June 2018 - Total Food Service by Total Food Service

NEWS HOTEL DINING CT Native Conant Debuts New Cellaio Concept At Catskills Casino

esorts World Catskills, New York’s largest commercial casino resort with a close proximity to Manhattan, continued its Grand Opening celebration late last month with the official opening of Chef Scott Conant’s Italian inspired steakhouse, Cellaio. The celebrated chef joined Resorts World Catskills executives, his culinary friends and VIP guests for a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a special opening reception to debut the restaurant. “The Catskills are important to me as I launched my career following my education at the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie. It is great to come back to the region to open Cellaio at this beautiful resort,” said Scott Conant. “The area

Chef Scott Conant

The Catskills are important to me as I launched my career following my education at the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie. It is great to come back to the region to open Cellaio at this beautiful resort,” said Scott Conant. is all about being inspired by the people and natural beauty, which is what Cellaio hopes to bring to the table to complement the Resorts World Catskills experience.” Cellaio offers Resort World Catskills’ guests an impeccable dining experience in both sophisticated indoor and outdoor settings. Translated to the term for a butcher’s pantry, Cellaio offers Conant’s take on the traditional steakhouse, complementing aged steaks with the antipasti, market salads and house made pastas that have become synonymous with Conant’s cooking. A relaxed bar and lounge greets guests upon arrival and leads to a spacious dining room featuring roomy crescent-shaped booths, communal seating and an interactive decanting station. Cellaio has a robust selection of over 500 wines. The extensive list is curated for novices and connoisseurs alike to expe-

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rience iconic Italian varietals along with boutique, half bottle and large format bottles. “We could not think of a more exciting way to continue our Grand Opening celebration than to join one of the country’s premier chefs to officially toast the opening of Cellaio at Resorts World Catskills,” said Kevin Kline, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Resorts World Catskills. “It is an honor to welcome Scott back to the Catskills, where he began his culinary journey, to bring this exceptional dining experience to our guests.” Another highlight of Resorts World Catskills’ Grand Opening celebration occurred with a thrilling performance from award-winning singer and songwriter Gavin DeGraw in the casino resort’s intimate 2,500 seat RW Epicenter. Born and raised in neighboring South Fallsburg, N.Y., DeGraw returned to his

Main Office 282 Railroad Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 Publishers Leslie & Fred Klashman Advertising Director Michael Scinto Art Director Mark Sahm Contributing Writers Warren Bobrow Faith Hope Consolo Morgan Tucker Fred Sampson Staff Writers Deborah Hirsch

Phone: 203.661.9090 Fax: 203.661.9325 Email: tfs@totalfood.com Web: www.totalfood.com

Cover Photo from Michael Symon Restaurants 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 2018 by IDA Publishing Inc. Contents in full or part may not be reproduced without permission. Not responsible for advertisers claims or statements. Periodicals Postage paid at the post office, Greenwich, CT and additional mailing offices. Additional entry at the post office in Pittsburgh, PA. Subscription rate in USA is $36 per year; single copy; $3.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Total Food Service, P.O. Box 2507, Greenwich, CT 06836

roots as the first musical act to perform in the RW Epicenter. A week prior, Resorts World Catskills hosted its inaugural performance with legendary comedian and producer Jerry Seinfeld delivering his signature stand-up routine on May 12. Resorts World Catskills also celebrated the completion of the first phase of its world-class

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NEWS

DISTRIBUTION

Imperial Dade Acquires Gulf Coast Paper Co., Inc.

mperial Dade has acquired Gulf Coast Paper Co., Inc. (“Gulf Coast Paper”). The transaction represents the sixteenth acquisition for Imperial Dade, a leading national distributor of disposable food service and janitorial supplies, under the leadership of Robert and Jason Tillis, CEO and President of Imperial Dade, respectively. “Gulf Coast Paper is a leading provider in the Texas market and will help us grow further in the Southwest region.” Headquartered in Victoria, Texas,

Gulf Coast Paper is a distributor of janitorial, sanitation, packaging and office supply products serving the southeast Texas region. The company operates out of seven strategically located facilities covering the major metro areas of Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Houston, and San Antonio. The acquisition represents Imperial Dade’s first expansion into the Texas market. Going forward, customers of Gulf Coast Paper can expect the same exceptional customized service with an expanded offering of distribution solutions. Robert Tillis said, “Gulf Coast Paper’s

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history of excellence and commitment to service will fit well with the Imperial Dade platform. We enthusiastically welcome the Gulf Coast Paper team members to Imperial Dade and look forward to working together to further grow the business.” Clay Dibble, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Gulf Coast Paper, said, “Over the past 50 years, we have aimed to exceed our customers’ expectations. Our ability to do so will improve going forward under this new partnership. On behalf of the Gulf Coast Paper team, I look forward to

growing under the leadership of Bob, Jason, and the Imperial Dade organization.” “This acquisition is a critical step in our vision at Imperial Dade of creating the nation’s leading provider of food service disposables and janitorial supplies,” said Jason Tillis. “Gulf Coast Paper is a leading provider in the Texas market and will help us grow further in the Southwest region.” Founded in 1935, Imperial Dade is a leading distributor of disposable food service and janitorial supplies in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest regions and Puerto Rico. Since CEO Robert Tillis and President Jason Tillis assumed their roles in 2007, the company has grown both organically and through acquisitions to become a leader in the disposable food service and janitorial supplies industry

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NEWS

ACQUISITIONS

MGM Doubles Down on Northeast Expansion with Empire City Casino/Yonkers Raceway Acquisition

mpire City Casino and Yonkers Raceway announced a deal late last month to sell to MGM Resorts for $850 million, ending the 46-year ownership by the Rooney family and giving the casino giant a major gambling hall just 15 miles from Times Square. MGM announced that it would purchase the iconic harness track and the casino with 5,222 videolottery terminals from the Rooneys, which has owned the facility since 1972. “We are excited to announce the addition of Empire City to the MGM Resorts portfolio,” said Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. “This acquisition represents an excellent opportunity to further solidify our presence on the East Coast, and in particular, expand our reach into the high-density New York City region.” MGM Resorts and MGP have entered into an agreement whereby MGP will acquire the developed real property associated with Empire City from MGM Resorts and lease it back to a subsidiary of MGM Resorts, after which a subsidiary of MGM Resorts will operate

This acquisition represents an excellent opportunity to further solidify our presence on the East Coast, and in particular, expand our reach into the high-density New York City region,” said Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. the property. The wealthy Rooney family has been considering a sale of Empire City and Yonkers Raceway for years and announced in November it had hired J.P. Morgan to help consider either a sale or new partnership. For MGM, the purchase gives it a larger footprint in the Northeast and one of the largest slots-type parlors in the New York metropolitan area at a time when competition for the gambling dollar is fierce. But the Las Vegas-based company is banking on New York allowing full-scale casino licenses in the region as early as 2021, per current state law, as

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well as New York moving ahead with sports betting in the near future. Indeed, MGM Resorts said it would pay $50 million as part of the sale if Empire City is awarded a gaming license by December 31, 2022.The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals. MGM will now compete in the New York City area with another gambling giant, Genting, which owns Resorts World New York City at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Billionaire KT Lim, the chairman of the Malaysia-based Genting, owns Resorts World Catskills in Monticello,

Sullivan County. MGM is also set to open a $1 billion casino in Springfield, Mass., this summer, and it owns the Borgata in Atlantic City. Yonkers Raceway opened in 1899, and the video-lottery terminals were added in 2006 after New York passed a law in 2001 to let its racetracks add the slot-machine-like devices. Over the past year, there has been discussions about possibly moving the harness track to Belmont Park on Long Island to open up the Yonkers facility to further development, such as a hotel, retail and housing. “Our vision for this property has always been to develop it into one of the world’s greatest entertainment destinations,” said Tim Rooney, president and CEO of Empire City, said in a statement. “We have been a partner of New York state and its communities for 46 years, and it was important to us that we identify an entity that could build on the strong foundation we have established and bring our vision to fruition. “We are confident we have found that in MGM Resorts, one of the premier gaming entities in the world.”

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EYE

NATIONAL FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

Tri-State Foodservice Community Descends on Windy City For 2018 National Restaurant Association Show

he 99th annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show® was held at Chicago’s McCormick Place from May 19-22. As the foodservice industry’s largest and most comprehensive annual event worldwide, the Show brought together a wide range of industry sectors in one space. At more than 715,000 square feet it was the largest Show ever, and once again welcomed more than 65,000 total registrants. Over 110 countries were represented at this year’s Show as were all 50 states and the District of Columbia. “This year’s National Restaurant Association Show represented a dynamic portrayal of today’s foodservice industry,” said 2018 Show Convention Chair Dickie Brennan, owner and managing partner of Dickie Brennan & Company. “Exhibitors showcased innovative products and services aimed at solving the challenges facing operators today. With Fortune 500 exhibitors and those as small as a four-person startup all delivering critical solutions, the excitement was palpable throughout all four days.” “The Show added a number of features to educate and inspire attendees this year,” said Brennan. “From opportunities for crowdsourced discussion, sessions on personal wellness, an insightful examination of the future of the restaurant industry, to a stadium-sized concert, the Association demonstrated its commitment to

perpetual evolution.” the high-quality of at“We have seen growth tendees, and the level from key regions, both of engagement we had domestically and interwith buyers across our nationally,” said Mary Pat 12 brands.” Heftman, National Res“One of the main taurant Association Execreasons that I always utive Vice President. “This come to the National year we had strong growth Restaurant Association from some of the largest Show is to get inspired international attendee by the people that come groups including a 16% in from all over the increase from Mexico, world,” said Carrie Brit15% increase from Brazil, ton, owner of the Funky President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, and 19% from Australia. Door in Lubbock, Texas. Dawn Sweeney Growth also came from “The Show always ofall corners of the U.S., infers some new idea, cluding 6% growth from some twist. Every time Texas, 4% from New York, I come home I’ve got a 5% from Florida, 2% from huge list of all the new California, and a huge things that I learned. 17% jump from MassaWe’re about to build our chusetts. That growth is second store. It’s awea clear result of the qualsome to hear about the ity we deliver year after people that have been year—the quality of the in similar situations that content, the quality of the have, you know, grown exhibitors, and the qualfrom one to now twenty Massimo Bottura and The Bellavita Pavilion brought Italy to the Show ity of attendees—that all stores.” with artisan products and demos by Italian chefs for four days of contribute to solutions Thousands of chain amazing food, extraordinary wine, and superb dishes. and ideas that move their restaurateurs and large business ahead. independents, along In addition, the Show dor and others. “No other Show delivwith representatives boasted a robust international exhibiers such a diverse set of products and from the top dealer/distributor, retor presence, offering 24 international exhibitors,” said Heftman. tail, and contract management orgapavilions this year, with new exhibits “This year’s Show had a fantastic nizations, filled this year’s Show. The added from Japan, France, Thailand, energy and vibrancy to it,” said CaitShow’s attendance included: Scotland, Spain, and Greece to go lin Rodgers, VP Marketing Communi• 94 of the top 100 restaurant along with stalwarts from Italy’s Belcations and Services for Welbilt. “We lavita Pavilion, China, Germany, Ecuawere very pleased with our lead count, continued on page 10

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National Restaurant Association Show, from page 8

Attendees had the opportunity to learn the latest cooking practices and trends from acclaimed chefs such as (L) Worst Cooks in America host Anne Burrell and (R) Chef/Owner of Morimoto Restaurants, Masahura Morimoto

brands • Contract management representation from Compass, Sodexo, Aramark, Delaware North, Elior, Centerplate and Legends • Dealer/Distributor representation from Sysco, US Foods, Clark Associates, Boelter, TriMark, Wasserstrom and Edward Don • Representation from the world’s largest retail chains including Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, Ahold, Publix, Target and H-E-B Taking on the challenges facing today’s restaurateurs in an all-new, inspiring format, the National Restaurant Association introduced its first-ever Restaurant Revenue Growth Conference. Business leaders Billy Beane, Scott Svenson, and Jon Taffer headlined the conference. The conferees enjoyed hearing Beane’s stories about having Brad Pitt play him in a major motion picture but were equally enthralled with Beane’s discussion about how he transformed an industry with the application of data insights and discipline, and how restaurateurs can do that to their businesses. Sven-

son talked with the audience about how his MOD Pizza chain has grown rapidly not only because of a great concept and great food, but because of their people-first corporate culture that MOD terms “Pizza with a Purpose.” Taffer wrapped up the two-day conference with an inspirational talk that encouraged conferees to go back and put the lessons they learned over the previous two days into immediate action. In addition to a full schedule of business-building activity, attendees loosened their ties and put on their party clothes for two new Show events. On Saturday night, the Show’s annual Restaurants Rock event took on a new format—a private concert with fourtime Grammy winner Keith Urban at the new Wintrust Arena. Urban brought the house down in a fantastic celebration of the restaurant industry. On Sunday night, the Show partnered with Choose Chicago and the Illinois Restaurant Association to host the Chicago STARS Mixology Competition, sponsored by Beam Suntory, at Lettuce Entertain You’s all-new The Dalcy event space in Fulton Market. Jarmel Doss, Assistant Beverage Director from the Aviary, bested the

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Renowned futurist Daniel Burrus led conversations about technologies set to disrupt the restaurant business.

competition from 10 of Chicago’s top bars, restaurants and hotels. National Restaurant Association Show Highlights: Signature ’18 welcomed 66th Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice for a discussion with President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association Dawn Sweeney. Their lively conversation touched on U.S. foreign policy, international relations, and national security. Dr. Rice shared global insights into current issues and events during her address, followed by a question and answer session with Sweeney. Dr. Rice talked about the importance of building a more confident country at home. She said the application of technology and innovation, if done right, could help us achieve that goal. “We have assets now … technology and innovation … that are truly remarkable,” said Dr. Rice. “But, technology is neutral. It can be good or bad depending on how it is applied. It can be the answer to a lot of our problems. But if it is not applied correctly, it could increase the gap between those who have and those who do not.” She called upon the audience to join together in a recommitment to human

potential. SuperSession: The Future of Restaurants covered the future of the industry—both from technological and non-tech perspectives. This session featured global futurist and innovation expert Daniel Burrus. Additional participating experts included John Miller (CaliGroup), Sarah Lockyer (Winsight Media), and John Ha (Bear Robotics). Panelists discussed that facial recognition, robotics, voice-assistants, and autonomous delivery vehicles are all coming soon to a restaurant near you. Yet, despite the coming advances in robotics and automation, “we cannot eliminate the human touch” in restaurants, said John Ha, CEO of Bear Robotics. No one wants to “dine in a factory.” Lockyer added that not every technology is right for every restaurant. It must be brand-appropriate and additive to the experience. World Culinary Showcase featured celebrity chefs from across the country. Attendees had the opportunity to learn the latest cooking practices and trends from acclaimed chefs such as Worst Cooks in America host Anne Burrell, James Beard Award-winner

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SEDERHOLT ON RESTAURANT FINANCE

Finding Restaurant Gold In Crappy Locations

was really amused when the President made the pronouncement that certain countries were “Sh*tholes” implying they weren’t worthy of consideration as part of the great American dream. Forget the partisan politics and political correctness of the statement because as an entrepreneur and businessman, I thought that Mr. Trump would appreciate the value of marginal markets and crappy locations. I profited from this understanding years ago and so did he. In my early life I was in the restaurant business. My first place was located on the exclusive Upper East Side of Manhattan. Right on Madison Avenue I was in the middle of New York’s “Silk Stocking District” and “Museum Mile”. Here I was in one of the richest markets in the world and I was prepared to be busy all the time. The irony of this location was that the people who lived there had LOTS of disposable income and counter to my initial logic, this presented a problem for my budding new restaurant. Having abundant disposable income became the problem because they had limitless options as to where they would go, when they would travel and what appealed to them that day. These people had weekend homes in the Hamptons; went on vacation a few times a year; took winter trips to the Caribbean; winter ski trips to Aspen and could

Most of my restaurant friends thought [my new restaurant] was in a sh*tty location. Boy were they wrong and I went on to open more restaurants and the formula held true.

David Sederholt is the Senior Advisor to management at Strategic Funding,

go to the theater and symphony every night. Summertime on the Upper East Side was a ghost town. My prime location and well healed customer base forced me to struggle for years to manage my cash flow and operations. My customers were really wonderful people but the fact was that my audience didn’t really need me. I worked hard at it for 10 years and addressed an underserved market at that time – catering to their brownstones and Park Avenue apartments. Ironically a seeming gold mine that turned into a sh*tty market. I grew up in Bay Ridge Brooklyn and I remembered from early on that the restaurant and bars in that community were vibrant and active for many years. The community was filled with working class people and middle level Wall Street workers but no one was really considered wealthy. Cops and firemen, electricians and plumbers, dock workers, nurses and teachers filled the homes that many worked hard to by. They

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regularly went out to their favorite restaurants, bars, pizzerias and special occasion places. Caterers were busy with weddings and christenings. These people enjoyed a vacation a year, but weren’t going to the Hamptons to hang out at celebrity parties. Learning from that reflection, I opened my next restaurant in a neighborhood that was “gentrifying” (aka – sh*thole with Yuppies and artists moving in). This place looked a bit dicey and was filled with working class people who worked hard and scrapped together enough to buy a row house but had tight budgets. For many, vacations involved loading up their mini-vans and going to a family resort in the Poconos if they were lucky. Their idea of a beach resort was an above ground pool in their tiny back yard. Their mini-vacation was coming to my bar to let off steam or treat their family for dinner on a special occasion. Most of my restaurant friends thought this was a sh*tty location. Boy were they wrong

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

and I went on to open more restaurants and the formula held true. We became part of the community and served food they liked and understood at prices they could afford. The atmosphere that was comfortable and not fancy with a staff of locals so that everyone felt at home. Consistency was the key as my customers didn’t have a lot of disposable income to experiment on the culinary gymnastics of white table cloth Chef. They needed to know it would be good every time. The place

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MIXOLOGY

WITH WARREN BOBROW

Lemonade Four Ways

hat are those things in your walk-in? Yellow in color and oh, so many of them in a case! They are, of course- lemons. And going forward towards the sticky season when you just cannot get any cooler, yet everything that you do to get cool- well, let’s just say they get hotter! And the lemons? Well my friends, they are there to make lemonade. A simple enough concoction of tart, to bitter, to sweet, to sour and back again. Behind the stick, there is nothing that beats lemonade for shear refreshment.

Heading into the Wind! Ingredients: • 2 oz. Foursquare Rum • 5 oz. Roasted Lemonade • 1 pinch sea salt • Splash Seltzer • Angostura Bitters Preparation: 1. Roast your halved lemons, coated in Demerara Sugar and Angostura Bitters in a 275-degree oven for an hour to yield 1 cup of roasted

lemon juice (you’ll need many!) 2. Raw honey simple. 1 cup Raw Honey to 1 cup just under boiling water, mix to combine 3. Use this lemonade in the Swizzle... 4. Foursquare Rum- Seek it out! 5. To a Collins Glass, add ice, then a sprig of mint. Add the caramelized lemonade 6. Float the Rum on top 7. Splash Seltzer 8. Dot with Angostura 9. Use a funky straw! 10. Add a pinch of sea salt just before serving!

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

Basic Lemonade - Cocktail Whisperer Style Ingredients: • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1 cup raw honey simple syrup • 3 cups ice cold spring water • Pinch of Kosher Salt

AJ’s Sour Lemonade Ingredients: • 4 oz. Basic Lemonade • .25 oz. Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters - sort of smells like fuel? • 1 oz. Lemon Marmalade • 3 oz. Vodka • Ice

Preparation: Combine the ingredients into a pitcher and add sprigs of fresh mint just before serving if desired and rounds of freshly sliced lemons

Preparation: 1. Add all the ingredients to a Boston Shaker, filled ¾ with ice 2. Shake darned hard for 30 seconds or so 3. Strain into Coupe glasses and dot with more lemon or even grapefruit bitters if necessary

The next lemonade is a tad spicy and caramelized, not only from the roasted lemons, but from the highquality rum from Foursquare Caramelized Lemonade with Foursquare Rum Swizzle You know what a swizzle stick is, right? 14 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

Sometimes you want to twist things up a bit more with your lemonade. Tart Cherry juice is the excuse that you will need in this situation.

Mocktails, & Tonics.

The Cherry juice adds color and sweetness to a tart glass of lemonade. I recommend using the tarter of the two lemonades, that one is the roasted lemonade. Add more sugar if desired. Tart Cherry Lemonade Surprise! (light drink, with Fino Sherry) Ingredients: • 1 oz. Fresh Tart Cherry Juice • 6 oz. Freshly prepared roasted lemonade • 2 oz. Fino Sherry • Ice Preparation: 1. Add the liquid ingredients to a Boston Shaker filled ¾ with ice 2. Cap and shake darned hard for 30 or so seconds 3. Pour into coupe glasses 4. Serve!

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INDUSTRY OPINION

CONTRIBUTED BY TRACY NIEPORENT

Why NYC Restaurant Week Matters

hen it comes to dining out, there are more events, festivals, and celebrations than ever before. On any given weekend, you can almost always find a street fair or farmers’ market. But of all the culinary activities that can satiate one’s culinary muse, none is more beloved or celebrated than New York City’s Summer and Winter Restaurant Weeks. Since the Summer of 1992, New Yorkers and guests from all over the world have embraced this culinary celebration of quality, variety, and hospitality that makes New York City one of the dining capitals of the world. More than any other culinary event, New York City’s Restaurant Week brings together a community of restaurants to celebrate all of

More than any other culinary event, New York City’s Restaurant Week brings together a community of restaurants to celebrate all of the elements that make dining out meaningful to our guests. Tracy Nieporent is Partner/Director of

the elements that make dining out meaningful to our guests. At the restaurants that I’m personally affilated with—Tribeca Grill, Bâtard, and Nobu Downtown, we take pride in offering savory dishes representative of the best that our menus have to offer. We also offer a setting in which family, friends, and colleagues can spend a memorable time together and cre-

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ate new memories. And we try to do it with professional service, pride, and civility. Tim Zagat and Joe Baum had an inspired idea when they implemented the first Restaurant Week in 1992 when the Democrats were holding their presidential Convention at Madison Square Garden. NYC was going through economic doldrums, and there was a need to create some excitement for both New Yorkers and the convention delegates who were visiting. What started with a few dozen restaurants serving Lunch for one week in the Summer has now evolved into a program with close to 400 restaurants serving both Lunch and Dinner, for 4 weeks in the Summer and 3 weeks in the Winter. More than 40 neighborhoods in all five boroughs are serving up more than 30 international cuisines. Our guests can dine the world without leaving the city limits. This Summer (from Monday July 23rd through Friday August 17th), Lunch will be two courses for $26, and Dinner will consist of three

Marketing of the Myriad Restaurant Group, which includes Tribeca Grill, Bâtard, and Nobu. Since 2004, he has also served as Chairman of the Restaurant Committee of NYC & Company, helping to oversee the administration of NYC Restaurant Week.

courses for $42, a significant value. New York City’s marketing arm, NYC & Company, does an inspired job of providing the infrastructure for the event, and the city’s best restaurants want to be part of it. After all these years, our guests continue to embrace restaurant Week because they enjoy the great value, while being part of something so special. The graciousness of a well-prepared and professionally served meal is one of life’s genuine pleasures. Ultimately, what makes NYC Restaurant Week important is that we all share it together. It’s the sense of camaraderie that makes New York City’s restaurant community one of the finest in the world.

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MEET THE NEWSMAKER

Scott Dolch Executive Director, Connecticut Restaurant Association

n April, 2018, The Connecticut Restaurant Association (CRA), named Scott Dolch as its new executive director. Dolch is entrusted with leading CRA’s efforts in promoting, protecting and improving the state’s restaurant industry. He takes control of the organization just as it’s in the middle of a major lobbying effort to block legislation that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021. Dolch has more than 15 years experience in sales, marketing and communications working for the Travelers Championship, the University of Connecticut, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and, most recently, the University of Hartford. Farmington-based CRA said it represents the state’s restaurant industry, which employs more than 150,000 workers and generates more than $7.5 billion annually. What are some of the key issues that your members are facing? Restaurant owners and operators are concerned with the future direction of the state, as some of the recent legislative mandates have made it difficult for small businesses to operate in our state. As the Executive Director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, it is vital for me to advocate to our state legislators every day. They need to know that growth in the restaurant and hospitality industry will benefit everyone in Connecticut. Some of the key issues that we were successful in lobbying against during the recent 2018 legislative session were:

• • • • • • • •

Minimum Wage Increases Tip Wage Increases Expansion of Paid Sick Leave Predictive Scheduling Paid Family Medical Leave Added Sexual Harassment Training Added Allergy Awareness & Training Surveillance Video Legislation

We at the CRA pride ourselves on being the “Industry of Opportunity.” These proposed legislative mandates would have had a negative impact not only on our industry, but on the entire state. All we hear about is the $15 min wage in NYC… is it on the table in CT? Minimum Wage is currently $10.10 per hour in Connecticut (9th Highest in the Country) and the minimum tip-wage for a server is $6.38 and a bartender is $8.23. State legislators tried to pass a bill that would have increased minimum wage up to $15 and the tip-wage would have increased, as it is tied to the state’s minimum wage. We at the CRA made a strong push to oppose any increases to minimum wage. Proposed increases would cause restaurant owners to make tough decisions in order to survive. This would include cutting jobs, decreasing hours for employees and increased costs to the consumers. Also, this increase would eliminate opportunities for first-time job seekers and non-skilled workers. As we look at the replacement for Governor Malloy, without endors-

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ing a specific candidate, what is CRA looking for? Unfortunately, Connecticut’s economic growth and performance has been in the news recently for all of the wrong reasons. The U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the state’s GDP shrank 0.2%, which is the second worst performance in the country. Also, Connecticut has recovered just 80% of all jobs lost in the 2008-2010 recession, which is the slowest recovery in New England. The CRA is looking for leaders who will make the states’ economy a top

Scott Dolch, Executive Director, Connecticut Restaurant Association

priority. Small businesses need less mandates and added support from our elected officials in order for them

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Scott Dolch, from page 18 to grow. We are hopeful that a positive change in leadership will help put Connecticut in the news for all of the right reasons, as it is a great place to live and work. What’s the CRA’s position on legalizing marijuana? And sports gambling? Neither of these two issues are top priorities for the CRA, but we are keeping a close eye on both pieces of legislation, not only in Connecticut, but throughout the country. We are consistently communicating with other states’ restaurant associations and the National Restaurant Association to see how these mandates and other mandates have affected the restaurant and hospitality industry in those areas. What events are upcoming on the CRA calendar that our reader should

know about? Our two big annual events each year are: • 2018 CRA Golf Classic – Tuesday, June 26 at Country Club of Waterbury • 2018 Salute to Excellence Awards – Monday, December 3 at Foxwoods Resort Casino Also, I’m trying to get out around the state to meet with past, present and future members. Our first-kickoff networking event will be held in Fairfield County and hosted by CRA Board Member Michael Marchetti at his restaurant, Columbus Park in Stamford. The event will be on Monday, June 25 beginning at 4pm and we are encouraging all restaurant owners and operators in the area to attend. Any new benefits that potential members should know about? In addition to the advocacy that we

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provide on behalf of our members, I’m working hard on the current and future partner benefits that will help Connecticut Restaurateurs succeed. My goal is to increase the services we can provide for all of our partners, these services includes food vendors, healthcare, legal services, liquor permitting, job board, payroll processing, marketing services, energy suppliers, POS technology, credit card processing and much more. Why should a restaurant consider membership? The CRA has a proven record of protecting industry interests as we strive to improve the business environment for restaurants by advocating on a slate of national, state and local issues. We are constantly working to improve the restaurant industry, provide better support and cultivate the next generation of foodservice leaders. The goal is

to provide as much value as possible to all of our members. Next Step for an operator that would like more info? CTRestaurant.org… but I would give them my personal email (dolch@ ctrestaurant.org), as I want to try to meet as many restaurateurs face-toface as I can. Taking the time to meet people one-on-one in the industry will not only help me succeed as an Executive Director, but will help us achieve the goals of the CRA. The CRA is looking for leaders who will make the states’ economy a top priority. Small businesses need less mandates and added support from our elected officials in order for them to grow. We are hopeful that a positive change in leadership will help put Connecticut in the news for all of the right reasons, as it is a great place to live and work.

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

NEWS

CATERING

Burke And Correale Team To Create New Catering Venture

ndrea Correale, President and Founder of Elegant Affairs, and celebrity Chef David Burke, of Tavern 62 and Woodpecker, among many other highly acclaimed restaurants, have announced their exclusive catering collaboration, David Burke Off-Premise Catering, a full-service catering company for weddings, corporate gatherings, and social events. The famous culinary duo, who have been friends for decades, will bring their signature gastronomic styles and expertise to create bespoke catering packages and curate events in New York City, the Hamptons and New Jersey, with plans to expand operations in the coming months. Instantly recognizable for their culinary talents and experience in New York City and beyond, David Burke and Andrea Correale’s plan

Chef David Burke

to expand David Burke Off-Premise Catering to become the fastest growing off-premise residential and corporate caterers in New York City. The team will specialize in weddings, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, corporate events, and social gatherings. In addition, their partnership has a stronghold in the corporate entertaining arena – from small-scale meetings to large scale events and galas, political fundraisers, and media events. Upon graduating from the Hotel and Restaurant Management program at New York Institute of Technology Andrea Correale founded Elegant Affairs, a full service offpremise catering and event planning company. It began small and quickly grew. Just eight years after its start the company expanded, moving into an eight thousand square foot facility producing over

Andrea Correale

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

The famous culinary duo, who have been friends for decades, will bring their signature gastronomic styles and expertise to create bespoke catering packages and curate events in New York City, the Hamptons and New Jersey, with plans to expand operations in the coming months. 600 events per year. Andrea’s infectious personality and expertise prompted requests from L’Oreal Paris Academy and Lenox China to represent their brands as a lifestyle and entertaining expert. Andrea can often be seen in her many appearances as the celebrity caterer to the stars on Bravo, CBS, FOX, HGTV, MTV, NBC, and VH1. As a regular contributor to Hamptons Magazine, 25A Magazine, and Social Life Magazine, Andrea’s goal is to encourage home cooks to make the ordinary extraordinary using simple ingredients in unexpected ways. Andrea Correale is committed to providing the best food, service and overall experience; precisely why Elegant Affairs is known as the go to caterer for the Long Island

Gold Coast, Manhattan and the Hamptons. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, award-winning chef David Burke’s 25-year career is decorated with honors that pay homage to his respected culinary skill, creative whimsy, and philanthropic efforts, including appearances on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, and receiving a US patent for his pink Himalayan salt dry-age technique for steaks. In Fall 2015, David Burke joined ESquared Hospitality to work as a culinary partner on new and innovative concepts. In September 2016, David Burke and ESquared Hospitality opened BLT Prime by David Burke in Washington D.C., followed by Tavern62 by David Burke, a modern American tavern in New York’s Upper East Side, in October of 2016.

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

LITTLE M. TUCKER

WITH MORGAN TUCKER

Post Restaurant Show Trends For The Summer

he team behind LMT has just returned from this year’s National Restaurant Association show. We previewed what to expect in the coming months and we can’t wait to share our finds with you. Here are the developments that have us buzzing with excitement going into summer. Summer Sparkle Metals in a wide range of tones and finishes can now grace your buffet, in addition to your bar and tabletop. American Metalcraft and Front of the House presented metal vessels and utensils for large-format applications. Paderno presented an affordable collection of mini copper cookware. Even vintage finished metals are being used in new and fabulous ways. Steelite introduced a range of accessory cheese knives that match our exclusive Prime Cru collection to keep your Stilton in style and your Parmesan on point. Copper Glow, from Villeroy & Boch, is a diverse new range that combines metallic tones with classic porcelain. A handpainted, rosy copper finish is applied to Villeroy’s elegant white body, creating a celestial collection that’s unlike any other. It contrasts beautifully with the copper-brown accents of La Scala Patina. Rustic yet refined, La Scala Patina’s copper rim application fades in and out of the décor to give the classic pattern a warm, vintage touch. Revol also continues to push the boundaries of table-

Morgan Tucker is Director of Business

top design. Touch the night sky with their new gold-brushed Solstice collection. Metallic platinum, gold, and copper tones dance with Revol’s rich true black porcelain, playing with light and creating a truly unique look for the table. Deep, high-gloss red floods the plates and bowls of Solar Storm, bringing high drama. Overall, tone and texture are king in this bold collection. Sensuous Summer Bodies Hepburn by Nude Glass is an elegant study in height. This long-stemmed coupe made its stunning debut at the show. It anchors a new collection of stylish, graceful glasses of various heights, and serves as a voluptuous supplement to an elegant tabletop package. Pair this cocktail coupe with Stem Zero – Nude’s striking, skinnystemmed wineglass collection. Stem Zero relaunched at NRA with a new Ion coating to make this line one of the most durable and refined on the

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

market. Speaking of curves, Crucial Detail’s signature pitchers got some line extensions last month. Our favorite curvy lady is now available in 17 and 25 oz capacities. Who’s coming to the circus? Today’s tabletop is a study in textural variety, and glassware is no exception. Big Top from Nude Glass features striking, ribbed etching along its sides and an elegant sheer rim. We love this contemporary and lively rendition of a midcentury modern aesthetic. A rounded heavy base adds a playful element – picture an elephant balancing on a ball at the circus – but its marvelous $5 cost is no joke. Big Top is certain to be a ringleader – no lion tamer required! If your party does get out of hand, a new stackable beverage pitcher from our friend at Drinique is the perfect accessory – unbreakable Tritan co-polyester can handle anything. ROSÉ, all day, all summer

Development at M. Tucker, a division of Singer Equipment Company. Ms. Tucker works with a wide diversity of acclaimed restaurateurs, celebrated chefs, and industry leaders across the U.S. Andrew Beres, Sarah Bulmer and Morgan Tucker curate LMT. LMT is a curated portfolio of tabletop collections. Our products speak to a contemporary aesthetic while occasionally borrowing from the past. To consult with our team, please email littlemtucker@mtucker.com..

We’re outfitting tabletops all over the country to match our favorite drink of the season. LMT has expanded our Chena collection from Anfora Mexico with Chena Pink, a collection of four coupe plates in our exclusive matte pink. You can visit the Happiest Hour in New York City to see these brand new plates in action. Homer Laughlin presented Terrace, a collection of candy-colored dinnerware on the classic scalloped Carolyn body that complements Chena Pink beautifully. Bauscher Hepp introduced their new partnership with Emsa to offer every color coffee server you could dream of and, as usual, we’re partial to pink. We’re so excited to introduce new products from our factory partners. For inquiries and more of the latest trends, please visit www.littlemtucker.com or contact littlemtucker@mtucker. com. Written by Andrew Beres, Sarah Bulmer, and Morgan Tucker.

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

TRENDS

BY JOY POUROS FROM CULINARY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

2018 and Beyond: Hospitality Foodservice Trends That Benefit The Business Bottom Line

otel restaurants and foodservice are under pressure to remain competitive in an ever-changing landscape. Running a successful operation requires a delicate balance of constant ingenuity and a pragmatic mindset. What separates a fad and a lasting trend? It can be devastating to invest time and resources in securing new suppliers, training staff, and making significant menu or operational changes only for a trend to go out of style as fast as it came in. It’s a huge opportunity when a trend also happens to make business sense. We’ve taken a look at trends from this year and identified several that are here to stay that will also have a positive impact on your business’ bottom line. Reducing Food Waste Between poor storage practices, lapses in supply chains, and prep and

It can be devastating to invest time and resources in securing new suppliers, training staff, and making significant menu or operational changes only for a trend to go out of style as fast as it came in. consumer waste, much of the food purchased by restaurant goes into landfills. That is why we love this trend – while there are several non-financial reasons to reduce food waste, it’s also cost effective for restaurants and hotels and a good business decision. In a study of over 700 businesses, every $1 invested in food waste reduction led to a median $14 in cost savings. There are several ways to go about reducing food waste. Diving into your supply chain, food storage practices, and other operational procedures can

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

quantify exactly how much food is going to waste and help you identify areas where you have the most to gain, and thus where to focus your efforts and investments. Once you have identified what is going to waste, developing menu items that use more of what you are already buying, and therefore reducing how much you are throwing away, not only help to reduce food waste but can also potentially monetize more of your inventory. Finally, set a plan in place for what cannot be used or prevented: for example, composting leftover produce. In addition to financial objectives, reducing food waste elevates your standing in the community, with your stakeholders, and with informed and engaged consumers. Food waste contributes to overflowing landfills, greenhouse gas emissions, water and land consumption, and pesticide use. And while it is the right thing to do regardless of who knows

about it, communicating your efforts can attract more customers. Increasing Ingredient Transparency Menus have gotten a little more complicated than they once were. People want to know what to expect, and while that desire used to be assuaged with a general description of the dish, now customers want to know where the food was sourced and additional information about ingredients that will be used. Some of that push comes from the recent influx in consumers striving to eat ethically. However, this is defined differently for individuals. This can include organic, vegetarian, vegan, locally sourced, non-GMO, sustainably sourced, and many other considerations. It’s impractical for most to adhere to every ingredient concern, but it’s important to customers to understand which dishes do comply with any of these qualifiers. While it’s trendy for some, it has life altering consequences for others. Food allergies, including life threatening ones, are on the rise. Restaurants should heavily consider adding allergen notices on their menus. In particular, most major food allergen reactions are caused by just eight food items: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and crustacean shellfish. This isn’t even taking into account food sensitivities or intolerances, which are

continued on page 88

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

NEWS

LABOR COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS

Easily Optimize Your Menu with Historical Data Take on slumping sales in an ever-changing competitive landscape with a scalable menu strategy

he value war is back in full swing thanks to the rollout of McDonald’s new $1, $2, $3 menu – a strategic approach that’s showing early signs of success in winning back the 500 million customer visits that executives say they’ve lost since 2012. It also has fast food competitors quick on their feet, responding with their own BOGOs, promos, and value menu items. Which got us thinking … how do large restaurant brands with thousands of locations turn their menus on a dime either when sales are slumping or a competitor sneaks in with a solid menu engineering strategy? And what can other emerging and growing brands do to make similar business decisions on what to throw out, what to add, what to keep, and what menu items to put on promotional repeat? The Future of Menu Engineering At its core, menu engineering is trying to answer the question: are your inventory, recipes, menu design and pricing strategy driving the maximum profitability? A well-engineered menu can drive traffic, increase sales and guest satisfaction; it also helps control the

A well-engineered menu can drive traffic, increase sales and guest satisfaction; it also helps control the cost of food and waste. A poorly engineered menu can easily drive a restaurant out of business. cost of food and waste. A poorly engineered menu can easily drive a restaurant out of business – as seen in many episodes of Kitchen Nightmares. While menu engineering, food cost analysis, and calculating plate costs against commodity prices and marketing promotions are not new concepts, they are getting renewed attention because of sophisticated predictive analytics and the application of machine learning to the process. The advanced modeling is also the secret sauce helping financial planning and analysis, culinary, marketing and procurement teams optimize their pricing decisions, deliver pre-

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

dictable promotions at the right time, and effectively manage stock levels to support overall predicted demand. Menu & Recipe Modeling to Accurately Predict Future Success Today, data needs to be analyzed in context to produce any meaningful insight. But not everyone has a staff of expert statisticians waiting in the wings to analyze your next move. This is where machine learning, advanced forecasting and predictive analytics come into play. Connected data in an intelligent back office platform can analyze a whole host of historical data collected. Think KPIs like: • Sales Per Head • Total Sales

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Gross Average Check Per Cover Total Food Costs Food Cost Per Head Stock Value Stock turnover Actuals vs. Theoreticals Basket Analysis Food Costs % Trending promotions as a % of gross sales Trending total promotion amount Most expensive promotion item Commodity prices by region

Analyzing the ongoing collection of data produces predictable insights, like: • The impact of ingredient costs • The profit margin of a proposed menu price • Your most profitable menu items for a particular region during a particular type of event • Working backwards from a sales goal and profitability target to assess the best ingredients and a recipe that increases average check sizes These insights can help above-store

planners make sweeping decisions to drive overall company profitability and revenue growth. When deployed down at the store level, intelligent back-office platforms can deliver ontime recommended insights for optimizing a sudden increase in traffic or an extra case of apples. (NOTE: this is far more applicable in organizations without centralized stock management.) Did Starbucks Use Advanced Modeling to Determine a Price Increase? When you’re making a decision to increase the price of a beverage at Starbucks, there’s a lot on the line. How did Starbucks make that “venti” of a decision to raise the average price of their beverages by 1% in 2016 … and again in September 2017? Perhaps they modeled the impact of a

price increase against a whole host of data points including the impact on customer loyalty market by market. What’s the threshold that would drive their most loyal and highest-paying

customers away? What would a loss of 2% of their lowest paying and least frequent customers do to their sales? And as a premium brand with premium prices, they may have been willing

to let some cost-sensitive customers go to a competitor while maintaining or even increasing revenue. Starbucks also increased the price of their tall drink, a move that may have been intended to persuade customers to choose the Grande (more value for the cost) – but with a higher profit margin. This is just one example of the many factors that go into menu and recipe decisions today. It’s both exciting to see the more dynamic modeling and more complex interlock that must take place across departments along with the sophisticated forecasting, menu engineering and cost, and price analysis technology. It’s a welcome future for restaurants who may not have the resources or proprietary tech to accurately predict the future with such precision.

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June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 29

Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEW

Michael Symon Celebrity Chef and President, Michael Symon Restaurants

hef Michael Symon cooks with soul. Growing up in a Greek and Sicilian family, the Cleveland native creates boldly flavored, deeply satisfying dishes at his restaurants in America’s heartland: Lola, Lolita, Roast and B Spot, Bar Symon, Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac and most recently Angeline in Atlantic City. He also shares his exuberant, approachable cooking style and infectious laugh with viewers as an Iron Chef on the Food Network and ABC’s The Chew. Since being named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine in 1998, Michael and his restaurants have been awarded numerous honors: In 2010, he was the first chef ever to host the annual Farm Aid benefit concert; Bon Appetit magazine included B Spot on their list of “Top 10 Best New Burger Joints”; and B Spot’s Fat Doug burger won the People’s Choice Award at the SoBe Wine & Food Festival. In 2009, Michael earned The James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Great Lakes and the Detroit Free Press named Roast “Restaurant of the Year.” In 2000, Gourmet magazine chose Lola as one of “America’s Best Restaurants.” In 2010, Michael appeared on four Food Network/Cooking

Channel shows, hosting Food Feuds and Cook Like an Iron Chef, judging season three of The Next Iron Chef and competing on Iron Chef America. Michael won season 1 of The Next Iron Chef in 2008, earning him a permanent spot on the panel of esteemed Iron Chefs. He made his debut on the network in 1998 with appearances on Sara’s Secrets with Sara Moulton, Ready, Set, Cook and Food Nation with Bobby Flay, before being tapped to host more than 100 episodes of The Melting Pot. Michael published his first cookbook, Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen, in 2009, sharing home cook-friendly recipes that draw on the flavors of his heritage. Michael sat down with TFS to talk about his newest book: Playing With Fire and to share his thoughts on the restaurant industry. The last time we spoke, you were putting the finishing touches on the Angeline at the Borgata about a year ago. What are your thoughts on the last year? We’re about a year in, and the year exceeded our expectations, which is always a good thing. We Michael Symon preparing the smoker for ribs from his new cookbook, Playing With Fire. Photo by Clarkson Potter

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

continued on page 32

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

Q&A MIchael Symon, from page 30

also exceeded the Borgata’s expectations, bringing in about 20 percent over initial projections. So that’s always exciting. We continue to make a couple of menu changes and find the balance between things. We love to cook and always provide things that the people who go to the Borgata love to eat. It’s been a fun process. You also have a new book out, “Playing With Fire.” Curious where the idea for the book came and what’s the takeaway for readers? At Mabel’s BBQ and even Angeline’s, we have a lot of live fire cookery on the menu there. You know, we have a big wood burning grill and

big wood burning oven. Most of my restaurants have some kind of live fire aspect on their menus. I just feel that it gives us that additional seasoning that you can’t get anywhere else. It always adds an interesting flavor to food. I’ve kind of always been obsessed with barbecue on a personal level. I’d say the book is about a third about barbecue, and then a lot of cooking tips and info on grills, fireplaces, fire pits, etc. for people to really have fun with it. It includes which grills and smokers are the best. There are 75 recipes in the book, but it’s also very much a

continued on page 34

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Q&A MIchael Symon, from page 32

‘how to’. What’s up and what’s next in terms of restaurant projects? We have a project in Vegas that we’re working on now with the Palms. We don’t really have a date yet, but we’re shooting for this year… we’ll see if that happens or not. It’s going to be a Mabel’s, which is our BBQ place and within it, we’re going to have a little 60-seat fine dining place. We’re calling it a “Meat Easy” since it’s going to be really small and have a lot of table side stuff like prime rib, Peking duck, grilled lobster and then some table-sized desserts and a raw bar with 12 items on the whole menu. We’re going to be very old school with waiters in suits, doing a lot of tableside preparations like carving the meats and very highend cocktails. I think it’ll have about 54 seats. It’s very much a “Non Vegas concept” because we were able to house it within a 250-seat BBQ joint and even have a secret entrance. We were able to do two things that we love – have a very casual BBQ joint and then a little fine dining place attached to it. It’ll be called Sarah’s after my partner Doug’s mom who recently passed.

about it? We’ve consulted on a number of Manhattan projects. You know, I like the division in my life. I’m here for TV things and that kind of stuff, and then when I’m home in Cleveland, I worry about all the restaurant stuff. It’s a nice division for me. But my son has a little gourmet donut and coffee shop on Long Island.

What’s your read on the New York City restaurant marketplace? There’s a lot of cool stuff going on right now. There seems to be a little bit of a movement with smaller restaurants popping up again, which I love. I think it’s probably a function of a lot of things. You know, the rent in NYC is so massive that it’s easier to take the risk in a smaller footprint, which is creating a lot of these charming little restaurants. Have you ever had a restaurant in New York City or had any thoughts

34 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

I get to help him out when he needs it. It’s called Grindstone and he serves things like brioche donuts, ice cream and coffee. What are you seeing on menus right now? We went through a farm-totable thing, so is that still something that is a focus for the industry?

We’ve always done it that way. We didn’t wake up one day and decide to buy local. We always bought the highest quality local product from the best people that we knew and cooked it. It’s a trend that always existed with responsible chefs and restaurateurs and it will continue

continued on page 36

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

Q&A MIchael Symon, from page 34 to exist. But I think some of the things that we’ll see becoming popular is different styles of cuisine becoming more accepted. Like 10 years ago, you couldn’t go to a lot of markets and get a bowl of pho, you know? But now you could go almost anywhere. So I think people are going to continue to dive into other styles of cuisines, which just makes food a little bit more interesting. We had a chance to speak to your wife Liz for the Angeline story. Can you talk about her role in building the Symon brand? You know, I think Doug and I would probably both say that she’s the most im-

portant one. She designs all the restaurants and their whole feel and the energy flow. I could be in the kitchen cooking great food, and she takes care of the rest. She’s always been the one to keep the company grounded and I’m blessed she’s been around to give it all that soft touch. I never get worried about anything with Liz and Doug as my partners and just worry about the food, which as a chef is all you really want.

Michael Symon grilling burgers from his new cookbook — Playing With Fire — which is all about live fire cooking. Photo by Clarkson Potter

as a chef, but I never tried to ever pitch a show or anything. I never really tried to be on TV and it just happened. I know that the reason I ended up on TV was because I’m good at cooking and stuff, so I figured as long as I’m good at cooking stuff, I’ll continue it…we’ll just see what happens.

You’ve built an incredible brand. Did you ever expect you’d become a TV star? No, never in a million years. I feel fortunate that I’m able to do it. It obviously opened doors for me

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

EYE

METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE EVENT COVERAGE

NJ’s Table to Table Annual Gala Celebrates 20 Million Meal Mark

he supposedly retired and indefatiguable Claire Poulos and her Table to Table team hosted their annual “Chef’s Gala” last month at Edgewood Country Club in River Vale, NJ. The evening featuring a salute to Charlie Palmer. The legendary toque’s empire has grown from iconic restaurants including Aureole and a trio of eateries at the Knickerbocker Hotel in Manhattan to a portfolio of restaurants that criss cross the country. He has also teamed with his wife Lisa to build a hotel business in Nevada and California. Every year, the energy of chefs including Peter X. Kelly and David Burke as well as Myriad Group’s Tracy Nieporent, enable the event to set records to feed those in need. Table to Table is a community-based food rescue program dedicated to col-

(L to R) The Culinary Institute of America’s Waldy Malouf and David Burke

Mr. and Mrs. Tracy Nieporent of Myriad Restaurant Group

lecting prepared and perishable food that would otherwise be wasted from donor supermarkets, food distributors and restaurants and delivering food to organizations that serve hungry people in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties. The former IBM exec Poulos simply will not be stopped until hunger is eliminated in Northern Jersey. So the event supported the organization’s mission to feed the most vulnerable, hungry people in need throughout northern New Jersey. When you look at the stats, one realizes just how big a challenge lies ahead. Although the third wealthiest state in the nation, there are numerous areas of Northeast New Jersey where the poverty level far surpasses

(L to R) Lisa and Charlie Palmer and WH Linen’s Christopher Hermanns

It was a magical night in the Edgewood Country Club kitchen as Peter X Kelly and an all-star cast created a truly delectable culinary adventure to benefit the hungry in Northern NJ

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

that of the national average. One-third of New Jersey’s residents do not earn enough to afford the basic necessities of food and housing. One-third of the state’s employed residents live below the poverty level. One-in-five children in New Jersey live in poverty. There are over 1.1 million food insecure people living in New Jersey. More than 1/3 of them are children. More than half of the children living in poverty in New Jersey reside in one of the four counties served by Table to Table. The Table to Table strategy to combat hunger is based on the premise that over 100 billion pounds of food (or 40% of the food available for human consumption in the United States) is

Honoree Charlie Palmer whose restaurant portfolio includes the legendary Aureole in NYC with Total Food Service Co-Publisher Leslie Klashman

Table to Table chairman Jim Sanduski and visionary founder Claire Poulos

literally thrown out each year. Every day Table to Table redistributes good, wholesome food that would otherwise be wasted. There is no cost to either the food donors or the recipient agencies we serve. In 2015, from four local counties alone, Table to Table rescued enough food for more than 15 million meals in ‘Jersey. Edgewood’s Frank Benzakour welcomed the event for the first time with many of The Metro area’s most gifted chefs bringing a truly unique culinary experience to the 200 plus guests. The feast that included Ariane Kitchen’s Ariane Duarte’s Crispy monkfish cheeks, Tony Villanueva of Edgewood’s Seared diver scallops, chilled shrimp and crabmeat from Peter Kelly of Xaviars’, Jamie Knott of Saddle River Inn’s price crusted tuna loin, cavatelli from Waldy Malouf, David Burke’s dry aged beef, and warm carrot pudding cake from Heather Bertinetti Rozzi of Stella Artisan Italian for dessert. The event once again included a world class auction hosted by television auctioneer Nicholas Lowry, who brought his unique brand of passion and humor to the event. The fascination with New York City’s top eateries seem to have no boundary as dinner at six of Manhattan’s top restaurants was auctioned for a price far in excess of any trip to the far reaches of the world. Once again the visionary leader Poulos shared a photo from one of Table to Table’s Newark outposts. “Look carefully at his photo and you will see each of us in the picture,” Poulos explained.

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

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

Protect Your Restaurant From Supply Chain Disasters with Business Interruption Insurance

witching food distributors turned out to be a foul idea for KFC when their UK outlet broke from their longtime chicken distributor and took a chance on global logistics provider, DHL. This chance, which was devised to save them money, cost KFC millions instead. Soon after the switch, the fried chicken chain was forced to close more than 750 restaurants across the UK temporarily, due to a KFC chicken shortage. The provider couldn’t get the chicken supply from their single UK distribution center out to KFC’s restaurants efficiently or effectively. While DHL called the supply chain issues that inconvenienced hundreds of employees and customers the “teething pains” of a new partnership, KFC quickly apologized with witty social media and print ads across the country, which helped the company recover. So, what does this have to do with you? As a business owner or operator, you’re bound to encounter a supply chain issue at some point in your business operations. You may even want to change vendors to optimize

Think twice before cutting back on a reliable service to save a few bucks. The short-term savings may be detrimental to your long-term reputation. If you do, follow these guidelines to ensure your new vendor is reliable.

Robert Fiorito serves as Vice President with HUB International Northeast, a leading global insurance brokerage, where he specializes in providing insurance services to the restaurant industry. As a 25-year veteran and former

pricing, like KFC did. But, you don’t have to make the same mistakes. Viewing logistics as a cost center could be a mistake. Dependable service from a third party industry expert is often irreplaceable. Think twice before cutting back on a reliable service to save a few bucks. The short-term savings may be detrimental to your long-term reputation. If you do, follow these guidelines to ensure your new vendor is reliable: Work with industry-knowledgeable vendors. Ensure that your new logistics provider can manage and maintain the quality of your de-

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livered goods without damage or spoilage, as well as meet necessary industry regulatory requirements. Do they have the expertise necessary for your market? Have they done it for another business successfully? Scale and test the new process first. Don’t jump into a contract with a new vendor without testing it out first. Create a transition plan that starts small and flushes out issues, allowing you to correct problems on a small scale before full implementation. Vet your supplier, and their supplier, and their supplier. In addi-

restaurateur himself, Bob has worked with a wide array of restaurant and food service businesses, ranging from fast-food chains to upscale, “white tablecloth” dining establishments. Robert can be reached at 212-338-2324 or by email at robert.fiorito@ hubinternational.com.

tion to your Tier I supplier, take an in-depth look at your Tier II and III suppliers as well. Make sure they have the business continuity re-

continued on page 98

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ASK ANDREW

FROM THE NYC HOSPITALITY ALLIANCE

PRESENTED BY

Mayor de Blasio On Administrative Fee

he NYC Hospitality Alliance tweeted the following message at Errol Louis, the host of NY1’s Inside City Hall, during his weekly interview with Mayor de Blasio. He asked the Mayor our question about allowing restaurants the option of using a clearly disclosed surcharge on menus. We were astonished by the Mayor’s response. “@errollouis please ask the Mayor about the nearly 7 foot tall letter sent to him at City Hall last week. It was signed/supported by hundreds of restaurateurs urging him to let them use a surcharge, which is allowed everywhere else in NYS and the country.” Mayor de Blasio: “Look, first, I only heard about this a few days ago, so we have to assess it.” [referring to the surcharge issue] The Truth: The restaurant industry has been urging Mayor de Blasio for two years to allow restaurants the option of using a clearly disclosed surcharge on menus. There’s been meetings at City Hall, hundreds of restaurateurs contacted the Mayor and his administration about the issue,

Photo by Marco Gutierrez

op-eds published, press coverage and his administration issued public statements. Mayor de Blasio: “Second, I’m not sure of the point, since as you say, it all comes out the same, either way. So, I am not sure why this is a necessary or helpful thing.” [referring to the surcharge] The Truth: The reason restaurateurs want the option of using a surcharge is explained in the letter the mayor is talking about receiving. It’s also been explained in memos and countless meetings with his administration over the past two years.

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Mayor de Blasio: “When I received that [the letter], I turned to my folks and I said, hey this begs an interesting question, they say the restaurant industry’s having trouble, what are the facts? So, they went and looked at restaurant permits…and they’ve gone up in the last year…so I’m not sure this industry is struggling.” The Truth: According to the Mayor’s Department of Health, which issues the restaurant permits he referenced, the number of permits decreased between April 2017 and April 2018. Between 2010 – 2015 annual employment growth in the city’s restaurant industry averaged 6.5% and has since dropped to less than 2%. During a similar time period, the growth in liquor licenses at full service city restaurants plummeted 20%. Finally, if you speak with most restaurateurs they’ll tell you all about their struggles. The Next Steps: Mayor de Blasio’s response to the straight forward question is troubling. The NYC Hospitality Alliance followed up right away. The fact is that some restaurants simply want the option of using a clearly dis-

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

closed surcharge, which is allowed everywhere else in New York State and around the country, just not in New York City. We will continue to urge the Mayor and the City Council to allow this practice to help restaurants adapt to the ever changing and expensive business climate. The NYC Hospitality Alliance appeared in more than a dozen news stories about the surcharge after the big letter was delivered to City Hall by member Jon Bloostein of Heartland Brewery. You can learn more about the issue by visiting our website at www.theNYCalliance.org.

June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 43

SCOOP Dudson Joins Arc Cardinal In Historic Partnership

Scoop notes that Arc Cardinal, a North American leading supplier of tabletop to the hospitality industry, is proud to announce that it is partnering with Dudson, a leader in the ceramic sector. Arc Cardinal and Dudson announced a sales, marketing and distribution partnership in the North American market at the National Restaurant Association Show held on May 19th to 22nd in Chicago. Two of the leading tableware manufacturers will now work in tandem to bring a complete tabletop package of the highest quality glassware, ceramic dinnerware and flatware to the hospitality industry. Both companies have a long history devoted to quality craftsmanship, innovation and sustainability. Dudson was founded in 1800 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. A leader in the ceramic sector, Dudson will contribute nine generations of expertise in producing stylish, yet remarkably durable dinnerware to the joint partnership thus offering chefs greater variety and the flexibility of customization. Arc, the worldwide tabletop leader, was established in 1825 in Arques, Pas-de-Calais, France where the headquarters are still located. It is the leading manufacturer of crystal and glassware worldwide. Arc Cardinal is its North American subsidiary and currently commercializes Arcoroc and Chef & Sommelier brands. Dudson dinnerware is categorized into four main ranges; Evo, Harvest, Fine China and Finest Vitrified Tableware all of which carry a Lifetime Edge Chip Warranty. Together they combine a variety of leading edge design, textures, shapes and sizes. This diversity in dinnerware easily complements the wide selection of chic, yet long-lasting tabletop for which Arc Cardinal is known, such as the Chef & Sommelier Sequence Collection made of resilient Krysta crystalline glass and barware designed by leading mixologists. “We are delighted to welcome Dudson to the Arc 44 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

INSIDER NEWS

FROM METRO NYC’S FOODSERVICE SCENE

Cardinal portfolio. We think of our partnership as unique and unparalleled; two long-established manufacturers, each with an unrivalled pedigree, joining together to form an even stronger union,” says Alexandre Bollengier, president of Arc Cardinal. “Dudson’s focus on hospitality dinnerware gives us the ability to bring emerging trends to the market quickly” “Dudson is delighted to join in this historic partnership with Arc Cardinal,” says Max Dudson, CEO of Dudson. “Our common heritage and commitment to quality and sustainability make this a perfect fit. We’re looking forward to our combined presence in North America.”

Aby Road For Chef Joel Robuchon

Chef Joel Robuchon

Scoop notes legendary chef Joel Robuchon’s Midtown comeback is shaping up, five years after he shuttered his esteemed eatery at the Four Seasons Hotel on East 57th Street. At 73, Robuchon who has more Michelin stars than any other chef is six to eight months from opening a two-story emporium at developer Aby Rosen’s luxury condo tower at 100 E. 53rd St. Rosen also owns the landmarket Seagram Building, which formerly housed the Four Seasons Restaurant and now boasts Major Food Group restaurants including The Grill. Robuchon’s installation will feature a ground-floor marketplace with sushi, informal dining and healthy options like juices, along with a

formal dining space on the second floor. The iconic toque makes his comeback some 60lbs. lighter. A doctor’s visit in 2016, showed high blood pressure and cholesterol so he eliminated butter and oil from his diet, which he replaced with avocadoes.

Momo-Frankies Brooklyn Foodie Fantasy Scoop says guru David Chang took over the kitchen at a different New York favorite foodie spot, Frankies in Brooklyn. As part of the annual Franks’ Backyard Chef Series, Chang and fellow chefs, Peruvian powerhouse Pedro Miguel Schiaffino and Frankies co-owners Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli one upped each other during a multicourse meal, with dishes including sweet plantain tacos, puffed ocean trout skin and barbecued short rib with caramelized coconut, topped off by ricotta and Sorrento lemon zeppole for dessert. Guests still standing headed upstairs to an after-party to get a sneak peek at the eatery’s in-theworks private event space. They also grabbed tins of olive oil as parting gifts. Other chefs scheduled to appear in the series, which runs through Oct.17 at $150 per head, include Mission Chinese’s Danny Bowien and top LA toques Roy Choi and Kris Yenbamroong. The gourmet gastronomic gatherings are presented by hip reservations app Resy.

Magnolia Bakery Opens In Boston To Long Lines Scoop says for Bobbie Lloyd, the recent grand opening of Magnolia Bakery in Faneuil Hall Marketplace marked something of a return to her Boston roots. Long before she was a celebrity judge on TLC’s “Next Great Baker,” and before she lived in New York City, overseeing cupcake duties as Magnolia’s chief baking officer, she attended Boston’s Modern Gourmet Cooking School and later co-owned a restaurant in Brookline that featured classic American desserts. Being back in Boston for the opening was nostalgic, to say the least. “This is where my culinary life started,” Lloyd said. “My love of food started somewhere else as a child, but my culinary life started here.” Magnolia Bakery first opened in 1996 in New York City’s West

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Scoop, from page 44 Village. Four years later, it was prominently featured in Season 3 of hit show “Sex and the City,” sending fans scrambling to the store’s front doors to get their hands on some homemade sweets. Since then, it has remained a fixture of the cupcake craze, even during Bobbie Lloyd a time that feels like fancy doughnuts have taken center state and cupcake shops locally have closed their doors. Boston is the first of some 150 Magnolins set to open. New CEO Steve Abrams has set his sites on building a national brand with its new franchise initiative.

Chinatown Eatery

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In Legal Battle Over Propietary Sauce Scoop says a lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn claims that Jialiang Huang and Meiling Liang contacted the owner of LaoMa MaLaTang in Queens, N.Y., last year and asked to become a franchisee of the restaurant, which specializes in soup and hot pot. LaoMa MaLaTang’s owner, who is not identified by name in the suit, allowed the couple to visit the restaurant. When the owner insisted that they sign a nondisclosure and noncompete agreements, the suit says, they orally promised to comply and gave the owner a $10,000 check as a security deposit. The couple “got access to the plaintiff’s kitchen settings, ingredients and Plaintiff’s unique dishes preparation system,” the suit says. After the couple found a location in Philadelphia, the suit says, the New York restaurateur sent down “a team of professionals” to check it out and give “professional opinions on kitchen renovation and settings.” In July 2017, when Huang again visited LaoMa MaLaTang, he said he had retained an attorney to represent him in the

franchise deal. He then was allowed to take photos of the kitchen and ingredients, and the owner taught him the “formula of the Laoma sauce,” the suit says. In August, when the New York restaurateur sent a proposed franchise agreement, Huang and Liang ” abandoned the whole deal without good cause,” the suit says. That month, Huang and Liang opened Chu Shang Spicy, at 925 Arch St., under the legal name Laoma Philly LLC. The New York restaurant’s corporate name is Laoma Spicy LLC. The suit, also alleging trademark and trade name infringement, seeks unspecified damages. Name disputes among Chinatown restaurants are not uncommon. After Xi’An Famous Food opened in 2013, it received word from the New York restaurant of the same name. It later was renamed Xi’an Sizzling Woks. In another case, a settlement was reached three years ago to separate the rival restaurants called Dim Sum Garden. The one at 1020 Race St. uses the Dim Sum Garden name, while the original restaurant, at 59 N. 11th St., is called Tom’s Dim Sum.

continued on page 48

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Scoop, from page 46

Former NoMad Chef Sets Sights On FiDi Scoop says the former executive chef of the Michelin-starred NoMad is opening restaurants on a whopping five different floors of a FiDi tower including ones on upper levels that will likely sport some insane views. Chef James Kent, who spent nearly a decade working under Daniel Humm, has partnered up with Del Posto manager Jeff Katz for the massive new project at the historic Art Deco tower. The two will be operating restaurants on the ground floor of the property, as well as on the 62nd, 63rd, 64th, and 66th floors, according to a liquor license application to Manhattan Community Board 1. Expect wild views at those heights, outdoor space, and both a restaurant and bar/lounge on the upper floors, including a more formal operation. They do not yet have an opening timeline or further details on the restaurant, saying it’s still in the early stages. A sample menu submitted to the board includes dishes like a duck with long pepper and cocoa nibs and large-format dishes for the table, such as an oxtail with black truffle and celery root. It’s the first solo project for Kent, a New York native who worked as the executive chef of the NoMad for years before leaving last March, and it’s a high profile and extremely ambitious one. The 67-story building’s sky-high spaces were previously slated to go toward a Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield project, but they ditched it in 2016 after developer Adam Rose wanted something fancier than what they would offer. And Kent isn’t the only guy trying to turn the skyscraper-packed FiDi into more of a dining destination. Hospitality guru Danny Meyer will soon open a 60th floor restaurant called Manhatta in the neighborhood as well. It too will have some sweeping views of lower Manhattan. Kent’s old bosses Daniel Humm and Will Guidara are also planning a huge restaurant in the area, though further east.

Buffalo’s Famous Anchor Bar Debuts Manhattan Outpost Scoop notes dwellers of New York City who have wanted to try an authentic Buffalo chicken wing without actually having to, well, go to Buffalo will soon get their chance. The Anchor Bar home to the original Buffalo chicken wing is set to open in midtown Manhattan this month. “We’re in a busy part of Manhattan, so we’ve had people walk by and stop to 48 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

tell us they used to live in Buffalo or went to school in Buffalo,” said Mark Dempsey, vice president of franchise and development for Anchor Bar. The New York City location will resemble the original Main Street Buffalo location in several ways, including the red brick motif out front and the signature sauce for its wings. The restaurant even plans to have a display in the family dining area telling the story of the chicken wing’s invention. Naturally, the biggest allure for NYC natives and Buffalo transplants alike will be the wings. A single order will match Buffalo’s prices, whereas costs for a double order or bucket have been adjusted for the bigger market. Other Buffalo staples such as beef on weck and pizza logs will be available on the menu.

Renowned Chef Aaron Bludorn Cooks Up A Special Feast For Upper East Side Seniors Scoop says Upper East Side seniors received a special treat last month when Cafe Boulud’s Executive Chef Aaron Bludorn prepared a gourmet lunch for 150 older New Yorkers at the Carter Burden Luncheon Club & Senior Program. This special lunch event was part of the Carter Burden Network’s Senior Week, in celebration of National Older Americans Month, with exciting activities taking place at each of its four senior centers in New York City. The Carter Burden Luncheon Club & Senior Program, a program of the Carter Burden Network (CBN), is a cornerstone of the Upper East Side community that provides socialization, recreation and education through a wide array of daily activities. For many years, chefs from Café Boulud have been taking their talents outside the gourmet kitchen to give back to a growing and often forgotten segment of the population – aging New Yorkers. “This is always special event for our seniors at the Luncheon Club,” said William J. Dionne, Executive Director of the Carter Burden Network. “Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, like Café Boulud and Chef Bludorn, some of the seniors we serve will get to enjoy a gourmet meal they might not enjoy otherwise.” In celebration of Senior Week, Chef Bludorn prepared a delectable menu of Duck Leg à l’Orange with Basmati Rice Pilaf and Braised Fennel, Frisée Salad and a Passionfruit Tart for dessert, while staff

(L-R) Susan L. Burden, Founding Carter Burden Network Board Member; Cherif Mbodji, General Manager at Café Boulud; Ashley Brauze, Pastry Chef at Café Boulud; Chef Aaron Bludon, Executive Chef at Café Boulud; William J. Dionne, Executive Director of the Carter Burden Network Photo Credit: Carter Burden Network

and volunteers helped to serve the food. “It’s always an amazing feeling being able to see and prepare food for members of our community who I might not normally see at the restaurant,” said Chef Bludorn. “The enjoyment shared in that room is inspiring and is a great reminder that we cook every day to make people happy.” The Carter Burden Network promotes the wellbeing of seniors 60 and older through a continuum of services, advocacy, arts and culture and volunteer programs, all oriented to individual, family and community needs. ABOUT THE CARTER BURDEN NETWORK: Carter Burden Network promotes the well-being of seniors 60 and older through a continuum of services, advocacy, arts and culture and volunteer programs, all oriented to individual, family and community needs. The organization is dedicated to supporting the efforts of older people to live safely and with dignity. As a leader in aging services in NYC, the Carter Burden Network welcomes seniors to participate in programs and attend centers offering vital resources that support independence and provide opportunities to form connections that enrich their lives. Carter Burden Network provides programs that nourish body, mind and spirit of vulnerable NYC seniors. CBN’s programs and services are partially funded by the NYC Department for the Aging.

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by offering digital gift cards, text and email receipts, and personalized marketing campaigns.

June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 49

NEWS DELIVERY SOLUTIONS LI Entrepreneur Finds the Ultimate Solution to Soggy Food Challenge

ong Island based Entrepreneur Tom Francoeur has found the ultimate solution to the problem of soggy food. With the growth of both the delivery and take out segments of the restaurant and foodservice industry food soggy food is a major challenge for food lovers worldwide. Pizzas, burgers, French fries, fried chicken and even more expensive filet mignon and lobster rolls are all subject to the same problem. The challenge remains the same, the ability for an item taken out of a res-

This new solution called “Keeping It Crisp” will eliminate the problem and make sure that the food arrives fresh and crispy every single time. taurant to maintain that same great flavor and texture. Food loses its crisp because of the problems associated with moisture retention. This new solution called “Keeping It Crisp” will eliminate

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

the problem and make sure that the food arrives fresh and crispy every single time. “Keeping It Crisp has only one job to do and that is to ensure that your food arrives warm, fresh, and

crispy, and without any moisture, every time you order your food,” explained Francoeur, while introducing his remarkable solution. “This problem has been faced by millions around the world and the solution is a simple ‘valve’ type of moisture release system that will make sure that all the moisture, which is responsible for making your food soggy escapes that food containing box, while all the heat is retained perfectly.”

continued on page 90

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

NEWS

MENU SOLUTIONS

Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma Teams With Legacy Records Toque Hardy

ate last month The Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma teamed with one of Metro New York’s and the nation’s hottest chefs to educate both food service professionals and consumers on the evolution of one of the more delectable menu solutions. “Prosciutto has certainly evolved into something far more than something wrapped around melon balls,” noted Legacy Records Chef Ryan Hardy. The affable toque hosted a number of the nation’s top food writers and bloggers in his private kitchen at the new Hudson Yards eatery. “From a risotto dish to crisping slices with octopus, I am constantly looking for ways to use Prosciutto di Parma on my menus,” Hardy noted. “Most importantly, even though there are many Prosciutto products available from distributors, there is only one Prosciutto di Parma,” Hardy told his audience. “From the way the product is salted by hand to the flavor profiles offered with the 12 and 18 month curing process, there’s a big difference in quality.” Earlier this year, The Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma unveiled its newest training hub known as “The Whole Leg.” The website (thewholeleg.com) is dedicated to educating chefs and foodservice professionals on using the entire leg of Prosciutto

Legacy Records chef Ryan Hardy has embraced the unique flavor profiles of Prosciutto di Parma for the menus at his instant Hudson Yards eatery

di Parma with tips and training that reduce waste and boost profits. The new training platform serves as a one-stop-shop for foodservice professionals looking to learn more about working with Prosciutto di Parma. In addition to helping chefs maximize the product’s value, the goal of the site is also usage-based. Specifically, reducing overall food waste when using the product, by redirecting food scraps from the trash to the table. Through extensive primary research among chef and foodservice audiences, the Consorzio discovered

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a void in digital training resources around prosciutto. This need was amplified by findings from a recent Consorzio study, which revealed that specifying Prosciutto di Parma on menus allowed chefs to charge $1-3 more because customers are willing to pay extra knowing they were getting a geographically protected, high quality, 100% natural cured ham. “We are thrilled to be a leader in the industry in offering such a valuable learning tool to our chef and foodservice audience in the U.S.,” said Consorzio Marketing Director Paolo Tramelli. “We understand and

appreciate the impact this influential group has on our business and we are pleased to provide them with the resources they need to uphold the quality and service deserving of Prosciutto di Parma.” Featuring hand-drawn illustrations and professional photography, the new training hub serves as a comprehensive platform for chefs and foodservice professionals to learn how to properly identify, prepare, store, use and serve Prosciutto di Parma. The website offers the following training elements: • Using the whole leg: Did you know you can reduce waste and add unique flavors to your recipe by using different parts of the leg? This section outlines the characteristics and recommended uses of each part of the leg and provides creative recipe inspiration for using these sections. • Training videos: Offers three videos for serving the leg, including cutting the perfect slice by machine, hand slicing a bone-in leg and using all parts of the leg in the kitchen. • Necessary tools for use: Details the different tools required to optimally handle and slice Prosciutto di Parma to achieve the perfect slice by

•

machine or by hand. Identifying authentic Prosciutto di Parma: Due to the number of fake legs of prosciutto on the market that claim to be Parma, the Consorzio imposes strict regulations on what can be certified as Prosciutto di Parma. There are a number of ways to identify a true leg (or package) of Prosciutto di Parma to ensure you have an authentic product. Flavors and ages comparison: Among each section of the leg are varying flavors and textural experiences. Learn how, as Prosciutto di Parma ages, the flavor becomes more complex and sweeter. Storage and care: Provides step-by-step instructions for handling Prosciutto di Parma before, during and after service with tips and techniques to lengthen the shelf life of the leg. Types of legs available for purchase: Details the different forms of Prosciutto di Parma you can buy and tips for utilizing them and identifying that they’re authentic Prosciutto di Parma.

“As a Prosciutto di Parma Specialist, I’m committed to upholding the standards and quality of the production in our NYC restaurants Charlie Bird, Pasquale Jones, and Legacy Records. The Whole Leg training site is incredibly valuable for those of us in the culinary field as well as for cooking pros at home; it provides the best tools and techniques for working with this elite product,” said Hardy, Partner at Delicious Hospitality Group. “Reducing waste and increasing profitability is critical to our business, so we ap-

preciate the value in our staffers having access to this resource.” In addition to the above elements, users can also download training materials, find a supplier, sign up for in-person trainings and join the Cured & Crafted monthly newsletter. The Consorzio was established

in 1963 by 23 producers producing 53,000 branded hams who wanted to protect and promote their product throughout the world. Since then, the Consorzio has grown into a family of 150 Prosciutto di Parma producers supplying nearly 9 million hams annually to markets all over the world.

Today’s producers carry on a tradition that has been passed down through generations. The production of every Prosciutto di Parma is regulated by strict laws that define the quality and characteristics, represented by the Parma Crown branded on Prosciutto di Parma.

MORE INSPIRATION. MORE CREATION.

WASTING FOOD IS A PROBLEM. SO THE CONSORZIO DEL PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA CREATED A TOOL FOR YOU TO GET EVEN MORE FROM AN ALREADY WISE PURCHASE OF 100% NATURAL PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA.

From the bone to skin to fat and everything in between, the whole leg of Prosciutto di Parma offers more flavor, more inspiration and more creation while wasting nothing.

TheWholeLeg.com TRAINING VIDEOS ⋅ PARTS & PREP ⋅ RECIPE INSPIRATION

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

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THE 2018 SUMMER FANCY FOOD SHOW

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NEWS EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING Amerikooler Customer Service and Technology Commitment Forges Walk-In Industry Leadership

merikooler’s mission is to produce the most reliable and well-constructed walk-in coolers and freezers for the restaurant and foodservice professional. That mantra has enabled them to grow to become the fastest growing walk-in manufacturer in the U.S. For more than 30 years, Amerikooler has built its reputation on quality construction, the most efficient insulation and the highest quality energy efficient refrigeration system. The Alonso family history reads like a Hollywood script. No one has a greater appreciation for the story than the firm’s current President and CEO Gian Carlo Alonso who has taken the Florida based firm to new heights. “My father started the company 30 years ago after fleeing Cuba from the Castro Brothers, who had taken away his grandfather’s manufacturing and

There’s the reason our brand is trusted among many in the industry,” Alonso said. “We have 30 years of experience behind us.” engineering business.” After moving to Puerto Rico, my Dad came to the United States with his engineering degree and used it to start a refrigeration business after seeing a refrigerated warehouse. It was big, heavily engineered and was manufactured. All things he was great at. He immediately knew that’s the business he wanted to get in to. “ “When we started, our focus was in the refrigerated warehouse segment, which was nice, but when you’re a smaller company starting out, you might not have a project for a while,” Alonso admits. “So my Dad started

Amerikooler’s Gian Carlo Alonso observes a custom piece being made within the company’s South Florida facility.

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learning about the restaurant industry and these smaller types of boxes that they needed and that’s how we got into the food industry.” From there Amerikooler started to work with a lot of smaller businesses until they grew their name thanks to the quality of their walk-ins and their fast delivery times, which allowed them to start getting high-caliber restaurants and stores as customers. “Now we’re doing business with practically every A-level equipment and supply dealer in the country,” Alonso noted proudly. “We have worked hard to under-

stand the needs of that dealer community and what their end-user customers expect in terms of quality and service. According to Alonso, a dealer looks to Amerikooler for some fundamental things – their quality product and their response time. “This is huge for them and we’re great at it. We turnaround orders very quickly and when we get a ship date, we ship it out on that date.” Currently, their most popular feature is their new 24-hour Quick Ship program that’s been a big hit with customers. They saw a need in the market for standard boxes that shipped very quickly and made it happen. “A lot of mom-and pop-shops don’t expect their walk-ins to take so long and need something quick. That’s where our 24hour ship program comes into play.

continued on page 100

Alonso and one of his employees inspect a diamond plate ramp within the company’s South Florida facility.

STATE-OF-THE-ART. WORK OF ART. We make the most reliable and well constructed walk-in coolers and freezers for everyday businesses. Our 200,000 sq. ft. facility is among the most advanced in the industry, using highly automated operations to rapidly and consistently produce the highest quality walk-in units on the market.

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Restaurants • Chains • Institutions • Hotels • Convenience Stores June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 59

NEWS

HANDHELD POS SOLUTIONS

Toast Go and Toast KDS Debut Future of Restaurant Technology

oast, the fastest-growing restaurant technology platform in the U.S., recently unveiled Toast Go™, a fully integrated point-of-sale handheld custombuilt for restaurants. Toast Go, designed by Toast, combines hardware, software, and payments in a beautiful device built to withstand the rigors of the restaurant industry. When paired with recent advancements made in Toast KDS, restaurants of all sizes can accelerate front and back of house productivity, improve table turn time, grow revenue, and deliver an amazing guest experience. Both Toast Go and Toast KDS are available now. “Toast’s mission is to empower the restaurant community to delight their guests, do what they love, and thrive,” said Steve Fredette, president and cofounder of Toast. “With solutions like Toast Go and Toast KDS, we deliver affordable, cloud-based technology that restaurants of all sizes can put to work immediately to improve operations, increase revenue, and deliver an amazing guest experience.” Toast Go™ empowers waitstaff to delight guests with: • Improved operations for restaurants of all sizes: Waitstaff can access details on which items are in or out of stock, ingredient information, and even suggested drink pairings. Servers can also receive a notification through the handheld when an order is fulfilled on the KDS, ensuring food is served hot and fresh. Increased speed of service for fast casual restaurants: Servers no longer need to wait for a terminal to

open up; orders are fired from Toast Go™directly to the kitchen. Toast Go™ also supports line-busting when a queue stretches out the door; guests can order and pay in line. Best-in-class design for the restaurant community: Toast Go™ features an ergonomic design that makes it easy to use from open to close, and, a Wifi chipset that provides superior signal strength and fast roaming for busy restaurant staff. The device also boasts a 14+ hour battery life and a generous screen size that is large enough to avoid typos, yet slim enough to slip into a back pocket. “Our turn times decreased dramatically with Toast Go™. On Aloha, we served about 250 guests on a typical Friday night; with Toast Go™, we serve over 400 guests. That equates to an extra half million dollars in annual

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sales,” said Cory Neel, general manager of Odd Duck in Austin, Texas. “And with more tables come more tips: servers each take home about $7,000 in additional gratuities per year with Toast Go™, which helps us with employee retention. Our staff has peace of mind knowing they can pay their bills.” When paired together, Toast Go™ and Toast KDS power successful restaurants through a technology platform connecting the front of house and back of house. This integration provides guests and restaurant staff with: Seamless, centralized operations: With its revamped design, Toast KDS software automatically fires items based on how long it takes to cook them. For example, if a table or-

ders two hamburgers – one rare, one well-done – the KDS will automatically fire the well-done burger first, then the rare, so both meals come out hot and at the same time. All of this information is seamlessly communicated from the server to the kitchen using Toast Go. Reduced worry with allergy-specific orders: When allergy information is entered into Toast Go, kitchen staff are immediately alerted on the KDS. Enhanced communication between dining room and kitchen: To improve speed of service, kitchen staff can see how long a table has been waiting, detailed order information, and a running total of ordered menu items on Toast KDS. Toast KDS can also automatically text guests or servers when an order is ready for pickup. “In 2018, one out of three new Toast restaurant customers opt for a handheld device,” said Lucy Wang, senior hardware product manager at Toast. “This is why we developed Toast Go™, a tool designed and purpose-built for the restaurant industry: the hardware is reliable, intuitive to use, beautifully designed, weighs under a pound, and rugged when it comes to drops and spills.” To learn more about Toast Go™ and Toast KDS, please see www.toastgo. com.

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

NEWS

BAR SOLUTIONS

5 Ways You’re Running Your Bar Into The Ground

ou thought adding a bar to your restaurant was going to be fun. It’s a great spot for customers to enjoy a new cocktail, wait for a table, or watch the game. But you realized pretty quickly that running a bar is definitely NOT easy - it’s a totally different beast than running a restaurant. If you aren’t careful, it can drain your cash faster than your regulars can drain their glasses. Get a handle on your bar business with the 5 Ways You’re Running Your Bar Into the Ground, or it will be last call... permanently. 1. Weak Links in Your Staff You’ve noticed that your bottles are running dry faster than usual, and your sales don’t show why. The problem could be your staff. First, check your training program. Are you helping your new hires avoid unnecessary slip-ups? Or maybe a veteran bartender is making some heavy-handed pours… Or are giving away too many free drinks. It may seem like a few ounces here and there is no big deal. But those slip-ups can add up big time. Your POS numbers will be totally out of whack, so you’re ordering more bottles without the dollars to back it up. SOLUTION: Maintain a constant, ongoing training program.

You realized pretty quickly that running a bar is definitely NOT easy - it’s a totally different beast than running a restaurant. • Don’t just send a bartender into the jungle without at least 1-2 days of training. Build a program that teaches proper techniques and tricks. • Train on pours and randomly test bartenders to keep good habits in check. Keep it fun, though, and offer some rewards to sweeten the deal. • Keep your company policies updated, and stress the importance of accurate numbers and consistent pours. 2. Your Marketing...May Not Be As Effective As You Thought So, you’ve got a happy hour. Great! So does every other bar in town. Sure, it’ll work sometimes. But, happy hours don’t showcase what makes your bar special or unique. It’s just a discount, which means less cash per customer. You’ve probably also got a website and some social media pages. When’s the last time you updated them? Have you ever done any advertising? If the answer is no, you’ve got some changes to make.

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SOLUTION: Get creative with your marketing. • Try putting a triangle board outside with witty sayings that make you stand out in people’s minds. • Create special menus and host special events. Try establishing partnerships with local companies and sports leagues. • It’s the 21st century. Update your website and your social media pages. Post your specials, take photos, and create a hashtag for your brand. 3. You’re Disorganized Bars love to show off their wide array of bottles behind the bar - most have almost 120 different liquors. But if your bottles aren’t organized well, it makes life brutal when it’s time to do a count. Plus, when the bar is busy, your bartenders might have a hard time finding what they need quickly. When time means money, why are you keeping customers waiting? SOLUTION: Organize your liquors by volume. • Keep your 10-12 “highest volume” liquors in one easy-to-access place. They account for 60-80% of

your spend, so it’s good to know where they are. • Keep your 60+ “mid-volume” bottles in another spot, as you’ll order them every other week or so. • Find a home for your 40 or so “low volume” drinks – those that are more expensive and you’re not buying or serving very often. 4. Price-blindness on Booze Though it’s a pain to keep track of all the numbers, keeping tabs on your bar costs can make a world of difference. Maybe you negotiated with a vendor to get a better price. But slowly, that cost starts to rise back up… and doesn’t stop. And your vendor is banking on you not noticing it at all. Or maybe out of nowhere, you’re suddenly paying 15% more than you were a week ago. And your supplier didn’t call to tell you... When you aren’t keeping tabs of your spend, you run the risk of getting stiffed. SOLUTION: Follow price trends, keep track of your costs, or just get technology that does it for you. • Between training bartenders, ordering new barstools, and making purchases, you don’t have a lot of room to monitor your costs. Find a technology solution that does the work for you so you can call the shots, not your suppliers.

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

LEGAL INSIDER

WITH AMANDA FUGAZY FROM ELLENOFF, GROSSMAN & SCHOLE LLP

New Compliance Requirements: NYS & NYC Have Passed Multi-Pronged Legislation To Combat Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

n April 12, 2018, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law legislation that Governor Cuomo described as providing “the strongest and most comprehensive anti-sexual harassment protections in the nation, ending once and for all the secrecy and coercive practices that have enabled this unacceptable behavior for far too long.” Less than one month later, on May 9, 2018, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law the “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act,” which consists of a “comprehensive package of legislation designed to strengthen New York City’s anti-sexual harassment policies and combat workplace sexual harassment.” What does this mean for restaurateurs? What new laws always mean for restaurants- new liabilities and new compliance mandates. To comply with the new laws, employers will be required, among other things, to create, implement or update their sexual harassment policy, implement an annual interactive training program for all employees, hang an additional poster and have yet another “new hire” handout. Additionally, employers are also now liable for sexual harassment perpetrated against non-employees.

To comply with the new laws, employers will be required, among other things, to create, implement or update their sexual harassment policy, implement an annual interactive training program for all employees, hang an additional poster and have yet another “new hire” handout

Amanda Fugazy is a partner at Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole in New York City. She is the head of the firm’s labor and employment group, and

The New York Human Rights Law to provide protection to contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants or others providing services in the workplace from sexual harassment in the workplace. This means that these non-employees can now sue the restaurateur for sexual harassment if the employer, its agents or supervisors knew or should have known that such non-employee was subjected to sexual harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. The Mandatory Written Sexual Harassment Policy Effective October 9, 2018, Employers will be required to provide all employees a written sexual harassment policy that: (i) prohibits sexual harass-

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ment and provide examples of prohibited conduct; (ii) includes information concerning the federal, state and city statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment; (iii) includes a standard complaint form; (iv) includes a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints and ensures due process for all parties; (v) informs employees of their rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating sexual harassment complaints administratively and judicially; (vi) clearly states that sexual harassment is considered a form of employee misconduct and that

has a focus on the restaurant and hospitality industry. Fugazy offers a variety of services to the industry, including working with her clients to ensure that they are in compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. She can be reached by phone at 212-370-1300, or by email at afugazy@egsllp.com

sanctions will be enforced against individuals engaging in sexual harassment and against supervisory and managerial personnel who knowingly allow such behavior to continue; and (vii) clearly states that retaliation against individuals who complain of sexual harassment or who

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MEET THE NEWSMAKER

Daniela Puglielli

, Accent PR/MDR Roundtable

he Mediterranean Diet Roundtable is an inspirational and networking conference, where scientists and Food Industry leaders discuss dietary trends in America. An elite gathering, the MDR has attracted hundreds of professionals from all over the U.S. and the Mediterranean Countries. Ready to roll its fourth edition: regarded as one of the most exclusive events in the Food Industry, the MDR will offer once again the possibility of tasting and learning about products distinctive of the Mediterranean Diet, while networking and getting inspired. The two half-day conferences will be held at the prestigious Yale University in New Haven on June 25-26. Total Food Service had an opportunity to speak with Daniela Puglielli of Accent PR, the event’s organizer, to learn more about this exciting conference. Can you share a little info on your background with our readers? I am a strategic public relations expert, with a Master’s Degree in Communications from the University of Turin (Italy). Because of family choices, we moved to the United States 22 years ago. Since then, I’ve been one of the forces promoting the recognition and appreciation of authentic artisanal producers of wine, travel, fashion and lifestyle, as well as the “Made in Italy” concept. Can you tell us about Accent PR? What were you doing or whom were you representing at Accent that led to the creation of the MDR

Conference? I started my career as a professional pianist before completing my studies in communications. My very own “maestro” and mentors would always ask me to organize concerts, promotions, etc. Therefore, from a very young age I was planning and executing special events, and it became my second nature. After moving to the United States, I noticed a lack of a multidisciplinary approach towards Italian culture. In the food landscape, for example, there has always been a price-driven motive for success, rather than a pursuit or

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investigation of the real nature and performance of the food products themselves. It became obvious to me that the very essence of Italy was not really accessible to mainstream. Accessibility, therefore, became the focus of my research. I discovered that different ethnic groups (Greek, Turkish, Spanish) were experiencing the same restrictions on cultural exposure as Italy, being confined mostly to their own ethnic groups. When I realized that the lack of representation also led to bad eating patterns and habits, I decided to do my part in exploring alternatives.

I discovered that there was a huge market opportunity for an immense basin of products. Since I’m Italian, it was not necessary for me to “study” the Mediterranean Diet and lifestyle. To Italians, it is the only way to eat and live! The same can be said for other countries in the Mediterranean area. But, I needed a “value,” a perk, a reason to embrace such a culinary journey. The benefits of the Mediterranean Diet are so well documented that it was a “no brainer” to build a concept around

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

NEWS

LEGENDARY EVENTS

Pair of Legendary Events Set To Highlight Hampton Summer Culinary Scene

he summer season will once again be highlighted by a pair of legendary culinary celebrations in the Hamptons. The James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne will feature delicious seasonal tastings from over 40 chefs. It is set for Saturday, July 28, 2018 at the stunning, sustainably-farmed Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, NY. As part of the James Beard’s yearlong “Rise” celebration, the Hampton’s event will serve as a salute to the countless ways the food com-

munity rises to meet the world’s challenges and makes it a more delicious, diverse, and sustainable place for all. Held on this annual culinary highlight of the Hamptons summer season will showcase chefs who embody the leadership and commitment that JBF supports every day through its many programs including Awards, Women’s Leadership, Impact programs, and Scholarships, including the announcement of the 2018 recipient of Christian Wölffer Scholarship at Chefs & Champagne. Once again the event will host an all-star lineup of New York City chefs

The VIP Lounge area at a previous Dan’s Taste of Summer event

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The James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne on July 28th will feature delicious seasonal tastings from an all-star lineup of over 40 chefs. including Alex Baker of Yves, Aquavit’s Emma Bengtsson, Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis of Root & Bone, The Stone House at Clove Lakes’ Peter Botros, PJ Calapa of Scampi, Jessica Craig of L’Artusi, Suzanne Cupps’ Untitled at the Whitney, Rotisserie Georgette’s Georgette Farkas, Nicole Gajadhar of Saxon + Parole, Citarella’s Joe Gurrera, Patti Jackson of Delaware and Hudson, Shuko’s Nick Kim and Jimmy Lau, Sarabeth Levine of Sarabeth’s, Sen Sakana’s Mina Newman, Ayesha Nurdjaja of Shuka, Rahi’s Chintan Pandya, Angie Rito and Scott Tacinelli of Don Angie, La Palapa’s Barbara Sibley, Roxanne Spruance of Kingsley, Vic’s Hillary Sterling, Almond’s Jason Weiner and Emily Yuen of Bessou.   On July 21st, Dan’s Taste of Two Forks will take center stage. With the backdrop of Fairview Farm at Mecox, celebrating its 8th year as

the creme de la creme of the Hamptons summer events scene, Taste of Two Forks continues to proudly spotlight the bounty of both the North and South Forks, featuring tastings from over 45 top restaurants, chefs and purveyors. Dan’s Taste of Summer, produced by Manhattan Media’s Dan’s Papers, has quickly become the largest epicurean event series on Long Island, hosting upwards of 4,000 food-and wine lovers annually. Since the first Dan’s Taste of Two Forks in 2011, Dan’s Taste of Summer’s three signature events—Taste of Two Forks, GrillHampton and Harvest East End—have become can’t-miss nights on the jam-packed Hamptons summer social calendar. In 2016, the Dan’s ClambakeMTK at Gurney’s Montauk was added to bring a beachside flair to the Dan’s Taste of Summer lineup.

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

NEWS

PEST CONTROL SOLUTIONS

Filth Flies: Small Pests, Big Problems

un Fact: flies are twice as filthy as cockroaches and carry more disease-causing pathogens. Flies feed on organic waste, thus they collect numerous pathogens on their legs and mouths. This means, each time one of these flying pests land, they slough off thousands of microbes and bacteria that can contaminate food and surfaces. These filthy pests not only pose a health risk to your restaurant patrons, but they can undermine your reputation and pose an even bigger risk to your bottom line. Keep Customers from Dropping Like Flies A spotless kitchen is key to maintaining a spotless reputation and reviews. However, to avoid a fly infestation, proactive pest management is a crucial component to keeping your

restaurant’s reputation and customers in upstanding shape. This is because each time a fly lands it can spread germs that can cause illnesses such as diarrhea, food poisoning, meningitis and bloodstream infections. Flies can move quickly from potentially contaminated garbage to exposed human foods and utensils. There are more than 200 species of flies in North America that are considered “filth” flies. They utilize a human’s environment to thrive. Restaurants are particularly susceptible to these pests because flies seek the food, water and shelter that these establishments possess. Flies can not only disgust your customers and contaminate food, but they can also cause health inspection violations. Time Flies When You’re...Identifying Your Pest

They speed through the air quickly, and believe it or not, they can breed even faster. Some species of female flies lay up 1,000 eggs in their lives. There are many types of flies that each bring their own set of challenges to restaurant establishments. One of the most common types of flies found in restaurants is a house fly. They are also referred to as a garbage fly. Their egg-laying sites typically involve organic material, like food, which is abundant in restaurant es-

tablishments. They can most easily be identified with four lengthwise stripes on the thorax. They spread microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses on surfaces they land and are associated with more than 100 pathogens, including Salmonella, Staphylococcus, E. coli and Shigella. Fruit flies (or vinegar flies) are regularly found in restaurants. On the smaller size, these eighth-inch long

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continued on page 116 CONTA CT US F OR A F RE E INS PE CTION. 70 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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NEWS

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

The Psychology Behind Why Consumers Love UGC

hy is it that user generated content is so powerful for restaurants? Why do consumers find it so engaging and stimulating? Having your customers talk positively about your restaurant has huge advantages, and there is a psychological aspect to UGC that underpins its effectiveness. Here are several reasons why consumers love UGC: Social Proof Per Yopto: “At its most basic level, user content marketing is based on a psychological response known as social proof.” Social proof is simply the idea that when someone is making a decision they tend to take into account the decision that those around them made. If a restaurant review has a lot of shares on it, that’s a form of social proof. It shows that enough people cared about the piece to share it with their friends. People tend to view content with more shares as being more credible than those with fewer. Social proof is also an indicator of trustworthiness. If others go to a new sushi bar and post about it positively on Instagram, it must mean it’s worth checking out. We get to learn from the successes and mistakes of others by watching their social feeds. Although many of us like to view ourselves as independent-minded

recommendation of a person with a face than they are to trust a brand logo. Authenticity speaks to people most when it is real people, sharing real stories.

individuals with a point of view unlike anyone else’s, overwhelmingly this isn’t the case. We are swayed by the opinions of those we see as being credible -- be it a friend, wellspoken stranger, or influencer. If we have reason to believe they know something we don’t about the subject at hand, we’re more likely to listen to what they have to say. Some people will still go their own way and buy whatever they like, but there’s no question social proof can be a powerful influence. Authenticity People find user generated content more authentic than the content brands produce. The stats back it up. Per Social Media Today, 75% of people claim UGC is more authentic. Furthermore, 48% of marketing professionals believe

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that content created by customers can help humanize their marketing and is an effective way to interact and connect with people. People want to connect with their food and those that serve it. But for this bond to exist, brands must demonstrate transparency. It’s easy to hide behind canned copy and a logo, but this approach leaves users feeling as though you are hiding something. A humanized marketing message increases customer loyalty and satisfaction. So, it’s important to think about how you can build a relationship with your diners and not merely sell to them. Make it clear that your top priority is to provide them with food and an experience they will enjoy, rather than simply to grow your profit margin. People are more likely to trust the

Validation There isn’t a single person walking this earth that doesn’t want to be validated for their effort, their contributions, their insights, and so on. It’s an opportunity to see that what they say or do matters to others. Validation can prove to be a powerful motivator for people, and when they see a restaurant they love share their photo of a dish, they get excited. This creates a positive feedback loop, incentivizing customers to post more about your restaurant and drastically increasing word-ofmouth marketing. Final Thoughts If you want to leverage the power of UGC, first you need to understand why your diners are going to be motivated to talk about you in the first place. The above insights should help you form an effective strategy. Is it time you started harnessing the power of user generated content to market your business? Would you like your customers to do most of the talking for you so you don’t have to? Learn what UPshow’s Social TV Platform can do to help you grow your business through UGC today. Article by Matt Gibbs - Co-founder & CMO, UPshow

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

NEWS

ASSOCIATIONS

NYSRA Continues The Fight Against Tip Wage Elimination

he New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) has been on the front lines for more than six months fighting the battle against the Governor’s attempt to eliminate the tipped wage. In late December, we received a call that this proposal was going to be examined through a series of hearings (NOT a legislative vote) held by the Labor Commis-

sioner and her staff to determine the validity of this idea. It started in Long Island where we rallied with close to 200 industry professionals to tell the stories of how eliminating the tip credit would negatively affect our industry. From dozens of servers and bartenders, to multi-unit operators and independents, all explained how this will crush the hard working

businesses and employees that call this industry home. Then we were off to Watertown where we gathered crowds of operators and servers to share messages of why this failed in Maine and how it would hurt the very people it’s supposed to be helping. Then several hundred more testified in Syracuse, Buffalo, and

again in Albany where NYSRA was the force behind the many voices of the entire state. We have collectively held five rallies, dozens of TV spots, numerous interviews and news articles, and garnered the support of many state legislators. This has

continued on page 76

The scene at the recent Albany tip wage elimination hearing

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

NYSRA, from page 74 been a 6 month fight, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for the New York State Restaurant Association staff, Board leadership and its members. The last of the six industry hearings is on June 27 at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. We need to continue our momentum from the previous five hearings and have a strong showing at the final hearing. We are grateful to the restaurant organizations who closed

their doors for the day to testify, to those who drove 4, 5, and 6 plus hours to testify around the state, and to those tipped employees who have put 100% into this fight since January. Now, we must make the Bronx hearing our best yet! We have a call to action for all restaurant industry tipped employees and operators who do NOT want to see this change completely disrupt our industry, earnings, and service

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levels. GO REGISTER & TESTIFY!! If we do not speak up when given the opportunity the affects will be: raising menu prices, eliminating staff, reducing hours, less staff per shift, reducing service levels which lead to lower customer satisfaction. Lower customer satisfaction leads to less earnings for staff and owners. It’s time to take action! If you have any questions on how to testify, how these things work, or how to regis-

ter, we are here to help. For over 85 years NYSRA has been there for you when you needed us and since the day this started we’ve been on the front line for you. Contact Ron Mathews if you have any questions ronm@nysra.org or call 212-398-9160, ext 207.

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

NEWS

PIZZA OVEN SOLUTIONS

Marra Forni Celebrates NRA ‘18 With Pair of Accolades

n what is truly the making of a movie script, the Marra brothers are writing what may someday hit the big screen. Francesco and Enzo Marra came to the US with nothing more than a dream and a commitment to hard work. They launched their food service career in the United States in 1999 with the opening of a food distribution company. AF evolved into one of The Washington/Baltimore markets’ most successful importers of specialty foods from Italy. After 15 years, they decided to take their expertise and develop their new brand Marra Forni. They got

into the pizza oven business after a client asked if they could get him an oven from Italy. The rest is history, as that single oven led to the creation of what has now become the first brick oven manufacturer made in the USA. Marra Forni’s key to success has been its ability to merge the technology and aesthetics of the traditional Italian oven with the cost-efficiency of U.S. service. “We really modernized the look. Before, they were a lot more traditional,” Francesco said of the ovens. “We made it into something in a more modern Italian style.” Recognition of Marra Forni continues to grow, as the company won a pair of KI-Kitchen Innovation Awards at last month’s NRA Show. Marra Forni’s powerful Open-Mouth Electric Brick Oven took home honors, with its cooking temps up to 1,000°F that can perfectly bake a pizza in 45 seconds and churn out up to 200 pies per hour. The unit features Sorrento refractory brick walls and deck to provide optimal efficiency and balanced, all-heat retention under a low dome. “This is truly the first electric pizza oven that can generate heat so that the door can (L-R) Brothers Enzo and Francesco Marra have stay open to make it both built Maryland based Marra Forni into the nation’s operationally and energy fastest growing deck oven copmpany

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Always on the search for solutions, Marra Forni debuted an Electric-Powered Food Car equipped with their award-winning stainless steel brick oven

efficient,” Francesco added. The Rotator Deck Brick Oven with Double Mouth Opening also was tabbed for a KI-Kitchen innovation award for being the industry’s first pass-through, rotating deck oven to use two forced-air burners (totaling just 84K BTU/hour) to produce pizzas from both directions in under 90 seconds. “Operators love that two chefs can be working on this oven at the same time,” Francesco explained. Controls regulate heat, rotation speed from zero to 180 seconds, even separate temperatures for each side if so desired. An air screen keeps the

heat in. “One of the other major changes we are seeing is that our ovens are being used for so much more than pizza, “ Francesco continued. “At the NRA show, we had our chefs cooking Tomahawk steaks and even fish.” “I simply can’t say enough about the team we have built at Marra Forni. With the help of some truly motivated young and energetic talent, we have been able to grow to some 50-plus professionals, all pulling together to build the industry’s best pizza oven,” Francesco concluded. Truly a story to stay tuned for on the big screen someday.

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

C-CAP TRADE TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

Three Industry Trendsetters Join C-CAP Board of Directors Prominent Michelin Star Chef Aaron Bludorn, Senior Communications Executive Mark Kornblau, and Industry Leader Stanislas Vilgrain Join Board

arcus Samuelsson and Mark Weiss, board co-chairs of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), have announced that Aaron Bludorn, Mark Kornblau, and Stanislas Vilgrain have been elected to the C-CAP’s Board of Directors. C-CAP is a pioneer and national leader in providing culinary career-readiness programs and educational opportunities to underserved high school students. Aaron Bludorn is Executive Chef at Café Boulud, Mark Kornblau is Senior Vice President of Communications for NBCUniversal News Group, and Stanislas Vilgrain is Chairman and CEO of Cuisine Solutions. “We are thrilled to have these dynamic individuals join C-CAP. They will bring tremendous support to our organization and provide their expertise to C-CAP’s President Karen Brosius and the board to achieve our goal of empowering young culinary achievers around the country to succeed through culinary education and job training,” says Marcus Samuelsson, C-CAP Board Co-Chair. • Aaron Bludorn, Executive Chef at Café Boulud - Aaron Bludorn has held all positions in the kitchen at this Michelin star restaurant since 2009. Before cooking at Sonoma’s Cyrus restaurant for three years under Michelin-starred Chef Douglas Keane,

Bludorn attended the Culinary Institute of America, followed by an internship at Seattle’s Canlis Restaurant. He then joined the Café Boulud team and worked his way up from the fish station, to Sous Chef, to Chef de Cuisine, and now Executive Chef. He has been a great mentor to many C-CAP students and has hired them for various positions in his kitchen. • Mark Kornblau, Senior Vice President, Communications for NBCUniversal News Group - Mark Kornblau oversees the communications strategy for the NBCUniversal News Group, partnering with the communicators and business leads at NBC News and MSNBC. Kornblau was Managing Director of Corporate Communications for JPMorgan Chase, and he served as Communications Director and Spokesman for Ambassador Susan Rice at the United States Mis-

Aaron Bludorn

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Mark Kornblau

sion to the United Nations. He has served in senior communication roles on two U.S. presidential campaigns, on Capitol Hill and on U.S. House and Senate campaigns. He was also Vice President of Corporate Communications at Zagat Survey. Kornblau received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. • Stanislas Vilgrain, Chairman & CEO of Cuisine Solutions - Stanislas Vilgrain was appointed chief executive officer of Cuisine Solutions in 1993, having served as president, chief operating officer, and director since 1991. Prior to joining Cuisine Solutions, he served as president of the Vie de France Culinary Division in many roles including director of staff operations, manager of the Vie de France Corporation’s San Francisco bakery, and assistant manager of the Denver bakery. Prior to joining Vie de

Stanislas Vilgrain

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

France Corporation, Mr. Vilgrain was assistant to the director of research and development for the bakery division of Grands Moulins de Paris and regional manager of operations and sales for O.F.U.P., a publication distributor in Paris, France. Stanislas Vilgrain earned an MBA in Finance from Université Paris Dauphine, Paris. He was awarded the Ernst & Young 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Hospitality Award for the greater Washington D.C. area. In 2015, Vilgrain was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French president for his work in strengthening cultural and business relations between France and the U.S.

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Finding An Eclectic Strategy That Creates Excitement

fter what feels like forever winter, we seem to finally be seeing flowers blooming and green on the trees. Golfers are finally on the course and boaters are in the high seas and restaurants are about to shift into a busy outdoor dining season. Eclectic can be defined as deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources. While an eclectic eatery means you get to excuse all design elements because you are going for an “eclectic” vibe but if you have cluttered your restau-

Liz Weiss is the President and co-

rant full of antique items and unique tableware please make sure they are a related look. This does not mean that each menu item cannot have its own vessel, but it does mean that too many materials, shapes, colors and styles will take away from your guests’ dining experience. You may not think about it, but from your guests perspective it can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you are busy and let’s hope and assume you are. You do not want to feel like everyone at the table is eating at a different establishment. Mixing deli-

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cate antique plates with heavy stoneware does not go together. Eclectic is a tricky thing to accomplish successfully, you may think it’s easy but there is an extremely fine line with what works and what does not. Too much or too little elements just do not work. I like some of the products like Cardinal’s Geode line. It enables an operator to capture the “best of the eclectic movement.” It’s amazing to me the impact that HGTV and retail has had on this eclectic movement. I look at the Property Brothers and Chip and Joanna Gaines

owner of Armonk, NY based H. Weiss Co., a division of BHS Foodservice Solutions. She is known nationally as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on tabletop design. The Michigan State graduate is also actively involved with WPO-Women’s Presidents Organization. Comments may be sent to eweiss@hweiss.net.

with Magnolia. They are bringing back colors that we would never dream of using.

continued on page 86

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Weiss, from page 84 Glass is without question, the toughest part of the eclectic equation. I don’t understand the trends in glass. They just don’t seem to be in synch with the drinks that are being mixed and poured. Eclectic allows you to bring in new elements to enhance the menu, the ability to explore new and possibly less expensive mediums, buy in smaller quantities, and allows you to keep the look changing and evolving. It’s a fun, positive, trend oriented design concept but as I have said before you have got to be careful! Trends do not happen overnight so newer items can be mixed in while older looks get phased out. Just look at the square plate, not really seeing that anymore. New serving pieces can breathe excitement into tried-and-true menu items. Let’s get into the specifics; if you are experimenting with plates, try to keep glasses simple. Whatever you do, do not, not, not mix and match flatware.

Eclectic allows you to bring in new elements to enhance the menu, the ability to explore new and possibly less expensive mediums, buy in smaller quantities, and allows you to keep the look changing and evolving. That is a sure way to go from eclectic to cheap in a blink of an eye. Using large wood boards for shared steak with sides on the board can look rusty and elegant and provides a great show. This strategy actually encourages the customer to have more sides. Plus your guests will love how Instagrammable it is. Recently there has been a new trend for smaller less expensive menu items. I know what you are thinking, this

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sounds like it would reduce profits. Contrary to what you think, this new trend is actually encouraging people to order and share more! This leaves restaurant operators with a small challenge and that is serving smaller portions that don’t necessarily look small. Smaller portions look silly on larger 12” plates, as do large portions on smaller plates. Using oven to tableware products like cast iron or china allows smaller portions to look larger.

Factories are producing more looks that can work together for restaurant owners and operators. We expect to see different things on the table, but now nobody wants to see the same white plates. We want to see something different, just not too much. This does not mean your guests expect your table to look like a single factory catalog picture with different colors, finishes, shapes and different mediums. Just make sure there is an element that makes them relate, even if you use sheet paper to line a Frenchfry basket. It makes sense to use a dealer to help you create the look. The average restaurant owner will open a couple and maybe a dozen restaurants at the most over a career. Our Weiss/BHS team are involved with the openings of hundreds of restaurants every year, so why not take advantage of that experience.

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2018 Hospitality Trends, from page 26 also on the rise – the most common being gluten and lactose. Properly labeling dishes isn’t about being trendy; it’s a matter of public safety. Labeling is only one part of the equation; ensure the kitchen is utilizing best practices when it comes to preventing cross contamination. Some people think of raw meat when they hear “cross contamination” but the reality could be as simple as a breadcrumb. Ingredient transparency keeps your customers safe, while also appealing to customers who want or need the transparency. Expanding Technology Technology isn’t just for Millennials – 77% of Americans over 50 use a smartphone. Go beyond free WiFi and leverage the technology available to boost guests’ experience. Allow guests to log in via an app and order food or drink service in advance. Imagine busy people on business trips being able to order dinner while in a taxi on the way back to their hotel and having it ready when they arrive. And imagine being able to see what they’ve ordered in the past and sending them a notification asking if they’d like another martini when they return to their room tonight. A great experience for them, good business for you. Investing in new technology can have an impact on a hotel’s bottom line beyond foodservice, by streamlining the check in and check out processes, upselling services, and controlling utility costs when those options are available using apps. A robust and well-implemented app can combine overall operational and sales goals for the hotel with foodservice opportunities and achieve high guest satisfaction. When upgrading, the user experience should be top priority. Baby Boomers can find technology frustrating, but only if it’s difficult to figure out. When technology is intuitive, guests of all generations can enjoy. Don’t underestimate the older generations’ use of

technology – more than 15% of time spent online by Baby Boomers is on Facebook. Speaking of social media, we’d be remiss if we didn’t address the everpresent platforms. Once, word of mouth was limited to the handful of people a guest spoke with when they returned home, or perhaps even later when a friend asked about their experience. Those days are long gone, and now guests are pushing out their impressions and feedback in real time to hundreds of people on social media. Use that to your advantage by having Instagram-worthy décor. Monitor public posts and even share posts (with guests’ permission) showing guests having a great time. Encourage guests to sit and enjoy a little while longer with charging stations readily available. Combine Traditional Venues with Nontraditional Offerings Food and drink are entwined in culture, and American culture places a big emphasis on convenience. Think of all the things guests can do at a hotel and their home equivalent. Place fresh or protein-rich snacks and appropriate drinks near the fitness center. Have a bar near the lobby so guests can get a drink as soon as they walk in. Or some prepared foods available in the lobby for guests to grab quickly as they leave hurriedly for their conference or on their way to the airport. Hotel convenience areas don’t have to be boring – offer prepared foods, designer cocktails, and lattes in addition to the standard candy bars, mini bottles of wine, and brewed coffee. Elevate the guest experience by providing high end choices regardless of where they are in the hotel or what time it is. American palates have gotten increasingly global, but ethnic cuisine is most often associated with lunch and dinner. Branch out and offer breakfast menus with flavors from around the

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world. More than 80% of Americans eat ethnic cuisines regularly, and it doesn’t require a complete overhaul of ingredients. Many globally-influenced dishes can be achieved by swapping out a few ingredients in a dish that is already on a menu, i.e. chorizo for sausage. There’s no need to wait for dinner for spices like curry or sumac! From a highly Americanized but fun “breakfast sushi” to authentic dishes like shakshuka, making the morning a fun and interesting experience makes a lasting impression on guests. Common Interests Many will point out that the industry continues to be steered by the Millennial generation. While Millennials may be making their desires heard and are early adopters of new practices, it’s important to note that the older generations are absolutely benefitting from and enjoying the

same trends. Where eating healthy is trending for young adults, it’s a matter of doctor’s orders for Baby Boomers. Convenience and social experiences are appreciated by guests of all ages. Aside from their broad appeal among guests, these trends have other benefits to offer, from lowering operational costs to increasing guest safety. The end result? These trends contribute to your bottom line, and positive ROI never goes out of style. Joy Pouros works as the authority writer in the Training department at Culinary Software Services, where she writes on topics as diverse as human resource issues to increasing profits. Joy entered the industry working as a Nutritional Aide in the Chicagoland area before moving into writing and consulting. Joy now specializes in marketing and public relations and writes for a variety of industries.

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Frying Practices 101: The Do’s and Don’ts of Frying

t MTI, home of the AutoFry ventless fryer, frying is in their blood. They eat, sleep, and breathe fried foods and because of that, they’re pretty well versed in the BEST and WORST frying practices. After over 20 years of ventless frying, they’ve seen or heard it all! The good, the bad, and the ugly! So they’re giving their do’s and don’ts for frying practices --- and while their expertise is in ventless frying, these rules can be applied to all styles of fryers. Do Choose Oil Carefully Not all oils are cut from the same cloth. Each oil has its own unique flavor profile and set smoke point, which can really effect the output of your fried foods. Smoke points are the temperature at which oil begins to break down. The higher it is, theoretically the longer your oil will last. Flavor profiles are also really important to consider when choosing oil, as they can completely change the taste of a menu item – soybean, for example has a very high flavor transfer on foods. And while canola oil has much less flavor transfer, it has a very strong smell while frying. All of these things add up to make for a very important decision, so think it all over thoroughly. To learn more on each oil’s characteristics and make a thoughtful decision for yourself, check out our Fryer Oil 101 blog, found here.

Don’t Keep your Oil at Cooking Temperature All Day Presumably your kitchen will have some slow periods throughout the day where you’re not doing much frying, if any at all. Don’t keep your oil set to cooking temperature during those periods of downtime. If you have an AutoFry, there is a standby button on every machine that can be used to turn the heating element off and cool oil to 300 degrees. This is still warm enough so that heating the oil back up to

cooking temperature will be quick and easy, but also cool enough that you’re able to extend oil life. For a traditional open fryer, you can manually set your oil to a lower temperature as well, and we recommend 300 degrees as a happy medium.

zen, which lowers cook times. This means you’ll have food cooked in top speed! Additionally this leads to a twice-fried style of frying – for fries, this would be Belgian style fries – super crispy on the outside, nice, warm and soft on the inside.

Do Fry Frozen Foods This one may seem like a no brainer, but frozen foods make the perfect deep frying vessel. Most frozen products, like French fries, are blanched prior to being fro-

Don’t Forget to Shake Ice Crystals Off We recommend frying frozen when possible, but it’s imperative that you shake off any large or excessive ice buildup off of the frozen product prior to putting it in the hot oil. If you load the food in while it is covered in ice, you’ll find yourself with a huge mess on your hands – and quite literally, if you’re using an open fryer it could result in burnt hands. What happens when that ice hits the hot oil? It has no choice but to rapidly expand, causing an explosion of hot grease and water. In an enclosed fryer like AutoFry, you’re not going to get burnt by this action, but you could find your oil pot boiling over and making a huge mess of things. If you’re using an open fryer, the situation is a bit more dangerous, so take caution and make sure to get any excess ice off, prior to frying.

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Do Filter Oil Frequently Oil filtering is a crucial frying practice that is often forgotten or done too infrequently. Not filtering oil leads to shorter oil life span and bad tasting food. Neither of which

continued on page 92 June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 89

Keeping It Crisp, from page 50 From soggy French fries to soft crust pizza and saturated nachos or even a wet burger, all kinds of foods and particularly fast food, which are enclosed in boxes becomes a victim of moisture. Not only then it loses its taste, but it also becomes deprived of its original texture and crisp. This solution is all about keeping the food fresh for as long as possible and preserving everything original that keeps restaurant patrons coming back for more. In addition, Keeping It Crisp is now available online and besides fast food chains, anyone can get this solution by placing orders on the website. It comes in two different variants of ‘Punch & Run’ as well as ‘Stacker Vent.’ Many food boxes such as pizza boxes have little vents in the side, which are purposefully built to keep the food fresh. However, despite these vents, the major-

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Fugazy, from page 64 ity of moisture sits right inside them and this solution is to eliminate all that moist and all the steam, which becomes the source of that moist. Keeping It Crisp has perfectly designed this tool to eliminate moisture while retaining the heat in a container or a box. Cardboard can be a bit trickier to work with and getting the right dimensions to poke these tools into the cardboard was a time consuming job but Tom was successfully able to figure out the right way. Furthermore, this amazing food solution is getting a phenomenal response from around the world and Keeping it Crisp is creating a major buzz worldwide. For more information and to order, please visit the website and online shop of Keeping It Crisp at: www.keepingitcrisp.com

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testify or assist in any proceeding under the law is unlawful. The New York State Department of Labor (“NYDOL”) will establish a model sexual harassment policy for employers to adopt or use to establish a similar policy that meets or exceeds the minimum standards of the model policy. Annual Interactive Training Annually, Employers must provide all employees with interactive sexual harassment prevention training that meets the following minimum standards: (i) An explanation of sexual harassment and retaliation consistent with guidance issued by the NYDOL; (ii) Examples of conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment; (iii) Information concerning the federal, state and city statutory provisions prohibiting sexual harassment and retaliation, an accompanying statement that sexual harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment and retaliation; (iv) Information concerning employees’ internal and external complaint processes, rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating complaints; (v) Information addressing conduct by supervisors and any additional responsibilities for supervisors; (vi) Guidance regarding bystander intervention. The NYDOL will establish a model sexual harassment prevention training program for employers to adopt or use to establish a similar training program that meets or exceeds the minimum standards of the model training. The New York City Commission on Human Rights is tasked with creating an online interactive

training module to be posted on their website for access by employers. Anti-Sexual Harassment Rights and Responsibilities Poster that Must Be Displayed in the Workplace Effective September 6, 2018, all employers in New York City will be required to conspicuously display an anti-sexual harassment rights and responsibilities poster (in English and in Spanish, at a minimum) in the place where other workplace posters are displayed. The New York City Commission on Human Rights is tasked with designing the poster, which shall be made available on the Commission’s website for employers to download, print and post. Anti-Sexual Harassment Rights and Responsibilities Information Sheet that Must Be Distributed To New Hires The New York City Commission on Human Rights will also be creating an information sheet on sexual harassment that employers will be required to distribute to each employee at the time of hire. * * * In preparation for the new law to go into effect, employers should regularly check the websites of the New York State Department of Labor, New York State Division of Human Rights and the New York City Commission on Human Rights for the model policies, training, poster and information sheet. Restauranteurs would also be wise to contact an employment attorney with a concentration in restaurants to ensure their policies, notices and training programs are in compliance. If you have questions, please contact Amanda M. Fugazy, Partner, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole at 212370-1300.

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

Ventless Fryers, from page 89 is good for your business, so it’s imperative to make a good habit out of filtering oil daily. You can filter automatically with a device like our AutoFilter unit, or manually through a bucket and net process. Regardless of how you filter, the key is that you DO filter. Daily. And possibly even twice a day if you’re frying at a very high volume! Filtering oil will keep foods tasting good and keep your oil costs down. Oil breakdown occurs at a much faster rate with dirty oil, so by keeping your oil clean you’re going to have a longer life span on your oil, and save money on purchasing new oil over time. Don’t Skip Weekly Deep Cleaning If you’re filtering oil daily, you might be tempted to skip a more thorough cleaning weekly, but DON’T! If you want your equipment to last the

long haul, you need to maintain regular cleaning procedures – including a weekly deep cleaning. This involves cleaning out your oil pot, changing spent oil and cleaning out any dirt, grease or grime that may have built up through the week. When you’re going about your weekly cleaning, you may want to also consider changing oil. You’ll know that oil needs to be changed when food starts to smell or taste burnt or stale, if the finish on your food is darker or has burnt spots, or when you see a smoky or slight blue haze coming from your fryer. These are all pretty good indicators that it’s time for a change! You can learn more about oil change warning signs here. Additional Do’s and Don’ts for Frying DO keep up with filter changes if

you are using a ventless fryer that requires them. AutoFry remains ventless with the help of its three filter system. That ventless process, however, is comprimised when filters get old and overloaded. So make sure to stay on top of regular filter changes. If you’re using a hood or vent system, be sure to have it annually inspected and cleaned as needed. DON’T fool around with your fryer. Hot oil burns are one of the leading kitchen accidents in commercial kitchen spaces, so safety needs to be a top priority. Of course, if you’re cooking with a fully enclosed fryer like AutoFry you can rest easy on worrying about employees getting burned. DO adjust your oil temperature for different foods --- some items are happily fried at 350 degrees but other items, like fresh wings, will do better at 375 degrees!

DON’T overload your fryer basket. Sure you’re cooking more items at once, but if they’re too crowded they won’t cook evenly and you could run into potential food safety problems. DO top off your oil each morning. As you fry throughout the day, you’ll loose oil along the way. It’s important to keep oil up to the fill line on your oil pot and a morning top-off is the easiest way to ensure you’re at the right line. DON’T filter oil while it’s hot. Again, this comes down to safety, you want to make sure that oil has cooled to 200 degress before you start the filtering process. And finally, DO have fun with your frying recipes! In America, pretty much anything is fair game to be deep fried - candy bars, vegetables, cereal, ice cream, you name it, it’s been battered and fried at some point!

The true strength of Citrin Cooperman begins and ends with listening to our clients’ needs and allowing them to ‘focus on what counts’ – their customers. NICK FLORIO, CPA Co-leader - Restaurant & Hospitality Practice T: 212.697.1000 nflorio@citrincooperman.com

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STACY GILBERT, CPA Co-leader - Restaurant & Hospitality Practice T: 973.218.0500 x2371 sgilbert@citrincooperman.com ROY TUMPOWSKY, CPA Co-Leader, Restaurant & Hospitality Practice T: 212.697.1000 rtumpowsky@citrincooperman.com

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Sederholt, from page 12 was a huge success in this downtrodden neighborhood because it became special and important to the customers. The place gave them some comfort and a special treat after working hard. Rents were low and the appreciation was high. This crappy location, targeted properly was pure gold! This formula for success was amplified in the 1990’s when Outback Steakhouse mounted a controversial strategy. They decided to roll out non-prime steakhouses at a time when the popularity of beef was at an all-time low. They were going for the mass market and were only looking for marginal “B and C” locations that afforded cheaper rents and because they were weaker locations they would not serve lunch. At that time, many of us in the industry thought they were crazy. No one was eating steak, least of all workingclass people and how could you survive without serving lunch. Well – they knocked it out of the park. The first IPO became one of the most successful IPOs on Wall Street and they went on to open hundreds of locations. In recent history, I have observed locations once considered horrible, having gone in a completely different direction. Brooklyn is a prime example as neighborhoods my Dad warned me to stay out of have turned into the hot spots for trendy dining and drinking. The Lower East Side was no man’s land for years. Tenements, drug dealers and all kinds of sh*tholes infested the streets. Today, it is one of the most sought after locations in the city. Now the rents are through the roof and dreaming of a new location on streets like Rivington, Clinton or Delancy are unattainable. Long Island City, Hoboken and Jersey City have followed their blue collar cousins and are now prime for growth. I recently looked at a business

plan for a restaurant group coming into NYC from California. They are planning on building out a new location in the Bowery area. The budget calls for close to $1.8 million in build out, equipment and expenses. They have no more than 80 seats and are paying $500,000 a year ($41,000 per month) in base occupancy costs. All I could think, was what motivated them to think that this was a good financial decision. The Bowery was

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once the poster child for the homeless, alcoholic and drugged out unfortunates in our city. Today you had best be ready to plunk down $2 million for a trendy apartment. So, will this be a gold mine… or a crappy investment? Only time will tell. One of the reasons why banks and financial investors don’t take most restaurant owners seriously is that very often they don’t show good financial judgment. They run on gut

feelings and emotion rather that objectively analyzing the data and running the numbers. What appears to be a crappy location may be the opportunity of a lifetime. What appears to be a high-profile spot, may take you down financially. Proceed with Caution. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your business, please email me at DSederholt@sfscapital. com

Western Pest, from page 70 pests lay their eggs near fruits and vegetables (and other decaying matter). You can find them near fermented materials in trashcans and floor drains. Phorid flies, another common type of restaurant fly, have humped backs, which makes them easy to recognize. They are about a ¼-inch long and thrive off moisture and breed in decaying matter so they can often be found in the bottom of trash cans, kitchen equipment and backed up drains. And lastly, sewer flies (also known as drain flies) are common restaurant invaders. These have small, furry bodies and hairy wings. They can live up to a month, while surviving dramatic changes in temperature and low-oxygen environments. Sewer flies breed in raw sewage under slabs where undetected broken pipes may be located, as they need standing water to breed. Now that you know the types, below are a few of the hot spots where you may find these pests: • Food prep areas • Storage areas • Trashcans, drains and dumpsters • Loading and receiving docks • Incoming shipments • Building exterior • Plants, foliage, and any areas

with decaying organic matter, like food Pass (a health inspection) with Flying Colors When it comes to health inspections, the main purpose is food safety. Pests that can contaminate food and surfaces can cause health inspection point deductions. In extreme situations, an active infestation can cause an establishment to be shut down immediately. A clean kitchen isn’t enough to prevent a fly infestation. Here are some of the elements that should be part of your recipe for successful fly control: • Inspect. Be sure to inspect all shipments and supplies upon receipt and before storing. • Exclude. Every building has cracks, gaps and holes in doors, windows and walls. Seal these with caulk or weather stripping. An HVAC professional can help ensure proper air flow with proper pest exclusion. • Sanitize. Organic material, like food and waste, is a huge draw for flies. Use cleaning products that decompose organic materials from drains and high-trafficked surfaces. Also, be sure to move dumpsters as far away

know to proactively report any fly incidences as they occur.

from your building as possible, as flies thrive in warm, moist conditions-sites like this are where they seek to reproduce. • Light Smart. Not only are they food contaminators and disease spreaders, but they also are attracted to certain wavelengths of light. Installing insect light traps (ILTs) can draw flies to a non-toxic sticky board. These ILTs use ultraviolet light bulbs to attract the pets. • Inspect. A pest management professional can help to identify the source of a fly infestation, which is key to proper prevention. • Educate. Employees can be the first line of defense against a fly infestation. Be sure all employees are informed about the dangers of flies, and

With these tips and some help from your pest management professional, you can create a no-fly zone in your establishment. Western understands that no two food service establishments are exactly the same. We customize our fly control strategies for each organization starting with a comprehensive, on-site inspection. Effective pest management is a process, not a one-time event. With our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach, we can help you stay a step ahead of pest management so you are prepared for your next health inspection. Hope Bowman is a Technical Specialist and Board-Certified Entomologist with Western Pest Services, a New Jersey-based pest management company serving businesses and homeowners in major Northeastern markets. Learn more about Western by visiting www. westernpest.com.

Bar Problems, from page 62

5. Not paying attention to your variance Variance is the difference between what you actually have in stock and what you thought you had. It’s related to your portions and your loss, and it’s crucial to profitability. Focus on alcohol usage to size up your variance, especially for your key, high-volume ingredients. For liquor, pay close attention to the portioning, or how much your bar-

tenders are pouring. For beer, it’s all about the loss. If you’re going through more kegs without the sales to support it, you’ll have to do some investigating. SOLUTION: Pay attention to those high-usage items. • Target your popular drinks, like your well liquors and light beers. That’s where the big impact to your revenues can lie. It’s Pareto’s Law: You consistently count 20% of your inventory, because they account for 80% of your costs.

• Don’t forget you’re still managing an entire bar. You can’t completely ignore those expensive liquors… Give them a count every so often. Conclusion: Save your Money and Save Your Bar Like we said...managing a bar isn’t all fun. It’s a tough business. The good news is, there are some simple solutions to all the ways a bar can fail. And technology can help with almost all of them.

Software and apps can’t write your next marketing slogan...or train your bartenders on mixology. But they can provide the tools to make your bar pay off. Every restaurant bar is different. So do your research and find a solution that works for you. But you shouldn’t just continue to ignore your bar costs. You simply can’t afford to.

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

Puglielli, from page 66 it. And today, we have the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable, a thought leadership program that inspires commercial and non-commercial food services, as well as any operator in the food industry, to explore the benefits and products that are typical of the Mediterranean Diet. The major challenge, however, is to learn the proper manufacturing processes that don’t compromise the actual organoleptic profile of the product, often, commercial treatments, procedures and processes can negatively affect the final product. In the United States, one person out of three is obese or overweight. In ALL of the Mediterranean Countries, this is not the case. To me, the obesity problem, alone, is a strong motivating factor to look at ways to improve this situation. It is good to be able to offer ethical choices that might benefit the end-consumer. Walk us through the selection of Yale and New Haven as a location for the event? What was the role of the truly visionary Rafi Taherian in the event? Yale is an Ivy League university and a beacon of leadership and innovation. The dining program is no different, and Rafi is a driving force in the landscape of food service. At the event, he will be the host, but he will also allow us to experience the cuisine, and the choices he and his team made to position Yale Hospitality as a leading dining program. Can you share some of the highlights of the agenda? We have outstanding speakers that will provide the vision of what we do: Rafi has already been mentioned. In addition, Dr. David Katz will be a presenter. He is one of the most recognized nutritional experts on the planet, and, while not a “fanatic” of the Mediterranean Diet per

se, he is a proponent of a healthy and balanced lifestyle, which is in harmony with our mission. Prof. John Wargo, will discuss the way in which certain choices for producing and packaging food affect the product. Bob Bauer, the president of the American Food Industry Association, will disclose important information about recent FSMA regulations and what importers, distributors, and brokers of products from foreign countries must do to be in compliance with these regulations. Then there will be important insights about the generational consumers’ behavior, provided by food ethnographer June Jo Lee. Also to be presented by Greek experts Prokopios Magiatis and Eleni Melliou are “not-to- be-missed” studies on how to appreciate olive oil and determine its quality. In addition, we will announce a very important joint initiative with the World Trade Center: the launch of a portal for trade! There will be guided tastings and presentations with a “specific country” focus, as well as information on best practices in distribution, presented by Sodexo and Compass among others. It will be a very rich program encompassing a fantastic network! Who will attend MDR? Is there something for a vendor: food broker/ distributor? We try to keep the attendance between 100 to 120 people. This number, given the importance of the presenters, really provides an opportunity to allow attendees to connect and interact with each other. Researchers, nutritionists, importers, distributors, brokers, people who are looking to launch a career in the food business, insurance companies, franchising concepts, vendors and anybody who wants to learn more about the Mediterra-

96 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

nean Diet from leading sources and not from books or from a distance, would benefit from attending. Where was the conference last year? What were some of the takeaways from last year’s event? Last year’s conference was in Boston, guests of the University of Massachusetts, ranked #1 dining program for colleges and universities by the Princeton Review. Ken Toong, its Director, and Rafi Taherian continue to be strong supporters of what we are trying to do. The takeaways are somewhat intangible, since it is more about getting a holistic vision of a certain topic, rather than getting a seminar about learning to manufacture cheese! It is more of a wakeup call, or a mentoring, in order to see the food industry as a kaleidoscope of opportunities, while learning from inspiring leaders and promoting one’s own business or brand. It’s a think tank, a movement, and a learning experience. It’s similar to learning that “a tomato is a fruit but not usually used in a fruit salad”. Those sorts of things! There is a seminar that will focus with the Science and Sense of the Mediterranean Diet. Who are some of the panelists that will share their thoughts? Our scientific panel, composed of the legendary Dr. David Katz and other international panelists who share a strong vision about Diet: Dr. Simon Poole (UK) describing his introduction of the Mediterranean Diet in the UK; Prof. Daniele Del Rio (Italy) proposing the application of the Mediterranean Diet in schools, Dr. Christina Economos (Tufts University) discussing programs to prevent childhood obesity. Stellar panelists, as always.

Our eyes were caught by the terms “nutraceutical” / anti-inflammatory. How long have they been talking points? What’s the message behind this? Nutraceutical is the future. It is about functional foods and how to use the natural properties of certain foods to gain health benefits. It’s becoming a big field! In November, we will be guests of a major nutraceutical conference in Rome, Italy. It is the next step in this industry: come and learn! What is your goal for The Future of Responsible Food: Challenges and Opportunities? The Mediterranean Diet is not only healthy and delicious; it is also sustainable. This panel will illustrate the way in which certain choices that producers make, impact/benefit the end-consumer in different ways. While it is not an easy task, it is necessary to make those working in the food industry aware of such choices. By putting together, in the same room, the Food Industry Association, a direct link to the FDA, professors at Yale and other leading universities around the world, giants in the food distribution system such as Sodexo and Compass, it is inevitable that an interaction and collaboration can and will occur. We have nurtured and fostered several collaborations among our very own speakers. These are the effects of the MDR that we hope to achieve. You have a very special Mediterranean Gala on the agenda. Who will be cooking? What will be on the menu? This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the offering of Yale Hospitality. After all, I am a public relations specialist, and a lifestyle event was long overdue.

June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com • 97

Fiorito, from page 40 sources to get you the product you need when you need it. Ask them directly: What is your business continuity plan? How quickly can you get up and running if something goes wrong? Thoroughly review vendor contracts. Have your internal or external legal team review your contract with the new vendor, and have your broker evaluate the vendor’s liability coverage. Look for policy exclusions that could deny them indemnification if they are unable to deliver on their promises. After a mistake, come back stronger. In a crisis, having “no comment” will incriminate you. Be ready to speak intelligently in front of a camera about what went wrong. Have a standard, flexible press statement ready to go that can be altered depending on the issue. KFC’s witty media response was a win for them after a major loss. Get Insured Unfortunately, there’s no coverage for a bad business move but there is coverage for unintentional losses related to business interruption and contingent business interruption. When the distribution failure is the result of a natural disaster, key personnel loss, structural collapse, power interruption or machinery breakdown directly related to the business, business interruption coverage will bridge the income gap caused by the disaster, finance a temporary relocation for the business and more.

Inspiration. Creativity. Passion. Your fascination with food. Your creativity. Your love of people. Your talent for nourishing their bodies and their souls. Imagine 3 days in the heart of Los Angeles — the world’s most entertaining city — where you can focus on all the magic and mystery that attracted you to food in the first place. Give yourself the gift of learning! Spark your creative appetite and turn your passion for the industry into a sustainable business. The Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo August 19-21, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center

CO-LOCATED WITH

EDUCATION | DEMOS | TASTINGS | EXHIBITS

westernfoodexpo.com When the business interruption is the result of an unforeseeable supply chain failure that prevents your organization from producing its products or delivering its services, contingent business interruption coverage will bridge the gap of income for your business and help you get on your feet again. 98 • June 2018 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

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