October 2016 - Total Food Service by Total Food Service

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 3

NEWS

OBITUARY

Dorothy Cann Hamilton: 1949-2016 Founded the International Culinary Center

efore a trip to Paris in 1980, Dorothy Cann Hamilton’s life was defined largely by the nuts and bolts of air conditioners and auto maintenance. She had succeeded her father as the director of Apex Technical School in Manhattan, one of the largest industrial trade schools in New York State, and was touring similar vocational programs in Europe when she was introduced to a Parisian culinary institute that upended her career. The academy taught teenagers to cook dishes that tasted nearly as refined as those served by professionals.

Yet the French Culinary Institute, which in 1984 enrolled its first students at a converted warehouse in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood and later became an independent company led by Hamilton, went on to achieve international renown for its top-class instructors and its focus on traditional French techniques. Now known as the International Culinary Center, the institute helped launch the careers of chefs such as Bobby Flay, the restaurateur and Food Network host; Dan Barber, of the Michelin-starred Blue Hill in Manhattan; and David Chang and Christina Tosi,

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of Momofuku Noodle Bar and its sister bakery, Milk Bar. Because of the International Culinary Center, Hamilton also served as a public television interview show host and as chairwoman of the James Beard Foundation, a leading culinary organization. She died last month in a car crash in Melford, Nova Scotia, said Bruce McCann, a cousin and president of the International Culinary Center’s campus in Campbell, California. She was 67.

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Dorothy Cann Hamilton

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 5

NEWS

RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT

NYC’s Gramercy Tavern Taps Timsit To Top Wine Post

eloved Manhattan dining institution Gramercy Tavern, a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner, has a new wine director. Starting Oct. 11, Justin Timsit, 31, has big shoes to fill: He is replacing one of the city’s best-known sommeliers, Juliette Pope, who had overseen the wine program, now at 600 selections, for close to 20 years. Pope announced her departure this past May. “It is a tremendous honor and a privilege to be welcomed into the family at Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Hospitality Group,” Timsit said. “I am completely inspired by the opportunity to serve alongside New York’s finest professionals, in one of our country’s premier institutions for hospitality. Gramercy Tavern has an incredible foundation in place that was built by those who came before me, and I’m excited to further strengthen it.” For the past two and a half years, Timsit, originally from Los Angeles, was the beverage director at Philadelphia’s prestigious Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, a Best of Award of Excellence winner that boasts a 1,360-selection wine program. He has been working toward becoming a master sommelier, with plans to take the final exam next year. Gramercy Tavern, which opened 22 years ago, is part of the group owned by restaurateur Danny Meyer, along with Grand Award–winning the Modern and Wine Spectator Restaurant Award winners

Main Office 282 Railroad Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers Leslie & Fred Klashman

“I am completely inspired by the opportunity to serve alongside New York’s finest professionals, in one of our country’s premier institutions for hospitality. Gramercy Tavern has an incredible foundation in place that was built by those who came before me, and I’m excited to further strengthen it.” Maialino, North End Grill, Marta and Untitled. In his new role, working with a culinary team led by chef Michael Anthony, Timsit said he “felt a fundamental responsibility and desire to continue to curate the type of beverage experience that has been appreciated by New Yorkers for many years.” “When our team met Justin, we

were completely impressed by his love for service and learning, his incredible knowledge and his humble nature,” said Gramercy Tavern general manager Kim Di Palo. “He has accomplished so much already in his career, and we are so excited to welcome Justin to our Gramercy Tavern family,” noted Anthony.

Advertising Director Michael Scinto Art Director Mark Sahm Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Faith Hope Consolo Morgan Tucker Fred Sampson Staff Writers Deborah Hirsch Alex Rubin Andrew Watson Phone: 203.661.9090 Fax: 203.661.9325 Email: tfs@totalfood.com Web: www.totalfood.com

Cover photo by LDV Hospitality Total Food Service ISSN No. 1060-8966 is published monthly by IDA Publishing, Inc., 282 Railroad Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Phone: 203.661.9090. This issue copyright 2016 by IDA Publishing Inc. Contents in full or part may not be reproduced without permission. Not responsible for advertisers claims or statements. Periodicals Postage paid at the post office, Greenwich, CT and additional mailing offices. Additional entry at the post office in Pittsburgh, PA. Subscription rate in USA is $36 per year; single copy; $3.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Food Service, P.O. Box 2507, Greenwich, CT 06836

Justin Timsit, wine director, Gramercy Tavern

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 7

NEWS

HOSPITALITY

NYC Department of Small Business Services Launches NYC Food & Beverage Hospitality Council

he New York City Department of Small Business Services recently announced the creation of the NYC Food & Beverage Hospitality Council, an alliance of over 30 leading NYC industry professionals and businesses to promote the sustained growth of the local food and beverage industry. With over 19,000 restaurants across New York City, the industry is vital to the local economy. To address the challenges facing the industry, the council’s goals include: • Address the industry’s skills gap and labor shortage by promoting training opportunities that will also open the door to greater upward mobility for workers; • Help small business navigate the regulatory environment; and • Monitor industry trends and define operational changes businesses can implement to meet various challenges. The council will offer a culinarytraining and apprenticeship program for New Yorkers who are seeking employment opportunities in the industry. Participants will undergo an intensive skills training program and then be placed in a local restaurant where they will be employed and have the opportunity to hone their newly-obtained skills. “By aligning the needs of small businesses in the food service industry and the professional skills of workers, this council will promote economic growth and upward mo-

bility for many New Yorkers,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “My office is pleased to bring such a talented group of restaurateurs, chefs, and operators together to better understand the changing landscape within this industry and to offer guidance to budding entrepreneurs and employees in the industry.” The NYC Food & Beverage Hospitality Council is spearheaded by Michel Mroue’, Founding Executive Director of the Food Service industry & Accommodation partnership. An accomplished hospitality leader in the Food & Beverage and accommodation market, M’roue has served in executive level positions for exceptional hospitality organizations, including the Quin Hotel, Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Omni Hotels, and The New York Palace. “We can think of few things that are as urgent as improving New York’s job quality while creating opportunities for employers as well as workers,” said Patricia Jenny, chair of NYC Workforce Funders, a collaboration of private and corporate foundations housed at The New York Community Trust. “Continuing our 12-year partnership with the Department of Small Business Services, we are pleased to support the NYC Food and Beverage Hospitality Council.” “The NYC Food & Beverage Hos-

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Advisory Board Members of the NYC Food and Beverage Council include: Ahmass Fakahany, President & CEO, Altamarea Group Jimmy Haber, CEO, Esquared Hospitality Group Marc Murphy, Chef & Owner, Benchmarc Restaurants Group Alexandra Inzunza, Director of Operations, Benchmarc Restaurants Group Doug Satzman, President & CEO, Le Pain Quotidien Scott Milford, VP of Human Resources, Le Pain Quotidien Ben Feilen, VP, NY Operations at OTG Sabato Sagaria, Chief Restaurant Officer, Union Square Hospitality Diana DeCicco, Training & Compliance, Union Square Hospitality Martin Shapiro, Managing Partner, Myriad Restaurant Group Eric Kaplan, Executive VP, Patina Restaurant Group Geoff Gljiva, VP of Operations, Patina Restaurant Group Philippe G. Massoud, CEO/Executive Chef, ilili & ilili Box Peggy Rubenzer, SVP Human Resources, Shake Shack Burgers Julia Heyer, Principle, Heyer Performance Justin Morel, VP of Operations, Crafted Hospitality Group Josh Siegel, VP of Business Operation and Legal, Momofuku Group Evan Darnell, Managing Partner, Carla Hall Southern Kitchen Anna Castellani, Managing Partner, Foragers Rajan Lai, VP of Human Resources, Batali and Bastianich John Rigos, CO-CEO, Aurify Brands Dean Martinus, President, Great Performances

John Meadow, Founder & President, LDV Hospitality Joann Makovitzky, CEO, One Five Hospitality Mindy Birnbaum, General Counsel, Great Performances Jennifer McMahon Elliott, Director of Business Operations, Great Performances Paul Neuman, President, Neumans Kitchens David Chang, Celebrity Chef, Momofuku & Momofuku Milk Bar Will Guidara, Co-Owner Make it Nice NYC (Eleven Madison Park, The Nomad) Claus Meyer, Celebrity Chef, President & CEO, Meyers USA Jens Baake, COO, Meyers USA Jeremy Merrin, Founder & CEO, Havana Central Anita Lo, Celebrity Chef & Owner, Annisa Amanda Cohen, Celebrity Chef & Owner, Dirt Candy Stephen Goglia, President & CEO, Craveable Hospitality Group Cleo Clarke, VP, Human Resources, EATALY Amy Scherber, Owner, Amy’s Bakery Gregory Zamfotis, President/CEO, Gregory’s Coffee Lena Khoury, CO-Owner, Fika Coffee David Mancini, Managing Director, Le-Bernardin Vittorio Assaf, President & CEO, Serafina restaurant group Leith Hill, Owner, Ellary’s Greens Cameron Clark, VP & General Manager, Hornblower Cruises Steven Kamali, President & CEO, Steven Kamali Hospitality Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, The NYC Hospitality Alliance Keith E. Durst, President & CEO, Durst Consulting Group Kevin Dugan, NYC Regional Director, NYSR

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 9

MEET THE NEWSMAKER

Tracy Nieporent Director of Marketing and Partner, Myriad Restaurant Group, NYC

he challenges that the Metro New York City restaurateur face have never been greater. From exploding rents, obscene overheads and a truly demanding diner with a sophisticated palate, restaurateurs realize that marketing their properties has become crucial to their daily success. Tracy Nieporent, of the revered Myriad Restaurant Group, has been working in marketing for over 25 years to help meet the challenges of opening and sustaining restaurants. For many in the food service industry, when the name Nieporent is mentioned, Tracy’s brother Drew comes to the forefront. The restaurant impresario emerged from Cornell University almost four decades ago to forge a legendary career. With Drew creating the vision, Tracy valued the opportunity to join and help market a great team, and the Myriad Restaurant Group has continued to be one the nation’s great success stories. It’s really quite simple, according to Tracy Nieporent who in his role as the director of marketing and partner, oversees public relations, communications, promotion, advertising and charitable events for the Myriad Restaurant Group. There are many ways restaurants can achieve success through marketing, Nieporent pointed out. “You, of course, try to get the word out in as many different media and

as effective and professional a way as you can,” explained Nieporent, who guesses he’s helped open between 30 and 40 restaurants with Myriad. “And you just keep going. You have to realize that every day, it’s like Bruce Springsteen says: He wants to play a great show every night, because the person in the audience that night may be the only opportunity he gets to see him.” He added that people often set a certain standard of excellence for themselves, and it’s the same with restaurants. “It doesn’t really matter what meal you served yesterday. The guest that you have there today, that’s their experience,” Nieporent noted. “With marketing, it’s imperative to make sure people understand your message clearly.” From the launch at Tribeca Grill to the legendary Nobu and Batard, one key to success have been the ability to utilize the latest marketing tools to bring their eateries’ story to their customer base. As a result of that consistent success to attract new customers and keep existing partrons coming back, Tracy Nieporent was asked by the legendary Danny Meyer to succeed him in leading the marketing efforts for New York City’s Restaurant Week. “It was an honor in 2003, when Danny and Cristyne Nicholas of NYC and Company invited me to become the Chairman of NYC & Company’s Restaurant Committee,” Tracy noted. The veteran marketing executive relishes the

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Tracy Nieporent, Director of Marketing and Partner, Myriad Restaurant Group

challenge of helping to guide the marketing vision for the 25th anniversary of Restaurant Week in New York City in 2017. The almost month-long event features full-course meals at some of the best restaurants in New York City for more modest prices than are usually charged. Restaurant Week is held twice a year and participating restaurants in New York City offer prix fixe lunches and dinners. At the finest restaurants, this can be a fraction of the usual prices. Tracy Nieporent’s attention to the changes in the marketplace and the marketing tools at his disposal have been a continuing challenge.

“Before the Internet, the company used traditional media to get the word out. “You bought an ad in a news magazine. Obviously, PR has always been an important part of what we do. What makes us different, however, is that we had a treasure trove of articles that were written over the years. Yes, the Internet has changed a lot but the basic things are still the same. Do good work and that basically wins people over. It’s very hard to market something that’s mediocre. It doesn’t mean that everything we’ve ever done has been a grand success. Some things, some concepts, have

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 11

NEWS

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

The Department of Labor’s Overtime Rule & Its Impact On The Restaurant Industry

he final verdict is out! On December 1st, 2016 the new Department of Labor overtime rule will be enforced by the Federal government. The consequences will be far reaching for almost all industries, and is a topic that has been discussed exhaustively. This is the reason why 21 states have already filed a suit to prevent its enforcement. While that particular legal hassle is being sorted, businesses need to stay prepared for the possible shifts. Restaurants across the country have a lot to think about. With the lines between managerial duties (which do not call for overtime) and non-managerial responsibilities (that are qualified for overtime) blurred, restaurant owners and executives need to conduct a full top down audit of their employees and make some tough decisions. What Does the New Department of Labor Overtime Rule Entail? Simply put after the 1st of December, all salaried employees who: • Do not pass the Executive-Administrative-Professional (EAP) Duties Test and • Earn less than $913 a week or $47,476 a year Must be paid overtime at one and a half of their hourly rate for every hour worked beyond 40 hours. To add to the complication, the one and a half ruling is the federal

With the lines between managerial duties and non-managerial responsibilities blurred, restaurant owners and executives need to conduct a full top down audit of their employees and make some tough decisions.” standard. In states like California, overtime calls for double the regular hourly wage. Violation of any nature can lead to lawsuits and the payment of both shortfall and liquidated damages to the misclassified employees. Implications for Restaurant Businesses: According to a Zagat 2016 survey, Americans eat out 4.5 times a week and they spend more at restaurants than they do for groceries. This is great news for the industry. But with the new overtime rule, it also means millions of dollars spent in compensating employees for overtime. • The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that there are 696,730 supervisors, managers and workers currently employed by restaurant and eateries. The average annual earning is $32,410. This is considerably lower than the threshold of $47,476 mandated by the overtime ruling. A very large number of employees in food and beverage will be impacted

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by this policy change. Possibly more than any other sector. • Restaurants typically run on slim profit margins. Especially if they are small diners or popular takeout spots. These restaurants are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Increasing the salary to $47,476 may be too much of a stretch for their budget. And the one and a half overtime rate will eat into their profits in a way that is non-sustainable. In fact, the National Retail Federation believes that the restaurant industry might have to lose up to $745 million to operate by the new directive. Many owners feel that the restrictions placed on overtime will negatively impact quality of service and food station cleanliness. • Another study by the National Retail Federation has revealed that most managers in the restaurant sector state that pitching in and keeping track of non-administrative duties is an important part of their job. This is why classification of employees as per the Duties Test will

be a major challenge for restaurant owners. • Lastly, around 81% of restaurant owners and executives have stated that the easy camaraderie between non managerial and managerial workers is essential to the success of a restaurant and that the overtime rule might restrict this interaction because of the sensitive nature of the “exempt” status. What Can Restaurant Owners Do to Make the Best of This Situation? For businesses hailing from other sectors, there are a number of options available and the most convenient of them is to increase the salary of employees who are eligible for overtime so that they cross the $47,476 mark. However, the low average compensation in the restaurant sector coupled with low profit margins makes this an unfeasible solution. Moreover, the threshold will be automatically revised every three years. Hiking the salary on a regular basis doesn’t make financial sense. Restaurant owners need to lead with a thorough revision of the classification of all employees. Any measure they decide on comes after this task is taken care of. Post classification they can: • Convert all employees who need to put in frequent overtime to “hourly” status and instruct them to care-

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 13

SEDERHOLT ON RESTAURANT FINANCE

Fall Is Here. Are You Ready For The Worst Seasonal Cash Crunch?

hen I was in the restaurant business in New York, I was always happy to get out of the dog days of summer. Everyone went away on vacation and we were finally getting back to normal. After the first couple of weeks of school, people felt comfortable getting back to eating out and making my restaurants hum again. We always did well as we moved through the Fall and into the December holiday seasons and like most restaurant owners, I should have looked up from the euphoria of office parties, families dining out, friends gathering for celebratory lunches. I was busy and buying more from my suppliers, paying more in labor and collecting substantial sums in sales tax. Once the buzz subsided and everyone attempted to adhere to their New Year’s resolutions, they got their credit card bills and decided to slam on the brakes – and the restaurants slowed down. Now this all sounds fine and logical but the first couple of years I went through it, I wasn’t really prepared to pay all the December supplier bills, additional payroll taxes, hefty sales taxes and the increased heating and fuel bills. Basically I was in that deep gulf of the winter down turn caught be-

Once the buzz subsided and everyone attempted to adhere to their New Year’s resolutions, they got their credit card bills and decided to slam on the brakes – and the restaurants slowed down. tween a dramatic decrease in sales and all the heavy bills I incurred throughout December. On top of this there often came insurance and license renewals and the new year came on. This is one of those humbling moments that have taken me years to figure out. You have heard me say this before in my articles, but now is the time to plan your cash management. You need to sock extra cash away as the winter snows and slow nights are coming and what you do now will have a dramatic effect on how much stomach lining you lose during the down months. Forecast sales by week, for the next 3 – 4 months and then start building a labor budget. You can adjust labor and keep your food and beverage spend under control but you have no control over your base

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rent, insurance, untilites. Next make sure that you impound every sales tax dollar the day you collect it into a separate bank account – DO NOT TOUCH THIS MONEY – it’s not yours! You will thank me later. Be more aggressive than ever in your purchasing and menu pricing. You can get a higher price for food and beverage during the holiday and if you are really paying attention to your purchasing you can boost your margins dramatically. Don’t overstaff except when absolutely necessary. This is a game of dollars and every one you save will be there for you when you need it. Lastly, you can do what many smart business owners have done to ride the wave. They get some supplemental working capital to insure that they won’t fall short during

David Sederholt is the Chief Operating Officer of 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.

these questionable months. I remember having 5 restaurants open through one of the worst winters in the region. I was spending more money on plowing parking lots, offering 2 for 1 discounts to drive people to my restaurants and paying for employees to be in empty dining rooms. If I didn’t have a cash reserve – I would not have made it. Think about it – be prepared! Questions for Dave? Write to dsederholt@sfscapital.com

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 15

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

WITH FRED SAMPSON

Just What You Need: More Regulations

Fred G. Sampson is the retired President Emeritus of the New York State

bout a year ago I informed those of you who stop at this space that there was legislation pending in San Francisco which would contain requirements that up until now have been a managerial decision. The legislation was passed, and is also the law of the land in Seattle, Washington. Its title is the “Retail Workers Bill of Rights.” I should also tell you that both of these cities were active in the $15 an hour minimum wage issue, as was the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). At that time I also informed you that Javier Gonzalez, director of government affairs (San Jose) for the California Restaurant Association’s government affairs and public policy, made the following observation: “For operators, it would be a lot more challenging to schedule their employees with all of these requirements. The record requirements would be a huge burden, and also slow down the hiring process.” His next statement was exactly why I brought this issue to your attention then and again now. “Gonzalez added that he was concerned that other cities may attempt to copy San Francisco if the legislation is successful. ‘There is a chance we could see this come up in other cities in California as well as major cities around the country.’ ” That’s exactly what happened in Seattle, Washington, and similar legislation is pending in the nation’s capital, Washington, DC.

Restaurant Association. He began working with NYSRA in 1961.

As I said 14 months ago, it is also another attempt to, first, burden the multi-unit businesses and—if history is any forecaster of the future— eventually, the industry at large.” The following is a laundry list of what covered owners have to do: • Give the city access on demand to payroll and employment records. Offer more hours to part-time employees before hiring additional employees or using employment agencies, if the part-time employees are qualified to do the work and have been performing similar work for the business. The offers of additional hours must be done in writing. Businesses are required to offer only enough hours to give the part-time employee eight hours a day or a 40-hour week. • Require employers to pay employees for any shift cancelled with fewer than 24 hours’ notice. • Retain employees who have worked for the business for at least six months, for a minimum of 90 days if the business is sold. • Maintain a series of records, including written offers of more hours to employees, offers of employment to existing employees following a sale of the business, and a list of all employees who worked at the time the business was sold. Records must be

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kept for four years. • While I have never read a Service Employees International Union contract, I assume it contains similar language. I believe that the San Francisco law covers chains with more than 11 locations and 20 or more employees. • As for Seattle, the story is much different. “A survey of 700 restaurant employees taken by the Seattle Restaurant Alliance reveals most workers in the restaurant industry are happy with their working conditions and don’t think new laws restricting scheduling are needed,” as reported by Erin Shannon of the Washington Policy Center. • According to the survey: 89% say they can talk to their manager and give input about their environment, number of hours, and scheduling needs; 76% work the number of hours they want; and 86% of Seattle workers are proud to work in the industry. • The Washington Policy Center also reported about workers in San Francisco, where restrictive scheduling laws took effect last year, and warn of unintended consequences.

Within the next four years the NYSRA 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 sent to fredgsampson@juno.com

• Many complain they lose out on opportunities to work extra hours because the “predictability pay” penalties discourage employers from offering extra shifts on short notice, even when workers would be happy for the chance to pick up such last-minute hours. As I said 14 months ago, it is also another attempt to, first, burden the multi-unit businesses and—if history is any forecaster of the future—eventually, the industry at large. It is also indicative of the SEIU’s long reach in efforts to organize the retail industry, including food service. Why not? After all, we are becoming more and more service oriented and the growth of multi-unit food establishments is expanding at a prodigious rate. As Willie Sutton, the most successful bank robber of all time is purported to have said when asked, “Why do you rob banks?” His answer: “That’s where the money is.” Why is the SEIU going after restaurant workers? That’s where most of the new hires are, and there are 14 million of them.

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 17

LITTLE M. TUCKER

WITH MORGAN TUCKER

The Nobility Of Service Providers

ach time I visit the Jones’ family farm in Milan, Ohio, I am immediately transported to an enchanted natural world. “The Chef’s Garden employs traditional farming methods combined with innovative technology to stay on the leading edge of the artisanal produce business.” Their annual Roots Conference invites those committed to sustainably advancing our food system to gather and discuss new ways to pave the road to change. I am privileged to attend as a guest of Steelite, whose generous partnership supports a myriad of events just like this one.

This year’s theme was Empower, focusing on those whose mentorships and guidance have allowed for positive growth in our ecosystem. This particular farm grows slowly and gently in full accord with nature to produce the highest level of quality instead of the largest output of quantity. I would like to take this time to highlight an idea

For nearly 30 years, the industry’s most discerning chefs have looked to The Chef ’s Garden for exceptional specialty and heirloom vegetables, microgreen herbs, lettuces and edible flowers.” which has allowed us to take part in this global endeavor – FINE DINING. In a recent Lucky Peach article, addressing critics on the value of fine dining, Will Guidara argues The Nobility of Service. “There’s nowhere else where you have the time and resources to really take care of people.” Without fine dining, “there wouldn’t be these places for people to go to forget about the world outside, these places that can be magical in a world that increasingly needs a little magic.” I have taken a similar educational path as Will Guidara and I am profoundly in awe of his literary honesty. Fine dining is the cornerstone of The Chef’s Garden. For nearly 30 years, the industry’s most discerning chefs have looked to this produce playground for exceptional specialty and heirloom vegetables, microgreen herbs, lettuces and edible flowers. The Jones’ client list is impressively staggering, even for someone as privileged as I am to work with the industry’s best talent. Farmer Lee uniquely speaks to the culinary community and is “relentlessly devoted to delivering a chef exactly what they require… continu-

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ously developing new product sizes, colors, textures and flavors for you to taste that we hope will galvanize your imagination, spark a fresh idea and keep your guests marveling at the dishes you serve them in your restaurant.” This relationship directly applies to what we at The Singer Equipment Companies do with non-perishable supplies. We are bringing innovative products to market under the Little M Tucker name, investing in the future of our hospitality ecosystem, and supporting organizations with aligning missions. Buying from Singer and Steelite is supporting The Chef’s Garden and our future. I am committed to using my access to an inner circle of culinary elite to drive creativity. For those undermining the design ingenuity of tabletop leaders, you are jeopardizing noble service and our entire system. For those of you elevating the quality of our industry, we appreciate and support you. Want to be a part of the dynamic changes already underway? Come to Star Chefs later this month

Morgan Tucker is Director of Business Development at M. Tucker, a division of Singer Equipment Company. Ms. Tucker works with a wide diversity of acclaimed restaurateurs, celebrated chefs, and industry leaders across the U.S. Her website littlemtucker.com is an exceptional resource for equipment and supplies solutions. Morgan is based in NYC and can be reached at mptucker@mtucker.com.

where we address the topic of PROGRESS at the Brooklyn Expo Center on October 23rd-25th. There is no better place for industry professionals to share ideas that progress our food system. Culinary enthusiast who can’t get in? Follow us on twitter @mtuckerco. As the exclusive distributor partner of the conference we will be live from the show floor all three days. Interested in learning more about The Chef’s Garden and Roots, check out #RootsEmpower2016.

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 19

NEWS

TRADE SHOWS

HX: TECH To Showcase Hot Trends & Tech Innovations for Hospitality Professionals

X: The Hotel Experience 2016, taking place November 13-15 at the Javits Center, will highlight how technology is transforming the hotel, restaurant, and hospitality industry. With top executives and innovative leaders heading the HX: TECH speaker lineup, content will educate hospitality companies and professionals on the latest trends and how to hone technology and marketing to better engage guests and grow their audiences. Dahlia El Gazzar, Tech Evangelist of DAHLIA+ AGENCY and the HX: TECH lead, explained that HX has immersed itself with introducing new and innovative ways to expand knowledge of up-and-coming tech trends, solutions, and gadgets affecting the industry. “HX: TECH, (sponsored by MasterCard) will feature trend-breaking experts who are at the forefront of creating better guest experiences,” says El Gazzar. “Topics have been handpicked with headline-grabbing instigators and head-scratching challenges in mind.” Confirmed session speakers include Google, Maidbot, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Savioke, Interstate Hotels, IHG, and Hotel Business— with more in the works. Slated topics currently include:

•

Challenges & Solutions in Hospitality Cybersecurity • The Future of Mobile Payments in the Hospitality Industry • 10 Ways Virtual Reality Will Change Your Guest Experience • A Glimpse of Robotics in the Hospitality Industry • Top Digital Marketing Trends & Tactics for the Travel & Hospitality Industry • Mega Trends Impacting the Travel Industry • Productivity Apps That Work for You & Your Teams HX: TECH will also have at its core fixtures focused on everyday technology for both personal and professional lives. The Tech Bar is the anchor: a walk-up help desk format where attendees can hang out and recharge, get general tech help with their devices, and learn about useful apps and digital marketing. “It’s all work and some play,” says El Gazzar. “We’ll be helping the savvy and the notso-savvy alike learn how to become better professionals and be more efficient at the things they need to accomplish every day.”

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The Tech Bar will have a Wearable Tech Showcase to experience and play with wearable tech gadgets like virtual reality, mini robots, and more; the LinkedIn Corner and Headshot Station will help attendees improve their personal branding through profile reviews and professional headshots—free of charge. Last but not least! HX: TECH will be hosting the 2nd annual Tech Pitch Competition. Technology exhibitors

will showcase their unique products in 15-minute presentations, with the most innovative winner chosen by HX attendees throughout the show and announced from the HX: TECH stage on Tuesday, November 15. With its feature-rich technology focus, HX is the not-to-miss event for hospitality professionals. For more information visit the website at www.thehotelexperience.com

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 21

NEWS

ANNIVERSARIES

Perona Farms Dishes on Key to 100 Years of Success

n 1917 The Perona family bought a 300 acre farm in Andover, New Jersey. They began taking boarders and feeding them each night at the boarding house table. This evolved into a small restaurant operation and was the beginning of Perona Farms as it is known today. Now the Farm is owned and operated by the Perona grandchildren, a group who started out picking up cigarette buts in the parking lots as kids. This year marks 100 years of the family business, a stretch of time that has seen the farm become the premier wedding and event destination in New Jersey and beyond. The business is especially buzzing in Manhattan and Staten Island, where brides and party planners seek a unique experience the city cannot provide. Perona Farms is a large catering facility sitting on more than fifty acres that catered to 300 weddings and 100 corporate parties this past year. The catering operation is on site and off site. Perona Farms has catered Governor’s Balls in New York City, store openings and a multitude of other events. They also serve brunch every Sunday, a meal that the Ivaldi family believes is bar none the best in the state. “Everybody laughed and said it was a silly idea but now we serve 250 or 300 people every Sunday,” said Wade Ivaldi, who runs the kitchen at Perona Farms. The brunch is open to the public but can also accommodate private parties and serves a fresh seafood bar, a carving station, crepes and an assortment of other

The Fourth Generation of Perona Farms: (L to R) Mark Avondoglio, Tracey Ivaldi, Wade Avondoglio, and Kirk Avondoglio

fresh made breads and pastries. The two venues range in style, with the farm itself being Spanish Hacienda, Italian villa style architecture. It can accommodate 275 guests while the more intimate barn fits around 185 guests. The “sprawling estate” includes two ballrooms, a bevy of gardens and patios, Perona Lake and even an orchard. By putting money back into the business “every day of the year”, the Ivaldi family is constantly maintaining and upgrading the venues to provide their customers with the highest degree of service and accommodation. That accomodation includes a customized catering menu where the Ivaldis work with the party to design a custom menu that includes produce and meats that are grown or smoked in house. Perona Farms has its own green house to source seasonal greens and vegetables along with a smoker for salmon and a meat curing operation to serve home made salami and sausages. Changing the menu options sea-

22 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

sonally keeps the venue current but also allows them to do seasonally themes that support local businesses. “We change our cocktail menu seasonally. Right now we are doing a Jersey Fresh theme for food by getting tomatoes and peaches from local farms and scallops from the Jersey Shore. By keeping everything within the family and on site including linens Perona Farms is a self sustaining operation.

The Barn at Perona Farms

Local sourcing, especially from the fruitful area of New Jersey that Perona Farms is nestled into is critical to the Ivaldi family. “We’ve been focused on local sourcing and supporting Jersey business since the 1930s,” says Wade. That local sourcing includes picking morels and ramps and other hard to find ingredients in Sussex County, a big advantage that Perona Farms has a way to attract business from the city, where local produce is much more limited. Speaking to the Ivaldi family makes it clear that they would stake their reputation any day on the services they provide, the menu they put forth and the experience they offer. They have been doing this a long time and are consistently excellent in every endeavor they have taken on. With 100 years under their belt no one should doubt that Perona Farms will be in the same spot in another 100 years.

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 23

MIXOLOGY

WITH WARREN BOBROW

Morning Cocktails With Coffee Liqueurs

t’s never easy to drink cocktails in the morning, unless of course you are correcting your coffee on a weekend. Correcting? What’s that all about? With the explosion of microroasting and micro-distilling there was bound to be a combination of the two cultures. Hipsters and just plain folk have long combined a

bit of lubrication to their morning Cuppa Joe by correcting it with hard liquor. There is always a place in our collective memory for taking the chill off the morning, or putting courage in the heart of a sailor lashed to the wheel in a storm. Enter the world of coffee liqueurs. These liqueurs, far removed from the corn sugar augmented, cara-

24 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

mel colored and artificially flavored ‘science-class’ concoctions of the 70’s are serious stuff. They show the quality of the micro-roasted coffee clearly should you choose to drink them on their own. You might enjoy sipping a coffee liqueur in a classic cordial glass- or perhaps you are like myself- and enjoy the best; in my opinion of course- coffee roasted in NYC since 1907. That is an allday beverage that I can wrap my fist around. Porto Rico Importing is that brand of coffee that goes in my cup. A shameless plug, perhaps for their brand (full disclosure: they don’t give me free coffee)- but this is my go/to for flavor. When researching an article on American brandy, coffee, coffee liqueur and rum- why not combine all of them in my breakfast. I mean cocktails. I am not usually confused by all this because coffee is the one beverage that goes from morning to night with ease, either hot, iced or served as a base component in my simple, yet aromatic craft cocktails. There are many ways of using coffee liqueur in a craft cocktail. First of all I brew the coffee. Unflavored is my best suggestion. If you have a coffee grinder, use it with whole beans. I’ve found that the French Java- with its smoky overtones works best against alcohol. Fairly priced something like nine dollars a pound, you cannot easily break the bank with this one. I’d freshly grind the coffee beans and make the coffee strong in a French Press. Always boil your water from cold and let it

Warren Bobrow is the creator of the popular blog The Cocktail Whisperer and the author of nearly half a dozen books, including Apothecary Cocktails, Whiskey Cocktails, Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails, and his most recent book Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails, & Tonics.

rest for a few minutes (to taste) for your base ingredient. You can cold brew it overnight for extra depth as well. Keep hot or chill to your taste. They know a thing or two about coffee liqueur in Hawaii and the Koloa Coffee Rum is no exception to the rule of coffee being an enjoyable beverage throughout the day. From morning to night, this carefully crafted slurp adds more than just refreshment to their already brilliant Hawaiian rum crafted from local cane, bursting with pools of natural sugar. Simple is the guidance that I suggest for this rum. The coffee is already delicious- you don’t have to do too much to this rum, woven from Kauai Coffee® and pure Hawaiian Cane sugar. I like to float it on top of my steaming cup in the morning or for a nightcap. You can even start a long drink with the Koloa rum at the bottom. It’s easy to look good with great ingredients! Bepi Tosolini, the fourth generation, Italian spirits distiller is bringing their Arabica based coffee liqueur to the USA and with it

continued on page 106

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 25

NEWS SOMMELIER EDUCATION ICC®’s Carney Brings Passion For Wine To Students At NYC Program

K, so you know a lot about wine and would love to become a sommelier. But do you also have the knowledge of the thousands of wines that are out there, how to make a wine list, running a business and being a salesperson, all integral parts of the role of today’s sommelier? Scott Carney at the International Culinary Center® (ICC®) in New York City can show you how. Maybe it was his experience as a master sommelier. Or in restaurant management, including finance and operations. But it all came together for his lucky students at ICC when he was asked to put together a curriculum on becoming a wine expert. Today he is director of the Intensive Sommelier Training program and Dean of Wine Studies for ICC’s program on both coasts. Starting out in the foodservice industry, Carney recognized a need to further his business skills, so he en-

Scott Carney

rolled in the Stern School of Business at New York University and after a semester in France at Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris, graduated with an MBA in Finance. He then joined the Gotham Bar & Grill as business manager and spent 10 years overseeing affairs as the restaurant earned three consecutive three-star reviews from The New York Times. It was during his tenure at Gotham that Scott began his study for the title of Master Sommelier, which he earned in 1991. Carney said he’s seen a lot of changes in the industry in his years in the business. “Globalization has changed everything,” he explained. “In 1991 I didn’t know that much about Austria. Wine by the glass is the choice in most of the restaurants that are really aware. And the same can be said as we’ve moved forward to assyrtiko from Greece. There’s something always new on the horizon as people try to get a toe-hold on what is probably the most prominent and lucrative market, which is the United States.” Carney noted that what he tries to do at the ICC is to keep people attuned to the possibilities of finding employment in the industry. “Whether it’s from a family background in Eastern Europe or a particular additional language that you speak, you’ve got to develop something that makes you stand out. And through our lecture program, we hope that a light goes on at some point through the 50 classes where you say, ‘That’s the direction that makes sense for me. These are my previous work skills, or this is a sec-

26 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

ICC® students taste and discuss wine samples in the Intensive Sommelier Training Program.

ond language I speak, or whatever it is. Then you start to chart a course for yourself using your imagination.” Are these skills he can teach or do you have to be born with it? “The claim that with more papillae on their tongue, women tend to be better tasters than men, or super tasters – those things all basically go away at the end of the day. There are some people who are gifted. There are other people who, just on their sheer force of will and practice and tasting, create a means by which to analyze wine and all of its component pieces,” he pointed out. He acknowledged that the school likes to think about it like serving a tennis ball or driving a golf ball. “You develop a mechanism for doing it in a fluid way, such that you would achieve the desired result. Or moving over to music, it’s playing the scales and doing the different things to keep limber and conscious, exacting a kind of discernment as you perceive these things that you put in your mouth,” he explained.

The key is to keep doing it. “And that’s one of the challenges of the courses in this program. We can’t pretend. With as many wines as we show these people, they’re not going to be as proficient as when they have another 25-50 thousand wines under their belt. But we can show them what we believe to be the benchmark, or iconic wines, from which they can begin making some valued judgments about what to be looking for,” Carney asserted. “But what makes this curriculum separate, makes it unusual, makes it unique, is that this is a program that has passed muster with the Boards of Education both in California and in New York,” he stated. “We’ve presented to our students a 50-class 200hour program which earns a degree. Our program is judged by our ability for people to enter the industry in a very fixed period of time. It is effectively a vocational school. And so in

continued on page 28

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 27

ICC, from page 26 the instance of wine, I’m sure a few eyebrows were raised when we talked about sommelier as a vocation. But to the extent that sparkling wine is a manual endeavor to be opened safely, and decanting another manual procedure, there was enough material there to convince people that this is a skill that can be learned and a business into which people can enter with adequate training.” But does it really prepare students to get a job as a sommelier? Can you truly leave the class and feel as though you are ready to be hired as a wine expert? “I like to joke with the class that it’s one thing to be able to put your nose into a glass and say, that’s Meursault, and entirely another to run a 25% beverage program on a $3 million beverage program. The school is answering to the needs of the hiring community, which is to say that people need to know how to build a wine list,

how to price things out. There’s a lot more basic algebra and math involved in it right now, so you have to be able to not only be a good taster, but also a good salesperson and a good business person. That’s what we teach.” You have to know wine, but you also have to know people. “When you’re talking to people, trying to convince them, it takes a certain kind of confidence, knowing when to step in and take control, when to step back and let these people discover things for themselves. But it’s exciting and what I find so marvelous about it is that there are people who come from other industries where they’ve been in banking or IT and then they decide, I want to follow my passion. I want to be a sommelier. Let me put a little money down and explore this,” Carney said. There all kinds of students, of course. “The genetic DNA of this program is intensive training. Some

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people join up to learn a little bit more about wine and will move on not only through the first two levels that we oversee but to the advanced and the masters level – usually only a small fraction of our students. But we do have those who have passed the advanced class, which is the third level, so that they’re masters’ candidates. And they’re realizing their dream of becoming a master sommelier. But there are other people who are absolutely satisfied with the package of information we provide and the success they have at the certified level.” So what are some of the avenues you may be able to travel, once you complete this program? Some graduates have gone on to run wine companies, including a former student who now has a significant position with Vineyard Brands. Another has opened up a wine shop, while others opened up wine bars, and one even moved to

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California to try to become a tasting coordinator at one of the wineries. Carney does open houses for potential students to come in and see what’s available. It’s not a program for everyone, he acknowledged. “We’re talking the intensive study that we all recognize needs to be done, whether you like the idea of learning in this fashion. There are many different paths to learn. This happens to be one. Some people really like the structure of a school setting and we benefit from word of mouth from students that really like this way of learning,” he said. “Our goal? The maximum education in the minimum amount of time. International Culinary Center’s firstrate education is designed for realworld achievement,” he concluded. “It’s really all up to your imagination. There are a lot of ways in which you can create wealth and be eminently employable.”

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 29

Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEW

John Meadow Founder and President, LDV Hospitality

s the Founder and President of LDV Hospitality, John Meadow is focused on concept and business development, being the creative drive for LDV behind successful ventures Scarpetta, American Cut and Regent Cocktail Club. Total Food Service sat down with John Meadow to discuss his inspirations, aspirations, and industry lessons learned.

campus and recruit and speak to students. What’s unique about the Cornell hotel school is, it really is a community of people with a common bond and passion for the hospitality business.

How did you get into the industry? My first actual paid job was in high school as a dishwasher at Au Bon Pain. I liked it. There’s something about putting your head down and just doing the work. Then I moved up to the sandwich station, having the uniform on and making the sandwiches and interacting with the customers. You always wanted to run The Plaza. Where did that come from? As a kid, we always had Easter brunch there. My grandparents lived around the corner, and I was always obsessed with the flower garden. We would just sit out there and look at it and I was obsessed with The Plaza. That’s when my whole LDV started to come forward. LDV stands for “la dolce vita,” which is this idea of old world hospitality and nostalgic yesteryear and how do you apply that kind of social life to a restaurant now. It’s Fellini’s vi-

John Meadow, Founder and President, LDV Hospitality (photo by LDV Hospitality)

sion of Rome in the ‘60s, and then what does that mean for New York or wherever we expand today? It’s always a little glamorous moment that has a foothold in the past. I went to Cornell and my first job out of college in the real world, manager of The Plaza!

30 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

What did you get out of the experience at Cornell? At the time, I got an education. But now I’m very involved with the whole Cornell community, maybe even more so than when I was a student. And I’m an entrepreneur in residence so I can go back and have office hours and try to get back on

So what happened after The Plaza? I did the Plaza; I liked the sensibility of the Plaza. But I realized my real passion was the entrepreneurial realm, and I ended up partnering with a group of people. We went out and raised a modest sum from an investor pool to open an entrepreneurial venue, which was Local West. That was in 2004. And that one was a great success, but I wanted to do something current. So I went on and signed a lease in the Meatpacking District, raised new capital and opened a restaurant called Gin Lane. And Gin Lane was a dismal failure. But it was a great lesson in failure, in understanding the value of real estate. From there we moved on and recapitalized and launched a new restaurant and that new restaurant was Scarpetta, which became LDV Hospitality. That, really, was the restaurant that truly launched my career. What were the lessons learned from Gin Lane? Well, the location was changing. From when we signed the lease in

continued on page 32

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 31

Q&A John Meadow, from page 30

2005 to when we opened Scarpetta was three years. And in that time, the neighborhood changed dramatically. And it became more apparent that the reason that Gin Lane failed is that we were entirely under-capitalized. I believe that restaurants work or fail based on their location, money, and ego. Was that what happened in your case? The location was premature, the money wasn’t enough, and the egos were too tremendous. And therefore it failed. Three years later, the location is the best, and because the location is the best we’re able to raise the right capital. If I had cut my reckless ego and ambition out from beneath myself and I was far more humble and a little weathered or rather more experienced, and wis-

er, then the story would have been different. But then we were able to make a right restaurant there. What did you do differently this time? The location was better, the business was appropriately capitalized. And then from an ego perspective, we put together a great team of people. It was a solid, concerted team effort, and it worked. One of the key factors there was the general manager, Antonello Paganuzzi, who’s effectively been with me since opening Scarpetta in 2008 and is now director of collaborations for the entire company. He really was the backbone of the team. But having the team, the human capital, is everything. And the reason Scarpetta worked is Antonello. Today, there’s 29 outlets, 1,200 employees. We’re in

32 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

eight different cities. Human capital is number one. So what kind of person do you think succeeds in an LDV and a restaurant-type of environment. Are they people-driven? Are they egotistic? How do you describe the type of person who succeeds on your team? We encourage everyone in our organization from the waiter to the regional directors to illustrate and showcase who they truly are as people. We take all of their imperfections, all of their quirks, and there’s one common thread. They have a passion for this industry. And they’re encouraged to amplify their personality. You look at some restaurant organizations where everyone looks the same, talks the same, acts the same. Well, we are some motley crew of a hodge podge fruit

salad of characters. But everyone is encouraged to be themselves. Yes, there’s lots of human imperfections, but they’re allowed to put forth their true, genuine persona. And it makes for a real experience, a soulful experience. It makes for a tangible experience. It comes with certain imperfections and inconsistencies, but the beauty is in perfection. The message is that I trust you, that’s why I hired you. Do your thing and be you and it’ll all work. What do you like most about your job? I micromanage, I own my creative development projects. What kind of red counts do we want to do, where do we want to do it, what is it going to look like? Who is going to design

continued on page 34

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 33

Q&A John Meadow, from page 32

it, who is going to put that together? That’s my job. I own it. I want their input but I own it. I control it. Likewise, I give up that level of control and all the other disciplines for the purpose of encouraging and empowering the team around me that has that same level of passion and are able to express it. And that’s why we’ve had fantastic employee retention. We would probably make more short-term dollars and we probably leave some money on the table by not explicitly controlling everything, but we have that balance between commerce and magic. I like where we sit and the balance between commerce and magic is the thing that’s going to allow us to really go forward and build this company to where I want it to go.

Now we’re starting to become far more focused. Our three core concepts: Scarpetta, American Cut and Dolce. We are eager to expand and develop, with the market we want to go to and finding the marriage between what are our development pipeline objectives and what’s going to be a good restaurant. I used to do this out of passion and a desire to grow. Now, with 29 restaurants, we’ve opened enough restaurants to

When you walk into raw space, do you look and see who’s on the next street corner? Do you look and think about who lives in the neighborhood? Do you look and see what type of offices are there? What are the basics of how you look at this? It’s all of that. We do not like to cater to one customer base. We like restaurants that have a mix of corporate, entertainment, social, leisure, travels, etc. But I will say that, for the most part, major urban environments are where we want to be. We largely know who the successful restaurants are. And then it’s a matter of proximity to them; we want to be close to them. We’re not trying to be frontiersmen. Most neighborhoods we’re looking at, we pretty much know by virtue of price points and content accessibility, what is the right concept for you. The other aspect of this is also in terms of our development pipelining strategy. Most of our preliminary growth, up until I would say the last two years, has all been opportunistic. And whatever we feel is going to be the right place, that’s what we go with. 34 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

know, finally, for the first time in my life, unequivocally that it’s going to work. Has your vision changed, over the years? It used to just be about opening. I was so excited to just open and go to a new city. Now, the passion is to build the healthiest, strongest LDV that we can as a responsibility to our 1,200 employees. And therefore

it has to be about smart business. In fact, the smart business is more strategic than opportunistic. You have to find the balance, the passion for the craft and the creative process that brought you here in the first place. In our eight years I see the need to let our new Philadelphia location be a unique restaurant unto itself. It’s different than the

continued on page 36

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 35

Q&A John Meadow, from page 34

feel of Scarpetta in Miami. Even if the differences are nuanced, they’ll never be a chain restaurant. What’s so exciting about the 2016 restaurant business is growing up. The only scalable models used to be, in fact, chains. And that was kind of a bad word. It was good for business but it wasn’t where we necessarily wanted to dine. Now it becomes more of lifestyle brands, whereby brand DNA is consistent but the experience, and team of people, and the customers are specific to that place and therefore it’s still at its fundamental core, an independent restaurant. It’s a very fine nuanced line, but the more that we tune into that precisely; the more it allows us to maintain our passion. Each concept ends up with a local interpretation, versus what I see in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, with many of our

competitors, which is a replication. What are some of the other front of the house design changes that you’ve seen through the years that have evolved since ‘04, when you look at a space and how you’re trying to design it. We like existing space with a history. When you convert an old industrial building, there’s a history. There’s always some ceilings 100 years old that were there that you can’t replicate, old New York City, industrial brick. Or the old braces in the ceiling. It’s a genuine sense of place. So whenever we can get that, that’s very appealing. The public wants authentic. Give them a reason to stay; to drink more, we need to turn the table on a human basis. Invite them to the bar; buy them a drink at the bar, so that we can get

36 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

that table back. Let’s give them a great experience. Everyone in the industry wants to talk about quick service and all these trends. And I respect it and understand it from an analytical perspective. But it’s not the business we’re in. All of our restaurants are purposely built with great reverence towards the building’s history. What lies ahead as you look at 2017? In 2017 we’re opening in Dubai, which will be our first international deal. We have an exciting hotel project coming to New York City. We haven’t finalized plans yet. Do you see yourself ever doing anything else? I don’t intend to ever do anything else. My goal is to build this to be as

healthy and robust an organization as we can. It would be cute if my daughter wanted to be in the restaurant business. If she doesn’t, I won’t deter her. I don’t look at LDV as my personal family business. I look at it as our collective team. Some think I’m a deal junkie but I really believe the key to a healthy hospitality organization is in fact growth, because growth is the thing that affords the opportunity.

October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 37

NEWS LABOR CONTRACTS Philly Based Tavern on the Green Management In New Union Battle

he honeymoon is over for Tavern on the Green. A powerful union is turning up the heat on the famed Central Park eatery, which was granted a two-year reprieve from signing a labor contract by the city. But that period ended in April and the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, which had represented Tavern’s workers for decades under its previous management, has initiated talks with the restaurant’s Philadelphia-based owners. The majority of Tavern’s current

staff of 300 signed cards pledging their support for a union contract, according to a Trades Council spokesman. “We have requested information from the owners, which they are in the process of providing,” he said. But sources close to the restaurant say that the higher wages and benefits associated with a labor contract will have a “big impact” on the restaurant, which has not been profitable since it reopened in 2014 after a massive renovation. In addition to the two-year labor reprieve, the city also agreed to defer

rent payments until 2019 because the owners Jim Caiola and David Salama invested about $15 million more for renovations to the 82-year-old building than they had budgeted. Although Tavern’s revenue over the past two years ended in April increased by $1.7 million to $19,891,746, according to city records, Tavern will need to host more lucrative private events to become profitable. The restaurant is a fraction of its former size, and the city limits how many private events it is allowed to host in which it closes the restaurant to the

public. They need to do more events, because the winter is tough on the restaurant. People just don’t want to go there. The owners want use of a large parking lot next to the restaurant to use for larger tented parties and for customer parking. The request is being reviewed by the city. It will also need to be approved by the community boards surrounding Central Park, which have complained in the past about the loud parties Tavern used to host under the LeRoy family.

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October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 39

SCOOP

INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE

Typical Japanese lunch barbecue featuring premium Hida beef.

Ultra-Premium Japanese Beef, Arrives In New York City Scoop sees that last month marked the first “Hida Beef Week” in New York City - a festival and publicity tour for ultra-premium Hidagyu presented by Gifu Prefectural Government, Japan. For a week and a half, a selection of renowned Japanese restaurants in New York featured Hidagyu in dishes and tastings. It was just last October that the meat provided by JA Hida Meat (Hida Meat Agricul-

tural Association) was approved for American markets, thus making Hidagyu now regularly available. It’s a black-haired cattle breed from Gifu Prefecture, Japan that make Hidagyu. These cows live better lives than most of us, drinking from fresh springs against an idyllic mountainous backdrop. Unlike Wagyu (another variety of high-end Japanese beef ), Hidagyu is raised at least double the time, about 14 months or more. This promotes soft texture, delicate flavor and a unique marbling pattern that extends across the

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Rendering of an internal view from “The Floating Restaurant” by Big Foot Developers

steaks, flank, shoulder and round. It’s this thin and thorough marbling that gives the beef a distinctly tender texture, and the fine webbing of fat that seals the meat’s juices like a spider’s nest. While Hidagyu is most popularly eaten as steak or filet, it is also often used in Japanese barbecue, yakiniku; sukiyaki, or beef simmered in sweet soy sauce broth and served with egg; and Japanese hot pot, nabe. One of the New York restaurants that featured Hidagyu specials was EN Japanese Brasserie in the West Village. Led by Chef Abe

Hiroki, EN “offered a modern approach” to traditional Japanese cuisine, and maintains authenticity in their offerings by keeping a close relationship with its sister restaurants throughout Japan.

Hudson River May Be Home To Floating Glass Eatery Scoop hears that New York Citybased Big Foot Developers have a vision for a new kind of waterfront restaurant: a glass cube that hovers above the Hudson River. In early September, the developers unveiled de-

signs for “The Floating Restaurant,” which would be suspended above the site of the former Glenwood power plant in Yonkers, 30 minutes north of Manhattan. The team submitted the proposal to Goren Group (the developers that are working to convert the power plant into a cultural events space). However, lead designer Cristelle Calderón De Stefano says that there is no word yet on whether the restaurant will come to fruition. In the meantime Scoop says, check out the design.

Poke, By The Pound At Sweetcatch Is NYC’s Latest Craving Scoop hears that Poke (poh-kay) has become the next veggie burger, a suddenly popular dish that compels New Yorkers to put up with long lines. Scoop’s explanation for why Hawaiian poke which is diced raw tuna with seasonings and an Asian-accented dressing has become such a crowd-pleaser here is that it amounts to a cheaper, simpler version of tuna tartare, a popular starter on a thousand menus. But for a bowl of poke, you don’t need a reservation, deep pockets or

Hawaiian chef Lee Anne Wong, consultant for Sweetcatch’ s Poke offerings.

more courses. Most of New York’s recent crop of poke places have been fast-casual restaurants that serve the dish as it’s done in Los Angeles, with an assembly line and seating. Now, a group of new Midtown poke parlors called Sweetcatch aims to import a more authentic Hawaiian experience, featuring poke by the pound to take away. Lee Anne Wong, a Honolulu chef who is the consultant for Sweetcatch, explained that in Hawaii, the fish for poke is marinated for about 45 minutes before it goes on sale, it’s cut in larger pieces than you’ll often find in New York or Los Angeles, and there are few ad-

ditional ingredients. She said that though the fish would be more expensive than elsewhere, it would be fresh, not frozen, and sustainably harvested. One of Sweetcatch’s owners is Bobby Kwak, who elevated Korean barbecue at Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in New York and elsewhere. The first Sweetcatch, in Midtown East, will not have any seats, just a counter where marinated and seasoned fish, usually tuna or salmon, will be sold by the pound and another area where customers can order poke bowls. The second, on West 37th Street, will have 74 seats; a third on West 45th Street is in the works.

CW Bets On Irvine To Create Syndicated Success Scoop says are you ready for “The Robert Irvine Show,” which premiered last month. Billed as a “conflict resolution” talk show (think a variation of “Dr. Phil”) it’s hosted by Irvine, 51, an English celebrity chef and TV vet (“Dinner: Impossible,” “Restaurant: Impossible”) who was fired by Food Network in 2008 for embellishing his resume including falsely claiming he’d worked for

Chef Robert Irvine

the British Royal Family. Irvine was replaced on “Dinner: Impossible” by Michael Symon for a season but returned to host the show in 2009. Here are a few other things you might not know about Irvine: He was raised in Wiltshire, England, he has his own branded line of foods, spices and oils, he was selected in 2007 as one of the “25 Fittest Guys in America” by Men’s Fitness magazine and his foundation, The Robert Irvine Foundation, honors the men and women of the military. Irvine’s

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Scoop, from page 41

live tour which has made numerous Metro NYC stops was a precursor to his new gig.

Times Set To Debut National Restaurant Reviews Scoop notes that it began with Craig Claiborne in 1962. There have been 11 NYT restaurant critics in the years since, including Ruth Reichl, Mimi Sheraton, Frank Bruni, Sam Sifton, and current sitting crit-

ic Pete Wells. And while the Times’ critics and editors almost always briefly step away from New York City to write about something interesting in Paris or on the West Coast, it’s a side project, a vacation report, and not a formal review. But hidden at the bottom of a recent review for Cassia, a well-regarded restaurant in Los Angeles is a new missive designed to stretch Wells’ appetite and aptitude for restaurant meals:

The Times has published starred reviews of restaurants in the New York metropolitan area since 1963. Now they will occasionally offer such reviews of restaurants in other cities as well, applying the same standards that govern their reviews in New York: a minimum of three anonymous visits to the restaurant.

Jersey Restaurant Manager Serves Kindness

SEAL THE

DEAL WITH THE MIGHTY BADGE IDENTITY SYSTEM

Scoop says the manager of a Wildwood Crest restaurant who once considered taking his own life made a generous gesture to the daughter of a woman who is likely nearing the end of hers. The manager of Little Italy picked up the $100 dinner tab for the family of a woman in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Sarah Renee Langley, of Philadelphia, was at the eatery with her mother, Mary and other family members as part of a Labor Day weekend. Soon after learning that they’d be eating for free, Langley asked the manger the reason for his act of kindness. Identified only as Michael, he showed her his wristband with the phrase, “Pay it forward.” Michael told Langley he contemplated suicide 10 years ago before deciding against it. He told Langley he wants to celebrate caregivers who look after terminally ill family members. Langley said she intends to perform a similar act of kindness toward a stranger.

Model Turned Chef Creates Runway Success At NYC Eatery

Consumers prefer and trust a company whose employees wear The Mighty Badge. There’s a reason over 2 million professionals prefer our name badges. Project your image, your brand and your people with the Mighty Badge.

www.themightybadge.com

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Scoop says Franco Noriega is a jack of all trades. He’s been a professional swimmer, a clothing designer, a model, a creative director, and now a chef and restaurant owner. Noriega recently opened Peruvian restaurant Baby Brasa in NYC’s Lower East Side, and has two more similar restaurants in the works. Noriega was in the midst of opening his original restaurant concept, Brasa, when he discovered the space that is now Baby Brasa. He stepped into the former barbershop and decided it would be the perfect place for a small takeout spot. Two weeks later he had the demolition permit, and three months

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Scoop, from page 42 later Baby Brasa was officially open. Less than a year before the restaurant’s opening, Noriega had been attending a one-year chef program at the International Culinary Center. And before that, he had had an impressive array of jobs. Noriega, who grew up in Peru, started off as a professional swimmer for the South American national team. He learned from a young age the importance of having a “good, clean source of protein and carbs.” He then moved to NYC, where he was discovered by photographer Mario Testino. After modeling for Dolce and Gabbana, Noriega attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, launched his own fashion line in Peru, sold that, and became Macy’s youngest cre-

completely fulfilled by it. “Just being a model was too little for me. I really wanted to build something that could be much bigger, bigger than me even, that could transcend myself.” Just as he was graduating from the ICC, a friend approached Noriega with a potential restaurant space in Williamsburg. Meanwhile, Noriega was kept busy with Baby Brasa on the Lower East Side, and is planning another Brasa in the West Village. The concept behind all of these res-

Chef Franco Noriega

ative director at age 23. After two years at Macy’s, Noriega realized he missed the freedom that had come with his past jobs, and decided it was time for yet another career change. Growing up with parents who owned bakeries and restaurants in Peru, as well as a nanny Delphina who was passionate about food and cooking, he was familiar with the food industry. “I learned the love for food from my nanny,” Noriega explained. “I would learn how to chop onions, how to make a dressing, and how to marinate.” Although he continued to model and still does Noriega wasn’t 44 • October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

taurants is food that’s both delicious and healthy, and that makes you feel good after eating it. Noriega says his family never sacrificed flavor for health. Baby Brasa’s menu reflects that, and includes staples from the chef’s personal diet like a kale and quinoa salad mixed with nuts, avocado, watermelon radish, and caramelized bananas and a kale and quinoa salad mixed with nuts, avocado, watermelon radish, and caramelized bananas. But the main focus of his

restaurant is rotisserie chicken - the most consumed protein in Peru. Tired of eating dried out rotisserie chicken try his chickens, which are organic. “I believe that people appreciate it, understand it, and are willing to pay more for quality food.” He hopes to expand the Brasa concept in the future, and to bring it to other American cities like LA, Miami, and Chicago.

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FIORITO ON INSURANCE Fire Loss Prevention: Avoiding FlareUps In The Kitchen Begins With Safety

ires are one of the leading causes of property insurance losses. In addition to physical damage to your restaurant and property, fires can also cause serious injuries or deaths, and disrupt business operations for months or even years to come. Typically caused by flare-ups during food preparation or from oven, burner or electrical and gas connection defects, kitchen fires can be prevented. The leading cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking. Restaurant owners and managers can chose to implement proactive fire loss prevention programs at their facilities, greatly reducing fire risks and potentially securing better property insurance terms, conditions, and pricing. Food Preparation - Keep hot pads, oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging and towels away from any heat source. The kitchen should never be left unattended while cooking. If the staff must leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, all heat sources should be turned off. If using a microwave to reheat and sparks are noticed, the microwave must be shut off the microwave immediately, the incident should be reported to management. All burners, ovens and appliances should be checked to make sure they are off before closing down for the day. Hood and Ventilation System Maintenance - Proper installation and regular maintenance of the kitchen hood and ventilation system is a vital component of kitchen fire safety. The hood and ventilation system should be professionally installed ac-

cording to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 96, which is the official standard for “Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations”. Hoods, grease-removal devices, fans, ducts and other equipment should be serviced by a qualified contractor at intervals necessary to prevent the accumulation of grease. Filters should be cleaned regularly to prevent the build-up of grease. Frequency of cleaning will depend upon the amount of grease observed during an inspection. A written cleaning schedule should be established as a best practice. Following the inspection or cleaning, a label indicating the date cleaned and the name of the servicing company should be prominently displayed in a visible location. Electrical Preventative Maintenance – Electrical failures are another common cause of fires. In order to prevent electrical fires, preventative maintenance programs are crucial. Restaurants should contract with a licensed electrician to perform routine inspections and maintenance on all electrical equipment. Infrared Thermography (IR) is an effective tool that can aid electricians with detecting load imbalances or other circuit deficiencies that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. Consult your electrician about the need for IR to be conducted at your facility. Also inspect your facilities for visible electrical deficiencies on a routine basis. These might include; open or damaged electrical panels, use of extension cords as permanent wiring, electrical tape repairs to wiring, miss-

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ing ground prongs, and others. Fire Protection Equipment Inspection, Testing and Maintenance – Having a properly maintained and monitored automatic sprinkler system is one of the most effective protective measures available. There are also special protection systems that should be considered for properties with commercial cooking operations. Fire protection systems should be installed and serviced by licensed, insured, and qualified contractors in accordance with all applicable NFPA standards. Fire protection should be monitored by central station alarms, that are attended 24/7. Be aware that some jurisdictions have not yet adopted the newer NFPA code versions, and their requirements may not be as robust as the current codes. As this subject can become very complex, we recommend that you consult with your broker regarding your specific fire protection needs. Emergency Response Planning – Comprehensive emergency response plans are critical to ensure that your staff and patrons can safely exit the building in the event of a fire, or other emergency. A thorough emergency response plan should provide communication guidance procedures for fire, police and local utilities. The plan should be drilled periodically, even if not required by the local jurisdiction. Many organizations find errors or problems with their plans during an actual emergency, which is too late. The plan should also contain an emergency vendor list with contacts such as; insurance broker claims

Robert Fiorito serves as Vice President, HUB International Northeast., where he specializes in providing insurance brokerage services to the restaurant industry. As a 20-year veteran and former restaurateur himself, Bob has worked with a wide array of restaurant and food service businesses, ranging from fast-food chains to upscale, “white tablecloth” dining establishments. For more information, please visit www.hubfiorito.com. For more i nformation on HUB’s Employee Benefits practice, please visit www.hubemployeebenefits.com

representative, disaster restoration/remediation contractor, fire protection contractor, electrician, plumber, etc. Following a fire or other major loss, time is of the essence and prompt action can mitigate further damage and potentially minimize downtime. While these loss prevention strategies are common to many types of properties, this is not an all-inclusive list. Each restaurant is unique, which should have a loss prevention program that is tailored to the existing conditions. Your insurance broker can help develop a customized property loss prevention program that suits your needs.

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NEWS

LOCAL MENU SOURCES

Westchester Based Sauce Maker Casa DiLisio Brings Uncompromising Commitment To Legendary Sauce Line

ts ability to simply refuse to compromise the quality if its ingredients: This is the DiLisio’s defense in a marketplace that often is focused on price and rebates. “We just had a scenario in which we were almost going to be replaced by a competitor who was willing to buy its way onto distributors’ shelves,” said Lou Di Lisio, owner of Casa DiLisio sauces. “However, when they looked at the salt content of our competition, it was 10 times our salt content. In the meantime with the change in laws, there was actually a low-sodium ban in place. So we ended up keeping the business.” And that doesn’t happen once but all the time, for this company which provides delicious, fresh sauces with only the highest quality ingredients for foodservice operations. “For us the bottom line is and will always be: if you taste our product, you will see the difference instantly,” Di Lisio added. “Today diners are so much more demanding. With the taste bar being raised across so many categories of foodservice, we ensure that the discerning operator will continue to demand the Casa DiLisio brand by name.” The Di Lisios, who started their company from scratch in Connecticut in 1973, were on vacation when they fell in love with a scampi sauce at the hotel where they were staying. “We asked for the recipe and the chef

For us the bottom line is and will always be: if you taste our product, you will see the difference instantly,” Di Lisio added. “Today diners are so much more demanding. With the taste bar being raised across so many categories of foodservice, we ensure that the discerning operator will continue to demand the Casa DiLisio brand by name.” refused,” Di Lisio explained. “So we came home and my wife and I went to work trying to recreate the sauce for us to enjoy and share with family and friends. We made it from scratch so we knew that, to get the right flavor, only the highest quality ingredients would enable us to create it.” So Lou and Lucy Di Lisio started Casa DiLisio Products with a French-style scampi sauce, later called Sauce Provencal. Known for being the first company to sell frozen pesto sauce to the foodservice marketplace, that the firm broke new ground when they launched a sauce that combined the highest quality

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basil pesto with pine nuts, according to the Di Lisios, who proudly proclaim that they continue to be the only manufacturer who uses only the freshest ingredients in its pesto sauce. The DiLisios have never skimped. “Our competitors often use processed ingredients. Our approach is very simple. We do tastings for our distributor sales teams with our product. In each case, the room goes quickly silent because the salesperson who is in front of the chef every day knows that their customer simply will accept nothing less than Casa DiLisio quality,” Di Lisio stated. Casa DiLisio Products are made

Lou DiLisio and daughter Linda continue to forge a unique vision for the Westchester based sauce maker

with economy in mind. While there is no trifling with the ingredients, they save time for chefs because they are frozen. “The bumps in the economy have made our firm more valuable to our customers,” asserted Di Lisio. “In many cases, there have been major cutbacks in the kitchen so a chef who used to be able to make large quantities of fresh sauces 10 years ago, simply doesn’t have the manpower to support that today. So our sauces enable the chef to maintain consistency and quality.” The sauces are also gluten-free and the company created four vegan products before it was a hot topic. “This has enabled us to be a major attraction to buyers in the healthcare and college and university segment,” Lou Di Lisio continued. The sauces are freshly made by hand 52 weeks a year, in small quantities, then frozen immediately to preserve their deli-

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NEWS

PEST CONTROL

The Pantry Pest You May Be Overlooking Steps to help avoid a stored product pest infestation By Hope Bowman, Technical Specialist, Western Pest Services

odents, roaches and flies tend to be the three most dreaded pests by restaurateurs and diners alike. While these pests are infamous for good reason, it’s important not to overlook the threat of another less talked about pest – the stored product pest. Food storage and preparation areas can attract a host of stored product pests. Also known as pantry pests, stored product pests include a variety of moths and beetles that can infest foods commonly found in restaurant kitchens or pantries such as grains, beans, spices, nuts, candies, dried fruits, meats and cheese. If left unchecked and untreated, these pests can contaminate and damage valuable food supplies and even lead to kitchen closure. Some stored product pests can secrete chemicals that alter the taste of food, and if digested, some larvae can irritate the digestive tract or even cause an allergic reaction. Since these pests reproduce quickly, it’s critical to address infestations in a timely manner. Most stored product pest problems result from accepting an infested product shipment. However, inadequate sanitation practices in a facility can cause them to breed and multiply – not to mention attract other pests. To minimize the threat of stored product pests, work with a pest man-

agement professional to implement an Integrated Pest Management program that not only focuses on sanitation and maintenance to eliminate pest attractants, but inspection and monitoring to help identify issues as soon as possible. Here’s what you need to know to help prevent stored product pest infestations in your restaurant. Incoming Shipments It’s important for foodservice professionals to know how to inspect incoming food shipments for stored product pests. • Inspect incoming food shipments thoroughly. Look for webbing, damaged packaging or ingredients, and live or dead pests and larvae. • Make sure suppliers have high pest management protocol standards and ask to see their third-party audit scores. • Check packaging dates to ensure freshness. • If you find signs of stored product pests, do not accept the shipment and notify the supplier immediately. Storing Shipments Once you’ve inspected the incoming shipments and stored them away, it’s important to continue to monitor for pests even if the shipments initially appeared to be pest-free. • Implement a first in, first out, or FIFO, system to rotate products. This helps keep products from sitting on a shelf for too long undisturbed and be-

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coming vulnerable to stored product pests. • Keep products in hard plastic or metal containers for storage. Insects (and rodents) can get through plastic or paper. • Store products at least 18 inches away from any walls and six inches off the floor. This creates easier access for inspection and cleaning. • Consider keeping a sample of each product shipment in a sealed and labeled jar and monitor for larvae or adults that may appear. • When possible, store products in cool (below 65 degrees), dry, well ventilated places. Stored product pests typically can’t survive in temperatures below 65 degrees. • Use pheromone traps to monitor for stored product pests. Pheromone traps use a synthetic mimic of pheromones (chemicals insects use for communication) to lure them to a sticky trap. These sticky traps can be used to evaluate how much pest activity is present and if action is needed. Addressing an Infestation Stored product pests can multiply quickly, so the sooner you can identify and treat an infestation, the better. If you find evidence of larvae or insects, take the following steps. • Contact a pest management professional immediately who has experience with stored product pests. A professional can help properly identify the insect and cause of the infestation, and recommend appropriate treat-

Rice infested with rice weevils

ment options. • Isolate any contaminated products immediately and quarantine the area until inspected. • Check adjacent inventory for signs of infestation also. • After the infested inventory has been removed or treated, vacuum cabinets and shelves and wash storage areas and shelves with soap and water. • Be on the lookout for any maintenance issues that may have contributed to the infestation. Look for cracks in walls or floors where pests can hide, or hard to see places around equipment. Don’t let a stored product pest infestation negatively affect your restaurant. Inspect and monitor food shipments and work with a pest management professional to address any issues that occur as soon as possible. Detecting issues early on can help save a lot of trouble down the road 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.

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NEWS

MENU INNOVATIONS

Bascom Family Brings Seven Generations Of Artisanal Maple To Culinary Community Menus

hat would pancakes be without maple syrup? Or sauces for seafood, poultry and meat? Don’t forget cocktails. Bartenders and cocktail connoisseurs today substitute maple syrup instead of simple syrup to achieve an unexpected twist and flavor in classic cocktails. Maple’s nutty, vanilla and spicy hints can liven up many classic recipes. The all-natural sweetener makes a great

ingredient in glazes, rubs or barbeque sauces for poultry, meat, seafood or vegetables. It also adds a subtle touch of sweetness to a range of dishes, from fresh fruit, cereal and ice cream to tea, coffee, and smoothies. Arnold Coombs of Bascom Family Farms jokes his family’s embrace of maple and maple syrup might be because his grandfather was allergic to bees so they got out of their original business of supplying honey to food-

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service operations. But embrace it they have and many restaurants in the tri-state area are excited to offer and use it in their own kitchens. Originally a wholesale business which delivered to stores in New England and Hudson Valley, New York, and some on Long Island, the family operation started out as a maple candy business back in 1925. The Coombs’ family has been distributing maple products ever since.

Bascom Farms supplies pure maple syrup and a pure maple sugar, depending on what a foodservice operation’s formulation requires. “We’re the largest manufacturer of maple sugar in the industry,” Coombs asserted. “We have our own production facility for that, and it just takes pure maple syrup and converts it into a sugar, essentially taking the moisture out of the

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ASK ANDREW

There seems to be more and more technology that has found its way into NYC restaurants. What’s your read? The proliferation of restaurant technology is helping restaurants in so many different ways but it also poses challenges for operators who have limited time and resources to dedicate to technology. So it’s important that restaurateurs invest in technology that will enhance the way they run their business and will actually be used. If you’re not executing action plans based on guest analytics your technology provides you, or you don’t have the time to train your staff on accepting the six different mobile payments you now process, you may just create confusion and be wasting time and money. Then there’s the integration factor and finding technology platforms that complement each other. The changing needs and demands of the restaurant industry require technology companies to continually modify their platforms to accommodate this. For example, is your Human Resources Management System being updated to help you comply with the ever changing employment laws and regulations? It doesn’t seem that the number of technology platforms entering the market is slowing down any time soon and there’s no doubt that technology can greatly improve operations if implemented strategically. So I think it’s wise for restaurateurs to really think about what they want to accomplish by introducing technology into their business and then

FROM THE NYC HOSPITALITY ALLIANCE

take time to research the systems and choose the ones that align with their goals. Happy New Year! Coincidentally there’s been a call from NYC Council to bring Kosher and Halal meals to NYC schools. What are your thoughts? The Alliance has not taken a position on this as it doesn’t directly impact the operations of New York City restaurants and is therefore outside of our mission. I will say, however, that it’s another example of how methods of food preparation and consumption are at the forefront of people’s minds and an important consideration for many. Did the New Yorker article on “The Thrill of Losing Money by Investing in an NYC restaurant” get a bit carried away? Is it an indictment of the industry or just business people regardless off industry that don’t know what they are getting involved with? There seems to be a public image that the restaurant industry is all glitz and glamor and people are making lots of money. Yet the reality involves less red carpet and more taking inventory in the basement, trying to figure out how to comply with all the laws and regulations, trying to hire a strong workforce, all while trying to pay your rent on time. Oh yeah, then there’s of course the incredibly important element of serving great food and hospitality. I think this article helps the non-

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industry person to understand the realities of the restaurant industry from the perspective of someone who decided to invest in a restaurant and subsequently learned about it. It’s also a good article for politicians to read so they understand the challenges of running a small business so they may think twice before supporting regulations that will only make it more expensive and challenging to run a successful restaurant. There’s obviously some opinions in the article that not everyone will agree with but overall

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.

I thought it was a good read. It reinforces what I always say, which is that if you’re getting into the restaurant industry you need to be a real business person, passionate about the industry and have a little luck.

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FAITHFUL FOOD

WITH FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

Creative Culinary Concepts

ew York City boasts a myriad of cuisines and great culture from around the world. If you thought New York was all about hotdogs, pretzels, and cupcakes, then you would be wrong. Manhattan is teeming with original dining experiences. Here are some of the best unique and versatile restaurants that should be explored. Ancolie the epicurean cantine coming soon (fall opening) to 58 W. 8th St in Greenwich Village serves healthy and wholesome meals in reusable glass jars. They serve delicious breakfast, lunch and snacks cooked in the kitchen daily for ultimate farm to table Their recipes are inspired by traditional french home cooking and international flavors. Pre- opening,

they offer business lunches and event catering.They are completely against pesticides, GMOs and artificial ingredients because they believe in food that is good for you and the environment. They say it best: “Gorgeous- Our jars are transparent inside and out: you’ll know exactly what you are eating when you pick one. Authentic- Real meals deserve real packaging. Everything tastes better out of glass. Reliable- It’s the perfect partner for our meals, keeping our cold dishes crisp and our warm ones cozy. Elegant- Our jars replace all the foil, paper and plastic that come with your typical lunch. Green- Billions of pounds of plastic pollute our oceans and landfills. Take a stand, choose glass! Pure- Glass leaves our food just as we found it: natural and chemical-free.”

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Ninja New York , 25 Hudson St between Duane St & Reade St in TriBeCa. You take an elevator down from the lobby where you meet your host then travel down a long winding corridor. There is a magic show that happens towards the end of your meal, before dessert. The restaurant itself looks like a feudal ninja village; think fast and watch when dining here. This restaurant is fully loaded with Ninja servers who are trained to deceive with card tricks, fire and trapdoors. Features fine Japanese cuisine served in your own private pagoda. Eataly Downtown, 4 World Trade Center, 101 Liberty St, Third Floor, between Greenwich and Church Sts is by Nicola Farinetti, Mario Batali, Lidia and Joe Bastianich, and the rest

Faith Hope Consolo is the Chairman of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group. Ms. Consolo is responsible for the most successful commercial division of New York City’s largest residential real estate brokerage firm. Email her at fconsolo@elliman.com

of Team Eataly. The highly anticipated downtown location of the Italian mega market has arrived. Each Eataly location has a set theme, and this outpost’s is bread; a massive in-house bakery, a fresh-pasta counter and a kiosk dedicated to the Italian flatbread known as

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COUNTRY CLUB INSIDER

PRESENTED BY:

Steve Schwartzinger Executive Chef, Hamilton Farm Golf Club, Gladstone, NJ

teve Schwartzinger entered the club industry in 2005 as Sous Chef for the original Chef at Hamilton Farm Golf Club. Eleven years later he is the executive chef at the prestigious club located in Gladstone, New Jersey. After working in several fine dining restaurants across Northern New Jersey in a myriad of positions including sauce cook, Sous Chef and Executive Chef, Mr. Schwartzinger jumped at the opportunity to join the team at Hamilton Farm. We had the chance to ask him some questions on the state of Club Dining with some help from Hamilton Farm’s Director Of Banquet and Catering Colette Flint Director of Food and Beverage Kermit Bowen. Steve, how did you get into the club industry? I came into the club industry eleven years ago as a Sous Chef for the original Chef for the club. How has the club industry evolved since your career began? It definitely changed in regard to how knowledgable members are these days about food and spirits in general. We have a very “well to do” membership, and they eat and drink in some of the best restaurants in the world. They expect the same level of food and service here. How have the needs of your customers evolved? I feel that the needs are pretty

much the same as they were ten years ago. We try to give them and get them whatever they request. We have noticed there seems to be more of a focus on special dietary restrictions and allergies and we always try our best to accommodate any requests. What is your approach to recruiting, training and maintaining your staff? My approach is pretty basic. I look for potential staff that want a career in this industry and are willing and eager to learn. I always make an effort to thank them for the hard work that they do and compliment them on a job well done.

They do not want to be told what they are having but rather have options to create their own menus. It is important for weddings to only have one wedding at a time for all events to have a private feel. What trends are you seeing in menus and clubs? I would have to say more farm to table and local food.

Is that a practical shift with the large volume of diners who come through your club? It is extremely difficult and not always bottom line friendly. In our busy season it is nearly impossible to keep up with the volume of products that Steve Schwartzinger, Executive Chef, Hamilton Farm Golf Club, Gladstone, NJ we would need unless I hired one person speso it never feels like a sales pitch. We cifically dedicated to are selling a very important moment procuring the products. and people do not want to spend What is your sales pitch for sellthat time with a used car salesman. I ing special events and what are What is your approach to wine think the key is simple in theory, but customers looking for in terms of and spirits at Hamilton Farm Golf difficult in reality and that is hospimenu, venue and service? Club? tality in the very basic form - being a Colette Flint, Director of Bangracious host/hostess when guests quet and Catering will answer this: tour your property. People are lookI would say that the first step is becontinued on page 62 ing to customize food to their liking. lieving in the product you are selling

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Steve Schwartzinger, from page 60 Kermitt Bowen, Director of Food and Beverage will answer this: We attempt to broaden member’s palates towards new world wines and the ever changing world of spirits. With so many options available we are always trying new things and trying to bring the best options to our membership. What are the most popular cocktails and drinks right now? Being a golf club, the most popular are Craft Beers, the Transfusion and the John Daly. Are there green or sustainable initiatives you are focused on in your club? We try to use “bio-friendly to go packaging and containers whenever possible. We also try and support winemakers who make efforts to lessen their carbon finger print.

What is your kitchen like? How old is it and do you have renovation plans in the works? We try and take care of our kitchen as best we can. The kitchen is sixteen years old. We will be installing a new banquet plating and prep kitchen this year for the renovation of our clubhouse and banquet facility. Finally, where do you see yourself in five to ten years? With the renovation/addition we are currently doing, I could definitely see us being more of a year round facility than we currently are. We will now have a proper banquet facility that we can sell year round versus a three season tent.

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EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Ace Endico’s Annual Trade Show

nce again Yankee Stadium played host to Ace Endico’s annual trade show. An overflow audience enjoyed a special day of tasting and a trip down memory lane the “House that Ruth Built” or maybe more accurately this year, the venue where the legendary Derek Jeter capped a brilliant 20 year career. “Yankee Stadium is quite the venue. Our client base and our vendors look forward to our show at the stadium year after year. We utilize all of The Stadium areas- example: Monument Park, Dugout Tours and the show itself (all the vendors) are spread across the concourse from First base line to Third base line,” noted Ace Endico Vice Pres-

ident Laura Endico Verzello. “The Stadium represents so many of the characteristics that we strive for as a company. In our eyes we chose a venue to be proud of and to showcase our growth.” For Ace Endico, growth has come from presenting an array of new solutions for their diverse customer base throughout the year. “We have acquired new business as well as companies,” Verzello said. “Ace Endico even showcased some of their emerging POS technology.” Ace Endico offered their guests a very special experience. Yankee legends including Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, El Ducque, and Mariano Rivera greeted Ace Endico custom-

ers and signed autographs. Ace Endico customers got the opportunity to be photographed with World Series Trophies and visits to the Dugout and Monument Park. Once again show guests were treated to over 200 vendor booths offering special pricing, new and exciting food demonstrations. Yankee Stadium’s Legends Hospitality chefs brought a bevy of new menu ideas. EYE visited with many local food and beverage regional mangers including: Zaro’s Bakeries, Robert Goodman, Stuffed Foods, Rob Tornari, and Henry Pereira of Splash Premium Cocktail Mixers. “We had a huge turnout. Our customers had been calling our Customer

support staff and Account Executives, asking for additional food show tickets. Customers who have attended in years past can’t wait for the next show. And the customers who were unable to come last year, made sure they made it this year! It was a GREAT event,” Verzello added. Founded in 1982, by William A. Endico and Murray Hertzberg, Ace Endico is the largest distributor in Westchester and Putnam Counties servicing the tri-state area. The firm’s state-of-the-art facility houses an all-encompassing inventory featuring dairy, produce, meats, seafood, fine imported specialty products, paper, canned goods and everything in between.

Ace Endico showcases their fresh seafood capabilities with their version of Fishermans Wharf.

O Sole Mio, is cooking up a storm in their Antonino Esposito Rinaldi Superforni oven.

Former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui greet fans.

Splash Cocktail Mixer serves delicious drinks by the bar!

Kontos hands out samples of their delicious pita bread.

Ruggiero Seafood’s team was on hand to display their fresh seafood selection.

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EYE METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE Food and Beverage Association Gala 2016

nce again The Food and Beverage Association and Steve Gattullo led by Starwood Hotel’s Sean Cassidy and Gus Montesano hosted its annual black tie gala at the Gotham, NY. The Ninth Annual Gala Dinner Dance benefited the Food and Beverage Scholarship Foundation Inc. Sean Verney of The Westin at Times Square, The Hilton New York’s James Johnson and Marsh & McLennan’s Anthony Gruppo headed this year’s roster of honorees. The top hospitality professional of the year honors went to Sean Verney,

General Manager of the iconic Westin New York at Times Square. Verney has an extensive track record in the hospitality industry, coupled with a passion for all things food and beverage. Verney’s passion for food and beverage began when he started his career working in the family restaurant, and then went on as an owner and operator of his restaurant and bars. Verney recently spearheaded a $39 million top-to-bottom renovation of the 873-room luxury hotel in the heart of Manhattan’s famed Times Square. As part of this project, he was intimately involved in the launch of a new F & B concept, Foundry Kitchen & Bar,

which has brought new energy to the hotel, making it a favorite gathering spot for locals and guests alike. Top Industry Professional of The Year, James J. Johnson of the New York Hilton talked about his incredible career. Native New Yorker, James Johnson (known to the hotel team and many of his clients as “JJ”) has been leading the Hilton New York’s Catering Operations, which includes catering activities for special events, meetings, and conferences since 2000. Prior to joining the Hilton New York, JJ held such catering positions at the prestigious Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami Beach, the renowned Waldorf

(L to R) The evening’s Master of Ceremonies Fred Klashman of TFS, honoree Sean Verney of the Westin Hotel at Times Square and F&B president Steve Gattullo.

City Tech’s Liz Schaible (4th-L) celebrated the Food and Beverage Association’s Gracious $20K donation to the Brooklyn school’s scholarship fund.

The New York Hilton Midtown’s James (JJ) Johnson (center) celebrated his Industry Professional of the Year honors.

(L to R) Sean Verney and his family celebrated his Hospitality Professional of the Year honors.

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(Astoria) and the San Francisco Hilton. He also spent a culinary summer in Vienna, Austria, serving as a Commis de Cuisine at the Vienna Intercontinental Hotel, where he gained the incredible experience of working in a leading European kitchen. In his spare time James competes in Triathlons. He is a member of NACE, The National Association for Catering and Events and the Food and Beverage Association as well as the Les Amis Escoffier Society of New York. As Anthony Gruppo of Marsh & McLennan was honored by the association as Purveyor of the Year. Gruppo is responsible for leading all employee divisions and operations for Marsh & McLennan Agency Northeast. He is focused on leadership, strategic position, and organizational development. Anthony is also skilled in the areas of Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits and Risk Management. Prior to coming to the Northeast, Anthony led companies in Southwest, Southeast and West Coast. He is the designer of risk management programs and insurance association plans over 24 state and national behavioral health community based agencies across the nation. Gruppo is a two-time recipient of the National Association of Homes for Children, Friend of Children Award. Additionally, he is a previous board of directors of Easton Children Home, TAIG, Easter Seals and others. The success of the evening has fulfilled a financial commitment to date, totaling $140,000 in scholarship funds to New York City College of Technology, Hospitality, and Management Department. The Food and Beverage Association of America is a nonprofit, taxexempt, philanthropic, educational and social trade organization. Its

continued on page 102

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EYE METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE Partridge Invitational Golf Outing 2016 Recap

ne of the food service industry’s most sought after trophies were on the line last month at the annual Partridge Invitational Club and Club Managers’ Golf Shootout on Long Island. Once again veteran Partridge member Dennis Murphy, who has long been the visionary for the yearly event hosted a spectacular day of golf at Rockaway Hunting Club to benefit the Partridge’s commitment to scholarships. The Opici Wine sales executive Murphy has built the event into one of the foodservice industry’s pre-eminent golf events. Partridge Club Members and local club managers vied for top prizes in one of the very few events that eschew the scramble format in favor of “playing your own ball.” The annual event pitted some of the top golfers from the club manager’s ranks against their Partridge Club hosts with the winner taking home the spectacular trophy. The first place winner was Rick Dorsey, who shot a 72. The overall winning foursome was the Partridge Club — Marc Sarrazin, Marc Fuchs, Dennis Murphy, and Louis Rozzo. “Everybody loves Rockaway,” noted Murphy who won the tournament in 2002. The industry leader was making reference to the Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence, NY. The storied track although not true links, sits on a low-lying table of land that is at times reminiscent of the game across the pond, a mix of quirk and raw challenge. The Rockaway Hunting Club was founded in 1878, making it one of the oldest country clubs in America. As the name might suggest, the club’s first years

were defined by equestrian sports. Fox hunting and steeplechase were popular; Rockaway was one of the twin powers of early American polo. Golf arrived a few years later—a rudimentary 9-holer was in place by 1895 and a full 18 by 1900. Partridge and Club Manager guests were astounded with the fabulous fare that the Rockaway Hunt Club team led by GM Frank Argento served. In addition to the Foundation’s mission of raising scholarship funds for institutions of higher learning it promotes mutual business interests among its members and to stimulate friendship and fellowship. The Partridge Club was formed in 1935 at the Victoria Hotel in New York City. The membership was made up of leading purveyors to the hotel, club and restaurant trade. In the early Forties, a few dissatisfied members left and formed the Invitation Club. Things went well for both clubs until the crackdown on business expenses during the Presidency of

(L to R) Matt O’Dell and Dan Condon from Condon O’Meara McGinty & Donnelly flank Korn Ferry’s Richard Preng and Fred Klashman of TFS.

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Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969). Membership declined in both clubs and committees were formed to explore the possibilities of a merger. After much dickering and negotiating, the merger was implemented in 1967. The scholarship program was established and it grew so fast that in 1988 the club’s name was changed to the Partridge-Invitation Scholarship

Foundation, Inc., to better describe its mission. Today the club grants annual scholarships to a wide diversity of students at schools including: the CIA, Johnson and Wales, Paul Smith College, City Tech and Cornell.

(L to R) DeBragga and Spitler’s Marc Sarrazin who shot a sizzling 75 with Partridge president Marc Fuchs of M. Tucker and Sodexo’s Myles Foley.

(L to R) Partridge golf chair Dennis Murphy presented the hallowed championship trophy to 2016 Champ Rick Dorsey, who shot a 72.

Long time Partridge member Tom Egan of Hyco hosted a number of guests.

Partridge member Diane Rossi of Pro-Tek and the Princeton Club’s Larry Hines.

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MEET THE NEWSMAKER

Joe Cooper, Lobster Place Bronx Seafood Wholesaler Brings Comprehensive Portfolio Of Menu Solutions To Tri-State Chefs

oe Cooper, is the Director of Wholesale Sales for Bronx based: Lobster Place. The Bronx firm provides lobster and a full line of seafood for a wide diversity of restaurants and foodservice operators. Metro New York’s leading chefs and food service professionals turn to Cooper and his team of seafood professionals for caviar, crab, shrimp. lobster and the Tri-State area’s most comprehensive portfolio of fish from all over the world. From the highly exotic: live sea urchin and wahoo to center of the plate favorites including Atlantic salmon and Yellow fin tuna, Lobster Place has built a reputation as the choice for the most comprehensive portfolio of fresh from the sea menu solutions. In addition to servicing the Tri-State foodservice trade, The Lobster Place also has a unique perspective of the industry through the operation of its own restaurant and retail store at Chelsea Market. What brought you into the seafood business? Were you a chef or fishmonger? I spent ten years as a restaurant chef before moving to the other side of the desk in a sales capacity. What’s the biggest difference from where you sit today? When you’re working in a restaurant, you don’t always really understand the in-depth difficulties of sourcing products. And all the logis-

I love working with our full line of lobster and seafood products, being a resource for chefs and giving them the information that they don’t have.” tics involved in getting all the fantastic products from all over the world. What are chefs and food service operators looking for you to provide? I love working with our full line of lobster and seafood products, being a resource for chefs and giving them the information that they don’t have. They’re looking for the newest trends, what’s seasonal and what are other people doing that’s exciting. Chefs are so busy that they get stuck in the kitchen, They often just get stuck in a routine. So we look to provide a window into what competitors are serving. Talk about some of the tools that you offer our readers to stay on top of seafood trends. We communicate actively with our customers. At the Lobster Place we send out a newsletter three days a week, to inform everybody of market trends. We sell more than lobster, we sell a full line of sustainably caught seafood.

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I’m curious in your 20 plus years in the industry, how has the seafood marketplace changed? Chefs are using lobster in alot more creative ways these days. We have a restaurant over at Chelsea Market. next to our retail store. Our chef does a lobster ramen which is a different kind of spin. I’ve seen lobster benedicts on menus. In the East Village Nagam does a lobster Thai dumpling with a khao soi sauce. So is lobster still a traditional center of the plate protein in your mind or an ingredient, what’s the fit? I think when people think about lobster, they think about a luxury item. But I think a lot of operators now are trying to figure out ways to get people to add a lobster roll to a menu. The goal is to find a more economical solution and still sell a higher ticket item on their menu. There’s a lot more fast casual places that now feature lobster on their menus with lobster salads and lobster rolls. It has even become a big brunch item. There’s never been more talk

Joe Cooper, Lead Sales Executive, Wholesale Division, Lobster Place

about healthier eating. Seems to me through the years lobster has taken a bad rap. Look all shellfish are a little bit higher in cholesterol. The reality is like any other food, when people cook it in butter or oil, it evolves into something else. However it is a healthy low fat, high protein alternative when its just steamed. It’s whatever you make of it, in terms of how you prep. Every year the battle rages on as the superiority of Maine vs. Nova Scotia lobsters? We primarily get our lobsters from Canada. We do split between Canada and Maine depending on the seasons and what harvest areas are open at

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NEWS

BAKED GOODS SOLUTIONS

Featherstone’s Schonfeld Helps NYC Restaurants And Hotels Reinvent The Bread Basket

n 1984 Joel Schonfeld saw an opportunity. Although New York City restaurants served mostly Italian and French Bread when celebrity chefs started opening up shop they sought diverse options to get a leg up on their competition. “Bread became part of the equation of having a better restaurant than down the block,” says Schonfeld. After delivering bread out of a Honda hatchback for two years, a time when Schonfeld says he did not sleep, the business began to take off. In the thirty-two years since, Featherstone Foods has 28 routes covering a two-hour radius from the Bronx including deliveries to Philadelphia, Montauk and Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Connecticut. For the past ten years Featherstone has been growing at a fifteen to twenty percent clip annually with their seven-day a week business and a wide range of customers. Now they mostly deal wholesale to large hotels, offering products from twenty-five bakeries in the metropolitan area. A premier example of what Featherstone has to offer comes in the form of a story from Schonfeld about his work with the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. “The director told me he was on the phone all

Leave the distribution to us,” said Joel Schonfeld, “it is what we do well.” Featherstone has maintained longstanding relationships with some of their bakeries for over twenty-five years, such as Amy’s Bread and Eli’s Bread. day buying from nine bakeries! They have a green initiative and don’t want trucks pulling up all day. So we were able to get them everything they needed with one phone call, one delivery and one invoice.” This aided their green initiative, simplified the process for the director and eased the strain on the accounting team at the hotel. They add bakeries on an as needed basis but twentyfive gives hotels and foodservice operations unrivaled variety and simplicity in ordering. On a daily basis Featherstone also supplies thirty-six Whole Foods in the area who want that simplicity but also the newest baked goods that the bakeries have to offer. “Whole Foods wants to bring in all

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of the newest product without calling nine different bakeries. We bring them what they need without the hassle.” Not only does Featherstone simplify the foodservice operations they supply but also the bakeries they represent. “We save each bakery driver’s accidents, insurance, receivables, workman’s comp, aggravation, all of it,” says Schonfeld. Featherstone wants bakeries to focus on what they do best, which is manufacture great products. “Leave the distribution to us, it is what we do well.” Featherstone has maintained long-standing relationships with some of their bakeries for over twenty-five years, such as Amy’s Bread and Eli’s Bread.

Featherstone also started a program almost two years ago called Sesame Distribution where they will distribute for bakeries they do not represent for commission. They can meld those deliveries with other stops around or outside the city that they are making for their own bakeries. Featherstone goes well beyond what is required to provide both their bakeries they distribute and the operations they supply with the best service possible. This was evidenced by their Inaugural Hospitality Vendor Show this past June 15th at the Grand Hyatt New York. It was an opportunity for purchasers to see the entire product line that Featherstone has to offer. “You have to be on top of the market...I can’t wait to get on the phone and create the new bread order from what I saw here today,” said Michael Mosolino, former television host and current Chef at Schiavoni’s Market in Sag Harbor in a video that Featherstone produced about the event. Through their variety, simplification of the ordering process and one-stop-shopping mantra, Featherstone Foods can supply your foodservice operation with any product and any quantity you require.

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Scoop, from page 44

Noho Hospitality’s Westlight Features Spectacular Views And Craft Cocktails Scoop notes that the highest rooftop bar in Williamsburg has debuted its stunning views to the public. Big guns Noho Hospitality Group opened the doors on Westlight at the William Vale Hotel aka, the spaceship building last month with food from Andrew Carmellini and cocktails from Anne Robinson. It’s the first time Noho opened a project in Brooklyn, and it’s a statement piece. Westlight sits 22 stories above the ground, with an indoor bar and lounge area surrounded by glass doors that keep the room’s focus on the view. Just outside the doors lies a terrace, dotted with lounge chairs, tables, viewfinders, and a clear railing, again to keep eyes on the cityscape. “This is definitely a swanky, nighttime kind of thing,” Carmellini says. “Honestly, if we were smarter, we would have just

Noho Hospitality Group opens Westlight

bought a really big margarita machine and served pita chips and some Sabra hummus and called it a day and made a lot more money. But we wanted to make it really nice.” Instead of a margarita machine, Robinson created a

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cocktail menu of classics, shandys, and riffs on classics. Most of them are pretty simple and intended to enjoy over a long period of time, with hopes that people will stick around to watch the sun set. “It’s playful, fun

stuff,” Robinson says. “Nothing overly complicated.” The food menu features bar food from chef Anthony Ricco, with options like crispy potato skins with caviar and yuzu hollandaise, tuna poke puffs, and a shrimp cocktail dumpling that Carmellini says he could binge eat. They want people to have fun at Westlight. A DJ booth’s already set up in the main lounge room, and a fake lawn on a level above the main room may eventually be stocked with chairs and games for summer gatherings. Luckily, the selling point - the view is unlikely to be hidden from newer towers. The developer bought the right air rights, Carmellini says, and another area of land in front of the building is supposed to become a park. “Every single night, you get to see a different weather pattern, the way the sun sets

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EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

MAFSI Golf and Awards Dinner

ot even Mother Nature could dampen the enthusiasm of Metro New York’s equipment and supply representative community. Although the much anticipated golf competition was rained out, the annual awards ceremony at The Village at Lake Success Golf Club on Long Island proved to be a highlight of the 2016 Metro New York food service calendar. There simply are not fiercer competitors in the Metro New York food service industry than the local community of equipment and supply representatives. The daily battle to

receive the majority of the orders from a consultant specifying a local project or a dealer entrusted with the purchase of those products in many cases is the food service version of hand-to-hand combat. But somehow when that very same passion rallies behind a common goal, simply put: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER THAN THE LOCAL MAFSI CHAPTER. Once again local reps took a break from their daily battles on the street to honor a trio of industry leaders at their annual golf and industry

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Two generations of Balter Sales: Lori and Arnold, led the Balter Sales team to the dais to receive MAFSI’s top dealer honors

21>25

JANUARY 2017 EUREXPO

RCS LYON 380 552 976 - Document non contractuel © Photos : Gilles Defaix - Montage : Studio des Fleurs / Touche Particulière - Robe : Nicolas Fafiotte -

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Y O U R F R E E B A D G E W I T H T H E I N V I TAT I O N C O D E PPT FS O N W W W. S I R H A . C O M October 2016 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 77

SIRHA2017inter_GB_TOTAL-FOODSERVICE_228-6x254.indd 1

28/07/2016 18:27

LIZ ON TABLETOP

TABLETOP SOLUTIONS

Move To Craft Beer Requires A New Approach To Glassware

know this may come as a shock but I absolutely hate beer! I’ll admit I like to eat and I know there are a ton of amazing combinations that like beer and wings, beer and chili, beer and a burger. Things that are warm and cozy. Not to mention all of the amazing things you can cook with beer, but I digress. I am going to take you through the different decisions an

Liz Weiss is the President and coowner of Armonk, NY based H. Weiss

operator needs to know about beer, how to serve it, how to serve what you eat beer with, beer flights, and pairings. If you’ve been living under a rock you probably haven’t noticed that craft beer has taken over the food service industry. This craft beer movement has opened a door for new culinary opportunities. Restaurants and Bars are now focusing on what you eat with beer. Pairing

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a meal with a craft beer can be as complex as a sommelier finding you the right wine with your meal. The best answer I can give you is how to serve what you eat with your beer-whether it is an oval bowl with chili with a bread stick leaning out the side. Or a serving dish filled with stew, with the accouterments properly displayed. Sometimes it is the different way to serve the sides, like

Co. She is known nationally 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.

continued on page 80

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Weiss, from page 78

using a condiment caddy (Cal-Mil) with glass jars for individuals, or different height caddies on buffets. The possibilities are endless but if I know one thing its that lots of sides make everyone’s taste buds happy. Beer can be crisp and light and go well with a cold soup in the warmer fall days. When a single bowl can hold soup with a large enough garnish that it makes it a meal. Fall colors bring out the colors on the trees and the bright white of porcelain china. Winter has richer colors like off white, Steelite and Lenox. Now lets get into the beer itself. First of all, no mugs, its something of the past and we need to move on. Pub glasses, plain and simple are the cups for beer, sorry mugs.

You can do a lot with a pub glass, you can etch it on the bottom and help develop the head, or put a logo on as a form of advertising. If you want a worthwhile product that’s a give-away that will help promote your brand, some factories have promos for free cresting or etching. It’s a unique and subtle way to get your name out there, plus its dif-

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ferent then your average bevnap. Now in all truth and honesty there are suppose to be different glasses for different beers. Not only does the glass signify the different type of beer being served, it also provides an aesthetic difference on the table. There are flutes that go good with lagers and more

flavorful beers or a chalice for your IPA’s and ales. You can look at it the way that you look at mix and match dishes. Unfortunately cheese doesn’t go with beer the way it goes with wine, in fact it doesn’t really go at all. In fact you might have to consider dealing with universal pairings when a customer orders a beer flight. Pairings can look like this, if the beer is clean and crisp compliment with some grainy but light on the palate like a creamy risotto. Fruity and Spicy should be paired with seafood like mussels. Hoppy and bitter would be paired with birds and grains. Beer used to be simple to pair with pretzels or wings. It is a new age for beer, so lets get with the times.

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C-CAP TRADE TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

Invitation To Industry To Support Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP)

hrough culinary training, career advising and scholarship opportunities, Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) works to break the cycle of poverty and empowers our students and alumni for success from their first day on the job throughout their entire career. C-CAP is a national non-profit that transforms lives of underserved students through the culinary arts and prepares them for college and careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Since being founded in 1990 by Richard Grausman, renowned cookbook author and culinary educator, C-CAP has awarded $50 million in scholarships, provided job training and internships, college and lifetime career support, teacher training and product and equipment donations to classrooms. C-CAP works with over 17,000 students nationwide. Through C-CAP’s efforts, a large percentage of its students find rewarding careers in the foodservice and hospitality industry with many alumni, now graduates of top culinary schools, working in leading restaurants and hotels throughout the country. “C-CAP has an incredible system in place that, through education and training, prepares underserved youth for careers in the professional world of culinary and hospitality. The program is also a huge benefit to the growing market and chefs looking for skilled and motivated talent.” says Marcus Samuelsson, Chef/Restaurateur/Author, Marcus Samuelsson Group, and

C-CAP Board Co-Chair. Recent stats report that 3.2 million disadvantaged youths in the U.S. between 16 and 24 are not in school and do not have jobs. As the restaurant and hospitality industry continues to surge, with a forecast of 1.7 million new restaurant positions by 2025, there is an overwhelming need for trained, hard-working and dedicated staff. C-CAP’s unique programs prepare students for sccessful careers in this industry and introduces them to the tools of the trade. The support and sponsorship from the industry is one of the keys to C-CAP’s success. Since 1990, Industry sponsors have provided under-stocked and under-equipped classrooms with necessary equipment and ingredients. We invite you to donate products and equipment to our classrooms and help us in our fundraising efforts. This year, Tuxton China, a leading tabletop supplier to the foodservice industry, will become a sponsor for C-CAP and is donating a percentage of their total sales from the month of September to the Los Angeles location. “We at Tuxton China are very excited to begin what we hope will be a long association with C-CAP. We have been looking for a charitable organization that we could partner and grow with that has a direct impact on the industry we are a part of. This new partnership allows us to give back and help these kids become a valued part of this wonderful industry,” says Bill Burden, Presi-

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dent of Tuxton China. “As Tuxton continues to grow as a company, we want to help partners we believe in and causes we can support which are going above and beyond to help those in our industry,” says Marketing Director Jennifer Rolander. “We chose C-CAP as our Tuxton Cares partner because they are committed to helping at-risk high school students by providing them the tools to prepare for college and culinary careers. Their organization is extraordinary and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with not only the Los Angeles location but their other locations across the country as well.” “We are excited to announce the partnership with Tuxton China Company, an industry leader in assisting and fortifying programs like ours. Their fundraising donation will support our programs and services to more than 3,200 students in 22 schools here in Los Angeles. Tuxton is here to support CCAP one plate at a time,” says CCAP Los Angeles Director Lisa Fontanesi. Tuxton China Inc. is a familyowned and operated company here in the US and in China. Started in 1999 by the Lam family, Tuxton has become a leading wholesaler of high-quality dinnerware and ovenware products for the foodservice industry. They pride themselves on fostering long-term relationships with their clients, providing exceptional customer service and producing superior quality products.

Joyce Appelman, is the National Communications Director for CCAP, Careers through Culinary Arts Program in New York, NY. She has been instrumental in opening career opportunities for many young people in the foodservice industry. Email her at joyceappelman@gmail.com

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RESTAURANT EXPERT

WITH DAVID SCOTT PETERS

Four Steps To Setting Standards In Your Restaurant

ou play a very important role in your restaurant, a role no one else can play. That’s the role of owner. And as an owner, right or wrong, your management team and line employees MUST follow your standards and you have to follow up to make sure they are being followed. How do you set the standards and make sure they are being met? How do you ensure the process is working? How do you do all that without running shifts and micromanaging your management team? Easy! You use systems, you follow up and have a willingness to hold your management team accountable. Follow these steps: 1) Document your standards. Whether it is plate presentation, cleanliness, customer service or anything else that goes on in your restaurant, YOU MUST document your standards. You have to clearly communicate what those standards are. You can’t expect your management team to read your mind. That won’t work. So walk your restaurant and write down everything that drives you nuts when it’s not done to your standards. You can even go so far as to use photos to clearly communicate your expectation, such as with plate presentation or table setting. Work all of your standards

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems

Follow these steps: 1) Document your standards 2) Implement and train systems 3) Follow up 4) Hold management accountable

Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. Download a free report to discover the #1 secret to lowering food and labor costs and running the independent restaurant you’ve always dreamed of. Learn more about

into every checklist in your building, from management checklists, front-of-house and back-of-house checklists and all position training materials. 2) Implement and train systems. I teach restaurant owners how to use food, beverage and labor systems for a more efficient and profitable restaurant. Daily paperwork, recipe costing cards, purchase allotment and labor allotment are just a few examples. Heck, checklists are a system! Once you have your systems in place, put together a training program and/or system for you to remember to follow up and check that your standards are being trained and executed. 3) Follow up. This and the next step are the two most important steps. Even if you document. Even if you train. Even if you are there every day. If you don’t follow up to see that everyone is doing the job to your standards, you’ve gained nothing but

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a lot of worthless paperwork. Checking to see that your management team and line employees are doing things the way you want them done for every aspect of the business is critical to your restaurant’s success. 4) Hold management accountable. For some strange reason, restaurant owners can easily hold a line employee accountable. If a line employee screws up, they, for the most part, find it easy to write them up and possibly fire them because they are not performing to the owner’s expectations and standards. But when a manager screws up, they are given chance after chance after chance and often nothing more than a heart to heart conversation ever takes place. NO! This is not right. They should be written up just like anyone else in your organization. In fact, I might say even more so than line employees. Your management team is supposed to run the operation the same way you would when you are not

how David can help you at www. TheRestaurantExpert.com.

there. They are the leaders and if they set bad examples, your line employees will lower their performance standards to meet what you allow from management. Instead, if a manager does not meet expectations and needs to be written up, do so. You will find out very quickly if that manager wants their job or not. If they do, they will probably never be written up ever again. If they don’t, they will either quit quickly or get written up again soon thereafter hoping you will fire them. Either way, you will know pretty quickly and will have set the tone that you are serious about your standards being met. These are the four steps you need to follow to set the standards – and make sure they’re being met – in your restaurant.

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Faith Hope Consolo, from page 58 piadina. There are six eateries within the space, including a “free university” that teaches daily drop-in classes; the upscale Osteria Della Pace, offering southern Italian fare and cocktails; and four casual restaurants, each with a different focus: Orto e Mare (“the garden and the sea”), Il Pesce (fresh seafood), La Piazza (meat-and-cheese platters) and La Pizza &La Pasta. This is the first Eataly to offer a comprehensive breakfast menu, at Orto e Mare. The bread bakery, of course, is quite impressive. Everything’s baked on premise in a wood-fired oven. Graffiti Earth at Duane St Hotel, 130 Duane St in Tribeca opened in the spring of 2016 and is the latest restaurant from celebrity chef Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti Food & Wine in the East Village. An intimate space seating 20, Graffiti Earth features Chef Mehta’s signature eclectic style of dishes with a strong emphasis on sustainability in an elegant downtown vibe. The menu

features vegetable-forward dishes with flavors rooted in Chef Mehta’s Indian roots and Persian heritage. Focus is on “ugly” fruits and vegetables and sustainable proteins. Daily Provisions, 103 East 19th St, has an anticipated October opening. “Coffee shop and bakery by day. Dinner party by night.”By Danny Meyer, Sam Lipp, and Carmen Quagliata. Located in a 450-square-foot space next to the new Union Square Cafe, Daily Provisions will serve coffee, breakfast pastries, breads, and a to-go menu of sandwiches, salads, and rotisserie items. The unique part is that they will serve dinner parties; basically an extension of your home. MEW MEN, 7 Cornelia St, is a new ramen restaurant in the West Village. The 39-seat restaurant, is an offshoot of the Hand Hospitality Group, known to have brought Izakaya Mew, Her Name is Han and Atoboy. The new dining experience celebrates the balance

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between music and ramen; a balance of the melody, harmony and rhythm of the music played while the ramen is cooked and eaten. When you enter the restaurant, a music sheet stand holds the menu at the entrance; deconstructed music cases are repurposed as legs for the oak dining tables, and stage light fixtures adorn the ceiling. There is an open DJ sound system that covers the back wall. Visually; the handcrafted tables to the curated art collection by photographer Masayuki Azuma, all design aspects flow together in harmony. There is an open 11-seat chefs’ counter, and communal seating tables in a dining area. The chef’s counter allows guests to watch the chefs at work, as if they were preparing the ramen in sync with the music. In New York City, we are watching the restaurant scene that’s flourishing and expanding through “pop-up food” and “outposts.” All the new food halls, like Urban Space, Helmsley Building

at 230 Park Avenue (E 45th & Vanderbilt Ave), are providing platforms for restaurant brands to try new venues in new neighborhoods for short periods in a small footprint to gain exposure and test the market. Just like for fashion. If it’s all about the experience in shops, the same is now happening at the movies. At the Metrograph, 7 Ludlow St, on the Lower East Side, where there is great dining, a large bar and lots of modern design, but the movies are all vintage. It’s the experience you pay for today when you have the option to watch anything in the world from your laptop. Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Avenue between Berry St and Wythe Avenue, in Williamsburg, has new movies, plus dinner in the downstairs restaurant and bar before the show, or be served in your seat as the movie begins! That’s definitely an experience. Food boundaries are always in flux; watch for the next Faithful Food! Happy Dining!

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Scoop, from page 74 differently,” Robinson says. “It’s never a boring view.”

Blue Water Grill Gets A New Look, Menu Scoop sees that Blue Water Grill, a Union Square fixture for 20 years, reopened last month after a $2 millionplus renovation that left it closed for two months. The goal, said general manager Rachid Abelouahad, was to make the restaurant more comfortable, which meant reducing the number of seats to 225 from about 285 and warming up the color scheme. The menu has changed too, with a focus on sustainable seafood and local ingredients, like cider-poached salmon with butternut squash and lobster Milanese with succotash, Chris Meenan, most recently of the uptown brasserie Vaucluse, is the new chef. Blue Water Grill is also unveiling a separate downstairs space, Metropolis that had

been a jazz club. Its focus will be on shellfish, especially oysters. Metropolis will have its own chef, Adam Raksin, who once cooked at Per Se.

An Italian Chef Skips The Meat For A Night Scoop notes that at da Tommy Osteria, an Italian restaurant in the West Village, the focus is usually on hearty dishes like pasta with Bolognese sauce or pan-roasted sea bass with capers and olives. But on one Monday night last month, the restaurant went in a different route, presenting a six-course vegetarian dinner in partnership with Southampton’s Green Thumb Farm. Alfio Longo, the chef at da Tommy Osteria, said he was inspired to do the one-night offering after spending time in the Hamptons during the summer and meeting with the team at the organic farm. Plus, he said, many of his customers “are look-

ing for a more healthy meal.” Among the dishes Longo prepared for the $45 dinner; a beet “carpaccio” with aged goat cheese, and a zucchini cake with Parmesan fondue. An optional wine pairing was also available with the meal.

Little Italy Sheds Its RedSauce Reputation Scoop sees the concept behind Genuine Superette and Genuine Liquorette, a California-inspired restaurant and bar on the corner of Mulberry and Grand Streets, is a bit puzzling to longtime Little Italy denizens. “A lot of them want to help,” said Adam Farmerie, founding partner of parent company AvroKO, “by saying we should put a chicken Parm sandwich on the menu.” Little Italy is Manhattan’s famed Italian-American neighborhood, clustered around a southern portion of Mulberry Street.

Although Chinatown has encroached on the area, Italian-American shops and restaurants, most of them of the red-sauce variety, have largely maintained hold of the street. That has changed over the past year or two, as other types of cooking, and style-conscious restaurateurs, have emerged. Places like Cha Cha Matcha, whose name comes from the Japanese powdered green tea incorporated in its drinks. The traditional Little Italy, an immigrant community whose history stretches back over a century, hasn’t vanished. Though its Italian-born population has shrunk and the neighborhood isn’t as large, it remains a tourist attraction and is home to Italian-American establishments such as Ferrara, a pastry shop that opened in the 1880s and DiPalo Fine Foods, a meat-and-cheese purveyor whose neighborhood ties go back to 1910.

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FOOD SAFETY

WITH FRANCINE SHAW

Food Safety May Not Be “Entertaining” But It Could Save Your Life

Francine L. Shaw, CP-FS.FMP, is President of Food Safety Training

hile watching my favorite morning television show recently, I saw one of their high-profile on-air personalities make a blatant food safety error during a cooking segment. He was preparing hamburgers in a popular New York City restaurant kitchen, and at the end of the segment, he ate a burger while still wearing his food prep gloves. When a longer version of that segment ran on YouTube, the anchor made additional food safety mistakes, including consuming food in the prep kitchens, not washing his hands properly, not using a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat, etc. This beloved TV personality modeled unsafe behaviors on national television, making his viewers think it’s acceptable to overlook basic (yet critical) food safety protocols. As a food safety expert, I sincerely wish the media would do a better job of promoting the importance of food safety. I understand that on television, there’s limited air time for each segment, but I get frustrated when I see highly-respected news personalities or celebrity chefs (who should know better!) make errors around food safety procedures. When viewers see news anchors, celebrity chefs or other

Solutions, Inc., which offers a robust roster of services, including food safety training, food safety auditing,

I understand that on television, there’s limited air time for each segment, but I get frustrated when I see highlyrespected news personalities or celebrity chefs (who should know better!) make errors around food safety procedures. TV personalities not washing their hands properly, using the same cutting board for raw meat and readyto-eat foods, not properly gloving, or not checking the temperatures of foods, they think these practices must be OK. They’re not!! In November 2012, Martha Stewart, queen of everything domestic, was confined to bed for several days after becoming ill with Salmonella. She had made the rounds on the various morning talk shows, preparing turkeys for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. I remember thinking: I wish they’d show her wearing gloves or washing her hands after touching raw poultry. She did neither and, as a result, she became very ill. In December 2014, celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis was on the TO-

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DAY SHOW preparing ready to eat foods with her bare hands – a definite error in the food service industry. Worse yet, she had a bandage on her finger! Where was the finger cot? The single-use disposable gloves? If this had happened in a commercial kitchen, any health inspector would have cited her for this serious violation. Prepping foods with a bandaged finger – and no protective covering – could lead to numerous foodborne illnesses that could negatively impact consumers. Repeatedly, I find myself cringing when watching cooking segments on television, wondering why the media doesn’t seem to feel any responsibility to highlight proper food safety behaviors – it seems as though they’re only concerned with entertainment.

responsible alcohol service training, writing HACCP plans and more. The Food Safety Training Solutions team has more than100 combined years of industry experience in restaurants, casinos, and convenience stores. The company has helped numerous clients, including McDonald’s, Subway, Marriott, Domino’s, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Dairy Queen, and Omni Hotel and Resorts, prevent foodborne illnesses. Additionally, they work with restaurants of all sizes, schools, medical facilities, convenience stores, hotels and casinos.

Food as entertainment has become a huge trend in recent years, with entire television channels devoted to cooking shows. However, it’s a huge disservice that these programs aren’t showcasing proper food safety protocols, ignoring even the basic rules that they should’ve learned in their first year of culinary school. These food experts have the responsibility to model proper food safety procedures – such as cooking foods to proper temperatures and checking with a properly calibrated

continued on page 107

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MAFSI Golf, from page 76

(L to R) Clements Stella’s Tom Clements, Joe Steckmeister of M.Tucker and TD Marketing’s Frank Doyle

(L to R) MAFSI Golf and Awards committee members Joe Ferri Jr., Jason Butler of BSE Marketing and Frank Doyle were on hand to present Neil London with the chapter’s Lifetime Achievement honors

awards celebration. Once again, the local MAFSI (Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Food Service Industry) Chapter selected a trio of well deserving honorees to receive their slate of 2016 industry awards. The MAFSI Chapter 3 “Young Lions” award went to Ed Hull of Jacobs | Doland | Beer. The New York City based kitchen design consultant was introduced by Pecinka Ferri’s Joe Ferri Jr. He has over twenty years of industry experience, and has worked on diverse projects throughout his career. His responsibilities include the ongoing training and education of the staff. Hull oversees all project scheduling, drawing reviews, and written equipment specifications for all of the firm’s projects. In addition to his responsibilities as Studio Director, Hull is directly involved with projects for a broad range of clients including Made Nice NYC (Eleven Madison Park, The NoMad) and Bold Foods (Bobby Flay), as well as a number of the world’s largest financial companies (including JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley). Prior to joining Jacobs | Doland | Beer, he was a designer of high-end custom foodservice equipment at

Marlo Manufacturing in Boonton, NJ. As an accomplished designer with more than ten years experience in the food service industry, Ed is uniquely qualified to lead the team at Jacobs. The group’s “Dealer of the Year” honors were bestowed on Manhattan based Balter Sales. CLV’s Chip Little welcomed the Balter team to the dais as he outlined the firm’s storied Bowery history. The assemblage greeted Balter’s longtime chief Arnold Balter who made his first industry appearance in a number of years. His daughter Lori outlined how the firm has continued its focus to serve the local needs of the local foodservice community. The local rep’s “Lifetime Achievement” 2016 award was presented to the legendary Neil London. The veteran sales executive was feted by his son Jeff and the stirring comments of his former boss Stephen Tucker. London announced that he is headed for “semi-retirement” after years of being one of the many faces of New Jersey based Singer/M.Tucker. His one of a kind sense of humor and willingness to teach and coach was appreciated and will be greatly missed. “Once again, we had an opportunity as competitors to come togeth-

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Jacobs | Doland | Beer’s Ed Hull was humbled by the award presented to him by MAFSI

er and recognize some of the truly gifted people that have had such amazing impacts on our industry,” noted the tournament’s co-chair Frank Doyle of TD Marketing.” The event marked the culmination of hard work by Doyle and his tournament committee for their considerable time invested to research venues, dates and facility coordination. Doyle’s golf committee was co-chaired by Jason Butler of BSE Marketing, Performance’s Jon Bowerman, the Pecinka Ferri duo of Joe Louis Ferri and Nick Mercogliano, PBAC’s Keith Fitzgerald with the support of Linda Cerny and Melissa Oehl. MAFSI is a 65 year-old, professional trade association comprised of 270+ independent sales agencies and 220+ manufacturers of commercial foodservice equipment, supplies, tabletop and furniture. “The MAFSI rep is a specialist that the dealer and consultant rely upon as they execute their work,” added MAFSI Chapter 3’s president Frank Doyle. “We support both – we replace neither Representatives who also advocate customer issues with their manufacturers and dealers to ensure that the operator is receiving exactly what they are demanding.” The MAFSI awards also enabled

(L to R) Pecinka Ferri’s Joe Ferri, Ronald Van Bakergem of Irinox and CLVMarketing’s Jim Voorhees

the association to make a difference and give something back to the community. The MAFSI Chapter presented a check for $5000 to the Brownsville Community Culinary Center. The funds will be utilized by The Melting Pot, a Not-For-Profit Organization managing this new local project. The group is developing a site that will accommodate a teaching kitchen, bakery, and a 40seat dining area as well as additional classroom and demonstration space, available for use by existing community organizations. Classes and workshops facilitated will aid in promoting affordable, healthy eating alternatives for neighborhood residents that reflect their culinary traditions. There will also be a café that will serve the dual function of developing students’ skills in all aspects of the restaurant experience and making the food they produce available to neighborhood residents through a subsidized pricing model.

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NYC F&B Hospitality Council, from page 8

pitality Council will be the driving force behind improving job quality in NYC and improving skills that we are facing on a daily basis,” said Peggy Rubenzer, Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Shake Shack Burgers. “I am gratified by the timely initiative spearheaded by the Mayor’s office and the NYC Department of Small Business Services to support and preserve New York as a global culinary force and to support needed talent sourcing and career development,” said Ahmass Fakahany, CEO & Owner, Altamarea Group. “The industry has faced multiple and concurrent headwinds recently and partnering with the city to proactively address the impact of these headwinds is encouraging and welcome.” “The Food and Beverage Council is a great city initiative working to bring together the hardworking and dedicated members of the culinary industry here in NYC,” said Jimmy Haber, CEO, Esquared Hospitality. “Myself and ESquared Hospitality wholeheartedly support the council and we look forward to next steps.” “If you want to witness the diversity of New York City, look no further than our restaurant industry, which embodies it,” said Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, NYC Hospitality Alliance. “Restaurants are vital to the local economy and social landscape of our city, so I’m thrilled Mayor de Blasio is making us a priority by forming the NYC Food & Beverage Council. From workforce development to regulatory reform, we’re optimistic that this council of government and industry leaders will spearhead initiatives to support the vitality and growth of our great industry. I look forward to representing the hospitality industry on the NYC Food & Beverage Council and thank the mayor and his team

for the invitation to be engaged in this important work.” “I am encouraged by the open dialogue between government and local businesses and look forward to collaboratively tackling the tough issues facing our industry as a member of the NYC F&B Council,” said Doug Satzman, President & CEO of Le Pain Quotidien. “I am deeply encouraged that the City has recognized the troubles that our industry is facing and has established the NYC Food and Beverage Council to find the answers many are looking for,” said Kevin Dugan, Regional Director, NYS Res-

in New York City is among the best in the world, and in order for us to remain at the top, there is a need to constantly develop talent,” said Eric Kaplan Executive Vice President and Vice President Geoff Glijiva, Patina Restaurants Group. “I believe that this council, along with City officials, have a great opportunity to make a positive, long lasting impact on the future workforce.” “Given the number of restaurants that B&BHG operates in NYC, we live with this challenge on a daily basis and I believe the NYC Food & Beverage Hospitality Council is a critical priority for our industry,” said Rajan

This partnership of over 30 leading industry professionals will support sustained business growth and help workers enhance skills and achieve upward mobility taurant Association. “With the impressive collection of professionals on the council I am confident that we will be able to find solutions that will benefit the whole of the restaurant industry of New York City.” “The participating restaurateurs, chefs, and operators lending their expertise and leadership to the NYC Food and Beverage Council represents some of the best and brightest in our industry,” said Sabato Sagaria, MS, Chief Restaurant Officer, Union Square Hospitality Group. “I look forward to collaborating with them and serving as a sounding board for the changing landscape and demands that our industry and our employees face.” “The Food and Beverage industry

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Lai, SVP Human Resources, Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group. “My hope for the NYC Food and Beverage Council is to be both a supportive soundboard and to help inform the administration of the urgent and pressing issues the NYC Restaurant Industry currently faces,” said Martin Shapiro, Managing Partner, Myriad Restaurant Group. “These issues not only greatly impact our businesses but consequently our employees & customers as well. The restaurateurs, chefs, and operators on the council are here to support the industry and the administration and help insure that our industry continues to survive, thrive and contribute to the health and welfare of the economy of our

great city.” About NYC Department of Small Business Services Industry Partnerships This and other industry partnerships work with employers, industry and trade organizations, organized labor, non-profits, training providers and educational institutions, private philanthropy, and workforce organizations to promote New York City as an attractive place to do business. In addition, the Industry Partnerships address the needs of workers by creating formal career paths to good jobs, reducing barriers to employment, and sustaining or increasing middle-class jobs. The executive and founding directors of the Industry Partnership teams, who sit at the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), have extensive working experience from the priority sectors targeted by Career Pathways: construction; food service; healthcare; industrial/manufacturing; and technology. The executive and founding directors of each Industry Partnership serve as lead conveners, original researchers, and thought-leaders in each of those five sectors to foster systemic changes in New York City. About the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) SBS helps unlock economic potential and create economic security for all New Yorkers by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses, and building a fairer economy in neighborhoods across the five boroughs. For more information on all SBS services, go to nyc.gov/sbs, call 311, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Dorothy Cann Hamilton, from page 4 A statement from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said her SUV collided with a truck pulling a camper trailer and that the two occupants of the truck were injured and taken to the hospital. Hamilton, who lived in Manhattan, had been visiting her summer home in the coastal town of Fourchu and was on her way to a meeting with a Nova Scotia tourism board when the crash occurred, McCann said. She had been planning to discuss a new ICC project: a seafood institute, based out of a local community college, that drew on Nova Scotia fishing practices and cooking techniques. Although not an accomplished chef, Hamilton was a devotee of French cooking, and she brought a pragmatic, clear-eyed approach to culinary instruction. “The discipline that goes into learning cooking,” she told the New York Times in 1984, “is the same as that for learning welding.” “I don’t want to put down cooking in any way because, of course, it is very much a creative profession,” she added. “But at the same time it is a trade, and that’s how you should learn it.” Her view was informed by her years overseeing curriculum at Apex, and by a close study of the Ferrandi, the Paris school that inspired her vision. The school even provided the institute’s first full-time instructor, Antoine Schaefers, formerly of the Michelinstarred Le Taillevent restaurant. In exchange for that temporary loan, Hamilton helped the Ferrandi write and codify its curriculum for the first time. The ICC’s teaching staff features some of the top names in haute cuisine. The French chef Jacques Pépin has taught since 1988 and currently serves as its dean of special programs; André Soltner (of the restaurant Lutèce), Alain Sailhac (of Le Cirque) and the pastry chef Jacques Torres also work as deans. “What she did with the school, it’s a little bit like what Julia Child did with

What she did with the school, it’s a little bit like what Julia Child did with television - to bring French cooking into the front and make people understand the importance of French technique,” Pépin said. “She is the one who put it at the forefront of culinary education.” television - to bring French cooking into the front and make people understand the importance of French technique,” Pépin said. “She is the one who put it at the forefront of culinary education.” In 2015, Pépin presented Hamilton with the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, for her work in promoting the nation’s cuisine. Dorothy Cann was born in Manhattan on Aug. 25, 1949. Her father, John, founded Apex in Brooklyn in 1961. She graduated from Newcastle University in England and enlisted in the Peace Corps before turning to the family business and receiving an MBA from New York University. Since its founding, the ICC has remained largely unchanged in its essentials. The institute offers aspiring chefs, or early-career chefs, a six-month crash course in traditional French cooking techniques. Basic tuition, which began at $6,500 in 1984, is $39,900 for a six-month course; about 500 students go through its programs each year, McCann said. In 2014, a group of former students filed a lawsuit claiming that the institute was engaged in an “ongoing fraudulent scheme” that recruited students with the false promise of lucrative restaurant jobs. The suit was dismissed. Hamilton served as chairman of the James Beard Foundation from 2005 to 2007, helping to rebuild the foun-

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dation after a board scandal in which president Leonard Pickell pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.1 million of the nonprofit organization’s money. She also chaired the American Institute of Wine & Food and hosted the radio show and PBS television series “Chef’s Story,” interviewing chefs about their life and work. In 2015, she headed the U.S. pavil-

ion at the food-themed Milan Expo, organizing a 35,000-square-foot pavilion that featured what claimed to be the world’s largest vertical farm. A marriage to Douglas Hamilton, a venture capitalist who helped finance the French Culinary Institute in the early 1990s, ended in divorce. Survivors include a daughter, Olivia Hamilton of Tampa. Hamilton liked to joke that even before she founded the French Culinary Institute - which for many years featured a teaching restaurant where students worked as part of their classes - food was at the center of her life at Apex. Like any executive, she told The Washington Post in 1985, she liked to entertain business associates at lunch or dinner. But “the American Express bill got too high,” she said, “so we decided to bring it in-house” - and visit the institute instead of going out.

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Bascom, from page 52 syrup and leaving a crystallized sugar behind.” Restaurants require a slightly less strong type of maple syrup or maple sugar, Coombs noted. “It depends what the restaurant is doing. Most of them want something like a Grade A, dark color, robust taste, or amber color. Some restaurants are cooking with it, some are using it as a topping, so it depends.” Bascom also has built a significant business supplying manufacturers with sugar as an ingredient, companies like Boar’s Head Meat, Stonyville Yogurt, Johnsonville Sausage, Clif Bar, anything that might use pure maple as a flavoring or sweetener. Bascom has also taken the lead in providing the industry with both a kosher and certified organic line of solutions. Coombs explained: “We provide a written forest management plan showing that it’s practicing sus-

tainable forestry. “When an inspector comes out to our farm, they look to make sure we’re not over-tapping the trees, going too far into the trees when we tap,” Coombs said. “We’re not thinning the woods in an inappropriate way. We’re doing it in a sustainable way. They also make sure we’re not taking too much sap from the tree and we use plastic tubing to go from tree to tree. Not many farmers use buckets anymore and we have 400 miles of tubing out in the woods that has to be cleaned. The inspector looks at how you clean it, making sure you’re using the right cleaners, correctly, and that you’re documenting it.” Coombs added that another feature that makes his business stand out is the customer support it offers. “We do more than just supply, we have a knowledge base, and a customer support staff to back it up. We’ve been around a long time, so

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we’ve heard most of the questions, the different uses, the specs, all that a customer is looking for -- the grade explanation, as you get darker in color, you get stronger in flavor. That’s what makes the grades different. The kinds of questions that restaurants often have.” Pure maple syrup isn’t cheap. But it’s worth it, Coombs declared. “If someone’s not using that much, they might want to charge $1.50 to $2.00, just to have a customer step up to using pure. When I go into a restaurant, if I’m going to order pancakes and they don’t have the real thing available, I’ll go out to my car and bring my own. BYOS. Bring in my own syrup!” In its 31 years of business, Bascom Farms has seen some changes. “More and more restaurants are using pure, and not just as a topping. It used to be the big three: pancakes, French toast, and waffles. But now we’re seeing it

as an ingredient a lot more. A lot of bakeries now use a pure maple, which wouldn’t have happened outside of Vermont 20, 30 years ago. “Most of our customers come to us. We have very good quality. People move from one restaurant to another. And they say, I used to get this at the other place we should get it here,” Coombs pointed out proudly. The company makes its own syrup but it also buys from other farmers. “We sell more than we produce and there is a real art to blending that syrup to get a consistent flavor profile time after time,” Coombs related. “So when someone buys syrup now, compared to six months ago or years ago, it’s the same flavor profile. And restaurants, especially if they’re using it as an ingredient, really want a consistent product. That’s what we do.”

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Food and Beverage Gala, from page 66 membership encompasses executives in the food and beverage allied industries of the greater New York Metropolitan area. Established in 1956, the Association, formerly Food and Beverage Managers (FBMA), have responded to the continued need for improved standards within the food industry. The Association is accessible to food and beverage executives who wish to network and grow within the industry and has

Gotham Hall provided a magnificent backdrop for the annual event.

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served many members as a career catalyst, presenting opportunities for advancement. Members contribute their time, knowledge and efforts to Association activities. The Association continues to support organizations such as Meals-on Wheels, The Children’s Aid Society, and National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Share Our Strength (SOS). The Association invests in the future of the hospitality industry via

Scholarship and Awards Programs, offering financial assistance to future hospitality professionals who have demonstrated need and maintained scholastic superiority. In 1997, the Association committed a five-year pledge of $100,000 to fund a learning center in the name of the Food and Beverage Association of America at the Elmer Bobst Library of New York University.

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Tracy Nieporent, from page 10

succeeded amazingly and others haven’t done as well. But the bottom line, it’s just common sense. You really try to be clear with your message.” People read restaurant reviews and have certain expectations. “But you have to make sure that you fulfill them,” Nieporent stated. “It’s as simple as that.” Restaurant Week has quite a history, too. “Back in 1992, the Democratic Convention was being held at Madison Square Garden. New York was going through difficult financial times. They were looking for something to create some interest for the delegates, but also to create a spirit in the city where people would be excited about something. And basically it was Tim Zagat, Joe Baum and Alan Stillman who had this idea to do a restaurant week – a three-course lunch for $19.92,”

Nieporent remembered. “I went up to a meeting at the Rainbow Room and I was fairly new to the industry at that time.” “And I’m watching these guys who are the Mt. Rushmore of the culinary world at the head of the table and I listened and I paid attention, and I thought, this is a pretty good thing,” Nieporent recalled. One of the keys to success that Nieporent has brought to the event is the standard that has been created for restaurants that wish to participate. “There’s actually 14 criteria that have to be met for a restaurant to be accepted to the Restaurant Week roster, “Nieporent explained. They include the Zagat and other culinary ratings, whether they have critical press, what reviews they’ve gotten, do they have a critically acclaimed chef and owner? Do they

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have any notable affiliations? We want it to be quality restaurants. It’s not elitist,” Nieporent said. “But we want it to be restaurants that when, people look at it, they say, yeah, those are the places I want to go.” In addition, under Tracy’s encouragement the event has expanded to include both summer and winter events. And the length of the program has grown as well, with typically 3 weeks in the Winter and 4 weeks in Summer. The New York City restaurant industry doesn’t have a bigger local sports fan that Nieporent. He lives and dies on every Mets home run, Jets touchdown, Rangers goal, and Knicks basket. So when it comes to keeping score he’s a keen observer of the numbers of his favorite teams. He takes the same approach to tracking the success of New York

City’s Restaurant Week. “The first year we had 50 restaurants participating. This summer? Close to 400,” Nieporent said proudly. “We’re in 40 neighborhoods across the entire city, serving 34 different cuisines. It’s not just Manhattan-centric and you really can travel the world from a culinary standpoint and never leave the city limits. And there’s not another culinary program in the entire country that can compare with that.”

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Bobrow, from page 24

a taste of Italy. This vanilla tinged base- woven with soft caramel notes and a long, multi-minute finish is memorable when poured over a Caffè Corretto, which is no more than steaming espresso with a shot of liqueur (or grappa) floated over the top… Coffee on Espresso? It’s amazing served steaming hot at the end of the meal- the last flavor on your palate before calling it a night. Italy in your mind and your belly! Seattle Distilling Company, located in the veritable ground-zero for hipster coffee roasting techniquesis particularly adept at weaving their brilliantly extracted, localVashon Island Coffee Roasterie Orca Blend. Seattle Distilling believes in purpose, from the grain to glass approach to distilling. I’m pretty sure that the distilled spirits direction is the perfect combination of smoke

to char to roast to sweet to tangy in this mix. All in one easy to enjoy liquid, which should be your glass. I’ve found that the perennial favorite, the humble Mocha, built with chocolate syrup, the SDC Coffee Liqueur and salt tinged seltzer water is the Pacific Northwest version of a Manhattan Special. In this case, this drink is certainly from another parent. Brandy? Where does that come in? Are they all the uncertain varietals in pint bottles that are located next to cheap, flavored whiskey at your local package store? Absolutely not and I ignore that segment completely. Raising the quality bar is what is hot right now in American Brandy. From Germain-Robin in California comes a delightful and well-priced brandy named Millard Fillmore. Named after the former president of

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the USA, Mr. Filmore was certainly forgotten by history. But just like the man- I’m just charmed by this brandy, not because it is inexpensive, but because it is made with the finesse which venerable brands like Germain-Robin brings to your glass. Sure you can drink it straight up, but I like mine in a coffee drink. Try adding a tablespoon or more in a float, over your favorite roast of coffee. Or splash some over some vanilla gelato and espresso. You are in for a sophisticated treat. Down in Virginia, Catoctin Creek is building their Distiller’s Reserve Brandy and it’s a magnificent beast. Brandy from Virginia you might say. What is that? Well the Virginia wine world is the unsung hero of the wine scene and how better to experience this terroir then by distillation. Copper Pot Still chemistry is honed

to delightful perfection drop by drop. There is a magnificent depth and softness to the distillate- rested for a time, until it is deemed ready to enjoy by the distillers. You can make brilliant Brandy Alexander’s with this historically correct brandy. No more than a couple splashes of dark simple syrup, some heavy cream (whipped just right) a splash of yesterday’s coffee (my way) and that delightful Catoctin Creek Brandy, shaken with ice with some freshly scraped nutmeg to finish? Oh my! Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in your cocktails is made simple with coffee, coffee liqueur, and brandy. Try them, interchange them and enjoy them with moderation and responsible drinking of course!

Shaw, from page 90

food thermometer. Additionally, they should be washing their hands – as well as cutting boards, counters and other surfaces – after contact with raw proteins (poultry, meats, seafood, eggs). And the list goes on and on. I understand that these cooking programs are meant to entertain, but they could also be a great platform for food safety education. If Martha, Giada and other TV stars aren’t showing any concern for food safety issues, their viewers won’t either. And that’s a shame, since food safety is such a critical issue, and foodborne illnesses have become such a serious, widespread problem. In the U.S. alone, there are 48 million reported cases of foodborne illnesses each year, as well as 3,000 deaths. I travel the country promoting the importance of food safety, but then people tune into their favorite shows and see prestigious on-air personalities making blatant food safety errors on national TV. I wish the media would weave food safety messages into the content of their cooking shows and segments. While I appreciate that they’re under time constraints, their hosts could help combat foodborne illnesses simply by mentioning (and modeling) the importance of cooking foods to the proper temperature, storing foods properly, avoiding cross-contamination and cross-contact, washing produce, the proper use of prep gloves, etc. While prep gloves may not seem “sexy” on television, they’re way sexier than the 48 hours of non-stop vomiting and diarrhea that often occur with a foodborne illness. TV personalities should entertain us, for sure, but they should also educate their viewers about the importance of food safety. That, in my opinion, is must-see TV.

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BenefitMall, from page 12 fully log the time they spend working every week. If these employees are experienced and thus command a steeper hourly wage, activities like handling Point of Sale interactions may be automated or assigned to assistants demanding lower rates. • Pay separate overtime to the employees who mostly do not need to work beyond 40 hours. These workers can stay salaried and request “overtime” authorization when needed. Robust time tracking will help in this scenario too. Implementing this advice will, in fact, increase the number of workers employed by the restaurant sector, improve customer service and keep the overtime expenses in check. Carefully Choose Your Time Tracking System: Over the next few years, restaurateurs will discover the importance of advanced time tracking systems. A few must-have features include: • Mobile applications that allow busy workers to log time on the go. A short order cook will not have quick access to a computer. • A simple user interface to encourage quick adoption. Being a restaurant worker is tiring! Grappling with a complicated time tracking system will make matters worse. • Integration with payroll soft-

ware and in-system messaging to automate and streamline administrative tasks and eliminate back and forth around seeking authorization from managers. • Meticulous documentation of hours worked and in depth reports to help identify more “proficient” workers and structure distribution of duties accordingly. It is likely that the revised overtime rule is here to stay. Restaurants need to roll up their sleeves and get to work classifying the workforce and deploying time tracking solutions to stay ahead. All of the features mentioned in this article are available with BenefitMall’s time tracking solution. To learn more about our time & attendance software, visit employers.benefitmall. com. Links: https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/ new-overtime-rules h t t p : / / n r n . c o m / g ov e r n m e n t / overtime-eligibility-increase-havebig-impact-restaurants https://nrf.com/resources/retaillibrary/proposed-overtime-regulations-impact-retail-and-restaurantmanagers

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Casa DiLisio, from page 48

cate, unique flavor and consistency. Food allergies, too, are a concern for foodservice establishments. “Our nut-free basil pesto sauce allows a foodservice operator to serve fresh basil pesto without the concerns of the allergy issue,” added Linda Di Lisio, the firm’s Director of Marketing and Sales. Last year Casa DiLisio produced and sold over 750 tons of pesto sauce. Its commitment to quality led to the American Culinary Federation awarding the nation’s only Gold Certification to its pesto sauces. In addition, its Sun Dried Tomato Pesto (VEGAN), Fire Roasted Red Pepper Pesto (VEGAN), Puttanesca Sauce, Cilantro Pesto, Creamy Alfredo, Roasted Garlic (VEGAN), White Clam Sauce, Walnut Pesto, Sauce Provencal and Napolitano Tomato Sauce and Basil Pesto without Nuts have all won Gold

Medals. The expansion of the line has been driven by Di Lisio’s vision for continually creating new menu solutions for the firm’s customer base. This has included a new breed of pizza chains that are using Casa DiLisio sauces to create signature pies and the launch of gourmet sandwiches by a major national c-store chain. “Today the line’s importance for the foodservice operator has grown dramatically as a more educated dining patron demands consistent quality,” pointed out Di Lisio. “This is especially true in Metro New York where more competitive real estate prices have enabled major chains to compete with the Tri-State area’s traditional base of independent restaurateurs. We don’t care about the price of ingredients. We use only the best. Quality is our top commitment.”

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Lobster Place, from page 70 certain times of the year. Most of our chefs and foodservice clientele prefer hard-shell lobsters. The water is colder the further north you go and so you get a harder shell. I mean this time of year as the weather is getting warm you get firm shells. We sell firm shells. We do not sell soft shell lobsters because they are an inferior product. What advice do you have for chefs looking to add tuna to their menus? With our Tuna/Swordfish program, we purchase, grade and butcher over 20,000 lbs. of Yellowfin and Bigeye Tuna each month. We apply the strictest grading standards to our tuna– ensuring its color and texture meet the demanding specs of NYC kitchens. We can trace every tuna loin we sell back to its original date of delivery, vendor and country of origin

– giving a somewhat unprecedented margin of excellence to your food safety program. With so much focus on ‘”Local to Table”, wherever possible, we source domestically harvested sword - fish from the docks of Barnegat Light, New Jersey and Boston. Many broadline distributors have added seafood specialists. What does The Lobster Place offer that an operator can’t get from a broadliner? We’ve been doing this for 42 years. It’s all we do. Our team’s expertise has branched out to encompass all aspects of seafood. Lately there ‘s so much focus on an item like Lionfish. It’s our job to be the seafood market eyes and the ears for that chef who is crazy busy keeping up with the needs of his customer base.

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