July 2015

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// NEWS

RESTAURANTS

Humm & Guidara Set to Open 14k Sq Ft Midtown Eatery The team behind Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad, two of the city’s top restaurants, will launch a huge, two-level dining venue in 2018 at all new 425 Park Ave.

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he dramatically styled, steelframe edifice designed by Sir Norman Foster, on the site of what’s now an obsolete 1950s office building.

Ground broke last month on the new, 670,000 square-foot tower developed by L&L Holding with partners GreenOak Real Estate Advisors and Tokyu Land

Corp.

Plans were announced long ago for what’s described as “the first full-block office tower to rise on Park Avenue in half a century.”

But the restaurant deal comes as a surprise.

L&L principals David W. Levinson and Robert Lapidus were joined at the

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ceremony by chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara, who will open a 14,000 square-foot, two-level, public eatery on the new building’s East 56th Street corner and side.

Eleven Madison is one of the nation’s premier restaurants, boasting four-star critics’ ratings and three Michelin stars.

The three-star NoMad is also celebrated

with three critics’ stars and one Michelin star.

But the 425 Park Ave. announcement amounts to a giant step for the team, which has avoided over-expansion.

An exuberant Levinson said of Humm and Guidara: “They are going for No. 1 in the world. It will be a Four Seasons on steroids for the 21st century,” referencing the fabled landmark a few blocks south. It’s losing its lease next year.

The yet-to-be-named dining venues also will be designed by Foster. “Norman is one of our favorite architects in the world, and what he and David are creating is nothing short of extraordinary,” Guidara said.

Humm said, “It is truly an honor to be launching a restaurant in the same area that’s been home to the greats, that have inspired us all throughout our careers.”

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// NEWS

EVENTS

Brooklyn Restaurants Help The Needy On CHiPS Night Out

ganic ingredients and create breads, pastries, pastas and entrees pulling from many culinary traditions.”

"There is no maximum number of guests one can bring. Participation consists only in going out to eat! The restaurants accepted guests as normal (based on each restaurant's normal capacity) and donated 15 percent of the day's revenue to CHiPS," Endriss noted.

Diners enjoyed their meals at several restaurants around Park Slope and Gowanus and at the same time were able to help a local charity, Christian Help in Park Slope, nicknamed CHiPS.

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HiPS Night Out took place last month at neighborhood restaurants. Founded in 1971, CHiPS is, “a community of Brooklyn neighbors, volunteers and friends who share a common spiritual vision to help those who are less fortunate. They prepare hot, nutritious meals and serve them to the needy in a caring and respectful environment.”

But its ministry goes further: CHiPS also operates an emergency pantry and shelter for young mothers and their children. They also provide seasonal clothing to those in need, which are all free. The founders were members of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope, who were inspired by the spirit of the Vatican II Council and the Biblical story of the good Samaritan. Thus CHiPS became the first Catholic, nonprofit agency for poor, hungry and homeless people in Park Slope. At first, CHiPS offered coffee, sandwiches, free medical consultations and legal assistance every evening out of a small storefront. Then,

the ministry expanded in 1976 to be daylong, serving healthy, nutritious meals to all who came to the door.

Two years ago, to raise awareness about the ministry and the need to support it, CHiPS launched Night Out. Rather than rent a venue and organize a gala, CHiPS staff and volunteers understood that outreach into the neighborhood itself was vital. “It's a bigger outreach, we can create awareness with a younger audience, families and local diners,” said Denise Scaravella, CHiPS executive director.

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Some anchor restaurants have participated since Night Out began; and this time three new participants joined the list of restaurants: Al di La Trattoria, Stone Park and Pickle Shack.

“At this event we have only 10 restaurants because we wanted to drive traffic to the owners,” Scaravella explained. Peter Endriss is the coowner and head baker of Runner & Stone as well as a CHiPS board member. “Runner & Stone is a New American restaurant and bakery where we focus on seasonal, local, often or-

Main Office: 282 Railroad Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers: Leslie & Fred Klashman Advertising Director: Michael Scinto Creative Director: Ross Moody Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Laurie Forster Morgan Tucker Fred Sampson Cindi Avila Staff Writers Deborah Hirsch Intern Alexis Robinson Phone: 203.661.9090 Fax: 203.661.9325 Email: tfs@totalfood.com Web: www.totalfood.com

Total Food Service ISSN No. 1060-8966 is published monthly by IDA Publishing, Inc., 282 Railroad Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830. Phone: 203.661.9090. This issue copyright 2015 by IDA Publishing Inc. Contents in full or part may not be reproduced without permission. Not responsible for advertisers claims or statements.Periodicals Postage paid at the post office, Greenwich, CT and additional mailing offices. Additional entry at the post office in Pittsburg, PA. Subscription rate in USA is $36 per year; single copy; $3.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Food Service, P.O. Box 2507, Greenwich, CT 06836

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// NEWS

CHEFS

Sloves Tabbed as Top Toque at Manhattan Park Lane Park Lane Hotel, a luxury 46-story hotel with panoramic views of Central Park and the New York City Skyline, recently announced two new additions to the hotel staff. Lawrence Sloves will serve as Executive Chef of The Park Room Restaurant and Bryon Herman is joining as Director of Outlets.

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xecutive Chef Sloves is a graduate of New York Restaurant School and has worked in all aspects of the culinary field. His past positions include: Executive Chef at the Hanover Marriott; Executive Chef at Crowne Plaza Fairfield, New Jersey; and Executive Chef at Headquarters Plaza Hotel. Chef Sloves makes it a priority to remain on top of all current culinary trends and cutting-edge innovations, and will incorporate them into the new menu at The Park Room Restaurant. He is currently revamping the menu, with expectations to roll out the changes this month in time for the summer.

Herman joins the Park Lane Hotel family with more than 10 years of hospitality experience. As Director of Outlets, he will manage The Park Room restaurant, Harry's, the hotel bar, banquets, room service and all the service staff in these outlets, maintaining high quality products

Herman joins the Park Lane Hotel family with more than 10 years of hospitality experience. As Director of Outlets, he will manage The Park Room restaurant, Harry's, the hotel bar, banquets, room service and all the service staff in these outlets

and service levels.

"We're excited to welcome both Chef Sloves and Bryon to the Park Lane Hotel family," stated Tim Dowd, General Manager, Park Lane Hotel. "Both individuals have longstanding successful careers in their respective fields and we are sure they will help us further create the best experiences for all our visitors."

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The Hotel offers 13,100 square feet of versatile indoor and outdoor meetings and events Space. Options include the ballroom, suitable for large meetings up to 220 people and gala dinners for up to 230 people.

The Park Room Restaurant is a stunning venue with 15 foot ceiling to floor glass windows directly facing Central Park and is ideal for social

"We're excited to welcome both Chef Sloves and Bryon to the Park Lane Hotel family," stated Tim Dowd, General Manager, Park Lane Hotel.

cocktails, weddings and dinners. For high powered private meetings, the Hotel offers the Presidential Suite and the Park Lane Suite in a typical NYC apartment setting. The Hotel also offers very unique outdoor event space, a rarity in midtown Manhattan, which can accommodate over 100 people for corporate events or summer soirees.

The Park Lane Hotel is a luxury 46-story Central Park hotel with panoramic views of legendary Central Park and the iconic New York City Skyline. Equipped with grand European style decor, the Park Lane Hotel offers guests classical ambience coupled with new-world comfort and convenience for an unparalleled experience in New York City.

The hotel's location offers guests easy access to some of New York's most famous activities and attractions, allowing guests to create their own ideal New York Experience.

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// HOW GREEN ARE YOUR WAYS?

WITH PETER KAPLAN

UEC’s Energy-Saving Strategies this Summer We at United Energy Consultants wanted to put together a simple list for business owners to be more efficient with their energy usage.

Schedule regular maintenance for your cooling equipment to avoid higher energy bills. A great example for this would be dirty cooling coils.

This will fail to properly cool the air and hinder air flow if it is not regularly cleaned, hence leading it to reduced efficiency and higher energy bills.

Remove any dust buildup to your vacuum to ensure that the furniture and other objects are not blocking the airflow through the vacuum registers.

Install Efficient Lighting That Runs Cooler Peter Kaplan, COO & President of United Energy Consultants peter@uecnow.com

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emand management is an important part of bringing down your overall pricing profile. With effective demand management businesses can reduce their overall consumption and energy spend by as much as 10%.

Also a reduction in our energy usage will have a direct positive impact on the environment. It has to start with us!

Here is our list, I hope you all find it as a useful resource to not only save money, but help save the environment.

Gain Cool Air And Avoid The Heat Wave Using Your Windows During daytime, you can prevent heat to pass through and capture the cool air by installing window coverings. Here’s how to improve energy efficiency by window treatments and coverings.

Know How To Efficiently Use Your

Another way of saving money is to seal air cracks and openings to prevent hot air from leaking into your home and Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.

Thermostat During the summer, set your thermostat for 78°F (26°C) while you’re home, or set as high as comfortably possible and turn it off when you’re away. When the differences of the temperatures between inside and outside are smaller, the overall cooling bill can also be lower. And by turning it off when no one is needing it, it will be easy for a programmable thermostat to go back to its temperature. And for maximum energy savings, check how to effectively operate

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your thermostat.

Use Ventilation Strategies To Cool Your Space Proper natural ventilation is the key on having little or no energy use for active HVAC cooling and ventilation because it can help meet a building's cooling loads without using mechanical air conditioning systems. Find out more on natural ventilations.

Keep Your Cooling System Running Efficiently

Light your space using the same amount of light for less money. Only about 10% to 15% of the electricity that incandescent lights consumer results in light, and 90% of the energy is given off as heat, and that lost energy is the money we are throwing away. Learn more about your options for efficient lighting.

Seal Any Hot Air From Leaking Into Your Home Another way of saving money is to seal air cracks and openings to prevent hot air from leaking into your home. And Caulk and weatherstrip doors and windows that leak air.

Lower Your Water Heating Bill Water heating can account for around 14% to 25% of the energy consumed of the utility bill.

Turn down the temperature of your water heater to the warm setting (120°F). You’ll not only save energy, you’ll avoid scalding your hands.

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// NEWS

PARTNERSHIPS

Hestan Inks Metro NYC/PA Rep Pact With TD Marketing Earlier this year, entrepreneur Stanley Cheng, founder of the largest cookware company in the U.S., unveiled his latest culinary enterprise, Hestan Commercial.

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heng opened a state-of-theart 70,000 square-foot facility aimed at producing the most advanced commercial kitchen appliances available. Cheng established the Meyer Corporation that makes iconic cookware brands including Anolon®, Circulon® and Farberware®.

Built entirely in the USA and with six utility patents and five design patents pending, Hestan Commercial is a contemporary kitchen line designed with input from some of the world's top chefs and leading kitchen designers.

The industrial series is slated to roll out in spring; the outdoor and residential collection will follow in 2016.

The company made big news in Metro New York last month. Hestan Commercial announced that they have signed a pact with New Jersey based TD Marketing to represent the firm with Metro New York and Pennsylvania's dealers and consultant community.

For New Jersey based rep TD Marketing, Hestan Commercial offers a number of key features as they continue to forge a line-up of creative solutions for their Metro New York customer base. “We are very excited to be able to offer American made cooking solutions,” noted the firm’s president Frank Doyle. “Customers truly want

“We are very excited to be able to offer American made cooking solutions,” noted the firm’s president Frank Doyle.

American-made products because they want to support their country – it’s a patriotic thing.”

“We are looking to create a new model for the relationship between the chef and the dealer and consultant community that serves them,” noted Hestan’s General manager Eric Deng. “It’s not just about selling equipment. It’s about going through their specification process, build-out, installation and years of service support to follow.”

“Stanley has been successful with his ability to bring something unique and innovative to stagnant industries,” Deng added. We see that opportunity with heavy-duty foodservice equipment and Stanley wanted to do some-

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thing unique -- improve performance, the accuracy of performance, the appearance of products, the flexibility and the, what I call, “cleanability.”

Chefs talk about how important it is to clean their equipment. The better they clean and maintain their equipment, the longer it lasts.

Chef Thomas Keller was drawn to partner with Hestan Commercial Appliances because of his ardent support of American based manufacturers and entrepreneurs. Hestan's commitment to excellence in design, a principle synonymous with his restaurants, including The French Laundry and Per Se is another key component to this partnership.

"Stanley Cheng is an engineer in the truest sense of the word, and to be able to work with someone with that level of knowledge and skill is an honor and an extraordinary opportunity," says Keller. "His remarkable initiative with Hestan Commercial, illustrates Stanley's commitment to design. The added knowledge that he's teamed with Eric Deng, whom I had the pleasure of working with on design development when he was General Manager of Viking Range Corporation, makes me entirely confident that Hestan Commercial will produce the highest quality of appliances in the United States and around the world."

Just as Cheng revolutionized the world of cookware, Hestan Commercial is set to do the same for the professional kitchen. The entire stainless steel line is "purpose-built," in response to the challenges that chefs experience on a daily basis, including performance, maintenance, energy use and durability. This includes dual-ring sealed burners that adapt from small pans to large pots seamlessly and counterbalanced, hydraulic-assisted oven doors that provide a soft open and create less wear, to name a few.

Hestan Commercial's lineup includes freestanding ranges, island suites, countertop equipment, convection ovens, griddles, char broilers, French tops, hot tops, planchas, salamanders, cheesemelters, fryers, pasta cookers and refrigerated bases.

Adds Cheng, "Having Chef Thomas Keller as an integral part of the Hestan family from the beginning helps us establish the highest standards for design, functionality and performance and ensures our commitment to being the best in the commercial marketplace and in kitchens around

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// MEET THE NEWSMAKER

WITH CINDI AVILA

Pamela Elizabeth, A Vegan Pioneer in NYC

Her name may not be a household one like Giada De Laurentiis or Lidia Bastianich, but Pamela Elizabeth may actually be the only female in the country who owns soon-to-be nine restaurants.

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o who is the woman behind the restaurant empire the whole country SHOULD be talking about?

Blossom and Blossom Du Jour Owner Pamela Elizabeth had one mission when entering the restaurant industry: Take vegan food as far as possible.

Now the owner of numerous vegan hot spots in NYC, Elizabeth is triumphing her green goal and does not plan on stopping - making her a prominent pioneer in the vegan food industry. Between the soon-to-be six locations of Blossom Du Jour and her three more upscale vegan restaurants (Blossom, Blossom on Columbus and Blossom on Carmine).

Elizabeth says, “If people are somewhat encouraged to eat vegan or, better yet, adopt a vegan lifestyle because of the food options we're creating I'm greatly encouraged to continue being a part of the vegan food industry.”

Elizabeth's culinary career began in 2005 after establishing the Manhattan restaurant, Blossom. “I think what's unique about my situation is the fact that I never had a dream to open a restaurant, or cafe, or to be a business owner.” Elizabeth continues

saying “What inspired the opening of Blossom (in Chelsea) was the thought that I could perhaps encourage people to stop eating animals by offering delicious, healthful options at a vegan eatery. My passion for wanting to somehow make a difference in the world for animals is what blindly led me to enter a business I knew absolutely nothing about.”

The satisfied city sure thought she

Blossom and Blossom Du Jour Owner Pamela Elizabeth had one mission when entering the restaurant industry: Take vegan food as far as possible.

Elizabeth says, “If people are somewhat encouraged to eat vegan or, better yet, adopt a vegan lifestyle because of the food options we're creating I'm greatly encouraged to continue being a part of the vegan food industry.”

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knew what she was doing and gave the restaurant immediate success, allowing Elizabeth to launch several other vegan eateries in Manhattan: and eventually Blossom Du Jour. Elizabeth remarks that “I felt a remarkable sense of responsibility to continue on this path, with a strong desire to take vegan food as far as possible and to me, this means making it accessible to the masses. The accessibility I'm speaking of is quick service

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// NEWS

REGULATIONS

NYC Officials Want HighSodium Warning On Menus New York City could become the first city in the United States to require a warning label on high-sodium menu items at chain restaurants, health officials said.

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he city's Health Department proposed last month that all chain restaurants add a symbol resembling a salt shaker on menus next to food products that contain more than the recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams of sodium, equal to about 1 teaspoon of salt.

Sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. Studies have found that the vast majority of dietary salt comes from processed and restaurant foods. But average sodium consumption is about 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day. Only about one in 10 Americans meets the 1 teaspoon guideline.

"This doesn't change the food.

It enables people to identify single items that have a level of salt that is extremely high," said Dr. Mary Travis Bassett, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. "So that they can modify their menu selections accordingly."

The proposal was introduced at the city's board of health meeting. If the board votes to consider the rule, it will move to a public comment phase before a final vote in September. The

department hopes the sodium warnings will appear on menus by December.

The salt-reduction campaign is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's goal to reduce premature mortality by 25 percent by 2040, health officials said.

Michael Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy group, called it "an extremely important proposal."

"High sodium levels are probably the biggest health problem related to our food supply," Jacobson said.

"New York City is showing true leadership in doing what it can do to lower sodium levels in restaurants by highlighting to consumers the dishes that are the most outlandishly high in sodium."

Still, he called it a conservative approach, given that items would only get special labels if they have a full day's worth of sodium. A meal with even half that amount would still have too much salt, he said.

The head of the Salt Institute, a trade association for salt producers, called the proposal "misguided" and based on old information.

"The symbol is based on faulty, incorrect government targets" that

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have been discredited by research over the last decade,” said the group's president, Lori Roman. "They're too low and if followed, could actually

harm people."

“Federal law already mandates that restaurants provide sodium content to consumers on request, and this proposal will add to the ‘mountain of red tape’ New York restaurants already must contend with,” said Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.

"With separate labeling laws currently in the legislative houses and on the books at the state, federal and local levels, the composition of menus may soon have more warning labels than food products," Fleischut said.

Last year, a large international study

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// Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEWS

Michael Lessing, Chief Operating Officer at Lessing's Hospitality

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our family has been in the restaurant business since 1890. Tell me a little about your growth and how the firm grew from beyond Manhattan and into the catering business, for example?

The company was founded by Maxwell Lessing in 1890 and is operated to this day by 15 family members representing three generations of Lessing’s. Our highly diversified company feeds more than 40,000 guests a day at over 100 corporate, educational, country club, and manufacturing plant locations throughout the Northeast. Maxwell Lessing was an innovator. He responded to the explosion of the urban worker population in the 1890’s by opening the first convenient lunch counter.

By the late 1920’s, Lessing’s was serving meals to New York’s workforce in as many as 20 locations in the financial district and the New York Stock Exchange.

What led you beyond Wall Street to Long Island and other places?

Eventually we started to bid on local pools on Long Island. Our first big break came in the late '70s when we bid on a state bid for all inland parks.

We secured the contract and ran that contract from 1979-2000 which included the Bethpage golf facility.

In ’79 my uncle Jack saw the old post

office in Babylon Village, fell in love with it and we converted it into the café. The Post Office Cafe still exists today and is one of our most successful restaurants.

Did you consider yourselves in the real estate business? The food business? The restaurant business?

It’s definitely a people business,

Michael Lessing is the Chief Operating Officer at Lessing's Hospitality

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from the employees, to the customers, up to the companies we service.

You wind up learning a lot about different businesses. Today, Lessing’s has four distinct divisions – food service, our first, our base, and still our largest; our restaurant, catering, and special event business, and we just recently moved into the franchise business with Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza.

There do not seem to be many companies as diverse as Lessing’s, why?

That comes from having several different families in the business. Everyone has moved into different segments – two cousins in foodservice for many years, I came up through the catering side, and my brother Mark came up through the restaurant side and cousin Schmiddy on the foodservice side. We recently had another cousin, Lawrence join us to work on the franchise group. That’s how we’ve gotten into different areas and survived 125 years!

You’ve got to be able to attract great people. What’s it like to work for Lessing's? What’s your approach to recruiting and keeping good people?

Our priority is to promote from within. This allows our employees to grow and challenge themselves and reach new heights. Many have grown within the divisions they started in and others have seen opportunities in other divisions and jumped.

Do you have to be a Lessing to get to the top of the business?

Absolutely not. In the past we had presidents who weren’t Lessing’s. As a Lessing, I started as a dishwasher at the Fire House Restaurant in the early '80s. My son Michael started just a year ago as an Assistant Manager.

As we were celebrating his graduation from Fairfield University, I said,

what’s your plan? He said, “I like the family business.” We established a rule that you have to work elsewhere for two years. We want family members to choose the business, not fall into it.

Michael is the first of the 6th generation. He started at The Blue Smoke group in the Flatiron. He began as a server assist who worked up to trainer. Lawrence, my cousin, spent three years at Shake Shack, fast casual, and then joined Lessing’s to head Blaze Pizza. They both made the jump to Lessing’s after Danny Meyer’s tutelage. They were bringing new things to the company. That’s how we work the family side of it.

What role does great food, creative food, play in your success? With the Food Network, there's a much higher threshold for what’s considered creative and what causes people to

It’s definitely a people business, from the employees, to the customers, up to the companies we service. You wind up learning a lot about different businesses. return.

We’re always looking at ways to serve the best product, to lead the way. My brother Peter came up through the culinary side. He was able to help adapt our menus, stay on trend and set trends. We'll send our team out on different field trips, to go to New York City to see what’s new and up

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and coming.

Many of our restaurants are American grill-style; we sell a lot of burgers. We wanted to improve our burger so we went around and looked at all the different ways the best players in the city prepare their burgers and we made some changes. We teamed up with Pat LaFrieda and made a

custom blend and circulated that among our stores.

What brought you into the pizza business?

Eager to grow, we looked at Blaze Pizza, the fast-casual segment, to franchise, we knew it would be a great opportunity for us to grow quickly, opening three or four stores a year in Metro NYC. As we were looking at that segment, we zeroed in on Blaze because we really liked the team and what they were doing, how food was so important to them.

Blaze’s chef, Chef Brad, is nicknamed the “Pizza Whisperer.” He's taught us a lot. I never went to a virgin olive oil tasting before! We learned how we were going to make the pizza in New York the same as LA. At our first Blaze that opened, our dough was

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// NEWS

PARTNERSHIPS

Long Island Based CLVMarketing Inks Pact To Represent Steelite International In Metro New York Steelite International, a world leading supplier of tabletop products to the hospitality industry, has announced that it has appointed CLVMarketing as its new representatives for the NY Metro/Northern NJ area.

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LV’s experience and dedication to customer service makes them an ideal candidate in establishing unparalleled support of the Steelite portfolio of products to the NY Metro/Northern NJ area. Headquartered in Farmingdale, NY and celebrating 30 years in business this year, CLVMarketing represents

a portfolio of leading tabletop, equipment and smallwares manufacturers to the New York Metro/Northern New Jersey Foodservice marketplace. The CLV team includes the four principals Chip Little, Jim Voorhees, John Merkel and Tom O'Halloran along with sales associates Chris Little, John O'Halloran and new addition Ron Lustberg Jr. The

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CLV inside sales and customer support staff includes Office Manager Laura Walsh along with Alice Von Braunsberg and Diane Salamone. "Our goal at CLVMarketing is thorough dedication to promoting our family of outstanding brands to the NY Metro/Northern NJ Foodservice community," Chip Little noted. "We are very excited about the

opportunity to work with Steelite," Little continued. "The line offers the type of cutting edge design solutions that our local dealers and their end-user customers need to creatively present their signature menus." Steelite International is a world leading manufacturer of tableware products designed & developed specifically for the hospitality market.

Our core brands, ‘Distinction’ & ‘Performance’ are complemented by specialist partner collections including La Tavola, Bormioli Rocco, Pillivuyt, Rene Ozorio, Narumi, Laguiole, Trudeau, Anfora, Crucial Detail, Rona, Roselli Design, Drinique, Delphin, Cortland Silvermsiths, Modern Mixologist & Worthy, Noble & Kent. Steelite’s product portfolio remains at the leading edge of foodservice presentation.

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// SCOOP

INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE

Pine Spot For A Pig In Manhattan Scoop says pigs are flying to the top of 70 Pine Street. Celebrated Spotted Pig restaurateurs April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman will operate a glamorous four-level restaurant/lounge atop the landmarked former AIG tower. In the biggest downtown dining news since Nobu’s decision to move to 195 Broadway, the unnamed 70 Pine venue will be on floors 62-66 of the tower, which Rose Associates is converting to luxury rental apartments.

Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning chef Bloomfield and her partner Friedman run The Spotted Pig, The Breslin and The John Dory in Manhattan. “We hope we are doing this extraordinary project. This is one of New York’s most beautiful buildings and the top floors are breathtaking. I’ll let you know as soon as we are definitely doing it,” said Friedman. Rose has long planned to use the floors, including an octagonal former observatory with eye-popping views, as a dining/drinking venue, possibly as a private club for residents only. But the space will be an open-to-the-public

required. Proceeds to be donated to Bowery Mission.

Scoop says pigs are flying to the top of 70 Pine Street.

Brooklyn To Get Schooled In French Chocolate Scoop says, “How sweet it is.” The luxury French chocolate company Valrhona opened a new school and hub for their brand in the US last month, L’Ecole Valrhona Brooklyn. The school hosted a two-day conference, with

restaurant/lounge with perhaps 150 to 200 seats, although building residents will enjoy priority reservations. The restaurant should be ready to open in about a year.

Pricey Burger On East Side Scoop sees that SERENDIPITY serves Le Burger Extravagant, $295. The Guinness World Record’s largest, most expensive Wagyu beef job, “cave-aged for 18 months.” Smoked sea-salt flavoring, Cheddar cheese topping, black truffles, fried quail egg, buttered 24k gold-flecked campagna roll, whatever that is, crowned with a blini crème fraiche, caviar. Plus, diamondencrusted gold toothpick in a silk case. Advance 48-hour reservation

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The school hosted a two-day conference, with parties for visiting chefs and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

parties for visiting chefs and a ribboncutting ceremony. Frederic Bau, a famed French pastry chef who mentored under the macaron-famous Pierre Herme, opened Valrhona’s first school in 1989 in Tain-l’Hermitage,

France. There are now four, including one more in France and one in Japan.

Bau was here for a couple of days to celebrate the occasion, along with the Valrhona crew from other schools and pastry chefs such as Stephanie Prida of Manresa and William Werner of Craftsman and Wolves, who ran a pastry pop-up earlier in the day. “I wanted a glass of red wine, but water will have to do!” Bau joked. “We have, some of us, a big ego,” Bau said. “But we can build bigger things together than we can alone.” The work of pastry chefs is often undervalued in America. But Valrhona considers chefs the stars of the show. And pastry chefs at Per Se, Daniel and LeBernadin value Valrhona chocolate in return. With those restaurants among its clients, the company intends to grow its American business, in addition to its education efforts.

The Brooklyn location will soon offer baking classes to consumers as well, focusing on topics like macarons and petits fours and traditional viennoiserie this month, chocolate bonbons in September, and French yule logs in October.

Kurttila Trades Blades For NYC Delivery Gig Scoop notes that former NYC SiriusXM marketing guru Scott Kurttila was tired of being stuck at a desk all day, he experienced that particular ennui of the cubicle-bound workforce: lunch slump. So when his former Amazon colleague Tom Schonhoff, pitched a curated lunch-delivery service, Kurttila bit. Lunchola launched in December, funded by family and friends.

Today, Kurttila takes a different bike trip, picking up lunches from as many as 14 restaurants in SoHo and Nolita, and delivering them to downtown office dwellers. “Delivery guy” isn’t in his job description, but it helps him get to know his vendors and customers.

The rest of the day is spent working with office managers and HR people to sell Lunchola to their employees.

Those who sign on get a text message every morning at 10 offering the day’s specials from eateries such as Ruby’s Café, Taim and Tacombi at Fonda Nolita. Ordering is a click away. Starting a company as he hit 50, Kurttila heard the usual caveats. “There was feedback early on that if you don’t have a 27-year-old as CEO you’ll never raise money,” he said. And, in fact, he has brought on a 27-year-old to help with business development. As he prepares to roll out Lunchola in midtown, he admits to learning from the younger

types along the way. “Of course,” he said, “there’s a bunch of stuff I know that they still have to figure out.”

Chick-fil-A’s First NYC Eatery To Roost Near Herald Square Scoop asks, “Why did the chicken cross the Hudson? To open the first stand-alone Chick-fil-A in New York City. The Atlanta-based restaurant chain will debut a three-level eatery at 1000 Sixth Ave., in late summer.

The 5,000-square-foot space marks the 48-year-old company’s first foray into the Big Apple market, though it has operated a tiny outpost within the food hall of New York University’s campus for years. The closest location is 15 miles away, in Paramus, NJ. “We are beyond excited about opening our first freestanding restaurant in New York,” said Carrie Kurlander, vice president of public relations. “This location will allow us to serve fans who have been asking us to come to New York and to earn the opportunity to serve new customers.” She noted that the company is actively working on additional restaurants to open here this year and next. Like it’s other 1,850 locations, Chick-fil-A’s New York restaurant, which is a franchise location, will not be open on Sundays, as the company believes all operators and team members deserve a day off. Of course, operating only six days of a week will

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make affording the city’s hefty rents a difficult task. The asking rent for the Sixth Avenue space was $450 a square foot for the ground floor, for example.

The eatery, whose ground and second floors and basement are 2,200 square feet each, will boast 10 registers, more than any other existing outpost and as many as 80 seats.

Joe Cool Chipped Cup Born In Harlem Scoop sees that boutique coffee shops are taking over the city, espresso by espresso, unseating Starbucks as the king of coffee corners. New Yorkers’ desire for high-end, artisanal coffee continues unabated as shops like Stumptown and Blue Bottle open new spots in nooks and crannies and even atriums. Curated coffee is also becom-

ing a must have in new residential, retail and office projects, with developers wooing small batch coffee baristas rather than the de facto Dunkin’ Donuts. Developer Jeremhy Salzberg, a partner in Sugar Hill Capital Partners, was creating a new residential rental in Harlem. The rental agents, Karen Cantor and Andrew Ding, suggested adding a coffee shop and The Chipped Cup was born. “We helped a lot with the build out of The Chipped Cup,” said Salzberg. “More than we would

Think Coffee, with seven outlets in the city, was founded at 248 Mercer St. near NYU and takes a socially responsible stance, with compostable cups and coffee sourced from farms where they try to make an

Scoop sees that boutique coffee shops are taking over the city, espresso by espresso, unseating Starbucks as the king of coffee corners.

environmental and social impact.

have than if it was a typical chain tenant.” Since The Chipped Cup opened in the building in July 2012, other outlets in other Sugar Hill’s projects have been introduced. There’s Double Dutch Espresso, which opened in Jan. 2014 in Sugar Hill’s rental at 118th Street. And a Filtered coffee house is being developed at Sugar Hills’ apartment building at 1616 Amsterdam Avenue. Related Companies recently signed a lease with Think Coffee for a 1,000-square-foot spot at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed Abington House, a new luxury rental tower at 500 W 30th Street. Ben Joseph, senior vice president of Related, says because the

High Line building has drawn a “very sophisticated, cutting edge tenant population,” they wanted to provide retail stores that complemented their lifestyles. Think Coffee, with seven outlets in the city, was founded at 248 Mercer St. near NYU and takes a socially responsible stance, with compostable cups and coffee sourced from farms where they try to make an environmental and social impact.

New Jockey For ‘21’ Scoop sees New York’s legendary eatery ‘21’ will add another jockey statue to its exterior to honor Victor Espinoza winning the Triple Crown. The 33 cur-

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rent statues have all been donated by leading American stables. The restaurant celebrated the Belmont Stakes

last month by serving up Knob Creek juleps to customers. Espinoza himself was at the restaurant before his epic win and was spotted chatting with Geraldo Rivera and ordering “decaf coffee and a classic ‘21’ burger.” The jockey-figures tradition started when a longtime patron gave the club a jockey in the early ‘30s, and the trend caught on with members of the “Vanderbilt, Mellon and Ogden Mills Phipps families.”

Scoop sees New York’s legendary eatery ‘21’ will add another jockey statue to its exterior to honor Victor Espinoza winning the Triple Crown.

The Tavern Is ‘Green’ No More Scoop notes that TAVERN on the Green will soon be Tavern on the Park.

Less than two months after celebrated chef Jeremiah Tower departed, the Central Park restaurant has lost the rights to its name in federal court.

Jennifer Oz LeRoy, who ran the eatery after her father, Warner LeRoy, died in 2001, has won the trademark valued at $19 million. Name problems are the least of the reincarnated eatery's problems. The troubled Central Park restaurant has made a pair of recent chef changes as it battles to find its niche. In the last 60 days, it announced that head chef Jeremiah Tower, a famed California cuisine pioneer, was being replaced by John Stevenson, who most recently worked at Russ & Daughters Cafe. Operators Jim Caiola and David Salama played up Stevenson’s “high-volume catering experience” a 180-degree reversal of Tavern’s previous culinary approach under the duo, who re-launched the long-closed landmark last spring with a new design. Tower is the second chef out the door in 12 months.

His predecessor, Katy Sparks, also is known for a seasonal, market-driven menu. The emphasis on catering seems to be on feeding “many pres-

tigious events,” according to a Tavern statement. Before they launched the 500-seat park landmark, Caiola and Salama’s previous experience amounted to running a small creperie in Philly. Business has been slower than expected.

Manhattan’s Roger & Sons Joins Yorktown Heights Neighbors In Battling Cancer Scoop notes that last month marked the annual Relay For Life of Yorktown. A large outpouring came together at the Westchester community's Jack Devito Memorial Field to battle cancer. Among the participants were a team led by Roger & Sons’ chief Joe Cirone and his family. "This is something that touches us so deeply and we can't thank the food service industry enough for their support of our efforts," Cirone noted. Some 94 teams and 637 participants raised over $230K in 2015 as the event celebrated its 10th anniversary. This year's proceeds have taken the total to over $2 million dollars in the battle against cancer. The American Cancer Society Relay For

Roger & Sons kept workers well fed as they joined with their Yorktown Heights neighbor to battle cancer

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Life is the world's largest and most impactful fundraising event to end cancer. It unites communities across the globe to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and take action to finish the fight once and for all. Most importantly events like Relay for Life-Yorktown enables Cancer survivors and caregivers find a community of hope and support.

Donations are still being accepted on FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/RelayForLifeOfYorktown, via TWITTER: www.twitter.com/YorktownRFL, and on INSTAGRAM: RFLYorktownNY

Legendary NYC Restaurateur Nieporent Feted At Birthday Bash Scoop says some of the city’s chefs might want to stick knives in each other, but they were drawn together

peacefully last month at Pier A in Battery Park to celebrate the birthday of Drew Nieporent, the beloved owner of Nobu, Tribeca Grill, Batard, etc.

Nieporent took a birthday call from one of the more famous restaurant collaborators Robert De Niro. The Nieporent birthday bash was attended by a wide diversity of guests representing each of the famous restaurateurs he loves. Tony May (Palio, San Domenico), Nobu Matsuhisa (Nobu), Michael Lomonaco (Porter House NY) and Bob Giraldi (Gigino’s), were among those toasting Nieporent from the food service community. Marit (Mrs. Earl the Pearl) Monro and New York Rangers great Rod Gilbert were among the MSG contingent.

While Danny Aiello, Dominic Chianese and a slimmed-down Steve Schirripa represented Nieporent’s Hollywood connections. The Nieporent

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story is one of the legendary climbs to the top of the industry. He graduated in 1973 from Stuyvesant High School and in 1977 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York with a degree from the School of Hotel Management. At Cornell, he was also a member of the Quill and Dagger society.

While at Cornell, he worked on the cruise ships Vistafjord and Sagafjord.

In 1978, he began his management career with Warner Le Roy at New York City's Maxwell's Plum and Tavern on the Green. He then worked at the French restaurants Le Périgord, La Grenouille and Plaza Athenee's Le Regenc. Nieporent's first restaurant, the Montrachet (1985), earned three stars from The New York Times and kept that rating for 21 years. In 2008, the restaurant reopened as Corton, maintaining its three New York Times stars and receiving an unprecedented

two Michelin stars with chef-partner Paul Liebrandt at the helm. Both Nieporent and Liebrandt were featured in the HBO documentary A Mat-

Ranger's hockey legend Rod Gilbert is flanked by birthday boy Drew Nieporent (R) and nephew Matthew Nieporent

ter of Taste. In 1994, again with partner Robert De Niro and sushi master Nobu Matsuhisa, Drew launched Nobu New York City to worldwide acclaim. Nobu NYC, Next Door Nobu, and Nobu Fifty Seven have all earned the threestar rating from The New York Times.

Nobu NYC was voted Best Restaurant in America by The James Beard Foundation. Nobu has gone on to open restaurants in all parts of the world. Drew is on the board of Madison Square Garden's Garden of Dreams Foundation, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Downtown Magazine NYC, and DIFFA, an Honorary Chair of the City Harvest Food Council and Culinary Director of the Jackson Hole Wine Auction.

He has co-chaired SOS's Taste of the Nation event in New York City since 1997. He has been honored by Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (2009), American Heart Association (1999), the Tourette Syndrome Association (2000), Food Allergy Initiative (2001), American Liver Foundation (2003), Cancer Research & Treatment Fund (2005), and Kristen Ann Carr Fund (2006). Drew is an auctioneer at charity events.

of Mexican cuisine and its roots. Come meet Chef Abraham by registering at www.latinofoodshow.com.

Montague Bolsters Sales Team Scoop notes The Montague Company has added industry veteran, Dennis DeMatos to their accomplished team of sales executives. DeMatos comes to the company with well over 25 years of foodservice sales experience at the representative and factory employee levels – across both hot and coldside-related products, most recently as president of IFE Solutions. In his new position as Montague’s National Accounts Manager, DeMatos will be tasked with cultivating major accounts by capitalizing on the reintroduction of Montague Technostar along with the company’s bold expansion into the cold storage products market with the new Legend refrigeration line.

Chef Abraham Támez, “The Cabos chef” has joined the World of the Latino Cuisine Trade Show Scoop hears that Chef Abraham Támez, “The Cabos chef” has joined the World of the Latino Cuisine Trade Show. Rounding out the incredible culinary “Dream Team", Chef Abraham Támez is coming all the way from Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, México and the superb Estrella Restaurant at the prestigious Welk Resort. A graduate of Corbuse Instituto Gastronómico, Chef Támez polished his skills working under Chef René Valentín (Executive Chef at the famous Restaurant del Lago in México City) and Chef Gerardo Rivera, one of the most important chefs in México. From these top chefs he learned the essence 39 • July 2015 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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// LITTLE M. TUCKER

WITH MORGAN TUCKER

Stephen Tucker “Your favorite story was written for one reader.”

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ast month, Stephen Tucker retired from foodservice distribution to sell fish. (We’ll get to that later…)

As an industry insider, I’m sure you also get this question a lot: So what’s YOUR favorite restaurant?

Mine is Henning’s Local, and I would guess it’s right up there for my parents too. Upon arrival at the Eldridge Preserve, about 10 miles from our home upstate, you are welcomed back in time, to a magical era when the Catskills were a bustling destination. Even in the dead of winter when our seasonal county is deserted, the rustic lodge is reliable, with country style, local food, and smiles more charming than the wishing well in the center of the dining room. Your meal starts with popovers that yearn to be cradled in two hands. A symphony of the bustling stream outside flows through your table as fresh trout arrives in large portions and with flavors of love. Happy fish, cooked by Henning himself.

A few months ago, we arrived to hear the devastating news that Henning’s was losing their lease and would be closing at the end of the month. How could this be? Could Union Square Café syndrome really have made it all the way to the back roads of Sullivan County?

Now back to my father, Stephen Tucker. At his industry retirement sendoff, Neil London, top sales person for most of Stephen’s tenure and our

Morgan Tucker, M. Tucker m p t u c ke r @ m t u c ke r.c o m

Be a cheerleader for your current sales manager, Marc Fuchs, his partner for over 30 years, Fred Singer, owner of M. Tucker, and his wife, Ellen Tucker, my stunning mother, each spoke of Stephen’s amazing accomplishments and attributes.

It is now my opportunity to tell you some valuable things I have learned from my father, mentor, best friend, and favorite storyteller.

Be a cheerleader for your people.

Stephen sees you who you are: your struggles, your fears, what drives you.

If you want to talk, he will listen. He will understand. He will not judge you, and he will forgive you if you judge him. Put people first…. And be early, always.

Make people remember you. Surprise them. Know more. (Be able to

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people. Stephen sees you who you are: your struggles, your fears, what drives you.

If you want to talk, he will listen. He will understand.

He will not judge you, and he will forgive you if you judge him.

calculate in your head…it’s important.) Always play like an underdog.

And there is always an applicable sports analogy for any situation.

People who love animals are better people. Stephen has never met a dog

(or a child) he didn’t like, and didn’t love him.

Everyone wants dessert. This is our favorite family expression, and is appropriate in any situation. Picking your dessert means knowing when you deserve to be rewarded, and accepting when you know you have not given your best self. It also means, if you eat too much, you will be fat, and Stephen doesn’t like fat people.

Change is good. My father taught me to see the beauty in impermanence and accept the inevitability of change. Have the courage to fail, and stick around to try again. Stephen is not afraid… of death, and life. Stephen is not afraid of failure, or great success.

Amazing things will happen if you have the vision and strength to grow and change. Last week I inhaled the familiar scent of Henning’s popovers in their new, uniquely special location. We are still waiting on the liquor license, which is a serious problem for this family, but the renaissance has begun. I am reminded, home is where the people who love you are and for all of us, the best is yet to come.

Stephen’s reputation precedes him as the brilliant and colorful comic relief and unabashedly fearless voice of reason in every room. If you’re lucky, he has the microphone for a moment in your autobiography. It is a privilege to have him as the narrator of my story and my biggest fan.

Dad, my love letter to you could go on for novels… bigger than the ones you speed through on a weekly basis.

Instead, I will tell you, the best chapter is the one we haven’t written yet. For everyone else, Stephen’s stories continue, with conviction and humor, at Scandia Seafood.

For more from Morgan, visit www. littlemtucker.com.

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// EYE

METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Cooking Up HarlemEatUp! Now that the enormously successful HarlemEatUp! is on course to become an annual celebration of all things Harlem, I asked the organizer and participating chefs and restaurateurs about the biggest takeaway from the Harlem food festival.

Here’s some deep dish about what HarlemAteUp! by Marjorie Borell

S

ays Sylvia’s restaurant’s own, Tren’ness Woods, “for me the best part was the food.”

The amazing dinners by some of the

city’s star chefs were accompanied by great art and entertainment attracted visitors who had never been to Harlem before. “The way the community

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turned out to welcome them, it was like history all dressed up!”

“The unique combinations and influences inspired by the many different

cooking styles created a whole new world of tastes and textures not found anywhere else,” she added. “Where else could you try collard green ravioli? Buffalo mozzarella marinated with chitlins and black-eyed peas vinaigrette”?

A few dishes were clearly standouts, truly representing the dynamic and storied food culture of Harlem. The shrimp and grits from Harlem Shake's breakfast menu, The Minton's sherry she-crab soup. Curiously, Brenda Beener's slow-cooked burdock root, with a mix of 32 spices, took on the texture of crawfish. Served with basil and garlic sauce, it was one of the most refined dishes, in its colorful plating, varied textures and flavors.

Lexis Dilligard, pastry chef and owner

of Lady Lexis Sweets, relied on a family recipe for bread pudding passed down through the generations. “My grandmother is from Charleston, South Carolina. I’m also part Puerto Rican so I was really excited to try duck pasteles for the first time.”

Even event producer, Herb Karlitz could barely curb his enthusiasm. We started out wanting to shine the light on the new Harlem, the people, the food, the community, arts and culture.

Everyone was dedicated to the festival’s success and welcome their guests with friendly warmth and hospitality.

“I was thrilled by the incredible response from our sponsors. Harlem has evolved into a highly desirable market for upscale lifestyle products like Hendrick's gin, Vins Bordeau and professional services company, Ernst and Young,” he noted.

“So what makes this festival different from all other festivals?” I asked. At most festivals, the restaurant owners

A few dishes were clearly standouts, truly representing the dynamic and storied food culture of Harlem. Photo Credit: Brent Herrig

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bear the cost of participation, but we believe in supporting our local restaurants by helping offset some of their expenses – something not all event organizers do.

I asked Ms. Woods about the challenge of cooking for a crowd of 8,900. “For me and Chef Carlos Brown the hardest part was making chicken and waffles into bite size pieces – thousands of them!

Marjorie Borell is a marketing communications and social media copywriter for the hospitality industry and a restaurant real estate broker. She has spoken at the Institute of Culinary Education, been a judge at the 2015 International Restaurant & Foodservice Show and is a partner of Beer Culture, craft beer bar in New York’s theater district. www.strategiccopyandcontent. com, strategiccopyandcontent@gmail. com

// C-CAP TRADE TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

High School Students Win AICR Scholarships for Healthy SmallPlate Recipes Kristopher Lopez, A Senior at Food and Finance High School in New York City Awarded Top Prize.

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hree high-school seniors have been awarded $10,000 in scholarships for culinary school by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in the 2015 AICR/C-CAP Small Plates Recipe Contest. The contest is a national competition sponsored by the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) and AICR to inspire budding chefs to create delicious dishes that are also cancer-protective.

The winners successfully developed appetizers or small plates that met AICR’s evidence-based guidelines on eating for lower cancer risk -- highlighting fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and other cancer-protective plant foods.

“AICR is proud to play a part in inspiring tomorrow’s chefs to use their skills to create innovative recipes that highlight the tastes, textures – and health benefits – of plant foods,” said AICR’s Senior Vice-President for Programs Deirdre McGinley-Gieser. “These students were challenged to create delicious dishes that let their ingredients’ natural flavors shine through. We’re delighted with the results.”

Kristopher Lopez, a senior at Food and Finance High School in New York City, was awarded $5,000 for his first place recipe, Mediterranean ‘Faux’-

Joyce Appelman, New York, NY j oyc e a p p e l m a n @ g m a i l .c o m

Lafel with Cucumber Dill Sauce.

“I have an interest in Middle Eastern cuisine and wanted to reinvent the traditional falafel,” said Lopez. “Being challenged to highlight plant foods helped me be more creative and open to trying new ingredients and new combinations. It’s inspired me to bring more of these foods into the dishes I make going forward.”

In the fall, Lopez will attend Johnson and Wales University in Miami to pursue an associate degree in Culinary Arts.

Jenna Kraus, of Barry Goldwater High School in Phoenix, AZ, won second place and a $3,000 AICR scholarship for her Crusted Salmon with Rosemary Honey over an Orange and Arugula Salad. Taking home 3rd place and a $2,000 AICR/ C-CAP scholarship was Margaret DeMarco of Virginia Beach Technical High School in Hampton Roads VA, for her recipe for Skinny Santa Fe Salad

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“I have an interest in Middle Eastern cuisine and wanted to reinvent the traditional falafel,” said Lopez.

with Avocado Lime Dressing.

In this year’s contest, culinary arts teachers at 165 C-CAP schools across the country challenged students to create nutritious and delicious small plates

or appetizers featuring a variety of fruits, whole grains, seeds, nuts, spices and other plant foods. AICR research has shown that diets high in these plant foods can help lower cancer risk.

This is the third year AICR has awarded scholarships as part of the AICR/CCAP Recipe Contest.

C-CAP provides scholarships, education, and career opportunities in the culinary arts for underserved youth.

“Many young people today suffer from illnesses resulting from poor nutrition and being unaware about healthy eating,” said Susan Robbins, C-CAP President. “Part of our mission is to educate our C-CAP students on these issues, and provide them with the tools and opportunities to encourage healthy lifestyles and be the ambassadors of this message in their communities. We are proud to partner with AICR in this effort.”

A panel of judges chose the winners based on originality, flavor, healthfulness, ease of preparation, and writing.

Judges for the 2015 AICR/C-CAP Small Plates Super Foods Recipe Contest were: • Amanda Cohen, Chef/Owner, Dirt Candy • Dana Jacobi, Cookbook Author and nationally syndicated Food Columnist • Scott Uehlein, Corporate Chef, Canyon Ranch AICR funds cutting-edge research that finds links between everyday lifestyle choices and the prevention and survival of cancer. AICR also empowers individuals to make healthier choices to reduce the risk of cancer through outreach and partnerships, such as this one.

For the three winning recipes, along with past winners, visit www.aicr.org/ ccap. For more information about CCAP visit www.ccapinc.org.

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// EYE

METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Cheftopia Raises $880,000 For Citymeals Nearly fifty legendary chefs gathered late last month for a remarkable milestone – Cheftopia: The 30th Annual Chefs’ Tribute to Citymeals-on-Wheels.

F

or this landmark anniversary, Citymeals honored the event’s founding chefs Larry Forgione and Jonathan Waxman who, 30 years ago, conceptualized the event as a birthday celebration for Citymeals Co-Founder James Beard.

The chefs celebrated the past while looking to the future as they created dishes inspired by tomorrow’s food trends at tasting stations through-

out the Rockefeller Center Plaza. The event raised over $880,000 to provide more than 137,000 nutritious meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers.

Rockefeller Center was transformed into a culinary paradise by renowned architect and Citymeals Board Member David Rockwell. More than 1,200 business leaders, gourmet enthusiasts, food industry trendsetters, socialites, young professionals, chefs

Chef Markus Glocker; Citymeals Board Member Drew Nieporent; Rick Smilow; Chef Daniel Boulud, Co-President of the Citymeals Board of Directors (Photo Credit: Eric Vitale Photography)

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gione, Marc Forgione, Yuhi Fujinaga & Michael Gabriel, Markus Glocker, Craig Koketsu, Eli Kulp’s team, Barbara Lynch, Nobu Matsuhisa, Masaharu Morimoto, Rob Newton, Nancy Oakes, Charlie Palmer, Daniel Patterson, Francois Payard, Alfred Portale, Antonio Prontelli & Juan Branez, Stephan Pyles, Thomas Raquel, Jimmy Schmidt, Joachim Splichal, Cara Stadler, Bill Telepan, Jacques Torres, Silvana Vivoli, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s team, Jonathan Waxman, and Bill Yosses.

The event raised over $880,000 to provide more than 137,000 nutritious meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers.

and restaurateurs were in attendance for live music, dancing and spectacular cuisine.

This year’s participating chefs included Matthew Accarrino, Jarett Appell & Stefanie Morgado, Sebastien Archambault, Jimmy Bannos, Jr., Eric Basulto, Octavio Becerra, Matteo Bergamini, Daniel Boulud & Aaron Bludorn, Jonathan Benno & Richard Capizzi, Scott Conant, Greg Denton & Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton, Richard Diamonte, Larry For-

Citymeals Executive Director Beth Shapiro explained, "When this event was conceived by Chefs Forgione and Waxman, I’m not sure anyone thought we would be standing here three decades later – having raised over $19,480,000. This annual event is a tribute to James Beard as well as the lifeline he and Co-Founder & Board Chair Gael Greene created for hundreds of thousands of homebound elderly throughout the city. But it’s also a testament to the

culinary community and the chefs who have committed themselves to Citymeals over the years. Thank you to all of the chefs here tonight and all those who have cooked at this event in the past and made our most vulnerable neighbors a priority. Tonight, we celebrate you."

Official sponsors of Citymeals-onWheels are American Airlines and FIJI Water. Major sponsors included Patina Restaurant Group, The M.O. & M.E. Hoffman Foundation, and The Riese Organization. Other sponsors include Bedell Cellars, Belvedere Vodka, Bernardaud, Capital One Bank, Citadelle Gin, Courvoisier Cognac, Duane Reade Charitable Foundation, Forty Creek Canadian Whis-

ky, Lexus, NBC 4 New York, Sabatino Truffles, Specialty Food Association, Travelers, and Zacapa Rum. Special thanks to ARC, Luxury Worldwide Transportation, Riedel, Rockwell Group, and UNIMAC Graphics.

As part of its 30th anniversary celebration, Bernardaud donated commemorative “Cheftopia” plates that were printed with a design from the Rockwell Group. Plates were signed by the chefs and sold at the event.

If you are interested in purchasing a plate, please contact Jane Gelb at 212-687-1290 or jane@citymeals.org.

Citymeals Board Member Chef Charlie Palmer and team (Photo Credit: Alan Barnett Photography)

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// NEWS

OPENINGS

Connecticut's Hawthorne Re-Opens Following an abrupt closing 11 months ago, The Hawthorne banquet facility is set to return to life.

W

aheed Siddiqui, a member of the group Hawthorne Elite Plaza, which purchased the 2421 Berlin Turnpike building at auction in February, said three-plus months of preparation have gone into the facility for a grand re-opening, which happened last month. While the building was left in decent shape, he said, plumbing upgrades had to be made and the roof needed to be replaced.

The turnaround has been hectic with some unforeseen expenses, but “everything is looking good and we’re happy to reopen,” Siddiqui said.

The Hawthorne, formerly known as the Hawthorne Inn, was previously owned by Syed I. Bokhari of Middletown, who was indicted on federal wire fraud and money laundering charges related to the distribution of tobacco in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Bokhari is facing 32 counts, including trafficking in contraband smokeless tobacco, money laundering, wire fraud, conspiracy and violations of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act. Bokhari was also severely delinquent on personal and real estate taxes owed to the town.

The Hawthorne Inn closed its doors without warning last July.

Ownership originally claimed the

Siddiqui said that he and his fellow owners couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to purchase the establishment.

“We saw this as an opportunity to get a great place and run a professional banquet hall,” he said. “A place with a long-standing name like

The turnaround has been hectic with some unforeseen expenses, but “everything is looking good and we’re happy to reopen,” Siddiqui said.

closure was temporary to undergo renovations, but the restaurant did not re-open.

When it went up for sale last summer, the Hawthorne property was originally listed at $2.99 million. The price was later dropped to $1.9 million and the lot eventually went up for auction, with a final selling price reported at $1.25 million.

Mayor Rachel Rochette said she is pleased the banquet facility is being revived. “I am very excited that The Hawthorne has re-opened under new ownership,” she said. “Having a successful banquet facility on the Berlin Turnpike is another step in the economic development of our town.

We look forward to a long partnership.”

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The Hawthorne.”

For now, he added, the facility will host banquets and do some catering.

However, he said, “We are exploring all options” and may become a yearround restaurant in the future.

Economic Development Director Chris Edge said The Hawthorne has a long history. “It’s a landmark in central Connecticut. Most people you speak to remember an event they went to at the facility and that it was memorable,” Edge said. He added that he has been in talks with the new owners and that all signs are that there’s a bright future ahead for The Hawthorne.

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// INSURANCE

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

No Longer a Back Burner Issue: Data Breaches and Cyber Liability Insurance We see headlines daily about data breaches involving businesses of varying sizes across all industries, including hospitality. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, cyber security events increased by 27% last year.

Bob Fiorito, Vice President of Business Development at Hub International Robert.Fiorito@ hubinternational.com

T

he scale and sophistication of these incidents have led many organizations to conclude that their cybersecurity programs don’t match the technological sophistication of today’s attackers.

Data breaches happen from hackers, employees, competitors, vendors or other third parties and can be intentional or accidental. It is well documented that even the best security systems are being hacked at an alarming rate. Most recently, there has been an increase in the number of companies who have experienced a cyber breach.

• Below is a suggested 4-pronged approach to minimizing cyber risk: Avoid, Prevent, Mitigate and Transfer.

Prevent intruders by deploying strong firewalls and intrusion detection systems as well as developing robust policies and procedures about document handling, storage and destruction.

•

•

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Avoid cyber risks by making sure anything sensitive is encrypted, including employees' Social Security numbers, passwords, etc.

Prevent intruders by deploying strong firewalls and intrusion detection systems as well as developing robust policies and procedures about docu-

•

ment handling, storage and destruction. For example, get rid of personal information in a way that can’t be recovered, such as shredding paper files and deleting personal records, and smashing or acid-bathing hard disks.

Mitigate your potential cyber risks by developing an

incident response plan in advance. Don’t wait until a cyber breach occurs to create a response and continuity plan.

Speak with attorneys, put in place a notification vendor, and public relations firm to mitigate the financial impact on the company. Do table-top exercises annually.

• Transfer your risk by examining all vendor, cloud and partner contracts. Do liability agreements ensure that you receive indemnities from them should they cause a breach of your data? Are the damage caps too low for the potential losses? Have you demanded proof of insurance?

Cyber Liability Insurance, also known as Privacy/Data Liability Insurance, is a rapidly evolving product in today’s marketplace. In fact, Cyber Insurance is the fastest growing coverage in the insurance industry, according to the New York Times.

The basic elements of a Cyber Liability insurance policy can include coverage for a number of expenses associated with a breach including legal expenses, forensics, notification expenses, regulatory fines and penalties, credit monitoring and public relations expenses.

Due to the increasing number of breaches, there are now a wide variety of cyber insurance policies available to market. To help identify your exposures and find the proper coverage customized for your needs, here are some tips to be aware of: 1. Choose the right insurance advisor: The selection of your insurance advisor is a crucial first step.

It's vital that you purchase your coverage from carriers with long-standing expertise in cyber insurance and claim payout. Working with a broker

Data breaches happen from hackers, employees, competitors, vendors or other third parties and can be intentional or accidental.

with expertise in both your industry and the evolving world of cyber insurance can help you make the right

decision and ensure you are in good hands.

2. There is no such thing as too

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much coverage – make sure you purchase enough: Cyber claims can be very expensive. As revealed in the 2015 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study, the average cost to a company was $3.8 million, more than 15% of what it cost two years ago. Buying too little coverage is a common and costly mistake.

3. Exclusions are common, understand what your policy will not cover. Cyber insurance policies can have many exclusions or options to expand coverage. It’s important to understand that you may not always be covered just because you purchased a policy. Work with your broker to understand your coverage options and limitations.

Cyber attacks are one of the fastest growing crimes in the world and most standard insurance policies do not address this exposure. Don’t

leave your business vulnerable and unprotected; your insurance advisor can help you conduct an assessment to identify your company’s risk profile and find a coverage plan designed to meet the needs of your company.

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

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// NEWS

FOOD SHOWS

Gail Simmons to Present at B2B Food Show Producers of the Trade & Trends Food Show have announced Gail Simmons as the keynote speaker for the upcoming expo in New Jersey at Meadowlands Exposition Center in October.

G

ail’s keynote will be held at noon on October 26, 2015.

The event is held October 26 & 27, 2015. Gail is a cu-

linary expert, food writer, and dynamic television personality. She is well known as a judge on BRAVO’s Emmywinning series and number one food

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show on television, Top Chef. Gail has worked with the country’s top culinary talent and directs special projects for Food & Wine.

“Gail Simmons is cutting-edge,” says Christine Salmon, Event Manager of Trade & Trends. “She will be able to provide our audience with extensive insight into the food industry. Gail has a massively impressive career in food and we couldn’t be more thrilled that she will be joining us.” The keynote presentation is part of the Trends Conference Package, consisting of more than 20 educational sessions for food service and food retail professionals, as well as hundreds of companies showcasing products from all segments of the food industry. Companies interested in exhibiting should contact sales@ ttfoodshow.com. Industry professionals wishing to attend can register at http://www.ttfoodshow.com.

Trade & Trends Food Show is an

“She will be able to provide our audience with extensive insight into the food industry.

Gail has a massively impressive career in food and we couldn’t be more thrilled that she will be joining us.”

event focusing on the latest innovations in food, specifically targeting food service and retail professionals.

Over 100 companies will exhibit, in-

Gail Simmons' keynote will be held at noon on October 26. The Top Chef judge is a culinary expert, food writer, and dynamic television personality. Photo Credit: Tina Rupp

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cluding food purveyors, local wineries and breweries, and companies offering food-related equipment and services.

Trade & Trends also features an educational program comprised of over 20 sessions. The first edition will be held October 26 & 27, 2015 in Secaucus, NJ. http://www.ttfoodshow.com Diversified Communications is a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital products, publications and television stations. Diversified serves a number of industries including: foodservice, food retail, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine, technology and business management. Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified has divisions in the Eastern United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.

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// MIXOLOGY

WITH WARREN BOBROW

Metro New York Mixology One of my favorite drinks when sailing in the British Virgin Islands was something that everyone who sails has enjoyed. This would be the rum and tonic.

U

nfortunately this drink has, at least in recent memory fallen upon hard times. This is probably because of the quality of the ingredients.

Most of the time when you order a simple drink like a rum and tonicwhat you receive usually is a motley affair at best. Starting with the tonic, it’s not going to be memorable in any way, because it comes straight out of a concentrate and the rum usually resembles vodka in the lack of flavor.

May I please suggest an alternative set of ingredients for this refreshingly tall drink?

The quality of the rum is paramount in the rum and tonic because at the end of the day- the drink is named: Rum and Tonic… Not Tonic and Rum. There is a huge difference here because a Rum and Tonic is supposed to be memorable… At least the ones I drink always are.

Quality is the name of the game in high-end liquors. It’s all about provenance of the ingredients, especially the distillery location and the source of the casks where aging takes place. In the rum business, ex-Bourbon casks are the medium that gives rum the juicy,

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

rich flavor that seems to please most everyone. Some distillers use French White Oak that may have formerly held Cognac or even some use casks that may have held Scotch Whiskey. Whatever the product is in the end result, it doesn’t come out of the still ready to drink. Time and patience is needed to create the best rum that money can buy.

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One of the finest rums for a truly memorable Rum and Tonic comes from Jamaica. It’s named Mezan. This highend brand is bottled unsweetened, uncolored and only very lightly filtered.

The only reason that it is filtered at all is to take out the tiny charcoal specks from the charred oak casks. Mezan XO, the version that I am crafting my very sophisticated Rum and Tonic from is a blend of rums that are aged 4-23 years.

Mezan XO is not made in this fashion.

In fact many of the rums that are blended into the final bottling are from distilleries long gone. What does that mean to the drinker? It means that the bottle that you hold in your hand (wishful thinking on my part) is not available everywhere because of the nature of the rum itself. They don’t make very much of it. Each batch is only 5000 bottles, a miniscule run in a world where others make millions of bottles each year within this industry. Mezan XO is as fine as your favorite Armagnac or dare I say Cognac. It is equally at home on a digestif cart, surrounded by single malt Scotches and high-end Amaro.

Mezan XO makes what I consider to be one of the finest Rum and Tonic in the world. This drink can be achieved when it is mixed with one of my favorite tonic waters on the market.

In this case I chose Q-Tonic water from Brooklyn, NY. Q-Tonic is made with the finest ingredients possible with a base of pure cane sugar. It only makes sense to use the very best when making a drink of such noble rootsyour rum shouldn’t be overpowered by a generic, plastic bottled tonic water made with refined corn syrup that says cheap. It’s just not done!

From the Q-Tonic Website: Q Tonic is dedicated to making the world’s best tonic water - a clean, crisp, completely un-generic beverage that enhances the finest spirits or stands

proudly on its own. We’ve used the best ingredients we could find. We went to the slopes of the Peruvian Andes for handpicked quinine and to the Mexican countryside for organic agave, a sweetener better than honey with a gently rounded sweetness. We meticulously refined our recipe with both food scientists and mixologists. Then we worked with one of New York City’s best design shops to develop a bottle as beautiful as the liquid it holds. We think we’ve come up with superior tonic water. One that’s good enough for the gin, vodka, or rum you’d choose to mix it with. And good enough to change the way you think about tonic water.

Mezan Rum deserves the best tonic water. I’m pretty sure that you will taste the difference in a glass, especially after your tough day spent yachting!

May I suggest a slightly different way to drink a Rum and Tonic? This one includes the indispensible sailor’s cureall, Angostura Bitters. It really heals what ails ye, especially when your stomach is a bit queasy from running around on the top deck in heavy seas.

Just Slightly Off Charlotte Street Ingredients: • 2 oz. Mezan XO Rum • 6 oz. Q-Tonic • 5-9 shakes of Angostura Bitters • Ice Cubes • Tall Glass • Lime Wedge Preparation 1. To a Collins (or Tall Glass) add the Angostura Bitters and coat the inside with them.

2. Add the ice 3. Add the Mezan XO Rum 4. Top with Q-Tonic Water 5. Garnish with a lime wedge because scurvy still occurs out on the high seas.

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// FOOD IS FASHION

WITH FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

Best of Burgers New York City has some of the best dining in the world, representing just about every cuisine imaginable, and at just about every price point. There’s no way a food lover will ever go hungry or find a craving unsatisfied here!

A

nd sometimes all someone wants is a juicy, classic (or not so classic) hamburger, cooked medium rare on a great bun with whatever condiments pleases you. It’s a comfort food and American classic, but now being served by some restaurants with new and innovative twists. And of course, we New Yorkers have the best examples, served by classically trained chefs, local cooks and even a celebrity or two.

One of the newest examples is a Boston import: Wahlburger’s from the acting Wahlberg family, offering their family recipes, artisanal breads and Angus beef. The chain is opening momentarily in Coney Island (3015 Stillwell Avenue), joining units in Toronto, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

Last reports are that the Wahlberg brothers plan six units for Manhattan, so this could be beginning of a great new franchise.

Those looking for something a bit less traditional can head downtown to Umami Burger in Brookfield Place (200 Vesey Street), where some intriguing flavor combinations can be found. Not surprisingly, some Asian flavorings, including miso mustard are available. But also look for guacamole, cotija and more. All are part

Faith Hope Consolo, Douglas Elliman Real Estate fc o n s o l o @ e l l i m a n .c o m

Ramen Burger (899 Bergen Street) also is Asian influenced, but in a different way – here ramen noodles replace the bun! Accompanied by a shoyu glaze, this has been dubbed one of the most influential burgers of all time.

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of the internationalization of flavors that’s been taking place over the last decade or more.

Ramen Burger (899 Bergen Street) also is Asian influenced, but in a different way – here ramen noodles replace the bun! Accompanied by a shoyu glaze, this has been dubbed one of the most influential burgers of all time.

Differently but equally influential was db Bistro Moderne (55 West 44th Street) one of the first examples of the gourmet burger (as in fois gras and black truffle) and Daniel Boulud continues to showcase it.

Two of the pricier burgers in town, fortunately, are two of the best: 21 Club (21 West 52nd Street) has a huge portion, terrific atmosphere, and a great excuse for a martini. The Spotted Pig (314 West 11th Street) offers the gastropub’s take on the burger, with Roquefort cheese accompanying a full half-pound of meat! (You

may want to share this one.)

A true specialist in a somewhat unlikely place, Burger Joint (119 West 56th Street) offers nothing but comparatively affordable classic burgers and fries in the Parker Meridien hotel – an unbeatable combination.

Of course, any good steakhouse should make a great burger as well.

But not all make multiple kinds of burgers. Peter Luger (178 Broadway, Brooklyn) has a terrific example, perfectly charred.

Looking for something not-sofancy? Joe Junior (167 Third Avenue) is about as unpretentious as you get – formica countertops, serving the burger we all grew up with, perfectly prepared. In business since the early 1970s, J.G. Melon (1291 Third Avenue) is a local landmark and a classic oldfashioned burger joint. PJ Clarke’s (multiple locations) may be the ultimate burger legend in the city, serving through world wars, depressions, the Disco era and more. Visit here and you get New York history along with your fries!

If you’re looking for something for everyone, BurgerFi (1571 Second Avenue) is a Florida-based chain gives non-meat eaters some options, including quinoa and veggie burgers, as well as creative toppings.

And what is there left to say about Shake Shack (multiple locations), which brings top-notch burgers to a greater audience – the perfect blend of top quality and fast-casual cuisine.

A revival born during the economic downturn, when we all craved the security of comfort food, has become yet another option for fine dining in this ultimate foodie city!

Happy Dining!

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Institute of Culinary Education, 225 Liberty Street at Brookfield Place Owners

Kitchen Consultant

Equipment & Supply Dealer

Rick Smilow, President Richard Simpson, VP of Operations ICE, NY

Robert Doland, Principal Jacobs Doland Beer New York, NY

Stu Label, President Chris Schultz, Project Manager LaBel Foodservice Deer Park, NY

Richard Simpson’s Approach

a yacht basin. We thought it was an extraordinary opportunity because we could put everybody on a single floor.

Getting that sense of synergy and community in our school is something we felt strongly about. When we finally

When we first walked into our new space, we thought it would be a very unexpected place for a cooking school.

Cooking schools don’t find themselves in class A office buildings looking over

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saw the space after looking at about 50 other sites, we all felt like this was the place for us. The long and meticulous search was over.

The first and most critical thing we

have to worry about is how to exhaust.

We were able to cross that hurtle. Believe it or not what qualified or disqualified the site was its ability to do that, and this building sufficed. It was our chance to examine what we’ve learned

after all these years of being in kitchens and what would make a perfect teaching kitchen. Some of our faculty even had prototypes of tables designed. A lot of hard work went into making these kitchens as finely tuned as possible to leverage our three decades of experience. It’s been very gratifying. The faculty members were actually stunned to see how well it came out. We are also always looking how to better prepare our students when they’re ready to go out in the real world, so every kitchen has three types of cooking surfaces: induction, French top, and conventional burners. Therefore, you’re exposed to every possible way you can cook.

It’s hard to look in your crystal ball, but the first things we realized we would do was to accommodate every technology that is out there today. We will have a suite of modern equipment from Centrifuge and a rotary evaporator. For phase 2 which will be completed in August, we’ve sourced out the best Salumi aging and meat aging equipment that

we could in addition to our own hydroponic farm. Also, for us to incorporate new things here isn’t that difficult.

We have over supplied ourselves with utilities such as gas and electricity, so if something new comes out we could incorporate it. We have one kitchen, for instance, that we tricked out with a 3,000-pound hearth oven, a plancha, a vertical rotisserie, and a Tandoor oven.

There’s a wide variety of things that you can explore here.

We’ve planned and built differently to accommodate our wide range of students, from “home-cook” people to professionals. We built one kitchen that acknowledges our heritage and our place in the world as the largest recreational cooking school, having equipment that would be for home use. When our “home cook” students utilize one of our career kitchens, it’s like renting a Maserati for them. You’re just in heaven. All the things that didn’t quite work right on your stove suddenly work right. We find that some people

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are really gratified by it. In one of our kitchens we even have a Jade suite. If you like to cook and you cook on that, you are in the most remarkable cooking environment you could ever be in.

There have been many trends that occur in the cooking industry such as a tremendous growth in pastry and bread baking. No matter where the trend goes, you want to make sure that you have the basics to exploit the trend.

Whatever you’re going to cook, if you have great quality ranges, you’ll probably be able to balance that. When we look at it, we see things that we think are never going to change such as the idea sustainability, the idea of seasonality, and the idea of farm to fork.

Those are forever. We’ve put a farm in for our seasonality as well as installing a chocolate lab for the idea of beans to chocolate bars, or farm to fork. With our vision of a lot of given attention to exactly what makes an environment able to achieve anything in our wildest imaginings, we’re pretty sure we’ve got

the future under control.

We shopped around a lot to build the

The Institute of Culinary Education specified Jade ranges for its teaching kitchen. The island installation will serve as the centerpiece for its faculty to teach students the very latest trends from induction to plancha cooking

right team for this operation. I’m happy to say that I’ve had a relationship with Stu Label that has gone back many years. They built the original ICE and having them as our equipment vendor just made sense. They’re meticulous, they have great customer service, and the people who worked on it like Chris Schultz even came out of retirement to do this. Chris and I go back 20 years, so it was a no-brainer for me. I knew when I was going to do this that I wanted them on my team, and I think that was a big positive. The other part of the design team was Jacobs DolandBeer, and I worked specifically with Bob Doland. We picked them because they’ve had some direct experience

designing cooking schools, so they were very good at helping us with ADA compliance and some technical issues that schools specifically would have to worry about.

Modern technology and streaming is a focus and something that is part of this design. We actually disseminate all of our materials on iPads, which is a very expansive audio-visual component to what we do here. We installed the Crestron system that enables an instructor to stream what’s on their iPad or iPhone into the kitchen. We have very robust capabilities in that direction. As you probably know, we have a very large social media presence. We are constantly finding new ways to de-

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liver content the way students want to receive it. As far as we know, we are one of the only schools, especially culinary schools, which deliver content via iPad. In our follow-ups with our students, they said that they study more because it’s easier on them, versus a culinary textbook that is 800 pages and weighs 30 pounds, which can now be on their iPhone or iPad. It made a huge difference. When an instructor does a demo, for example, they just put their iPad in a stand and it goes up on the video screen. Because we’re not technologically isolated, we feel like a very big part of the culinary community and we are trying to learn from it, serve it better, and to be an example for the next

generation.

Bob Doland’s Approach: Richard Simpson and Rick Smilow began working with Jacobs DolandBeer before they had even selected their new Brookfield space. They then selected me as their equipment consultant and brought me into the project.

We were very excited to be a part of this project because it was so different than what we usually do. Working on an instructional kitchen rather than an industrial kitchen was different and certainly interesting. There were many things that needed to be taken into account such as site lines, site obstruc-

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tions, and reaching maximum capacity. It was essential to design this so that we could fit the maximum number of students possible into the classrooms for the most efficient use of space.

We had to take different building approaches to the school’s differing “home cook” and professional programs. Evidently, when you’re doing commercial culinary classrooms the level of equipment has to be high end, commercial grade, and to be used day in and day out. These types of cooking systems could be intimidating to the average home cook. Therefore, we made sure that there is home grade equipment available for that kind of instruction at ICE. For most of our projects, it takes an extensive amount of time to plan what specific equipment to install. Fortunately with ICE we had a Richard Simpson; we don’t always have a Richard Simpson. He has an amazing wealth of information and was knowledgeable

The Institute of Culinary Education's 12 new teaching kitchens feature the very latest technology from Traulsen refrigeration. The selection was based on ICE's need for refrigeration that could stand up to the daily rigors of its complex curriculum and large student population.

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with both the equipment and the layout of the project. This was a huge benefit. On the majority of our projects, we have to look at all of the present equipment, find where it is, and how it’s used.

During this project, we’ve tried to incorporate the possibility of future technology as well. The objective of Richard Simpson’s plan was to teach the basics in the culinary classrooms but leave room for specialty equipment in the specialized classrooms.

The vast majority of the classrooms at ICE are what we call, “standard culinary classrooms,” and then there are a few specialty labs and classrooms that have specialty equipment. Therefore, if technology were to advance in the upcoming future, it would definitely be applied to the specialty classrooms.

There are many things that the workers from Jacobs Doland-Beer have learned from this project and will continue to utilize in future projects.

We learned a great deal working with Richard and Rick in particular about how to effectively lay out a teaching classroom. We conducted many design studies about whether or not the cooking should be done in the peninsula or on the perimeter. We had to decide whether the cooking lines go into the space, if they should be in the middle, or if they should be on the outside of the wall. After much discussion and study on these configurations we finally decided to go with placing the cooking on the perimeter. Doing so allowed us to put the ranges and the hoods along the walls so the center of the classrooms were open and flexible. The work we did in there was truly valuable.

Stu Label’s Approach: Richard Simpson and LaBel Food Service Equipment have had a relationship for many years. We designed and installed ICE’s previous 23rd Street location about twelve years ago. When

I was brought into the new Brookfield project, ICE hired me to be their kitchen and equipment manufacturer.

When deciding which equipment to install, I was thinking more in terms of designing a classroom rather than a kitchen. There really isn’t any relevance between this design and any restaurant or catering kitchen at all. ICE has pastry kitchens and specialty rooms such as chocolate making and recreational cooking. They also use high-end residential ranges instead of commercial.

For example, in these kitchens, they put stone on top of the stainless steel cabinets to make it seem like you are cooking in a beautiful home kitchen.

There’s a huge difference between teaching kitchens and traditional production kitchens. There are stations that four students utilize at a time, with about six of these different stations in each kitchen. The cooking stations are placed along the walls while the working tables are in the middle, which is quite unique. I designed these tables with Richard and created a custom

The latest Everpure water filtration technology from Pentair was specified for The Institute of Culinary Education's teaching kitchens as part of the school's commitment to bringing its students the very latest in industry innovation.

slide out drawer that the students could put their sheet pans on. There are slots in the back to place chairs when not in

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use so they do not get in the way while students are trying to work. It’s all very custom, and is nothing like a chef table or a worktable that you would find in a restaurant.

The fact that the new Brookfield space is all on one floor makes everything much easier. The design of 23rd Street made ICE six different floors, which was very inconvenient for many reasons. Since the new space of the school is one floor, you can walk around and see all of the classrooms at once. In addition, their storage area, receiving area, and their walk-in refrigerators are all on the same floor. In the other building, all of these were on different floors so everything had to be transported to multiple levels. As a plus, the Brookfield space also overlooks the Hudson River making it an even more gorgeous learning environment.

There were many different kitchen appliances involved in this project.

Southbend, for example, made all of the cooking systems such as kettles and convection ovens. ICE also went

for a costly Gaylord hood system because of its efficiency and a decreased demand for CFM’s. This investment would seemingly save them enormous amounts of money on their energy bills in the long run. On the cooler side, the refrigerators are made by Traulsen, the walk-in refrigerators by Tafco, and the ice machines by Scotsman.

I think ICE had the right provisions for the future when designing their new school. For example, the students are learning to cook with induction, gas, kettle, and convection cooking.

They have setups for everything and are learning all of the new trends. If restaurants stop using burners in the future because the new trend is induction cooking, these students will have already been exposed to that method.

The students here will be well equipped and prepared for any possible future changes.

// NEWS

DIRECT MAIL MARKETING

Manhattan Marketers Meet In Midtown For Insight Into Successful Direct Mail Marketing You might not think that direct mail postcards could have anything to do with increasing your business. But according to Keith Goodman at Modern Postcard, they can help you exponentially acquire new customers. Just, not in the way you may be used to.

G

oodman brought his highly anticipated Direct mail boot camp to midtown Manhattan last month. A large crowd of Metro New York City based marketers listened intently as the veteran marketing executive outlined his keys to success.

Goodman challenged throughout the seminar. "It all begins with the strength of your list of targets,” he noted. The goal should be to think of the target as a busload of customers that are perfectly suited to be your buyer. “We look at our priority at Modern Postcard to provide a suite of services that will enable you to update that list with both your existing customers and new ones to fill the pipeline,” Goodman added.

Goodman and his Modern Postcard team have developed a unique way of using distributed data to create a demographic profile of the characteristics of potential and existing customers, then do a predictive model of how you get them, and more, using yes, postcards.

Not only can Modern Postcard’s direct mail system target new people in the area most likely to come – and come again and again -- to your restaurant.

It can also help you keep in constant touch with your bread and butter –

those customers who come twice, maybe three times a week already, the lifeblood of your operation.

Modern Postcard started out 32 years ago by CEO Steve Hoffman as a company taking great full-color photos for the real estate industry, then blossomed into a turnkey business that took the photos and created brochures for companies selling very high-end houses.

Along came Sotheby’s and the company did so well it deployed a national team of photographers around the country. “But when real estate tanked in the late ‘80s, Steve bought a printing press and started doing a whole vertical type of program,” says Goodman.

“They would shoot the photos, do the scanning, everything, and when the market collapsed, the company decided to use its printing press and offer 500 postcards for $95, all-inclusive -full-color postcards with no film charges, no scanning charges, no separating charges. They thought, we’ll build 32 postcards into one big sheet, charge $95, and make $3,000 for printing 500 sheets of paper. They revolutionized the print industry.”

So the company was reborn. “This was back before the Internet, Photoshop, all that,” says Goodman. “Back then, it

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would cost $1,000 to do the separation of film to do the color postcard alone.

But within three months, they had sold 5,000 postcard orders and were off to the races.”

Modern Postcard continued to grow, adding mailing services in 1993, and marketing data in 1995-96. “Things just kept growing and they were really focused on the photographers’ market because that’s who picked up on this. Then the company decided to go after the restaurant industry,” he says.

“It was the perfect thing for small restaurant owners. ‘Oh my God, I could do 5,000 postcards for practically nothing.

And it’s so effective,’ they would say.”

Goodman notes that, in 2004, he was brought in to take the company to the next level. With his background in data marketing, enterprise computing and content distribution, he was already involved with the National Restaurant Association, launching a program used to write its “Bread and Butter” newsletter, where he provided monthly marketing tips. “It went gang busters, and that’s when I really started focusing on the restaurant industry,” Goodman says.

“In 2003 I said, we need to get involved with restaurants in a big way,” he re-

calls. “So we started small, with mom and pops, then picked up some chains, and now we’re doing a ton of work for organizations like Jack in the Box, Sammy’s Wood-Fired Pizzas, On the Border Grille. This year we’ll print a total of 700 million cards across all industries.”

Goodman says that, while direct mail may seem very 20th century, “Every type of advertising will bring in a certain type of client. If you’re advertising in a high-end magazine, a luxury living magazine, you bring in that type of clientele. You won’t bring in someone who says, what’s your cheapest hamburger, but someone who wants to see the wine list. You might not bring in a lot of customers but the ones you do will be of high value. They won’t be coming because of a 50%-off coupon but because ‘That food looks amazing!’”

If you bring in someone with Groupon, Goodman points out, they’re going into the restaurant only because they got $20 worth of food for $10. “You end up not building a customer relationship, but a food transaction. There’s a chance they’ll come back but they’re not going to ask for the wine list, they’re just going to want to know what the special is tonight,” he says.

Web-based customers do tend to be very price-conscious, and not to be as loyal as a customer gathered through other information, he says. “The thing about direct mail is that it gives you the opportunity to target those people most likely to be your best customers.”

Restaurants have customers who come in once a month when they run a 30%off special. “And then there are others who come in three times a week, with kids, the parents share a bottle of wine, they have entrees, appetizers, their average check is $150 and you say, we love these people, how do we find more people like that, not the two kids coming from around the corner for half-off pizza,” he says. “So you only send the mail piece to those who fit the profile

Modern Postcard's Keith Goodman brought his unique marketing insight to a large NYC audience

Modern Postcard started out 32 years ago by CEO Steve Hoffman as a company taking great full-color photos for the real estate industry, then blossomed into a turnkey business that took the photos and created brochures for companies selling very high-end houses.

of your best customers. That’s what direct mail can do that nothing else can,” says Goodman. “You can’t target like that with any other kind of advertising.

When we sell direct mail, we’re not selling postcards, we’re selling customer acquisition -- we’re saying, if I were to tell you I could bring families in who would eat here twice a week for the next five years, what is that customer worth to you and what are you willing to pay to get that customer in the door?”

A good white tablecloth restaurant with a significant marketing budget is a per-

fect match for data profiling. “Say they collect information on existing customers, and create a mailing list. Once we have that list, we can run a demographic profile on them and then do a predictive model, based on the 50,000 people within a five-mile radius. Here are the 5,000 that have the highest potential match to your best customers,” Goodman says.

“We automate the entire process and we come up with ideas people would never normally think of. If I asked a restaurant, what are the attributes of your customers, they might say, they make more than $100,000, drive a luxury sedan, and have three kids. But what they don’t know is, they also like to travel internationally, have certain jobs, certain service levels, certain educations, there could be a charitable organization affiliation, they may like to watch sports on TV, or not watch sports on TV. These are all the different characteristics you normally would never be able to come up with that we’re able to dig up in these profiles and use in identifying those best prospects.”

But sometimes, restaurant owners don’t always see the ROI – at least, at first – which they’re expecting.

Says Goodman, “Most restaurant owners -- until they’ve been educated – are still very transactionally-oriented – they live and die by transactions. Let’s face it, either you buy their food or you don’t buy their food. They say, ‘I ran this ad, got 19 people in, but only generated $1,200 of food and the ad cost $1,500.

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It was a failure.’ But six might come back twice a year for the next five years.

You’re talking about acquiring lifetime value. You’re going to buy $5,000 worth of revenue over the lifetime of that customer for x amount of dollars.”

Say a restaurant has 50% food costs, and out of $5,000, they’re going to make $2,500 in gross profit off that customer.

“Most business models would be willing to spend 10% of the gross profit on acquiring the customer,” he explains.

“So, if their average customer spends $5,000 and they make $2,500, a restaurant should be happy spending $250 to acquire that $5,000 in revenue.”

At that point. Goodman says, restaurants need to capture their information and this is the point at which email becomes a good tool. “Email is a great way to stay in contact with existing customers. For acquisition, however, it’s dismal. You’re unlikely to get new customers as a result of an email campaign because people don’t read emails from people they don’t know. A lot of marketers will say, ‘I’m getting a great open rate on my emails, a 25% open rate.’ But what you’re saying is yes, 25% of the people who get your emails are opening them but 75% aren’t so that 75% is going completely uncovered,” he says.

“You’re just leaving them hanging for your competitors.” And Goodman says, it’s the same 25% open rate every month, it’s not another 25% next month and the month after that. “You’re still leaving the rest of your customer base uncovered. Once a quarter, send a direct mail campaign to those who don’t open their emails.”

One of Goodman’s favorite stories is about a Mediterranean restaurant in Colorado. “They were having their grand opening and wanted to do a special to get people in the store,” he says.

“My big thing is, give people something free, and get them in the store. What has to happen to make them come into the restaurant? Whatever you have to give away, give away. Get people in the door, give them something aggressive, not so much they get full but enough to bring them in.”

So this restaurant offered free tapas.

“We sent out 20,000 postcards with free tapas, and the first night the place was packed with people eating free tapas.

The owner said, ‘This is amazing, you’re a genius.’ The second night the place was packed again, people eating free tapas and alcohol consumption rocketing. They were converting seats from the restaurant to the bar,” he remembers. “They ended up having to shut the place down for two weeks to permanently convert the whole restaurant to a bar. The opening changed the landscape of the restaurant by the way we launched the direct mail program.”

Modern Postcards is just getting ready to launch another direct mail campaign, Restaurant DM. With this, they’re best practice templates for restaurant direct mail and putting them online to allow restaurants to upload imagery of their food or use stock photos, add their own specials, then put maps into pre-fabricated templates, then acquire the data online. Mailing lists must be provided but all the initial creative is done online.

Something else the company is putting out there is a birthday club and a new mover program, sending special postcards out for customers’ birthdays.

“We’ve been able to identify households who have a birthday coming up within a month, and we send them a postcard saying we’d love to introduce you to our restaurant by offering you a free meal on your birthday,” says Keith Goodman. “It gets people into the restaurant. The restaurant can send these out every month. And for new people moving into a neighborhood, take 500 people moving in within a radius of the restaurant and have a neighborhood ‘free meal’ card go out.”

Finally, they introduced at the National Restaurant Association in May is the ability to click on a code for a coupon and then transfer that coupon to a smart phone. “This allows restaurants to communicate from now on with that person over mobile,” says Goodman.

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// LIZ ON TABLETOP

TABLETOP SOLUTIONS

Making Sense Of Today's Shapes One of the more interesting phenomenon during my career has been the evolution of the shape of plates.

W

hen I first began working with our customers, the mentality was that dinner plates were 10”, lunch plates were 9”, salad/ dessert plates were 7.5” bread plates were 6” and a 9” rim soup bowl. The common element was that every one

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Liz Weiss, President, H. Weiss LLC ewe i s s @ h we i s s . n e t

of those items was ROUND! As the years passed, we began to see an evolution. We sized up the dinner plate and either eliminated the bread plate or made it smaller. Then came squares- with all the chipped corners.

Coupe went out, rims got wide and flat. Everyone used pretty much the same items for the same purpose.

That's when things began to get interesting and design came into play.

We started to mix round squares, ovals, rectangles, organic shapes,

deep and shallow, serving bowls as soup bowls, and everything in between. There's no question that the change was driven by chefs and management.

They required a tabletop strategy that needed to make sense for their operation's menu, price point and décor. At the same time, the operator and dealer supporting them needed to factor in storage space being at a premium and constraints of a typical Metro New York kitchen.

Most of us have been in this industry long enough to realize that today plates come in many different sizes and in many cases with the same shape, just in proportion and sizes.

So today with so many more choices, we have many decisions to make. I think it starts by going back to some very basic questions.

We know that entrees come on larger sized plates, and bread is served on smaller plates. But what about other courses? Normally we use a medium size plate for dessert and salads, but we have seen a long lasting trend towards entrée plates for salads. The Pastry chef today is creating such pieces of artistry that in many cases the right choice is an entree plate.

From a profit and loss standpoint the model has evloved as well.

While the larger plates are more expensive to purchase, using them allows the kitchen to use less items, reducing storage space, reducing the inventory, allowing chefs to train plating techniques. Larger plates signal to our customers larger portions and value, which may not be the case, but hopefully translates into larger profits for the establishment.

Here's a suggestion for a starting point. Let's assume that presenting on one plate can be a little boring and redundant. Easy solution: keep the size and plate color, but change up the plate shape. Plating different menu items on different shapes allow for some visual interest. Different items on squares vs rounds or ovals.

Most china manufacturers will offer

squares and ovals with similar rims that will look consist and relative on the table.

Many of the innovative manufactures have unique shapes that are even more interesting. Examples may be Steelite’s organic shapes, Bauscher’s scoop bowls or Cardinal; International’s leaf shape. The Chef is happy as he/she can still be creative and artistic, yet present a cohesive look. Customers are drawn to different presentations.

One approach we use at H. Weiss is offering different rim sizes and depths on same diameter round plates. Villeroy and Bauscher offer some great alternatives in this direction. Risotto in a 11” plate with 5” deep well. Pasta in an 11” plate/bowl with 7” well. Composed fish on a flat 11” plate with 9” well. All these look similar, but different, and appealing. This also avoids the trap of not serving enough food to present the plate. Recently, I was served an entrée salad on an entrée size rectangle, only to find that there were 5 skillfully placed leaves of lettuce and 3 small shrimp for a sizeable price. This large presentation served only to highlight how small the portion was. Plate size cannot fix portion size or lack thereof.

Our sales team at H. Weiss knows that it is our job to help restaurants and clubs maximize profits. We are happy to send in samples so that the chef can plate items prior to purchase.

We want the foodservice professional to experiment and know how to best serve his items to maximize both the customer experience and bottom line profits.

Allow yourselves to create and experiment. We are all to happy to suggest new items and shapes that work with your existing service or help you plan in new serving. In my opinion, plates are the canvas that can be adorned differently depending on the season, menu, and whimsy of each establishment.

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// NEWS

FOODSERVICE

Unilever Food Solutions Middle Eastern Food Distributors Visit DiCarlo Foods The Middle Eastern division of Unilever Food Solutions recently hosted a group of their high achieving Foodservice distributors and wholesalers in New York City to culminate a year long incentive program.

The information provided by DiCarlo was outstanding and extremely beneficial from a learning perspective,” he added that “whilst the markets in which they operate were quite

T

he group emanated from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Bahrain. For many of the group, it was a first time visit to the United States.

The week in New York included a com-

prehensive study program featuring speakers from the local US Foodservice market, trade visits and a tour of the DiCarlo Foods Holtsville facility.

The visit included an informative presentation about DiCarlo Foods, detailing the company’s history, market

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information, logistics, and customer service. The presentation was followed by small group tours of the warehouse where the group received detailed information regarding ordering procedures, pick and packing, invoicing, equipment and machinery, cash and

different many parallels could be drawn.”

carry operations and customer service.

The DiCarlo visit was seen as a highlight for the group.

Mads Houlberg, Managing Director of Unilever Food Solutions Middle East and Pakistan said the visit had been a “fantastic opportunity for their distributors and wholesalers to view the operations of such a professional organization. The information provided by DiCarlo was outstanding and extremely beneficial from a learning perspective,” he added that “whilst the markets in which they operate were quite different many parallels could be drawn.”

Unilever Food Solutions are a leading global provider of culinary and commercial inspiration to chefs. They operate in 74 countries worldwide in the regions North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa & Middle East and Asia.

The company has been in food since the 1880s, and home to some of the world’s favorite brands: Knorr, Hellmann’s, Lipton and more.

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// EYE

METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

The Food & Beverage Association of America, Inc. Names Executives of the Year 2015 in NY Metro Area The Food and Beverage Association of America, a New York-based philanthropic, educational, and trade organization, selects its Honorees for 2015. Photos by Ralph DePas

T

he Food and Beverage Association of America is a nonprofit organization whose membership encompasses executives in the Food and Beverage and allied industries of the greater New York Metropolitan area. Established in 1956, the Association is dedi-

cated to promoting and advancing friendly relations between members, encouraging continuing education, assisting in career growth, granting industry-related scholarships, and providing philanthropic support for critical social issues. The 8th Annual Awards Gala Dinner Dance, honoring distinguished Food and Beverage Executives in the NY Metropolitan area, was held at the New York Marriott Marquis, Friday May 29, 2015.

This year’s Honorees were Hospitality Professional of the Year: Gina

Bertucci, Director of Catering, New York Marriott Marquis; Industry Professional of the Year: Gladys Mouton Di Stefano, President, At Your Service Party Consulting; Purveyor of the Year: Bryan O’Rourke, President, Cardinal International and Presidential Achievement Award Joseph Fontanals, Executive Chef, Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.

Gina Bertucci leads a world-class sales team that generates over $55 million in annual catering sales.

This major hotel in the heart of Times Square features 1,957 guest rooms and over 100,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. Since 2007 Gina has led the team in making the hotel the venue for countless corporate and social events, covering the worlds of corporate meetings, major fundraising social galas,

The Marriott Marquis did a spectacular job in preparing the hotel for the special event

The dance floor was hopping throughout the evening with industry talents including Erik Weiss of Gotham City Hospitality

The City Tech Scholarship winners enjoyed the festivities

conventions, media launches and everything in between.

Educated in Paris at the prestigious Hospitality and tourism Institution, Gladys Mouton Di Stefano was recruited to open the Paris Hilton Hotel, the first new hotel to open in Paris in 50 years. As an administrator in the Food & Beverage Department, Gladys was chosen among over 30 managers to open the first Windows

The Marriott Marquis Director of Catering Gina Bertucci was the FBAA's Hospitality Professional of the Year The FBAA board presented a $20K check to the scholarship fund of the New York City College of Technology Culinary program

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continued on page 108

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// CHEFCETERA

UP CLOSE WITH METRO NY CHEFS

Chef Terry McSpedon Crew Restaurant, Greenwich, CT

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ho or what influenced you to start a career in foodservice? Where did you train?

Growing up, Julia Child’s show was my Sesame Street. I would watch her religiously; enraptured by the love and care she took with all the ingredients and dishes. As a teenager, I worked under the tutelage of Joseph Doering at Maxl’s Rathskeller Restaurant in White Plains. He taught me the basics of working in a restaurant, and I consider him a mentor for all I gleaned from his wisdom and expertise. Formally, I attended CIA in Hyde Park.

Describe your culinary style and point of view?

My culinary style would probably be categorized as based on classical French with American influences. I like menus that are developed with fresh food, seasonal items, local farmers, and the customers in mind.

What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?

I am not trend-oriented, as trends are fads and therefore will go out of style.

Classic food reinvented is always in fashion; we don’t need to jump on the current culinary bandwagon to serve dishes customers love.

When developing a menu how do you enforce the standards that you have

Do you feel that the restaurant industry suffers too much from Zagat, Yelp, and other consumer review sights? Are consumers depending too much on review?

Without question, restaurants are suffering from all of the online reviews. The websites can pick and choose which reviews to upload, and often the negative ones are more entertaining and sensational so they are chosen. As for customers, if it can be googled or they can ask Siri, most will not bother to learn more beyond.

People can follow a group without having an independent opinion.

What current culinary trends do you really embrace, and which ones do you wish would go away?

I like that local farmers have been en vogue for a while, and I think that trend is (thankfully) here to stay. I wish the importance of trends to people’s dining experience and opinions would go away.

"My culinary style would probably be categorized as based on classical French with American influences."

set in place?

In a small restaurant setting (such as Crew), it is easy to monitor and oversee the kitchen to be certain the vision is being carried out.

A great menu and location is so important, but in your opinion, how important is your kitchen and wait staff to the success of a restaurant?

Having worked in all facets of the restaurant machine, I can say the kitchen and wait staff is totally and completely paramount to success. One clogged gear can disrupt the whole process. Front of house staff are the ambassadors to us prepping and

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cooking in the back.

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

We try to support local when able with our food, and endurance and efficiency are key with equipment. Since I was, in one incarnation, a sales rep in the food industry, I recognize the necessity of a good relationship with a restaurant. We are a service-based industry from all angles, and customer satisfaction extends to all aspects.

What advice would you offer to a newcomer looking to become a successful chef in this industry?

Eyes open, ego in check. Fully immerse all your senses into your culinary experience, including learning from those who have come before you. In this era of the cooking channels and celebrity chefs, anyone with a set of professional cooking knives imagines that they can make/be the next best thing. Enter the kitchen with an open mind and a willingness to learn.

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// THE WINE COACH

WITH LAURIE FORSTER

What I Learned at Oregon Pinot Camp . . .

When I was invited to attend Oregon Pinot Camp, I jumped at the chance since some of the most exciting Pinot Noir being produced these days comes from the Willamette Valley.

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regon Pinot Camp is a three day event that happens each June where hundreds of wine professionals from all over the US are invited to the Willamette Valley to learn all about the wines of the area through seminars, tastings and tours of the vineyards. For me there is no better way to truly understand a region’s wine than to visit the wineries, talk with the people that craft the wines and surround yourself with the vines that create this amazing beverage. Here’s what I learned this summer at Oregon Pinot Camp: Have Respect The Oregon wine industry has made a very concentrated effort to focus on organic, sustainable, salmon safe or biodynamic practices with approximately 23% of the vineyards planted adhering to one or more of these principles. While each of these methods is a bit different they all focus employing natural practices that make the health of vineyards, water sources and farm workers top priority. In 1992 the Oregon wine industry along with a local hospital

rell of their finest Pinot Noir that will be auctioned off at a gala event. The money raised pays for the healthcare needed for the wineries farm workers and their families sometimes delivered by a mobile van that comes right to the vineyards. While many other people are talking green the Oregon wine industry is already making it happen.

Laurie Forster, The Wine Coach, is a 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 one of the Top 8 Wine Apps in Wine Enthusiast. To find out more visit: www.TheWineCoachSpeaks.com | @thewinecoach | facebook.com/winecoach

began a revolutionary fundraiser that benefits the farm workers and their families. Every year the wineries are invited to donate a half bar-

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Cooperation Not Competition Vines were first planted in Oregon in 1967 and the people that dreamed of making world class wines in this region had no guidelines or information about what would grow best or where to grow. Quickly winemakers in these early days realized that they needed to help each other, learn from their collective mistakes and cooperate in order to survive. Even today Pinot Noir has only been produced in Oregon for 37 years compared to the 300 years it has been made in Burgundy. The wineries also joined together to fund the Oregon Wine Advisory Board which operates research for the advancement of the industry. Choosing to tax themselves higher than in any other wine region

in the world they are focusing on the benefit to their wines and to the consumer—now that’s cooperation!

Be Yourself Oregon winemakers have strived to create great “Oregon Style” Pinot Noir rather than using the Burgundian or California styles as a guide.

The Willamette Valley is located on roughly the same latitude as Burgundy making it a cool growing region. That along with sunny, dry summers makes this an ideal place to grow Pinot Noir. California on the other hand has warmer weather and shorter growing cycles which don’t necessarily allow for the grapes to mature slowly like they do in Oregon or Burgundy.

Oregon wine makers are focusing on creating wines that accentuate a fresh fruit profile, bright acidity with moderate tannins. If you must compare Oregon Pinot Noir to others, one might describe this somewhere between the lean, elegant style of Burgundy but not as extreme as the jammier powerhouse Pinots of California. Rather than comparing, consider trying Oregon Pinot Noir with an open mind and embrace a new style of Pinot—Oregon Style!

This will by far be my best memories of summer camp—great wine, inspiring winemakers and of course the beautiful backdrop of the Willamette Valley. The lessons I learned at Pinot Camp gave me great insights to these world class wines not to mention they can be applied to other areas of life as well.

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// RESTAURANT OPERATIONS

WITH AMBER BROWN

Beware the Powdered Drunk During the week of March 18th, 2015 the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved a product that may put restaurants in danger of violating responsible alcohol service while threatening profitable liquor sales.

P

alcohol is a powered alcohol that can be snuck into bars and restaurants making it impos-

sible to control consumption.

The powdered substance can be smuggled in and added to any non-

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alcoholic beverage. This cuts into the profitability of a restaurant's cocktail menu and puts the restaurant

Amber Brown is currently a Senior Software Trainer with ChefTec and tours the country, and internationally conducting on site operational trainings, and food cost and food safety presentations.

in jeopardy of over serving without even knowing it.

The Palcohol website attempts to address many of the issues affecting business operators such as the ease of overuse, the attractiveness to underage drinkers and the fiscal loss to

liquor vending operations. There is much cause for concern because it takes the control out of the hands of the operation even though they are still responsible for the outcome.

Palcohol should be available in the United States this summer. Food ser-

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vice operations that serve liquor will want to raise awareness and employ a policy on how to handle powdered alcohol if it enters their establishment.

To hear what Palcohol has to say visit: http://www.palcohol.com/

// INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

WITH FRED SAMPSON

Are You Aware of These Aspects of the Minimum Wage?

I cannot remember a time when the term “minimum wage” has received as much media attention as it has in the past 10 months, considering it has been part of our labor landscape since 1932.

Fred G. Sampson,

President of Sampson Consulting, Inc. fredgsampson@juno.com

T

hat year, Hugo Black, a U.S. senator from Alabama, introduced the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a federal law requiring certain industries to pay no less than 25 cents an hour, and a work week of 40 hours; all time over 40 hours was to be at time and a half. (It would take $4.07 today to purchase what 25 cents did in 1932.)

The bill was passed in 1936 and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Senator Black went on to become the senior (longest-serving) justice on the United States Supreme Court. For the record, from 1912 to 1936, 13 states passed similar legislation, only to have the court declare all of them unconstitutional. It was only after some changes in the makeup of the Supreme Court that a minimum wage finally became the law of the land.

Why has this issue become so controversial now? It is due to the amount of the increases and their various effective dates, as well as some changes in the regulations. They will not only im-

pact the business community as never before, but recast their wage structure.

An example of the ripple effect of the minimum wage was confirmed by former President Clinton in 2014 when he said, “A minimum wage will eventually increase the wages of 35 million people.” When employees at the minimum wage level receive an increase, employees at a higher rate expect some adjustment in their rate. Why is this so?

Because of the historical differentials, and they invariably receive it.

One of the most misunderstood aspects of the minimum wage is the tip credit. It guarantees that should a waiter or waitress / server not earn in tips and wages the amount of the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. I think it’s fair to say that if tipping is allowed, the servers’ earnings will exceed the tip allowance and, thus, the minimum wage as well. The New York Times, in an editorial, said, “California is already one of the eight states that prohibit the deplorable practice of sub minimum for tipped workers. So waitresses and waiters in Los Angeles will be eligible for higher minimum wages with everyone else.”

Did this ever occur to The Times?

People tip on the strength of the check’s total, and every time there is an increase in menu prices, tip earnings go

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up as well. The average tip in NYC is 19 percent. How much was your check the last time you ate out? You do the math.

Is it the position of The Times that because California does something, New York should follow? I would remind them that Florida is now the third-largest state in the union and they are getting along without a state income tax!

Why doesn’t New York State emulate that?

Again we hear suggestions that restaurants apply a “service charge” to the check in place of a tip. While it might be an answer for the operator, when asked about a service charge, most consumers do not want management deciding the level of service they received; that’s the mission of a gratuity. They also are tired of others mandating decisions for them.

One of the major flaws in the recent formation of minimum wage boards is that they have been reduced from nine members, more commonly known as a tripartite; there were three members from the public, three members representing employees, and three representing employers. In contrast, the last board consisted of three members, none having food service management experience. They were as follows: one from the general business community, one representing the public, and

a union leader representing employees. While this means very little to the general public, it is a shabby way to treat one of the state’s major job making, tax-paying, risk-taking economic engines.

Let me also inform you that industry members from all over the state attended the hearings that were held and many testified. Reps from trade associations also presented factual evidence describing the negative impact that the board’s findings could have if they were too severe, which they are. It was like the board saying, “Don’t confuse us with facts; our minds are already made up.”

You will note that I have not discussed the actual amounts of the present and future increases. The reason for this is no one knows what the amounts will finally be. Will $15 an hour become a reality, and if so, when? Will there be regional rates? How will the industry deal with them, as well as with rising prices of commodities … and how will the public react?

The following statement is undeniable: “When the price of eating out gets too expensive—be it a steak or a hamburger—the public has a choice. They eat at home.”

And a final word to those who think jobs will not be in jeopardy. From an article by Barbara Ehrenreich titled “Welcome to Your Obsolescence,” in The New York Times’s Book Review of 5-17-15, I offer the following quote from Martin Ford’s new book, “Rise of the Robots.” “Ford quotes the cofounder of a start-up dedicated to the automation of gourmet hamburger production: ‘Our device isn’t meant to make employees more efficient. It’s meant to completely obviate them.’ ” It shows anything is possible.

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// EYE

METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Visionary Industry Leader Elliot Celebrates Restaurant Museum Launch in NYC There are museums for art. There are museums for history. There are even museums for dinosaurs. But one for the history of food?

A

lice Elliot thinks so, and she's determined to put all her industry clout and prestige be-

hind it.

The owner of The Elliot Group, sponsored a celebration of “The Elliott Restaurant Memorabilia Collection,” highlighting what she calls the “great treasures of our industry” recently at Gotham Hall.

“Break Bread with Us” honored Greg Dollarhyde, chairman of Zoes Kitchen, with the Mentor of the Year Award and presented its 13th True Trep award, given to an industry entrepreneur who's done something exceptional in his or her line of business, to Tim McEnery of Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants in Arlington Heights, Ill. The Elliot Group, begun as a retained executive search firm that works with finance, institutional and equity businesses, and now with retail and the multi-unit service sector, follows Elliot's heart. “For over 35 years I've been practicing and now I'm in the restaurant space, which equates with my deep love and devotion to the restaurant industry,” she says. “The restaurant industry hasn't always had the respect it deserves. And we've been front and center in dignifying the contributions people make who work inside this industry, regardless of their position in the industry.”

That's where the memorabilia project

was born.

According to Elliot, the essence of the restaurant industry has had a positive impact on every aspect of both the history and economy of the U.S. “Wouldn't it be cool to celebrate and honor those companies that, even in their early stages of growth, may not have realized what they ultimately have become, had the moxie and tenacity to grow and change people's lives – to build formidable brands that are part of the tapestry of America?” she says.

Elliot says her firm has a lot of respect for the elements of the culinary world.

“But it was more about the actual companies and their dreams of building something great that propelled this

idea,” she adds.

And what memorabilia! “The early beefeater uniform with the hat and stocks from the Campton Hotel groups, the original bocci ball from Bertucci's before they grew into a major chain, were there. PF Chang donated a soldier, and Logan's Road House, an early jukebox. We have the first menu from Uno restaurants. But here's the bigger story,” she says.

Elliot says the project has taken on a life of its own. “It's become a point of pride both internally in companies looking far and wide to find something unique, and it's served as a reaffirmation of what the restaurant industry is all about. It's the crossroads of Ameri-

An overflow crowd jammed the legendary Gotham Hall

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The one and only Alice Elliot, who has such an impact on so many of the foodservice industry's legendary brands

ca. You can start with a dream and, with moxie, build something great that to this day continues, whether you come from the industry or not. It's a reaffirming of human capital, a reaffirmation of what community actually means – curiosity, authenticity, collaboration, an element of leadership, of aspiring higher, sharing, but really wanting to see someone – not just you – win.”

Elliot says that her group purposely sought out companies of all sizes.

“TGIF gave us part of an original propeller. Snooze Eatery framed their very first dollar bill. We're celebrating everything in between.”

The recipient of the collection is now the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Educational Foundation.

“They're in the best position to not only inspire students all over the country but by virtue of the NRA's trade show in Chicago every year, and all the various activities they host, they will take the responsibility to shepherd this great mission,” Elliot says, “not just to the industry but at some point, to consumers as well.”

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// NEWS

WATER SOLUTIONS

Vivreau Brings 25 Year Track Record Of Bringing Profitable But Sustainable Water Solutions To Metro New York’s Restaurant And Foodservice Community It’s been an on-going conversation between restaurant owners whether to charge for water. But Drew Hamilton believes offering premium water that is sustainable elevates establishments in diners' eyes (and the profit motive, too), and it's a good thing to consider.

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he co-owner and Managing Director of Vivreau North America says the combined effect of new infused waters and the sustainability movement are causing water – both flat, sparkling, and fruit-infused– are becoming the way to go for many restaurants and hotels in New York City.

Parent company Vivreau Advanced Water Systems develops and manufactures water filtration and bottling systems around the world.

“As everyone knows, there's been a push towards healthier lifestyles,” says Hamilton. “People are getting away from sugary sodas and inviting in alternatives like infused water, sparkling water. You see it not just in restaurants but in hotels and the workplace, too.

When workers go to kitchen pantry areas, instead of grabbing a soda, they want water. Offering healthy beverage options is a way to impact and educate the population, similar to dining in a restaurant.”

Bartenders use Vivreau water as a recipe for making cocktails at bars and lounges, too. “We see that throughout the area there's been a rise in options, for many reasons. Corporations often prefer their employees to eat lunch in-house, so they must offer attractive

“We see that throughout the area there's been a rise in options, for many reasons. Corporations often prefer their employees to eat lunch inhouse, so they must offer attractive selections in both food and drink to entice them,” he says. selections in both food and drink to entice them,” he says. “A lot of larger companies don’t want employees to go off-site for lunch so the need to provide options is there. Employees want something that's contemporary and healthy, and that's where we come in.”

Vivreau's water actually comes from the tap but is microfiltered on-demand in a special process. The company is proud that its water – still, sparkling, chilled, hot or flavored – is not only healthy and delicious, but good for the environment, too.

“Since the genesis of our company in the late 1980s, our philosophy has been

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to provide the best-quality water from the most local source, eliminating the need for costly and polluting transportation and packaging,” says Hamilton.

“We are proud of the fact that our products have been designed and manufactured specifically to reduce our clients’ impact on the environment.”

“We use our equipment to take existing tap water, remove any impurities, but keep the minerals and deliver it to our clients in a tasty, healthy form in beautiful designer bottles,” says Hamilton. “Sometimes it’s hard to explain to people it’s not tap water, since it comes from the tap. But once you explain how

we treat our water and they realize it’s a much better environmental option than traditional still and sparkling bottled water, there's no negative connotation. There's an education component to it.”

Hamilton says it's a new kind of program for water that carries some significant value for what clients charge for it.

Vivreau North America's water is served just about everywhere, from huge arenas to small corner diners to corporate lunchrooms.

Presentation has a lot to do with it, too, he notes. “Our reusable glass designer bottle, for example, sets us apart. Most people recognize our bottles from the shape – that tall light blue tinted bottle that looks like a water drop. Especially when you're trying to elevate your water program experience – maybe you're a casual atmosphere trying to increase the visual aesthetic of the room, or a fine dining establishment – our reusable glass water bottle conveys elegance and sophistication. It complements the value of the water. The vessel is very important.”

Front of house at the bar or back of house in the kitchen, the aesthetics of its equipment is also important, Hamilton says. “We try to make things plug-and-play, as easy for operators as possible. for the systems also contain safety features and are NSF approved.

We appreciate the time, effort and design money that goes into brand-new restaurant, hotel or office locations. We want to make sure that a product like Vivreau is easy to use, reliable and allows you to do away with unneeded traditional water programs that are bad for the planet. Shipping water around the world is complete madness and terrible for our planet; especially when you can save money and simply bottle amazing water on-site.”

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Elizabeth, from page 24 edibles aka fast food -- vegan fast food! Elizabeth says, “We put a vegan spin on familiar classics and comfort foods, as well offer innovative vegan creations that are perfect for folks on the go!”

Coined "Shrewd Fast Food," with Blossom Du Jour Elizabeth transformed the fast and unhealthy eating lifestyle into a quick and nutritious experience. In fact, the restaurant has such a high demand that Elizabeth

now plans on expanding outside of NYC for the first time.

What keeps guests wanting more is favorites such as the Seitan Philly Cheese Steak, The Midtown Melt and the Smoky Avocado. Guests also love the fresh cold pressed juices and juice cleanses and, of course, its popular cupcakes, cookies and more.

Elizabeth's food can be purchased outside of her restaurants and inside of the all-natural supplier, Whole

Foods (in select Manhattan locations for now).

Elizabeth is just happy her food is making profound impacts on lives, both human and animal.

Based on the success of her restaurants we think it’s safe to say vegan food (especially hers is here to stay).

In her own words this is why Elizabeth thinks vegan food is making its mark now: “I think it's a combination of things.

Elizabeth is just happy her food is making profound impacts on lives, both human and animal.

People are much more conscientious about what they're putting into their bodies today -- they want to live longer, healthier lives. People are starting to understand that meat and dairy is not the way to go to achieve maximum health. There are also many more delicious vegan options available today than there were even just a few years ago. I believe that if more people had access to prepared vegan food options (in restaurants & supermarkets) the number of vegans would be even greater. Accessibility and education are imperative.

Lastly, and most importantly, the mistreatment of animals for food production is no longer hidden. Most people don't want animals to suffer, and most people want to make educated compassionate decisions. It's been brought to light how our "food" is being made, and everyday more and more people find it unacceptable to support factory farming.

Honestly, I think it all boils down to compassion. If you have compassion for yourself you'll make healthy, conscientious eating choices, if you have compassion for other people you'll share the knowledge you have about these eating choices, and if you have compassion for animals you won't want them to be abused and treated as commodities.”

Follow Cindi on Twitter @ChefCindi or email her at cindi@greengoddesspr. org

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Sodium, from page 26 questioned the conventional wisdom that most people should cut back on salt, suggesting that the amount most folks consume is OK for heart health.

The study followed 100,000 people in 17 countries and found that very high levels of salt were a problem, especially for people with high blood pressure, but too little salt also can do harm. Other scientists fault the study and say most people still consume way too much.

Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet. They represent 7 percent of the salt that the average American consumes in a day, according to a 2012 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been pressing the food industry to voluntarily reduce sodium content and is working on new sodium guidelines.

Salt reduction has been the focus of public health campaigns. For years, New York City and other groups have been trying to persuade food manufacturers and chain restaurants to reduce salt content by more than 50 percent over the next decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies have had sodium-reduction talks with food companies.

New York City made a series of groundbreaking healthy-eating moves during Bloomberg's tenure: banning trans fats from restaurant meals, forcing chain eateries to post calorie counts on menus and trying, unsuccessfully, to limit the size of some sugary drinks.

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// EYE

METRO NEW YORK'S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

AJC’s Food Service Division’s Human Relations Award Dinner On Tuesday, June 16, 2015, a record throng of some 500 plus jammed the ballroom of the Bronx Botanical Garden for the annual AJC’s Food Service division’s Human Relations Award Dinner.

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he AJC (American Jewish Committee) honored Robert Tillis CEO Imperial Bag and Paper Co., LLC, Lynne Schultz and Bart Gobioff Co-Owners Tri-State Marketing Associates, Inc. and Elliot Braun, Vice President and CEO and Jeffrey Muhlgeier Partner of Atlantic Beverage Company.

EYE notes that the success of the event each year comes as the result of the hard work of the indefatigable Lenny Myron of the AJC. The Dinner Chair was Jetro Cash & Cary/ Restaurant Depot’s Clark Pager. This celebrated award is given to individuals whose contributions have helped to uplift the shared life of our community.

Robert Tillis is a member of WPO Metro NY, an active Trustee for the Teamsters Local 27 Pension & Welfare Plans, a Founding Trustee of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, and a member of the Presi-

dent’s Advisory Council for Boston University. He and his wife, Meryl, who are married for 34 years, are supportive of many philanthropic causes and reside in New York City.

In addition to their commitment to the food service industry, Lynne Schultz and Bart Gobioff enjoy philanthropic activities ranging from building a new kitchen with Housing Works Bookstore (dedicated to ending the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS), to sponsoring activities at the SPCA of Westchester, to lending a voice to the animals of this world that have none.

The foodservice industry has been especially rewarding for Elliot Braun. He met his wife, Heather, at an industry tradeshow almost 20 years ago. Together, they are active supporters of many civic organizations, including: Jewish Federation of Greater Metro West, Jew-

ish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey, Israel Bonds, and the Far Brook School of Short Hills. They are also passionate promoters of education and awareness around Dyslexia and language-based learning differences. After high school

(L to R) Mr. and Mrs. James Davella of Davella and Associates and Irinox's Ira Kaplan

(L to R) PBAC's Keith Fitzgerald, Jimmy Weiss of H. Weiss and TD Marketing's Frank Doyle

(L to R) Elliot Braun and Jeffrey Muhlgeier of Atlantic Beverage were feted by the AJC

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Jeff Muhlgeier was off to the Culinary Institute of America. Upon graduating at age 20, he went into business for himself. The year was 1974. JM Catering was formed. First came the lunch truck, then the vending business, and wholesale beverage distribution. Business was rapidly expanding and in 1986, Jeff’s best friend and partner Elliot came on board and Atlantic Beverage Co. was formed.

For more than 100 years, AJC has sought to advance the peace and security of the Jewish people through high-level diplomacy, strong legislative advocacy, and effective interreligious and interethnic coalitions. AJC is the preeminent global Jewish advocate.

Imperial Bag's Bob Tillis shared the honors with his family.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Rigie of the New York City Hospitality Alliance

Honorees Lynne Schultz and Bart Gobioff gave a stirring Human Relations Award acceptance speech.

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// NEWS

SIGNATURE BURGERS

Amish Country Grandma’s Recipe Provides Key Ingredient For Signature Burger Offerings When customers order a hamburger, most of the time they're focusing on the beef and what goes on it. Cheese. Lettuce and tomato. Maybe a splash of mayo?

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But more and more foodservice operations these days are coming to the realization that it's the bun that can really make a burger

stand out.

And no one knows that better than the Martin family, who have been making their potato rolls for more than half a century.

According to Julie Martin, social media manager at Martin's Famous Pastry Shoppe, Inc., Lois and Lloyd Martin, her grandparents, started the company in 1955, making their rolls and selling them at farmers' markets in south-central Pennsylvania, also known as Amish country.

“My grandma Lois,” says Martin, “she and my grandpa turned their garage into a small bakery, and they made a lot of different products, but the most popular was their potato rolls. At one time we were up to 120 different products – doughnuts, cookies, cakes, and other pastries – but around 1977 we decided to streamline and focus on our best products: potato rolls and potato bread.

We were the first ones to take potato rolls and potato bread into supermarkets. When we started, no one else was doing it. We were the first ones out there on the shelf.”

Today Martin’s Potato Rolls are the “#1 branded hamburger roll in the U.S.,” Martin says.

“My younger brother, our vice president of baking operations and our master baker, works really hard to make them consistently great-tasting,” Martin points out.

“We’ve had people tell us that ‘It makes your hamburger taste like a steak.’ It upgrades the quality of the whole experience. We've often said that it’s silly for people to buy expensive meat and then put it on an inferior roll.

If you want to save money, you can use less expensive meat and put it on our high quality roll and have a great sandwich.” She adds, “Although good quality meat on our high quality potato rolls is tough to beat!”

In fact, the owners of Shake Shack, now expanding overseas, won't use anything but Martin's Potato Rolls, even though the cost of shipping them internationally is great. “Our potato rolls are 'non-negotiable.' That's the word they use,” Martin says. “Celebrity chef Bob-

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by Flay has said it too. He was making burgers on TV in California and he said he'd source everything out there but he was bringing the rolls with him from the East Coast, and they were ours,” says Martin proudly.

What makes the rolls so popular? “My younger brother, our vice president of baking operations and our master baker, works really hard to make them consistently great-tasting,” Martin points out.

Another important factor is the ingredients that are used. “We use highquality ingredients, including highprotein wheat flour, which makes our products higher in protein than many other breads or even some other ‘health foods.’ For example, not long ago, I was

eating yogurt, a nice healthy breakfast, and I grabbed the rolls lying there – ours, of course!-- and did a quick comparison, and I was actually surprised myself. Our rolls were higher in protein, lower in sugar, lower in fat, lower in cholesterol, and higher in B vitamins – lower in all the stuff you want to be lower in and higher in all the good stuff. It's a lot healthier product than most people know.”

Martin says the company experimented with lots of different types of wheat (there are 30,000 to choose from!) and they selected the one higher in protein. “A lot of breads don't use milk or just use whey (which is cheaper), but we use real milk, add potatoes, potato flour.

A combination of high protein wheat flour and milk and potato gives you a nice cooking content. Start comparing it to other things you think are healthier and you'll say, wait a minute, this is healthier.”

Martin says the nutrition and good taste is what her family wants, too. “We want it to taste good and we also want to feel good about eating it; have it be an important part of a balanced diet.”

The product is not the cheapest on the shelf, she admits, because the company does use real milk, real sugar, and real butter. But it's worth it, she says.

And they're always looking to improve their products, switching to sunflower oil instead of soybean oil recently because of allergies some people have to soy and concern about genetically modified foods.

“We've also shifted away from using any kind of artificial dye or coloring, and instead we use turmeric, a natural spice which provides a golden color and also is purported to have natural antiinflammatory properties. Also, in the past year, we began to source non-GMO ingredients. Thus, our product tastes great, we’re proud of its nutritional con-

continued on page 107

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Q&A, from page 29 not the right consistency. Chef Brad flew out the next day, tested our water, and said it was too soft. We had to add something back to make it the right consistency. Teaming up with professionals like Chef Brad tells you how we’re trying to stay ahead of the curve. We source locally; we give our chefs a lot of leeway in the development of menus. Chef Bill Muzio, who runs our View restaurant, another young, super-ambitious chef, who's always bringing new ideas to the table. Our Director of Purchasing, Steve Fredrich, sources weekly where our vegetables and fish are coming – based on quality, price, location. We use national purveyors but we also use all local fish, local produce, because they’re the best, they're part of our bid list. We have several different

ones in the different regions.

So you have the best of both worlds – running a small business at the same time as having buying power.

Can your chefs be as creative as they want to be as long they can create what customers want?

Where we have different menus, we look for best practice. We'll tell our chefs, especially in our Main Street Restaurants, which all have the same menu, whoever has the best recipe is the winner. If someone comes up with a great recipe, like Chef Muzio did at View Restaurant with his thai calamari, one of the most popular items on the View menu, we share that recipe at all our restaurants.

How do you combine the financial and P&L viewpoint from the ac-

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counting side of the business with the creativity you bring to the table?

It's definitely a balance. We've automated all our systems; it's always in process and ever-changing. Obviously, we have to monitor food costs every day, it's what makes or breaks our business. We have central accounting in Great River, where our headquarters are, so everything is managed from corporate headquarters across the five states. Most decisions are made from corporate but we have area managers in contact with all the chefs. Any time anyone has an idea, we're wide-open to it.

We're a very flat organization. I can walk into any restaurant, I know the chef, I know the manager. It's really just keeping an ear to the ground.

What's the interaction with customers like?

We have a newsletter we send out every month to 35,000 people as to what's going on across the company. We have a loyalty program, with 18,000 active users, so we're able to reach out to them through direct emails. We can target right down to an individual restaurant that has its own email list, to catering, where it could be the entire catering group or go out to the entire 35,000. We're cautions as to how often we reach out because if you email blast too often you get knocked off, so we pay attention to that. We have a social media guru on staff as well as marketing interns each year.

What's your approach to social me-

Martins, from page 102

dia?

It's a little bit of everything. We have chefs who will do videos, put them up on Instagram, Twitter or youtube, showing how to make calamari, or filet tuna. It seems people are getting into the videos as a much bigger part of social media now. Our managers send us pictures and we post them “live” to facebook and instagram that night. We keep our customers interested. Posting great pictures entices our guests to stop by, keeps us “fresh” and reminds them we are “here.”

The Blaze project is interesting.

When you think of pizza, you think of the Northeast as being very local, very ethnic. It's a brave step to go into something like this.

We knew that, getting into this.

When you go out to LA, there are 14+ brands vying for the same 2,500 square feet of space all trying to be the leader. We latched on very quickly because of the management team they have in place. We got right into the franchising of this. We knew it was a risk taking on New York. But New York pizza hasn't evolved at all so we're different. You can have New York pizza or you can have Blaze.

Ours is thin crust, have it your way.

We have two stores open now, and we're building a third. It's been very well received so far.

What's your approach to designing and building out kitchens?

Over the years we've developed a great group of vendors -- architects, designers, builders but we've been the ones in the trenches so we know how kitchens really should be laid out. We do a hybrid, work from within. We actually are consulting on a couple of kitchen build-outs right now. We'll work with our vendors and equipment suppliers. Bar Boy Products is our main equipment

supplier, we've been working with them for 30 years. They also help us with design and development. They know what works and doesn’t work, we bring our chefs along and walk them through it. Edward DeFelice SR, Brian Jones and their team have a really good feel for our buisness.

That’s how how we do it.

Going forward, what do you see as your new opportunities?

We have a business development team, led by David Lessing, who recently joined us after 30 years on Wall Street. His whole focus is to be out there looking for opportunities for growth. Some of our growth is organic; we call it “coming over the bow.” We've done a good job making Lessing's a household name out on Long Island and in New York. We have to cultivate leads and network with other professionals in our areas, which hopefully leads to acquisition opportunities in the future. We'll also do data mining through bidnet to keep aware of all the public RFPs, with a concentration now on the Northeast region.

We're trying to keep our growth contiguous, where we can move down the coast a little. We're looking at an RFP in Washington, where we're not currently. We're looking for smart growth. We got involved in the franchise because we knew it could be sustained growth. We have a commitment with Blaze. We have the five boroughs, all of Connecticut, all of Long Island, Rockland, Westchester, so we have plenty of territory to build out.

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tent, and people seem to respond to our being in touch with the changing needs of the foodservice industry,” she says.

“After all, we want to make a product we’re proud of and that we love to eat, too.”

The products most targeted for the foodservice industry are its rolls. “Our biggest ‘bread and butter’ is the hamburger rolls and hot dog rolls we sell,” says Martin with a laugh. “A lot of chains use them, and casual restaurants are picking up on that, too. The way to differentiate themselves from fast food is to have a great bun.”

A special product for the foodservice industry is the new 4-inch size roll for a big burger. “This is only for foodservice. A lot of our restaurants are switching over to those so they can offer a good-quality roll in a larger size,” she says.

The company also has a sesameseeded white roll, called Big Marty, that's actually become very popular. “Bobby Flay’s chain of restaurants, Bobby’s Burger Palace, uses the more traditional sesameseeded Big Marty burger roll, as do several other burger joints. Our high-protein wheat flour makes a more substantial, better-tasting roll than the average white roll,” she notes.

When making a gourmet burger, something that's better than a fast-food burger, the roll is very important, more important than people know, Martin points out.

“Pat LaFrieda, the king of beef, admitted to me that the bun's just as important as the beef. We love that a lot of people are seeing that beef is important but so is the bun. You can't take a cheap knock-off bun and think it's going to be a good burger experience,” she says. “If you want to raise the bar for a fabulous burger, you've got to have a great bun.”

Martin remembers that the company got a man who had a hot dog stand to try their potato rolls. “He was blown away.

He said, 'Can I use a banner, advertising I'm using your rolls? I never had anyone come back and say, “This is such a great hot dog,” before I started using your rolls.'

What makes us stand out from the crowd

is that food operators will sell more if people have a good experience. It will build a more loyal following,” she says.

An additional differentiator is the fact that Martin's Potato Rolls’ service turns on a dime. “Our service is fantastic,” Martin says. “Since we're family-owned, we're way more responsive in taking orders.

One of our customers is a sports stadium, and one of its restaurants using our product underestimated their order. A big game was happening, and they called in a panic, it was a holiday, what could they do? Our guy in the area left a family gathering and went and got more rolls and took them to the restaurant. That’s just one example of our motto in action: We’ll do ‘whatever it takes’ to serve our customers. We're better than a lot of companies with late orders and changed orders, and that's so important in foodservice, because someone will always underestimate or forget to order but our distribution guys are second to none. We're nimble; we can work very quickly.”

Another new product the company recently launched is a cinnamon-raisin swirl potato bread. “In taste tests, it has blown away the competition,” she says.

A product that's been around for a while but has become increasingly popular is the company's hoagie rolls. “We've seen nice new growth in our hoagie rolls because people use them for meatball subs and cheese steaks. Our hoagie roll is a white, Italian-type roll that tastes delicious and has a stable structure that holds up to whatever you want to put in it.”

Martin says her family is hoping that foodservice operators will begin to see its potato rolls as more than just for hamburgers and hot dogs. “Why not use them for PB&J and cold cuts, use them for other things throughout the year? They’re great for grilled cheese, lobster rolls, and anything else you can think of.”

For more information, go to www.potatorolls.com or call 800-548-1200.

FBAA, from page 82 on the World in the famous world Trade Center in New York City when the then Hilton entity was assuming operations of the iconic venue. Ms. Mouton Di Stefano later joined the Helmsley Park Lane as Director of Food & Beverage, where she led the teams of several outlets, including the beautifully appointed restaurant “The Park Room” overlooking Central Park South, the classically iconic Harry’s New York Bar, and the Culinary and Stewarding Departments. In addition, Gladys oversaw 24-hour room service, catering and the outdoor Café. Today, Gladys is President of At Your Service Party Consulting, a full-service event planning company drawing on Ms. DiStefano’s extensive experience and far-reaching network of professionals. For 20 years, Gladys served as President of The Food & Beverage Association of America, during which time the organization thrived under her leadership. Near to her heart is her 24 years of organizing the Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner for the Children’s Aid Society in Harlem.

Bryan O’Rourke came to the attention of Richard Raphael at Cardinal International and soon reached another milestone in his career as president of the corporation by age 35. The guidance and leadership provided by Richard Raphael is evidenced by “The Kid’s” creative application of the art of the deal, as he delivers both customer growth and satisfaction, while preserving the long-term security of Cardinal International. Bryan has masterfully guided Cardinal from a small distributor of glassware to its leading position as an integral part of Arc International, the largest tabletop supplier in the world.

Joseph Fontanals has 20 years of experience working in the food and

beverage hospitality sector. Joe’s NYC debut was in 2002, at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers serving as the hotel’s Executive Chef.

Joe is an active member of the Food & Beverage Association of America and was awarded the Food & Beverage President’s Award by the Association in 2009. Chef Joe is also a member of the Les Amis Escoffier

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Society of New York. Joe is active in the community and has offered his expertise to assist the Children’s Aid Society of New York providing meals to residents of the Harlem Community during the holiday season, has offered his knowledge to the NYC Public Schools of Harlem working on a sustainability project, nutrition and healthy eat-

ing programs and has worked with the New Jersey City schools providing both practical and theoretical information about culinary arts to the students.

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Hestan, from page 20

the world.”

Hestan Commercial is a premium appliance manufacturer specializing in high-end stainless steel commercial appliances and is a subsidiary of Meyer Corporation, the largest cookware supplier in the U.S. and the second largest in the world. Hestan Commercial was designed with input from some of the country's top chefs, including, Timothy Hollingsworth, Walter Manzke, Corey Lee, Rory Herrmann, Marcus Ware and Amar Santana, and renowned kitchen designer Mark Stech-Novak. The product line is built entirely in the United States.

Renowned for his culinary skills and his impeccable standards, Thomas Keller is the chef and proprietor of The French Laundry, a Yountville, California landmark that has been hailed as the finest restaurant in the world.

Ten years after opening this, his first restaurant, in 1994, he followed with Per Se, which brought his distinctive fine dining style to Manhattan. Today, both restaurants enjoy three-star Michelin ratings, making Keller the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious dining guide. Chef Keller has also opened Bouchon, Bar Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and Ad Hoc, each of which contributes to the new paradigm he has set within the hospitality industry. More than one million copies of Chef Keller's books, including the New York Times bestsellers "Ad Hoc at Home" and "Bouchon Bakery," and "The French Laundry," "Bouchon," and "Under Pressure," a book devoted to sous vide cooking, are in print. Keller was designated a Chevalier of The French Legion of

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Honor in 2011, the highest decoration in France, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to the traditions of French cuisine and his role in elevating cooking in America. He is only the third American culinary figure to be so honored.

Stanley Cheng is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Meyer Corporation, U.S., distributor of Circulon gourmet cookware. He is an engineer by training, with a penchant for developing technologically advanced products that enhance the experience of cooking at home. Established in 1981, Meyer Corporation, U.S. is the largest cookware company in the United States. Widely recognized cookware brands distributed

by Meyer Corporation, U.S. include: Circulon®, Anolon®, Farberware®, Ruffoni®, Cake Boss®, Rachael Ray®,

Paula Deen®, SilverStone®, BonJour® and FineT by IQ Innovations®. Together with wife Helen, Cheng also established the award-winning Hestan Vineyards in Napa Valley. Renowned for his innovative thinking and pursuit of excellence, Hestan Commercial is a worthy namesake for the company's latest commercial kitchen line.

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