benefits restaurateurs face tation from the City of New York on when running a standalone restaurant how to streamline the permitting and vs. operating under a management licensing process to get opened faster

and learn about small business loan opportunities. One of 2018’s most talked about panels returned again CO-LOCATED for thisWITH: year’s event. TFS co-publisher Fred Klashman moderated What’s Cooking for 2019. The panel featured some rather spicy conversation with Gennaro Pecchia of AOS by SOSA, author Karen Stabiner and The Institute of Culinary Education’s Steve Zagor.

Finally, Fox Rothschild’s Carolyn Richmond moderated a Monday session on Hiring, Retaining and Creating Company Culture.

continued on page 24

(L to R) BG Burg of Restaurant Development and Equipex’s Irina Mirsky

(L to R) Todd Griffith of Alto Shaam and legendary teaching chef Gerry Murphy

(L to R) PJ Gavin of RPI and Eric Chaplick of Boelter

(L to R) Advance Tabco’s Penny Hutner and M. Tucker president Michael Greenwald

(L to R) BSE’s Jason Butler and Rory Bevins of Chowbotics

(L to R) Goldman Designs’ Jennifer Geddes and Cathal McGreal

Maxsun Furniture’s Tom Lin flanked by Rachel Terragnoli and Ashely Pezze of Saratoga Springs Phinney Design

NJRE’s Jodi Cohen shopped the show

22 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 23

HX Show 2018, from page 22 Paladar Flexi-Service easily transformed into a community space with self-serve beverages and snack space available throughout the day. Among the features of the award winning designs were Counters that start as a single exhibit cook line with seating for local guest chefs to be invited to cook directly in front of hotel guests and community diners. The space easily transforms after hours into three separate tables creating a community space with self-serve beer taps, specialty hot beverages and a selection of water dispensers. The ventless grill is enclosed, moved and transformed into one of the tables in the social space and the countertop equipment on the back line of cooking space is integrated into the back wall as well. The beer taps are operator served during cooking hours, but are self-serve with the use of a pre-paid key card or room cards during the off hours. Adaptable and flexible with staffing, footprint, food and beverage items to activate

Marsha Diamond’s foodservice pioneering display was a bevy of activity

your common space, elevate the customer’s experience of your brand and anchor your hotel as a meeting place with the community.

Kudos to Eastchester, NY based PBAC who celebrated their 30th anniversary on the show floor with HX’s largest showcase of foodservice equipment solutions.

EYE also enjoyed the Marriott sponsored panel on how design ingenuity can drive relevance and reinvention in restaurant and bar space. Marriott’s Angela Kuzma and Matthew Von Ertfelda teamed with Wilson Associates’ Mike Lawless to explore the importance of bringing hyper local design trends to the outposts of national hotel brands.

Once again New York design firms took center stage at the show Gold Key awards. Manhattan’s Rockwell Group took top honors for their design of Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge at Moxy Times Square, New York. Blueplate, a Wilson Associates Studio, New

(L to R) Pour My Beef’s Michael Schatzberg visited with Andrew Rigie and Jesus Guittierez of the New York City Hospitality Alliance

24 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

York; was a finalist in the Best Restaurant Casual dining category for their work at Chica at The Venetian Las Vegas. Manhattan’s AvroKO, was a finalist for Fine Dining for their design of Somerset at Viceroy Chicago.

Looking forward to seeing what new ownership Emerald Expositions has in mind for upcoming shows. Curious if it might make sense to bring energy back to the foodservice side of the show with the move of their Pizza event earlier in the Fall to Javits as part of HX?

(L to R) Prince Seating’s Paul Olendzki and Daniel Edell with Hospitality Design’s Brie Reed and Paul Miller

Performance Food Equipment’s Sandra Kravetz and Frank Biller of Vertex

(L to R) Best Marketing’s Manny Tehrani and Marty Miller of MTS

(L to R) Mirror Lake Resorts Samantha Jack and Seth Jory were among a large contingent from the Lake Placid property at HX

Day and Nite’s Matthew Sher toured the show

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 25

EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

PBAC Consultants’ Dinner 2019

T

he PBAC Annual Consultants’ Dinner long ago established itself as one of the key dates on the Metro New York foodservice calendar. This year it took on special meaning as the Eastchester, NY based equipment and supply rep firm celebrated its 30th milestone.

Michael Posternak, Steve Bauer, Larry Cantamessa, and David Aitkenhead and their PBAC associates were more than happy to share the evening with Traulsen, who was cocelebrating their 80th anniversary.

The refrigeration manufacturer history is interwoven with PBAC. Posternak and co-owner Steve Bauer both got their industry starts while working for Traulsen when it was lo-

(L to R) Seth, Michael and Barbara Posternak celebrated the company’s 30th

(L to R) Kai Fukunaga of JDB with Evan DeLuna and Jason Russo of Cini Little

cated in the College Point section of Queens.

PBAC’s Consultant evening has evolved into a quintessential New York event. Metro New York’s top kitchen design Consultants were hosted by PBAC and the manufacturers they represent to a special night of dining and Broadway music.

PBAC understands how to recruit and cultivate great products as it supports the needs of Metro New York’s Dealer and Consultant community. It is no different for their annual event.

PBAC teamed with musical director Ben Rauhala to find some of the best and brightest stars of Broadway to entertain their guests.

The Feinstein’s 54 stage was rocking as a bevy of Broadways’ new stars

(L to R) Mr. and Mrs. Gary Simpson and Brian Kadel of Hobart

(L to R) The Hospitality House’s Cody Hicks, Mr. and Mrs. Brian Hicks, with Next Step Design’s Mr. and Mrs. Leif Billings

26 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

brought their interpretations of today’s hottest sounds to the 54 Street stage as PBAC treated their guests to a truly memorable Manhattan evening. Among the Broadway stars that graced the PBAC stage at Feinstein’s were Tony award nominee Ariana DeBose who is currently appearing in Donna Summer/The Musical.

PBAC’s guests were also treated to the gifted Evan Harrington who is currently performing in CHICAGO on Broadway, Ashley Loren and Internet sensation Carrie Manolakas who has performed in both Wicked and Mamma Mia. This year’s gathering celebrated the creation of the firm. In 1988 Michael and Steve left successful careers at Traulsen to launch what has become

one of the nation’s preeminent manufacturer representative firms.

EYE enjoyed visiting with many of the top consultants in Metro New York including large contingents from Cini Little, Clevenger Frable LaVallee, Romano Gatland, Next Step Design, Jacobs Doland Beer, Ricca Design, Yui Design, and several others.

EYE spotted a number of movers and shakers from the manufacturing side of the industry including Vulcan’s Joe Maresca, Jim Leist of Duke and Metro’s Mike Ward.

EYE says you can look for another big year from PBAC in ‘19 as they are set to team with many of the Tri-State region’s leading Dealers and Consultants on a number of significant projects.

(L to R) Mr. and Mrs. Chris Brady of Romano Gatland flank PBAC’s Larry Cantamessa

(L to R) Mark Pumphret of Hatco, Jacobs Doland Beer’s Christine Gurtler, and Lew Demis of SCC

(L to R) Ellen and Jimi Yui with Sarah Haviland

Bob Doland of Jacobs Doland Beer

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 27

SEDERHOLT ON RESTAURANT FINANCE

Know Your Lender – The Grinch Is Out There!

A

fter spending over 25 years as a restaurant owner / operator, I was one of the early customers of Rewards Network and took cash advances to grow my stable of restaurants.

The money was wicked expensive - $2.00 paid back for ever $1.00 they advanced – but it was available when I needed it and they did drive business to my doors in the early days. My accountants thought the rates were extortion, but when I asked them for help getting me a bank line of credit, they couldn’t produce. Typical then and typical now.

In 2006, we started Strategic Funding with some restaurant veterans and professional finance people. Like AdvanceMe (now CAN Capital) before us, we knew we could do a better job and offer more favorable rates and terms based on the credit risk of each customer. One of the most important foundations of our small industry was a code of conduct that guided us in running our companies with integrity and fairness.

We were there to help our customers grow their businesses and never allowed them to over extend themselves or choke on too much debt.

Companies in the space cooperated with one another to ensure that customers were not being over financed or that they were not double funding their customers who they knew could not afford the repayment terms for concurrent financing agreements.

Like giving a kid too much Halloween candy, it could make them sick. Sure,

As in any industry there are good actors and bad actors, and the bad ones have proven to be very predatory. So how does a small business owner in need of working capital tell the good guys from the bad guys? we were looking to make a profit, but we understood full well that the health of these small businesses would ensure we were paid back and, if satisfied, the customer would renew when they needed us.

Many years have passed and the “alternative finance” industry has grown explosively, extending about $15 billion in credit last year as estimated by Bryant Park Capital. With that growth came evolution and mutations in the players who offered financing as well the business methods they employed.

As in any industry there are good actors and bad actors, and the bad ones have proven to be very predatory. So how does a small business owner in need of working capital tell the good guys from the bad guys?

Bankers and finance professionals are required to “know your customer” or KYC. They don’t do business with you unless they know who you are,the background of your company and the backgrounds of all of the individuals running it. I have always recommended that borrowers do the same.

You should know who you are bor-

28 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

rowing from as you are establishing a legal and financial relationship with them for a period of time. Would you rent an apartment from a serial killer?

Probably not. So why would you give confidential information like bank accounts, tax IDs and Social Security numbers to a company that may be a predator? Many of the same people that pushed stock swindles and subprime mortgages that triggered the 2009 recession saw new opportunity in irresponsibly pushing costly debt to high risk merchants.

The reputable companies like Strategic Funding, OnDeck, CAN and others quickly became concerned that abuses by bad players were harming - rather than helping - their small business clients. To help mitigate this, many of these companies came together and formed associations like the Small Business Finance Association (www.sbfassociation.org) to establish best practices that protected both the customers and the companies that provided their financing.

The first thing I have always

David Sederholt is the Senior Advisor to management at Strategic Funding, a leader in small business financing since 2006. Before this, David spent 30 years in the restaurant business and has owned and operated more than a dozen restaurants. As a direct lender, the company offers a variety of financing options and has provided over $1.25 Billion to approximately 20,000 businesses across the United States and Australia.

told, and continue to tell, small business owners seeking financing is to do your research on ANY lender you are considering.

• Do they have a real and professional website? Anyone can load up a template and throw it on the net, but does it look like a legitimate company?

• Do they list a business address or are they operating behind a curtain? Is the address verifiable? If you can’t find them, there is a chance they are bad players.

• Do they list the management of the company? If they don’t want to

continued on page 118

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Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEW

Ariel Palitz Senior Executive Director, New York City Office of Nightlife

A

riel Palitz’s eyes lit up when she saw the job posting in 2017 for New York City’s new position of Nightlife Mayor. The self-described “nocturnal” dynamo has taken the City by storm as she has created and guides the Office of Nightlife. As a former nightclub and bar owner, she brings a truly unique perspective to her position. From town hall meetings in each of the boroughs to seminars at Javits trade shows, Palitz has worked non-stop to support the needs of the City’s nightlife operator and at the same timework closely with the communities that they call home.

Total Food Service was able to catch up with Ms. Palitz and get an inside look at her vision for 2019 and beyond.

How did you get into the nightclub and bar business?

I got into the nightclub club and bar business because I was born and raised in Manhattan. When you grow up in New York slumber parties as a kid become a bar and nightlife because there isn’t really much to do in between. My friends and me really grew up in the nightlife because it gave us a fun place to hang out in. I was really drawn to it with my love of music and dancing. When I went to the University of Hartford, nightlife gave me a comfort zone. I loved the diversity and ended up becoming a public relations spokesperson for a group called

er that business wasn’t doing well and the owners were bailing out. I took it over, renamed it and relaunched as Sutra Lounge and ended up owning that venue in the East Village for ten years.

Ariel Palitz, Senior Executive Director, New York City Office of Nightlife

Minds Over Matter and as part of that I created a weekly open mic jam session called the solution session with the house band and I did it for about two years on campus. When I came back to Manhattan, I found that a lot of my friends were now actually running bars and clubs. They invited me to do my open mike jam session for five years. Before I knew it, I was promoting and doing events at nightspots like Tunnel and Limelight. There was great live music and deejays. It was a common ground for diverse expres-

30 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

sion where we had hip-hop, gospel and soul all under the same roof. It’s funny, while many were moonlighting, I was day lighting. I was Larry Gold’s assistant. I worked at Mick Mac records I worked at Susan Blond public relations so I had a lot of different day hospitality jobs to support my nighttime promotions.

What led you from promoting to ownership?

In 2003 I became an investor in a bar called The Flat on First. A year lat-

What led you to where we are today as the city’s first nightlife Mayor?

So as I was running the club for 10 years I was also on the local Community Board 3. It thrust me into a more political position because my bar was the recipient of a lot of 311 complaint calls from a chronic caller. So I felt it was really important for me to get involved to make sure that there was a fair way of determining good and bad operators versus good and bad neighbors. There’s no question that being one of the only liquor license holders serving on the Community Board for six years exposed me to an operator’s responsibility. Most importantly, it gave me an understanding of the impact of nightlife on a community and how to create solutions that benefit all parties. After I sold my bar in 2014, I also withdrew from the community board. I took a year off to recover and refocus. I then started a consulting company with integrated Commercial Real Estate Services. The goal was to help people open bars and restaurants and help get through the process required to acquire a liquor license

continued on page 32

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 31

Q&A Ariel Palitz, from page 30

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and of course to assist them in understanding the in’s and out’s of working with a local Community Board.

So how did the move from consulting to the Nightlife commish come to pass?

I was running a successful practice for about two and a half years. Someone showed me the job description for the Nightlife Mayor position and I knew right away that it was basically the story of my life and fit me to a tee.

So I applied and was thrilled to get the opportunity.

So as you get ready to celebrate your first year on the job, how have you adjusted to politics?

I just really never saw myself in politics although pretty much everyone around me did. I’ve always been a fierce advocate. I was affectionately called The Mayor of First and First having lived there for 25 years. My club was at that location and I lived upstairs. Now that I’m here it’s a dream job. You know I’ve never even really worked for anyone else. It’s an incredible use of my experience, skills, connections and my passion and purpose.

It really gives me an opportunity to be of help and to make change where there really needs to be. I have found a lot of support and cooperation from the city and all the city agencies in the community. I have a great team and things have really been falling into place because there was clearly a need to support an industry that means so much to the City.

This month, you will host the final stop on your 5 borough Town Hall meeting tour. What are your goals for that program?

Let’s work with this set of assumptions. We all know how important nightlife is to New York. It’s crucial to the City’s economy, culture and identity. We also know that because of its intensity and vibrancy that it has implications in each borough and com-

munity. So the tour has enabled me to validate many of these assumptions.

The benefit of having a listening tour is that each story I hear brings clarity of the bigger picture. More than anything I’ve really been happy to hear people’s creative ideas and solutions on how we can best proceed. We have all known what the challenges are for a long time. The tour enables us to move on from defining the problems to addressing them in an efficient and meaningful way.

Can you take a minute and recap what some of the crucial common issues are that your borough tour attendees are focused on?

The issues and concerns run the gamut from noise issues to the coordination of City services. Many operators and communities are concerned with not having enough creative spaces for our culture to thrive, how to determine DIY (Do it Yourself) spaces and legitimizing underground quasi-legal spaces. The perspective I am focused on is that this is a 24-hour city and all the issues that we might anticipate during the day also happen at night too. So it is a microcosm of society as a whole. We’re dealing with social justice issues everything you could imagine. And so it’s really a question of taking this information prioritizing and making sure that we have realistic expectations.

Obviously in order to get any of this done on your agenda it requires the coordination of the mayor’s office.

Have you gotten that type of response and coordination and cooperation from them that you were looking for?

We are still in the very early stages and we have yet to put together our proposals and recommendations. In the interim we have nothing but support. Everyone’s very accessible very supportive and enthusiastic to make this work.

As you look at the City obviously the

nightlife tends to be Manhattan centric. We also have a vibrant food scene in Brooklyn and the potential impact of the recent Amazon announcement to move to Long Island City. So how do you balance your agenda?

In one respect there are universal issues. It is important that what happens and the lessons learned in Manhattan are implemented in the other boroughs as their nighttime economies continue to grow. We also need to understand that each borough has its own unique identity and issues to be considered.

How can a Nightlife operator connect with your office?

The Office of nightlife in and of itself is not a reporting office or a 311 or 911 service. What we are hoping to be is a liaison for all of the existing services. We are working on the creation of our website: www.nyc.gov/ nightlife that will connect all of the

readership in terms of how to interact and work with a local community something you did successfully for so long as an operator?

It all comes down to humanizing each other and having a relationship and communication with your neighbors. Why not reach out during the day and try to develop understanding and relationships that can be honored in the evening. You will find that it is a great strategy to eliminate 311 or 911 or 3am calls to the Community Board.

It’s all about mutual respect for each other that has been lacking. One of the things we’ll be doing is also making free mediation services available.

Ariel Palitz’ busy schedule has taken her all over the city including a recent stop at the HX show at Javits..

dots to all the agencies and programs and services throughout the city that support nightlife. We look for that to simplify the process of navigating through opening and operating. Our goal is to also have it serve the needs of artists, employees, patrons and residents. We welcome recommen-

dations or requests for assistance.

In addition, if all else has failed and they feel like they need a little extra advocacy from the mayor’s office and from the administration there will be people to help.

I know you’re not in the business of giving advice but you were a very successful operator for a long time. What are some of the keys that you see with successful nightlife operators?

What suggestions do you have for our

continued on page 34

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Q&A Ariel Palitz, from page 33 It starts with a unique and creative vision. You have to have your own sense of self as an operator and not just duplicate other people’s business models. New Yorkers love something that’s different and fresh. They have high standards and expectations in service, food, lighting and music. You also have to be committed to being there in person because it’s a lifestyle not a job. Customers need to know who’s running the business and by treating your employees properly, they then bring that same good feeling to your customers’ experience. Pay attention to detail and just run a quality place and that is what New Yorkers love more than anything is quality. Finally, don’t let it get stale.

You’re going to be on the cover of our top women in food service issue.

Where do you think we are in terms of glass ceiling and the City presenting opportunity for women to succeed in

I just want to make it easier for business owners to operate. I want to help create and maintain space for the creative community to flourish. And I want to make it a more pleasant experience for people to live here so that we can all coexist together. our industry?

We’re doing a great job. For the most part, women really run New York. Obviously nightlife and hospitality in most industries has been a man’s game. Women really are our shining stars and running the show with incredible creativity. I admire any woman running the show in New York. People would constantly comment that it must be so hard running a nightclub in New York. I would always

answer no. It’s actually easier because it’s easier to achieve when you’re being underestimated.

Last month, the sale of legalized recreational marijuana came to Massachusetts. Connecticut and New Jersey are both giving it serious consideration. What are your thoughts on how it could impact the nightlife of New York, if and when it is legalized?

I can’t speak for the administration

but it feels, as though from a national and global perspective that recreational marijuana is inevitable. When the time comes we will address it accordingly. I think you know even with legal alcohol there are boundaries in order to make sure that it’s regulated so that you can’t drink beer on the street. You don’t drive while drinking so I would imagine it would be along those lines. Since there are other cities and countries that have already done this there are probably some guidelines we can refer to from other cities, As we prepare for 2019, what’s at the top of your agenda?

I just want to make it easier for business owners to operate. I want to help create and maintain space for the creative community to flourish. And I want to make it a more pleasant experience for people to live here so that we can all coexist together.

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 35

NEWS

FOOD SAFETY

3 Ways to Avoid Health Code Violations in the New Year Article contributed by Easy Ice

I

ce is defined as a food by the FDA, which is why health inspectors focus their attention on ice machines. Ice machines aren’t a “set it and forget it” appliance, they require preventive maintenance at least twice a year and daily routine cleaning.

A commercial ice machine installed in a bar or restaurant gets as much – if not more - use as any appliance in an establishment. Servers need ice for drinks, barbacks pull ice for the bar, and cooks use ice for food prep. With so many people having access to the ice machine, it’s vital that everyone help to keep the ice machine clean. There are some simple, everyday best practices staff can perform to keep ice machines within code like proper ice handling, making sure the ice scoop is sanitary, and keeping the ice bin free of mold.

Proper Ice Handling The first and easiest rule to follow is always to make sure employees are pulling ice with a scoop. Under no circumstances should anyone ever grab ice with their hands – even when wearing gloves.

Scooping ice with the customer’s glass may seem like a relatively harmless action because they’re going to drink out of the glass anyway, but this presents a danger to customers. Glasses can chip if plunged into a mound of ice with enough force. Broken glass is virtually in-

There are some simple, everyday best practices staff can perform to keep ice machines within code. visible against a canvas of ice and very hard to identify if a shard happens to get dispensed in a drink. If a health inspector sees it happen, it will result in a violation.

Many establishments use 5-gallon buckets to transport ice to other areas like wait stations and under-bar bins. Make sure to label containers “Ice Only” so staff won’t accidentally fill empty food storage containers with ice.

Another rule to follow is to remember that ice bins are for ice only. Chilling bottles and cans in the bin can transmit contaminants

36 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

from hands into the ice supply. Chill bottles and cans in a separate bucket. The same applies to glassware.

Chill pints in a refrigerator, not the ice bin.

Finally, staff should never keep food inside of the ice bin. Food can also transmit contaminants to the ice supply and make customers sick. Just because it’s in a plastic bag, doesn’t mean it’s safe to store in an ice bin.

Take Care of Ice Scoops Ice machine manufacturers often include an ice scoop with their ma-

chines. They’re made of plastic or aluminum and sometimes treated with an anti-microbial agent that helps eliminate contamination – but that doesn’t mean they’re impervious to microbial growth.

Since staff should only be dispensing ice with a scoop, they’re likely to get a lot of use. By adhering to some best practices, staff can prevent any unintentional contamination.

First, never store an ice scoop in the ice bin. While the scoop itself should be clean, but the handle is not. Always store scoops outside of the unit, in a clean, protected receptacle or a harness if possible.

Next, ice scoops need to be sanitized just like ice bins do. Sanitize ice scoops daily with either bleach or a quat-based sanitizer. Staff can also clean the ice scoop in a dishwasher at the end of the day.

Finally, if a plastic ice scoop cracks or chips in any way, discard it and purchase a new one. Damaged scoops tend to break more easily and can leave plastic shards in an ice bin and possibly in a customer’s drink.

Clean the Ice Bin Regularly Ice bins provide the perfect environment for mold and slime to flourish. Bins are dark, damp, and difficult to clean. Mold and slime feed off the yeast and dust in the air, so workplaces like bakeries and breweries are particularly affected by rapid mold growth.

continued on page 102

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 37

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

Hospitality Industry Outlook 2019: The Risk Exposures To Watch Out For

A

s the new year approaches, taking action to proactively protect your business from varying exposures will help you reduce insurance costs, prevent unnecessary claims, protect your employees and bottom line. While some traditional hospitality industry risks, such as slip and falls, still require action, new and emerging risks are now taking center stage when it comes to liability exposure.

Advancements in technology could greatly assist with the ease of doing business, however new technology also comes with the dangers of heightened data privacy and liability concerns. The growing rate of active shooter incidents and other forms of terrorism also require intensified awareness on safety and security. In addition, with stories of sexual harassment in the workplace and the #MeToo movement dominating the news cycle for more than a year with no signs of stopping, employment practice liability concerns should be top of mind, not to mention new and existing legislation requiring employers to take action.

The following are risk exposures on the horizon that the hospitality industry must be prepared for:

Advancements in technology could greatly assist with the ease of doing business, however new technology also comes with the dangers of heightened data privacy and liability concerns.

Robert Fiorito serves as Vice President with HUB International Northeast,

Technology - Balancing Risk & Reward: Restaurants come in contact with personal financial information of customers on a daily basis, therefore the convenience and efficiencies of new technology must be balanced against the risks and costs of cyber-crimes and data breaches for this industry. Payment card fraud alone is expected to reach $32 billion by 20201, and the hospitality industry continues to be a lucrative target. In 2019, cyber liability coverage will continue to be a critical element to protect any hotel or restaurant.

Heightened Safety and Security Concerns: Active shooter incidents are an unfortunate reality in today’s society. Hospitality venues such as restaurants, hotels, nightclubs etc. are sadly an open target. They’re designed to be friendly and welcoming, open to the public and without a lot of obvious security screening.

38 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

The Pulse nightclub tragedy in 2016 made security a more top-of-mind consideration, with the point hammered home again with the Las Vegas massacre lodged from the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino, and most recently, the deadly shooting incident at the bar and grill in Thousand Oaks, California. It’s making insurance carriers ask a lot more questions and requires a lot more due diligence. Especially since these types of venues can host live events, they’re expected to take on more responsibility for safety plans that factor active shooter and terrorism contingencies into the mix.

And while many mistakenly think coverage is built into their business liability coverage, it’s typically the bare minimum. In 2019, carriers are building out active shooter/terrorism coverage with business interruption, brand reputation protection and loss of income.

a leading global insurance brokerage, where he specializes in providing insurance services to the restaurant industry. As a 25-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.

Robert can be reached at 212-338-2324 or by email at robert.fiorito@ hubinternational.com.

The #MeToo Movement Brings Heightened Awareness on Employment Practices Liability: Over the past year, the #MeToo movement has only gained momentum and the hospitality industry hasn’t escaped unscathed from its impact.

Research from a recent study2 surveying workers in the hospitality industry found that 89% experienced

continued on page 104

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 39

ASK ANDREW

FROM THE NYC HOSPITALITY ALLIANCE

PRESENTED BY

Will Cash Become A Thing Of The Past At Restaurants?

This contributor blog was originally published on Forbes.com

I

’m sure you’ve visited a store and seen a sign that says ‘$10 Minimum for Credit Card Purchases’ or even paid a credit card convenience fee for using plastic. That’s because credit card processing costs the merchant between 2 - 4% of each transaction, adding up fast and chipping away at their bottom-line.

Cash is still king for many businesses, but the trend of going cashless is growing, especially in the fast-casual segment of the restaurant industry. Multiple restaurateurs I’ve spoken with say this trend is influenced by operational efficiencies.

• Processing credit cards and mobile payments is faster than accepting cash and giv-

ing change, so high volume fast-casual restaurants are able to get more customers through a busy lunch line faster. The result? Happy customers and higher sales.

• It reduces shortages from incorrect change being given to customers.

• It eliminates employee theft.

• It frees up time preparing cash register drawers and sorting money for deposits freeing up workers’ time for training and other tasks.

• It is safer because it does not require transporting large sums of cash between the restaurant and bank and reduces the likelihood that a business will be robbed.

For this segment of restaurants, the operational benefits of the cashless business model outweigh the

40 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

cost of credit card processing fees.

There are outside forces also influencing businesses to say no to green. Visa offered merchants $10,000 to create videos about how going cashless could benefit their businesses. They even provided insights from architects who discussed how the rise of digital payments is influencing the architecture and design of retail stores. A trend in design and retail is to move away from the traditional cash register transaction at a counter, to an encounter focused on the brand experience, where no barrier exists, and no physical exchange of cash is made.

It’s easier to open a restaurant with a no cash policy. But it’s not insurmountable to transition an existing business because many fast-casual restaurants already pro-

Andrew Rigie is the Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, a trade association formed in 2012 to foster the growth and vitality of the industry that has made New York City the Hospitality Capital of the World.

cess around 90% of transactions on credit cards or mobile devices. And while the vast majority of these restaurants’ customer demographic may not think twice about paying with credit, the practice has broader societal implications.

According to a report issued by New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer, 13% of all the city’s households, and an estimated 825,000

continued on page 102

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 41

NEWS

SHOWS

Marcus Samuelsson and Amanda Cohen To Receive Awards At 2019 IRFSNY

T

he 2019 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York will present its annual Torch and Beacon Awards to two very deserving and inspirational chefs. The Torch Award will be presented to Marcus Samuelsson, acclaimed chef of restaurants such as Red Rooster Harlem, Red Rooster Shoreditch, and Marcus B&P, and the Beacon Award will be presented to Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of Dirt Candy. The awards will be presented at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, taking place at the Javits Center Sunday, March 3 through Tuesday, March 5. For more information about the trade show and conference and to register for this year’s event, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com.

“Each year we select leaders in the culinary field to receive two prestigious awards and we are thrilled to add Marcus Samuelsson and Amanda Cohen, who truly embody the best of the industry today, to our list of Torch and Beacon Award recipients,” said Tom Loughran, Vice President for the Clarion UX Food & Beverage Portfolio. “We look forward to honoring them at the upcoming New York event in March where we will bring together thou-

The Beacon Award was created to recognize a woman leader who has truly served as a Beacon for the industry through her leadership, contributions, and inspiration.

sands of restaurant and foodservice professionals with hundreds of suppliers, making this the largest food and beverage experience in the Northeast.”

The Torch Award was created to honor talented chefs and/or restaurateurs for the brilliance of their careers and the impact they have had on the industry and their surrounding community.

This year’s recipient is Marcus Samuelsson, acclaimed chef of restaurants such as Red Rooster Harlem, Red Rooster Shoreditch, and Marcus B&P. He was the youngest person ever to receive a three-star review from the New York Times

42 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

and was tasked with executing the Obama Administration’s first State dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A committed philanthropist, Samuelsson also co-produces the annual week-long festival Harlem EatUp!, which celebrates the food, art, and culture of Harlem. Samuelsson is co-chair of the board of directors for Careers through Culinary Arts Program (CCAP). Marcus joins past recipients including Geoffrey Zakarian, Danny Meyer, Thomas Keller, and others.

The award will be presented on Sunday, March 3 on Center Stage at 2:30 pm. For more information on the Torch Award, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com/torch-awardrecipients.

This year’s winner of the Beacon Award, Amanda Cohen is the chef and owner of Dirt Candy, the awardwinning vegetable restaurant on New York City’s Lower East Side. Dirt Candy became the first vegetarian restaurant in 17 years to receive two stars from the New York Times, was recognized by the Michelin Guide five years in a row, and won awards from Gourmet Magazine, the Village Voice, and many others. Amanda was also the first vegetarian chef to compete on Iron Chef America.

Amanda joins past recipients, including Chef Dominique Crenn, City Harvest’s Jilly Stevens, FRLA’s Carol Dover, Chili’s Kelli Valade, Chef Sara Moulton, and others. The award will be presented on Monday, March 4 on Center Stage. For more information about the Beacon Award, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com/beacon-award.

The 2019 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York will be held Sunday, March 3 - Tuesday,

continued on page 98

“Energy efficiency is important in all our future upgrades. As a small business, there are many ways we can save on overhead costs so they don’t affect our product pricing for customers.”

Dan Puffer, co-owner of Black Forest Pastry Shop

Energy Incentive Helps Bakery Maintain Exceptional Quality and Reduce Energy Usage Founded by Ed and Louise Mueller in 1982, the Black Forest Pastry Shop is a little slice of Germany located right in the heart of Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1995, Ed and Louise’s son, Herb, partnered with Dan Puffer to carry on baking traditions. The shop creates authentic and contemporary pastries, seasonal specialties as well as daily cakes, pies, tortes, cookies, danish, chocolates and gelato – all right on the premises.

The specialty bakery needed a specific kind of oven to replace its three-decades-old version. The purchase of the new oven has made a significant positive impact, according to the owners, with faster warm-up time and more consistent temperature. The shop’s production area has an improved layout and flow and bakers now have a more efficient line of access to the ovens and other essential equipment. The energy efficient oven also features a ‘pocket door’ design that closes quickly, resulting in less heat loss.

With the Connecticut Kitchen Equipment Rebate available through Energize Connecticut and Connecticut Natural Gas (CNG), Black Forest Pastry Shop purchased and installed the new ENERGY STAR® rated commercial oven. Securing a $500 project incentive, CNG, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., helped Black Forest Pastry Shop save an estimated $100 a year in energy costs.

Project:

Black Forest Pastry Shop, Greenwich

Measures:

Purchase and installation of new ENERGY STAR rated commercial oven

Estimated Incentive:

$500

Energy Savings: 75.2 ccf natural gas/year Cost Savings:

$100

Find energy solutions for business.

Call 877-WISE-USE (877-947-3873)

Or visit: EnergizeCT.com

Energize Connecticut helps you save money and use clean energy. It is an initiative of the State of Connecticut, the Connecticut Green Bank, Eversource, UI, SCG and CNG, with funding from a charge on customer energy bills. Information on energy-saving programs can be found at EnergizeCT.com or by calling 877.WISE.USE.

[C0004] TOTAL FOODS Case Study 2018-08.indd 1

C0004 TOTAL FOODS

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 43 8/21/18 10:17 AM

SCOOP Tillis Duo Guides Imperial/Dade to New Heights in Prestigious Garden State Rankings Scoop hears Imperial Dade secured the number 2 spot on the 2018 New Jersey Fast 50 list, an annual program of NJBIZ celebrating the dynamic growth of New Jersey companies. Businesses were ranked by a combination of dollar and percentage growth over the past 3 years, audited by the accounting firm Mazars USA. “Imperial Dade has been serving customers in New Jersey and the surrounding region for 83 years.

Our tremendous growth in recent years now allows us to serve over 40,000 customers nationwide,” shares Robert Tillis, CEO. “We share this honor with 2300 dedicated associates that have contributed to our continued growth and success,” said Jason Tillis, President. Founded in 1935, Imperial Dade is a lead-

44 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

INSIDER NEWS

FROM METRO NYC’S FOODSERVICE SCENE

Mazars USA presents Imperial Dade’s Laura Craven with their NJ Fast 50 Award

ing distributor of food service packaging and janitorial supplies in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest regions of the United States and Puerto Rico. Since CEO Robert Tillis and President Jason Tillis assumed their roles in 2007, the company has grown both organically and through 17 acquisitions to become a leader in the industry.

New Regional Sales Manager Joins T&S Brass T&S Brass and Bronze Works has hired Mike Snyder as the Eastern regional sales manager for foodservice. Snyder, who brings nearly 25 years of foodservice experience to the role, is responsible for managing and extending Mike Snyder T&S Brass’ network of clients and customers in the Eastern United States. Snyder spent

continued on page 46

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Scoop, from page 44 nearly 20 years as a manufacturer’s representative with South Eastern Manufacturers’ Agents (SEMA), where he developed extensive knowledge of the T&S product line. He then served as Eastern regional sales manager for Server Products prior to joining T&S. “Mike shares T&S’ dedication to solving problems for our customers, whether that’s in menu development, sustainability or creating operational efficiencies,” said Mike Orlando, director of foodservice sales for T&S. “His deep experience with both T&S and with the foodservice industry will benefit our team and our family of customers, and we’re proud to welcome him to our team.” Snyder is a Certified Professional Manufacturer’s Representative and is ServSafe certified. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. T&S Brass and Bronze Works, Inc. has been a leader in providing innovative equipment solutions to the foodservice and plumbing industries for more than 70 years since 1947 when it developed the first pre-rinse unit. Today, with facilities on the east and west coasts of the U.S., in Shanghai, China and in Europe, T&S leads the way in environmental initiatives from eco-friendly manufacturing processes to development of award-winning water- and energy-con-

46 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

serving products. T&S is among the first commercial plumbing manufacturers to be registered by UL to ISO 9001 Certification, the most stringent a corporation can receive.

Kiln® Collection by Front of the House® Scoop sees that Kiln® dinnerware by Front of the House® is the perfect ingredient to spice up ethnic cuisines. Breaking the mold of a traditional round,

Kiln® has a more organic shape, and comes in a variety of sizes, and 9 shades of two color families; one that’s vibrant and strong and one that’s more earthy, moody, and rustic. Front of the House® dinnerware is made of durable, high temperature porcelain that can withstand up to 450° F. The Kiln® collection’s colorful personality is reflected in its proprietary reactive glaze that adds unique texture and tone to every dish. Manufactured for commercial applications, Kiln® dinnerware is stackable for easy compact storage, and will withstand the rigors of high-volume use.

New Jersey ShopRite offers cooking demo in sign language Scoop says when one loses a sense, the others become stronger. A group of deaf adults at the ShopRite of Wallington last month could relate, as they tasted the crispy butternut squash ravioli they helped prepare. ShopRite hosted the fall-themed cooking class presented exclusively in sign language as a way to The Kiln collection from Front of the House

continued on page 48

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 47

Scoop, from page 46 foster outreach into New Jersey’s deaf community.

A group of eight eaters were happy to engage. “We hope they’ll be able to take home tips and tricks and apply it to their lives,” Rita Rusin, a dietitian with ShopRite, said. Rusin stood before the group in a small kitchenette near the checkout aisles, and signaled while mouthing the words, “l’m going to go get the recipe.” Growing up in Woodridge as the child of two deaf parents, she’s had plenty of practice with the language. Both Rusin’s parents were in attendance as she translated Chef Melissa Greeley’s recipe for butternut squash and an autumn salad with sliced pears and walnuts. Greeley said she selected the recipe not only for its autumnal tastes, but to help demystify ravioli rolling as something that appears difficult but is relatively easy. “I wanted to do something that tastes good and something where they could get their hands in things,” Greeley said. The trick, Greeley demonstrated, is to spread the raviolis into a diamond shape, apply the butternut squash and fold the ends tightly to press out air bubbles. “That’s the difference between a cook and a chef,” Greeley said.

“A chef understands the physics.” Greeley rolls out a variety of recipes at the 18 cooking classes she teaches each month at nine different ShopRites. She twice

48 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

taught a class for deaf adults – in Clark and Middletown and coordinated with Rusin to offer a seminar in Wallington. “Sign language is a visual language,” according to Mary Malkowski, a sign language expert who attended the class. The language doesn’t translate word for word, and instead relies on its own grammar and facial expressions. Some expressions, however, are universal, like the thumbs up Rusin’s father flashed Greeley as he cleared his plate.

Billionaire Teams Set To Debut Manhattan Eatery Scoop notes that Fleming, the latest Upper East Side hot spot from billionaire Ronald Perelman and French restaurateur Philippe Delgrange, is up and running though its official launch is still a few weeks away. The sweet spot, nestled beside Hermes, at 27 East 62nd St., is an elegant, 20 table, clubby bistro that doesn’t even have a bar. But already, a post crowd of all ages is clamoring to get in. Delgrange made his name with Le Bilboquet, a legendary 30-seat space on East 63rd Street that was open for 27 years until

Guests enjoying the scene at Le Bilboquet

it closed in 2012. Perelman then came in to save the day with developer Steve Witkoff and Eric Clapton and Delgrange to open a larger Bilboquet, this one seating 100 people, on East 60th Street in 2013. Now Fleming named after a private school that once occupied the space has arrived to bring back some of the original Bilbo’s cozy exclusivity combined with a 21st-century clubhouse feel. “We have an intimate and relaxed feel, with a good crowd,” Perelman said.

continued on page 50

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Scoop, from page 48

Manhattan’s Bar Moxy Re-Invents The Vending Machine Scoop says here’s something for people who love dessert and hate social interactions: a soft serve-ice cream vending machine. The trailblazing treat landed last month at Bar Moxy, at the Moxy Times Square.

The hotel’s executive chef, Jason Hall, first spotted the gizmo at a trade show in Chicago. When he heard that no American restaurants were using one yet, Hall knew he had to procure one for the good of the city. “We wanted it to be a New York thing,” Hall says, adding that the machines are manufactured in America and popular in Asia. To give the appliance some New York ‘tude, Hall asked Curtis Kulig, a wellknown street artist and a friend from Hall’s “downtown cool kid days” to zhuzh it up. The result: and instagrammable, millennial-pink ice-cream robot, splashed with Kulig’s iconic “Love Me’ tag. The dessert dispenser works much like your usual, boring office vending machine: You pay with a card, bill or coins and select your treat. But instead of granola

50 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

MAJOR Brings Back Torrisi Brand

Bar Moxy’s soft serve ice cream vending machine

bars and chips, you get to choose from three soft serve options: chili-vanilla, spiked with spicy-sweet Mike’s Hot Honey from Brooklyn; dairy-free dark chocolate or a twist of the two. The machine gets to work, and after some whirring and clunking, spits out a cupful of soft serve and a plastic spoon. “It’s such a showpiece,” Hall says, as the ice-cream slot lights up in celebration. Sweet!

Scoop says MAJOR Food Group – the foodies behind Carbone, the Grill and the Pool reopened its famed original restaurant Torrisi Italian Specialities as Major Good in a Partnership with the Robin Hood Foundation. Fashion maven Gildo Zegna flew in from Milan, to co-host with John Sykes for the opening dinner that was cooked by Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone. Guests in adttendance at the intimate opening for just 12 VIPs included Jon Bon Jovi,Tom Freston and Carey Lowell and former giants star Justin Tucik. We hear that Major Good will be open going forward for private dinners, only with all money going to Robin Hood.

CT Tech Firm Drives SEO For Salsa Fresca Scoop hears Engage121, a Connecticut-based technology company delivering innovative local

continued on page 52

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 51

Scoop, from page 50 SEO solutions for franchise and other multi-location businesses, celebrates its one-year partnership with Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill. Working with the Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill brand team, Engage121 designed, developed, and implemented a Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill-branded digital marketing program for each local restaurant that includes reputation management, social media and digital advertising across Google, Yelp, Instagram, Facebook and the web. Engage121 manages the creative, content and ads, all focused on growing customer awareness and generating store traffic. “Fast casual Mexican restaurants like Salsa Fresca operate in a huge and growing market segment and require consistent, high-quality, high-touch campaigns to build brand awareness and engage local customers,” said Brian Q. Smith, EVP of Digital Solutions at Engage121. “Working together with Salsa Fresca, we developed a cost-effective, localized program for each of their locations that can expand as their franchise system grows. Since the inception of their program with us a year ago, Engage121’s local SEO program has generated more than 877,000 impressions and over 34,000 website visits for Salsa Fresca franchise owners. “Working with Engage121

52 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

allows us to provide a much-needed, turnkey, digital marketing solution all focused on our franchise owners’ local businesses, something we didn’t have the bandwidth or expertise to do ourselves,” said Marc Miles, co-owner of Salsa Fresca Mexican Grill. “Our partnership with Engage121 lets us focus on what we do best, creating fresh and flavorful Mexican food with respect for the environment and a commitment to great guest service. We trust Engage121’s expertise to help our business owners generate the local store traffic and customer engagement they need to grow their businesses and our brand.”

Quality Meats Inks Pack For Mega NYC Eatery Scoop notes Fisher Brothers, which is spending $65 million to upgrade the public spaces and lobby of 1345 Sixth Ave. between West 54th and 55th Streets, didn’t take long to find a “prime” restaurant to replace shuttered Circo. Quality Branded, owners of steakhouse chain Smith & Wollensky as well as Qual-

ity Meats and Quality Italian, has signed a 20-year lease for nearly 10,000 square feet on the ground and lower levels. Industry sources said the ground “ask” was $250 per square foot. Quality Branded is owned and operated by Smith & Wolllensky founder Alan Stillman, his son Michael Stillman and chef Craig Koketsu. The yet-to-be-named eatery is to open in late 2019.

Pier 92 Hosts Food Networks 25th Scoop says The Food Network celebrated its 25th birthday with a gastronomic get-together on the roof of Pier 92, where A-list chefs cooked for fans. Bobby Flay made Crunch Burger sliders and black & White Milkshakes, while nearby, guests queued for his close pal Giada De Laurentiis’ crispy chicken meatballs with spicy pomodoro sauce. There was a crazy line for Giada’s food,” said a guest. “People just wanted to meet her. There was security around. Also at the party, which featured live music and a huge statue of a birthday cake, were Ina Garten and Alton Brown at food stations.

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 53

LEGAL INSIDER

WITH JOANNA R. COHEN, ELLENOFF GROSSMAN & SCHOLE LLP

Restaurant v.

Delivery Service: Who’s On The Hook?

T

hird-party food delivery services such as Grubhub, Doordash, and Caviar are a boon to consumers and restaurants alike. Among other benefits, restaurants can increase order volume and exposure while consumers enjoy greater variety and convenience. These advantages are evidenced by the fact that online food orders currently exceed those placed by telephone. However, inherent risks associated with restaurants, such as foodborne illness, as well as issues that may arise from deliveries, such as accidents and physical injuries, raise the question: who’s responsible when something goes wrong?

In their service contracts with restaurants, many third-party delivery services attempt to limit their own liability for any issues concerning the food itself and any accidents and injuries that occur during the delivery process. If and when enforced, such provisions can potentially leave the restaurant solely liable, should certain events arise. While restaurants often have limited bargaining power when entering into agreements with such delivery services, there are steps restaurants can take to protect themselves against liability.

The first step a restaurant may take is shopping the standard third-party service agreements for the various

In their service contracts with restaurants, many third-party delivery services attempt to limit their own liability for any issues concerning the food itself and any accidents and injuries that occur during the delivery process.

Joanna R. Cohen is an associate in the Litigation Group at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP. Her

delivery services. Hiring experienced counsel to participate in this process is advisable. Indeed, terms and conditions of third-party delivery service agreements vary. For example, Grubhub’s standard merchant agreement provides that the restaurant is responsible for indemnifying Grubhub for any claims, while Doordash provides a mutual indemnification clause, which includes indemnification over claims “of bodily injury (including death) or damage to tangible or real property to the extent caused by the Indemnifying Party’s personnel (or . . . the Merchant Products).”

Caviar provides that the restaurant is responsible for indemnifying Caviar and explicitly provides that “the Restaurant will be fully responsible for any and all injuries, illnesses, damages, claims, liabilities and costs.”

Once a restaurant has narrowed its preferred delivery services, the next

54 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

step is to understand its rights and responsibilities under such delivery services’ agreement. A restaurant may attempt to negotiate with the delivery service. Among other issues, restaurants should consider trying to negotiate for some or all of the following: • Requiring proof that a delivery service have insurance covering the service itself as well as any delivery personnel; • Requiring that the restaurant be listed as an additional insured; • Requiring background checks of delivery personnel; • Requiring that the relationship between the restaurant and delivery service and any delivery personnel is clearly defined; • Requiring indemnification; • Requiring that the delivery

experience includes representation of clients in litigation in federal and state courts. Ms. Cohen also worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York defending the State in litigation in federal and state courts. Ms. Cohen can be reached at (212) 370-1300 or jcohen@egsllp.com.

service complies with industry standards with respect to food handling (including, but not limited to, temperature maintenance).

Similarly, food delivery services should be cognizant of similar issues and consider addressing foodborne illness concerns, among others, to the extent it is not addressed in their

continued on page 106

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 55

EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Les Amis d’Escoffier Society Of NY Honors Michael Lomonaco At Gala

O

ne of the industry’s true gentlemen was feted at this year’s The Les Amis d’Escoffier Society of New York gala. Chef Michael Lomonaco was presented with this years’ 2018 Chef of the Year Award and greeted a large outpouring of admirers and coworkers at last month’s annual event at the Ziegfield Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan.

Lomonaco started out his career in the 1980’s at Le Cirque, working with and learning from Chef’s Alan Sailhac and Daniel Boulud. By 1989, Lomonaco was revitalizing the New York institution 21 Club. In 1997, Lomonaco was named executive chef at Windows on the World restaurant at The World Trade Center, where he was integral in creating themed menus including Latin Night. In addition to working in these restaurants, Michael Lomonaco also hosted his own cooking shows on the Discovery Channel’s “Epicurious” and “Michael’s Place” on The Food Network. Currently, Lomonaco is the chef and managing partner at the New York restaurants Center Bar and Porter House Bar and Grill, which focuses on the American grill, described as a reimagined steakhouse.

In a very moving ceremony, Lomanaco was presented with the award by

(L to R) C-CCAP president Karen Brosius and Foundation treasurer Kurt Keller

the Society’s president Uwe Toedter and treasurer Kurt Keller, and Philip DeMailo, first vice president.

The evening festivities are a tribute to Chef Auguste Escoffier, for whom the Society is named. The dinner format is fascinating. It requires that all guests tuck a napkin under the chin and each wine must be removed with each course and replaced with the correct pairing.

Lomonaco disclosed to the audience that he has used Escoffier’s book since he was studying at the New York City College of Technology, and still has a copy of it in his office. Lomonaco has followed Escoffier’s principle of creating simple delicious food, saying, “Escoffier continues to teach us things about simplicity, great ingredients, source of ingredients, quality of ingredients, and how the simplicity of great cooking can be so rewarding.”

Talk about pressure on a chef and their team. Each course and wine pairing is critiqued by a reviewer who comes to the podium and discusses the nuances of each offering. Ziegfield chef Matthew Tiscornia and his Great performance team were up to the challenge with an amazing feast.

Les Amis d’Escoffier Society of New York members represent all areas of the industry, from Chefs de Cuisine,

(L to R) Foundation president Uwe Toedter and the events’ wine critique Melissa Shea

56 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Catering Directors, Food and Beverage Directors, Hoteliers, Restaurateurs, Club Managers, as well as Business Executives representing the Hospitality Industry and Higher Education.

Now a major institution in the culinary world, the Society gathers monthly for epicurean dinners, and holds two annual dinners, Le Diner de Printemps (Spring Dinner) and Le Diner d’ Automne (Fall Dinner) to provide opportunities for its members’ delight and edification and also generate gains in the perfection of the art of fine dining.

The group’s goal is to promote and support culinary education and Lomonaco’s alma mater: City Tech received a 20K scholarship from Les Amis d’Escoffier

Honoree Michael Lomanaco had guests on the edge of their seats with his passionate thoughts

(L to R) Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Walton of the NYAC with Mrs. Marc Sarrazin of Debragga and Spitler and noted seafood export Louis Rozzo of F. Rozzo Fish

d’Escoffier welcomed its 2018 membership class: James Munz of Ziegfeld USA, NYAC executive chef Anthony Walton, Chef Nigel Boschetti of the Marriott Marquis, The Algonquin Hotels’ Nick Galiano, Hassiel Guzman of the Marriott Marquis and Chef Ayman Mustafa of the Millennium Hotel

The Ziegfield was jammed with friends of Michael Lomonaco

Veteran hotel executive Sean Cassidy of Westin Hotels (L) welcomed gala guests

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 57

EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Steelite and LMT Team To Showcase 2019 Tabletop Vision

T

he LMT team kicked off the holiday season with a popup at Steelite’s NYC showroom. The always-visionary Morgan Tucker and her LMT team combined forces last month with one of the nation’s truly innovative tabletop manufacturers: Steelite to preview what’s going to be hot in 2019. Steelite’s second annual pop-up store at their NYC flagship showroom took center stage for an evening that enabled end-users an opportunity to explore new product launches with an eye towards what will be on Manhattan and the nation’s restaurant and

foodservice tabletops in 2019. For one night only, Steelite International and LMT hosted an intimate cocktail reception in partnership with Robert Gordon Australia and RCP, Inc. featuring PolyScience/ LMT. Steelite and their local rep CLVMarketing created an extensive display that showcased brand new collections from LMT’s favorite tabletop factories.

Guests were treated to cocktails by Pernod Ricard Head Mixologist Kevin Denton that were mixed up in Drinique Tritan copolyester drinkware.

Light bites were provided by Leonelli and The Chef’s Garden. A curated

tabletop display was the centerpiece of the showroom, inspired by the antique chinaware shops of yesteryear but given a contemporary spin. Brand new collections were showcased alongside classic LMT favorites. The stars of the event were exclusivelystocked patterns from Robert Gordon Australia, including Black Opal and Terrain – both now in stock at M. Tucker for next day delivery and exclusive to the Singer Equipment Companies.

The evening also saw the debut of new extensions to LMT’s extremely popular Chena collection – shallow bowls in matte, millennial pink. Also fea-

LMT’s Sara Bulmer and M. Tucker president Michael Greenwald

(L-R) Andrew Beres (M. Tucker) and Lourdes Abascal-Leyva (M. Tucker)

(L-R) Chef Pino Coladonato (La Masseria), Silena Mejia (M. Tucker) and Executive Manager/Partner Enzo Ruggiero (La Masseria)

LMT chief Morgan Tucker with some of the latest in tabletop innovations from Steelite

58 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Michael Friedman (M. Tucker) and Jeremie Perras (La Tavola)

tured were stacks of Imperial dinnerware – Anfora’s reimagining of classic scalloped-edge china, brought to the US exclusively for Eataly and now available for next day delivery. Risers and tabletop accessories by RCP Design Inc. studded the tabletop, adding an elevated air with everything your service might need, from stainless toast holders to powder-coated seafood towers. “Tonight gave us a great opportunity to show how our LMT team can collaborate with customers and a factory in Steelite that really understands how to listen and respond quickly,” Tucker noted.

CLVMarketing’s Tom O’Halloran and Kristine Martin of Steelite

(L-R) Marc Fuchs (Exec. VP, M. Tucker) and Pino Coladonato (La Masseria)

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 59

MEET THE NEWSMAKER

Hattie Hill President & CEO, Women’s Foodservice Forum

C

an you share your background with our readers?

I was the founder and CEO of Hattie Hill Enterprises where I worked for 30 years with companies such as McDonald’s, FritoLay, Aramark and Compass providing leadership development and employee engagement consulting across 70 countries. I helped organizations connect key products and services with the audiences and markets that would most benefit from them. As a lifelong advocate for women leaders, I invested my career in helping equip women leaders with competencies and a mindset to advance their careers and in helping organizations understand and realize the bottom-line benefits of diversity within their teams.

What sparked your interest in the restaurant and foodservice industry?

One of the most exciting aspects of the food industry is that you can start anywhere and go everywhere. Many senior leaders in the industry literally started their careers on the front line as servers or in food preparation. This is such a people-focused business on the customer service side but also on the team-building side. We are always looking for excellent leaders who want to build their careers with us. I love that dynamism and potential.

This is also an industry that is wide open to people from all backgrounds and where you can get your foot in the door and build a rewarding career based on your own merits. It is especially open to women and women comprise 50% of our entry-level work-

force. I see so much potential in that.

women in their organizations and leveraging their influence to drive gender equity across the industry. We will also recognize Change Makers Under 30 – the rising female stars who will lead our industry into the future. We hope the entire industry will celebrate with us at this outstanding event that is included with Conference registration.

What was the opportunity that you saw with WFF? I had served on the WFF Board for several years when I transitioned into the role of interim CEO and then into the permanent position five years ago. What excites me most about WFF is how forwardthinking this organization is.

What was the WFF’s focus when We are on the leading edge of it launched? How has that helping companies identify agenda evolved through the and implement tangible soluyears? tions to advance women and Initially, the organization fogrow their organizations. cused most on advocating for We are one of the few organithe advancement of women in zations that is both developing the food industry and providwomen as leaders so that they ing the resources they needed Hattie Hill, President & CEO Women’s Foodservice Forum are prepared for advancement to succeed. We focused on eduand developing organizations roundtable discussion to gather data cation to help women increase so they are prepared to help women on the state of women in the foodtheir professional and leadership advance and thrive. That comprehenservice industry. The women who atskills but also on providing the critical sive approach based on solid research tended the roundtable talked about strategic connections women needed that shows where the barriers and opdeveloping women for leadership to advance through the industry. The portunities are is the most effective talent and ensuring career advanceresearch makes it clear that those proway to move the needle on gender ment among executive women in the fessional connections, mentors and equity. foodservice industry, which remained sponsors have been a critical piece highly male-dominated – particularly in enabling men to advance but that Can you walk our readers through within the leadership ranks. It was that women have had far less access to what brought the creation of the gathering that inspired the formation those relationships. Some of the most WFF? of the Women’s Council in 1989, which important advantages to being a WFF Some very progressive and forwardevolved into the Women’s Foodservice member and attending WFF events thinking men really started the ball Forum in 1990. are the incredible networking opporrolling and WFF has always mainWe are very pleased to be celebrattunities we intentionally embed into tained strong partnerships with male ing our 30th Anniversary this year. We everything we do. champions. At the 1988 National will mark this milestone at our Annual Today, our mission has expanded to Restaurant Association Show in ChiConference March 10-13 in Dallas serve as the food industry’s thought cago, Peter Berlinski, then editor of where we will recognize Industry TiRestaurant Business magazine, held a tans who are committing to advancing continued on page 96

60 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 61

INDUSTRY HONORS

PRESENTED BY: Women’s Foodservice Forum www.wff.org

Honoring The Top Women Of Metro New York Foodservice & Hospitality For 2019

FROM THE PUBLISHERS As we prepare for 2019, it dawned on us that many of the significant stories shared a common theme: women in foodservice!

The City Council of New York made a move to promote and bring some sense of order to the City’s nightlife. A woman is guiding the fortunes of that office as the City selected Ariel Palitz, to be the city’s very first “Nightlife Mayor.” With the spectre of Governor Mario Cuomo threatening to ban tipping, one of the more vocal advocates against the potential move is Albany based waitress Maggie Raczynski. She emerged among the leaders of an impassioned outpouring from the restaurant industry at New York State’s labor hearings.

That’s a long way from 1989, when the then-upstart Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) conducted a survey of women in the foodservice industry, specifically asking them about professional aspirations. Not one respondent expressed desires to be CEO. And yet, the glass ceiling continued to crack this year as Boston Market named Frances Allen to the CEO position. Allen came

to the Colorado based rotisserie chain after new tenure at Jack in the Box .

From the incomparable Alice Elliot of the Elliot Group who is America’s “go-to” head hunter for top restaurant executives to Brooklyn chef/owner Missy Robbins and Singer’s Morgan Tucker, women are making their mark on the restaurant and foodservice industry.

We are convinced that the stakes have become so high with restaurant space rents fluctuating from $500 to $2K a square foot in Manhattan, that proverbial glass ceiling continues to crack. There simply isn’t anytime or wiggle room to worry about gender, it is all about competence.

Women are finding increased opportunity as ownership and management focuses on the ability to consistently create a signature customer dining experience in a Manhattan restaurant, a New Jersey corporate dining facility or a Long Island healthcare facility to

62 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

deliver a world-class customer experience.With an ongoing influx of technology in our industry, Grubhub took the lead in promoting the growth of women in the restaurant and foodservice industry.

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, the popular delivery service partnered with Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) to launch RestaurantHER, an effort that includes a map highlighting womenled restaurants across the United States. When users are deciding where to order food or sit down to eat, the map made it easy to support women in the industry by introducing them to nearby women-led restaurants.

That’s why once again we have dedicated this issue to profiling the impact that women have had on the Tri-State foodservice scene. They have risen to amazing heights and turned the Greater NYC Marketplace into the epicenter of the world’s restaurant and food ser-

vice industry.

We owe special thanks to a number of colleagues that represent many segments of the Tri-State foodservice community. They were gracious with their time to help us build this list of the “best and the brightest” women in our industry. We selected categories based on that input.

Our mission for the criteria of this list was to identify innovators within each of those major disciplines of the foodservice and hospitality industry.

Women are having a major impact on the bricks and mortar design of restaurants, and the sales of equipment supplies and service. They also have major impact on what food and beverage is being served on local menus, and the management and marketing of foodservice facilities.

Our goal is to share some of their amazing stories and to make all of us realize that any goal is accomplishable with a measure of hard work and some good luck sprinkled in.

Leslie Klashman Fred Klashman Publishers , Total Food Service

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 63

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 62

Associations Karen Brosius C-CAP • New York, NY

Antoinette Bruno Star Chefs • Brooklyn, NY

Alison Cody MAFSI • Atlanta, GA

Gladys DiStefano FBAA • New York NY

Randi Shubin Dresner

member of the faculty of New York University since 1997 in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. Linda earned the WSET Level 4 Diploma in 1997 and the Professional Certificate in Spirits in 2008. She is a Certified Wine Educator from the Society of Wine Educators and is a trained chef, having earned a Certificate with Honors from the New York Restaurant School. Linda recently completed eight years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators.

Island Harvest Food Bank Mineola, NY

Melissa Fleischut NYSRA • Albany, NY

Hattie Hill Women’s Foodservice Forum Dallas, TX

Saru Jayaraman ROC • Oakland, CA

Sonali Jhurani New York City Hospitality Alliance New York, NY

Linda Lawry Les Dames D’Escoffier New York, NY Linda Lawry DWS, CWE, has been a part of the International Wine Center in New York since 1985 and was the Director for 18 years. The IWC offers the wine courses of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, the largest professional wine teaching organization in the world, offered in over 60 countries. Lawry teaches these courses. She has also been a

Mehraban and has promoted brands as big as Oreo and McDonald’s. If a picture is worth a thousand words, for Mehraban, it can also be worth thousands of dollars.

Debra Ryan AHF-NJ • New Milford, NJ

Beth Shapiro Citymeals-on-Wheels New York, NY

Jilly Stephens

decades cooking up high-end menus, designing elaborate decor and plotting grand affairs with Abigail Kirsch, one of New York City’s most respected catering firms. Today, Abigail Kirsch Catering Relationships is one of the area’s largest catering companies.

They operate The Loading Dock in Stamford; Tappan Hill Mansion in Westchester; The Skylark Lounge in Manhattan; and, Pier Sixty, The Lighthouse & Current at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan.

City Harvest • New York, NY

Hong Thaimee Ellen Lynch

Thaimee Table • New York, NY

Food Bank For Westchester Elmsford, NY

Louise Vongerichten Ulukaya

Alexa Mehraban

Marjorie Wolfson

Eating My NYC • New York, NY

Wellness in the Schools • New York, NY

On any given day, one might find Alexa Mehraban roaming the “vibrant, limitless and inspiring” streets of New York City — usually on the hunt for the next best meal.

As the founder of @EatingNYC, a food-focused guide that covers travel, fitness and luxury lifestyle, Mehraban has quickly made a name for herself, amassing more than 300 thousand followers since 2014. Inspired by both her background as a lifestyle writer and her marketing career in the hospitality industry, Mehraban decided to turn her passion project of researching and writing about restaurants into one of the most influential digital brands in New York City. Today, she works not only with food and beverage brands, but retail designers, tourism boards and local eateries as well — she’s even recently launched her first food-forward apparel line

Catering

Marilou Halvorsen NJRHA • Trenton, NJ

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org

64 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Food Dreams Foundation New York, NY

Alison Awerbuch Abigail Kirsch • New York, NY Alison Awerbuch grew up in a home where her mom read Gourmet and enjoyed entertaining — creating a menu, setting the stage, preparing the food and serving it with style.

This upbringing planted the seeds that grew into her catering career. It wasn’t, though, until half way through college that she realized those passions. She finished college with a business degree then headed to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) for another. Her first job was at Abigail Kirsch, then a small catering company in Westchester. More than 25 years later, Alison has spent the past two

Jenny Glasgow Olivier Cheng Catering & Events New York, NY Jenny Glasgow, who worked as a senior advertising executive for more than a decade before becoming a chef, is the creative culinary force at New York’s Olivier Cheng Catering & Events, where she specializes in restaurantcaliber cuisine. Glasgow trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York and served as the director of culinary development at Californiabased Matthew Kenney Group before joining Olivier Cheng. With a diverse client base, including leading fashion houses, Glasgow and her team have created menus for events as far away as Doha, Qatar. For over fifteen years Glasgow has been a driving force as Olivier Cheng Catering and Events focuses on creating innovative culinary experiences in New York’s finest cultural institutions, private estates across the country, and exotic locales.

From fashion editor events and fundraising galas, to weddings and intimate home dinners, Glasgow’s

continued on page 66

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 65

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 64 team designs custom events from the ground up to bring Oliver Cheng’s clients’ unique visions to life.

Ariane Duarte

Patti Jackson

Ariane Kitchen & Bar • Verona, NJ

Delaware and Hudson Williamsburg, NY

Alex Guarnaschelli Food Network • New York, NY

Abigail Kirsch

Thea Habjanic

Abigail Kirsch • Briarcliff Manor, NY

La Sirena • New York, NY

Gabrielle Hamilton Prune • New York, NY

Liz Neumark Great Performances • New York, NY

Meredith Tepper-Leckey Starr Catering • New York, NY

Chefs Stephanie Abrams Fuku • Boston, MA

Einat Admony Balaboosta • New York, NY

Suchanan Aksornnan Baoburg • Brooklyn, NY

Alex Baker Yves • New York, NY

Lidia Bastianich B&B Hospitality • New York, NY

Emma Bengtsson Aquavit • New York, NY

Sara Bigelow The Meat Hook • New York, NY

Anna Bolz Per Se • New York, NY

Esther Choi Mokbar • New York, NY

Amanda Cohen Dirt Candy • New York, NY

Suzanne Cupps Untitled at the Whitney New York, NY

Dianna Daoheung

Rita Jammet La Caravelle • New York, NY

Sohui Kim Insa • Brooklyn, NY

Debbie Mumford Mumford’s Culinary Center Tinton Falls, NJ

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org

Gloria La Grassa Pluckemin Inn • Bedminster, NJ

Sarabeth Levine Gabrielle Hamilton would be the first to tell you that career success saw her being recognized as James Beard’s 2018 National Chef of the Year didn’t come easy.

She started out as a dishwasher at the age of 12.

She moved to New York and started a catering business, which she later sold in 1995 to, as she says, “escape from cooking.” Hamilton moved to Michigan and pursued a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing at the University of Michigan. To help make ends meet, she picked up a part-time gig cooking for a catering company. Hamilton returned to New York in 1999 and opened Prune, where her culinary intentions were simple: to serve the foods she wanted to eat at home. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Bon Appetit, Saveur, and Food & Wine Magazine. Hamilton was nominated for Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation in 2009 and 2010. Her first book Blood, Bones and Butter was a New York Times bestseller. Hamilton’s second book: Kind Regards is set for an early 2019 release.

Black Seed Bagels • New York, NY

Lauren DeSteno

Emily Hyland

Marea • New York, NY

Emmy Squared • Brooklyn, NY

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Sarabeth’s • New York, NY

Maria Loi Loi Estiatorio • New York, NY

Angie Mar The Beatrice Inn • New York, NY

Zarela Martinez Zarela • New York, NY

Erika Nakamura White Gold Butchers • New York, NY

Mina Newman Sen Sakana • New York, NY

Tracy Obolsky Rockaway Beach Bakery Rockaway Beach, NY

Cyndi Perez Peacock Inn • Princeton, NJ

Mina Pizarro Juni • New York, NY

Alex Raij El Quinto Pino/Txikito • New York, NY

rant sparked a passion for cooking, and led Robbins to attend The Institute of Culinary Education. An externship at March Restaurant with renowned Chef Wayne Nish followed, then on to Arcadia, under Chef Anne Rosenzweig. In Northern Italy, working in kitchens in Tuscany to the Michelin–rated Agli Amici in Friuli, Robbins fell in love with the simplicity and focus on quality ingredients that characterize Italian cooking. In 2003, Robbins moved to Chicago to work for Tony Mantuano. As Executive Chef of Spiaggia and Café Spiaggia, Robbins brought her passion for Italian cooking to life. She was nominated

by The James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Restaurant nationally twice. From ‘08-’13, she had an award winning stay as Executive Chef at A Voce restaurants in NYC. In 2013, Missy left A Voce to pursue her biggest challenge to date - a place of her own.

After nearly three years of research, Missy opened Lilia in North Williamsburg, Brooklyn in January 2016.

Her thoughtful, creative approach to cooking and success led to the demand for the recently opened Misi.

Ann Redding Uncle Boons • New York, NY

Melissa Rodriguez Del Posto • New York, NY

Missy Robbins Lilia / Misi • New York, NY

Laetitia Rouabah Benoit • New York, NY

Caroline Schiff 2018 was a banner year for chef Missy Robbins. The James Beard Foundation recognized her as NYC’s Top Chef. In September, she debuted her second restaurant, the highly anticipated Misi in Williamsburg. Robbins’ culinary career began while she was a student at Georgetown University. In 1993, a part-time job at 1789 restau-

Scoops & Sweets / Greene Grape New York, NY

Amanda Smeltz Roberta’s And Blanca • Brooklyn, NY

Rita Sodi I Sodi / Via Carota • New York, NY

continued on page 68

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 67

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 66 Daniela Soto-Innes Cosme • New York, NY

Roxanne Spruance Kingsley • New York, NY

Christina Tosi Milk Bar • New York, NY

Claire Welle

at Aspetuck, she was the Executive Vice President at the Trump Organization and Chief Operating Officer for the Trump National Golf Clubs where she was on the development team and led the operations for the Trump National Golf Clubs in Westchester, N.Y. and Bedminster, N.J.

Otway • Brooklyn, NY

Lori Sahagian

Buvette / Via Carota • New York, NY

Bronxville Field Club • Bronxville, NY

Lily Braswell Winged Foot Golf Club Mamaroneck, NY

Carolyn Kepcher The Redding Country Club Redding, CT Carolyn Kepcher serves as The Redding (CT) Country Club’s Chief Operating Officer and General Manager.

She moved to her new post in 2018 following seven years at Aspetuck Valley Country Club. Her track record is highlighted by both operational and marketing innovation. Kepcher is noted for her success in membership acquisition, and creating a high level membership.

Her operational experience includes leading many several major projects, including Clubhouse renovations, a new terrace bar and of course golf and tennis facilities. If the picture looks familiar, yes you did see her on TV. Perhaps known best as her role as Donald Trump’s right-hand woman on the NBC Emmy Award Nominated show, “The Apprentice,” Kepcher is regarded as a successful and high profile businesswoman. Prior to her time

Davina Weinstein

Sally Saltzbart Minier

The Harmonie Club • New York, NY

Jane Street Capital • New York, NY

Corporate Dining

Wendy Powell

Barbara Boden

Wendy Powell currently serves as Vice President Corporate Development at Savory. Prior to this post, the Roger Williams graduate was a Vice President of sales development at the Patina Restaurant Group. The Marshfield, MA native also served as a Regional Sales Director at Restaurant Associates and with Guckenheimer.

JPMorgan Chase • New York, NY

Jody Williams

Clubs

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org

Iwona Sterk Old Oaks Country Club Purchase, NY Iwona Sterk has forged a reputation as one of Metro New York’s and the nation’s leading club managers.

Since 2016, she has served as the General Manager of Westchester’s Old Oaks Country Club. She is recognized as a motivator and relationshipbuilder, with strong organization skills, great work ethic, and commitment to excellence. Prior to Old Oaks, she served as the GM at Elmwood Country Club in White Plains. Sterk has operated restaurants at the Doral Arrowwood hotel conference center, Hotel Macklowe, and Hilton International’s Vista International Hotel at the World Trade Center. Among Sterk’s innovative approaches to her jobs have been her ability to create unique solutions. She has never forgotten her roots in her native Poland. So for a number of years she recruited staff in that country. “It was only natural that I wanted to allow for others from my home land to have the opportunity for similar experiences as I have had,” Sterk said.

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Barbara Boden is the Managing Director of Global Amenities at JPMorgan Chase. She has been an innovator in creating and implementing green and sustainable agendas for the company. This has included planning ion LEED certified facilities to the recent banning of plastic bottles in JPMorgan Chase’s facilities. The University of Lynchburg oversees operations in some 13 countries including self-operated and contracted dining facilities and conference centers. Her commitment to giving back to the industry also includes taking an active role with SHFM over the past 14 years.

Savory • New York, NY

Brittany Tacopino JP Morgan Chase • New York, NY

Victoria Vega Unidine Corp • Boston, MA

Education Jennifer Martin New York State Schools • Albany, NY

Beth Bunster Whitson’s • Islandia,NY

Amelia Ekus Guckenheimer • New York, NY

Elizabeth Franks ACFLI • Holtsville,NY

Kelly Ann Friend Whitsons Culinary Group Islandia, NY

Amy Greenberg Citibank • New York, NY

Kim Lawrence Flik Hospitality Group New York, NY

New York School Nutrition Association’s Jennifer Martin started her career in association management as the Executive Director of the New York State Builders Association Research and Education Foundation.

She handled the operations’ management of the Foundation to carry out its mission and strategic objectives.

continued on page 70

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 69

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 68 Nicole Bonica

Tonya Riggins

NYC Schools • New York, NY

Newark Schools • Newark, NJ

Lonnie Burt

Arlene Sailhac

Hartford Schools • Hartford, CT

Foodophiles • New York, NY

Karen DeLamater

Elizabeth Schaible

Jersey City Public Schools Jersey City, NJ

NYC College Of Technology Brooklyn, NY

Vickie Dunn

Gail Sharry

Columbia University Dining New York, NY

New Haven Schools • New Haven, CT

Karen Goodlad

Healthcare

NYC College of Technology Brooklyn, NY

Nicole Langone Scarangello NYC Dept of Education SchoolFood New York, NY

Alba Aviles James J Peters VA Medical Center Bronx, NY

Judith Batashoff Highfield Gardens Care Center Bayside, NY

Dawn Cascio Nicole Langone Scarangello, Director of Menu Management for the New York City Department of Education SchoolFood and Culinary Educator at LaGuardia College. Nicole’s role with SchoolFood includes overseeing 29-posted menus, and 1,230 kitchens, over 8,000 employees working in the kitchens and feeding close to one million children each school day throughout the five boroughs. She also teaches Advance Culinary Arts at LaGuardia College.

As she continues on her journey as a dietitian, nutrition and culinary professional, Nicole follows a simple philosophy that she has always strongly believed in that is “to marry the art of delicious food with nutrition knowledge and to enlighten all with my craft.”

Marion Nestle NYU • New York, NY

Valley Hospital • Ridgewood, NJ

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org generation of healthcare foodservice professionals.

Maura Dillon St. Francis Hospital & The Heart Center • Mineola, NY

Marvo Forde Maimonides Medical Center Laurelton, NY

Stephanie Giraulo St. Charles Hospital Port Jefferson, NY

Andria Coleman is the Food and Nutrition Operations Manager at New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. She is a registered dietitian with knowledge and experience in both clinical nutrition and food service operations. She currently serves as the president of the New York chapter of the Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHFNY). With her guidance AHF-NY has expanded its platform for professionals to use for the promotion, growth and development of nutrition and food service. Her focus on AHF-NY’s chapter creates mentoring opportunities to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience with the next

70 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Diane Tuckruskye Nassau Rehabilitation & Nursing Baldwin, NY

Carol Letzter

Hotels

Textured Food Innovations Carle Place, NY

Lisa Banas

Veronica McLymont Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center • New York, NY

Mohegan Sun Casino Uncasville, CT

Doris V O’Neil

Gina Bertucci

Golden Gate Rehab & Health Care Center • Trenton, NJ

Marriott Hotels • New York, NY

Andria Coleman New York Presbyterian New York, NY

effects during and after treatment and safe food handling and preparation.

She also is committed to giving back to her industry with her involvement with AHF-New York. Peets chairs the organizations’ mentorship program as well.

Tatanisha Peets Memorial Sloan Kettering New York, NY Tatanisha Peets has touched many lives. As part of the food and nutrition team at Memorial Sloan Kettering she has been essential in integrating the latest nutrition research into the patient experience. Her team has reframed how registered dietitians coordinate with doctors that are especially specific for cancer treatment that patients are receiving. Peets’ career has included an invitation to speak at the United Nations on nutritional issues in developing nations. The Muhlenberg College graduate is also known for her expertise in Nutrition-related side

Since 2007, Gina Bertucci has served as the New York Marriott Marquis Director of Catering Sales.

Her vision has enabled her to guide a team that has made the iconic Times Square property, the venue for countless corporate and social events. She began her career in the hospitality industry in 1990 as banquet director at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, NY. There she worked with the on-site caterer Perfect Parties to supervise both sales and operations for this landmark venue, where she honed her skills in wedding planning. She started with Marriott International in 1995 at the New York Marriott Marquis, where she held progressive positions in banquets as banquet

continued on page 72

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Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 70 manager and ultimately director of banquets. Gina is a member of the Food & Beverage Association, the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and Les Amis d ’Escoffier New York. During her career, Gina has been recognized as Sales Leader of the Year by Marriott International and as Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW).

tor of Hotel Operations at the New York Marriott East Side. Patricia has passion for developing leaders in the company, and a proven record of delivering results across the Balanced Scorecard and is a champion of the BLT process. She was the Leadership Excellence recipient for 2017 and led the first ever Junior Business Council of New York City.

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org Jennifer Baum Bullfrog & Baum • New York, NY

Shari Bayer Bayer PR • New York, NY

Stephanie Berghoff Culintro • New York, NY

Andrea Clurfeld Asbury Park Press • Asbury Park, NJ

Kerry Diamond Cherry Bombe • New York, NY

Jennifer Hsieh Diana Bisson Foxwoods Casino • Mashantucket,CT

Marriot International • New York, NY

Terry Lewis

Zoe Cohen

Sheraton Times Sq. • New York, NY

The Westin New York at Times Square New York, NY

Yvonne Mancini

Christine Devers Reniassance NY Times Square Hotel New York, NY

Angela Dimayuga Standard International Hotel New York, NY

The Pierre Hotel • New York, NY

Laura Modica HEI Hotels & Resorts • New York, NY

Erin Pepper Life Hotel • New York, NY

Shannon Rinella Interstate Hotels • New York, NY

Patricia Franco Long Island Marriott • Uniondale, NY The veteran hotel executive Patricia Franco was recently brought on board to guide the fortunes of the Long Island Marriott in Uniondale, NY. Patricia began her career 18 years ago at the New York Financial Center Marriott as a Banquet Manager Trainee. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from Johnson & Wales University, she went on to increasingly complex F&B positions in the city: Asst. Director of Food & Beverage at the New York Marquis, Director of Operations at the New York Downtown Marriott, and Direc-

Florence Fabricant The New York Times • New York, NY

Audrey Farolino Zagat / Google • New York, NY

Tara Halper Key Group Worldwide • New York, NY

Amanda Hesser Food 52 • New York, NY

Melissa Hom Melissa Hom Photography New York, NY

tions, and gourmet products.

Her comprehensive, intuitive understanding of clients’ methods and goals; her creative approach to maximizing client exposure; and her longstanding relationships with local and national consumer and trade media, have enabled Schoenberg to build her business. Schoenberg is an Ohio native who has represented an all-star cast of chefs including Tom Valenti, Francois Payard, Michael White and Katy Sparks. The Kent State grad has also represented many of the major restaurant groups including: B.R. Guest Restaurants, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group and Alicart Restaurants.

Linda Kavanagh

Karen Stabiner

Cornelia Samara

MaxEx Public Relations • Stamford, CT

Generation Chef • New York, NY

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge New York, NY

Amanda Kludt

Charlotte Voisey

Eater • New York, NY

Proper Pour • New York, NY

Stephanie Kornblum

Holly Von Seggern

Culintro • New York, NY

HRV Marketing & Communications Islandia, NY

Lana Trevisan Two Roads Hospitality New York, NY

Fatena Williams Herald Square Hotel • New York, NY

Laura Williamson Mandarin Oriental • New York, NY

Media/PR

Hanna Lee Hanna Lee Communications New York, NY

Shannon Mullen

Marie Assante Assante Public Relations New York, NY

Carrie Bachman Carrie Bachman Public Relations New York, NY

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CT Bites • Fairfield, CT

Asbury Park Press • Asbury Park, NJ

Becca Parrish Becca PR • New York, NY

Joyce Appelman Blue Sky Communications Great Neck, NY

Stephanie Webster

Gail Schoenberg Gail Schoenberg Public Relations Rutherford, NJ Gail Schoenberg has dedicated more than fifteen years of her public relations career to the successful representation of highly acclaimed chefs, top restaurants, luxury travel, destina-

Stephanie Webster was born and raised in Manhattan with parents who loved to eat.

Her early career included a stint as a Photography Editor New Media Consultant and Strategist, Fund Raiser and

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 73

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 72 volunteer for Children’s Museum in Seattle. Founded in 2009 by Webster, the site has grown to include executive editor Amy Kundrat, a dozen contributors and thousands of enthusiastic eaters. Most recently, the site has expanded its footprint from its home base in Fairfield County to embrace the entire Nutmeg state. “If you let us, we’d like to be that friend of yours that always seems to know the right place to go, the right time to visit, and the right thing to order,” Webster noted.

CT Bites’ goal is to be a web-based community built by and for people who love food in Connecticut.

Korsha Wilson Heritage Radio • Brooklyn, NY

Restaurants Angie Buonpane Union Square Hospitality Group New York, NY

Gabrielle Carbone The Bent Spoon • Princeton, NJ

Logan Rich Chabina EMM Group • New York, NY

Dana Cowin DBC Creative • New York, NY

Vicki Freeman may come from a restaurant family — her parents moved her from NYC to LA to open a vegetarian cafe, The Streetcar — but that doesn’t mean she didn’t work her way up through the industry. Freeman donned a plastic dress, nurse shoes and a hairnet for her first waitressing job at iconic fast-food joint Bob’s Big Boy, before progressing to manager at her mother’s popular vegetarian restaurant. Some 25 years ago, Freeman began her New York City restaurant scene with Vix Cafe in SoHo. Freeman hired Marc Meyer as her chef and the rest is history.

The relationship grew into a lifelong partnership. The couple, married in 1997, and now the lifelong hospitality vet owns a mini empire spanning downtown Manhattan that includes Cookshop, Shuka in the West Village, as well as Rosie’s and Vic’s in the East Village. With Freeman at the helm, the duo has continued their steadfast dedication to responsibly sourced ingredients, that has lead to a reputation for creating restaurants with a devoted following.

Whitney Edwards Eleven Madison Park New York, NY

Georgette Farkas Rotisserie Georgette • New York, NY

Leslie Ferrier Momofuku • New York, NY

Cookshop/Rosie’s/Shuka New York, NY

il Buco • New York, NY

Ivy Mix Leyenda • Brooklyn, NY

Erin Moran Union Square Hospitality Group New York, NY

Lili Lynton

Gretchen Thomas

Dinex Group • New York, NY

Barcelona Wine Bar • New York, NY

Eleven Madison Park • New York, NY

Laura Maniec

Kristen Tomlan

Elizabeth Kellogg

Corkbuzz Wine Studio New York, NY

DO • New York, NY

Laura Gladish Batard Restaurant • New York, NY

Cheryl Grabowski Harvest Restaurant Group Morris Plains, NJ

Yusi Guerrera Citarella • New York, NY

Megan Humpreys Four Seasons • New York, NY

Vicki Freeman

Donna Lennard Twenty-four years ago, when Donna Lennard opened Il Buco Street, she wasn’t planning to become a restaurateur. Il Buco wasn’t even a restaurant then.

Lennard was an independent filmmaker caught up in a romance with an Italian, who wanted to export pieces of Americana to Europe. The pair had been collecting antiques from around the region when Lennard learned the artists at 47 Bond were planning to leave the address, which they were using as a studio, because rent was rising. The couple signed their first 10-year lease, refitted the space, and began selling old radios, quilts, and furniture.

Soon, the partners — who eventually ended their courtship but remained in business together — secured a liquor license, and they began serving wine and beer plus greenmarket salads, smoked meats and cheeses to shoppers and neighbors looking for a place to hang out. They stopped selling antiques to focus on dining. It became known for its commitment to local sourcing, and for its charming Mediterranean menu that shifts with the season — and with the chef; there’ve been several heads of kitchen at this place, including Sara Jenkins of Porsena and Porchetta, Jody Williams of Buvette, and Ignacio Mattos of Estela.

Jeanne Cretella Landmark Hospitality Jersey City, NJ

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org

Sueyoung Jo

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Mandy Oser Aredesia Wine Bar • New York, NY

Cai Pandolfino Green & Tonic • Greenwich, CT

Kelly Perkins Bold Restaurants • New York, NY

Maricel Presilla Cucharamama/Zafra • Hoboken, NJ

Jennifer Rackoff Fourth Wall Restaurants • New York, NY

Rion Robbins Henry’s • New York, NY

Julie Rose Sweet Hospitality Group New York, NY

Nicki Russ Russ & Daughters • New York, NY

Amy Sacco No. 8 • New York, NY

Samantha Safer Otway • Brooklyn, NY

Gia SanAngelo Untitled at the Whitney New York, NY

Christine Sanchez Bold Restaurants • New York, NY

Sarah Ashley Schiear Sarah Ashley • New York, NY

Neesha Seervai Apple-Metro, Inc. • Harrison, NY

Jody Storch Peter Luger Steakhouse Brooklyn, NY

continued on page 76

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 75

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 74 Jillian Vose

Samantha Mullins

Dead Rabbit • New York, NY

Waring Commercial • Stamford, CT

Melissa Weller

Meredith Reuben

Sadelle’s • New York, NY

EBP Supply Solutions • Milford, CT

Melba Wilson Melba’s • New York, NY

Diane Rossi

Pam Wiznitzer

Pro-Tek • Jericho, NY

Seamstress • New York, NY

Tren’ness Woods-Black Sylvia’s • New York, NY

Vendor - Equipment & Supply Maja Adiletta Arcobaleno • Lancaster, PA

Lori Balter Balter Sales Company • New York, NY

Grace Best Imperial Dade • Jersey City, NJ

Pearl Fleischman Kerekes / Bake Deco • Brooklyn, NY

Jenny Goodman Tilit • New York, NY

Penny Hutner Advance Tabco • Edgewood, NY

Lisa Kerester PBAC • Eastchester, NY

Heather Kogan The Sam Tell Companies Farmingdale, NY

Sandra Kravetz Performance Food Equipment Group Elmwood Park, NJ

Kim Lehr Performance Food Equipment Group Elmwood Park, NJ

Kristine Martin Steelite International New York, NY

Silena Mejia M. Tucker Company • New York, NY

Diane Rossi has built her fourdecade career in foodservice by building a reputation for “giving back”. The Long Island based executive serves on numerous industry charity boards. Her commitment has included chairing the AHFNY mentoring initiaitve and raising scholarship funds for the Partridge Invitational Foundation. Since 2018, Rossi has been an integral part of the management team of Pro-Tek. Most recently as the company’s General Manager she has expanded Pro-Tek’s OSHA and Sanitation inspection program. She has also played a key role in Pro-Tek’s upgraded technology initiative that includes the creation of a new customer portal and the expansion of tablets to maximize the customer experience.

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org her husband Bart Gobioff. Today, Tri-State Marketing represents the finest food service manufacturers in the industry and has a formable staff. Believing in giving back what has been given to them, Lynne and Bart have grown their company, recruiting young, promising talent, and helping them grow to be the next generation of food service professionals. In addition to helping those in her own company, Lynne saw an opportunity to assist the many promising young adults entering the SCIP program, a gateway to help promising individuals maximize their potential. In addition to their commitment to the food service industry, Lynne and Bart enjoy philanthropic activities ranging from building a new kitchen with Housing Works Bookstore (dedicated to ending the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS), to sponsoring activities at the SPCA of Westchester.

Arianna Staiano Libbey Foodservice • New York, NY

Alyssa Stewart Gotham City Hospitality New York, NY

Arlene Saunders Allied Metal Spinning • Bronx, NY

Jennie Tannura Gotham City Hospitality New York, NY

Lynne Schultz

Morgan Tucker

Tri-State Marketing • Ossining, NY

Singer Equipment Co. New York, NY

Lynne Schultz began her career in the Food Service Industry 42 years ago, on the switchboard of Traulsen. Through the next 23 years, Lynne moved her way up from customer service to accounting, to Northeast Sales Manager.

In 1999, Lynne left to begin her own business, Tri-State Marketing, with

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Adriana Unarreal Balter Sales Company • New York, NY

Lori Weiss BFA Food Service Equipment & Supplies • Boonton, NJ

Vendor - Food & Beverage Ariane Daguin D’Artagnan • Union, NJ Ariane Daguin is the founder, owner and CEO of D’Artagnan, the renowned gourmet food purveyor. Famous for providing humanely raised meats, from game and foie gras to organic chicken and prepared charcuterie, the name D’Artagnan is synonymous with top-quality food produced with care. Ariane was born into a world of great food. Her father, Chef André Daguin, is famous throughout France for his artistry with foie gras. Ariane was an expert at deboning ducks, rendering duck fat, preparing terrines and cooking game birds by the time she was ten. A career in food might have seemed natural, but Ariane decided to pursue an academic degree at Columbia University. While working part-time for a New York pâté producer, Ariane was in the right place when the opportunity to market the first domestically produced foie gras presented itself. She and a co-worker pooled their financial resources to launch D’Artagnan in 1985 as the first purveyor of game and foie gras in the U.S. According to Jean-Georges Vongerichten, “D’Artagnan changed food in America by introducing high quality products to the American market, items Americans weren’t familiar with like foie gras, game and wild mushrooms.”

Elizabeth Weiss BHS/H. Weiss • Armonk, NY

continued on page 78

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 77

Top Women in Foodservice 2019, from page 76 Adrienne Diaz

Candy Vidovich

Samuels and Son Seafood New York, NY

Pomptonian Foods • Fairfield, NJ

Gina Volaric Unilever • Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Linda DiLisio

Erika Wasserman

Casa DiLisio • Mt. Kisco, NY

Explore Cuisine • Miami, FL

As VP Operations of Casa DiLisio, Linda has been in the industry for over 30 years.

During that time she has helped her parents, Lou and Lucy DiLisio market and build Casa DiLiso’s business to where it is today. Linda is a former IBM employee, learned the ins and outs of the industry and is now responsible for the daily operation of their plant and representing the company at the 35 trade shows that Casa DiLisio participates in every year. The company’s brand of sauces fits all of the criteria for Food Service and sells their products to everyone from Cruise Lines to Chain accounts to White Table Cloth establishments and every kind of operation in between.

Vendor-Services

Laura Endico-Verzullo Ace Endico • Brewster, NY

Nancy Finkelstein Carousel Cakes • Nanuet,NY

Jaime Kriss Restaurant Depot • College Point, NY

Valarie Leimer Major Foods • Little Ferry, NJ

Fran Moreira Restaurant Depot • College Point, NY

Brigitte Rounds Advantage Marketing Hauppauge, NY

Nicole Ruvo Dom Perignon • New York, NY

Leah Blackman Icrave • New York, NY

Presented by Women’s Foodservice Forum • www.wff.org of Fugazy’s strengths is valuing and resolving cases. As such, Ms. Fugazy also serves as a mediator, and has successfully resolved many cases by appointment through the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York. Prior to joining EGS in 2013, she co-founded Fugazy & Rooney LLP in 2007 and was a partner at Bonnist & Cutro LLP, an associate in the New York offices of Reed Smith and Jackson Lewis, and a law clerk for the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council.

Marlisa Brown Total Wellness • Bay Shore, NY

Alicia Cannon AJC Design • New York, NY

Stacy Gilbert Citrin Cooperman • New York, NY

Rozanne Gold Gold Enterprises • New York, NY

Prudential/Douglas Elliman New York, NY

Stephanie Goto Stephanie Goto Design New York, NY

HMG Plus • New York, NY

Maureen Drum Institute Of Culinary Education New York, NY

Alice Elliot The Elliot Group • Tarrytown, NY

Amanda Fugazy Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole LLP New York, NY Amanda Fugazy has become a pre-eminent hospitality industry expert as she guides her firm’s Labor & Employment Law group.

Fugazy is one of the most experienced practitioners in New York in the highly litigated area of wage and hour law, having litigated dozens of federal and state court cases involving claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. One

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Amanda Halle Harri • New York, NY

Julia Heyer

Faith Hope Consolo

Karen DiPeri

sional and hands-on Operator inform her ability to understand and respect each project’s unique needs and defining characteristics. Gurtler is an FSCIS professional member. Gurtler holds Bachelor’s degrees from Cornell University (Hospitality Management) and the Parsons School of Design (Interior Architecture).

Heyer Performance Inc. New York, NY

Karen Maier Nutri-Serv • Burlington, NJ

Heather Maloney Definition Design • New York, NY

Tara Mastrelli Studio Tano • New York, NY

Christine Gurtler Jacobs Doland Beer • New York, NY As Jacobs | Doland | Beer’s Director of Design, Christine Gurtler provides leadership and strategic direction of the firm’s practical and creative processes and documentation. Those skills and passion for the industry were rewarded with Gurtler being presented with the annual MAFSI young Lions award for 2018, Gurtler has extensive foodservice consulting experience in hospitality and in the corporate sector, including work with top technology, finance, and law firms. Her experience includes a variety of other foodservice facilities, including university, entertainment, and retail projects.

Gurtler’s broad experiences as a Consultant, LEED certified profes-

Kim Nathanson The Niemitz Design Group Boston, MA

Carolyn D. Richmond Fox Rothschild LLP • New York, NY

Amy Russo Toast • Montclair, NJ

Janine Sangirardi Day & Nite/All Service New Hyde Park, NY

Cara Siegel HUB International • New York, NY

Robin Standefer Roman And Williams • New York, NY

Rada Tarnovsky Letter Grade Consulting Brooklyn, NY

Susan Villamena Acrylic Flooring LLC • Fairfield, NJ

Therese Virserius Virserius Studio • New York, NY

Karena Wu Active Care Physical Therapists New York, NY

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 79

LIZ ON TABLETOP

TABLETOP SOLUTIONS

Liz’s 2019 Crystal Ball For Tabletop

Liz Weiss is the President and coowner of Armonk, NY based H. Weiss Co., a division of BHS Foodservice

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o it’s that time of year when we say thanks for all the good things that happened this year and look ahead to 2019. Our BHS/H. Weiss tabletop design team is getting ready by what we do best, watching what our manufacturers and the rep community are previewing and then listening to what our customers have planned for their menus going into the New Year.

In order to project what our customers serving needs are going to be, we always talk to our chef and food and beverage customers. The goal of these conversations is to understand how their menus are evolving. What we are seeing and hearing so far for 2019, is a move towards more raw food, and spring rolls. The poke craze is continuing as well. It’s amazing to see the reemergence of beef on menus to what looks like an all-time high. What we are seeing different as we work with our BHS/H. Weiss customers is the use of smaller portions across the board.

Those menu trends will be reflected with plating that has a hand made look, but there’s also an interesting resurgence of clean white lines.

There are a number of manufacturers that are creating product that offer great value for an operator to embrace those trends. Last year we loved the Robert Gordon selection from Australia.

Solutions. She is known nation-

Steelite has expanded the Gordon selection for ‘19 to include a number of new colors. We also are suggesting the Royal Crown Darby for their reactive glaze line and we like the quality and look of the matte offerings from Serax and Revol. Cardinal has also captured our interest with a new sleek matte finish.

In terms of how product is served, you can look for some big changes in the New Year. Traditional ovals are out. They are being replaced by squarer shapes (like an updated racetrack) and organic shapes.

We are constantly working with our BHS/Weiss customers on updated flatware strategies to reflect the changes on their menus. This year it is all about weight. There are a number of patterns and finishes that are ex-

80 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

citing. We encourage our customers that weight needs to be “felt” as part of their customers’ experience. We are finding that some patterns are getting too lite while others are getting so chunky that they loose elegance. Our BHS/Weiss team can help you navigate through the choices. From a look standpoint, 2019 flatware will feature satin and brushed finishes and metals like copper, brass, and black.

Once again as we head into a new year, there are many changes on cocktail menus. Those changes reflect a need to update your glassware. It looks to us like 2019, will be the year of cocktails that feature everything from flower scents to infusions, and garnishes. Look for a taste profile that mixes spicy and sweet. There will be a number of handmade infusions that

ally as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on tabletop design. The Michigan State graduate is also actively involved with WPO-Women’s Presidents Organization. Comments may be sent to eweiss@hweiss.net.

are created with exotic yet simple syrups. This is the place that individualism shines. But if the drinks are special- and garnishes are special, then the glass needs to be simple. So we are suggesting the use of pressed and cut look glassware.

We are also seeing an interesting use of sous vide to create a new generation of infused cocktails. One of our suggestions is to infuse vodka with olives.

It will create dirty vodka that you then freeze to create an olive “ice cube” garnish.

The same thing works beautifully to create fruit based desserts. How about a kirsch infused melon diced over ice cream or a mint infused rum.

No column about holiday cheer would be complete without wishing our customers and readers best wishes for a happy and healthy 2019.

What better way to toast that with your customers than to offer warm cozy drinks and honey sticks, and S’mores’ hot chocolate (with burnt marshmallows) in double walled glass cups with a favorite libation.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 81

CONNER’S CORNER

MONTHLY PERSPECTIVES ON FRANCHISING

Franchising 101 For 2019

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e continue to see the impact of e-commerce on the Metro New York retail community. There are those of us that believe that this will create opportunity for restaurant operators to expand.

We asked one of the nation’s foremost franchise experts for his perspective.

Can you share a little about your background?

My background has been pretty centrally focused in franchising and franchise development for about 17 years. I’ve worked as a franchise consultant representing brands to help them transition from corporate owned entities to franchised businesses. In my humble opinion, I’m fortunate to have one of the best jobs on the planet working with entrepreneurs who have great vision and dreams for how they can bring value to the market, it’s fun, inspiring and always an opportunity to learn.

How did you get into franchising?

I had the good fortune to have a good friend I grew up with in the Chicago suburbs whose grandfather had started a franchise development firm.

He had franchised a variety of different brands and I went to work for him as a low level analyst and really didn’t have much of an expectation other than a better paying job opportunity. Once I had the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs was when it clicked that I had passion for the business. The real-

Christopher Conner is the co-founder of Franchise Marketing Systems. He

Ultimately, a franchisee wants to see that they have the potential for a solid financial return and that the product or service they will sell in the franchise is going to be in high demand. ity is that I really enjoy franchising, but I LOVE working with entrepreneurs.

Again, in my humble opinion, entrepreneurs put more on the line than anyone, rarely get the recognition for their efforts and typically contribute the most to our economy. They drive growth, innovation and job creation and I really found passion supporting and working with those entrepreneurs.

You have had the opportunity to guide a number of companies successfully through the franchising process.

What are the common characteristics of those that succeed?

The successful franchises have some common traits, which can be somewhat logical in that they have strong financial models, a good prototype business and a big consumer market, which they serve. Ultimately, a franchisee wants to see that they have the potential for a solid financial return and that the product or service they will sell in the franchise is going to be in high demand. But what I’ve found in doing this for some time now is that there are intangible variables that play an even bigger role in the

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success of these systems. The vision and passion of the leadership behind the franchise plays an enormous role in how successful the brand is in a franchise development plan. It takes time, energy and consistent focus to roll these brands out effectively, the ones that work have a powerful engine driving them in the leadership that just doesn’t stop until the brand pushes into that point of critical mass.

How about those that fail?

The ones that don’t make it don’t have the characteristics mentioned for the successful brands. It usually can come down to two factors; first they don’t sell effectively and can’t communicate that value proposition to the prospective franchisees they market to. Second, they don’t replicate success with the units they sell. The franchisees brought into the system have to be successful and validate, if they don’t, the growth is hollow and not long term.

Why are restaurants and food such a popular category for successful franchising?

works with business owners to oversee and implement sales and marketing campaigns. This includes product, service, franchise and business opportunity sales. Conner has been in the franchise development arena for almost ten years and has worked within a variety of different business segments and types of franchise systems. His experience ranges from sales and marketing work to strategic planning and business development background. Conner currently focuses in the franchise/license sales segment of the industry.

Food service and restaurants have and seem to always be the top category in franchising and sometimes it’s mind boggling how many people come rushing into the market to invest in food service franchises. I think this can be connected to two key factors, one, the franchise market was essentially invented by brands in the food service category and certainly have brought the most exposure and notoriety to the franchise market segment, so people just associate franchising with food. Number two, everybody has to eat and with the right business system, menu and brand, food service can work in just about any market making it as scalable as it gets.

How has the process evolved since you came into the field?

continued on page 109

FRANCHISE YOUR BUSINESS Franchising can be an effective and efficient way to expand most business concepts. By managing the franchise expansion process efficiently, it can be one of the most profitable business models in the world.

We are a franchise consulting firm designed to work with small businesses and small business owners who want to grow quickly and efficiently.

Franchise Consulting Franchise Sales Graphic Design and Social Media POS, CRM and Software Implementation

Call 800-610-0292 to schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 83

EYE METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE US Foods Brings Excitement Of Food Fanatics ‘18 to Javits

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ith Metro New York’s restaurant and foodservice professionals challenged on so many fronts, Shawn McCall and his Metro New York US Foods team decided to move boldly as they crafted the agenda for this year’s Food Fanatics Spectacular at the Javits last month.

Food Fanatics Live™ brought foodservice professionals together with premier chefs, culinary experts and business operations consultants for a day packed with innovative menu ideas and real added value with a seminar series dealing with many of today’s challenges.

The day- long Manhattan event featured a number of US Foods’ new, innovative Scoop® products. The line-

up included Shishito peppers, a pair of taqueria sale fire salsa and even a battered sous vide chicken breast strip. EYE enjoyed the presentations of some of the Metro New York’s top chefs on the Food Fanatics Stage including Chef Leroy Wallace who hosted a demo on meat and vegetables.

New York Presbyterian Hospital’s top chef Ross Posmentier talked about many of his innovations that have changed how hospitals and healthcare institutions prepare their menus.

Chef Jeremy Rose of Temptations’ cafe spoke on Korean menu trends, and noted Long Island chef Frank Pignataro outlined his thoughts on food to go.

The Food Fanatics aisles at Javits were packed with innovative menu solutions including the latest from

Stock Yards®, Harbor Banks®, Metro Deli®, Chef’s Line® and Rykoff Sexton®. Under McCall’s leadership, fresh produce (including local specialties) continues to be a focus.

A highlight of the annual event was a keynote interview with legendary New York City Chef Marcus Samuelsson. With a backdrop of the annual US Foods Food Fanatic Show at the Javits Center, Samuelsson put a wrap on his four cities Talk Shop Live! Tour that spanned across the country for US Foods. The award-winning toque recapped several of the suggestions that were made at each of the stops along the tour. The suggestions dealt with key pain points facing independent restaurants across the country: skilled labor, food waste and attracting new customers.

Chef Marcus Samuelsson (L) made the day special for C-CAP guests including autistic chef Jeremiah Josey

(L-R) The New York Presbyterian Hospital duo of Chef Ross Posmentier and Manuela Solon

New Metro New York US Foods chief Shawn McCall welcomed a number of guests

(L-R) US Foods’ Robert Corby toured the show with Project Find’s Chenal Thompson and Barbara Blackman

US Foods showed off its vast array of equipment supplies solutions. Clements Stella Gallagher’s Tom Gallagher collaborated with US Foods Maureen Osborne and In-Thyme Café’s Mitchell Kessler.

The B&I community turned out in force for Food Fanatics. US Foods’ Jim Sachs (C) welcomed the Rutgers University duo Matthew Bernard and Joe Heurbian

(L-R) Nick Capra and Nicole Forbes of Monmouth Park shopped the show to respond to increased guest counts from legalized gambling in NJ

(L-R) Joe Agliato of Glenview Farms and Robyn Timony of McCain Foods

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Samuelsson used the Food Fanatics platform to show that humility and civility are in fact alive and well. He welcomed Maryland teen Jeremiah Josey, who is autistic and who aspires to become a pastry chef. The two were introduced through mutual friend TV Talk show host Steve Harvey. Chef Josey was presented with a 20K scholarship, and Samuelsson surprised him with an invite to work in his kitchen next May as part of the Red Rooster team at the annual “Taste of Harlem”.

For Shawn McCall, having Food Fanatics in NYC enabled the veteran executive an opportunity to meet customers and vendors as part of his 24/7 push to “hit the ground running” in his new role. “It’s been 10 years since I left the Tri-State market and it’s great to get back again,” he explained.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 85

NEWS

VENTLESS SOLUTIONS

Ventless 101: What is Simplifry Technology?

S

ince its creation nearly thirty years ago, AutoFry™ has been pushing the envelope on kitchen innovation.

From its automated frying process to the built in ANSUL fire suppression system, AutoFry has always led the charge when it comes to ventless frying. Ten years ago, we released a new and unique feature on our AutoFrys called Simplifry™ technology and it’s been changing user confidence ever since. As it turns out, there’s still many people who don’t know what the Simplifry feature is and how it can benefit their business, so today let’s dive in to AutoFry’s smartest feature.

What is Simplifry?

Simplifry is a revolutionary heat/ time compensation intelligence that will automatically adjust cooking time based on the quantity of product being prepared per fry cycle.

This process ensures that, whether you’re preparing two orders of fries or five, your product is cooked to perfection every time.

How does it work?

Every AutoFry is built with a hyper sensitive temperature probe that measures the temperature of the oil within the unit. With our Simplifry feature, the temperature probe detects how much the temperature drops when food has been dumped into the machine. The AutoFry then adjusts the cook time to compensate for that drop-in oil temperature.

Having this feature on your automatic deep fryer is like having a skilled fry cook on your team. A great fry cook can watch and tell when your fries are ready to be removed from the oil. AutoFry can do the same thing all on its own!

How does this help me?

The benefits of having Simplifry as an integral part of the AutoFry are twofold. First, you’re going to cut down on waste and save money, as you’ll never run into burnt or undercooked product. Second, this feature allows AutoFry to act independently, so you don’t have to hire another person to be your fry cook.

THE FUTURE IS VENTLESS NOW SERVING: VENTLESS GRILLS, FRYERS & OVENS

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 87

NEWS

PEST CONTROL SOLUTIONS

Public Enemy No. 1 For NYC Restaurants

How to Rodent-Proof Your Restaurant Exclude. Seal off all entry points.

Determined to find warmth and nourishment, rodents can contort their bodies to get inside. Rats can fit through holes the size of a quarter, and mice can squeeze through dime-sized openings. Install door sweeps, seal cracks and eliminate gaps around utility lines and boxes.

Cover exterior drains and vents with metal mesh, and install plastic, oneway rodent-proofing valves inside all drains.

Eliminate. Restrict or remove food and water sources. Rodents need them to survive. Eliminate the attraction by sealing stored food and removing all scraps and standing water. Continuously empty garbage bins, clean out dumpsters and check outside faucets and gutters for leaks or puddles.

Clean. Declutter storage areas, custodial closets, backrooms and offices. Mice and rats will use clutter for both food and nesting. Be

sure to clean out interior and exterior spaces frequently, including drawers, pantries, cabinets and shelving units.

Inspect. Look out for signs of a rodent infestation. Droppings or pellets are an obvious sign whereas grease marks on walls aren’t as intuitive. Beware of scurrying sounds and inspect packaging, walls and wires for chew marks. Nests or burrows may be hidden in walls, on roofs or below ground, so check

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F

inally, the long hot days of smelly garbage and tourist-filled sidewalks have been replaced with cheery holiday lights, beautiful blankets of snow and Public Enemy No. 1 – RATS! And like millions of New Yorkers, they are looking for a warm refuge and an abundant supply of food and drinks to get through the frigid days that lie ahead.

The worst part? Your foodservice establishment offers all of the above. While it’s common to see rodents roaming the city’s streets and alleys, the idea of one romping around your kitchen, supply room or dining room is not so palatable to customers.

Rats and mice have the fortitude to ruin your profits, reputation and health scores. Knowing the risks and taking key preventive steps can help you avoid a gnawing problem this winter.

MODERN SOLUTIONS. OLD-SCHOOL STYLE.

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877.219.6968 · westernpest.com CONTA C T US F O R A F RE E IN S P E C TIO N .

not-so-obvious spots too.

Monitor. Watch for rodents themselves, paying close attention to spots containing food or water like stock rooms, stored product areas, drink stations and dining areas. It’s also crucial to check hardto-reach places like floor and wall voids, suspended ceilings and the tops of cooler and freezer boxes.

Communicate. Keep the lines of communication open between your staff and pest control provider.

Consistent monitoring and maintenance of your restaurant’s unique issues are essential to identifying rodent problems early.

Why Rodents are Risky Business Health Hazards. Of the 35 diseases transmitted by rodents, common illnesses including Salmonella and Hantavirus are spread through their droppings, urine, saliva and blood. Your employees and patrons are in harm’s way when mice or rats pull up a chair at the table.

Contamination. When food and preparation surfaces are corrupted by rodents the outcome can be ugly.

Food poisoning caused by ingesting contaminated food can have symptoms including nausea, diarrhea and intestinal disorders. That is certainly not the kind of experience you want to serve up.

Careless Chomping. Rodents don’t hesitate to order off menu. Capable of consuming up to 30 grams

continued on page 106

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FAITHFUL FOOD

WITH FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

A Taste of a New York Holiday

Faith Hope Consolo is the Chairman of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group.

Ms. Consolo is responsible for the

B

aby it’s cold outside, but New York City is radiating with a little more magic this season, bringing warmth and festive cheer all around town.

Find spectacular holiday displays including perennial favorites like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and the decorated windows of retailers like Macy’s, Tiffany & Co. and Bloomingdale’s. View larger-than-life ornaments stacked atop the fountain outside the former Exxon Building (1251 Avenue of the Americas) and the equally oversized holiday light strand nearby at the McGraw-Hill Building (1221 Avenue of the Americas). As you are shopping in the snow, why not continue to make merry with an enchanting holiday meal or cocktail!

Rolf’s German Restaurant, 281 Third Avenue, is an over the top Christmas explosion. An institution in the city for more than 50 years, lavish Christmas decorations make it one of the most popular destinations in the city during the holidays; that means call early for reservations or listen to a busy signal for the entire month of December. Dangling from the ceiling are clusters of colored bulbs, evergreen wreaths, mistletoe and Victorian-period dolls.

21 Club, 21 W. 52nd Street, is an old school dining institution featuring Christmas trees, glittering gold ribbons, white lights, animal figurines and cascades of red-berried holly.

most successful commercial division

The NoMad, 1170 Broadway, “casually-elegant” food and beverage program comes from Chef Daniel Humm and Restaurateur Will Guidara.

Inspired by Chef Daniel’s time spent throughout Switzerland, California, and New York City, the restaurant is rooted in the same traditions found at their critically acclaimed, Michelin three-star rated Eleven Madison Park.

The restaurant is comprised of a series of rooms surrounding a glass-enclosed atrium. Fun fact; the first community Christmas tree in the US was displayed in Madison Square Park in 1912, predating the Rockefeller Center tree by 21 years. A team of four horses ferried the 70-foot fir to town, where it was illuminated with 1,200 lightbulbs.

Aptly enough, these days a huge tree is installed every year at the NoMad, two blocks from the park. The luxury hotel restaurant boasts a series of gorgeous rooms; to be in proximity of the tree.

Lucky Strike, 59 Grand Street, The bistro feels like a pocket of Paris— apart from the loop of classic American rock over the sound system—and is garlanded in pine and white lights.

Opened by Keith McNally and Edward Youkilis in 1989, Lucky Strike is a casual downtown bistro serving American Continental and French food. Guests can enjoy lunch, brunch, dinner and late night supper throughout the lively dining room. A full menu is also available at the French copper bar.

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Gotham Bar & Grill, 12 E. 12th Street, is near The Union Square Holiday Market. The soaring dining room has a golden glow and lights covered in tufted, floating parachutes, creating a lovely environment; holiday worthy.

Legendary dining, with culinary creator Alfred Portale at the helm for over three decades.

Temple Court, 5 Beekman Street in the Financial District by Tom Colicchio’s, stands out with its reverence for all things old New York but updated for today’s discerning crowds. The major design feature that is perfectly holiday is The Bar Room at Temple Court with its nine-story Victorian-era atrium.

Woodpecker, 30 West 30th Street, is David Burke’s latest project delivering both warm ambiance and a menu that’s packed the house even on weeknights. Everything is cooked in a wood-burning oven, emphasizing the rustic flavors of the holidays.

The View, 1535 Broadway at the New York Marriott Marquis 47th and 48th Floors, is the City’s only revolving rooftop restaurant. Perfect location in Times Square for your holiday adventures, good proximity to the miracle on 34th Street Macys, and enjoy breathtaking views with culinary excellence to create the ultimate dining experience.

Serra Alpina at Birreria on

of New York City’s largest residential real estate brokerage firm. Email her at fconsolo@elliman.com

top of Eataly, 200 Fifth Avenue, is a whimsical experience. Their Italian countryside restaurant on the roof will be transformed with a new cozy look, the greenhouse “pop-up” will be changing with the season, featuring Alpine dishes and creative mountaininfused cocktails.

The Lodge at STK , 26 Little W. 12th St., near Washington Street, enjoy a view of the Hudson at the indoor-outdoor rooftop at STK. Enjoy the great outdoors in a canopy bed or head inside for a traditional cabin experience.

Find DJs and cocktails, including ginger toddies, tequila-laced hot chocolates with maple whipped cream, and a “Naughty & Nice” group punch bowl.

Winter Garden at The Standard, 25 Cooper Square at 6th Street. Sit in a yurt, eat fondue, and drink spiked cocktails in the middle of the East Village with the Standard’s Winter Garden. The garden has turned into a Christmas Tree Market, complete with trees for sale from Crest Hardware and hot drinks by us. A portion of proceeds will benefit our neighbors at the Lower East Side Girls Club.

December is a time for celebratory cocktails and eating, so enhance the holiday merry-making by indulging this festive season.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 91

NEWS

ASSOCIATIONS

New York Government Must Remember Small Business in 2019

F

or the first time in eight years, all three levels of state government will be controlled by a single party.

Following the November elections, Democrats now hold control of the Governorship, Senate and Assembly, seemingly paving the way for easy passage for many progressive policies that have stalled in the Senate over the last few legislative sessions. While many of these policies will go a long ways to improving the lives of many across the state, it is also important to not forget the thousands of struggling small businesses that call the Big Apple home.

New York has some of the most highly taxed communities in the country, and in combination with all the other high expenses that small mom and pop restaurants have, making ends meet is extremely difficult.

Beyond taxes, New York has one of the highest wage rates in the country, ever increasing rents, and additional requirements mandating paid time off - all of which can significantly impact the bottom line for eateries where every dollar matters.

New York is considered one of the culinary capitals of the world.

Manhattan is renowned globally for having some of the best chefs and restaurants that are simply beyond compare. However, designations like this may not last forever if high taxes and rents, and burdensome laws and

regulations create too big a barrier for restaurants to thrive in New York.

This is why it is vital for the Government to take active steps to ensure that the restaurants that create this vibrant community can find it easier to remain profitable.

One of the easiest things that can be done is providing significant protections when it comes to the sky-

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rocketing rent problem nearly all businesses face in New York City.

Landlords currently hold all the cards in negotiations on price and duration of commercial leases. This process needs to be done on a more level playing field where tenants can take unfair landlords to arbitration to ensure they are getting a square deal. There should also be penalties in place for

vacant storefronts if property owners are intentionally keeping them empty in hopes of attracting big business years into the future. We understand that landlords have every right to earn a living, however there needs to be a middle ground when it comes to these important negotiations.

Simple regulatory changes would also make a significant difference for many businesses across Manhattan.

For example, the meal period law for restaurants should be reviewed for the benefit of both the employees and the owners. Currently, New York State law mandates that workers that have specific shifts must take their break as close to the middle of said shift as possible. The middle of these shifts often occur during the busiest time of day for the restaurant and creates unneeded chaos. Employees also hate taking breaks at this time because they don’t make tips during that time. If we allowed more flexibility around when employees can take meal breaks, it would have a significant positive impact on the efficiency of restaurant operations.

2019 Is going to be an important year and is sure to bring about a large number of changes. We need to make sure that small businesses are not overlooked, not only for the overall business community but for everybody who lives in and enjoys visiting one of the culinary capitals of the world.

Meadowlands Convention Center • Secaucus, NJ April 17-18, 2019 • www.njrhexpo.com

Why Exhibit? $41.2 billion in sales for the restaurant and hospitality industry 103,000 guest rooms and 1,130 hotel properties 17,957 eating and drinking establishments Over half a million people employed in the foodservice industry 21.6 million occupied room nights annually Above facts courtesy of the National Restaurant Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association

Contact us to exhibit! peter@njrhexpo.com • (646) 942-2042

njrhexpo njrhexpo2019 December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 93

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE WITH FRED SAMPSON Packaging of Leftovers, and Overworked Menu Descriptions

O

ver the course of a normal week, I read and scan 30 to 40 articles dealing with the restaurant industry: they range from food and labor costs, to location selection, menu structure, staff training, government affairs, and economic trends.

In addition, I speak to a number of people who are involved with the industry. Much of this constitutes the basis of the material that appears in my articles. I do, in many instances, voice my opinion on the subject at hand, based on more than 70 years in the business. For the record, I was a teenager when I first went to work in my family’s restaurant.

This column deals with two issues: packaging of leftovers and overworked menu descriptions.

About 100 cities across the country have already passed legislation banning Styrofoam containers, including New York … and Washington, DC, could be next. I’m not going to deal with the cost impact affiliated with this legislation, but rather, some of the ways operators can use to handle leftovers and menu items to go.

I’m not sure when and where the practice of offering “leftovers to go” began. No matter, it is here to stay and even more so in today’s economy.

In an article by China Millman of the Pittsburgh Gazette, he pointed out that “few restaurants seem to realize that the way leftovers are packaged and handled has a significant effect

Fred G. Sampson is the retired President Emeritus of the New York State Restaurant Association. He began working with NYSRA in 1961.

Within the next four years the NYSRA

In case you haven’t noticed, today’s consumers are more aware of the various aspects of eating out than any generation before them.

more than tripled its membership and expanded from one regional chapter to eight. Sampson played roles in representing restaurants on issues including paid sick leave, minimum wage, liquor laws, a statewide alcohol training program and insurance plans. Comments may be

on the guest’s experience.” It is his opinion that unless someone requests otherwise, servers in full-service restaurants should pack up leftovers for the diner, and preferably away from the table. One of the primary joys of dining out is avoiding the cleaning up.

Watching someone scrape plates isn’t much more fun than doing it yourself.

Most fine restaurants in Pittsburgh do package leftovers out of sight, but that doesn’t guarantee an elegant presentation. A plastic grocery bag and Styrofoam containers look out of place in an elegant restaurant, especially when they are plunked on the table while a group is lingering over coffee and dessert.

Even if the negative effect of poor packaging is slight, restaurants are missing an opportunity to leave diners with a positive impression, by servers marking to-go boxes with the name of the dish and the current date, and placing boxes in attractive brown paper shopping bags emblazoned with the restaurant’s name. People even reuse these bags, providing free advertisement for the restaurant.

Obviously, operators in any of the cities that have banned Styrofoam are

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changing the way they handle not only leftovers to go, but prepared meals for takeout. Here again is a chance to enhance your product and stand out from the competition. Think about it.

I do agree with Mr. Millman; I believe that taking the time to make the leftover package more appealing can have a positive effect on guests, not only when they receive it at the table, but when they open it at home.

It could remind them of a pleasant experience at your restaurant. After all, they thought it was good enough to take home. You might even consider it as building goodwill after the sale.

In case you haven’t noticed, today’s consumers are more aware of the various aspects of eating out than any generation before them—from the quality of the food, to the ambiance, to what constitutes real value at every price point. They are also the most surveyed. Phil Vettel, restaurant critic of the Chicago Tribune, asked his readers to share with him their opinion of the most overworked descriptions appearing on menus.

The following are the top ten: • Grilled to perfection • World-famous

sent to fredgsampson@juno.com

• • • • • • • •

Homemade Hand-selected Voted Best Burger Caught this morning Death by Chocolate Mouth-watering Oven-roasted ... and Cooked to perfection.

Mr. Vettel also reported that the question most often asked by a server is—you guessed it—“Is everything all right?” Does this sound familiar? If I may, I’d like to comment on the “Is everything all right?” line. In my view, when a server asks that question, it leaves the impression that there might be a problem. Instead, how about: “Is there anything else I can get you at this time?” One of the distinguishing characteristics of today’s consumers is that they will not hesitate to let you know when they are not satisfied.

They will instantly share their dissatisfaction with a server and, if left dissatisfied, perhaps even share it with their friends on Facebook and other worldwide media.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 95

Hattie Hill, from page 60 leader on women’s advancement and gender equity. We provide the research, insights and best practice solutions that enable food companies to address the pressing need for talent, gain better consumer insights and drive business growth by realizing the full potential of women leaders. At the same time, we continue to provide women (and men) with data-driven content to build leadership skills and the professional connections needed to grow your career.

The last two years have been marked by change and upheaval as the #metoo movement emerged? Where are we today in society and in our industry?

I have to give the food industry credit for leading the charge for gender equity even ahead of the issue being brought into the national spotlight so clearly through the #metoo movement. One thing we know is that working conditions for women will improve as more women are in leadership positions and there is greater gender equity in the workplace. That is something we work toward every day.

We applaud the movement and the fact that women’s voices are being heard and people are being held accountable for inappropriate actions.

That is a critical first step. We also understand, however, that many of the barriers that hold women back in their careers are less obvious than blatant abuse and often involve unconscious bias. Most organization systems have grown out of male-dominated culture and many unintentionally thwart women’s advancement -- from the recruitment process to the first promotion (where 100 men are promoted beyond entry level for every 79 women) and up through the ranks.

The #metoo movement has brought much-needed attention to the issue of women’s rights and has helped to highlight how much our progress has stalled. It has also helped move the issue further up the list of priorities for

senior leaders which will help women and help their organizations because we know gender diversity increases financial performance.

How will the agenda for the upcoming March conference in Dallas reflect those challenges?

We are exceptionally excited about our 2019 Annual Leadership Development Conference coming up March 10-13 in Dallas. We have amazing speakers, of course. Chairman of the PepsiCo Board of Directors, Indra Nooyi, will be a keynote, as will researcher and five-time best-selling author Brené Brown.

But what is perhaps even more exciting is that today we have extensive research that shows where women face the greatest barriers to advancement in the Food Industry and the skills that drive success at various career stages. We developed our 2019 Conference content and delivery approach to meet those needs.

That has enabled us to create a more connected, cohesive learning experience where you master the same research-driven content in lockstep with a dedicated group of peers within what we call your Leadership Cohort. Executive Faculty will embed with each Cohort to further the learning as role models, sharing their realworld experiences.

Our new Leadership Cohorts will enable us to more tightly target content to participant needs and provide the increased peer interaction and exposure to industry leaders attendees have requested. When you register, you will select the Leadership Cohort (Manager, Director or Executive) that best matches your career stage. This group will become your home base and team of colleagues throughout Conference.

We have also focused the content on key areas the research shows are absolutely critical to individual success and to creating organizations where women can thrive. All Leadership Co-

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horts will focus on these topic areas, concentrating on areas of greatest relevance to their career stage. They are: Resilience & Risk Taking: The Role of Confidence and Ambition in Career Success The Bottom Line: How Profit & Loss Experience Drives Advancement at All Levels Inclusive Culture: From the C-Suite to the Front Lines, Inclusion Drives Results WFF has been a leader in championing Leadership Development. Please take us through that initiative and its impact?

From its inception, WFF has focused on providing content and avenues for women to increase their leadership skills and their abilities to seize opportunities when they arise, and to make their own. Throughout the years, the vehicles for doing this have changed with the times but we have always focused on providing critical content focused on building career competencies that research shows are critical to success.

Our members can complete our Leadership Competency Assessment online as often as they like to gauge and monitor their leadership strengths and areas for development. They can choose to share that information with supervisors as well as they work together to build professional development plans.

We offer an array of online and inperson opportunities for both education and networking to meet the needs of women and men working at all career stages and in all aspects of the food ecosystem. That includes, of course, our signature Annual Leadership Development Conference as well as our one-day, in-market Leadership Development Workshops, our Executive Summit held annually for senior leaders, online success talks and topic-based webinars and networking opportunities including the WFF Circles and WFF Exchanges.

The association has been nothing short of innovative with its men’s gender equity initiative. What are your goals for that program?

Because the majority of senior leaders in companies across the food ecosystem are still men, male champions of women are best positioned to drive the change that will create gender equity in the Food Industry. WFF was launched 30 years ago with the help of male champions and we have partnered with male supporters ever since.

We always welcome men into the conversation and urge companies to send male colleagues to Annual Conference, our Leadership Development Workshops and Executive Summit.

Men also benefit from the leadership development and networking WFF provides and, when they get involved, they gain a much better understanding of the unintended barriers women face in their organizations and the business benefits of gender diversity.

They typically leave motivated and inspired to drive change.

During our Executive Summit this past summer, we hosted a men’s-only conversation to review the research from the Women in the Workplace Study by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org within the food industry and explored the obstacles slowing the pace of women’s advancement.

Participants were able to share their honest questions and concerns about how best to champion women on their teams and in their organizations.

They also shared their most effective strategies for accelerating career progress for women in their organizations, talked about data-driven best practices and learned from peers creating inclusive work environments how to break down barriers that hold women back.

The event turned out to be standing room only and the men involved requested a Male Champions of Women

continued on page 98

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4-tier rotating pizza rack with chrome-plated shelves Digital temperature controller and display Adjustable humidity and heat controls Temperature range of 86°F – 194°F

www.admiralcraft.com December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 97

Hattie Hill, from page 96 Community of Interest to be added to the schedule during Annual Conference. We were thrilled to get that on the books and look forward to hosting that COI for the first time at the 2019 Conference. Some of the key issues to be explored include: • Recognizing unconscious bias in yourself and the dominance of male culture • Understanding the business case for gender equity and how to share it publicly and powerfully • What prevents men from becoming vocal allies for women’s advancement • The impact of male sponsors and mentors • How to turn commitment to gender equity into tangible action and accountability What led to the establishment of the Lean In program? How can a foodservice professional get involved?

One of the greatest benefits of WFF is the power of community and connection as peers and mentors provide a wealth of information on many career questions. We offer that in several ways. We now have more than 57 Circles in our WFF Chapter of Lean In.

These small groups of peers meet regularly to engage with and support one another and help women step outside their comfort zones.

We have also recently launched our member-led WFF Exchanges that engage local colleagues in networking across organizations. Typically, two leads in a region from different organizations work together to host and organize the event. They shape the agenda and can opt to meet monthly, quarterly or whatever works in their market. We provide support to help them get started and to connect with colleagues in their area.

For more information about leading, hosting or joining a WFF Circle or WFF Exchange in your area, folks can contact Dana Minton, Senior Manager, Partner Engagement, at dminton@ wff.org.

What’s the next step for a foodservice operator or individual to get more info on WFF membership and events?

The most important step for our food organizations is to join WFF. WFF is the Food Industry’s thought leader on gender equity with the research, insights and best practice solutions to enable the food ecosystem to address

the pressing need for talent, gain better consumer insights and drive business growth by realizing the full potential of women leaders. We also provide women with the tools and resources to build leadership competencies and drive their own career advancement.

We have convened the food industry in collaboration to tackle gender equity together and that will empower all of us to make the food industry the employer of choice for the most talented women and men and win for the war for talent together.

When food companies join WFF, they also get access to participate in our Food Industry Women in the Workplace Study. In 2017, we convened 32 companies to participate in this critical study and in 2018 more than 60 companies participated.

Every company that participates is equipped with critical, detailed data about where the barriers to women’s advancement are in their own organization. We segment the data by manufacturers, distributors, operators and other fields and find each one has different strengths and opportunities in terms of driving gender equity.

Although every organization has its own unique challenges and opportu-

nities, the research does point to some key themes that all organizations need to consider and WFF focuses our efforts here to provide the greatest support to our members. They include: • CEO engagement and commitment • Pay equity • Fair representation of women throughout your pipeline and into senior leadership • Creating inclusive cultures where all team members can thrive • Implementing policies and practices, especially in HR, that create environments where women can thrive We encourage food companies to check us out at wff.org, give us a call so we can schedule a personal meeting with you, and to register as many team members as possible for the 2019 Annual Leadership Development Conference. Participants describe this event as life-changing and indeed, your employees will be empowered to accelerate their personal career advancement and to help drive gender equity and business growth in your organization.

conference will be co-located with Healthy Food Expo New York and Coffee Fest, and one badge will grant attendees access to all three events offering the largest food & beverage experience in the Northeast. Healthy Food Expo New York will bring attendees access to the latest and greatest healthy products from organic, vegan, gluten-free and allergy-safe to hormone-free, non-GMO, plant-based, low-sodium, low-fat, and more. Coffee Fest provides education, new products and networking for passionate specialty beverage professionals all un-

der one roof to provide attendees with the most innovative products in the industry.

The show is owned and managed

by Clarion UX (www.clarionux.com), and sponsored by the New York State Restaurant Association (www.nysra. org). Clarion UX produces 37 events across 13 sectors of both trade and consumer events. Clarion UX, which is the U.S. division of Clarion Events, UK, and backed by The Blackstone Group has become one of the fastest growing event companies in the U.S. with aggressive growth through both acquisition and launch. Clari-

on acquired PennWell in early 2018, bringing 4 Tradeshow 200 events into the U.S. portfolio and supercharging the already rapid growth.

Clarion UX has offices in Trumbull, CT; Kennesaw, GA; Boca Raton, FL; Tacoma, WA, and Fairlawn, NJ. www. clarionux.com

IRFSNY Awards, from page 42 March 5 at the Javits Center in New York. The tradeshow and conference will provide thousands of industry professionals with access to the hottest menu trends, state of the art design and decor, a renowned education program, special events including Hip Sip, Rapid Fire Challenge, several culinary demonstrations, and hundreds of leading vendors and purveyors dedicated to serving the restaurant & foodservice community. For more information, visit www.internationalrestaurantny.com.

The 26th annual trade show and

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RESTAURANT COMPLIANCE

WITH RADA TARNOVSKY

Mobile Food Vendors and The Letter Grade System

I

n 2010 ALL food service establishments operating in NYC were subject to the Letter Grade System. There are 5500 mobile food vendors in NYC that prepare food, and serve it to the public every day, just like restaurants, but with less tools to ensure food safety. The System when implemented, didn’t apply to them… until now.

The NYC Department of Health officially announced that starting December 2018, all food carts and trucks authorized to operate in NYC will be subject to a similar version of the Letter Grade System.

It will take approximately 2 years for all mobile vendors to be brought under the system, very similar to the roll out for restaurants in 2010.

Just like restaurants, they will be inspected, receive points for violations and Letter Grades based on their score. Decals with the letter grade will be posted on every unit.

Having mobile food vendors subject to the Letter Grade System will

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undoubtedly improve sanitary conditions, allow consumers to make informed decisions based on inspection information that they will now have access to, and hopefully change negative public perception, created after unsanitary conditions were publicized. But besides the obvious benefits, there are some not so obvious concerns.

Unlike restaurants, mobile food vendors aren’t always located at the same address, making them more difficult to inspect. As a solution, location sharing devices will be attached to every unit, allowing inspectors to locate mobile vendors when they are due for an inspection.

According to the Health Department, collected data will only be shared with DOH staff and its agents, and location data will

Rada Tarnovsky is a practicing Attorney, who co-founded Letter Grade Consulting to help food service operators comply with regulations set forth by the NYC Department of Health.

Servicing restaurants, hotels, theatres, corporate cafeterias and schools, Letter Grade Consulting provides operators with preemptive solutions, education and training to sustain the highest level of food safety, remain inspection ready and maintain the “A” in the window. Rada can be reached at rt@lettergradeconsulting.com

be deleted from the tracking devices within 24 hours. While that sounds promising, we live at a time when data breaches are common and privacy is becoming more and more difficult to protect. Tracking vendors with location devices that produce sensitive data is definitely cause for concern.

It will take approximately 2 years for all mobile vendors to be brought under the system, very similar to the roll out for restaurants in 2010.

Hopefully, the benefits will far exceed concerns…fingers crossed.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 101

Easy Ice, from page 36 Mold and slime aren’t generally dangerous, although they can pose problems for people with auto-immune deficiencies. Problems occur if a customer or health inspector find mold growth either in a drink or an ice bin. Customers will most likely leave a bad review, and a health inspector will write up a business if there is enough growth in the bin.

The best way to prevent mold and slime from growing is to make sure to stick to a regular preventive maintenance schedule. A technician will make sure the ice machine is working correctly and deep clean condensers, evaporator plates, and ice bins. Technicians will also be able to estimate how much mold growth a work environment will produce and how fast it will grow.

Businesses should stick to two preventive maintenance visits a year at a minimum (more if a technician

Andrew Rigie, from page 40 discovers rapid growth stemming from the environment).

Staff should also stick to regular, light cleaning of the ice bin if they discover mold growth. To clean mold from an ice bin, spray the contaminated area with a solution of 20% chlorine and 80% water. Wipe the growth from the bin and spray the area one more time before allowing the solution to air dry.

There’s no reason an establishment should get a health violation because they neglected their ice machine. It takes the whole staff to make sure a business’s ice supply stays clean and sanitary.

By following the correct procedures, performing light cleaning every day, and getting preventive maintenance at least twice a year, businesses can avoid health violations as far as their ice machine is concerned.

102 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

adults, do not have a basic bank account, leaving a significant population without a debit or credit card.

So, while going cashless has operational efficiencies and is in vogue, it excludes a segment of the population, and a growing number of voices are calling it a discriminatory business practice.

Massachusetts is the only state in the nation that prohibits cashless stores, but New York may follow, after a lawmaker announced he will introduce a similar law. Community groups have also taken notice. I serve on my local Community Board and restaurants need to appear before us in an effort to secure or renew a liquor or sidewalk café license. Members of the community have expressed concern about cashless businesses and suggested opposing their licenses unless they accept cash.

And while credit cards are nothing new, the use of digital payments will continue to grow in popularity and influence consumer purchasing behavior and business practices.

Marketplace pressures will result in more stores, from restaurants to pharmacies, installing self-ordering and checkout kiosks that use technology to enable transactions, which will not be accessible to the unbanked population.

While growing in popularity, businesses in the United States have been slow to adopt cashless policies when compared to those in China, India and Sweden.

So, while cash is still king here in America, our business leaders, innovators and policy makers need to discuss ways to promote innovation and efficiencies while preserving inclusiveness.

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 103

HUB, from page 38 one or more incidents of sexual harassment in their working life.

Of that 89%, over half said it had been by a member of the public and 22.7% said it was by a manager. In 2019, every organization in the hospitality industry should be taking a closer look at its employment practices, and harassment is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to sexual harassment, the industry needs to start reviewing employment issues like failure to promote and wage and hour issues that will be scrutinized under their employment practices liability policies.

repairs as well as the pros and cons of payrolled or contract drivers, the growing number of distracted drivers, etc. all of which will increase exposures and risks.

Delivering Increasing Auto Exposures In 2019, more restaurants will take on delivery services to keep up with competitive pressures. Due to this, restaurants expanding into delivery services, will need to keep an eye on auto insurance rates and car

1. https://www.travelweekly.com/ Travel-News/Hotel-News/Hotelsshown-to-be-susceptible-to-cybercrime 2. https://www.theguardian.com/ world/2018/jan/24/sexual-harassment-rampant-hospitality-industry-unite-survey-finds

With 2019 right around the corner, you’ve surely started seeing or experiencing the impact of these hospitality trends, but be vigilant as they’re only going to deepen in the months ahead. It’s vital to work with a seasoned advisor in order to truly understand and manage the risk exposures and insurance needs for your organization.

104 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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Restaurant Vs. Delivery Service, from page 54 standard agreements.

Restaurants and delivery services should also specifically address the issue of who bears the cost of customer order errors. While many delivery services disclaim responsibility for any order errors in their standard agreements, some services contain more specific provisions. For example, Doordash provides that in the event of a refund or re-order, the restaurant is responsible for preparing the food under the specifications of the original order and “bear the full cost of that refund or re-order,

unless the refund or re-order is due to the gross negligence or willful misconduct of [couriers or drivers] or Doordash.”

Aside from third-party delivery service agreements, restaurants must consider delivery services that offer delivery of their food absent an agreement, or even the knowledge of the restaurant. Such services can pose additional concerns for restaurants. Indeed, a delivery service operating without an agreement creates a greater potential for unforeseeable and certainly undefined li-

ability for the restaurant.

Aside from contractual issues, restaurants can also take advantage of technology in order to attempt to shield against liability. Among other things, tracking technology may assist in foodborne illness disputes.

It is advisable for restaurants and third-party delivery services to consult with experienced counsel and consider their rights, responsibilities, and potential exposure before entering into such agreements.

While restaurant-delivery service arrangements offer many potential

benefits, it is critical to be cognizant of potential liabilities and plan accordingly.

ers, spot one rodent, chances are her family is cozied up in your walls.

Reputation. No matter how delicious your food or inviting your atmosphere, if a customer sees even one rodent in or around your restaurant, you’re toast. Social media and online reviews make it easy for customers to instantly tell the world about any good or bad experience with your business. And what others see about you online matters. Customers trust online reviews as much as friends.

Inspection Implications: The only party who might be harder on you than customers is health inspectors. Pest management is a measurable part of your health score, and with the amount of health and safety concerns rodents present, it’s un-

likely that an inspector is going to let you slide.

oping a proactive plan can be very rewarding, much like dessert. Enlist your pest control professional to help you implement monitoring and exclusion tactics to help keep rodents out.

Disclaimer: This article only reflects the personal opinion of its author.

The opinions and views contained in this article shall in no way reflect the opinions and views of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP or any other persons or entities. Nothing contained in this article shall be construed as legal advice and should not be relied on in any manner. This article may be considered Attorney Advertising.

Western Pest, from page 88 in a day, they’ll chow down on your inventory. Contaminated products, if recognized and discarded as they should be, result in financial loss.

And rodents won’t stop there.

Property Damage. Electrical wires, gas lines, support beams, sheet rock, insulation and more fit into the rodent diet. Rodents are known to cause bigger than bitesize problems like electrical fires and structural damage.

Proliferation. Rodents have plenty of leave-behinds for your diners. No, not take-out. A single mouse can produce 49 droppings per day. Another thing they’re good at producing? More rodents. A single rat can produce seven litters per year, with up to 12 pups per litter. If you, or worse – one of your custom-

106 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

When to Take Action First Course: If you’ve spotted any of the signs above, it’s time to contact a pest control expert. Think of those signs like an appetizer, signaling that there’s more to come, but in this case that’s not a good thing.

Second Course: A rat or mouse in your establishment is a big deal.

Immediately contact a licensed pest management company for reinforcement. The biggest mistake you can make is thinking a problem will resolve itself or trying DIY pest control.

Third Course: While it may not seem necessary at the time, devel-

A place where food is stored, prepared and enjoyed, your restaurant is prone to be a rodent magnet if the proper preventive and reactive actions aren’t taken.

Hope Bowman is a Technical Specialist and board-certified entomologist with Western Pest Services, a New-Jersey based pest management company serving businesses and homeowners in major Northeastern markets. Learn more about Western by visiting www.westernpest.com.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 107

LMT, from page 8 Over 150 items translate into an eclectic line of earthenware that is characterized by a juxtaposition of rich, subtle hues in comprehensive shapes. Le Grelle’s deep-rooted love of craft, creation and re-creation, use and reuse is the unstoppable motive of this inventive brand.

And she’s not alone.

“Delicious cooking with beautiful ceramics is pure romance, pure interaction,” says Pascal Naessens, designer of Pure, another notable collection for Serax.

Naessens’ use of natural materials manipulated in organic lines describe this total tabletop offering of glassware, cutlery, dinnerware, wood surfaces, ovenware, cookware, and tea service. Inspired by the local ceramists of Tunisia the artisan met while filming a culinary documentary, Naessens saw the opportunity to bring the intention of this art into her brand – and she took it. The romance of Pure extends far beyond the table. Naessens is a diverse creator – designer, artist, chef, author and culinary inflencer.

To round out this triple threat, let’s discuss Roos Van De Velde’s Perfect Imperfection, a dinnerware collection that has become infamous in the world of hospitality and can be found at some of the finest restaurants in the world, most notably at Jean-Georges here in New York City.

This porcelain tableware is iconic and symbolic– a delicate, natural art – the celebration of a perfect yet imperfect production.

As we approach another new year of creativity and diversity in hospitality, we’d like to give a standing ovation to the women who create, make, sell, and support our industry every day. Cheers.

For more information on products seen here or to receive a free tabletop consultation, please contact lmt@singerequipment.com.

Bobrow, from page 10 1. To a Punch Bowl: Add the liquid ingredients with a large cube of ice 2. Mix well 3. Serve in a tea cup

A Fun Winter Citrus Punch Ingredients: • 8 grapefruits, 10 oranges, 4 lemons and 1 lime • Angostura and Demerara sugar • 1 Bottle Rhum Agricole from Martinique (100 Proof ) • 1 Bottle Prosecco • 1-pint dark simple syrup • Bitters of your choice- I used Cardamom Preparation: 1. Roast 8 grapefruits, 10 oranges, 4 lemons and 1 lime, in ½’s, covered in Angostura and Demerara sugar (300 for an hour, cool and juice) 2. Mix the ingredients together in a Punch Bowl 3. Adjust sweetness with the dark simple syrup 4. Serve in shot glasses- or even lightly warmed!

Tea Punch Ingredients: • Make at least 50 oz. of Dark Tea (Like Lapsang Souchong, a touch smoky is great!)

• 1 Quart heavy Cream • 1 Quart light Cream • 1 Quart 1 regular milk • 1 pint dark simple syrup (to taste) • 1, 750 ml. bottle of London Dry Gin Preparation: 1. Mix everything together.

2. Serve in tea cups early in the morning.

3. No one will know!

108 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Franchising 101, from page 82 The process for franchising has changed a lot in the time I’ve been in franchising, which is surprising to me. Digital has changed the franchise business significantly – everyone is on the web and franchise marketing has been completely changed with the incorporation of digital mediums.

Franchise advertising happens in a big way on the web and a brand’s value is many times gauged by how they look on the web. This means that when a brand is going into franchising they need to embrace the web entirely in order to successfully scale. Digital has also drastically impacted and changed the food service market; every food service brand is doing bigger and bigger volume online and offsite, which plays a role in franchising and how the model is duplicated.

How has the definition of branding evolved with the growth of social media?

Social media is an enormous part of branding, marketing and business development today, particularly in the food service business. If you are like me, you didn’t pay much attention to the social media segment for a long time, but that’s changed in the last few years. Social media is a legitimate and necessary part of every business’ market strategy that needs attention, budget and focus.

Once you’ve determined the restaurant is ready to be franchised: How does the franchise marketing system make it happen?

The Franchise Marketing Systems model is to work closely with a brand from the concept development all the way to the execution of the franchise development model. When we first started the business, we realized that most new franchisors were having difficulty in establishing their first 5-10 units and getting the validation

they needed to get real momentum in scaling their brand. We start with the strategy and define processes needed to put the franchise model into action, work with great franchise attorney’s to get the FDD and Franchise Agreements in place, develop the franchise training processes, operations manuals and then develop the franchise marketing plans. The unique element to Franchise marketing systems is we then execute the model alongside the clients we work with to market, recruit and develop the initial franchise sales.

Please talk about your team and what makes FMS unique?

The Franchise Marketing Systems approach to the market was to become a strategic partner with the brands we worked with. The model started with Alan George and I seeing an opportunity to support businesses at the early stages of franchising. The franchise market had great resources, but

a gap existed in the market where no businesses really supported the franchise development efforts for a brand looking to sell units 1-20. Most times, these are the toughest to achieve for a new franchisor and the FMS value proposition was designed with this need in mind. Franchise Marketing Systems today has a team of 27 people who provide a wide range of services; all focused on helping brands become a sustainable franchise system.

What’s the next step for an operator that wants to utilize Franchise Marketing’s expertise?

Start with a call, we LOVE speaking with entrepreneurs and want to have the opportunity to review the model, discuss vision and help provide objective advice on whether franchising could be a viable expansion model.

Visit the FMS site at www.FMSFranchise.com and book a call with one of our consultants.

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Cold Brew Coffee, from page 12 your specifications.

Once you have the BIB concentrate, simply pop it into a BIB cold brew coffee dispenser, connect a filtered water source to the unit and serve freshpoured cold brew. The concentrate is mixed on demand with the filtered cold water. Many dispensers offer the option of both still and nitro infused coffee. When the bag empties, it only takes a minute to disconnect the empty BIB and connect a new BIB – and you are pouring again. Even the clean-

ing process utilizes a BIB cleaning solution to simplify the process.

How to Serve and Dispense Cold Brew Coffee from a Keg Dispensing from a keg is easy, simply “tap” the keg using a coupler that engages with the valve. The coupler allows nitrogen to enter the keg and pushes the coffee out. The nitrogen used to dispense the cold brew coffee on tap is usually low pressure (10-15 psi). When finished with the keg there

are several options: stainless steel will be returned to the producer, if it’s your own container with your own cold brew simply rinse out and refill with a fresh batch, and if using a plastic keg, go ahead and recycle.

One thing to consider is whether the cold brew is “shelf stable” or needs to be refrigerated. A shelf stable product can sit out in ambient temperature and not require refrigeration. However, most cold brews in the market require refrigeration for both storage

and dispensing. Confirm with your distributor and ask about “shelf stability”.

Don’t Miss Out on the Cold Brew Coffee (on Tap) Revolution Help meet the demand and introduce customers to new and exciting flavor experiences in this ever-growing beverage category. Cold brew coffee on tap and nitro brew coffee can offer a point of difference for your business. BIB concentrates are considered premium (who would make a concentrate from a bad brew?) and people expect to pay more for a better brew.

Whereas a shop may sell an iced coffee for $3.50, it’s not unusual to charge $5.50 for a cold or nitro brew, providing enormous return on investment.

Coffee lovers swear by it. Smooth, cold-brewed coffee on-tap infused with nitrogen to feature a thick, creamy head and beautiful cascade effect when poured. Now you can offer your customers choice – cold brew or nitro brew – depending on the mood.

Micro Matic is proud to offer our world-renowned dispense technology so you can deliver a consistent pour each and every time. Brew your own or utilize a convenient Bag-in-Box (BiB). Whether you’re a multi-chain enterprise or local, independent artisanal shop, nitro cold brew coffee is the generational drink that your business needs.

Micro Matic has a variety of nitro cold brew coffee dispensing equipment suitable for your café, bar or restaurant needs. Each of our machines can dispense regular or nitrogenized cold brew coffee at the pull of a tap with no downtime between pulls. Unlike other systems that want you to shake the keg to distribute the nitrogen or may become over-pressurized by the end of the keg, our complete line of dispensers create the perfect pour.Contact a member of our sales team today at micromatic. com/contact to learn more.

110 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 111

Valiant, from page 18 What is the value?

By providing a report on the detail of a tip report, employers will be in compliance with IRS reporting, and will be able to record the proper tax deductions to tips earned, both indirect and direct. Furthermore, reports such as these take out some of the manual effort to fill out the proper forms – reports like these will even show you what lines to enter within the 8027 form.

expenses are, what is the responsibility of the employee, and gives you a summary on pay periods, monthly and year to date. This is the comprehensive way to see where the costs are and gives you insights on where to streamline your costs.

Making Decisions with the Data: There are a multitude of ways to report on your Workforce and drive decisions, and companies will look for many different ways to slice and dice

3. Tip Signoff Report: As a complementary report to number 2, the tip signoff report helps employers to create accountability by listing out the tips earned with a signoff. This allows the employee to physically (or digitally) sign off on their tips for that pay period:

their data. When you first start out building a Payroll Management Solution, the best advice is to start simple; pick a simple set of reports that will tell you a story. Start at the top – such as payroll costs – and then drill down from there. By asking yourself questions about what you see in one report, you will uncover more ways to see the data to help answer those questions.

These four reports represent 80% of what food service businesses need

to see on a regular basis when looking at payroll, and by having this level of visibility you can make better, more informed decisions on how to streamline your workforce.

Valiant’s hospitality solutions feature easy integration with your POS system, calculate meal credits, accurately report on tips and ensure compliance with spread of hours pay, all in one place. Learn more at www.valiant.com/expertise/hospitality

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As you look to streamline operations, you want to make sure that you are not only recording pay information related to tips, but you want to mitigate risk of noncompliance with the IRS. This report helps to verify that employees are signing off on their tips earned, and gives you assurance that tips are allocated and reported correctly.

4. Department Summary Analysis: Part of having a workforce automation system, or even a payroll management system is the ability to have visibility and control over how pay is allocated, how earnings are calculated and any deductions across the entire department. This report provides just that – a summary of the department and the full labor allocation associated with that department:

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What is the value?

In essence, this report tells you where every single penny is being spent, with regards to your payroll expenses. It calculates the earnings, taxes, overtime and any other deductions to show you where your 112 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 113

Resy, from page 4 and learn more about them.

OpenTable, founded in 1998, charges restaurants based on the number of reservations it makes for them, in addition to a flat rate, but says it is experimenting with a new pricing model it will roll out in the next quarter. Reserve and Resy, which both started in 2014, charge restaurants only a flat rate for use of their software. None of the three charge diners.

“We’re attacking and dismantling some very stale, inadequate, overpriced products,” Ben Leventhal, one of Resy’s founders and its chief executive, said.

“The company’s revenue has doubled in each of the last four years. It now seats about 1.4 million diners each week, and its no-show rate a critical metric for restaurants, which lose money when people with reservations don’t turn up averages just under 5 percent,” Leventhal said. The industry average is closer to 15 percent, and can spike around holidays like Valentine’s Day. But all reservation services are fighting for somewhat limited turf: Two-thirds of restaurant reservations are still made over the phone, according to Yelp, another competitor, which offers reservations on its listings pages. To grow, these services have to find ways to make the booking process more efficient and reliable, combat no-shows and offer new, useful features to keep restaurants organized and booked.

Leventhal, who also founded the website Eater, said Resy is focused on helping restaurants market themselves more strategically to their diners. If a restaurant has, say, a waiting list of 200 on a Saturday night, it can use Resy to get in touch with those diners and bring them in for dinner on a slower night with the offer of a free drink. Or, if a customer is repeatedly showing up on a wait list and not able to get in, Resy can identify the pattern and alert the restaurant,

so it can make him a reservation and, most likely, create a regular.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Leventhal said. “Our goal in five years is for every restaurant that works with Resy to not worry about closing.”

When Resy started four years ago, it operated under a very different model, charging diners a premium for prime time, hard-to-score seats at popular restaurants and earning itself unflattering comparisons to intermediaries like ticket scalpers.

114 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

“We moved away from that because restaurants told us there was a bigger opportunity,” Leventhal said.

“Restaurants helped us understand we were focused on something pretty niche, in the end.”

High-profile users of Resy now include Delicious Hospitality Group (which runs Charlie Bird and Pasquale Jones in New York City), Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group and Hillstone Restaurant Group. Reserve’s clients include

Major Food Group and the Chicago chef Rick Bayless’s Frontera Restaurants.

Leventhal said most of Reserve’s staff of 34 people, who are based in Chicago and New York, would join Resy, which has about 135 employees working out of the company’s headquarters in SoHo and an office in London, as well as remotely.

“We can’t ask restaurants to just rip and replace tech as critical as reservations,”Leventhal concluded.

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 115

Michael O’Neal, from page 2 the years,” added Myles Share of MSA Associated who worked with O’Neal on behalf of the New York State Restaurant Association. “He was very active on many boards (city, state & national) and very politically connected.”

More than a businessman, Michael O’Neal was also an independentminded leader of state and national restaurant owners’ associations. In one episode he bucked his fellow restaurateurs to support New York City’s ban on smoking in restaurants and bars, imposed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2003. O’Neal was a beloved neighborhood figure. “A beautiful story of a beautiful person,” noted longtime restaurant reviewer Bob Lape. “It tugs at the heartstrings as Michael did, and turns back my clock 50 years to when Patrick added ginger to the neighborhood flavor as well.”

“Michael was the man who reached

out to those in need, as evidenced by the sponsorship of his holiday dinner programs,” Sampson explained.

In addition to his industry activities, he soon became known as the “mayor of the Upper West Side.” He cooked Thanksgiving meals for the elderly through Project Find at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on West 59th Street; served on the boards of the Riverside Park Conservancy, the concert venue Symphony Space and the Westside Crime Prevention Program; and accommodated his employees with flexible shifts so that they could also work as performers or attend school.

“I could fill this personal tribute with all the words of a dictionary, but they would all amount to the following: warm, generous, loyal, and a great family man. I have lost a friend, and the industry has lost a star,” Sampson concluded.

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They converge to Sirha in Lyon to exchange and soak up the major trends in food, catering, new techniques and services. Together with the 3,000 exhibitors, our 10 areas dedicated to animations and demos, as well as the 21 contests contribute to encourage creativity and boost business.

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Thanks to this intimacy, we can spot the major emerging influences that will impact consumers’ tastes and requirements. For this edition we have identified and reviewed 7 influences that will be represented at the trade show. Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact they have on our environment but also of what’s good for their health. And yet, at the same time, they seek real experiences at the restaurant. We have carried out some long term projections in order to anticipate even further the consumers’ future behaviour.

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By focusing on the influences and innovations in the industry, while at the same time preserving the spirit of a festive gourmet event that is its signature, the event has become one of the most important trade shows in the Food Service industry worldwide. It is an exceptional venue for business

Our network of events and global partners enables us to continually interact with players in the Food Service industry. This puts us in a privileged position. Sirha is also in close contact with chefs all over the world, in particular through the Bocuse d’Or and Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie contests.

HOW WILL YOU SHARE THE DECODING OF THESE EVOLUTIONS AND INNOVATIONS? Our mission is to share the most recent influences in the Food Service sector in order to better prepare professionals in the industry to tackle the challenges to come. To this effect, we propose a series of surveys, areas dedicated to demos and animations, visitor services and our exhibitors’ offering.

We are convinced that the Food Service sector shapes the way we will eat in the future. That’s why as part of Sirha, we organise the Sirha World Cuisine Summit, an exceptional workshop addressing the future of food. Contributors of international standing will share their convictions, choices and best practices and will explain their vision to answer the major challenge of eating better food.

Sirha is where the Food Service industry and food habits of tomorrow are shaped. Don’t miss it!

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TRADE SHOW RESERVED FOR PROFESSIONALS December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 117

Sederholt, from page 28 tell you who they are, how would you know who you are dealing with?

• How long have they been in business? Can you verify this?

• Do they belong to an industry association like the SBFA? • Do they have customer reviews, complaints or even legal actions filed against them?

• Consider how you became aware of this lender – did they cold call you without you knowing how they got your information? Or did you reach out to them through some other channel?

• Are you speaking to a company that is a direct lender (they provide the money) or is this a broker? This can be a smoky area – because while there are great brokers out there, there are just as many who misrepresent themselves as the firm providing the money when, in fact, they are just working for hefty commissions.

• Do you feel secure in giving this group your confidential information and know they will be obtaining your credit scores?

When speaking with the sales representative you should: • Ask for a sample of their contract BEFORE sending your confidential information and then HAVE A LAWYER REVIEW IT! • Determine if they disclosed all of the fees, cost of financing (interest or factor rates) and whether or not you truly understand them.

• Ask how they determine the financing amount and establish that you can reasonably afford to repay the debt without stressing the business.

• Ask about the repayment process – how much is being paid and how often? Can the lender change the payment amounts at their sole discretion?

• Ask what happens if you miss a payment or if there are insufficient funds? What are the company’s policies and procedures?

• Must they notify you in writing in the event of a default of your contract?

How long do you have to cure?

• Ask if you have direct access to a customer service representative and if your account can be accessed from an online portal.

Knowing your lender and feeling comfortable that they are fair, professional and transparent will lead to a mutually beneficial experience. There has been a lot of press lately about some companies employing bare knuckle methods with some of their clients - such as the practice of requiring a confession of judgment as a condition of financing. If you speak to a competent lawyer they will tell you that you are forfeiting your rights to due process if for some reason you cannot repay the debt. Weaponizing this legal instrument can result in seizure of all your business and personal assets. I recommend that you get an email from the sales rep getting your funding that states that you will not be required to sign a Confession of Judgment in order to receive your financing. Reputable companies do not require them and have found them to be damaging to all parties.

To be completely fair, I have seen a number of disreputable small business owners who have taken money from alternative finance providers with no intention of repayment. This challenge has resulted in some companies employing these types of aggressive collections measures. The professional companies have taken another route by improving their underwriting and risk analysis and simply declining those applicants that they believe will not perform. Not everyone deserves to be funded. They have chosen to not finance a risky business, rather than employ Draconian measures that can destroy a business.

To conclude, borrower beware! If you are not careful the Grinch can steal more than Christmas! If you’d like to discuss your business please feel free to contact me at dsederholt@ sfscapital.com

118 • December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

December 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 119