Our Kitchen - Winter 2020

OUR KITCHEN Edition 11 | A publication by PERFORMANCE Foodservice - Hickory

Get a slice

of the action Pizza trends for 2020 PG 29

Our Kitchen (ou-er kitch·en) noun A gathering place for friends and family; a place where memories are homemade and seasoned with love.

Welcome to the 2020 edition of Our Kitchen magazine.

With a new year and new possibilities, it's time to do a deep dive into your operation. Think about the goals you want to achieve this year. Is it opening another location? Sourcing better ingredients? Or is to provide a better customer service to your customers? Whatever it is, we're here to help!

Here at Performance Foodservice - Hickory, we are continually looking for new trends and ideas to use in your operation. Along with that, we are constantly looking for the best quality in all of the food we have in our warehouse. We're not about cutting corners - we want to be the place where you go when you are looking for quality.

We hope you enjoy reading Our Kitchen, and we look forward to sharing it with you!

Performance Foodservice - Hickory

7

FRESH FROM THE FARM

Premium produce with the most consistent, quality fruits and vegetables available.

11

WHAT, HOW & WHY TO COMPOST

15

TAKE THE GUESS WORK OUT OF SIDE WORK

17

HOW TO MAKE A PRESS KIT

21

FLATIRON & MANDOLINO'S

26

OPTIMIZE ONLINE ORDERING

Composting represents one obvious way that restaurants can participate in improving the food cycle in their communities.

Side work is often one of the most dreaded aspects of the job, but is essential to keeping things in order and maximizing labor costs.

A press kit is a convenient tool that restaurants can use to communicate with journalists.

A piece of New York in the south.

There has never been a better time to get into the online food ordering and delivery business as a small restaurant business owner.

A SLICE OF THE ACTION 29 GET Pizza trends for the year 2020.

33

IS LOCAL REALLY BETTER?

38

MASTERING MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Before you buy local, make sure you're not putting your business at risk.

You’ve been in business for a while, and you’re ready to take the plunge for a second (or third, or fourth) time.

Follow these five tips for a smooth opening.

what’s inside...

Fresh

from the

farm

7 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

Peak Fresh PRoduce PREMIUM PRODUCE WITH THE MOST CONSISTENT, QUALITY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AVAILABLE.

With the rise in plant based meats and clean eating among more than just the vegetarians and vegans, the use of fresh produce is being pushed to the top of menus this year.

While restaurant operators work to figure out the best way to incorporate more produce onto their menus, consumers are indicating it’s a trend they will likely support.

According to Technomic’s 2018 Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report, 84 percent of consumers agree that vegetables are a key component of a healthy diet, and 40 percent said they are more likely to visit restaurants with healthy menu options.

Technomic’s findings mirror the ongoing trend of healthy dining and the growing movement among chefs to use more produce on restaurant menus.

Performance Foodservice strives to offer the highest quality produce through Peak Fresh Produce. Buying more than 30 million cases of produce each year results in a knowledge and dependability that many restaurants and chains utilize.

Peak product specs exceed USDA #1, meaning no dirt, dust or mud allowed and uniform sizes and shapes across the board.

Performance Foodservice is able to source from only the best locations all year long, promising for fresh produce even when there is snow on the ground outside your operation.

Peak is always fresh, promising only a single day between harvest and shipping. The produce is directly shipped to the Hickory warehouse, unlike many other distributors who have

stops along the way.

All Peak items are constantly audited, working directly with the growers in the fields to the packing facilities.

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Trace Back and Third Party Audits are all part of the brand, insuring that PFG delivers you only the best.

Not only will Peak provide you with quality, but will also save you money.

Skip the added costs of a produce-only

supplier and receive quality produce alongside paper goods, frozen foods, canned goods, perishables and more.

Peak produce may be used throughout your menu. An entrée may be a Peak Portabella stuffed with Peak Baby Spinach, Bacio Cheese and Roma Sausage. A salad may consist of Peak Arcadian Lettuce Blend with sliced Peak Red Delicious Apples, Magellan Roasted Sunflower Seeds, Magellan

84% 40% say vegetables are key for a healthy diet

Dried Mission Figs and Village Garden Honey Basil Vinaigrette. Peak Russet Potatoes, Natures Best Heavy Cream, eggs and goat cheese will make a great side potato au gratin.

Peak produce is only the best quality. You can serve your guests with confidence. Confidence – the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something. That is what you have with Peak and Performance Foodservice.

are more likely to visit restaurants with healty menu options

30

million cases of produce are bought each year by PFG

Cold Box/Walk-In Cooler Cold Box/Walk-In Cooler Produce Temperature Guide

Produce Temperature Guide

42-40°F

39-37°F

36-34°F

Bell Peppers Cucumbers Squash

Cabbage Radishes

Spinach Cauliflower Green Onions Asparagus

Lettuce Broccoli Green Leafy Pre-Cut

DOOR

Celery Carrots Sprouts

Oranges Grapefruit Limes Lemons 12500 West Creek Pkwy.

Richmond, VA 23238 performancefoodservice.com

Avocados Melons Pineapples Hold in dry storage for ripening.

Kiwifruit Apples

Grapes Berries Mushrooms

FAN

DRY STORAGE: Potatoes, Bananas, Tomatoes, Onions

45-43°F

why, how, what to

11 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

The restaurant industry loses an estimated $162 billion per year due to food waste according to the USDA. The EPA estimates that 60% to 80% of all restaurant garbage is food waste. Research shows that an investment of $1 in food waste reduction can yield $8 in savings for food businesses, and reducing food waste conserves resources like water, reduces methane emissions, and helps in reducing food insecurity.

As leaders in the industry, chefs have a certain amount of responsibility for finding ways to prevent food waste, plus it’s just good business.

Along with thoughtful menu planning and proper training of staff to help eliminate unnecessary waste, composting represents one obvious way that restaurants can participate in improving the food cycle in their communities.

Composting 101 Composting is a system of breaking down organic material--things like fruits and vegetables, cardboard, bread, pasta, egg shells, coffee grounds, non-dyed paper, leaves, and grass clippings—resulting in the creation of nutrient-rich soil. Items that should not be included in your compost pile include meat, dairy, grease, diseased plants, an excess of onion or citrus peel scraps, glossy paper, stickers (like the ones found on produce), and sawdust.

Composting requires very little equipment and a small amount of education and dedication to yield positive results.

What to composte Fruits/Vegetables

Coffee Grounds & Filters Paper Napkins

Cardboard

Newspaper Grass Clippings & Wood Ashes

What not to composte Diseased Plants

Dairy Products

Coal or Charcoal Ashes Meat & Bones

Any Toxic Material

DIY If you choose to take on composting on your own, the steps are fairly simple: Choose a composting bin with ventilation, and add a layer of soil (or compost starter) to the bottom of the bin. Invest in an implement to turn compost--you can use a garden fork, shovel, or compost aerator.

Choose an appropriate location that’s accessible to staff but removed from the dining area, ideally one with some ventilation.

Equip cooks with small buckets that they can keep on their station for removing compostable materials while they’re prepping. You may want to create signage around the areas where composting occurs to remind staff what can be composted and what can’t.

Regularly turn your composting bin and make sure it stays slightly damp.

Turning once a week should help keep odors at bay. Assign this as side work to your staff, and show them the right way to do it.

Continue the process, which may take months or even a year to yield usable soil. This can be the beginnings of a restaurant garden, or if you can’t use the soil, talk to farmers you work with to see if they are interested in collecting and using the soil—a nice way to see the food cycle continue on.

Talk to your landscaping team to see if you can get grass clippings and other organic material from their work to add to the bin.

Train on It For composting to be successful in your restaurant, it is essential to

get some buy-in from your staff. In a staff meeting, introduce the concept and share why it’s important to you.

Answer questions from your staff and take the time to go over the process thoroughly. Add the composting process and expectations to your employee handbook and train all incoming staff to understand the logistics of it.

Give your FOH staff talking points to describe how and why your restaurant has chosen composting so that they can help share the messaging with guests.

Outsource Composting services are growing in popularity. Search for composting in your city online, and you’ll likely find several results. Some services will maintain the system on your behalf (though it will still require some work on your and your staff ’s part), while others simply consult on how to begin composting. In addition, your current waste management provider may offer composting services in addition to waste removal, which can be a good way to streamline the process.

Lasting Impact In addition to knowing that you are taking positive steps for the environment, the local food system, and your restaurant's bottom line, composting can have other advantages as well.

Share the news that your restaurant is composting with local media through a press release and with your network on social media and via your newsletter. This can be a great PR opportunity and can be a motivator for diners to choose your restaurant over a competitor.

Make it a PR opportunity.

Share the news that you're composting with local media through a press release, with your network on social media and via your newsletter.

take the out of

guesswork side work

15 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

If you’ve ever been a server in a restaurant, you know that side work is often one of the most dreaded aspects of the job. It’s monotonous, sometimes dirty work that doesn’t garner extra tips. But from a management perspective, side work is essential to keeping things in order and maximizing labor costs.

Side work consists of the chores that are generated by a service shift in a restaurant and can include things like filling salt and pepper shakers, wrapping silverware, cleaning floors, or even checking inventory. If there’s a holdup in side work, the next shift is going to feel the consequences. They’ll be looking to see who was working the shift before to figure out what went wrong. Here are some tips to make sure side work is just a little easier.

Create a List It’s important for side work to be reasonably manageable for staff. Your servers’ primary concern is providing exceptional service to your guests, and side work should never take away from that. Make sure to create a side work checklist that can be accomplished easily on most shifts.

Allow for Some Choice Once you have a list of tasks for each shift, create a laminated checklist that stays in one central location. Train

Side work can feel especially thankless consider offering some small, monthly goal for servers doing a particularly good job.

few weeks make sure management is watching new hires to see that they are retaining the information that’s been given and doing their tasks properly so they don’t develop bad habits.

your servers to identify which tasks (maybe three or four per shift, depending on how many servers you have on the floor and how many tasks need to be done) they would like to be responsible for, initialing the ones they’ve chosen. When employees are given freedom to choose their tasks, they are more likely to take them seriously and perform them thoughtfully than if you were to assign them.

Acknowledge Good Work One of the reasons side work can be so tiresome is that it can feel especially thankless. More often than not, conversation around side work is about what wasn’t done or what was done poorly. Flip this way of thinking by taking time to acknowledge when servers do a good job of accomplishing these tasks in a timely, efficient and thorough manner. Consider offering some small, monthly goal for servers doing a particularly good job. A small gift will go a long way in this regard.

Train Your Staff Just like your server script, menu, and other policies and procedures, side work is something on which staff should be trained from day one. And just like any other training, it should go like this: show, observe, correct, encourage. Have management show staff how you would like side work to be done; then management should observe the new hire performing the task unassisted, correcting for errors and providing encouragement when the task is completed correctly. In the first

Pinterest is home to a variety of excellent examples of server sidework checklists on. Some of the best ones are this neatly organized checklist one-pager, this one that is opening-shift specific. When it comes to crafting your restaurant’s sidework list, the important thing to remember is that it should be tailored to your specific needs. Use these templates as a starting point, but add and subtract whatever tasks you need to in order to cover everything that has to happen in your restaurant on any given day.

HOW TO CREATE A

PRESS KIT

17 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

they get the basics correct, such as when your business started and the pricing of your product. The exact contents of each press kit will vary based on the business and what you have available Here’s what press is expecting to see in a basic press kit: The Basics This includes your business name, location, hours of operation, owners, social media profiles, and contact information.

PRESS KITS FOR YOUR BUSINESS A press kit is a convenient tool that businesses can use to communicate with journalists. When journalists are researching for their stories, a press kit can help them determine quickly if your restaurant is one that fits the piece they’re working on and can answer questions and give them follow-up information to make the process easier for them and for you.

Press kits all have the same basic components. These are designed

to give journalists an impression of your business at a glance. Consider working with a graphic designer or whomever created your restaurant’s branding to create something that has the same look and feel as your overall brand.

Press kits are not about vanity.

They are about clarity. By the time a journalist lands on your press kit, they are usually already writing about you and just want to make sure

Your Story / Mission This is where you can give a broader perspective about your business, including what type of food you offer, your ambiance and vibe, special events, awards, and detailed information about your owners and management. Here, you can include your restaurant’s mission statement if you have one as well as bios of your key team members.

You may also want to answer frequently asked questions here, such as when and by whom your business was founded, total number of employees, square footage of your location(s), number of locations, popular menu items, and important milestones. Also, share information about off-site and in-house events in which your business has participated, especially if there is a give-back component involved to give journalists a feel for your community involvement.

Images Many media outlets will want to create their own photography, but some will need to rely on images that you provide. For that reason, it’s useful to create a shareable resource (such as a Dropbox folder) that includes a mix of images, such as the interior and exterior of your establishment, images of food and beverages, headshots of your owners and management staff, images of people serving/dining (with photo release consent), photos of company swag, and both a color and black and white copy of your logo. Include attribution for photography in the description

of the photo so that press knows who created the images and can include attribution in their coverage.

about often; this can help journalists come up with new and unique angles!

Previous Releases and Coverage Link to all existing coverage and any relevant past press releases so that journalists can see where you’ve already been featured and what has been said—no one wants to cover something that’s already been written

Include your press kit on your website, either on its own page or in your “About” section. You can also send your press kit to journalists on your press list or your press wish list to let them know that this is a

resource you have available. It can be useful for journalists to know it’s there when they’re looking. Some businesses will print out press kits and make them available for journalists. In this digital age, it might be more useful to simply say that copies are available upon request, but consider giving out press kits at any media events your business hosts.

25 21 Our Kitchen | Winter Edition 2018 11

Upon walking down Main Street in Davidson, North Carolina it becomes immediately apparent why Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse was given its name. The unique shape of the building is similar to that of the Flatiron Building in New York City.

Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse has been bringing high-quality and unique items to the hot culinary destination of Davidson, North Carolina for almost ten years now. Under the leadership of General Manager, Robert Wheeler, Executive Chef/Partner Bill Schutz, Sous Chef, Joey Bruce and Bar Manager/Certified Sommelier, Kevin Parks, there seems to be no end in sight.

The restaurant prides itself in bringing inspirational, unique and locally sourced meals to their customers’ tables on a daily basis. Executive Chef/ Partner, Bill Schutz, creates weekly specials that look to push the culinary envelope, even going as far to serve blow fish.

“Our goal of Flatiron is for you to sit down in what looks to be a pub and get food you didn’t expect,” Schutz said.

Along with weekly specials, Schutz has been putting out plant-based specials as well. “[Plant based foods] are exploding,” Schutz said. “It’s unbelievable and a lot of the people buying are not vegetarian or vegan. They just want to try it out.”

Flatiron not only prides itself in their food, but they’re also very proud of the atmosphere they’ve created. Regulars come in 2-3 nights a week and are greeted not by a handshake, but a hug. Questions about children and lives are exchanged between the workers and the customers. Schutz prides

himself in getting out of the kitchen to talk with customers on a nightly basis.

“I like people. I enjoy talking with everyone,” Schutz said. “We are a friendly place.”

With the combined great food and welcoming atmosphere, business has grown for Flatiron every year. Just two years ago, in 2018, they capitalized on that and sought out a whole new venture right across the street, thus Mandolino’s was born.

Mandolino’s was created to combine family values and comforting tradition with great food. They serve grandma-style pizza which has roots in Italy, but originated on Long Island, New York, where Schutz grew up.

“I grew up eating grandma-style pizza,” Schutz said. “I realized no one was serving that type of pizza in the area.”

Grandma-style pizza is a sheet pan pizza, scratch-made and brick-oven baked. Once again, they pride themselves in using great ingredients and not skimping on quality. Because of the great food and atmosphere, there is a constant flow of people every day of the week with customers coming back 2-3 times a week for a slice of pizza.

With two restaurants, things can get quite busy for Chef Schutz. With ever changing menus, inspiration for dishes can be troublesome for most, but not

for Schutz.

“I am inspired by everything,” Schutz said. “I look at artwork and the colors will make me think of a sauce to make. If you’re not inspired, you shouldn’t be in this business. When people eat your food, they should feel your inspiration.”

Many restaurants’ dreams are to open another location or a whole different venture altogether like Schutz did with his team. His advice before stepping into multiple locations would be to perfect your first restaurant and make sure you have a great team you can trust.

“Take your time,” Schutz said.

“Make sure you have the first restaurant right and you have really good people. It’s hard to find good people these days, but you need a good team that you can trust.”

Mandolino’s is not the end for Schutz and his team. Over the next few years, they are seeking to replicate Mandolino’s in other locations so that they can bring the grandma-style pizza to markets that may have never had a slice of pizza like that before. For now, Chef Schutz travels back and forth from Flatiron to Mandolino’s nearly 45 times a day. His passion drives these businesses and has thus become a hot spot in the downtown Davidson’s culinary atmosphere.

IFDA

truck driver hall of fame

Inductees

At the end of October 2019, IFDA inducted 63 professional drivers into the IFDA Truck Driver Hall of Fame on the general session stage.

The ceremony followed a celebration banquet the evening prior. Two of these drivers were Hickory’s own drivers, Richard Holloway and Billy Martin.

“We’re proud to honor the exceptional careers and contributions of these hard-working professionals with this program,” said Mark S. Allen, President and CEO of IFDA. “We are grateful to have skilled drivers of this caliber in our industry, ensuring a safe and efficient food supply for professional kitchens across the country.”

Since its inception, IFDA has worked tirelessly with its member companies to promote a culture of safety. In addition to the annual IFDA Truck Driving Championship, this program casts a spotlight on the industry's top drivers for their outstanding records of service and safety. To be eligible for the IFDA Hall 23 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

Richard Holloway with Craig Hoskins, President & CEO of Performance Foodservice at the IFDA Hall of Fame banquet.

Richard Holloway

of Fame, the driver must have at least 25 years with no chargeable accidents and may not have any moving violations within the previous five years prior to nomination.

Holloway has been with the company for 30 years, 26 of those years have been on the road driving.

His induction was unexpected and surprising.

“I felt blessed that I got it,” said Holloway.

Martin has been with the company

Billy Martin

as a driver for 32 years. " It is great to be honored for doing something that you love to do. I always make safety a top priority and enjoy having the opportunity to train other drivers to do the job I love," said Martin.

Martin and Holloway are amongst 16 Performance Foodservice drivers who were inducted into the 2019 IFDA Truck Driver Hall of Fame.

Performance Foodservice – Hickory is lucky to have a fleet of great drivers and these two are prime examples of the hard work and dedication these drivers put forth on a daily basis.

Food drive

FEEDING THE

LOCAL COMMUNITY

$6,528 raised 22,052 lbs of food donated 540 total volunteer hours Dontated 1,251 personal care items

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27 Our Kitchen | Summer 2019

OPTIMIZE

ONLINE ORDERING 26 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

There has never been a better time to get into the online food ordering and delivery business as a small restaurant business owner.

To-go meals are a growing segment of sales for many restaurants, but managing the back end of the ordering process can present its own logistical challenges.

Online ordering provides a means of capturing business that is more efficient and accurate than taking orders over the phone, and it can even result in higher ticket averages than those of in-store guests.

There are many third-party platforms that offer online ordering, but it’s important to shop around because they all come with their own fees and service issues.

One option is to look for a pointof-sale (POS) system that includes an online ordering feature. This can be a way to save up to 30% in fees, which, if you are growing your takeaway business, adds up fast. Examples of POS systems with online ordering include Square, Clover, Toast, and Cake. No matter what online ordering system you use, here are some guidelines: Make It Nice Just like a plate coming out of 29 Our Kitchen | Summer 2019online your kitchen, you want your

CREATE A BUZZ Tap into social media and e-newsletter networks with giveaways and promo codes to entice customers to place their first online orders.

menu to look just so. It’s essential to create an aesthetically pleasing website/online menu with vivid, professional photography. Unless you have a solid background in photography, this is not the time to DIY. Invest in quality photography of your food, and you’ll see the results as guests increase their spending on online orders.

Make sure you’re providing clear descriptions of menu items and that the website is user-friendly.

If a customer gets frustrated, it’s easy for them to close the tab and try another website. Make sure your website is foolproof. And remember, many customers will be using mobile devices to place their orders, so it’s important that your ordering platform be optimized for a mobile experience.

Train Your Staff Let your staff try online ordering before it goes live to the public,

just as you would train staff on an opening menu. You are looking for bottlenecks and service issues from the customer side and the service side. Run through some possible scenarios for errors and how to handle them, and make sure to train your staff consistently on how to do so. After about a week of testing the online platform, debrief with staff to learn what worked and what needs improvement.

Include online ordering in your training manual so new hires are trained on the system just like anything else, and reference online ordering in your regular service menus to address any issues that come up from week to week.

Get the Word Out Use in-store signage, table tents, and receipt messaging to communicate with existing customers about your online offerings. Tap into social media and e-newsletter networks with giveaways and promo codes to entice customers to place their first online orders. Send a note to local press to let them know that you are now accepting online orders, and consider offering a free meal to the newsroom of a few of your favorite local media outlets so they can try it themselves.

Reward Loyalty Look for an online ordering platform that can remember data from previous orders and make suggestions for customers who are placing repeat orders. Consider combining a loyalty program with your online ordering service so that customers who use it regularly are encouraged to keep coming back for more.

47

PERCENT HAD THEIR FOOD DELIVERED OVER A SIX MONTH PERIOD.

FOOD DELIVERY SALES HAVE GROWN

20

%

ACCORDING TO THE INVESTMENT FIRM COWEN GROUP, THE ONLINE FOOD DELIVERY SPACE WILL GROW FROM

43 bill.

$

IN 2017 TO

76 bill.

$

IN 2022.

8 in 10

CONSUMERS AGREE THAT RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY ENHANCES CONVENIENCE. Restaurant.org, FastCasual.com, Restaurant-Hospitality.com

29 Our Kitchen | Edition 11 31 Our Kitchen | Summer 2019

Today's Pizza Trends

Pizza shows up on one third of all restaurant menus, meaning pizza isn’t just for pizzerias anymore. Today pizza and pizza variations are showing up anywhere from Italian restaurants to trend-forward eateries. Here are some of the latest pizza trends that we've been seeing.

Breakfast Pizza No, we aren’t talking about leftovers from last night. It seems like putting eggs on everything is everywhere and pizza is no exception. We recently visited a pizza and gelato joint for Sunday brunch and indulged in a pizza contadino—buffalo mozzarella, speck, yellow tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese, runny eggs, Calabrian chili peppers and basil on a wood-fired crust—along with a classic sgroppino cocktail made with lemon sorbetto, vodka and prosecco, and some house-made brioche donuts. The menu also included flatbreads, carbonara and frittatas (most likely baked in the pizza oven). This is an inventive way for a restaurant that’s normally only open for lunch and dinner to attract customers at a new time for something different using mostly ingredients they are already purchasing.

And breakfast pizzas aren’t just showing up at Italian joints—we also recently grabbed brunch at a James Beard-award-winning farm-to-table restaurant that offered a morning flatbread featuring chicken sausage, ham, buttered potatoes, sweet onions, cheese and eggs or a tomato flatbread topped with meatballs, goat’s milk ricotta, melting cheese curds and scallions. Speaking of flatbreads…

Pizza Variations Call it flatbread, serve it on naan, throw it on focaccia, make it thincrust on a pita…pizza that doesn’t look like traditional pizza is taking over, particularly on appetizer menus. Thinner crust options make pizza more share-able and less filling so customers can still order entrees,

CHOOSE A QUALITY INGREDIENTS Millennials look for quality and authenticity when they pick where to spend their dining dollars, and this definitely applies to pizza.

not to mention they are easier to cut into small, bite-size slices. This is also an easy place to pull in international flavors—make a hummus pizza topped with roasted veggies, use Greek yogurt as a base for an Indian-inspired pie topped with roasted tandoori chicken, take a twist on a traditional pairing by using combining steak and blue cheese. This is a place to let your creativity run wild.

Pizza makers continue to compete for the best gluten-free crust, and they are adding “healthy” crusts that feature whole wheat, whole grains or other options to better please nutrition-conscious consumers. We haven’t seen the cauliflower crust that paleo bloggers rave about on a menu yet, but we bet it’s coming soon.

Quick Service and Customization In the past fresh pizza meant waiting for it to cook in the oven, and this is still the case at many traditional pizzerias. However, quick service restaurants are adding a new facet to the industry and revitalizing a category that was slow growing over

the past few years. Chipotle-style pizza joints offer consumers a choice of crust, cheese and unlimited choice of more than 30 toppings on pizzas that cook in just 3 minutes. Along with the traditional pepperoni and sausage, options like vegan sausage, fennel seeds and blue cheese make for endless combinations with almost no waiting. Sure, regular pizzerias have been offering build-your-own pies for years, but to capitalize on the more recent trend, you need to mix in more adventurous toppings and healthier crust options. You might even offer a personal pizza built on a Portobello mushroom for consumers who are going low carb.

Authentic and Premium Ingredients Those millennial consumers look for quality and authenticity when they choose where to spend their dining dollars, and this definitely applies to pizza. And, just using these products isn’t enough—you have to shout it from the rooftops. Restaurant menus call out items that are imported from Italy, sourced locally or made in house—which sounds more appetizing? Margarita pizza or margarita pizza made with California Piancone® Tomato sauce, house-made mozzarella and fresh basil? This is where Roma® ingredients come into play. Many of our ingredients are imported directly from Italy and those that aren’t are carefully sourced from across the United States for quality and flavor. Talk to your sales representative about the items you’re buying—he or she can tell you the stories you should be sharing with interested consumers.

Non-Traditional Pies And, on the other end of the spectrum, restaurants are going crazy with toppings. The pies showcased at this year’s International Pizza Expo included Korean beef bulgogi pizza, duck-and-sour-cherry pizza, even a cheese bread topped with oven-baked French fries and barbecue sauce.

Pizza Industry fast FActs

These stats will make you want to get in the pizza game

$$$ 350 slices

$38 billion

3 billion

of pizza are eaten each second in the U.S.

worth of pizzas are sold annually in the U.S.

pizzas are sold in the U.S. alone each year

13% of Americans eat pizza on any given day 251 million lbs

There is a

35% rise

of pepperoni are consumed every year in the U.S. just from pizza

in pizza delivery sales on Super Bowl Sunday

The average American eats over 23 pounds of pizza a year 14"

70,000 pizzerias are in the U.S.

14 inches

93%

is the most popular size of pizza in the U.S.

of Americans have at least one slice of pizza per month

Expert Editorial

Is Local Really

Better?

Mark McNeeley | Center of the Plate Specialist

33 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

Hear me out, please. I am a firm believer that supporting your local businesses and community should be everyone’s first consideration. However, I believe you should ask yourself this question as you consider adding, or replacing your sources to supply your protein needs: Is local really better?

The activist groups and media have been telling us (United States) we are the worst when it comes to our eating choices, and how important it is for us to be more discerning as we shop for our food, whether for home or eating out. This has been going on for well over the last two decades, and the industry has been rather sluggish in implementing changes in their processes and procurement to accommodate the public clamor for all natural, no hormones, no antibiotics, local, etc.

Here are a few points to consider when adding or changing to a local source for any proteins to serve to the public in your operation: Food Safety Food safety is often glossed over by the assumption that because a supplier is local that their products are safer due to the relationship you have with the farmer and the fact that the individual has more skin in the game over a large corporate company. This aspect has the potential to put you out of business, though. We rely, as an industry, on the USDA and FDA as the regulatory entity that the proteins we purchase are safe to eat. However, it is not a guarantee, it's only a system of processes that eliminate as many as possible chances of contamination.

Though incidents of contamination to the public directly traced to a manufacturer are infrequent in the enormity of the food industry, they do happen. In regard to a smaller local supplier, most cannot afford the necessary liability insurance to cover

one of these events, leaving you to have to cover all expenses.

Adequate Supply Due to smaller farms and packing facilities, adequate supply is a huge concern. When the local farm is running smoothly, your supply will be great, but if something happens such as sickness in the herd, not enough help or a truck is running late, your operation may be shorted, leaving you without a backup plan.

Consistent Quality There is always more grace given to local proteins in this aspect, but this is the phrase we hear more often from operators as “I have to have” when it comes to proteins. Many operators need to put out consistent sizes and quality of meat, especially when it comes to steaks. Customer A cannot have a significantly smaller steak than Customer B and vice versa. Many local farmers may not have specs in place, thus producing inconsistent products.

Affordability/Profitability ‘The buck stops here” rings true in this segment also. People expect to pay more for local, thus you can charge more for it on the menu. Yet, with hidden costs of shrink and inconsistent cuts and sizes, restaurants may be losing more profits than they think.

If you are now, or soon will be struggling with this decision (trust me it’s coming), please use these 4 questions as guidelines to making your decision.

Also consider this. Just because a product line does not originate in your local area does not mean it is not a part of another local community in this locality of our larger community of The United States.

Our Braveheart Angus Beef is sourced from one local farmer and one local packer in the Midwest who is able to employ hundreds of people.

These facilities keep the economy of their community running. Without them, these small farming communities would possibly cease to exist. Not only does our Braveheart program help keep generations of farmers afloat, all of the above mentioned points are covered.

Our exclusive PathProven food trace technology is used to not only establish a link between an animal and each cut of meat, but also to genetically ensure that our beef is the highest quality and provides the best possible eating experience. Our facilities use a slower line production with a focus on craftsmanship, ensuring a premium 1/4 inch trim specification, a more consistent product, and higher yields in the kitchen. Braveheart cattle are raised humanely, and are much smaller than the industry average. They are fed a 100% U.S. grain-based diet, thus helping another local community thrive because of the grain we buy.

Again, I am a firm believer in supporting your local businesses whenever possible, but be sure that when you are sourcing local that you are going over all of these points in order to not put your business in jeopardy.

Just a

Fry

Food Delivery drivers admit to tampering with customers' food

Keeping your food safe The possibility of a delivery driver tampering with your food and drink is something none of us want to talk about.

Most delivery drivers working for food apps are not required to carry health cards, do not undergo car inspections for cleanliness, and are not 35 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

held by any heath hygiene standards.

This means your food is most likely exposed to dirt, hair, coughing/sneezing, or even worse. Not thinking that the customer will know if they took one fry or took a swig of sweet tea, the drivers don't think it's a big deal. How can the restaurant owner be assured that their meal that they prepped is arriving to the customer safely?

Performance Foodservice now offers the option of using a Reddi-2-Go Tamper Evident Carry Out Bag from Pitt Plastics. With this bag, restaurants

can ensure that all outgoing orders are sealed and delivered to the customer. People take great care in picking their food and should have confidence in knowing that their meal will be delivered untampered with and sealed from its source to the final destination.

Third party delivery bags and service continues to grow and does come with a certain risk. Research conducted

by McKinsey & Company estimated that the online food delivery market will grow 4% every year for the next 5 years. Food delivery is not going away.

Features & Benefits Adhesive strip to permanently seal the bags Unique perforated design for easy access when opening Strong handles for easy transporting and delivery Strategically ventilated to remove excess air Wide opening to fit various containers User friendly design for fast service operations Flat packed for limited storage space areas Write-on block option to identify the customer and/ or order

These Reddi-2-Go bags are suitable for a family-sized meal and work with many types of containers. It's easy to use for your back of the house and ensures no one is getting into the bag until it arrives to the final destination.

Once the customer receives their meal, the bag has easy open instructions as well.

Restaurants can take great pride in reassuring their patrons with a sealed packaging, showing that their meal has not been tampered. At the end of the day, it's more than just a missing fry.

Back of House Data

Analytics Labor Inventory Mgmt Mgmt

Front of House Pay at Table

Kiosk

Digital Guest Menu Engagement

MARKETPLACE

Out of House Loyalty/ Online 3rd Party Reserv.

CRM Ordering Delivery

MENU MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

+200 MORE

A transformational platform giving restaurants better access & execution of meaningful 3rd party technologies while evolving current architecture for long range agility & speed to market

Eliminate the tablet chaos and optimize your eCommerce

Get Connected. Get Omnivore.

25 Our Kitchen | Summer 2019

omnivore.io

Mastering

Multiple Locations

38 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

GET NOTICED

You’ve been in business for a while, and you’re ready to take the plunge for a second (or third, or fourth) time. Follow these five tips for a smooth opening.

Choose Wisely Determining where your next location will be is one of the most important parts of growing your business. Just because you have been successful at one location, it doesn’t always mean you will find the same success in another area. Treat each location you open like a brand new business, with the same energy and enthusiasm you had for your very first opening.

Just like when you decided on your first location, you will need to do research on each potential area or neighborhood to assess the needs of the community, existing competition, complementary businesses, local support (including from the municipality where you are thinking of opening), and labor pool. You will also want to assess if specific locations are easily accessible from mass transit and if there is desirable parking and foot traffic in that area.

As you get closer to signing a lease, you will want to walk through your location with your contractor, and it also pays to contact someone in the zoning and health departments in your city to troubleshoot any potential issues before you are too far along to turn back.

39 Our Kitchen | Edition 11

Send out a release and invite press and influencers to sample the menu and check out the space to help you spread the word to the public.

Be Consistent When you open a second or third location, it can be tempting to go for a new design, to update the look of your concept. Be careful about this. Some improvement and updating can be a good thing, but it’s important to be consistent and cohesive from one location to the next so that guests get the same feeling in each place. Your square footage and layout may be slightly different, but the overall decor and vibe should feel similar. If you are updating the look at a second or third location, consider doing some renovations on the existing space at the same time to maintain that consistency.

Get on the Training Train You start the training process for your subsequent locations with a huge advantage — you’ve done this before.

Use your resources to train consistently across multiple locations, and hire and promote from within.

It can be frustrating to know when

to hire new staff when you are waiting on a location to open. By having an existing location open, you have a training ground at your fingertips, and you have the staff you need to make sure new hires are brought on learning from the best.

Consider sending some of your seasoned staff to your new locations to help open and train. Check in with them regularly to assess any bottlenecks in service or other issues with your opening logistics. This will help build company culture that spans throughout all of your locations.

Connect the Teams In addition to hiring and training from within, it can be beneficial to bring teams from each location together from time to time to review issues.

Schedule quarterly all-team meetings in one central location so that your staff has the opportunity to learn from one another. Often a team at one location may adopt policies out of habit that could be beneficial for everyone to learn. By sharing knowledge with your

entire organization, you can identify those opportunities and include them in future training materials.

Let the World Know It can be overwhelming to be running a business and opening additional locations, and often marketing and public relations are the first things to suffer. Use your existing resources to let your networks, including press, know about your plans for other locations. Table tents and check messaging are great tools for guests in your restaurant. Obviously, social media and e-newsletters are good resources for sharing as well.

As you approach your opening, send out a release and invite press and influencers to sample the menu and check out the space to help you spread the word to the public. Just like any press/influencer event, make sure to send invitations (digital is fine), send reminders, provide talking points for staff, send your guests home with marketing materials, and, if possible, some brand new swag.

Crafted to Perfection

Take the guesswork out of crafting the perfect cheeseboard with La Bottega di BelGioioso® artisanal cheeses. Mix and match any of our cheeses; add charcuterie, nuts, crostini or crackers and fruit. It’s that simple!

An Artisanal Cheeseboard Collection

CHEESE

FRUIT

NUTS

CHOCOLATE

CHARCUTERIE

artigiano vino rosso artigiano aged balsamic and cipolline onions american grana gorgonzola

Pears & Grapes

Almonds

Peanut Butter Cups

Speck

Strawberries & Blueberries

Hazelnuts

Bittersweet Chocolate

Lomo Americano

Grapes & Blackberries

Cashews

Milk Caramel

Salame

Pears & Plums

Walnuts

Extra Dark Chocolate

Dry Coppa

Melon & Apples

Cashews

Dark Chocolate

Mortadella

®

®

Perfect Pairings for Your Cheeseboard

®

provolone extra

Visit savorlabottega.com for all of our pairing and serving suggestions.