December 2015 - Total Food Service

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December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 3

REAL ESTATE // NEWS Award Winning Chefs Ink Deal To Bring Eateries To Manhattan’s Hudson Yards

I

n 2002, Ken Himmel went shopping for anchor chefs to bring to his firm’s Time Warner Center.

His worldwide tasting and recruiting tour yielded an all-star line up of chefs led by Thomas Keller, Marc Murphy and then Michael Romano.

Once again, Himmel and his Related Properties have gone shopping for the culinary component of their newest venture: Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side. Two prominent chefs have signed on to the Hudson Yards project, bringing the culinary component of the 28-acre West Side retail-and-residential

complex into greater focus.

José Andrés, the Spanish-born chef who’s long been a fixture in Washington, D.C., and Costas Spiliadis, the Greek chef behind the seafood-centric Estiatorio Milos chain with locations in New York, Las Vegas, Miami and else-

where, will helm restaurants at the one million-square-foot Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards when it opens in 2018, according to Himmel, one of the project’s key developers.

The eateries will be among 10 to 12 main dining destinations within the re-

José Andrés, the Spanish-born chef who’s long been a fixture in Washington, D.C., and Costas Spiliadis, the Greek chef behind the seafood-centric Estiatorio Milos chain will helm the restaurants.

4 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

tail complex. Earlier this year, Hudson Yards announced that Thomas Keller, the Michelin-starred chef whose Per Se restaurant is a fixture at the Time Warner Center, would open an Americanstyle grill at the complex, as well as help Mr. Himmel curate the other Hudson Yards dining spots.

Hudson Yards’ culinary concept is to feature food from acclaimed chefs in a more causal and affordable setting. “So while dinner at Per Se can easily top $400 per person, restaurants at Hud-

continued on page 116

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 5

// NEWS

OPENINGS

Sheepshead Bay’s Newest Seafood Restaurant, Cipura, Opens In Lundy’s Building The chef has headed kitchens in Paris, Turkey, and Milan. The goal of the restaurant, he said, is to offer a Manhattan experience at affordable prices for people dining in Sheepshead Bay.

E

ight years after the famous Lundy’s in Sheepshead Bay closed its doors for good, a new seafood restaurant has taken its place.

At the new Cipura Restaurant, chefs are cooking up seafood the Mediterranean way. The restaurant is owned by Michael Polat, a native of Istanbul.

Sheepshead Bay’s newest oceanside seafood restaurant opened its doors for the first time last month in the west side of the historic Lundy’s building.

The new restaurant, called Cipura after the bream fish caught off the coasts of Turkey, Greece, and Israel, competes with other Mediterranean/ Turkish restaurants along Emmons Avenue, like Opera and Istanbul Restaurant.

Owner Michael Polat, who moved to New York from Istanbul 20 years ago, said the menu includes many of the popular dishes he enjoyed growing up, while also taking inspirations from Greek and Italian cooking.

The restaurant, tucked into the corner of Lundy’s along East 19th Street, is positioned to catch the evening sun as it shines through the west-facing windows and lands on the sparkling tableware, white cloths, and emerald green upholstery.

The restaurant’s namesake dish, Cipura like several other fish on the menu, is served whole. The fish arrives with a cluster of steamed vegetables, which are bathed in butter and

cooked just enough so they maintain their snappy crunch. The aroma of the fish is like a love letter to your senses, and once you dig into the flesh, you’re rewarded with a tender, delicate, and subtly flavored bite that you’ll want to savor.

Manager Ozzy Kara said the chef has headed kitchens in Paris, Turkey, and Milan. The goal of the restaurant,

he said, is to offer a Manhattan experience at affordable prices for people dining in Sheepshead Bay. At the turn of the 20th century, Irving Lundy started a business selling clams out of a pushcart. By 1907, he had opened a clam bar built on stilts over Sheepshead Bay, closing it when

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// NEWS

EXPANSION

Manhattan Chef Murphy Expands Growing Empire With New Tampa Casino Eatery

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hef Marc Murphy is best known for his New York City restaurants, which include Ditch Plains, Landmarc, and Kingside, as well as his judging gig on Food Network’s Chopped, but he’s expanding outside of the city’s borders with the opening of his newest restaurant, Grey Salt, which opened last month in Tampa, Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

The 250-seat restaurant focuses on locally sourced fresh seafood, and the menu also includes artisanal flatbreads, handmade pastas, and rotisserie and grilled meats.

There will also be an expansive bar program, with local craft beers, aged cocktail, and a wide international wine selection.

“I was born in Italy, I’m half French, and I’ve lived in Rome, Germany, Greece, and Israel, and I’m drawing inspiration from traveling and living all over the world,” Murphy said when asked what the inspiration behind the restaurant is. “The restaurant is mainly Mediterranean-inspired, and being right next to the Gulf means we’ll have access to amazing seafood.”

Appetizers include roasted octopus with potato, garlic, parsley, and smoked paprika; roasted clams and shrimp with garlic, chili flakes, shallot, and white wine; and wood grilled merguez with le puy lentil and mustard vinaigrette. Pastas include shrimp rigatoni with Calabrian chili and roasted leek risotto with crispy shallots and Parmesan.

“I was born in Italy, I’m half French, and I’ve lived in Rome, Germany, Greece, and Israel, and I’m drawing inspiration from traveling and living all over the world,” Murphy said.

8 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Entrees include roasted Gulf Coast snapper with seasonal vegetables, wood grilled Berkshire pork chop with eggplant caponata, rotisserie half chicken, and a Prime bistecca alla fiorentina with watercress and grey salt.

Why Tampa? “I’ve been looking around for a place to do something outside of New York, and the culinary scene in Tampa is starting to get really interesting,” Murphy added. “It’s right on the Gulf, there’s great seafood, and the city’s dining scene is really up and coming. I’m excited to be a part of it!”

The Murphy legacy sounds like a Hollywood script. Eager to return to Europe, Marc flew to Paris and landed a position at the one-star Le Miraville, where he stayed for one-and-a-half years. Afterward, he staged at the famed Louis XV in Monte Carlo, where Executive Chef Alain Ducasse was so impressed with Marc’s skills that he personally made arrangements for him to work with Sylvain Portay at Le Cirque once he returned to the States.

Marc still considers Portay to be his greatest teacher. “Sylvain was above all concerned with coaxing out the most-vibrant, interesting flavors any ingredient had to offer, yet he insisted on minimal manipulation,” he recalls. Following Le Cirque,

Chef Marc Murphy

Fortunato tapped him to work as a sous chef at Layla, Drew Nieporent’s Middle Eastern fantasy in Tribeca, where he met consultant Georges Masraff. When Masraff joined forces to open Cellar in the Sky at Windows on the World, he recruited Marc to serve as executive chef. After receiving critical acclaim, including a two-star review from The New York Times, Marc headed uptown to serve as executive chef of La Fourchette, where NYT critic Ruth Reichl awarded him another glowing two-star review, citing his “open desire to transform food so that in

continued on page 104

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 9

// INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Tipping: A Tender Industry Topic Author’s note: In June of 2013 I wrote the following article dealing with tipping. Recently the subject has been receiving national attention through the general press, TV news outlets, and, naturally, the trade press. One of the arguments in favor of tipping is the lower income rate paid to the “back of the house” employees. I suggest you look at the many industries where basic rates are also augmented by tips. While perhaps more prevalent in the food service industry, tipping in the United States is a common custom, and I do not believe it will be abolished or replaced by a service charge in the near future. For this reason, I have asked the editor to run the column again.

T

his little essay deals with a tender industry topic, tipping. Articles have recently appeared in both the general and industry press dealing with different aspects of the issue. First, should restaurant tipping be abolished? Next, should restaurant tipping be made mandatory? And what is the law as it relates to having mandatory tipping for parties of a certain size?

As for the first two questions, should restaurant tipping be abolished and should more restaurants institute mandatory tipping, I for one feel that, like previous efforts, it will not happen. My statement is not born of arrogance, nor should it be considered dismissive. Rather, it is based on 50+ years of industry experience and

familiarity with the topic.

Why is it that whenever tipping is discussed, the emphasis is always on restaurant tipping? A recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin illustrates how widespread tipping is, and yet many of those listed there rarely, if ever, receive any attention.

The survey includes these service providers: restaurant staff (including waitstaff, takeout coordinator, maître d’), 87 percent; hairstylists, 69 percent; bartenders, 62 percent; taxi (car or limo drivers), 60 percent; valets, 54 percent; bellhops, 52 percent; beauty treatment providers, 41 percent; home delivery (new furniture, appliances), 18 percent; spa treatment providers, 35 percent; and restroom attendants, 22 percent.

The survey also reveals the following analysis of restaurant tipping: 30 percent of U.S. adults said they don’t leave a tip when they receive less than average service. Half (50 percent) leave a small tip when they experience subpar service.

For some customers the quality of the establishment can be a deciding factor in how much they tip. Sixteen percent of U.S. adults who dine in restaurants tip more when they’re at a fine dining establishment.

On the flip side, 51 percent tip solely depending on the service they receive. Twenty-five percent said they don’t tip more when they are at a fine dining establishment and 8 percent don’t dine at such a place.

Traditional tippers still exist, ac-

10 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

WITH FRED SAMPSON

cording to the survey. More than half (51 percent) of U.S. adults typically tip 16 percent or more for average service in a restaurant and nearly one third (32 percent) said they leave between 15 and 22 percent for average service. Fourteen percent said they tip 10 percent for average service.

You will note that 51 percent stated it is the quality of the service they think they received that determines the amount of the tip. Simply put, they don’t want management making that determination for them.

Some operators have mandatory tipping in place for all guests. There is no doubt in my mind that prior to implementing such a policy the operators reviewed the voluntary tipping habits of their patrons, i.e., charge card sales, house accounts (if they had such), and had discussions with the waitstaff. They also monitored the reactions of their guests. I would recommend that any establishment thinking of converting to a mandatory gratuity policy to first do some type of feasibility study. You don’t want to find out after the fact that your patrons don’t like it and that’s why they are no longer your patrons.

Most guests do not want to surrender the right to tip on the basis of the service they receive; in other words, they don’t want the amount of the tip predetermined by management prior to being served. The last thing they want is to have to ask management to reduce an 18 or 20 percent service charge if the service falls short. Rather, they’ll pay it and probably won’t return. Chances are they also will share their dissatisfaction with their family, friends, and let’s not forget social media and websites hosting reviews.

As for mandatory tipping for parties of six, eight, or more, you should see if there are any local laws dealing with this practice and, if so, make guests aware of this policy, preferably on the

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

Within the next four years the NYSRA 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

menu. Calling the authorities when a guest or guests refuse to pay is not the preferred solution. In three cases that I’m familiar with where management did so, they were not successful.

The local district attorneys who normally handle such matters ruled that “gratuities are voluntary payments and not subject to a legal remedy.”

You may not agree, but that was their conclusion. I might add that in each incident, the press coverage was not helpful to the establishment.

I would not be so presumptuous as to say a mandatory gratuity or service charge for à la carte service will never become customary in the United States. I never thought that General Motors would go bankrupt, either. Think about this. The American consumer feels that more and more of his or her rights to choose are being diminished, and a mandatory gratuity or service charge adds to that sense of frustration. And then there is the economy, slowly wending its way back. Remember, timing is everything. Is this the time for change?

The decision is yours.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 11

// FEATURE STORY

Honoring The Leading Women Of Metro New York Foodservice & Hospitality From A To Z FROM THE PUBLISHER As we celebrate 25 years of publishing TFS-TOTAL FOOD SERVICE this year, we have noticed a number of major changes and trends in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry in Metro New York.

At the very top of that list of trends is the impact that women have had on the Tri-State foodservice scene.

They have risen to amazing heights and turned the Greater NYC marketplace into the epicenter of the world’s restaurant and food service industry.

Certainly, it’s easy to point to the growth of culinary programs and food programming on television, which has led to pockets of culinary excellence in Metro NYC and across the country. But in the Tri-State area, these talents reach far be-

yond just the back of the house.

There are incredible women making their marks on everything from a Manhattan hospital serving 5,000 plus patient meals every day to an iconic food writer in a major NYC newspaper to a Westchester executive recruiter who wheels and deals on behalf of top investment firms to find CEO’s to run some of the world’s largest restaurant chains.

We owe special thanks to a number of colleagues that represent

12 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

many segm e n t s of the Tr i - S t a t e foodservice comm u n i t y.

They were gracious with their time to help us build this list of the “best and the brightest” women in our industry. We selected categories based on that

TOP WOMEN F R O M A-Z

input.

Our goal for the criteria of this list was to identify innovators within each of those major disciplines of the foodservice and hospitality industry. Women are having a major impact on the bricks and mortar design of restaurants, and the sales

of equipment supplies and service. They also have major impact on what food and beverage is being served on local menus, and the management and marketing of foodservice facilities.

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

Fred Klashman Publisher, Total Food Service

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 13

Top Women A-Z, from page 12

Stephanie Abrams

Marybeth Bentwood

Rotisserie Georgette New York, NY • Chef

Wines Of Chile USA New York, NY • Liquor & Spirits

Donatella Arpaia

Nicole Acrish

Gina Bertucci

Admiration Foods Englewood, NJ • Food Mfg

Marriott Hotels New York, NY • Hotel

Prova/Kefi, New York, NY

Joyce Appelman

Sara Bigelow

C-CAP New York, NY • Public Relations

The Meat Hook New York, NY • Chef

Marika Vida Arnold

Cynthia Billeaud

Ritz Carlton Central Park New York, NY • Sommelier

Dinex Group New York, NY • Chef

Mary Attea

Diana Bisson

Annisa New York, NY • Chef

Foxwoods Casino Mashantucket, CT • Purchasing

Cindi Avila

Leah Blackman

Green Goddess Public Relations New York, NY • Public Relations

Icrave New York, NY • Design

Alison Awerbuch

April Bloomfield

Abigail Kirsch New York, NY • Caterer

The Spotted Pig New York, NY • Chef/Owner

Carrie Bachman

Barbara Boden

Carrie Bachman Public Relations New York, NY • Public Relations

Global Amenity Services New York, NY • B&I

Lori Balter

Nicole Bonica

Balter Sales New York, NY • Equipment & Supply

NYC Schools New York, NY • Schools

Lisa Banas

Nicole Bosco

Mohegan Sun Casino Uncasville, CT • Purchasing

Charmer Sunbelt Brooklyn, NY • Wine & Spirits

Lidia Bastianich

Antoinette Bruno

B&B Hospitality New York, NY • Chef/Owner

Star Chefs Brooklyn, NY • Events

Jennifer Baum

Mika Bulmash

Bullfrog & Baum New York, NY • Public Relations

Wine for the World New York, NY • Wine & Spirits

Emma Bengtsson

Beth Bunster

Aquavit New York, NY • Executive Chef

Whitson’s Islandia, NY • Finance

14 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

How would you feel having to judge whether Bobby Flay or Gordon Ramsey’s foi gras is better?

That’s exactly Donatella Arpaia’s role on The Food Network’s Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.

She’s also a contributor to the Today Show. Once a corporate attorney, Donatella opened her first restaurant, Bellini in 1998. Her other restaurants include davidburke & donatella, which has received four stars from Forbes and the Five Diamond Award, Anthos, a Michelin Star Greek restaurant which was named Best New Restaurant by New York and Esquire in November 2007, and Mia Dona which opened in February 2008. In 2007, she and chef Michael Psilakis opened restaurant Kefi in the Upper West Side of New York City. In mid-2009, Donatella and Psilakis opened Eos in Miami’s Viceroy Hotel, her first restaurant opened outside of New York.

She also has time for a personal life, too. In 2011 she married cardiac surgeon Allan Stewart, and in that same year, had her son.

Alicia Cannon AJC Design, New York, NY Alicia Cannon, founder and principal of New York-based AJC Design, has a unique background that shapes every single one of her intriguing projects. Named one of Hospitality Design magazine’s 2015 Wave of the Future honorees, Cannon is known for a signature approach that balances dramatic, pop-inspired pieces with tailored, classic styles. This stems from working with luxury brands and collaborating with urban artists alike. Injecting each project with professionalism and an inventive edge, her top priority is delivering a product that captures— and extends—each client’s vision. That’s why the WBE (Woman Business Enterprise)-certified designer spends time getting to know every single one of them personally, and embarks on a true partnership to meld functionality and intricate aesthetic details.

Recent AJC Design work runs the gamut from the Westport Inn, in Connecticut, to the Hotel Indigo, in Brooklyn, but Cannon’s affinity for timeless design began shortly after graduating from the Pratt Institute of Art. Named a recent Stevie Award Bronze winner (in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year— Business Products—10 or Less Employees category), Cannon’s wide-ranging design résumé spans full-service and luxury hotels, intimate residences and sweeping corporate interiors.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 15

Top Women A-Z, from page 14

Lonnie Burt

Alison Cody

Ariane Daguin

Lauren DeSteno

Hartford Schools Hartford, CT • Schools

MAFSI Atlanta, Ga • Association

D’Artagnan Newark, NJ • Distribution

Marea New York, NY • Chef

Lorena Campos

Barbara Cohen

Dianna Daoheung

Denise DiMare

Lorena’s Maplewood, NJ • Chef/Owner

RC Fine Foods Belle Mead, NJ • Food Mfg

Black Seed Bagels New York, NY • Chef

Connecticut Schools Hartford, CT • Schools

Kathleen Cassidy

Faith Hope Consolo

Karen DeLamater

Gladys DiStefano

Sachem Schools Lake Ronkonkoma, NY • Schools

Prudential/Douglas Elliman New York, NY • Real Estate

Jersey City Public Schools Jersey City, NJ • Schools

FBAA New York, NY • Association

Nicole Castillo

Dana Cowin

Wordhampton PR East Hampton, NY • Public Relations

Chefs Club New York, NY • Marketing

Venus Cheung

Jeanne Cretella

Starr Restaurants New York, NY • HR

Landmark Hospitality Jersey City, NJ • Owner

Helen Chiu

Claire Criscuolo

Win Depot • Long Island City, NY Equipment & Supplies

Claire’s New Haven, CT • Chef/Owner

Esther Choi

Suzanne Cupps

Mokbar New York, NY • Chef

Gramercy Tavern New York, NY • Chef

Linda DiLisio Casa DiLisio, Mt. Kisco, NY As VP Operations of Casa DiLisio, Linda has been in the industry for over 30 years. During that time she has helped her parents, Lou and Lucy DiLisio market and build Casa DiLiso’s business to where it is today. She is responsible for the daily running of their plant and representing the company at the numerous trade shows that Casa DiLisio participates in every year. The company’s brand of sauces fits all of the criteria for Food Service and sells their products to everyone from the Cruise Lines to Chain accounts to White Table Cloth establishments and every kind of operation in between.

Amanda Cohen

Alice Elliot The Elliot Group, Tarrytown, NY Photo: Stephen Elledge

Dirt Candy, New York, NY Dirt Candy may not initially sound like the kind of place you’d want to eat, but one visit sows the seed for many return visits.

Amanda Cohen is the chef and owner of Dirt Candy, an awardwinning vegetable restaurant on New York City’s Lower East Side. The restaurant’s original location only had 18 seats and was open for six years, during which time it became the first vegetarian restaurant in 17 years to receive two stars from the New York Times, was recognized by the Michelin Guide five years in a row, and won awards from Gourmet Magazine, the Village Voice, and many others.

Amanda was the first vegetarian chef to compete on Iron Chef America and her comic book cookbook, Dirt Candy: A Cookbook, is the first graphic novel cookbook to be published in North America. Currently in its fourth printing, the cookbook celebrates everything Amanda loves about vegetables.

16 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Alice Elliot once said she really does “drink the Kool Aid” of changing people’s careers – or, more specifically, their lives.

Pegged in 2014 as one of the 50 most powerful people in the foodservice industry, Elliot is founder and CEO of Executive Search firm The Elliot Group, which finds, simply, the best talent in the foodservice world.

In the constantly evolving foodservice world, that’s the one constant, and specializing in “human capital,” as she likes to put it, she brings her company’s executive search, human resources and leadership abilities to the job of matching phenomenal people with phenomenal jobs in the industry.

Throughout her career Alice has been sought out for her insight and advice on trends in the industry and human capital issues. And for more than 25 years, her firm hosted one of the industry’s most sought-after invitation-only events: the Elliot Leadership Conference.

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December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 17

Top Women A-Z, from page 16

Angela Dimayuga

Audrey Farolino

Jenny Glasgow

Rozanne Gold

Mission Chinese Food NY New York, NY • Chef

Zagat / Google New York, NY • Media

Olivier Cheng Catering & Events New York, NY • Chef/Caterer

Gold Enterprises New York, NY • Chef

Randi Shubin Dresner

Nancy Finkelstein

Island Harvest Food Bank Mineola, NY • Charity

Carousel Cakes Nanuet, NY • Food Mfg

Maureen Drum

Pearl Fleischman

Institute Of Culinary Education New York, NY • Education

Kerekes / Bake Deco Brooklyn, NY • Equipment & Supplies

Ariane Duarte

Susie Fogelson

Ariane Kitchen Bar Verona, NJ • Chef/Owner

Food Network New York, NY • Media

Laura Endico-Verzullo

Elizabeth Franks

Ace Endico Brewster, NY • Distribution

Acfli Holtsville, NY • Association

Florence Fabricant

Kelly Friend

The New York Times New York, NY • Media

Whitson’s Islandia, NY • Operations

Georgette Farkas

Christine Gertler

Restaurant Georgette New York, NY • Owner

Jacobs Doland New York, NY • Consultant

Citibank, New York, NY

Food and finance don’t often go together but for Amy Greenberg, it’s a perfect fit.

A senior vice president in global corporate services operations at Citi, Amy has served as a leader with over 25 years corporate services experience managing dining operations, fitness, and wellness organizations, all while strategically aligning her services with Citi’s core business.

But this is not all she does. She’s a recognized leader who has served as president of the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM) Harvard University Dining Advisory Board, and Culinary Institute of America Society of Fellows.

“Amy is a dedicated professional who you could always be assured would complete an assignment in a way that would exceeded your expectations,” says Leo Farley, CFO at Envision EMI. “Regardless of the assignment, she is willing to give it her all.”

18 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

NYSRA, Albany, NY Melissa has brought her love and expertise of both the foodservice world and government affairs together to serve as president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA).

“It was serendipity,” she says. “I ended up getting an internship in the government affairs department of the National Restaurant Association (NRA). Through my job I got to meet Rick Sampson from the NYSRA, and after my first child was born, I was asked if I’d consider returning to New York. I was invited to apply for a regional rep position, and became the Northeast regional rep for the association. The timing seemed right for me. I’d spent my 20s in Washington, DC, and it was a good time for my family and me to move home.”

Melissa is so valuable to the association because she brings her wealth of knowledge about how government works and the ways in which it can help the foodservice industry, a combination that benefits both.

Alex Guarnaschelli Photo: Culinary Institute of America

Amy Greenberg

Melissa Fleischut

Food Network, New York, NY You’ve probably seen her on Chopped, and winced at some of her judgments of contestants’ dishes. Most of the time, Alex Guarnaschelli tries to cut her criticism with kindness. But she’s tough and demanding; because that’s how she’s lived her own life.

She’s also an executive chef at New York City’s Butter restaurant and was executive chef at the award-winning The Darby restaurant before its closing.

It’s not just Chopped she appears on, but Food Network’s Iron Chef America, All Star Family Cook-off, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate. She hosts Alex’s Day Off and The Cooking Loft on Food Network and Cooking Channel.

In 2012, she was crowned America’s Next Iron Chef on Iron Chef America, currently the only woman who has made that win, and only the second female ever to obtain that TV honor.

In 2013, Guarnaschelli’s first cookbook was published. Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to Cook.

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Our Fisherman’s Pride® Calamari is 100% all natural, wild caught, and fully cleaned. Our offerings include domestic east coast Calamari as well as imported varieties from China, India, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, and Peru. They are flash frozen within hours of harvest to preserve their freshness and sweet flavor making it the perfect Chef’s ingredient for any seafood dish. Fisherman’s Pride® exceeds the highest standards of quality and is used by some of the most reputable Chefs worldwide. Supervised under HACCP guidelines and the strictest of quality control for consistency, excellence, and value with every pound purchased.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 19

Top Women A-Z, from page 18

Rebecca Goldberg

Hattie Hill

Lisa Kartzman

Johanna Kolodny

Pierre Hotel New York, NY • Hotel

Women’s Foodservice Forum Dallas, TX • Association

American Roland New York, NY • Food Mfg

Baldor Bronx, NY • Distribution

Susan Goldman

Megan Humpreys

Linda Kavanaugh

Stephanie Kornblum

RC Fine Foods Belle Mead, NJ • Food Mfg

Four Seasons New York, NY • Hotel

NECG Stamford, CT • Public Relations

Culintro New York, NY • Media

Stephanie Goto

Penny Hutner

Elizabeth Kellogg

Jaime Kriss

Stephanie Goto Design New York, NY • Design

Advance Tabco • Edgewood, NY Equipment & Supplies

Kellogg & Caviar New York, NY • Public Relations

Restaurant Depot College Point, NY • Cash & Carry

Nicole Griffin

Ali Hynes

Vincenza Kelly

Gloria La Grassa

CT Restaurant Association Hartford, CT • Association

Milk Bar New York, NY • HR

Italian Trade Commission New York, NY • Vendor

Pluckemin Inn Bedminster,NJ • Chef/Owner

Yusi Guerrera

Patti Jackson

Abigail Kirsch

Jessica Lappin

Citarella New York, NY • Owner

Delaware And Jackson Brooklyn, NY • Chef/Owner

Abigail Kirsch Briarcliff Manor, NY • Caterer

Downtown Alliance New York, NY • Association

Tara Halper

Rita Jammet

Amanda Kludt

Linda Lawry

Key PR New York, NY • Public Relations

La Caravelle New York, NY • Chef/Owner

Eater New York, NY • Media

Les Dames D’ Escoffier New York, NY • Association

Sunny Halperin

Saru Jayaraman

Party Rental Ltd. Teterboro, NJ • Vendor

ROC Berkley, CA • Association

Marilou Halvorsen NJRHA, Trenton, NJ Marilou Halvorsen’s first job was at Radio City Music Hall as the assistant to the Vice President of Events. From there she went to work for a special events company traveling all over doing events and marketing those events all over the country.

Halvorsen took an interesting route to the leadership position of the NJRHA. She was executive director of the New Jersey Amusement Association and Jenkinson’s, which included a whole slew of recreational activities around a boardwalk, including a hotel, ice cream shoppe, nightclub and zoo aquarium.

“An association is just like a business,” she says. “My members are my customers. I have to make sure that their experience with the restaurant association is a good one. Whether it’s for member benefit, networking, and legislative initiatives. You know we need to make sure that they’re maximizing the value of their membership with the New Jersey Restaurant Association.

Because without members you’re not an association.”

20 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Barbara Kane Ecolab, Shrewsbury, NJ Named as one of the 20 most influential people in foodservice

by FoodService Director in 2012, Barbara was also the first business partner to be appointed president of the Society for Food Service Management (SHFM), the leading national association serving the needs and interests of executives in the corporate foodservice and workplace hospitality industries. As Vice President of Industry Relations, at Ecolab, she has been the chair of the Industry Advisory Board of the Association for Healthcare Foodservice and active in the American Dietetic Association, the Women’s Foodservice Forum, the International Food Manufacturers Association, the National Association of College and University Food Services, the National Restaurant Association. Patty Oliver, director of nutrition services for UCLA Medical Center. “She brings so many ideas and suggestions with her because of the array of experience and responsibilities she’s had with other associations,” noted Patty. “She is a hard worker and she has a wonderful head for business. She has taught me a lot; I consider her to be a mentor as well as a friend.” When does she have time to sleep? Maybe that’s not so important when you’re changing and improving the foodservice world.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 21

Top Women A-Z, from page 20

Hanna Lee

Heather Maloney

Sam Mittler

Jill Nouatt

Hanna Lee Communications New York, NY • Public Relations

Definition Design New York, NY • Design

The Dessertist New York, NY • Chef

Food Network New York, NY • Media

Sarabeth Levine

Laura Maniec

Fran Moreira

Tracy Obolsky

Sarabeth’s New York, NY • Chef/Owner

Corkbuzz Wine Studio New York, NY • Liquor & Spirits

Restaurant Depot College Point, NY • Cash & Carry

North End Grill New York, NY • Chef

Ellen Lynch

Eileen Manitsas

Sara Moulton

Mandy Oser

Food Bank For Westchester Elmsford, NY • Charity

Baldor Bronx, NY • Distribution

Food Network New York, NY • Media

Aredesia Wine Bar New York, NY • Wine & Spirits

Elise Maclay

Jennifer Martin

Abby Murtagh

Shanna Pacifico

Connecticut Magazine New Haven, CT • Media

New York State Schools Albany, NY • School

Waldorf Astoria New York, NY • Hotel

Cozinha Latina Brooklyn NY • Chef/Owner

Candice Madan

Zarela Martinez

Marion Nestle

Cai Pandolfino

Acme American Jamaica, NY • Service

Zarela New York, NY • Chef

NYU New York, NY • Education

Green & Tonic Greenwich, CT • Owner

Karen Maier

Tara Mastrelli

Liz Neumark

Becca Parrish

Nutri-Serv Burlington, NJ • Schools

Studio Tano New York, NY • Design

Great Performances New York, NY • Caterer

Becca PR New York, NY • Public Relations

Anita Lo Annisa, New York, NY Praise, honor and disaster have all visited Anita Lo, chef and owner of Annisa in New York City, but she is back on top today.

She earned a degree in French language at Columbia University; she studied at Reid Hall—Columbia’s French language institute in Paris. And it was there she fell in love with the food culture and vowed to return.

Lo interned under Guy Savoy and Michel Rostang. Back in New York, Lo worked her way through all the stations at David Waltuck’s Chanterelle, developing her culinary style during her time at Mirezi.

In 2000, Lo opened Annisa (whose name means “women’’ in Arabic), an intimate, upscale restaurant in Greenwich Village serving Contemporary American cuisine, an instant hit. But in June 2009, a fire destroyed the restaurant entirely. But in April 2010, after a complete renovation of the original Barrow Street location, Lo reopened Annisa.

In February 2014, critic Pete Wells re-reviewed Annisa in The New York Times, giving the restaurant three stars, calling her food “remarkable” and “impressive.”

22 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Claire Poulos Table To Table, Englewood, NJ A “golden handshake” from IBM propelled Claire Poulos into a desire to make the world a better place. So I went to cooking school.

I went to the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. And trained as a chef.” Claire admits she hadn’t planned on working as a chef. “I was just always interested in food. I come from a big food family!” she says. “I thought, I’ll just take a year off. Go do something that I want to do. And then I’ll figure out what else I’m doing with my career. So, after I got out of cooking school, I did some work with the James Beard House because they were associated with the school.” Here’s where the making the world a better place comes in. Claire established a new service, Table to Table, which helps 60 food relief agencies in northeast New Jersey. What makes it really outstanding is that it gets no government funding and is completely supported by corporate and private donors. Soon she had buy-in from Whole Foods, Alpine Country Club, Arthur’s Landing in Weehawken. The program exploded, with people wanting to give her food. Last year, Table to Table served twelve million meals. Looks like she’s definitely made the world a better place.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 23

Top Women A-Z, from page 22

Erin Pepper

Jennifer Ross

Lynne Schultz

Neesha Seeruai

Le Pain Quotiden New York, NY • Management

Barclay Center Brooklyn, NY • Caterer

Tri-State Marketing Ossining, NY • Equipment & Supplies

Apple Metro Harrison, NY • HR

Cyndi Perez

Diane Rossi

Peacock Inn Princeton, NJ • Chef/Owner

Pro-Tek Jericho, NY • Service

Kelly Perkins

Carla Ruben

Bold Restaurants New York, NY • HR

Creative Edge New York, NY • Caterer

Cucharamama / Zafra, Hoboken, NJ

Mina Pizarro

Nicki Russ

Juni New York, NY • Chef

Russ & Daughters New York, NY • Owner

Jennifer Rachoff

Nicole Ruvo

Fourth Wall Restaurant New York, NY • Attorney

Dom Perignon New York, NY • Wine & Spirits

Antonella Rana

Amy Sacco

Giovanni Rana Pastificio & Cucina Cucina New York, NY • Chef

No. 8 New York, NY • Nightclubs

Ann Redding

New Jersey Monthly Magazine Morristown, NJ • Media

Owner of Zafra and Cucharamama Restaurants in Hoboken NJ, Maricel Presilla got into the restaurant business, at, where else? A restaurant.

It was a chance meeting at a restaurant in Manhattan called The Ballroom that was owned by a very famous chef at the time, Felipe Rojas-Lombardi. “He had been an assistant of the great James Beard at his cooking school and was very well connected,” she says. “He had opened the first tapas bar in the US with a cabaret where many great singers performed.”

“I was at NYU getting my doctorate in Medieval Spanish history but I liked to cook for a lot of people so I had been asked to coordinate the food events of Catalan Week at school,” she recalls.

It was during this weeklong event that she met Montse and ended up meeting Felipe. “The day I first visited The Ballroom, Felipe said, ‘If you would like some training you can come here on your free day at the university.’ That was Wednesday. So I did that and The Ballroom became my first professional kitchen.”

She also met some of the movers and shakers of the industry – “which led to everything else in my life – everything good happened in that kitchen.”

Uncle Boons New York, NY • Chef

Joan Reminick Newsday Melville, NY • Media

Leslie Rempfer NJRA Trenton, NJ • Association

Meredith Reuben EBP Supply Solutions Milford, CT • Distribution

Carolyn Richmond Fox Rothschild New York, NY • Attorney

Tonya Riggins Newark Schools Newark, NJ • Schools

Jasmine Rodriguez 16 Handles New York, NY • Quick Serve

Rosie Saferstein

Arlene Sailhac ICC New York, NY • Education

Maricel Presilla

Jordan Salcito David Chang Restaurants New York, NY • Wine & Spirits

Beth Shapiro

Christine Sanchez

Citymeals-on-Wheels New York, NY

Bold Restaurants New York, NY • Culinary

Arlene Saunders Allied Metal Spinning Bronx, NY • Manufacturer

Elizabeth Schaible NYC College Of Technology Brooklyn, NY • Education

Sarah Ashley Schiear Sarah Ashley New York, NY • Catering

24 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Beth Shapiro has been Executive Director of Citymeals-on-Wheels since September 2011. In this time, the numbers of homebound elderly nourished and meals served throughout all five boroughs have both increased by ten percent. Under her leadership, the organization has seen a 52% percent increase in volunteer participation and launched several new initiatives, including Chefs Deliver which takes some of the city’s best chefs out of their kitchens to deliver specially prepared meals to their frail aged neighbors. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Shapiro worked as a marketing and advertising executive prior to joining Citymeals.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 25

Top Women A-Z, from page 24

Gail Sharry

Daniela Soto-Innes

Natalie Tapken

Karen Toufayan

New Haven Schools New Haven, CT • Schools

Cosme New York, NY • Chef

B&B Winepub New York, NY • Liquor & Spirits

Toufayan Baking Ridgefield, NJ • Food Mfg

Mimi Sheraton

Robin Standefer

Jennifer Tarfuri

Susan Ungaro

Mimi Sheraton Inc New York, NY • Media

Roman And Williams New York, NY • Design

Rotisserie Georgette New York, NY • Chef

James Beard New York, NY • Education

Gail Simmons

Jilly Stephens

Rada Tarnovsky

Bernadette Ventura

Bravo TV New York, NY • Media

City Harvest New York, NY • Charity

Letter Grade Brooklyn, NY • Food Safety

SHFM Louisville, KY • Association

Amanda Smeltz

Iwona Sterk

Martha Alice Teichner

Candy Vidozich

Roberta’s And Blanca Brooklyn, NY • Chef

Elmwood Country Club White Plains, NY • Management

CBS-TV New York, NY • Media

Pomptonian Foods Fairfield, NJ • Schools

Gerry Smith

Jody Storch

Meredith Tepper-Leckey

Therese Virserius

The Loan Resource New York, NY • Finance

Peter Luger Steakhouse Brooklyn, NY • Owner

Starr Catering New York, NY • Caterer

Virserius Studio New York, NY • Design

Sandy Smith

Dawn Sweeney

Hong Thaimee

Laura Viscusi

Day&Nite New Hyde Park, NY • Service

NRA Chicago, IL • Association

NGAM New York, NY • Chef/Owner

Penton Publishing New York, NY • Media

Leah Solefer

Darci Tapia

Gretchen Thomas

Holly Von-Seggern

Food Network New York, NY • Media

Barclay Center Brooklyn, NY • Caterer

Barcelona Wine Bar New York, NY • Liquor & Spirits

Whitson Culinary Group Islandia, NY • B&I

Andrea Tencza

Christina Tosi

Urban Expositions, Shelton, CT

Milk Bar, New York, NY

A creative and dedicated professional with over 20 years experience in the trade show industry, Andrea Tencza has been actively involved in all aspects of event management with an emphasis on business-to-business marketing strategy and execution, conference development and the conceptualization and execution of special events.

Using that experience now as director of marketing & conference at Urban Expositions, Andrea leads the marketing and conference team for the restaurant and foodservice events in the Connecticut office of the company. She develops marketing strategy and execution, along with content development, for the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York, as well as the firm’s portfolio of shows across the country.

26 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

When you start out as the recipient of the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year award and the 2015 James Beard Outstanding Pastry Chef award, where do you go from there?

Christina Tosi can tell you. She’s the chef, owner and founder of Milk Bar, called “one of the most exciting bakeries in the country” by Bon Appétit Magazine. She’s also an author and a television personality.

As founder of the dessert program at Momofuku, Christina got her start helping Momofuku Ko earn two stars from the Michelin Guide and Momofuku Ssäm jump onto restaurant magazine’s top 100 restaurants in the world list.

She’s a judge on Fox’s MasterChef and MasterChef Junior and serves on the board of directors for Hot Bread Kitchen and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. And she’s a “scary but nice” judge, as she was recently introduced on a talk show.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 27

Top Women A-Z, from page 26

Louise Vongerichten

Marjorie Wolfson

Chefs Club New York, NY • Development

Cook For Kids White Plains, NY • Education

Stephanie Webster

Tren’ness Woods

CT Bites Stamford, CT • Media

Sylvia’s New York, NY • Chef/Owner

Elizabeth Weiss

Karena Wu

H. Weiss Armonk, NY • Equipment & Supplies

Active Care Physical Therapists New York, NY • Vendor

Melissa Weller Sadelle’s New York, NY • Owner/Baker

Laura Williamson

TOP WOMEN F ROM A-Z

Mandarin Oriental New York, NY • Hotel

Melba Wilson Melba’s New York, NY • Owner

Jane Witkin Verjus Maplewood, NJ • Chef/Owner

For more bios on the Top Women in Metro New York Foodservice & Hospitality, visit www.totalfood.com

Morgan Tucker Little M Tucker, Paterson, NJ It would seem that Morgan Tucker had no choice. Growing up in a family which built the largest foodservice distribution business on the East Coast, M. Tucker, it’s not likely that law or medicine would have held her interest for long. Instead, she decided to carry the company – founded by her father and grandfather – into the third generation, establishing herself and her imprint, Little M Tucker, which provides specialized equipment and restaurant supplies to a growing hub of high-end restaurants in Manhattan. She’s also an expert on tabletop trends. After graduating with honors from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in 2007, Morgan worked for New York’s Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group and Steve Hanson’s BR Guest Restaurant Group, before beginning her journey at M. Tucker. After seven years in her family business, Morgan currently oversees a highly successful distribution sales team in the company, passionately serving Manhattan’s hottest operations under the Little M Tucker brand. “I grew up in love with hospitality, but I had no intention of doing what my father did, being a CEO of a company and sitting behind a desk from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I idolized Steve Hanson and that was what I wanted to be when I was a teenager,” she says. The rest, as she says, is history.

Pamela Yung

Unidine Corp, Boston, MA

Semilla, New York, NY

In 2013 Unidine Corp. named Victoria Vega, Division Vice President for business services, where she now leads the company’s Corporate & Education Culinary Groups.

Victoria refined her sales abilities as director of business development at CulinArt. She also spent over a dozen years with Restaurant Associates as the Vice President of Operations for Corporate and Educational Dining with a client list including prominent financial companies, media organizations, key industry leaders and retail giants. Her career began with Aramark business services.

An active member of SHFM, Victoria currently serves on the association’s board of directors. She received the Richard Ysmael Distinguished Service Award in 2014 for her service to the workplace hospitality industry.

Victoria has also volunteered for committee roles with SHFM’s annual Critical Issues Conference, chairing the 2013 event and served as an advisor to the 35th Annual National Conference Planning Committee.

After working for years in kitchens (Roberta’s, Tailor, Room 4 Dessert ) Pam Yung, and boyfriend Chef José Ramírez-Ruiz finally decided to do their own thing.

When their BYOB popup Chez José opened, it served mostly veggie prix fixe dinners, but was beloved by local diners and many reviewers. They quickly outgrew the space, that only seated 4-8 diners. After a local seafood haunt closed, its owner Joe Carroll suggested José and Pam use the Havemeyer St. spot for Chez José dinners. That success lead to the opening of Semilla.

Yung went on to win the Jean Louie Palladin scholarship, which essentially puts people from the industry in contact with food producers. With ‘farm to table” hotter than ever, Yung was able to mill whole grains at Semilla.

That very same vision had led to some of the most talked about offerings that included: vanilla ice cream topped with bergamot granit, avory; fermented oatmeal with a melted scoop of brown butter ice cream; and hot sourdough bread, filled with oatmeal.

28 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Photo: Signe Birck

Victoria Vega

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 29

// Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEW

Louise Vongerichten Head of Development, Chefs Club By Food & Wine

H

ow did Chefs Club come to be?

Our first location was Aspen, where we opened in 2012. We are in partnership with Food and Wine magazine, serving inventive recipes from its Best New Chefs. We celebrated our first anniversary in New York in November.

How does Chefs Club work?

We select chefs from around the world who do a tasting menu for a small group of people, based on their skills and techniques. The chefs that we select create the menus with their team. We have a culinary director who goes to our different locations on a yearly basis and he will meet the chefs, work with them, get to know their techniques, to put together a menu for our main dining room. We are a platform for chefs. We invite chefs from different parts of the world – Asia and Europe – to come in and do a tasting menu for 24 guests in our studio, mostly in our New York City location. We did it in Aspen as well, but we didn’t create a studio, it was in the main dining room.

In New York City we discovered that people really like the tasting menu, really enjoy experiencing different foods from the chefs coming just to cook for them, so we tried to expand the concept. Originally the chefs we bring in cook a menu for

the studio and a small group of people but it’s so popular, we’ve now expanded to the main dining room.

What kind of kitchen do you have that can work for so many styles of cooking, different types of chefs?

In Manhattan we have 4,000 square feet of kitchen on the prep side in the basement. We tried to design it in a way to welcome any type of cooking, from Japanese to Italian chefs, someone cooking fried foods from Puerto Rico. On the ground floor the kitchen is made to be functional but also beautiful because it’s partly open to the dining room so it has a lot of beautiful design elements to it. We have a beautiful pizza oven, a beautiful plancha really the masterpiece of the dining room. We’ve designed it like a stage.

The lighting is designed in a way to show the magic of the kitchen, the chef cooking and you can really see the chef cooking at the plancha.

Is the object to bring chefs in from all over the world to experience cooking in New York and preparing for New York or is it for New York chefs to also participate? What is the mix in putting it together?

Chefs ask us, what do people like in New York City? We try to give them guidance about what’s happening in New York, but the whole idea is to bring the uniqueness, the whole experience of the chef

30 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Louise Vongerichten, Head of Development, Chefs Club By Food & Wine

from wherever he or she is coming from. People here love to experience different things. When people enter a chef’s study, they need to get something different on their plates. Sometimes it is food that is very time-sensitive, as it’s only one night. So it’s a really exquisite experience. Chefs don’t really change anything, they adapt to the market.

Some of the ingredients they cannot get in New York, but they adapt the recipe. The flavors are true to where the chef comes from.

How do you get that done? The Chefs’ Warehouse? Other places?

When we secure a chef, we have the culinary team get in touch with the chef and ask, what do you need to create a menu? If we cannot find that product, maybe we can substitute another. We’re constantly talking to Paris Gourmet, Baldor, Chef’s Warehouse, etc... talking to the best people to provide us with the best ingredients possible.

What about long-term expansion?

Will you take Chefs Club to LA? Chicago? What’s the vision?

We’re in the process of extending the brand. We wanted first to really secure New York, be accepted here.

That’s why it took a whole year, really focusing on New York. After one year now we would like to expand a little and are looking at different markets. We haven’t secured anything yet but we’re definitely looking at opening other Chefs Clubs.

We will open one more in the next two years, and we’re also working on a different concept, fast causal, as well.

“Chefs ask us, what do people like in New York City? We try to give them guidance about what’s happening in New York, but the whole idea is to bring the uniqueness, the whole experience of the chef from wherever he or she is coming from.”

Is that why Dana Cowin is joining the team?

She’s creative chief officer, and will take on the brand, all the physical attributes to the brand and participate in collaboration with the team we currently have in bringing chefs from different countries, because it’s been based on my connections and on our own travel, as well, maybe thinking, ‘Oh, that would be interesting to have you cooking.’ When we select the chefs, based on connections, travel, that kind of thing, it’s really a combination when we choose the chefs, very established chefs and also up-and-coming chefs. We get a balance there. We get some interesting chefs, some not-so-famous, and then very famous chefs, like Jowett Yu from Hong Kong, a chef from Rome, Gabriel Bonci who makes amazing pizza. There’s a great balance we try to have.

Have you found that the same customer keeps on coming back?

What’s the mix of who comes to support the different chefs?

We looked into that, the mix of people coming to chefs club, who the chefs are, and compared to my previous experience in restaurants, we have a very very strong number of people who came more than 20 times. That’s pretty solid. Most of those people keep coming to the studio and to the visiting chef experience because people like to try new things and they’re so excited about who’s coming next. I get so many phone calls! Who’s going to come next? A lot of people are really interested in getting a look at the tasting menu and then we have a big chunk of people from the industry. When we have the chef, Jowett Yu from Hong Kong taking over the main dining room, we get so much press. People from the back of the house, the front of the house, managers who came from other restaurants just to try it. I think people are really intrigued about the concept because it’s different and also

intrigued to try the food from those different chefs. They’re in the industry, they want to try, to Instagram, do the whole thing. They want to say hi, everyone knows everyone, it’s like a big family, we’ve all worked together at other restaurants at some point, it’s a good mix.

What surprised you the most over the year? What popped up that you didn’t expect?

At first I was not expecting that there were that many people willing to pay a little more money to get a tasting menu, that’s why we had 24 people. Every time we have a chef, it’s enough, we thought. Then we realized that even if the chef is doing two seatings a night or cooking two or three nights, 24 people is not enough and that’s why we decided to expand it, and to take over the entire dining room. That’s something that’s really changed. It’s been a learning curve for us as well because it’s something we haven’t done in the past. We realized in about two to three months that we needed to change the business model and expand it, and to do a mix of studio cooking for chefs who are used to cooking for 20-30 guests like French chefs, and for people more comfortable throwing a big party, like having 200 covers, experiencing a different thing. Everyone knows when they come to Chefs Club, they are going to experience that and it’s a very good vibe in the main dining room when we have different chefs that cook.

continued on page 32

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 31

Q&A Louise Vongerichten, from page 31

How did you build the team, when you basically have a different boss every night?

Didier Elena did a really good job putting together the team for the back of the house. The team started to develop in Aspen first. Aspen was like a laboratory. It’s a different market, smaller, seasonal, so we were able to run that concept of rotating chefs. Then we started to have the sous chefs transfer from Aspen to New York. Every chef has been very loyal and they’ve been following the journey and believing in the journey of the Chefs Club. That’s really our strength, in the back of the house.

Then we had Matthew Aita, the chef that’s been with us since November and he hired people who are very

flexible and passionate about what they’re doing. Obviously, when you have a chef that comes for a week or two days, everything changes, you have to adapt, and it’s very different. That’s our strength, to have someone who can bring the team together and make it really positive because everyone’s learning different techniques, as well. It’s very exciting.

Does the tabletop change with each chef?

In the main dining room, the tabletop remains what we have. In the studio, it’s a little different. We started with the same tabletop but we really now try to replicate the ambiance of the chef back home.

When the chef comes, the music is

his or her music, the flowers are the ones he or she likes. We change the set-up of the table. Sometimes it’s U-shaped. If a chef wants to have a rectangle, we change it to that. We really try to replicate the environment and ambiance of the chef but we also have what we call a personal cabinet in the studio designed by David Rockwell, who’s the designer behind Chefs Club and in that personal cabinet we ask the chef to bring anything personal he or she would like to showcase. It becomes a talking point, their first spoon, their first knife, pictures of the restaurant, the menu of the restaurant.

We want to replicate that ambiance so it becomes really cozy.

Tell me a little about you. How did

you get into the industry?

I always knew I liked it. I worked for my dad Jean-Georges Vongerichten for a few years. I was six months a hostess at Mercer Kitchen and six months a runner and waiter. Then I moved up to a management position in my 2nd year and was general manager in my 3rd year. I knew I needed that operational background and because I was always interested in that as well, the whole thing, the interaction with the hotel restaurant and room service and everything that goes with that. Then I wanted to do something different so I went back to France and got my MBA and after that, I worked

continued on page 34

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32 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

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CONNECTICUT: CT Distributors Inc. 800-972-9822

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 33

Q&A Louise Vongerichten, from page 32

in Dubai. So I was there for a year, and went to Hong Kong for almost a year. When I decided I wanted to move back to New York, I met Stephane De Baets, president of Chefs Club and he was looking for someone to come to New York. We really understood each other right away.

I fell in love with the concept. It was really different, really dynamic.

That’s how I came to Chefs Club.

How has the opportunity for women evolved since you’ve been in the industry? Have you seen the growth you wanted to see?

Especially in New York City it’s a place where things like gender and nationality doesn’t make any difference, compared to other countries.

I worked in Asia, in Italy where it is

totally different. In New York, if you have the talent, you get rewarded for what you do. In New York City more than anywhere else, it’s possible.

What I’m doing with Stephane can be more difficult in other countries.

That’s the trend, more than ever for sure.

Is it hard to have a famous father?

No. it’s been very rewarding. I’m still young and learning a lot. So all the processes to open this place, which has been challenging and rewarding at the same time, been through a lot of emotion, some negatives and positives, but my father has always been there. No matter how stupid my question can get, based on his experience and as a father, he makes sure that I do the

34 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

right thing. I couldn’t hope for anything better.

What does the future look like for you?

I see a lot of expansion happening in the next two to three years. I will remain with Chefs Club to help with that expansion. My dream would be to open a hotel.

There have never been as many significant restaurants in hotels as there are now. Will that continue?

Yes, because people need to eat and in New York City, people like to eat out. I talk about this a lot with my dad. People like to go out on average three or four times a week.

Myself, I go out 7 times a week! I love experiencing different res-

taurants, exciting openings. We’re lucky in this industry because, one, we are people who like to eat and two, the pleasure of eating, of sharing good food, with people around the table. I think there will be more and more of that. That’s what makes it challenging, as well, because you need to remain competitive, always be better and improve and make sure that people are not ever disappointed in you.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 35

// NEWS

GREEN INITIATIVES

New Jersey’s Party Rental Makes Major Commitment To Solar Energy

P

arty Rental Ltd., a leading full service event rental company, recently announced the completion of a 200-kilowatt (kW) solar energy system atop its laundry facility located in Teterboro, New Jersey. The state-of-the-art solar energy system will generate nearly a third (31.4%) of the facility’s annual electricity requirements. Party Rental Ltd. partnered on this project with EnterSolar, a New York headquartered provider of solar solutions to commercial enterprises.

Party Rental Ltd. has a long commitment to sustainable practices. Their

efforts include reducing waste and continual investments in technology to increase operational efficiency and profitability, all while keeping true to a corporate responsibility initiative with respect to natural resource conservation. Party Rental Ltd. sources energy efficient lighting and laundry

machines, and the solar initiative is the latest in a long series of ways to implement greater renewable initiatives.

The solar energy system, financed through the PSE&G Solar Loan Program, will not only yield significant financial savings for Party Rental, but notable environmental benefits as

“We are always looking for ways to make Party Rental Ltd. even more environmentally responsible,” said Alan Gottlich, CFO, Party Rental Ltd.

36 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

well. The energy saved by generating onsite clean electricity will produce annual environmental benefits equivalent to saving nearly 18,500 gallons of gas a year, a significant offset to Party Rental’s truck fleet.

“We are always looking for ways to make Party Rental Ltd. even more environmentally responsible,” said Alan Gottlich, CFO, Party Rental Ltd. “It is a commitment we make to our employees, our clients and the communities we serve. Solar energy is a natural extension of that commitment. Party Rental Ltd. is an East Coast icon, with its highly recognizable pink hippo trucks,” said Paul Ahern, president, EnterSolar. “We are pleased to help Party Rental Ltd. add to its longstanding commitment to sustainability.”

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 37

// SCOOP

Four Seasons And Waldorf Astoria Team Up To Feed Homeless Scoop notes the Four Seasons Hotel New York and Waldorf Astoria New York are working together to extend holiday cheer to the underprivileged.

Fare Share Friday, organized by Crossroads Community Services, took place the day after Thanksgiving. Holidays are thought of as cheerful times spent with family, but countless homeless, orphaned or otherwise disadvantaged people are too often neglected in the celebration. “We take great pride in the New York City community that surrounds us – we have been part of this midtown Manhattan neighborhood since 1931,” said David Garcelon, director of culinary at Waldorf Astoria New York. “We know hunger and homelessness unfortunately ex-

INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE ists in our community and we want to do our part to help those in need and hopefully find a solution – we enjoy doing our part. “It is not just myself as executive chef who was involved – an array of other hotel employees were willingly donating their time for this cause, including other chefs, pastry chef, banquet cooks, dishwashers, director of banquets, catering manager, and even our chief concierge, who is part of the esteemed Clefs d’Or – all of these people have volunteered and were proud to do so.”

Soup kitchen patrons, volunteers and supporters all sat down together to enjoy a meal on Friday, Nov. 27 at St. Bartholomew’s Church on Park Avenue. Chef David Garcelon of The Waldorf Astoria, chef Jacques Sorci of The Lotte New York Palace and executive chef John Johnson of the Four Seasons New York prepared the meal.

Both Mr. Garcelon and Mr. Sorci were involved in last year’s event. “Working with the three different hotel kitchens is much like a symphony, every musician knows the note they need to play and when to play it at the exact instant they need to,” Garcelon said. Hotels generally offer special dinners and other events on Thanksgiving for pa-

38 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

trons, but reaching out to a community in need to provide them with the same great dining experience is going the extra mile. While those who stay at a Four Seasons or Waldorf Astoria can afford high-end meals, extending that luxury to those who cannot signifies a genuine commitment to a community in need. Corporate social responsibility is especially important in the hospitality industry, and many brands engage in volunteer efforts and philanthropy throughout the year.

However, it is easy to forget during the sprightly holiday season that for some it means unfavorable temperatures.

The chefs work for competing hotels, so the partnership symbolizes a belief that larger issues are more important than individual businesses. “It is no secret the competition between luxury hotels in New York is real and we are all trying to outdo each other to win the loyalty of our discerning guests,” Garcelon said. “However, we also all understand the greater good in putting that aside and engaging together to make a difference which can be incredibly rewarding. “The chef community is also involved in friendly competition yet we always come together to help and support each oth-

er,” Garcelon said. “Fare Share Friday is an endeavor all of us (the teams at the Waldorf Astoria New York, Lotte New York Palace and Four Seasons) were truly excited to be involved with together.”

The proximity of charity and hospitality has become even more apparent in recent months.

NYC’s Renzell Brings New Approach To Restaurant Ratings Scoop says these days; restaurant reviews are often just piles of biased opinions on top of biased opinions especially in New York. Whether review platforms are being paid to talk up a particular establishment or a disgruntled customer is bad-mouthing a restaurant for not receiving a glass of water in exactly five seconds, not many of the reviews out there are genuine.

Now there’s a new NYC-based restaurant rating system called Renzell.

The restaurant rating system, created by serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Bo Peabody, offers guests a streamlined, curated perspective on all of the top restaurants in the city!

Current rating systems offer either the subjective opinions of a few or the

screed of thousands. Renzell uses a hand-selected group of experienced, knowledgeable, anonymous diners along with a comprehensive survey and a proprietary algorithm to create the most accurate ratings of renowned New York City restaurants. Renzell has been collecting data all year leading up to September 2016 when it unveiled the first official batch of Renzell Ratings. In addition, the company will also launch the Renzell magazine, a quarterly publication to celebrate the restaurants that made the list. Now this is great for those who love to experience what New York City’s finest culinary establishments have to offer, but what does this mean for these restaurants? What is Renzell looking for? Renzell has assembled a panel of sophisticated diners - regular, nonindustry patrons of New York’s top restaurants who understand the complex components of a stellar restaurant experience.

Experience is key, especially when it comes to finding and rating all of the gems the Big Apple has to offer!

Restaurants are graded on thirtytwo specific criteria and outside resources, and must be open for a minimum of two years to be considered

for the Renzell list. Once a restaurant meets all of the requirements, it’s eligible to be rated. The survey produced to rate each establishment consists of over 75 questions designed to eliminate any subjectivity or bias created by the judges. Equipped with hundreds of thousands of data points, Renzell uses this analytical data to produce the Renzell Ratings. The data will also be made available to restaurants on the Renzell list. Following an intricate collection of guidelines, Renzell already separated itself from existing restaurant rating systems that have lost their credibility over time.

For The Fashionable Chef, This N.Y.C. Startup Cooks Up New Looks Scoop notes that Tilit Chef Goods, a startup that sells made in New York City apparel for restaurant staff so that their chefs, kitchen staff and servers look sharper on the job, has a new fashion muse. He is Steven Satterfield, executive chef and coowner of Atlanta’s Miller Union and author of the new book, “Root to Leaf: A Southern Chef Cooks Through the Seasons.” Satterfield inspired and collaborated on the company’s latest lim-

Steven Satterfield and Jenny Goodman

ited-edition collection, which includes bib and waist aprons featuring a U.S. milled duck canvas (a heavy, plain woven cotton fabric) plus custom accent detail for the neck straps by Marietta, Ga.-based leathersmith Nathan Martin of Go Forth Goods. “Our idea was that as we’ve grown, we want the people wearing our products to tell us the best way to design them and to come up with new ideas,” said Alex McCrery, Tilit Chef Goods cofounder. “So we go out and find a great chef and design something with them from scratch, to engage their thoughts.”

McCrery, a chef for 20 years, launched Tilit Chef Goods in late 2012 with cofounder Jenny Goodman, convinced that other chefs like himself were tired of wearing shapeless, non-breathable polyester. The issue

became more pronounced to him in the last four years of his career, when he was working as a private chef and couldn’t find anything that he wanted to be seen on the streets of New York City in when the workday was done.

“The main issue was that the style was kind of terrible and the fits were not geared toward different people, and were often super baggy,” Mc Crery said. “I was wearing uniforms that felt really silly. It was gear that was meant to be super, super cheap.”

The Tilit Chef Goods gear, which he designs himself and works with a pattern maker on, includes aprons, chef’s coats, pants, and shirts, and is made in materials that repel stains but that still breathes, like washable wax cotton.

Chef coats feature side-stretch panels that stretch to fit a person’s body and air-vents under the armpits to keep the cooks comfortable when it gets hot in the kitchen. For the staff, there are professional looking oxford-style shirts that look good enough to wear to a bar after the dinner shift is done.

The idea has taken off, primarily by word-of-mouth. Sales growth over the past 12 months across direct custom sales is up 225 percent, through its wholesale accounts and e-commerce,

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 39

Scoop, from page 39 Goodman said. The company is bootstrapping, but it recently won the $100,000 Chase Mission Main Street Grant (out of a pool of over 30,000 applicants) and plans to use the funding to hire more staff and double inventory production. McCrery and Goodman met Satterfield while they were checking out Miller Union and again when he came to New York City for his book tour. Their first edition of the Chef Designed Workwear Collaboration came out earlier this fall with the Baker’s Apron by Boston-based chef Joanne Chang.

Their clients can dress everyone from the front-of-the-house house staff to chefs and kitchen staff. Nationally, hundreds of restaurant teams and thousands of individual chefs are wearing their apparel. Among their local clients are The Breslin, Empelon, Chef’s Club by Food & Wine, Seamus

Mullen’s restaurants Tertulia and El Colmado, and L’Amico at the Eventi Hotel, as well as DBGB in both New York City and Washington, D.C. “We try to have options that will fit the brand whether you’re a taco joint or Daniel Boulud’s,” McCrery said.

Will No-Tipping Policies Gain Traction At NJ Restaurants?

Scoop notes that some restaurants in New York, including those owned

by Danny Meyer, have already adopted this business model, which calls for servers to be paid a higher hourly wage.

Last month, Joe’s Crab Shack, which has seven locations in New Jersey, announced a new wage model which involves raising the wages of servers and in exchange, telling customers they’re no longer expected to leave a tip following their meal. Kelli Kennel,

40 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

a spokeswoman for Ignite Restaurant Group, the parent company of Joe’s Crab Shack said the no tipping policy is being tested in 18 restaurants around the country, and the results of this test program are still being measured. As of now, there is no timetable for a rollout in New Jersey.

Some in New Jersey have mixed feelings about the idea. “It does not work for every business model. It might be a good idea, but in other situations, in other business models, it’s not going to work,” said Marilou Halvorsen,

president of the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association. Halvorsen pointed out some servers like the idea because they could wind up making more money, but for waiters and waitresses in high-end restaurants, they could wind up taking a financial hit. “Not everyone is happy about this idea,” Halvorsen said. “There’s a lot of unintended consequences to changing this business model, and also for the consumer.” For consumers, it takes the tipping decision out of their hands. “It takes control away from the consumer. I know I would be quite uncomfortable walking away from a table without leaving a tip because it’s just what we’re so used to doing in this country,” Halvorsen added, that some consumers want the ability to reward good service or not reward bad service. So will this catch on in Jersey?

“I think this will be left up to the con-

sumer,” Halvorsen said. ” I think this will be driven by what they want to do and what they’re comfortable doing.”

Halvorsen said some customers might choose not to pay the higher menu prices and go to places that still allow tipping. “I don’t think there’s a right or wrong in this, it’ll just be how each restaurant feels about what’s best for their own business model,” Halvorsen said. If the restaurants that dump tipping find it to be a successful business model, more restaurants might follow suit. “It’s going to be interesting to track and see how those restaurants that do implement it will do. If it does

work out well, others will follow suit, but if it doesn’t work out, restaurants will abandon the idea. Sometimes an idealistic change does not turn out very well in reality,” Halvorsen said.

Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar Signs Seventh Franchise Agreement – For 7 Units Scoop says Arooga’s, America’s Next Top Restaurant Franchise and one of the fastest growing concepts in the industry, will expand its presence in New York and New Jersey with a multiunit franchise agreement which will

take the brand’s footprint to 105 units open, in development or under contract. Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar, the Harrisburg, Penn.-based award-winning full-service casual restaurant and bar, recently announced it

has entered into a multi -unit franchise agreement with Blessing Developers Inc. to bring 7 Arooga’s restaurants to Bergen and Hudson counties of New Jersey, and Westchester and Rockland counties of New York. Arooga’s currently has ten corporate locations in Pennsylvania, and it opened its first franchise location in Uncasville, Connecticut, adjacent to the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino, in March of this year as part of a 15 location multi-unit agreement with the Mohegan Holding Company. Other franchise locations are currently under development in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts,

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 41

Scoop, from page 41 Long Island, New Jersey, Florida and Georgia markets. Blessing Developers Inc. said, “We had been looking for quite some time to partner with an emerging brand that offers an exciting full service bar and restaurant. When we met Gary and Keith at the 2015 IFA Franchise Expo in New York and then visited their locations and found out more about the Arooga’s brand, we knew this was the brand we would want to invest our focus and resources in full time. We like the exciting environment inside the restaurants, the use of technology, the quality of the food, large selection of beers, award winning wing sauces and cutting edge initiatives. Most importantly, we like Gary’s vision and are confident that he will move the brand forward with fresh and innovative ideas “We are very excited to be expanding the brand profile with proven experts in the hospitality industry and ones who share our vision for success and growth,” said Keith Swade, Director of Franchise Development for Arooga’s. “We welcome Blessing Developers to Arooga’s Nation and can’t wait to show these regions of New York and New Jersey our unmistakable Arooga’s vibe.” Arooga’s is one of the fastest growing restaurant concepts in the country, which Arooga’s president and co-founder Gary Huether, Jr. saw coming 7 years ago: “Looking back to where we started, I am thrilled to see our evolution as a brand and how far we’ve come. Our guests have always been our priority, and I think that our dedication to providing the ultimate sports bar experience to them is what makes us an attractive franchise partner, and open more doors for our brand nationwide.” Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar is an innovative full-service casual restaurant and bar with a sports and entertainment focus that combines exceptional food and beverages, with unique concepts, and proprietary operational strategies.

Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar was

founded in July 2008, and currently operates ten corporate locations in Central Pennsylvania and 95 franchise locations either open or in development.

The Scene Inside Tribeca Grill’s 25th Anniversary Party

Scoop says by all accounts, it was Robert De Niro’s idea to buy the building at the corner of Greenwich and Franklin Streets and install a restaurant at its base. This is a crucial piece of Tribeca Grill’s origin story, and it was repeated, almost verbatim, by all parties involved one night early this fall. “I had a restaurant called Montrachet,” explained Drew Nieporent, a partner in the restaurant and venerable New York front-of-house man.

“And De Niro came in as a customer this one night and looked up from the table and said, ‘How would you like to open up another restaurant in New York?’ And, of course, I said, ‘Are you talking to me?’ ” Over the next two and a half decades, Nieporent and De Niro, with a few partners and an endless string of prodigy chefs, built their restaurant into both an anchor of the newly glossy neighborhood and a reliable producer of talent for the city’s restaurant industry at large. So to celebrate Tribeca Grill’s 25th anniversary, Nieporent invited back some of the kitchen’s diaspora. And then he invited 500 people for them to feed.

The guests were friends, neighbors, early investors, and longtime diners.

The food spanned sushi from Nobu to pork ribs from Harlan Social to dump-

42 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

lings from Kings County Imperial (all started by Tribeca Grill alumni). Upstairs, an army of the restaurant’s sommeliers, past and present, manned a wine station. Guests picked off cupcakes from a tower of them, while De Niro himself held court in the corner of the dining room. “I always thought of having a restaurant- a place where people could meet and talk,” said De Niro between bites of dessert. Soon, the line of well wishers would swell, and De Niro would proceed into the kitchen to take selfies with the on-duty crew. But first, there was a story to tell.

“Drew had Montrachet a few blocks away, and I said, well, let me ask Drew if he wants to do it.” You know the rest.

Imperial On The Power Play Scoop notes among the key additions to the New York Islanders’ move to Brooklyn is the addition of a new lineup of corporate sponsors.

Hockey fans are now treated to a large dasher board with the Imperial Bag and Paper Logo as the Islanders celebrate their inaugural season at the new arena. “We look at this as a great opportunity to showcase our service to the Barclay’s Center facility,” noted Imperial sales chief Chris Freeman. Imperial Bag and Paper, like the Islanders continue to grow with their move in 2014 to their new State of the Industry home in Jersey City.

Jeanne

Cretella Named 2016 Chairwoman For New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association Scoop notes as president and co-

owner of seven premier eating establishments in three states and a well-known figure in the hospitality industry, Jeanne Cretella of Landmark Hospitality, Inc. was recently selected as the 2016 Chairwoman of the Board for the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association (NJRHA). Her reign will begin on January 25, 2016.

Landmark Hospitality currently owns four New Jersey high-end restaurant and catering establishments.

These include: Liberty House in Jersey City, Stone House in Warren, Boathouse on Mercer Lake and Ryland Inn in White House Station. In addition, Landmark owns Celebrate at Snug Harbor in Staten Island, NY and two new venues in New Hope, PA, Hotel du Village and the Logan Inn. “Jeanne’s been a very active board member for quite some time and a passionate supporter of our causes,” said Marilou Halvorsen, president of the NJRHA, “She’s instrumental in helping our organization deal with legislative issues that affect our industry as well as understanding the importance of growing our member base to mobilize the myriad of people and businesses we represent.” With over 30 years of experience, Cretella is an established veteran in the hospitality industry and part of a growing trend of women leadership in a formerly male-dominated field. “Besides my family, this business has been my life,” said Cretella, “Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today, nor the successful businesswoman I’ve become. I enjoy being involved with the NJRHA and am passionate about the importance of mobilizing our members to address the issues that imperil their businesses.

Not many New Jerseyians understand that the hospitality industry is the second largest employer in our state.

We’re proud to offer opportunities that no other industry offers. Our doors are open to unskilled labor. For many they have the opportunity to develop their skills, grow into Management positions and prosper.”

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 43

// HOW GREEN ARE YOUR WAYS?

WITH PETER KAPLAN

Holiday Tips For Your Wallet

T

he holiday is an expensive time for everyone. For business owners it can be especially daunting as they show thanks for to their management, culinary and waitstaff teams for a job well done.

Many times it is easy to get so overwhelmed by the cost of personal and business expenses that are associated with the holiday season.

The warmth of holiday beverages often masks the cold outside and with that the silence of wasted energy.

Despite a summer of affordable gas to put in your car, the reality is that in each of the last two winters, the price of electricity and natural gas has increased dramatically overnight due to the cold weather. So what should be a festive time of year can often bring the reality of a big increase in energy bills.

So our goal is to help guide you to be in the best possible position to create a strategy that will minimize energy costs in 2016. It all begins with some good old fashioned common sense.

Leave notes on doors so that your team switches off computers and lights, and keep the heating to a minimum when your dining facilities and offices have low occupancy over the holiday period. These are such simple steps to take, but they’re often overlooked.

There are many simple steps that businesses can take to reduce energy bills during the holidays. When ev-

eryone leaves your premises for the holiday break, make sure, all holiday lighting and equipment that contributes to energy consumption in your office has been turned off at the plug socket. In particular, make sure monitors are switched off when not in use, as they can account for almost half of a computer’s energy use. Do a walk-round of your office and see what other non-essential electrical items you might have overlooked.

Also over Christmas break turn off all the lights as they could burn excess energy and also burn your pocketbook, this alone can save you substantial money. If you need them on at a certain time for security reasons,

44 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

use a timer.

Turn off any Christmas decorations that light up. If you’re not there to enjoy them, there is no need to pay for them. It is also a good idea to turn these off to prevent fires, which would devastate your business. You can also consider LED lights rather than Christmas lights, which use less energy and also last longer.

If you’re shutting down for extended periods during the holidays and no staff will be in, turn the heating down to the minimum it needs to be on for frost protection. We also know that you look at the water bill every month. Again a couple of simple steps can garner big savings. Teach your culinary team to make sure that

Peter Kaplan has served as Chief Operating Officer and President of United Energy Consultants since 2005.

Behind his leadership and 20+ years of de-regulated energy and risk management experience, United Energy Consultants has developed several proprietary procurement and software systems that are a benchmark in the industry. Email him at peter@uecnow.com

no taps are dripping before you leave for the holidays.

We wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season. Be safe, be smart and enjoy all the holiday season has to offer.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 45

// C-CAP TRADE TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

Oui, Chef! C-CAP Intern Heidy Mota and Mentor Chef Bryce Shuman Share Lessons From the Betony Kitchen

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

W

hat makes a successful internship? From June to September, CCAP student Heidy Mota worked for Chef Bryce Shuman of Betony through our job training program.

Now Heidy is back in school, and because of her experience at Betony, more determined than ever to make her way in this business. Last month, C-CAP handed the microphone to Chef Bryce and his 2015 CCAP intern Heidy as they asked each other what it takes to make it in the business, and why the mentorship of young cooks is so important.

opportunities for many young people

C-CAP Intern Heidy Mota: Thanks for answering my questions, Chef. What motivated you to pursue a career in the culinary industry, and how did you get started?

Chef Bryce Shuman: I got started in the culinary industry working as a dishwasher at a restaurant in eastern North Carolina. I loved the camaraderie, the fire and excitement, the pressure to be better, but I also was inspired to make people happy.

It was a fantastic way to use creativity, and at the end of the day it just felt cool.

HM: Who have been your mentors?

Chef Bryce Shuman and C-CAP Intern Heidy Mota 46 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

BS: Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions, and Daniel Humm and Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park. Chef Humm really pushed me, and taught me that with dedication, focus, time, organization and persistence, you can keep raising the bar to what you accomplish. Chef Stuart is a real “chef’s chef”. He was the person who really taught me how to “Do Things” in a kitchen—break down a snapper, make a consommé—things that you were taught in culinary school, but could really only learn when you were in the work world, doing it over and over again, as long as it took. Both Chef Stuart and Chef Nicole always had great attitudes, and used the harder moments as positive teaching experiences, which was inspirational.

HM: Why is mentorship important in your kitchen?

BS: Mentorship is the most important thing you can possibly encourage in a kitchen. The act of teaching and training someone and bringing them up through the ranks is an invaluable gift they will never forget because you are giving them the tools to succeed in every sense.

HM: What was it like starting your

in the foodservice industry. Email her at joyceappelman@gmail.com

own restaurant?

BS: Insanity.

HM: Is it difficult balancing your career as a well known successful chef with your role at home as a parent and husband?

BS: Absolutely, it is all about balance. If one is more out of whack than the other, it can cause major issues. Yin and yang.

HM: What are the three most important things all cooks should know when they start their first job?

BS: Keep your head down, your mouth shut, push as hard as you can, and do exactly what you’re told.

Say “Oui, Chef!” and learn.

Chef Bryce Shuman: Now it’s my turn! What were the biggest lessons you learned during your internship?

C-CAP Intern Heidy Mota: The biggest lesson I learned during my internship was that giving up is never an option. Hard work, self-motivation, and responsibility are the keys to success, and that no matter how small you think your role in the kitchen is, it still matters to how smoothly the restaurant functions

“When I look back at my internship the thing that I am most proud of is the fact that I was able to adapt to this new and challenging environment, and that I was able to become a part of the Betony family.” – Heidy Mota, C-CAP intern at Betony under Chef Bryce Shuman. as a whole.

BS: What was the most surprising or unexpected thing you learned?

HM: The most surprising thing I learned was that making people feel welcomed when they are in a new and unknown environment can help them get used to it a lot faster, and it also makes the work environment more enjoyable for everyone.

BS: How has your internship affected the way you think about the industry?

HM: This internship has made my resolve to become part of the

industry more strong and it has also showed me that if I work hard enough, I can make my dream of one day owning a successful fine dining restaurant come true.

C-CAP internships last a summer, but their impact is lifelong. We are so grateful to all the chefs who host and mentor C-CAP students and we are so proud of the interns who grab these opportunities with both hands and take that first step in shaping their careers. Reprinted from the C-CAP Blog, ccapinc.org

Betony’s Chef Shuman has embraced the responsibility to mentor the industry’s next generation.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 47

// EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Kosherfest 2015 Recap

T

he 27th annual Kosherfest took center stage last month at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secau-

cus.

From tea and duck samples to elaborate displays of silverware and wines, hundreds of companies displayed a wide array of products for thousands of industry professionals.

Hundreds of firms from Metro New York City and the nation showcased their goods at Kosherfest, the largest trade show of its kind. The event drew professionals representing an estimated 6,000 food-service providers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers from all over the world.

The show featured kosher chefs engaged in a heated culinary battle during Kosherfest’s 8th Annual Culinary Competition presented by The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts. The winner, Chef Jasmine Einalhori of Sage Kitchen, beat out Executive Chef Bryan Gryka of Milt’s Barbeque and Chef Albert Bijou of Fish Plate Restaurant with her dish of turkey bolognese with bean

Georgette Rassman and Susan Benshirit of Jerusalem Glatt Kosher Restaurant in Ventnor City, NJ

radicchio and fennel salad with watermelon radish during the 30-minute “Iron Chef”-style cook-off to win a trophy and $500 cash prize. The contest was hosted by Judges Joshua Massin, owner and chef at Nobo Wine and Grill in Teaneck, Alan Broner, co-founder of Jack’s Gourmet in Brooklyn, and Jamie Geller, the author of the Joy of Kosher blog, books and magazine. The program was hosted by Naomi Nachman of Nachum Segal Network and Jesse Blonder, director of The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts. Among the leading Tri-State firms exhibiting were Kontos Foods and their dynamic corporate executive chef Demetrios Haralambatos. The Paterson, NJ based firm was joined by notables including Norman’s Dairy Delight, of Rutherford.

Smaller companies such as Norman’s used the trade show to get the word out on their products. “It’s show and tell, not show and sell,” said Norman’s plant manager Marty Kairey.

Some of the businesses in attendance, such as Paterson, NJ-based A&B Famous Gefilte Fish, have been

Just Bagels’ chief Cliff Nordquist fielded customer queries

48 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

regular attendees of the two-day trade show. “We’ve been here since the beginning,” said Marty Fogul, an executive with the company, as he arranged the displays of gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish delicacy.

Much of the show’s growth has come from products that are “innovative” because “they sell to everyone,” from retailers to consumers, and not just to those of the Jewish faith.

More than 12 million American consumers choose kosher food products for reasons related to health, food safety, taste, vegetarianism, lactose intolerance or dietary restrictions, according to the Orthodox Union Kosher, one of the world’s largest kosher certification agencies. The industry alone generates more than $12 billion in annual sales, and food industry experts say it will continue to grow.

To Demetrios Haralambatos, the corporate executive chef for Kontos Foods Inc., being kosher-certified is a way to offer customers peace of mind.

continued on page 50

NJRE’s Jodie Cohen (L) welcomed many guests to the firm’s booth

Amtrak’s Harris Cohen and his purchasing team shopped the show for new kosher solutions

Michael Lichter (3rd-L) led his Culinary Depot team at the Secaucus show

(L to R) Kontos Foods’ Jason Woyke and Chef Demetrios Haralambatos

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 49

Kosherfest, from page 48

“It helps satisfy people’s lifestyles,” he said. “I don’t look at it as a religion, I look at it as a lifestyle.”

The chef said schools known for their culinary reputation such as Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., have begun to offer students classes on how to prepare kosher products to address the broadening market.

The two-day event was not open to the general public. Instead, the show is more “business-oriented,” said Justin Childs, a marketing manager at Diversified Communications, which has coordinated the event since 2004.

“Kosherfest serves the entire supply chain for kosher products,” said Childs, explaining that big-name retailers such as BJ’s Wholesale Club, as well as companies from other countries like Argentina, attend the event

in hopes of expanding their reach in the U.S. kosher market.

Not all of the exhibitors at the trade show were food companies. Mahwahbased Hughes Environmental Engineering Inc. specializes in services such as air conditioning and refrigeration.

“This is one of our best shows. We get a lot of traffic,” said Jeanna Curran, a marketing assistant with Hughes.

She said that even if the company only picks up one or two clients at Kosherfest, they usually are “big accounts.”

Though one of the main objectives of Kosherfest is to connect industry professionals with businesses, a lot of the companies say the exposure alone, because of the high volume of attendees, is reason enough to come to the event.

Companies like Rutherford-based Norman’s Dairy Delight, which specializes in kosher-certified yogurts,

50 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

said their main goal at Kosherfest is to get the word out about their product.

“It’s show and tell, not show and sell,” said Marty Kairey, a plant manager at Norman’s. He said that possibly in the “long term” that exposure will translate in sales.

“We’re not Chobani,” said Kairey,

Giggles’ chief Menachem Roseman toured the event

referencing the company that became the leading yogurt brand in the U.S. in just six years. However, because of Norman’s Dairy’s small size, the business is able to “have more control” with the ingredients and procedures used with its yogurts, which he says his customers appreciate.

(L to R) The Mikee Sauce team of Adam, Mikee and Peter Kaufmann

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 51

// RESTAURANT RENAISSANCE

WITH FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

Where to Dine Before You Fly

T

his holiday season is a whirlwind of shopping, events and travel.

Make your travel more of a pleasure with a good meal or quick cocktail at one of our NYC Airports. Here is my guide for what’s new and best for your palate; terminal by terminal.

JFK Airport (JFK) Dining has moved to First Class with a celebrity chef upgrade in Terminal 2 and in Terminal 4 and a $28 million facelift.

Terminal 1 Lacks dining options, depending on what you want to eat. Quick fix; New York Hot Dog and Coffee, Starbucks (thank goodness), and Eat & Go Istanbul with all kinds of Turkish food. Martini Bar is the place for cocktails, Medalist Bar broadcasts international sports, and Idlewild Wine Bar has a good menu of American wines.

Terminal 2 Croque Madame, Andrew Carmellini’s French spot; a sandwich shop serving open faced sandwiches, crepes, and made to order salads.

Tagliare is from Dom DeMarco, Jr., the son of the pizza legend behind Di Fara. Shiso sushi is by Morimoto chef Robby Cook. Due Amici is by Caesare Casella, formerly of Salumeria Rossi. BKLYN Beer Garden has over 20 beers on tap, many from New

Faith Hope Consolo is the Chairman

York State, plus a menu from Laurent Tourodel.

Terminal 4 Best option is Shake Shack, which has not one but two outposts. It offers the whole menu plus breakfast sandwiches. Danny Meyer also operates Blue Smoke on the Road, a version of his Gramercy barbecue joint serves ribs, sausages, and sandwiches, plus beer, wine, and cocktails. This Terminal is also home to the only East coast outpost of Nancy Silverton’s La Brea Bakery. Marcus Samuelsson’s Uptown Brasserie is a sit-down restaurant of American fare. For pizza with a glass of wine, head to Pizza Vino. The Palm Bar & Grille is a version of the famous Manhattan steakhouse.

Terminal 5 The best choices are all sit-down restaurants. There are many to choose from: AeroNuova, a rustic Italian spot by Del Posto chef Mark Ladner; 5ive Steak, a classic American steakhouse; La Vie is a mini Parisian bistro by ex-Minetta Tavern chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson, Deep Blue Sushi considered by many to be the best sushi you will ever eat in an airport and Piquillo by Alex Raij is the first tapas bar to open in a U.S. airport.

Terminal 7 Wolfgang Puck has sandwiches, soups and gourmet pizzas. For a drink, you have a choice between

52 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Todd English’s Bonfire Restaurant or Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill.

Terminal 8 Brooklyn National Deli is good for a grab and go, Cascata is a spot for sandwiches, smoothies, and salads, and also a wine bar with small plates. There is wine at Vino Volo Wine Room and for a full sit-down meal, go to Bobby Van’s Steakhouse.

LaGuardia Airport (LGA) Terminal A You have two options here: Revive Bar serving beer, wine, and cocktails, or Yankee Clipper which serves paninis and breakfast.

Terminal B Visit Metro Burger Bar where the burgers are made with Pat LaFrieda beef and the menu also has various salads and snacks. There’s also a Five Guys Burgers. You can also treat yourself to a sit-down meal at Todd English’s Figs Restaurant and Figs Café which offer pizzas, pastas, paninis, and a kids’ menu.

Terminal C Crust is a Neapolitan-style pizza bar from Jim Lahey. Custom Burgers offer milkshakes and made-to-order burgers that use a custom blend from celebrity butcher Pat LaFrieda.

For tacos, tortas and burritos, go to Aaron Sanchez’s Vuelo Taqueria.

Kombu offers sushi and other Japanese fare from Jamison Blanken-

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

ship of Brooklyn’s popular Chuko.

Biergarten has craft beers selected

by Brooklyn Brewery’s brewermaster Garrett Olive.

There are also three full-service restaurants: Michael White’s trattoria, Cotto; Empire Tavern is a modern bistro from ex-Balthazar chefs Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson; and Andrew Carmellini’s Victory Grill which has a raw bar and offers American fare.

Terminal D Pizza seems to win. There is an outpost of Crust, and Taglaire: the son of Dom DeMarco’s (from the legendary DiFara) take on the airport pizzeria.

Bar Brace offers panini and bruschetta. If you prefer burgers over pizza, head to Custom Burgers by Pat LaFrieda where the burgers are made to order. Wibar offers wines from around the world all by the glass. There are three solid sit-down options to choose from. At Bisoux find a menu of French country classics from ex-Minetta Tavern and Balthazar chefs Riad Nasr and Lee

continued on page 102

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 53

// MEET THE NEWSMAKER

Taste Envy Reinvigorates Menu Design As Part Of Integrated Branding Strategy

N

adine Stellavato Brown thinks it’s time to stop looking at menus as things that tell what dishes you serve, and as a way to start building your brand.

“Menus need to be considered as a first introduction,” she says, “almost like a wedding invitation, something people will see before they see the food. It should have the essence of that.”

Nadine, along with her husband, Jason, own Lost Luggage, which may seem like a strange name for a company that designs menus – and creates strategies – for restaurants. But, as she explains it, “It all begins with the branding, the image, what you want people to feel when they walk by a restaurant, they should get the same impression when they pick up a menu.”

Nadine and Jason combined their experience in branding and product design to create a service initially called Brand Envy that offered everything from customized presentation design to turnkey marketing campaigns. And it is a big part of the Lost Luggage brand, originally started by Jason, who Nadine met (and married) while working together on a marketing campaign.

“My dad was a food writer and he knew a lot of restaurateurs. It was an accident, really. He just knew a lot of people and always complained about the menus,” Stellavato Brown says. “‘Why do we come to a restaurant and the plating is so beautiful and the service is so beautiful and you still get the same old menus?’ So we started

pursing restaurant and hotel branding and it followed from that.”

Lost Luggage has been in the presentation materials business for over 20 years but has spent the last 10 making menus.

Both designers, Stellavato Brown says she and her husband were not just some people who decided to start making menus. “We’ll name, brand and collaborate with hotel and restaurant groups. We do much more than the menu so they can come to us strategically, and the menus naturally are a part of the brand. It’s a very different business model than the typical menu company.”

Stellavato Brown says the company’s original goal was three things: “1.

Look good; which is a huge failing on the part of menus today. 2. Create a product that lasts as most menus fall apart really quickly, usually within 6-12 months. That’s a business strategy for some people, but for us, it was the opposite. We wanted a menu to last a long time. We don’t use glue, we rivet everything. We even have design patents on some of our menus.

And 3; incorporate the interior into the menu design. For example, sometimes we take wallpaper and screen print the same pattern on the menu,”

she says. “We really want stuff to look like it’s intended to be part of the space, rather than an afterthought, which most menus are right now.”

On top of all this, Lost Luggage is green, she notes. “We’re trying to find 100% post-consumer waste materials and incorporate them into long lasting menus. Yes, it is more expensive,” she says. “What ends up happening is sometimes the product is meant for something else, like a counter top.

So we have to figure out, how to incorporate that material into a menu that will last more than months. From the start we always made long lasting products and now our goal is to incorporate less waste. That’s our message now.”

She points out that manufacturers want things to fall apart, to a certain extent. “That’s so people keep reordering,” she says. “That’s why you buy a washing machine today and they only give you a five-year warranty. It’s going to fall apart in five years!

We try to move it away from that, not only have it be beautiful but have it last. I have a 100-year-old house and I have the same boiler that was here when the house was built. Those were the days, when people made stuff not to fall apart. That’s our goal.”

“Menus need to be considered as a first introduction,” she says, “almost like a wedding invitation, something people will see before they see the food. It should have the essence of that.”

54 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Nadine Stellavato Brown and Jason Brown

As for the design of a menu, Stellavato Brown says it needs to be easy for people to hold. “Many are heavy, with a lot of thickness. In some cases, they’re huge, oversized. And it makes little sense for many restaurants.

Many are small as space is a premium. You have to think about storing them,” she says. “That all adds up to a lot of old-school ideas. We do the opposite; try to make them light, lasting, easy to store but also easy for an owner to change themselves. Our main audience is someone who wants to change their menu frequently, not someone who just wants a page inside a plastic sheet. We want everything we make to be something that can be easily and effortlessly changed by the restaurant. No one has to be trained, just slip in a new page and it’s done.

“When you open up, you have a certain window when you’re going to

be hot and popular, and you have to use that window to build your brand.

You can’t make any mistakes,” Stellavato Brown says. “That’s where I consider it key to making sure you have all the right pieces. If you fall flat on any one thing, then that in turn can transfer over to food, to service, and there you go.”

She says the company’s menus aren’t going to be the cheapest. “You can use just a piece of paper. But our customers know it’s the cost of doing

business and building your brand.”

Stellavato Brown says Lost Luggage’s success lies in the fact that it has really long-term relationships with its clients. “They love that we’re design-oriented, we’re not just people who decided to make menus. We see ourselves building an entire brand for someone and being emotionally invested in that. It’s more a design relationship, than a menu.”

For more information, go to taste-envy.com.

Design samples from the Taste Envy portfolio December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 55

// EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

The 12th Annual Victory Foodservice Trade Show

E

YE enjoyed the festivities at last month’s Victory Foodservice Show.

The independent broad liner food distributor’s 12th annual show featured a vast array of menu solutions for the food service professional.

“This show gives us a great opportunity to say thank you to our customers,” noted Victory’s Sunder Luthra. “We know that the key to our success has been to build a team from our network of drivers, warehouse personnel, sales and customer service representatives.”

Victory brought a lively band to the center of the ballroom for the entertainment of show guests.

From merengue to Sinatra, Victory show-goers had a wonderful time.

The show had a real feel of family and many attendees, vendors and the Victory team welcomed each other warmly. The breadth of Victory’s success in many ways is a reflection of the number of languages that were heard at the show. Victory’s ability to create a sales team and support team that speaks so

(L to R) Jimmy Protos and Louis Aspris of the Hampton Diner in Sussex

many dialects has endeared them to all segments of the Metro New York City foodservice community.

Victory roots date back to 1983 when two brothers Mike and Kostas started the firm, which has evolved over time to where today the business and fleet of trucks operate out of a modern multi temperature distribution facility in the Bronx.

Today Victory Foodservice is one of Metro New York’s premiere independent broad line food distributors, offering over 5,000 food and food related products to restaurants, institutions, caterers, markets, hotels, and delis. The offerings include; fresh and frozen meats, seafood, vegetables and desserts; produce; dry and canned groceries; disposables and detergents; small wares and small equipment.

The tradition of a family operated and oriented business is based on service, variety, and reliability by providing all products with assured quality, and a prompt delivery. A proof of the quality of Victory’s services is its award as Hunts Point Market Company of the Year 2010.

Victory sales chief Sundra Luthra welcomed many show guests

56 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Megas Yeeros’ Rob Carcich brought the Jersey firm’s authentic Greek cuisine to the show

(L to R) Simoniz’s Steve Levine and Nicole Acrish of Admiration

Hood’s Bob Fraska was busy throughout the day helping customers build new dairy solutions

Victory’s Stew Sapnas greeted show visitors with new menu concepts

(L to R) Lilly Valenzuela and Shirley Braithwaite of Rena Daycare

(L to R) Dionisis Verteouris of Nature’s Grill in Brooklyn and Victory’s Argyris Lathourakis

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 57

// NEWS

MENU DIVERSITY

Think You Always Get What You Pay For?

A

ccording to Paris Minadakis, you may pay more for this company’s beef, chicken or pork. But in the end, because there’s no fat or fillers or preservatives, it’s healthier, and it goes farther. “So cost is irrelevant,” says one of the owners of ThinkGrill in Union and South Brunswick, New Jersey.

“It’s a healthy meal,” he says. That’s important because ThinkGrill bills itself as fast food for smart eaters.

According to Megas Yeeros, it’s the largest producer of authentic Greek meat products in Europe and just recently moved to the U.S. where it opened ultra-modern, stateof–the-art facilities.

It’s goal? To bring a taste of Greece to every table. “We knew Megas Yeeros when they were building their new facility,” says Mindakis. “We’ve known them a long time, and how great their product is.”

Megas Yeeros’ beef, chicken and pork are not compressed meat, like other vendors, so it’s not only tasty but good for diners, too.

“It’s all about the waste,” says Mindakis. “When you’re cooking regular beef and lamb, you lose 10-15 % of the yield because of the water and fat. With the fresh meat you get from Megas Yeeros, you don’t lose

Paris Minadakis, Co-Owner, ThinkGrill, Union, NJ 58 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

that. So the cost is irrelevant. If you put it down to pound to pound, how many servings you get, that’s where you can see the value of the cost.”

Megas Yeeros is proud that all its cuts are authentically marinated solely in extra virgin olive oil, Greek honey, fresh Greek yogurt and fresh

herbs. Their products are whole muscle meats, handmade, with no additives. “It’s just all meat,” says Mindakis. “Who could ask for more?”

The company’s clean label approach ensures its meats are Gluten-free, as well. For more information, visit megasyeeros.com or call 212-777-6342.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 59

// INSURANCE

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

Minimize Your Risk Of Litigation In Wage And Hour Disputes

T

he wage and hour debate has intensified in recent years as employment practice liability claims continue to rise. Often times, employers are baffled by the labyrinth of federal, state and even local employment law requirements. With wage and hour laws, there have been so many recent developments, it is difficult to determine: What applies to my business? How can I comply with current and future wage and hour laws while maintaining a profitable business?

What does the law say?

Employers must comply with the most important federal wage and hour law, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (“FLSA”), as well as their state laws, including wage orders and governing case law.

Federal law requires that employees be relieved of their duties during meal periods. The governing test on whether a meal period is compensable under wage and hour laws is known as the “predominant benefit” test. The question is: Who is receiving the predominant benefit? If the employer is predominantly receiving a benefit, that time is compensable.

If the employee is able to use this meal period time as they wish, it is typically not compensable time.

Many employment lawyers recommend that employers follow the local state law standard, or even better, match a more conservative state’s employment law statute. For example, California has one of the

more conservative standards when it comes to an employer’s obligation to provide a rest period, and therefore many employers operating in states with less stringent laws will often adopt California’s standards.

What does this mean for employers?

In order to safeguard against wage and hour claims, employers can follow these steps to minimize their risk of litigation: • Make sure employees are aware of the policies and procedures. Get written acknowledgement from each employee that they understand the governing wage and hour policies and procedures.

• Enforce the policies and procedures. Sounds obvious, but it isn’t. If you require a sales person to take a break for 30 minutes in the middle of the day, but don’t have anyone to relieve them, the policy can’t be enforced. Make sure additional staff is on-site, or at least someone in a managerial role, who will fill in for each worker to ensure they take their breaks.

• Train supervisors and managers

accordingly. Supervisors and managers should receive instruction on both applicable wage and hour laws and how to encourage employees to stick to the break schedule.

• Document it. Employers should track both meal and rest breaks on a timesheet or online timekeeping program, as these records can become useful should the case go to court. Include a confirmation from the employee that the hours are a true and accurate account. Further, managers should also be required to confirm these hours are correct.

Where does insurance fit in?

Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage protects businesses from the financial costs incurred from employment-related lawsuits.

For employers with a lot of employees and third-party interaction, EPL insurance is recommended and can sometimes be purchased with an additional wage and hour defense sublimit.

In order to get the additional wage and hour defense coverage though, insurance carriers will want to know what controls and procedures are in place to prevent a claim from surfac-

With wage and hour laws, there have been so many recent developments, it is difficult to determine: What applies to my business?

60 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

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 & food service businesses, ranging from fast-food chains to upscale, “white tablecloth” dining establishments.

For more information, please visit www.hubfiorito.com

ing. Are breaks enforced for blue collar (non-exempt)? Has the business had a previous EPL or wage and hour claim? Has the employee handbook been reviewed by an attorney?

Unfortunately, an additional wage and hour sublimit is difficult to secure, due to both lack of carriers, high carrier standards and exorbitant carrier pricing. Therefore, many companies will mitigate the potential issues as much as possible from an internal risk management standpoint.

The best possible thing you can do, with or without a wage and hour sublimit is to prepare as an insurance carrier would. Ask all of the questions an insurance carrier would ask, and speak to a skilled employment lawyer. Make sure you have policies, maintain records beyond the statute of limitations and, if possible, have a law firm on call, who is familiar with your company. You cannot prevent these claims; you just have to be prepared for when they happen.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 61

// NEWS

SHOW COVERAGE

Foodservice Concepts Are Key Component of Newly Energized HX-The Hotel Experience 2015 November 8-10, 2015 / Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

H

X: The Hotel Experience - Rooms to Restaurants, formally the International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show (IHMRS) made a big splash as it debuted its new brand, mission and overall experience at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, last month. HX featured 469 exhibitors and 12,000+ registered attendees. Kudos to show management who continued to deliver a “must see” agenda for restaurants and foodservice professionals. With all new environmental treatment, session areas, speakers, and event highlights, the multi-million dollar renovation made a big impression on lodging and foodservice executives who were in attendance. Featuring areas on the show floor such as HX: Connect, where attendees and exhibitors could sit and meet face-to-face or just re-charge from the busy show floor, and HX: Studio that utilized its space to interview top hospitality industry executives, speakers and exhibitors of the show.

One of the most popular additions to the show was the HX: Tech area, which included innovative and practical technology products and services, mini tech-education ses-

sions with big takeaways, breakoutsessions about the newest industry technology and hands-on live support for the event’s mobile app.

Plus, the tech team hosted the first ever HX: TECHPitch competition, where exhibitors could submit their best technology products.

The show’s 100th anniversary was guided by its new Chairman Anthony Mangano. A 30-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Mr. Mangano is currently President and

62 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

majority shareholder of Syramada Hotel Corporation in Syracuse, NY. “Tony’s nine years of experience as a member of the IHMRS Board of Directors made him the perfect candidate to lead the Show during this centennial celebration year,” said Phil Robinson, Group Show Director, Hospitality Media Group (HMG), which manages IHMRS. The Third Annual Tabletop Challenge Design Competition created a buzz on the show floor. The always

innovative Dave Turner debuted a new format that featured two competitions – one for designers and a separate one for chefs. This year’s winners were Kendall Fleisher from the design firm Stonehill Taylor and Adam Foti, chef at Schenectady County Community College. With the winning designs incorporating products from sponsor companies such as EveryWare Global, Steelite International, VerTerra Dinnerware and MADHOUSE by Michael Aram,

the 2015 Tabletop Challenge once again showed that you can never have too many great tabletop products on your table. The Tabletop Challenge event was co-presented

by HX: The Hotel Experience and TabletopJournal.com and was hosted by TabletopJournal’s Editor Dave Turner. According to Turner, “This year’s Tabletop Challenge Design Competition was incredibly exciting…with a great crowd of spectators and lots of cheerleading for their favorite designer. Always a fun event, this year’s competitions were particularly raucous and – evidently it helped and we saw some of the best tabletop designs we have seen yet!” The Tabletop Challenge consists of teams of designers and chefs, using tabletop items provided by sponsoring hospitality tabletop companies, as well as additional “mystery” props, having 20 minutes to build their perfect tabletop. The “People’s Choice” vote was taken for each competition during the show.

Five exhibitors received Editors’ Choice Awards during the Opening Day of the Show. The Awards recognize best new products within the categories of food & beverage, kitchen design, guest services, rooms division and technology. From the five (5) winners, the Kenneth F. Hine “Best of Show” Award also was selected. Cardinal’s local rep Eric Weiss of Gotham City Design was called on to accept the Kenneth F. Hine “BEST OF SHOW” – Cardinal International: Reveal’ Up Soft Fresh Tumbler; FOOD & BEVERAGE: Cardinal International (Pine Brook, NJ) Introducing the Chef & Sommelier Reveal’ Up 11 Oz. Soft Fresh Tumbler made of their revolutionary and trusted Kwarx® technology provid-

ing mechanical resistance and superior transparency while retaining its unmistaken brilliance and clarity through 2,000 industrial dishwashing cycles. Complete with a new and innovative cooling gel base; perfect for chilling rosé wine; beverages, cocktails, white wine, sparkling wine and desserts.

KITCHEN DESIGN Evo Inc. (Beaverton, OR) The EVO Event is a technological breakthrough for front-ofhouse cooking. This self-ventilating portable griddle table is certified to work without an overhead hood, external vent system, or make up air.

It even is equipped with the latest in fire suppression technology from Buckeye. It is truly a plug and play option for restaurants, corporate cafeterias, kiosk cooking, arenas, satellite kitchens, airport terminals, and grocery stores.

HX brought a new vigor to the show floor. Some of the industry’s most noted professionals vied for the top prize as Jeopardy came to the HX-Show floor at the Javits Center in NYC. “Our goal was to bring a full slate of informative and fun events to the show,” noted the show’s General manager Phil Robinson. “The Jeopardy format lent itself to the show being a learning experience for each of our attendees.

The winning team of Larry Cantamessa of PBAC and Jacobs Beer Doland donated their top prize of $500 to their charity of choice: The Partridge Scholarship Foundation.

Contestants fielded a series of questions that included everything from Celebrity Chefs to the latest cooking technology, and food and cinema. “It’s rather ironic that you are likely to see some of those

(L to R) The Icesurance duo of Jeff Hendler and Andy Gravener

(L to R) M. Tucker’s Morgan Tucker, Katie Lynn McNamara and Neil London

The artistry of the show’s culinary salon is always a highlight of the event

Lance Brown (L) led his Dynamic team to the show floor

Jason Brown and Nadine Stellavato Brown of Taste Envy

(L to R) Air Comfort’s Pat Fava and Peter Contamoulis of Channel

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 63

// NEWS very same celebrity chefs, many of whom are based in New York City at the show,” noted Total Food Service’s Fred Klashman. “Also our local reps brought much of the very latest technology to the HX-Show floor.”

At the top of the agenda for the newly branded HX: The Hotel Experience - Rooms to Restaurants (HX) show was a commitment to bring the latest restaurant and food service trends to its attendees. Among the “can’t miss” demonstrations was the show’s Foodservice Pioneering Concept Competition.

This year’s award winner was: Bievenu. It featured a tapas and wine bar that unfolded from a box.

The Architectural firm Bruner/Cott, Cambridge, MA, and foodservice

(L to R) The Pro-Tek duo of Diane Rossi and Chad Daniels greeted Gus Montesantos of Long Island’s Glen Cove Mansion

Vulcan’s Joe Maresca

SHOW COVERAGE

design and consulting firm Colburn & Guyette, Rockland, MA, collaborated to create the small-plates concept.

Bienvenu, was the winner of the HX’ 2015 Foodservice Pioneering Concept Competition sponsored by HX, featured a full-size model of the concept featuring state-of-the-art equipment built on the Javits Show floor. The build out included the latest technology from Alto Shaam, Ecowalls, Enomatic, Perlick, RPI Industries, Inc. and Vegware.

“Whether you are a full service hotel, short stay hotel, corporate, healthcare or college/university foodservice operation, Foodservice Pioneering Concepts was a mustsee,” said Marsha Diamond, food-

service business development consultant and strategic public speaker.

“This space was full of great inspirations that showcased food creativity with innovative design ideas to generate revenue and impress your customers,” added Diamond. “The HX show was all about discovering new products, with attendees seeking insight about applying new products or design concepts to their existing operations,” said Phil Robinson, HX show General Manager.

Foodservice Pioneering Concepts did just that by combining the latest technologies and resources of select IHMRS exhibitors to create a retail venue in alternate locations/spaces that ‘wowed’ customers, capture profits and service opportunities

and gave operators an edge in today’s competitive environment.

The Bienvenu unfolded silently from what appeared to be a hightop reception table that could be located in a lobby area of a hotel, retail mall or transportation concourse, in an academic setting or restaurant space. Unfolded, the concept comprises a small bar with bar seats, a POS counter fronted by a cold tapas display case and a wine bar. The station can be run by either one or two servers depending on volume, with self-serve wine being sold via a bar code wine ticket that customers purchase at the point-ofsale station.

The concept, serving a minimalist menu of a dozen or so small-plate

The ItalCrust booth was a bevy of activity

American Trading’s Paul Weintraub brought a booth full of innovative solutions to HX

Enviropure’s Jim Slania and Linda Seigler

Monobloc’s Bill Doland and Marilys Savriol of SML-Stainless

Equipex Ltd’s President Gary Licht

(L to R) Insinkerator’s Mike Evenson and Bob Thielen

64 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

selections, does not require complete set-up and takedown each day; it is completely self-contained with the exception of a roll-in, rollout under counter refrigeration unit (to store in the host site kitchen). Bienvenu folds away completely when the unit is closed and becomes a functional reception or foyer table/ floral display.

The HX-Show brought a dynamic lineup of wine, spirits and cocktail creativity to Javits New York City which is home to many of the world’s top mixologists and bars. Many of those stars and bars call Manhattan and Brooklyn hotels home. So with the rebranding of the 100 year old event to the HX: The Hotel Experience — Rooms to Restaurants

(HX), it only made sense that Metro New York focus on wine, spirits and cocktails and take center stage.

The show’s Beverage Experience program was housed at the BELLA BAR from Cafe Bellas on the show floor. This year’s Beverage Experience, featured a series of informative sessions to showcase how an improved and elevated beverage experience for the hotel or restaurant guest can lead to higher guest satisfaction - and to higher profits - for the restaurant or hotel operator.

Utilizing the new and innovative Bella Bar as the stage, The Beverage Experience was held on the show floor in the middle of the tabletop section of the show, highlighting the importance that having the

(L to R) Hall of Famer Rick Barry of Pathos Water and TFS co-publisher Fred Klashman talked about clean water solutions and the glory days of the NBA

Tennis star Venus Williams, also an owner of V*Starr Interiors, participated in a show panel.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 65

// HX 2015 SHOW COVERAGE proper glassware, cups and saucers, etc. plays in the beverage experience for the guest. Anchoring this year’s event was guest speakers Gregg Lewis of 1-800-Bartend and Restaurant Depot’s wine & spirits guru: Vlad Garcia. The Beverage Experience conducted sessions on improving the guest experience with coffee, tea, craft beer, high-end spirits, and wine. Each session was sponsored by a tabletop manufacturer who also showed why tabletop matters in providing the guest a quality beverage experience.

Gregg Lewis is the founder and president of 1-800-Bartend. The firm’s bartending schools are the

(L to R) PBAC’s Steve Bauer and his teammate Bob Doland of Doland Jacobs Beer garnered top honors at the show’s inaugural foodservice Jeopardy event

(L to R) Automatic Ice’s Jordan Singer and Rob McKeown of Lehr McKeown welcomed guests at the Naples 45 event

largest Bartending training center for Bartending in New York, with bartending locations in Manhattan, NYC - Kew Gardens, Queens, Suffolk County, Nassau County, with Bartending schools on Long Island.

Lewis and his team were joined

by Restaurant Depot’s Garcia who for the past three years has been entrusted with bringing Wine and Spirits to the nation’s largest cash and carry foodservice operator: Restaurant Depot. The veteran executive brings a diverse background of success from wine vaults to restaurants.

Young leaders and members of the hotel industry’s AH&LA Under

30 Gateway Committee shared how their generation is changing the hospitality industry and how to use the myriad of ways customers provide feedback - surveys, online reviews, Facebook, Twitter to improve the customer experience.

At HX OnStage – Restaurant -Tabletop Matters: Designing and Selecting Hospitality Tabletop in the Real World showed us how to improve your guest dining experience by making thoughtful and informed decisions about tabletop from a panel that included a product designer, food and beverage director/ chef, and sales and supply chain representatives.

(L to R) Credit Suisse’s Jay Silverstein and Slava Petatsky of Tek Express

(L to R) Michael Scinto of TFS and the New York City Hospitality Alliance’s Andrew Rigie

(L to R) Acme’s Candice and Birinder Madan were on hand for the ShowMonday Networking event

Minners’ Mauren Cole and veteran hotel exec Herman Reiner visited at Naples

(L to R) Among the Network Party revelers were Michael Posternak of PBAC, Unidine’s Victoria Vega, Vulcan’s Joe Maresca and Chris Brady of Romano Gatland

Financier Ho Wang with Keith Fitzgerald of PBAC and the VA Hospital’s Mimi Wang

66 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

At the Chef’s Roundtable, Fred Klashman, publisher of Total Food Service, moderated a conversation with New York metro area chefs on menu trends, kitchen technology, catering, and building a culinary team.

How to stand out among competing bars and restaurants and win profits with craft beer, Julia Herz, Craft Beer Program Director for the Brewers Association and publisher of CraftBeer.com, shared resources and tricks on tasting and pairing beer from small and independent craft brewers. She also updated her audience on craft beer trends and draught system best practices.

Fox Browne Creative, the Johannesburg, South Africa-based design firm behind such hospitality projects as the White Pearl Resorts in Ponta Mamoli, Mozambique and the Hotel Lamuu in Johannesburg, was selected as the 35th annual Gold Key Award for Excellence in Hospitality Design Designer of the Year.

“Choosing the Designer of the Year is always a challenge for our Gold Key judges. There are more and more firms creating work that is provocative in terms of its concept and innovative in its execution, and doing both extremely well,” says Mary Scoviak, executive editor, Boutique Design. “What made Fox Browne Creative stand out to this year’s judges was the immersive environments the firm creates by seamlessly blending FF&E and

“This marketplace is more vibrant than ever and our goal is to deliver a brand new experience,” Robinson outlined. space plans with the architecture.”

“The Gold Key judges also liked the firm’s visionary mission statement: ‘By creating an unbroken chain of perfect moments for guests we hope that they left having fallen in love with the world all over again.

In short, we are inspired by hospitality and the positive impact it can have in the developing world,’” adds Scoviak.

Fox Browne Creative, Michaelis Boyd Associates and Nicholas Plewman Architects were also selected

as 2015 Gold Key Award finalists in the Best Eco-Conscious or Socially Conscious Hotel and Judges’ So Cool categories for their project Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge in the Okovango Delta, Botswana.

Bringing more technology choices and strategies to the hospitality industry was a major focus of HX. One of the most visible tech improvements was the addition of HX: TECH, a 1,100 square foot tantalizing hub for experiencing new products and hearing new ideas. Team

HX: TECH led hands-on training, demo new products and enlightened on such topics as evaluating web presence, going paperless, social media for events, mobile apps, revenue management, meeting design, productivity and more.

“A single place for hospitality technology with real depth and breadth hasn’t existed before HX:TECH,” said Mangano. “It’s more than a new product showcase, it’s a fullystaffed resource.” HX: TECH featured a TECHbar where attendees brought their own device (BYOD), asked their tech and app questions and quickly received answers and new solutions. Attendees could also experience the latest in tech wearables such as VR googles, MYO and gestured-based tech, smart watches and virtual keyboards.

The show marked the return of

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December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 67

// HX 2015 SHOW COVERAGE Stamford’s Des Hague, Co-Founder of Aegis Enterprises and Partner of WC&A, was one of three FCSI Project Showcase winners to have been invited to speak at the FCSI-sponsored Project Showcase panel at HX. WC&A was specifically recognized for its foodservice design and execution of plans during the recent renovation of the iconic Crystal Palace Marketplace. WC&A’s objective during this project was to enhance the “Crystal Palace” public space with a world-class food and beverage venue. Foodservice design/ equipment budget was $1.5 million.

As recent President of Centerplate, an international hospitality provider, Hague has spent the last six years

managing hospitality at many of North America’s largest convention centers including Javits Center during the recent $465 million renovation, which allowed Hague to offer a unique perspective to the project discussion from the design side in addition to the food service provider’s side. Hague is now a Partner of WC&A, a hospitality design company that has executed over 12,000 projects globally since its founding in 1986.Topic of the panel discussion: What does it take to stand out in today’s market and how to transform a foodservice project need to yield bottom line dividends for endusers and owners.

“Whether renovating or build-

ing a new foodservice facility, it’s imperative that operators invest in the expertise of foodservice design professionals, like those on our FCSI panel,” said Beth Lorenzini, Editor-in-Chief, Foodservice Equipment Reports, Gill Ashton Publishing. “We were delighted by the panel of experts and they certainly provided a unique experience for our show. Clearly, they have delivered excellence and it was a great learning session for our members.

The designer’s expertise and experience makes the difference between a great kitchen and a kitchen nightmare.”

Save the date and see what HX has in store for 2016, its second edition

at the Javits Center in New York City, November 13-15, 2016.

1-800-Bartend’s Gregg Lewis brought great energy to the shows wine and spirits educational program

(L to R) Nicholas Mercogliano of Pecinka Ferri and Sam Tell and Son’s Arthur Fisher

(L to R) BSE Marketing’s Steve Doyle and Elliot Horowitz of Elliot Horowitz and Associates

The Meiko team was on hand to support the local food service community

Connecticut consultants including Bob Frione toured the show with their customers

The Waring team was led by Dan DeBari (L)

(L to R) Irwin and Kenny Sher of Day & Night with old friend Mark Hessel of BSE Marketing

(L to R) Salt and Barrels’ Morgan Flynn and Danielle Grossetto

(L to R) Noted consultant Jimmy Yui and Lex Poulos of Jade

68 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

(L to R) TD Marketing Frank Doyle welcomed leading dealers including Neil and Jodie Cohen

Jeff Feuer (R) and the IPOS team had a busy show

The show enabled companies including Roscoe Beer and Cooler Concerns to team up to bring new beverage solutions to showgoers

(L to R) Jacob Doland’s Gary Jacobs and Ed Hull with Marc Fuchs of M. Tucker

The Gotham City Hospitality team led

by Eric Weiss (L) represented Cardinal glass as the Jersey firm garnered top show honors

The Vivreau booth was a bevy of activity

Design Within Reach’s contract director David Kennedy

Hartford’s Max Restaurant Group was well represented as they came to the show to test drive the new Marra Forni pizza ovens

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 69

// MIXOLOGY

WITH WARREN BOBROW

To Look At The Year Ahead As A Taste-Maker Often Takes Great Perseverance

W

hy?

Because if anything is for certain, there will be change in the way we taste. It’s just part of becoming more sophisticated and worldly.

And hopefully with my help, you’ll want to follow along and then take your own path, with the knowledge that I’ve imparted to you and your team.

Going from one way of doing things to another is never easy, but hopefully with this list, you can try some new ideas. Why you would want to stay the same is beyond me, all I can give you are the ideas for what you should be tasting going forward. Trends? I’m not sure drinking Jerry Thomas influence cocktails can be called a trend. But after attending the Moscow (Russia) Bar Show this year- and seeing for myself the deep passion for authenticity and nostalgia, but exemplifying Jerry Thomas, well, I knew that this trend had to succeed. Jerry Thomas for all who don’t know, was the father of the American Cocktail.

He was around before our Modern Day-Tales of the Cocktail reinvented what it means to make a well-crafted drink with both passion and determination.

(And a nod to history of course!)

Jerry Thomas made his mark on the hospitality industry in the 18th

Warren Bobrow is the creator of the

and 19th Centuries! Think about that the next time you make fresh fruit juice instead of opening up that uncertain bottle of ‘juice’, and make your own sour mix from scratch- instead of the stuff that comes out of your drink-gun…. No offense, but I like doing things the slow wayspeed behind the stick, slow in the making of the ingredients.

• Traditional style Rum... Going forward I call for authentic rums like Mezan XO. I think it’s important to taste their XO style from Jamaica. It is certainly as pertinent as drinking high-end Scotch, Bourbon or even a Cognac after your meal. And if I wanted to make a Mezan XO Negroni? Sure you can do that too. 1 oz. Mezan XO, 1 oz. Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, 1 oz. Campari. Mix together and pour over a large cube of ice. See? It’s easy to look like a pro. I’ve tasted rum from New Jersey (Busted Barrel), from Massachusetts

(Privateer), from Austria (Stroh Rum 160,yes..160 Proof!), from Georgia (Richland) and just about all around the globe, even Japanese rum aged in Japanese Whisky casks!

• Agricole Rhum... Oh yes. There is a big difference and you will taste it immediately. Agricole is made with freshly crushed sugar cane juice, not molasses. Agricole has an important place in the cocktail universe and it should always be represented at your bar. There are several distilleries that you can find here in the United States… Ed Hamilton brings in some of the best (read: old style) Agricole Rhum I’ve ever enjoyed. You should take the Blanche (100 Proof ) with lime chunks and Martinique cane sugar syrup. But remember… You secure your own fate by making these little firecrackers yourself. Chacun prépare sa propre mort. Also seek Clement Rhum and Rhum JM Agricole

Why you would want to stay the same is beyond me, all I can give you are the ideas for what you should be tasting going forward.

70 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

popular blog The Cocktail Whisperer and the author of nearly half a dozen books, including Apothecary Cocktails, Whiskey Cocktail and Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails- his most recent book.

• Bourbon Whiskey... Small producer Bourbon gets my attention.

You know, the stuff that is actually hand-made in a distillery, instead of “craft” from a Madison Avenue marketing department. I’ve recently tasted some world-class whiskies from Koval, Few Spirits, Hudson (Tuthilltown), Breckenridge Distillery, and Barrell that speak clearly of the passion for this simple grain..

You can drink well at most price levels too. Buffalo Trace always comes to mind- although not Craft, it is high quality.

• Rye... If you haven’t tried Rye, you’re missing something very important. That is history. Rye paved the way to civilization. Rye is responsible for flavor and rye is easy to grow- and easier to distill. Rye is not for everyone because it is not sweet. It is an authentic drink. IT DEMANDS YOUR ATTENTION. Thank you for trying Rye and keeping alive this essential history of drinking. Redemption Rye always

continued on page 111

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 71

// LITTLE M. TUCKER

WITH MORGAN TUCKER

The Tabletop Challenge

“W

hy ask the manufacturers themselves when we have Morgan Tucker right here in the front row?” boasts Dave Turner from Tabletop Journal, and I begin to blush.

“Morgan and her team sell more Steelite than anyone, and two of her top sales people are competing today” in the annual Tabletop Challenge brought to you by Tabletop Journal and sponsored by EveryWare Global, VerTerra Dinnerware, MADHOUSE by Michael Aram, and of course Steelite International.

Each year, leading designers, consultants, and culinary professionals are invited to select from an assort-

ment of innovative tabletop items and mystery props and create a themed tablescape that shows their skillset, individuality, and the trends they are loving right now. Everyone on the show floor is then invited to vote for their selection and winners are announced at the end of HX: The Hotel Experience.

The camera is rolling under the bright lights of the newly renovated Javits Center and all eyes (let’s be honest, not many of them) are staring at the four competitors. It is clear where my allegiance lies… both Katie McNamara and Tess Rex, account execu-

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72 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Morgan Tucker is a Senior Account Executive and Director of Exclusive Collections at M. Tucker, a division of Singer Equipment Company. Her sales and marketing team, “Little M Tucker” provides equipment and supply solutions for a wide diversity of acclaimed restaurateurs, celebrated chefs, and industry leaders. Ms. Tucker is based in NYC and can be reached at mptucker@mtucker.com.

tives at M. Tucker, have chosen to wear some of the diverse props available to them instead of just decorating their tables and I too am adorned in a Santa hat in solidarity.

The sound is different this year… not because there are no longer birds in the rafters… but because there is a buzz. It’s not loud like the old days of the IHMRS or of the same caliber of excitement as the BDNY show happening simultaneously on the other side of the convention center… but it will be alive again next year because of the meaningful changes made to HX in 2015.

In corner number 1 we have Katie’s table. This presentation is centered on a pig shaped charcuterie board from Welsh, distributed by Steelite and awarded the highest quality slate in the world. The rustic farm motif is accompanied by hedgehog salt and pepper shakers, birch tree candlesticks from MADHOUSE, kinder-cones, and

frosted glass bottles from Bormioli Rocco. Innovative new olive colored stemless water and wine glasses from Stolzle pair well with the mix of brown and green Steelite dinnerware from

Thailand, England, and Mexico.

In corner number 2 we have Tess’s table, a cooler approach with silver, blue, and gray hues. Tess’s arrange-

ment is an eclectic mix of dinnerware with disposables from VerTerra and MADHOUSE, reusable melamine by Delfin, and porcelain by Rene Ozorio.

To compliment the varying finishes of plateware she chose a new textured flatware pattern from Oneida. This setting is rounded out with stainless mint julep cocktail glasses from Creations and etched stemware from Rona.

“What do you think of the multimillion dollar re-imagination and rebranding of the show this year,” Dave questions me in front of a growing crowd while the competition is well underway.

“I’m finally excited about the future of this show!”

For images from the intense competition, visit Dave’s Instagram feed @tabletopjournal or follow me @littlemtucker @littlemtuckernyc #tabletopmatters

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// EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

PBAC Consultants Dinner

L

eave it to an enterprising Bostonian to adopt “New Yawk” as his hometown and then set sight on Manhattan’s leading hotspots. Once again Michael Posternak and his PBAC partners and team accomplished exactly that last month. The Eastchester, NY based equipment and supply rep firm hosted an evening of revelry for many of New York’s leading kitchen design consultants.

This year’s venue which seems to always fall under the heading of “how do we top” last year, was the much talked about Feinsteins/54 Below nightclub in the heart of the theatre district. “Our goal is to create a uniquely New York experience for our consultant customers and the factories that we so proudly represent,” noted Posternak.

The Feinstein stage was rocking as a bevy of Broadways’ new stars brought their interpretations of today’s hottest sounds to the 54 Street stage as PBAC treated their guests to a truly memorable Manhattan

Matt Klein of Klein Drafting with Mark and Shirley Romano of Romano Gatland & Associates

evening. Among the Broadway stars that graced the PBAC stage at Feinsteins were Ariana DeBose who is currently appearing in Hamilton.

Fidler on the Roof, musical director Ben Rauhala as well as the incredibly gifted Zak Resnick and Taylor Louderman brought down the house.

The annual gathering celebrates the creation of the firm. In 1988 Michael Posternak and Steve Bauer left successful careers at Traulsen to launch what has become one of the nation’s preeminent equipment rep firms.

EYE enjoyed visiting with many of the top consultants in Metro New York including large contingents from Cini Little, Clevenger Frable LaVallee, Romano Gatland and Jacobs Doland Beer at the Midtown Manhattan event.

EYE spotted a number of movers and shakers from the manufacturing side of the industry including Hobart’s Mr. and Mrs. Gary Simpson, the retired Tom Szfranski,

Duke’s Jimmy Leist and InterMetro’s Mike Ward and Nancy Fera.

EYE says you can look for another big year from PBAC in ‘16 as they are set to team with many of the Tri-State regions’ leading dealers and consultants on a number of signature projects including Credit Suisse, Diamond Food and Nordic Hall, Barney’s, World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge Hotel, Hudson Yards and the USTA Tennis Center.

Wade Koehler of FCSI, Shayne Varnum, Gary Simpson and Stephanie LurosGilbert of Hobart

Gary and Danielle Bensky of Clevenger Frable-Lavallee with Cody and Brian Hicks of Hicks Design Group

74 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Full house at Feinstein’s 54 Below

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Doland, Derek Romig and St. John of Jacobs Doland Beer

Mike Ward of InterMetro and Joe Varaksa of Imperial Brown with Kai Fukunaga and Marleen St. Marie of Cini Little

Newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Rick Rasulo of Clevenger Frable-Lavallee

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 75

// RESTAURANT STAFF MANAGEMENT Restaurant Owners: Are Your Waiters Waiting and Your Managers Managing? You Better Make Sure They Are Not!

WITH LEEANNE HOMSEY

LeeAnne Homsey specializes in providing consulting / training ser-

A

re you training your managers to let waiters “wait” for customers to come in or are you training them to create independent contractors who bring customers in and grow your small business and theirs?

Coaching and motivating employees to sell more and stay employed longer is what your small business needs to thrive. Therefore you need your managers to coach and motivate your staff to thrive within their small business: their sections. Your managers need to be motivating and coaching…. not simply managing.

How can you make sure your managers are not simply managing and your waiters aren’t simply “waiting”? Train your managers to do more than “manage.” Train your managers to inspire and motivate employees. Train them to enable your employees to take control of their own income. Show your managers how to coach and inspire your employees to create their own customer base through referrals, through relationship building, by handing out business cards, giving their customers added value experiences with every visit, creating branded, postable moments,

vices to the restaurant industry. As a

networking in the community and let them offer non-peak hour incentives to people they do business with outside of the restaurant.

Make sure your managers are exciting your staff to thrive in this business of people. This business rife with possibilities, contacts, relationships and connections for their future endeavors not simply work and “wait” long hours in the food business until something better comes along.

Train your managers to excite, motivate, coach and inspire your employees to run their sections like their own small businesses and you are well on your way to skyrocketing sales and lower employee turnover for the life of YOUR successful, thriving business.

Last month I wrote that this

month’s article would be about contests and incentives for servers but after working with my last client and coaching his management team I felt it was much more important to address this vital issue of coaching and inspiring employees and not be so focused on the micro-management of people as so many restaurant managers seem to be fond of doing.

When your entire staff pulls together as a team to control and double their own income through customer service and relationship building your managers won’t need traditional and stale “High Sales” contests. Instead your managers will be exciting your staff with contests like: “Most shared, branded, customer posted photos” or pop quizzes like: “Who knows the

You need your managers to coach and motivate your staff to thrive within their small business: their sections.

76 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

25-year veteran, LeeAnne has worked with a wide array of restaurant businesses ranging from casual to upscale dining establishments. For more information call 1-646-462-0384, e-mail info@leeannehomsey.com or visit www. leeannehomsey.com.

names of the most customers or “Who can open the door for the most customers,” “Who can bring in the most off-peak customers” “Who got the most referrals from business owners from the surrounding area.” Your team will gladly participate in each and every contest and use each moment to further engage their customers to build lifelong relationships for themselves and your restaurant.

Without inspiration and motivation from your managers unfortunately all the restaurant will do is “manage” and any contest your “managers” suggest will just be unwelcome addition work or judgment to your already less than enthusiastic staff.

For more ideas on how to inspire your staff, look back at previous digital issues of “Total Food Service.”

Next month: “How To Train Your Managers To Inspire And Coach Your Employees”

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 77

// ON WATER

WITH BRIAN MADDEN

New Realities Of Water At Your Metro New York Food Service Operation

F

oodservice operators need to rethink how to make sure their water is clean, safe and good tasting for customers.

There’s a lot of moving parts and I want to help you make sense of just how water impacts so many segments of your operation. From washing dishes to serving a great cup of coffee to getting the most out of that new combi oven, my goal is for you to rethink how you look at the quality of water.

I remember being at a hotel bar with some friends and one commenting, “This place could use your filters.

The drinks really taste like chlorine.”

It wasn’t coming from the water but from the glass, leftover residual on it from a low-temperature machine with a chlorine-based process.

Low-temp machines are amazing.

They have revolutionized dishwashing. But my point is if you are going to use them, you need to understand how water works with them. They clean differently. A lot of operators use a machine because their chemical guys give them the machine and sell chemicals into it. It’s safe, it’s disinfected, but it’s not necessarily something you want to eat or drink out of without the proper filtration.

So I have a solution to maximizing the efficiency of the low-temp machine utilizing water filtration and at

Brian Madden is a New Hyde Park , NY native. The Western Connectcut University graduate has built a reputation as one of the nation’s leading experts on water filtration. In his current post with Pentair, he is handling sales in the Northeast. Madden’s

It’s hard to believe, but the needs of a New York City operator and a New Jersey restaurateur are not going to be the same. the same time ensuring food safety.

Our Endurance filter line offers a simple solution. With either our “fine” or “ultra-fine” models you’ll be able to accomplish the goal as a result of the 50 gallons a minute capacity. Endurance SC, our other model in this product line, has ultra fine filtration and it’s self-cleaning. It has that ultra fiber membrane that cleans itself.

We have a client who’s putting in

78 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

a glass washer and is worried about having to polish the spots out of his glasses because he’s using a low-temperature machine. We showed him how with the right filter, he would have to clean the glasses he needs.

It’s hard to believe but the needs of a New York City operator and a New Jersey restaurateur are not going to be the same.

One client is opening a new coffee

career includes successful stints with Pepsi in Las Vegas, Metro NY with Hoshizaki as well as being deployed by Pentair to China.

bar in Manhattan and New York City water tends to be very clean, very little mineral content. A lot of people say New York doesn’t have enough minerals in the water for a good cup of coffee, it’s only 55 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved solids. The client wanted it up above 180, so we used our Endurance system to accomplish his goal.

We have found that operators are getting more and more particular these days. Starbucks or McDonald’s or convenience stores like Wawa, they’re coming in and saying, this is the quality we want, we sell a hugh volume of coffee so we want the highest quality. We help them get there.

The other benefit from our solutions is the energy conservation and savings that you will realize. It takes two gallons of water to make one gallon, and one gallon is waste. With the MRS600, for every gallon you make, you only send one quart down the drain.

If you’d like to learn more, please contact me at brian.madden@pentair. com.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 79

// CHEFCETERA

UP CLOSE WITH METRO NY CHEFS

Emma Bengtsson Executive Chef at Aquavit, NYC

B

engtsson grew up in a small town on the west coast of Sweden and became interested in the culinary arts at a very young age, thanks to her grandmother, who was an avid home cook.

The baking and cooking of Bengtsson’s youth grew into professional aspirations when she enrolled in Stockholm’s Hotel and Restaurant School, where she trained in every restaurant role, from savory and pastry to waiting tables and hostessing.

It was while working at Edsbacka Krog–the only Michelin two-star restaurant in Sweden at that time–where she discovered her love specifically for pastry, and continued to work in the kitchen there for four years after graduation. She then took a position at Restaurant Prinsen, one of Stockholm’s oldest and busiest bistros.

From there Bengtsson joined Operakällaren, the award-winning historical restaurant located in Stockholm’s Opera House, where she remained for nearly five years.

Former Aquavit Executive Chef Marcus Jernmark recruited Bengtsson in 2010 to join the restaurant as Pastry Chef. Bengtsson quickly became known for her creative interpretations of classic Scandinavian desserts, as well as establishing a new bread program. Her style was reflective of the region’s penchant for local products, progressive techniques, and continuing traditions; and it was well received, as Aquavit was recognized with one star in the Michelin Guide

New York City in 2013 and 2014.

Håkan Swahn, the owner of Aquavit, saw talent and fresh perspective in Chef Bengtsson’s skillset and offered her the role of Executive Chef in spring 2014. She accepted the job, and since then has injected the critically acclaimed menu with her personal style and experience. In October, her work garnered a second Michelin Star for Aquavit, making her the second female chef in the U.S. to run a twostar kitchen and the first ever Swedish female chef to do so.

Who or what inspired you to start a career in the restaurant industry and where did you study culinary arts?

My grandmother most of all. She was an avid cook and I have so many happy memories cooking with her, from baking Swedish cookies and pastries to preparing Sunday evening pot roast. My love for her commingled with my passion for food to shape my

professional outlook.

I graduated from the Stockholm Hotel and Restaurant School.

You moved to Manhattan from Sweden in 2010 to pursue a pastry career, how did you land the role as executive chef and what were some of the major changes you had to incorporate?

While I was the Pastry Chef at Aquavit for three years, during that time, I still contributed to the savory menu.

The process was always collaborative so if a tuile or sorbet had a savory profile, pastry was responsible for the production. In addition, we always tasted the entire menu collectively and I always provided input.

Those factors, coupled with the fact that I have a well-rounded culinary education, made the transition fairly smooth. From a management perspective, I now have a lot more responsibility as I’m overseeing three

“My kitchen style is derived from what I experienced at Edsbacka Krog, my first restaurant job: it is to educate and support the cooks and create an approachable environment.”

80 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Chef Emma Bengtsson

kitchens: private events, pastry and savory.

You are part of a rare group, being one of three women who hold Michelin two-starred distinction. How does it feel to be put in such a category?

It’s an honor, of course, but with the accolades comes a lot of pressure to be role model to female chefs both in and outside of the kitchen.

Explain your cooking style and how you operate your kitchen?

My cooking style here at the restaurant is one that pays homage to Traditional Swedish cuisine – filtered through my taste memory of it and subjective vision, meaning my preferred ingredient vocabulary and sense of composition.

My kitchen style is derived from what I experienced at Edsbacka Krog, my first restaurant job: it is to educate

continued on page 82

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ELECTRIC COUNTERTOP

CONVEYOR TOASTER • Specially designed extra wide return ramp for toasting oversized bagels • Makes up to 500 slices per hour • Multiple power and speed (”Doneness”) settings to get the perfect toast • 208/240V, 2000/2600W, 9.6/10.8A

ECT-500 Competitor Angled Chute R

C

SPECTRUM Curved Chute

US LISTED

ELECTRIC COUNTERTOP

GRIDDLE

EGD-24 R

C

• EGD-24: Two independently controlled heat zones, 208/240V, 4200/5600W, 20.2/23.4A • EGD-36: Three independently controlled heat zones, 208/240V, 6300/8400W, 30/35A

GAS COUNTERTOP

HOT PLATE • Equipped with LP conversion kits • GHP-2: Two independently controlled burners, 44,000 total BTU/hr • GHP-4: Four independently controlled burners, 88,000 total BTU/hr • ANSI STD Z83.11b-2009 for U.S. and STD 1.8b-2009 for Canada

GHP-4

R

3182799

GAS COUNTERTOP

CHAR BROILER • Equipped with LP conversion kits • Plates can sit on an angle or flat for proper drainage • Grooves direct excess oils into tray to prevent oil build up • GCB-24R: Two independently controlled burners, 80,000 total BTU/hr • GCB-36R: Three independently controlled burners, 120,000 total BTU/hr • ANSI STD Z83.11b-2009 for U.S. and STD 1.8b-2009 for Canada

GCB-36R

R

3182799

GAS COUNTERTOP

GRIDDLE

• Equipped with LP conversion kits • 3/4” polished stainless steel cook plate and 3” wide front rail • GGD-24M: Two independently controlled heat zones, 60,000 total BTU/hr • GGD-36M: Three independently controlled heat zones, 90,000 total BTU/hr • ANSI STD Z83.11b-2009 for U.S. and STD 1.8b-2009 for Canada

GGD-24M

R

US LISTED

3182799

By

www.wincous.com

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 81

Chefcetera, from page 80 and support the cooks and create an approachable environment. It is very important that cooks feel comfortable to ask questions and that they understand the process: why we make things a certain way -- instead of just getting it right by reading a recipe correctly.

It is also important to provide a sense of family and camaraderie, as we all spend more time with one another than our own families and rely on one another to do our respective.

These principles are what I try to impart and practice in my kitchen.

It’s hard to put a brand on Scandinavian food, how has that evolved?

The truth is Scandinavian food is far too broad a term to accurately describe the true range of food produced in a region that encompasses the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland, as well as Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. In time, however, I expect to see greater regional distinctions, partially driven by the need of restaurants to create new niches.

What are some other roles on the business side of Aquavit you take on?

I am responsible for monitoring the kitchen’s food and labor costs and maintenance of kitchen equipment.

What’s your opinion on local sustainability? And do you look for loyalty from your suppliers or do you go to bid each week?

I support producers of local and sustainable ingredients as much as possible as long as the quality is to my standard. Loyalty is extremely important for me, too, and I look for that first before merely looking at the price.

What role does the vendor community on both the equipment and food supply side play? In your opinion, is today’s salesperson providing the level of service you need to succeed?

The big issue is not the level of ser-

vice provided by salespeople but rather repair people.

Too often it’s a problem getting timely, cost-effective repairs. More companies and salespeople need to take greater ownership of the repair side of things.

In terms of food supply, my most valued suppliers like Solex Fine Foods and The Lobster Place know exactly what I need and understand my standards. They will not send a product that I have to send back. Naturally, there are a few that disappoint from time to time. I won’t name names, but they know who they are [laughing].

What are your thoughts on the Metro New York restaurant industry compared to the rest of the country?

I think it’s unquestionably the most competitive restaurant market in the country. There is high quality in every sector, from casual to fine dining.

Talk a little about the buying process for foodservice equipment. What do you look for in a piece of equipment?

Do you attend National and regional shows for products? And when purchasing equipment, do you work with local dealers or shop online?

I normally don’t have time to attend shows. There are a lot of equipment brands like Hobart that I like and have proven to be reliable. Unfortunately [laughing], however, we don’t have the budget to buy all the gadgets I would like. You know, like most chefs, my eyes are bigger than my wallet. Online is the first place I go to find equipment or to research what is out there.

What are your short-term and longterm goals?

In the short term, to continue to inspire and lead my colleagues and make the restaurant better. Over the long-term, I would like to become a citizen and own my own place (house) to make New York my home.

82 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

A sampling of Chef Bengtsson’s cuisine. Photos by Signe Birck.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 83

// CATERSOURCE CONSULTANT

WITH MICHAEL ROSMAN

Should You Ever Say No To Potential Customers?

O

ne key to catering success is understanding exactly what kind of work you should take, and what kind you should politely decline. If you are a restaurant owner, I know this probably sounds quite foreign to you.

Those of us who come from a restaurant background could never have too many customers. A line around the block, multiple parties of 20, and huge carryout orders are our perfect storm.

We would never think of ever deliberately turning away business. In the corporate catering world, however, this is exactly what intelligent operators sometimes do. Corporate catering is a specialty business, and if we travel too far away from the parameters that have made us successful, we can fail.

In my earlier years I often wrestled with questions like this. We were great at drop-off buffets, box lunches, continental breakfasts and a wide variety of sandwich platter offerings. We dealt with knowledgeable business people who wanted great food delivered on time and we built a great business doing just those things.

Every so often, however, an employee of a good customer, a family friend, or even someone who was looking for caterers online would call us about an odd event. One call I received was about a clambake. I have described this situation in my book, and rather than repeat that story here, I encourage you to read about it when you decide to get a copy of my book, Lessons Learned From Our Mistakes.

Anyway, a similar scenario played out when one of my clients received a phone call from a church festival committee. Their rotisserie chicken vendor had retired and they were looking for a new caterer for their yearly event.

The chicken had to be roasted on site, but the church guys knew all of the details-how many chickens needed to be cooked, when they would be served, how many patrons would come to the event, and even where to set up the cooking lines. The church was handling everything except the actual chicken cooking.

My client had never rotisseried a chicken in his life, but he thought, sort of like Homer Simpson, “Hmmm... chicken, grill, skewer, motor, charcoal-no problem!” He called a few rental companies, secured the rotisserie equipment, ordered the raw birds, took his best cook, and went to the event.

As was his style, my client set the event up and was not going to leave until he was sure that nothing could go wrong. The first few batches of chickens were browning nicely on

the roasters, and his cook had already been told where the church kitchen warming drawers were. All the cook had to do was keep cooking and filling the drawers, so my client, albeit a little uneasy, felt it was safe to leave.

Unfortunately, the event unfolded slowly, and the cook slowed with it.

Then, at around 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon my client got “the call.” “The call” is dreaded by caterers and I don’t need to explain it any further. The substance was, “I ran out of chicken; it wasn’t busy but apparently I was supposed to fill up the warming drawers anyway. Then the wind shifted and the charcoal would not heat properly. The church people are really mad. I have five cases of raw chicken that I can’t cook fast enough, there is a line out to the street and the church lady wants to talk to you NOW!” There was no pretty end to that disaster and needless to say, my client had learned the hard way to stay away from things he really didn’t know how to do. He now understands that just because someone wants food catered doesn’t mean that any given caterer

My client now understands that just because someone wants food catered doesn’t mean that any given caterer should agree to take that particular job.

84 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

Michael Rosman is considered one of the foremost thought-leaders and sought-after consultants in the catering industry. As a national speaker, published author and magazine columnist Michael’s pioneering membership website, The Corporate Caterer, is the go-to resource for restaurateurs and caterers who want to start or grow their corporate drop-off catering business. Michael can be reached directly at michael@thecorporatecaterer.com.

should agree to take that particular job.

When we go outside of our knowledge realm, we run a higher chance of failure. Interestingly, the great caterers know this. I can’t tell you how many large box lunch jobs I have done for my city’s top social caterers. Sure they can make 200 sandwiches, wrap them and put them in boxes with three side orders-but they don’t want to. It would slow them down and distract them from what they do best-- which is serving thousands of guests for $75.00 per person or more. A $1000.00 box lunch order doesn’t interest them, nor should it.

As a corporate caterer, you already know that all orders regardless of size need to be treated with the same respect. Don’t set yourself up for failure by agreeing to do something that will sap your time, energy and could subsequently even damage your great reputation.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 85

// CRAFTED

WITH MARJORIE BORELL

For Lifting Holiday Spirits, Cider Bears Fruit

W

ith the highly successful New York Cider Week and uncharacteristically warm Thanksgiving behind us, many in the Tri State area are ready for December’s festivities and colder climes. And whether we get that weather or not, Christmas and New Year celebrations evoke visions of new spins on traditional wintery drinks like spicy mulled cider, cider cocktails, snakebites (craft lager mixed with hard cider) and wassail.

Although craft beer’s growth in the U.S. has risen faster than the head on a glass of Guinness, no cider scene is expanding faster than New York’s.

With a growing number of cider pubs and cider-centric restaurants, Americans now have the ability to taste a wide range of ciders at one time-at one place. Some notable local spots are: The Hearth on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, carries over 15 varieties of cider. The Queen’s Kickshaw in Astoria, is a ciderlicious labor of love from husband and wife team, Ben Sandler and Jennifer Lim. Their sister restaurant, Wassail also on the Lower East Side, features dishes cooked with cider, apples, pears, or apple or pear-based spirits.

The Owl Farm in Brooklyn, offers 28 rotating draft lines and an extensive selection of cider based spirits. The West Village’s Tertulia, lets customers choose from the impressive array

of ciders displayed overhead, and Finger Lakes Cider House in Central New York focuses on local producers offering distinct, complex ciders from farm-based orchards.

While still a small market compared to Europe, U.S. cider sales have soared to well over 35 million gallons. Even giants AnheuserBusch, Miller Coors and the Boston Beer Company (maker of Samuel Adams) are introducing cider brands of their own. Industry researchers project continued growth partly because cider attracts a younger, more affluent consumer. For some, cider has become a beer alternative. It’s even been pulling in wine drinkers. Foodservice analysts claim the beverage’s comeback has also been bolstered by

86 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

people with gluten allergies and by female drinkers who prefer the taste of cider to the taste of beer.

Interestingly, the word “CIDER” means fermented apple juice, just as “WINE” means fermented grape juice. Real cider is not brewed but made by pressing apples into juice, then letting the liquid ferment into alcohol - similar to making wine.

Each style reflects the terroir the apples grew in and, like wine, production takes time and patience. As such, many cider aficionados insist that the best vessel to appreciate the nuances of a good craft cider is a proper wine glass with a large bowl to release its aromatic compound, and a smaller opening to funnel those aromas upward. People often

Marjorie Borell has been active in the hospitality industry for over ten years.

She is a seasoned Restaurant Real Estate Broker, published journalist and part owner of Beer Culture Craft Beer Bar and Shop in Manhattan’s theatre district. Her recent activities include: Panel of Judges, International Restaurant & Foodservice Show 2015; Reporter - Women Chefs and Restaurateurs; Member of the NY Restaurant Association, and the NYC Hospitality Group.

chill it but serious cider should be tasted at about 60° Fahrenheit.

So is this the time to add cider to your bar and food menu?

Says Jennifer Lim, “Wassail has become a destination for people interested in exploring new cider tastes and styles along with food that best complements it. One of our most prized is Malus Baccata made from hand-foraged crab apples and costing $300.00 for a 500ml bottle.” With ciders like that, it’s not inconceivable that cider could soon become the new, New Year’s Eve toast.

Optional: Question of the month: What is perry?

1) The former governor of Arizona 2) A designer of fashion overalls 3) A drink made from pears 4) A street in New York’s restaurant row The first ten correct answers win a festive red TFS tote. Submit educated guesses to: Marjorie@totalfood.com

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 87

// EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

ICE Celebrates 40th Anniversary And Move To Spectacular New Facility

L

ast month marked a pair of very special celebrations. The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) celebrated the opening of its new location at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan and its 40th Anniversary.

The historic move marks the school’s 40th anniversary and follows record-high career student enrollment. It also is the largest culinary education facility built in a major American city in more than a decade.

Some of the Metro New York area’s top culinary talent was on hand to showcase the school’s spectacular new cooking suites. The iconic chocolatier Michael Laiskonis was in his chocolate lab creating bonbons and truffles.

Chefs Sam Kadko, Lorrie Reynoso and Scott Bridi prepared and served Brooklyn cured pastrami, and Magret Duck breast. Chef Julian Plyter of Melt Bakery teamed with chefs Faith Drobbin and Jenny McCoy on mini ice cream sandwiches. The True World culinary team brought hand-cut whole tuna and assorted sushi. For many guests the highlight was Chefs Cheryl and Ted Siegels’ mojito ceviche and baby back ribs.

The new 74,000-s.f. facility is considerably larger than ICE’s former 45,000-s.f. Flatiron facility. The new center features a culinary technology lab, indoor hydroponic farm, a dedicated student lounge and Chocolate Lab featuring “bean-tobar” education.

EYE spotted a number of top chefs

including Daniel Boulud who were on hand to congratulate Smilow and his team.

“With a 20-year lease and millions invested in building this exceptional culinary school, ICE is positioned to be one of the world’s leading culinary education centers for decades to come,” said Rick Smilow, ICE president and CEO. “This year marks my 20th as ICE’s president and the third expansion since the school’s inception, and I am proud to open this outstanding new facility and mark another chapter in ICE’s history.”

The move coincides with the school’s 40th anniversary and Mr. Smilow’s 20th year as owner. The late Peter Kump started the school in 1975 with five students in his cramped Upper West Side apartment, then moved it to a walkup on East 92nd Street and finally to 50,000 square feet at Two Trees’ 50 West 23rd Street shortly before his death in 1995. Smilow, an entrepreneur looking to buy a business, stepped in at the right moment. “I knew I was ‘on trend.’ The culinary revolution had already started,” he said. However, it had not even begun to reach the fever pitch it has today.

“I was in consumer marketing and I assumed there was more potential in recreational classes,” he said, recalling that Peter Kump’s school just happened to have a career program.

Now, however, the model has flipped.

“It’s worth paying more for vocational than for hobby,” he explained.

88 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

ICE instructor Robert Ramsey (R) and students prepared a very special paella.

Starr Restaurants’ Venus Cheung and Braden Reardon, Executive Chef, NYY Steak, was among top industry leaders who enjoyed ICE’s hospitality.

(L to R) Tri-State Marketing’s Ed Yuter and Richard Simpson of ICE, the guiding force behind the design of the new facility.

ICE’S Dean of Students Steve Zagor with Amy Falbaum of AF&A

Many of the city’s top restaurant owners including Tracy Nieporent of the Myriad Group (L) were on hand to christen the new ICE facility.

Guests included top New Jersey toque Chris Cannon of the Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen and his wife.

Annette Geronimo and meat maven John Jobbagy of Jobbagy Meats.

Chef Manuel Trinidad of Jeepney and Meharlika.

There are currently 750 career students enrolled at ICE. “Last year was our best year ever in the old school; we have momentum,” he said. The new space will be able to accommodate 1,000 career students. There are about 25,000 people a year who take recreational classes, which counts those who take only one class. That number is projected to expand to 30,000.

ICE has embraced the very latest technology. Career students receive iPads, equipped with textbooks, lesson plans, recipes and easy access to curriculum-relevant content.

ICE’s new school, which includes 12 teaching kitchens and six lecture

halls, offers various features that will enrich students’ daily educational experiences and support programmatically diverse course offerings. All culinary teaching kitchens are equipped with gas, induction and French top burners, representing the full range of preferred cooking methods across the globe.

Likewise, all pastry teaching kitchens are equipped with high-volume professional equipment, including steam confection deck ovens, proofers, large-scale mixers and more.

ICE has also long been known for hosting special events. With full waterfront views, ICE’s spacious demonstration kitchen, adjacent mix-

ology center and reception space make ICE an ideal choice for influential culinary organizations and corporate entertaining. Google and Apple executives, producers from “Top Chef” and “The Apprentice,” and even former mayor Bloomberg have met, entertained or taped segments in ICE’s event space.

(L to R) The school’s visionary president Rick Smilow and Wil Blunt of StarChefs

Chef instructor Michael Handal and the ICE faculty got to share the school’s magnificent new teaching kitchen.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 89

// THE WINE COACH

WITH LAURIE FORSTER

Waiter, There Is Someone Drinking My Wine!

Have you ever ordered a bottle of wine and seen the sommelier take the first sip? In some fine dining establishments this is common practice and in others the diner is the one that evaluates the first taste.

Laurie Forster, The Wine Coach, is a

W

one of the Top 8 Wine Apps in Wine

hy is this done?

Once upon a time, the job of a sommelier was really that of a poison detector. Unpopular royalty counted on these servants to taste their food and drink first to avoid being sickened or killed. Some modern day sommeliers still wear the traditional silver tasting cup or tastevin around their necks – a symbol of their preparedness to perform this important task.

These days when the sommelier takes the first taste it’s to ensure the wine is in proper condition and without flaws. Flaws include corks infected with trichloroanisole or TCA, oxidation and other bacteria that can ruin the taste of a wine. The justification for this practice is that no one knows better than a trained professional whether this wine is good or has gone bad.

Is this practice still necessary? It is safe to assume that the threat of poisoned wines is practically nonexistent in modern times so why are sommeliers still tasting first, especially since they can detect TCA infected wine by just smelling the bottle?

Some of my wine peers will argue that most consumers are not sophisticated enough to detect flaws in wine so this practice makes sense. They worry that these novices will accept and suffer through a flawed bottle needlessly. My response is: if you’re so

certified sommelier, award-winning author and media personality. Forster is the host of her radio show The Sipping Point and her mobile application “The Wine Coach” was listed as Enthusiast. To find out more visit:

concerned about a flawed bottle not being identified, then how about communicating with the consumer about the process and if necessary, educating them about flaws at the table?

In my opinion this “first taste” practice should be done only at the consumer’s discretion. Ideally the sommelier would approach the table, present the wine and then ask if the customer was comfortable with them testing the wine or if they wanted to do so.

Educated consumers might prefer to do this themselves and the more in-

experienced tasters would probably be relieved to allow the sommelier to proceed.

The practice of tasting without asking just does not sit right with me. I’ve heard the argument that “this is much like a chef tasting the food.” I’m not sure where they eat but I have never seen a Chef (other than my husband) taste my food at the table. Sure, the chef may taste the sauce but they are NOT cutting into my porterhouse steak! I might change my mind on the matter if I ever achieve royal status but

until then, I’ll be taking the first taste of my 1999 Aldo Conterno Gran Bussia Barolo.

How does your staff serve and evaluate wine? I’d love to know your thoughts on this issue! Email me at laurie@thewinecoach.com or tweet me @thewinecoach

Is your staff serving wine correctly?

Here is a review of what I call the Restaurant Ritual that is excerpted from my book The Sipping Point: A Crash Course in Wine.

The Lead Role. Let’s review the roles.

The person ordering the wine is considered the “host” regardless of gender. Your server will present the bottle and either point to the label or verbally announce the selection. This step is to ensure you are serving the correct wine and vintage requested. Guests will want to pay particular attention to this step if they ordered a vintage that was exceptional. The vintages delivered to the restaurant often change without notice and the guest may want to look for an alternate choice if they had their heart set on a specific year.

Cork Confusion. Next, your server will open the wine and place the cork to the right of the host. This step sometimes confuses the customer. What do you do with the cork? Simply put: nothing. You can examine the end to ensure it is moist. Wines stored correctly on the side will have moist corks.

The cork will not tell you if the wine is bad, so smelling it is not necessary.

Nodding Off. The server will then pour a small taste in the host’s wine glass to allow the host to check for flaws. The wine should be at least smelled and can be tasted as well. They are looking for a nod or comment that the wine is acceptable. Glowing compliments are not necessary! Wine with flaws can smell like a musty basement, mildew or even vinegar. Don’t skip this

step when your guests order a second bottle of the same wine (5-7% of wine sealed with real corks are “corked” or flawed). Once the guests have approved the wine, your server will fill the wine glasses in a clockwise manner, ladies first with the host being last.

If improving your wine list and staff knowledge is something you want to work on then I can help! Let’s talk to you about how I can help you create a training program and strategies to increase wine sales. Send me an email at laurie@thewinecoach.com and we can set up a call to explore.

Want to arm your staff with the essentials of wine? The Sipping Point: A Crash Course in Wine is available at www.TheWineCoach.com or at www.

Amazon.com

90 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

www.TheWineCoachSpeaks.com | @thewinecoach | facebook.com/ winecoach

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 91

// LIZ ON TABLETOP

TABLETOP SOLUTIONS

Creating A Holiday Feel For Your Foodservice Operation Without A Champagne Budget

W

ith a simple plan of attack, you can create that special holiday feeling for your food service operation.

When I think of Christmas and New Year’s, I’m thinking sparkly and clean. Why not start with a special thanks to your customers? Show that this time of the year is different and celebratory by greeting them warmly and taking customer’s coats.

We suggest that creating a truly

festive mood by welcoming them with taller glasses, which is really as simple as setting the table with champagne glasses.

Then it’s time to get the party started with a complimentary holiday toast. Talk to your wine and spirits distributors about creating a signature but affordable Champagne or Prosecco cocktail with the added touch of Cranberry floating to create a nice red holiday color.

The next step is to set the right

92 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

tone with candles and dimmer lights. I love how cooler lighting maximizes the sparkle of a tabletop.

The touch of glitter to the table with a votive holder or a simple gold or silver votive/candle holders makes a hugh difference. Simple red or green candles enhance the perfect look as well. I would also suggest that you think about finishing the table with red or green holiday napkins or rings. A really nice touch is to handwrite a holiday/thank you

message and place it in the folded napkin.

The holidays offer an opportunity to maximize beverage profits. A special holiday beverage napkin and a special drink stirrer or silver pick can finish a special look. A hot glass mug with cinnamon sticks- or even red and white twisted bar stirrers can energize beverage profits and enhance a table setting.

One of my favorite tricks is to appeal to all of the senses as you build

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

your restaurant’s holiday plan.

Through the years, we’ve suggested the use of a pine (even pine cleaners) and cinnamon spray scents and

a little Garland to create that magical holiday fragrance.

Because everyone is eating out more often during the season, it is important to not over feed the customers. I think people want more smaller courses and something special to share with the table- like a steak with trimmings or whole fish with sides all on a large platter. I Love the look of hens – to me it looks like a miniature/personal holiday meal on a plate.

We’ve seen changes in menus that require a new plating and serving

strategy. I like to describe it as traditions, with a new twist. Tasting menus and a series of small plates always seem festive and special to me. Hardy without heavy.

At holiday time, you need something in addition to that signature coffee and dessert. Why not present the check in a Christmas card, with a photo of the staff in a holiday setting, or owner/server with their family. Wrapped candy or cookies with the check- or something to take home with holiday wrappings and might even be the start of the new

gourmet line you’ve been thinking about launching in 2016.

A bring home gift of seasonal cookies or candy, signifies the sweetness of the year to come and sets you apart. People want to celebrate - we want to help them celebrate.

I know, I’ve given you a lot to think about so let’s keep it simple.

Here are the three steps to get started: light the fire dress up the bathrooms and accessorize the waiting area and bar. Happy Holidays!

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 93

// FOOD SAFETY

WITH FRANCINE SHAW

If It Can Happen To Chipotle, It Can Happen To You

I

f you work in the food service industry, you’re likely aware that fast casual chain, Chipotle, has experienced three foodborne illness outbreaks in the past three months. Since August, there have been reports of Norovirus, Salmonella, and E.coli – 3 of the “BIG 6” reportable foodborne illnesses.

This has been a real crisis for Chipotle. Including all three outbreaks, 44 restaurants were closed in three states, and hundreds of people became ill. To recover from just one food poisoning incident is challenging enough - many brands never do – but to recover from three incidents will be even more difficult.

Remember Chi-Chi’s? Chi-Chi’s was named “America’s Favorite Mexican Restaurant” eight years in a row.

However, one of the worst Hepatitis A outbreaks to ever take place in the U.S. food service industry occurred at a Chi-Chi’s in the Pittsburgh, PA area, where four people died and 660 people contracted the virus in 2003.

The incident was eventually traced to green onions at the Chi-Chi’s at Beaver Valley Mall in Monaca, PA. Not even a year later, Chi-Chi’s closed its doors. Thankfully, there haven’t been any deaths in the Chipotle outbreak, but three outbreaks in as many months means rebuilding brand confidence is going to be very challenging.

If you’re in the food service industry, it’s time for you to pause and seriously think about your business.

Every organization must create policies and procedures, and also make

Francine L. Shaw, CP-FS.FMP, is

certain that they are being followed.

All of the knowledge in the world doesn’t do a bit of good if it’s not applied.

We have an obligation to our guests to be certain that the products we’re serving are purchased from reputable suppliers. Whether you’re buying these products from a national corporation or have made the decision to support local farmers, the food MUST be safe. What policies do you have in place to be certain that your suppliers are providing you with the safest products possible? I can assure you Chipotle absolutely has strong food safety policies and procedures in place, and their corporate office carefully researches their suppliers. After all, their slogan is “food with integrity.”

How do you reduce the risks of making your guests ill?

• Purchase from approved reputable suppliers.

• Require your suppliers to have HACCP (Hazzard Analysis and Critical Control Point) plans. Obtain copies of their documentation for your records.

• Require all management personnel to obtain a Food Manager’s Certification.

• Make certain that everyone on your staff washes their hands appropriately, with soap and hot water, using single-use towels to dry them.

• Keep hot food hot and cold food cold or don’t keep it.

• Food thermometers must be easily accessible – not locked in the office – and should be used to monitor the temperature of food.

• Food thermometers should be calibrated daily at a minimum; I recommend once a shift (and when they are new, prior to their initial use and also if they are dropped).

• Take the temperatures of products upon delivery. If food products are unsafe when they arrive, there is nothing you can do to make them safe later.

• TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN and TRAIN some more. When you have well-trained staff, there’s a much higher chance that they’ll properly prepare the food, which will make your establishment safer and more profitable. This will also lower your risks for liability, a ruined reputation and other negative fall-out from a foodborne illness incident.

These foodborne illnesses have caused Chipotle’s stock to plunge – only a few days after their biggest

“Three outbreaks in as many months means rebuilding brand confidence is going to be very challenging.”

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

gain in four years. And, of course, its reputation has taken a nosedive, as well, thanks to ongoing negative media stories, which have been running nationwide. How did this happen to such a reputable company, one who has grown at a remarkable pace over the past several years? Obviously something is awry.

If multiple foodborne illness incidents can happen to a national brand as reputable as Chipotle, with plentiful resources at their fingertips, it can happen to you, too. The risks are real in every kitchen, regardless of genre. One mistake and your reputation - and your livelihood - could be over forever. Remember, foodborne illnesses are 100% preventable, so prevent them from happening in your restaurant!

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 95

// EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

MRG And Skyflo Host Manhattan Demo With Eye On Maximizing Bar Profits

A

mong the significant changes in the Metro New York foodservice industry this year is the ongoing specialization behind the bar.

As the price of cocktails increases and operators look to maximize the yield from every square foot of space, all eyes are now focused on a restaurant’s bar operations.

With that in mind, many Metro New York City restaurant and bar personnel headed for a much-anticipated New York City demo of the Skyflo system from Middelby’s Wunder-Bar. When you see a soda dispenser in 90% of the bars and taverns in the world, it’s Wunder-Bar. Wunder-Bar’s flexible hose post-mix dispenser is the world’s gold standard. For over forty years, Wunder-Bar has been solving problems for the food and beverage industry. Since the 1970’s, Wunder-Bar’s liquor dispensing systems have been the standard by which competitive companies attempt to reach.

Once again, Wunder-Bar has taken on one of the industry’s most complex challenges. With the company’s SkyFlo system, finally, it’s possible to control liquor costs, allow your bartenders to make friends with their customers and make more money!

Industry research shows that your bar loses 4 to 10 drinks from each liter bottle you pour. Skyflo will enable the nightclub and bar professional to stop losing money and start increasing profits.

“Skyflo allows restaurant and bar owners to increase liquor profits by

as much as 50%,” noted Alex Brady the General Manager of Skyflo’s local representative: MRG Inc. “Our state of the art technology automatically ‘beams’ the liquor pour information wirelessly to the Skyflo computer based liquor management system.

This allows you to view and manage up to the minute bar activity from your computer or mobile device 24/7.”

Lee McGillivray of Middleby welcomed many guests from the local cocktail community

Skyflo’s challenge was to offer a spectacular grill to the day free pure competition

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Brady and his team hosted a demo of the system for the Metro New York restaurant, nightclub and bar communities last month at the Redeye Grill. The Skyflo/MRG team brought fun to the event with a challenge to the industry.

“We wanted to show how difficult it is to accurately free-pour a liquor drink. Everybody who attended the VIP event demoed the Skyflo system

and at the same time competed for the grand prize. The closest pour winner was awarded a Viking Range 36” Ultra-Premium Gas Grill valued at over $1,800.00.

“We wanted a unique way to share the SkyFlo story,” Brady noted. The event was also marked by the announcement that the legend Carnegie Hall is set to test the Skyflo system this month.

Dave Brewer of Skyflo’s parent company Middleby was on hand to greet the OTG Management team

MRG knows that “buy in” from the bar team is an essential element of a successful Skyflo program so business psychologist Scott Furlotte (R) was on hand to help operators create a strategy.

Joan Brady of MRG welcomed Long Island’s Cowfish/Rumba team to the Skyflo demo

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 97

// RESTAURANT EXPERT

WITH DAVID SCOTT PETERS

7 Steps To Keep Profits Coming In The Back Door Your back door is where you do a very important segment of your business – it’s where you order and receive your product.

And it’s where restaurants bleed cash.

T

o fix this, I stress the importance of having systems in place to make your life easier and make you a lot more money. Here’s a stepby-step system that will help you do both of those things.

• Plan where deliveries are to be accepted. If you have the room, the best place to check deliveries in is in the walk-in cooler.

• Work with your purveyors in advance to set up receiving time. Bring your orders in when you have trained staff to check them in (see step four) and during slower times.

• Limit your delivery driver’s access to only delivery areas.

• Have either management or a trained key employee receive orders.

• When checking in your delivery, follow these steps: • Check invoices for accuracy against your PO (hung at the back door) for each item, quantity and prices.

• Check products for quality and condition.

• Check temperatures of any refrigerated products to make sure they are not out of the safe zone.

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

• Weigh products • Have a large scale in your receiving area. (If you don’t have one, go get one!)

• Check it routinely for accuracy.

• Remove products from packaging and/or ice before weighing and compare to the invoice weight.

• If there are any discrepancies or problems with products that have to be returned, have the driver make note on the invoice or fill out a credit memo immediately, before signing the invoice.

• Remember that once you sign an invoice, you are responsible for payment as shown on the invoice.

• Have stocking procedures in place as follows:

• Get any refrigerated products into walk-in coolers or freezers immediately.

• Remove and date any fresh product as may be required by your health code authority.

• Remove any excess packaging and break down boxes as soon as possible.

• If you are breaking down all of your boxes, keep the label from each so you have the lot number.

• Make sure whoever is stocking is trained to use the first in/first out (FIFO) method in stocking.

• Have clerical procedures in place as follows: • All invoices are verified and signed before a check is written if

One of my members shared that implementing these systems for ordering and receiving food reduced the amount of food he has in his three restaurants, motivated his kitchen managers, and resulted in cleaner more organized walk-ins.

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ment 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 how David can help you at www.

TheRestaurantExpert.com.

you are on COD. • A copy of the invoice goes to the kitchen manager or chef and a copy goes to whoever is in charge of the checkbook.

• Immediately update prices in your inventory spreadsheet (or in SMART Systems Pro).

One of my members shared that implementing these systems for ordering and receiving food reduced the amount of food he has in his three restaurants, motivated his kitchen managers, resulted in cleaner more organized walk-ins and most importantly, it put more than $6,000 back into his bank account.

So what are you waiting for? Follow these simple steps at your back door and start making more money.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 99

// NEWS

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

An Oft-Ignored Energy Savings Practice: Refrigerator/Freezer Coil Cleaning

C

oncerns over climate change are sparking renewed interest in all sorts of strategies to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases thought to be largely responsible for the situation we may now be facing. Energy efficiency in regard to existing power generation technologies is just one of the components being discussed.

Our nominee, which is certainly not in the forefront of discussions that we have seen, appears to constitute “high-hanging” and as yet unpicked fruit on the energy efficiency tree...

Plug-in refrigeration and freezer appliances of many differing types are in a wide variety of commercial and industrial settings, not to mention being in residential locations as well. They are major energy “hogs”, consuming significant amounts of electricity even if properly maintained. Unfortunately, most owners/operators of these units do not follow a critical maintenance task: frequent cleaning of their condenser coils. The recommended frequency of cleaning is at least four times per year (and more frequently in environments leading to more severe coil fouling than the norm).

The result: a significantly higher electricity bill for each non-cleaned unit as well as increased service calls for malfunctioning units and, sometimes, unit replacement due to compressor failure when the unit suddenly malfunctions.

In February 2015, the Food Service Technology Center (San Ramon, CA, USA) presented data showing how costly non-cleaned units can be to the owner: Double Door Merchandiser (6 years old): Dirty: $1325/year/unit Clean: $700/year/unit Savings: 47% = $625/year/unit Larger Double Door Fridge: Dirty: 24 kwh/day/unit = $950 /year/unit Clean: 13 kwh/day/unit = $517/year/unit Savings: 46% = $433/year/unit Single Door Freezer: Dirty: $546/year/unit Clean: $289 /year/unit Savings: 47% = $257/year/unit Double Glass Door Fridge: Dirty: $439/year/unit

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Clean: $219/year/unit Savings: 50% = $220/year/unit Our takeaway from the above data: not cleaning these coils can roughly double the electric needed to run these refrigeration units; coil cleaning can cut the electric bill roughly in half.

One might expect that owners of such plug-in cooling appliances would regularly clean the condenser coils in these appliances. Sadly, they very often do not. Non-attention to this important cleaning task may occur because the visually nonappealing coils lie hidden behind a panel or grille. It appears to be “out of sight, out of mind” for most owners of such appliances. Any unacceptable buildup of dirt and debris is often not noticed until a service technician discovers it when responding to an unscheduled service

call when the unit begins to malfunction.

We have conducted preliminary analysis on the likely energy waste in the USA (our home country) in just the commercial refrigeration sector. Our conclusion is that it could approach $US 10.8 billion yearly.

These plug-in appliances are often located in indoor environments. One cleaning method has been to use either a combination of brushing and vacuuming. Often, debris remains imbedded within the coil structure even after this type of cleaning is performed. A blast of compressed air will quickly and efficiently dislodge debris from deep within the coil structure, but the debris blown off by a blast of compressed air, unless contained, will pollute the surrounding area necessitating additional time consuming cleanup.

To remedy this collateral contamination issue, condenser coil cleaning with compressed air has traditionally involved directing it through the coil structure towards a dust capture item, such as a damp cloth, located on the other side of the coils. Often, the cloth blew off the unit during the cleaning operation causing a mess in the surrounding area. Even if it stayed in place, it became debris-encrusted, needing disposal or possible cleaning at some point, particularly if multiple coil units need cleaning at a given location. In this day and age, the “damp towel” capture method appears in need of retirement.

Only recently, there have been some developments to create better

“Our takeaway from the above data: not cleaning these coils can roughly double the electric needed to run these refrigeration units; coil cleaning can cut the electric bill roughly in half.” dust containment mechanisms to replace the traditional damp cloth capture item. These approaches utilize engineered products that more effectively seal the coil unit structure during compressed air

cleaning so that the debris blown off by a compressed air stream is contained from release to the atmosphere until vacuumed into a suitable vacuum device. One such product, the COILPOD dust hood,

which is depicted in the photo, is a bag-like structure covering the coils during the cleaning operation with two ports for the entry of compressed air (from either the exhaust port of a wet/dry vacuum or, preferably, a separate compressed air cylinder) and vacuum, respectively.

It appears that many of the owners of these commercial plug-in cooling appliances are failing to recognize the benefits that a planned coil cleaning program can contribute to their bottom line. This is unfortunate since significant energy savings and prolonged appliance life are the results of doing the frequent cleaning to keep the coils clean. For more information, contact Richard Fennelly at richard@coilpod.com.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 101

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Murphy, from page 8

his hands, even a simple green salad looks like a ruffled hat in a painting

by Renoir.”

In March 2004 Marc opened his first solo enterprise with Landmarc Tribeca, which won rave reviews both for its eclectic French and Italian menu as well as its highly untraditional wine list. Following its success, Marc opened Ditch Plains in the West Village in 2006 serving casual, beach-style cuisine such as lobster rolls, fish tacos and the infamous ditch dog, as well as other comfort food favorites. In 2007 Marc was given the opportunity to open another Landmarc restaurant in the prestigious Time Warner Center, where he brought his bistro-style cuisine midtown. In October 2013 Marc opened Kingside at the Vice-

roy New York hotel on New York’s iconic West 57th Street, serving his interpretation of New American cuisine. Marc’s restaurants now fall under the Benchmarc Restaurants

by Marc Murphy name, where he acts as executive chef and owner.

In addition to the restaurants, Marc also heads up the company’s catering division, Benchmarc Events by Marc Murphy, where his signature style of accessible contemporary cuisine transcends the boundaries of what is offered in his restaurant locations.

Today Marc’s involvement in the industry moves beyond the restaurants as well, with a regular role as a judge on Food Network’s top-rated hit Chopped as well as appearances on other hit series such as

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Guy’s Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay and Worst Cooks in America.

Marc also appears on The Rachael Ray Show and The Today Show, among others. He is the president of the Manhattan chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, a board member of City Harvest, Culintro and Passport NYC at the 92nd Street Y Culinary Camp, as well as a member of the Food + Finance High School’s Industry Advisory Board, a member of the Leadership Council for Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign and the national spokesperson for Share Our Strength’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry. In 2012 Marc joined the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, where he takes part in public diplomacy

programs that engage foreign audiences abroad as well as those visiting the United States. Marc’s debut cookbook, Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking, was released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2015.

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 105

// NEWS

MENU INNOVATIONS

Keeping Your Ice Storage Bin Clean and Sanitary

I

ce is considered food by the FDA and must be as sanitary as anything else you serve at your restaurant to avoid food-borne illness.

Keeping your ice storage bin clean and spotless is one of the factors that keeps ice safe. Ice bin cleaning is the simplest task for laymen (non ice machine professionals) as a step to keeping your ice sanitary.

It is important to remember that ice can become contaminated in a variety of ways: • incoming water • airborne contamination (dirty/ dusty, environmental contaminant, airborne algae from yeast caused by

baking, brewing and open alcohol containers) • unsafe ice handling • dirty ice bin These different contamination methods suggest different cleaning techniques. One cleaning should occur on a frequent schedule and focus on the surfaces that are regularly exposed to human contact. We’ll call those Regular Cleanings. This cleaning is important to deal with the contaminants that are introduced to the ice storage bin through ice handling practices.

The second, deeper cleaning should

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be performed twice a year to ensure the harder-toreach areas of the storage bin and its drain are adequately cleaned.

We’ll call those Deep Cleanings.

Deep cleaning of the bin is similar to the deep cleaning of an ice machine and is best performed by a professional. Our commercial ice machine subscribers receive two of these intense sanitations per year as part of regular maintenance. If you own your commercial ice maker, find a reputable ice machine technician to perform the deep-cleanings every 6 months.

Note: if your ice machine is in a dusty or yeasty environment (warehouse, bakery, brewery), you’ll need more frequent cleanings.

Steps to Clean Your Ice Bin - Interior: Regular Cleaning: • Soak a clean washcloth or sponge with a mixture of ½ oz. of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water. Wipe down all surfaces of the ice storage bin exposed to contact. That generally includes the lid, the inside of the bin near the lid, and the “baffle” which is the angled piece of plastic inside the bin that deflects the ice towards the back of the bin when it

continued on page 112

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December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 107

// NEWS

AWARDS GALA

NJRHA Gala Honors the Industry’s Best: Award Recipients’ Speeches Impress Crowd

T

he New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association held its 2015 Annual Awards Gala at the Stone House in Stirling Ridge on Monday, November 30th to honor this year’s industry’s best. The formal event was touching and emotional with many of the award recipients’ speeches reflecting on their rocky career starts as dishwashers or as young, rebellious kids born into the business. All attributed their success to the support and patience of their families and friends.

The evening’s award recipients included, Steve “Biddy” Bidgood as Restaurateur of the Year; Donald Horn as Deborah Roy-Dowdell Lifetime Achievement Award; Michael Cetrulo and Joanne Szibdat as Gold Plate Winners; and George Kyrtatas as the Hospitality Award. In front of 300 guests, each recipient humbly and proudly accepted their honor to many loud standing ovations.

“It was a heartfelt night with many people tearing up as our award winners emotionally discussed their rise to success, the challenges they

faced after Hurricane Sandy or the fact they lost many friends on 9/11,” said Marilou Halvorsen, president of the NJRHA, “On the flipside it was so uplifting to see how happy they were to get recognition for all their hard work and sacrifice of time away from their families. Not to mention many of our award recipients, especially Steve Bidgood, give back generously to their communities.”

One pinnacle of the evening was a presentation by Eric Hines, Mayor of Holmdel who read a proclamation claiming “November 30th to

(L to R) NJRHA Award Winners: George Kyrtatas, Joanne Szibdat, Donald Horn, Steve “Biddy” Bidgood, and Michael Cetrulo.

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be Steve Bidgood Day,” because of the near $1M he has raised for local charities over the years. The room stood to a roaring applause as he was handed the framed document. Another memorable incident was when Donald Horn reminisced about his long and illustrious career that built Mayfair Farms into the landmark it is today, yet somewhere along the way he managed to have 10 children with his long time wife.

“And remember, I worked at night,” he said to a room full of laughter.

Marilou Halvorsen, president of the NJRHA

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 109

Consolo, from page 52

Hanson. Prime Tavern is Michael Lomonaco’s airport steakhouse. For seafood, there’s Minnow by Andrew Carmellini.

Newark Airport (EWR) Newark Liberty recently launched a re-design plan that brought some great New York City chefs to the airport. United Airlines travelers flying out of Terminal C have the most new options.

Terminal A There are a number of Jamba Juice locations to choose from and on the other end of the spectrum, there’s Ben & Jerry’s. Post security, sit down at Philip’s Seafood for crab cakes, bisque and lobster rolls.

Terminal B If you must eat, here are two suggestions: Chili’s Too, an outpost of

the Mexican mega-chain, offers their regular menu of dips, burgers, salads, tacos and big margaritas. You can visit one of two Mediterranean Bistro locations, either pre- or postsecurity for falafel, shawarma, burgers, kebabs, fruit juices and smoothies.

Terminal C There are many options as a result of this year’s $120 million makeover.

The people behind NYC’s Cambodian sandwich shop Num Pang have created Vo Banh Mi. Dale Talde is offering an Asian style beer experience with Caps Beer Garden, with an expansive list of international beers and a menu that includes salads, noodles, and kielbasa. Alain Ducasse helped develop Saison, a French bistro with escargot, steak for two, roasted bone marrow, and crois-

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sant bread pudding. The restaurant also offers a breakfast menu with several iterations of Eggs Benedict.

Mario Carbone’s Casciano Italian Specialties has rotisserie style meats and “Parm”-style sandwiches. If you have time to spare, stop by Carbone’s Abruzzo Italian Steakhouse offering handmade pastas, a T-bone steak, and a veal chop to die for. Inspired

by New York City favorite Nom Wah Tea Parlor, the menu at Wabi-Sabi’s featuring delicious dumplings, fabulous fried crab claws. Flora Cafe has a menu designed by Taim’s Einat Admony, which features many healthy options a la lentil soup, hummus, falafel and a great Greek salad. Alex Guarnaschelli serves French classics at Riviera …a menu of daily fresh made quiche, grilled oysters, steak frites, and a full bar de jour.

Five-time Burger Bash-winner Josh Capon designed Wanderlust Burger Bar, which captures the very best beer list with custom burgers. Coming soon is SRF Bar featuring ultrafresh sushi, chow chow chowders, and fried clams. Chocolate master Jacques Torres captures the crowd with his chocolate chip cookies, alfajors, and a Nutella salted caramel cookie at Melange Petit Patisserie.

These tasty pre-flight establishments are a reward for surviving endless security lines and weather delays. Everyone has been faced with the same landmark decision when stuck in an airport: what in the world am I going to eat and drink now?

Hope this helps! Happy Holidays and Happy Dining!

Bobrow, from page 70

comes to mind as high quality stuff. For your preverbal, every day quaff, I’m always quite fond of Old Overholt. They have been around for something like 150 plus years.

That should account for something!

Try mixing your Rye Whiskey with equally historic Laird’s Applejack.

They are the producers of the oldest spirit in America.

• Lo-Fi Aperitifs… They make a fantastic Gentian Amaro, amongst other hand-crafted elixirs. This line of intriguing products hails not from across the pond, but from right here in America. California to be exact.

They are breaking new ground in the growing field of cocktail augmentations. Many of these stress nostalgia over flash. Gentian is an essential ingredient in digestives making the Lo-Fi Aperitifs just the thing after eating a large (read heavy) meal.

Use them in classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Rob Roy and even in a Gin/Tonic. I’m always impressed by another brand of cocktail augmentations named Uncouth Vermouth. I suggest seeking out these hand-gathered flavor timecapsules. They are some of the best in the world. Out on the North Fork of Long Island, Channing Daughters is weaving Orange Wine (traditional digestives/aperitif ) wines. The list goes on and the research will continue.

• Shrubs and Bitters… Expect to see more Shrubs *acidulated beverages based on vinegar* (not shrubberies) on more and more creative cocktail menus. And bitters don’t necessarily mean just Angostura.

There are hundreds available on the market, many from all over the globe. They’re even making Jerry Thomas influenced bitters in Russia!

Some of the best (authentic) bitters that I’ve ever tasted came from this

mostly unknown country.

• Fruitations Soda and Cocktail Syrups… Traditional is boring and no better at revealing modern fruit flavors is the woman-owned, Lynn, Massachusetts-based company.

Fruitations makes what I consider to be the very best- if not the tastiest fruit based cocktail syrup in the land. Try their Cranberry with Raw Honey and Grain based- Barr Hill Gin from Vermont. I like mixing it with a splash of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice in a twisted-take on the classic Gin and Juice. For nonfruit based syrups that sing a determined song of quality over quantity, may I suggest Royal Rose, formerly of Brooklyn, NY and now from Maine.

They produce their all hand-made syrups with ingredients like exotic Saffron, Cardamom and Clove, Spicy Ginger/Lime and the ever popular Rose which I brought to Russia with me for the Moscow Bar Show. I’m also extremely fond of their Three Chili for an exciting take on flavor with a measured twist of heat.

• Ice... If you are not taking the time to make your own ice you’re missing the boat. Ice is HOT… Everywhere you turn there are funky ice cube trays and even the large cube makers are available at Bed, Bath and Beyond. This says to me that fresh is better and those large cubes? You can make them at home!

Just do me a favor, wrap your ice cube trays in a plastic bag before freezing them. Why? Because that plate of garlic pasta lurking in your fridge is just waiting to infuse your specialty ice cubes. Don’t ruin your drinks. Of course if quality matters, I suggest using Gläce Luxury Ice if money is no object. Each cube is no mere cube of cooling. It is a slice of perfection.

• Spanish Brandy… Years ago, Spanish Brandy fell out of favor with respect to the more influential (read: wealthy) Spirits Houses from Cognac and Armagnac. This historic beverage that dates back hundreds of years, languished on store shelves and was generally forgotten by drinkers from around the world. After all, what was the drink that plied the oceans before rum? It was Spanish Brandy of course. You should drink more Spanish Brandy because the quality level is incredibly high for the price that they seek.

I know you work hard for your dollars, why not seek out something that is undiscovered, yet is known only by a few. Spanish Brandy. Yes. • Vintage Port... I’ll go on record to say now is the time to buy Vintage Port. The price/quality level has never been so high and those little half bottles age twice as quickly.

Certainly Vintage Port has class and nothing says more about a person than their knowledge of the classicsin this case Vintage Port. It’s safe to say if you bought six bottles of Vintage Port for your newborn, then it will be just coming into its own by your child’s 21st birthday. What other drink can do that? Oh, I know, Madeira Wine. Come to think of it, Madeira is another forgotten, fortified wine that dates back hundreds of years. Get some of that too! And forget about it for a hundred or so years. It can last that long with ease.

In conclusion, I’ve offered you some ideas and products that resonates with me. I hope you concur and if I may offer you any personal advice, please write to me at this magazine, I’ll do my best to be of assistance to you. I’m also available for private mixology classes and events around the globe. Thank you and Happy New Year!

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 111

Easy Ice, from page 106

falls from the ice machine. You will see it when you crouch down and look upwards once you’ve lifted up the lid to the bin. Turn off the ice machine.

• It is important to leave the mixture to air dry on the surface as that allows enough time for sanitizing. - Let you chemicals do the work! Bleach mixture will disintegrate algae and yeast as it dries. If scale is an issue, address first, using de-scaler. Remember, these 2 solutions do not play nice together! Be cautious.

Deep Cleaning: • There are numerous techniques to Deep Cleaning the bin depending on the environmental circumstances and bin type/size. Small, reach-in bins can be emptied (store ice in bags in walk-in freezer). For large ice bins, existing ice must be securely and sanitarily covered.

• It is important to separate the descaling and sanitation steps due to the possibility that harmful gases may be created by mixing de-scaling and sanitizing solutions.

• Our ice machine partner, Hoshizaki, recommends Lime-A-Way and Scale-AWay products. Use a spray bottle to distribute diluted de-scaling and de-liming products into interior of ice bin - using recommendations on bottles for dilution details. Then scrub the ice bin’s interior with a nylon brush or clean cloth.

Get into all those corners!

• Rinse the surfaces with clean water.

• Sanitize interior of ice bin with bleach and water solution: 1 oz. of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water. Use a spray bottle and wipe down with clean rag. Again, do not rinse the sanitizing solution from the surfaces, as prolonged contact will allow for better sanitation.

Steps to Clean Your Ice Bin - Exterior: • Cleaning the exterior of your ice bin should be done At Least once per week. Daily is even better. Simply work this task into your daily BOH cleaning schedule.

• Using a gentle cleanser and clean soft cloth, wipe down all exterior surfaces of the ice bin.

• Clean and sanitize the ice scoop. Reminder: Only use the ice scoop to collect ice from the bin and store in a holster (not in the ice bin). Never use hands or glasses to scoop ice out of the bin!

Keeping your customers and employees safe from ice-borne contaminants is easy when ice bin and ice machine cleaning are part of your regular cleaning regimen. And it’s even easier when you’re an Easy Ice customer!

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Lundy’s Building, from page 6 the city built a new bulkhead at that location. Lundy, with several family members, subsequently built the formal restaurant in 1934.

Lundy’s closed in 1977, following Irving Lundy’s death. It was acquired two decades later by the publicly traded Tam Restaurant Group, which in 1995 reopened it as a smaller venue in the same location. The new owners also opened a branch location in 2001, in Manhattan’s Times Square district, but it lasted only a short time.

In December 2004, a family-owned business, The Players Club, headed by restaurateur Afrodite Dimitroulakos, announced it had acquired Lundy’s from the Tam Restaurant Group. Lundy’s again closed down in early 2007.

The space now houses the Lundy’s Landing Shopping Plaza.

Storm damage from Hurricane Sandy forced the waters of Sheepshead Bay to overflow, causing the Russian themed Cherry Hill Gourmet Market (located at the site of the for-

mer Lundy’s Restaurant) street level water damage resulting in tons of spoiled food. During the post-hurricane cleanup the food had to be discarded, but the Lundy’s Building otherwise survived. The front of Masal’s Cafe looking out on Sheepshead Bay at Lundy’s Landing Shopping Plaza, which now hosts several restaurants and businesses shows the high height of the water level entering the Lundy’s structure at the peak of Hurricane Sandy.

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December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 115

Hudson Yards, from page 4 son Yards will likely have check prices between $50 and $200,” said Himmel.

“Lunch could run as little as $20.”

“We’ve already done our thing at the top,” said Himmel, referring to the Time Warner Center, which his Related Cos. firm also developed. “The idea here is to be much more engaging, much more affordable.”

It is that approach that appealed to Andrés, a James Beard Award-winning chef whose arrival in New York has long been anticipated by the foodie crowd.

Andrés also has plans for another restaurant in New York, the Bazaar, which is set to open in 2016. But he emphasized that his Hudson Yards restaurant will be a lower-cost experience in a traditional Spanish vein. “Tapas will be at the heart of it,” he said.

Himmel added that he’s not planning any stand-alone bars at Hudson Yards, but that the restaurants would have strong bar programs and bar seat-

ing for dinner. The retail complex will encompass six to eight quick-serve restaurants, including two outposts of Bouchon Keller’s bakery and cafe concept.

Also on tap dining-wise at Hudson Yards: a restaurant within Neiman Marcus, the luxury department that is a cornerstone of the complex.

Beyond the retail component, the Hudson Yards, which is billed as “the largest private real-estate development in the history of the United States,” is slated to include 5,000 residential units, a hotel, a cultural center and a public school. The complex, currently under construction, is situated between West 30th and West 34th streets and 10th and 11th Avenues.

In addition, the area is home to the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Most recently an extension of the City’s #7 Subway line was opened to facilitate access to the area.

116 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

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December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 117

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118 • December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com

December 2015 • Total Food Service • www.total food.com • 119