March 2015 by Total Food Service

// NEWS

HEALTH CONCERNS

New York Considers Requiring Raw Fish To Be Kept Frozen The New York Department of Health is reportedly pondering new standards that would require all fish for sushi and ceviche to be frozen, and some restaurateurs are not happy about it.

he new rule would state that all fish meant to be served raw - as sushi or ceviche or seafood tartare, for example would

have to be kept frozen until it was served. Wild tuna and farm-raised fish would be exempt. The goal of the new regulation would be to prevent parasites, which can’t survive the

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freezing process. The New York State Restaurant Association says that requiring sushi fish to be kept frozen until serving would reportedly mean that a lot of

smaller restaurants would have to buy expensive new freezers. Because freezing could change the texture of certain fish, the new regulation would also reportedly affect service at high-end restaurants. This affects the high-end restaurants like Marea and Le Bernardin that specialize in seafood, and the sushi restaurants like Nobu," said Chris Hickey, NYC regional director of the New York State Restaurant Association. To many food lovers, sushi has become a near religion, and a cornerstone of the faith is that the fish is extraordinarily fresh. Its priests are chefs with seemingly mystical abilities to summon fresh fish from all

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// NEWS

HOTELS

Chinese Insurance Co. Pays RecordBreaking $2 Mil Per Room for New York's Luxury Baccarat Hotel Manhattan's super-luxurious Baccarat Hotel is not even open to the public yet, but already it has been sold for a record-breaking price of $2 million per room.

he sparkling 114-room hospitality haven inspired by France's famed Baccarat crystal is slated to open its doors in Midtown Manhattan next month. Located on West 53rd Street, the palatial property features 15,000 pieces of French crystal stemware, bedazzled furniture and chandeliers. A night's stay at the high-end Baccarat is excepted to cost as much as $18,000, which could explain why China's Sunshine Insurance Group jumped on the opportunity to snap up the hotel for more than $230 million, even though it has yet to welcome a single patron. The property was developed by Starwood Capital Group, which will continue to manage Baccarat. The high-end property flip is expected to match, or even surpass, the 2012 sale of the storied Plaza Hotel to India's Sahara Group, which shelled out $2.04 million per room. The deep-pocketed Chinese insurance outfit, which was founded in 2005, bought a Sheraton hotel in Sydney, Australia, for a whopping $380 million in November. Chinese companies with money to spend have become major players in the US real

Chinese companies have accelerated real estate investments in global gateway cities such as New York.

estate game as of late. Chinese companies have accelerated real estate investments in glob-

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al gateway cities such as New York. In October, Beijing’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. agreed to pay $1.95

billion for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue, an Art Deco landmark and one of the city’s signature properties. It would be the highest price paid by a Chinese buyer for a standing U.S. building, Kevin Mallory, global head of hotels for CBRE Group Inc., said when the deal was announced. That the buyer for the Baccarat “is yet another Chinese insurer could signal an increase in the pace of Chinese institutional capital looking abroad for diversification and safety,” said Ben Carlos Thypin, director of market analysis at property-research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc. At about $2 million per room, the price for the Baccarat would be the second highest on that basis for a New York hotel, behind the $2.5 million per room paid for a 75 percent stake in the Plaza Hotel in 2012, Thypin said. That price included the Plaza’s retail space, he said. Starwood Capital built the Baccarat hotel and condominium project with developer Tribeca Associates. The property, with a 125-foot-wide (38-meter-wide) corrugated crystal facade, is across the street from the Museum of Modern Art. The hotel will be managed under a long-term contract by Greenwich, Connecticut-based Starwood’s SH Group. “Sunshine shares our long-term strategic vision for Baccarat Hotels and will be an excellent partner for the growth of our brands, particularly in the fast-growing travel markets of Asia,” Sternlicht said. Additional Baccarat Hotels are under construction in Dubai and Rabat, Morocco, he said.

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// NEWS

FOODSERVICE SHOW

Dynamic List Of Chefs, Including Television Host Sara Moulton, To Present Culinary Demonstrations At This Month’s International Restaurant & Foodservice Show Of New York Sara Moulton, nationally recognized chef, television host, author and educator will join Ferdinand Metz, CMC, President emeritus of the Culinary Institute of America in a Culinary Demonstration on Monday, March 9,

by Alain Ducasse. (2:00 – 2:45). Olivia Roskowski is currently a fulltime instructor at Natural Gourmet Institute. Previously she has worked at The Mercer Kitchen and Momofuku Ssam Bar. Olivia is a master at root-tofrond cooking and will be presenting Meatless Monday Demonstration Springtime Edamame & Black Quinoa Sliders with Avocado, Sprouts & Crispy Shallots. (3:00 – 3:45).

12:30pm – 1:30pm on the show floor of the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York.

hefs Moulton and Metz join an impressive list of chefs who will be on stage during the three day event including Anton Testino, Megan Johnson, Bryan Tsao and others. These live cooking demos are part of the Food Trends Demonstration Theater that will take place throughout the day from Sunday, March 8 through Tuesday, March 10 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. “A highlighted feature of the event is the Food Trends Demonstration Theater and this year will be no exception as our featured chefs will present culinary demonstrations and provide audience members with tips on how to incorporate the latest trends into the menu offerings as well as provide delicious samples,” said Ron Mathews, Vice President, Restaurant and Foodservice Events Portfolio. “We are thrilled to be hosting Sara Moulton who will sit down for a one on one interview with Ferdinand Metz followed by their cooking demonstration; it’s certainly going to be a must attend event at this year’s show.” Sara Moulton, a CIA grad, will join Ferdinand Metz to review highlights from her illustrious 30 year career, including working in restaurants throughout the US and Europe, her

mentorship with Julia Child, her positions as Food Editor of Good Morning America and executive chef of Gourmet Magazine, her time on the Food Network, and current role of author of several cookbooks and host of “Sara’s Weeknight Dinners.” Sara will also discuss her involvement with helping women in the industry, including founding the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance. After the interview Ferdinand and Sara will cook one of Sara’s recipes together and Sara will be available for a question and answer session and book signing. The following is the line-up for the Food Trends Demonstration Theater:

Chef Megan Johnson is the executive chef at Casselula Wine and Cheese Café and Elsewhere. Previously, she has worked at Gramercy Tavern and also competed on Food Network's Chopped. Chef's focus is fresh, local ingredients (1:00 – 1:45 pm). Fritz Sonnenschmidt is a Certified Master Chef, author/editor of The Professional Art of Garde Manger, Chairman of the American Academy of Chefs and AAC Hall of Fame Member, Culinary Olympics Gold Medalist, a television personality, and former Culinary Dean at the Culinary Institute of America and Executive Chef at the Sheraton Hotel in NYC. (2:00 – 2:45 pm).

Sunday, March 8 Chef David Santos is the Executive Chef and Partner at Louro. He has previously worked at Bouley and Per Se and also launched a series of supper clubs, Um Segredo. He's appeared on Fox TV's Good Day New York, CBS New York and more. (11:00 – 11:45 am). Celebrity Chef Anton Testino attended the Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A) and has appeared on the Food Network's CHOPPED and Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen. (12:00 – 12:45 pm). Chef Anton will also be presenting on Monday, March 9 at 11 am and on Tuesday, March 10 at 1:00 pm.

Monday, March 9 Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton, nationally recognized chef, television host, author and educator and Ferdinand Metz, Certified Master Chef, take the stage together to review Sara’s esteemed and illustrious 30 year career and cook one of her dishes. Book signing and question & answer to follow. (12:30 – 1:30 pm). Chef Adin Languille leads the kitchen at David Burke Group's newest NYC establishment as Executive Chef of David Burke fabrick. He is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University and has previously also held a position at Adour

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

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

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// FOOD SAFETY

WITH NOELLE IFSHIN

Why Cross Training And Creating Redundancy In Your Restaurant Staff Is Crucial To Success As we discussed in A Well Trained Staff is Your Secret Weapon: “People run your business and your business is only as good as your people."

n effective training program is an owner’s key tool to ensure consistency in product and customer service, which is a basic tenet of running a restaurant.” The restaurant business is a team sport which has specialists in certain positions – i.e. bartenders, servers, line cooks, etc. Each person on the team should know their role, be trained for their specific job and know how it fits into the team as a whole. However, what happens when the only manager who knows how to close calls is out sick or you are under staffed and no one is cross-trained? It becomes increasingly difficult to run a successful restaurant when you have no redundancy. Here are four reasons why redundancy and cross-training in your restaurant staff is crucial to your business: Better Productivity Cost and insufficient time are often cited as reasons why restaurants do not take the time to set up crosstraining programs. Though it may increase your overall training costs, to train multiple people to do mul-

Noelle Ifshin, President & CEO, 4Q Consulting New York, NY n o e l l e @ 4 Q C o n s u l t .c o m

tiple jobs, you reap the benefit when pressed into action. Employees and managers who are properly crosstrained can increase your restaurant’s productivity because it allows you to make changes without disrupting service. We tell our clients that it is more costly, in the long run, to not cross-train your staff. The cost comes in many forms, but mostly in a work force that is not as productive as possible, resulting in having to use more staff per shift, expensive mistakes being made by untrained stand-ins and the possibility of a poor customer service experience for your guests. Better Product Quality through Consistency As we examined in Consistency is

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King, “Customers should not have to spin the roulette wheel each time they visit your restaurant; they should experience the same quality of food and service every time. It should not matter which chef or server is working on any given day, the customer experience should never be a surprise.” We have all been to a restaurant that was great one day and then only so-so the next time around. Whether the staff line-up has changed due to growing the business or people calling out sick, you must have bench strength in your ranks, this way no one can tell that the Sous Chef is cooking instead of your Executive Chef on any given night. Consistency is the key to establishing regular clientele, and regular clients are the most impor-

tant customers to have. Maintaining regular clientele is a critical factor in establishing a solid reputation that will attract newcomers. Better Employee Retention There are many reasons why employees leave jobs; high on the list is becoming frustrated or bored in a job. Assuming you’ve done everything correctly during the on-boarding process, yet you are still having large amounts of turnover, it is time to look at what type of advancement and cross-training opportunities you provide your employees. Cross training also helps to engage the longtime employee who feels that they are no longer learning anything and feels that the restaurant doesn’t invest in furthering their knowledge. At a basic level, human beings like to feel that they are continually learning new skills and will acknowledge management’s investment in them by staying with the company. Better Financial Results Improved productivity, product quality and employee retention should all lead to organic cost savings. These savings, in the long run, will offset the initial costs to crosstrain all of your staff. By being able to achieve the first three “betterments” stated above, you will be able to: reduce production steps and/or mistakes; run your business leaner; make time-effective market-driven changes; focus on cultivating on-going, repeat business; and lower your recruiting and hiring costs.

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// NEWS

RESTAURANT DATA

Metro New York City Restaurant Shows Resiliency In New Investor Report From Restaurantdata.com Bust that myth! Independent restaurant startups have a first year success rate over 80%! Many experts predict over 30% of new restaurants will not survive their first year in business. A trusted local resource: Restaurantdata.com's Joe Dunbar and has found the closing rate is much lower.

he Irvington, NY firm’s latest research which can be found in the

company's new Restaurant Investor Report combats bogus claims of

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restaurant success, takes a corner to corner, comprehensive approach to

real survival and closing rates. The New York Metro area restaurants fared better than the national average in the second half of 2014. Almost 97% of the restaurants that opened on June 30, 2014 remained open on December 31, 2014. "We will continue to report on success rates twice a year," noted Dunbar. If the current trend continues in the metro area, only 6.5% of all restaurants would close in a year. The report shows that the closing rate is higher for new restaurants. In the NYC metro area, we found 94.27% of restaurants opened in the most re-

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// NEWS

EVENTS

First Annual Mediterranean Diet Roundtable Brings Practicality of the Mediterranean Diet in Food Service and Beyond The organizers of the Mediterranean Diet Roundtable (MDR) will host their first national event, to be held on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at the Graduate Center of CUNY University, New York City.

t will bring together the entire spectrum of the U.S. Food Industry along with many Mediterranean manufacturers for a one-of-a-kind meeting. The goal is to explore new and better Mediterranean-inspired menus capitalizing on the “Mediterranean Diet,” whose medical appeal and stunning health benefits have proven to be unquestionable. The MDR is not a scientific gathering, but rather an informative and resourceful setting and especially a networking event. The MDR aims to bring together the entire spectrum of the national and international Food Industry to explore new and improved menus inspired to the Mediterranean Diet, whose medical appeal and stunning health benefits have proven to be unquestionable. A study conducted on more than 1.5 million healthy adults, demonstrated that following a Mediterranean Diet was associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease and cancer, as well as a reduced incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases (source: Mayo Clinic). The MDR is focusing on the substantial positive impact of the Medi-

terranean Diet on health and wellbeing, from a scientific, cultural and culinary point of view, while offering a one-of-a-kind opportunity to network for professional decision-makers in the Food Service arena, along with doctors, scientists, nutritionists etc. to address the important topic of a balanced diet in stores as well as in schools, hospitals, seniors’ centers/ nursery homes, cafeterias, etc. It will introduce a complete program vertically integrated, involving as many as

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22 Mediterranean Countries; Growers/Processors, Manufacturers, Import Logistics Companies, to provide Quality Cost Competitive Authentic Products, Menu Ideas, providing the End User all that is needed for a Healthier Diet. This program will encompass Retail & Food Service. Panels include: “Diet, Health and Longevity: Scientific evidence of the Mediterranean Diet” Panel discussion moderated by Dr. Giovanni Scapagnini,

M.D., Ph.D. with Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D. (Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health), Sara Baer-Sinnott (Oldways); Tara K. Narula, M.D. (cardiologist and TV personality); “Come for the Education, Stay for the Food,” presentation and panel discussion showcasing several leading colleges/universities across the nation that have had great success with implementing a Mediterranean diet on their menu. Moderator: Ken K. Toong, Executive Director of University of Massachusetts Amherst Auxiliary Enterprises, also At-Large Director of National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS); with Rafi Taherian (Executive Director, Yale Dining, Yale University); Johnny Curet, CEC (Director of Campus Dining, Rice University); Craig J.Mombert, MCFE, CPFM (Executive Chef, Davidson College); “Getting in on the Ground Floor – menuing and purchasing processes.” Panel moderated by Food Service authority John Lawn (formerly Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher of Food Management magazine), with Debby Kasper, RDN, LDN, SNS, Director of Clinical Nutrition and Wellness Program Development at Premier, Inc. among other surprising guests. Break out sessions will have the participation of international guests such as Elena Paravantes-Hargitt, RDN Food and Nutrition Consultant, Dietitian, Writer, and Speaker.   Sponsorship opportunities are available for what promises to be a wonderful, international event. Tickets to participate and additional information can be found on the event website: www.mdrproject.com.

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// FOOD IS FASHION

WITH FAITH HOPE CONSOLO

Better in Brooklyn It’s the city’s largest borough, and for many its most romantic, with some broad boulevards, beautiful brownstones and a stunning made-for-the-movies view of Manhattan at Brooklyn Heights Promenade.

nd now, Brooklyn has become a foodie and shopping haven, as restaurateurs, retailers and designers come from Manhattan and around the country to reinvigorate some of its oldest neighborhoods. Why? They’re following the affluent young professionals in search of (relative) affordability, more space, and a tree or three! Downtown Brooklyn (aka Clinton Hill, aka the Fulton Mall area) will get yakitori from Tadashi Ono at Ganso Yaki at 515 Atlantic Avenue. This follows the debut of Livingston Manor (42 Hoyt Street) with inventive cocktails and light snacks. And Fulton Mall itself continues to see new retail, including Adidas, coming to 452 Fulton Street. Peter Luger remains Williamsburg’s local legend, but now it has plenty of company, particularly from concepts expanding from Manhattan such as the Camlin, which offers a warm atmosphere from the team behind Ardesia in Hell’s Kitchen. Also venturing east is Erik Ramirez, a former sous chef at Eleven Madison Park among others, with Llama Inn at 50 Withers Street in Williamsburg. More casual sandwich shop Black Street is expanding from the Lower East Side to a space on Metropolitan Avenue, reports say. (In a sense, though, this is a homecoming.

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

Black Tree’s first unit was a Brooklyn pop-up in 2012.) The restaurants aren’t just coming from elsewhere in the city: we’re even seeing a popup from San Francisco’s famed Slanted Door at the Wythe Hotel last month! And of course, retail will follow the restaurants that have followed the rooftops. After all, Williamsburg is a short subway ride from Manhattan, allowing for a quick commute particularly for those working in all the technology firms in Union Square. Retail also is following them, including Apple, Whole Foods and J. Crew. In fact, Williamsburg is now so busy that restaurants are moving to Bushwick for affordable and properly sized spaces. Look for a cocktail lounge from Al Stock and Maks Pazuniak at 1237 Flushing Avenue in September. A spinoff of the Prospect Heights ramen shop Chuko is coming this month to 144 Evergreen Avenue. They join a

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In fact, Williamsburg is now so busy that restaurants are moving to Bushwick for affordable and properly sized spaces.

number of newcomers from 2014, including Bunna Café (1084 Flushing Avenue), 1 Knickerbocker (1 Knickerbocker Avenue, from former Chicago chef Steven Hubbell) and The Rookery (425 Troutman Street), among others. Look for Filipino cuisine at Manila So-

cial Club, which has found a permanent perch at 2 Hope Street. Perhaps that’s why we’re also seeing a number of fitness facilities opening in the area, including the Bhati Space for Wellness (1099 Flushing Avenue)! In Greenpoint, I can’t wait for the Brooklyn Barge Bar, which is expected to launch sometime around May 1. It literally will have a bar and a basic menu on a boat, with picnic tables on the land nearby. It will be a terrific experiment. But it’s just the latest in some wonderful new options, including the Catalonian tapas place El Born (651 Manhattan Avenue) and the selfexplanatory Greenpoint Fish & Lobster (114 Nassau Avenue). In Crown Heights, Franklin Avenue and environs are becoming some of the busiest dining districts in town, including Butter & Scotch (818 Franklin), a combination bakery and cocktail lounge, and Kosher burger joint Boeuf & Bun (217 Kingston Street). The new King Tai Bar evokes 1940s Miami at 1095 Bergen Street. As important, daily needs are not being ignored: Manhattanville Coffee has come from Harlem to 167 Rogers Avenue, while Elsie’s Doughnut Shop has some interesting flavors for the traditional treat at 1031 Bergen Street. And we’re all waiting for the redevelopment of 608 Franklin Avenue into a retail and apartment complex! One fair warning, however: the appeal of many of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods has resulted in rents rising precipitously (especially in Williamsburg). Expect next year’s busiest neighborhoods to be located in adjacent areas, especially in what’s looking to be the next big borough story: QUEENS!

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// C-CAP TRADE TALK

WITH JOYCE APPELMAN

Kingsborough Community College Welcomes City High School Students For C-Cap Winter Chefs Hands-On Culinary Experience During the coldest days in February, Kingsborough Community College warmly welcomed students on-campus from high schools throughout the five boroughs for Winter Chefs, a weeklong, hands-on culinary experience in partnership with the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), Kingsborough Community College, and College Now.

he Winter Chefs program exposed participants to a professional kitchen, offered the chance to explore various aspects of the foodservice industry, and enhanced their technical skills. The students, who were from sophomore to senior level, must have completed at least one semester of culinary studies, and must maintain a cumulative average of 75 or higher to be eligible to participate. “I was excited to welcome these New York City high school students to the KCC kitchens for a training experience which samples the Culinary and Pastry arts courses taught by our faculty,” said KCC’s Culinary Arts Program Director, Chef Thomas J. Smyth. “Through the Winter Chefs college experience, hundreds of students have shared an introduction to new recipes, and products and skills taught in the Culinary and Pastry Arts since we began collaborating seven years ago; we look forward to a continued relationship with C-CAP.” “The KCC Winter Chefs program is an invaluable introduction for C-CAP students,” said C-CAP President Susan Robbins. “They get not only access to

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

the depth of post-secondary culinary courses at Kingsborough Community College, but also a front-row seat to the incredible opportunities available to them in their own backyard.” KCC Culinary Arts staff instructors Dominguez and Clark prepared a rigorous week of skills training that was both tasty and challenging for students at all levels, second year to seniors. Students focused on French and Italian cuisine with concentrations on braising, stewing, fresh pasta, baking, sautéing, and making favorites like crepes, ravioli, and biscotti. On the last day, the students prepared a lunch to share with visitors and guests. The KCC partnership with C-CAP, in collaboration with the College Now pro-

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gram at Kingsborough, has been beneficial to participating students from the New York City metropolitan area interested in careers in the hospitality industry. By providing a first-hand look and a well-rounded experience, students were able to increase their technical, product and equipment identification, as well as their organizational skills. They also became familiar with a post-secondary school campus and the demands of higher education. Eighteen students participated in this year’s Winter Chefs program from citywide high schools including George Westinghouse High School (Brooklyn); Food and Finance High School (Manhattan); High School of Hospitality Management (Manhattan); Long Island

City High School (Queens); School for International Studies (Brooklyn); Tottenville High School (Staten Island), and William E. Grady High School (Brooklyn). C-CAP provided chef jackets, free Metro cards, as well as administrative and site support. Kingsborough provided kitchen and classroom space, all necessary product and equipment necessary to execute recipes, all recipes and written materials, and chef instructors. Kingsborough Community College’s Culinary Arts program is a comprehensive training program designed for successful entry into the creative, highpaced workplaces of the food industry. Students may enroll in the Associate of Applied Science Degree in Culinary Arts—a 60-credit, 2-year college degree including over 600 hours of hands-on kitchen classes and internship experiences, or for a Certificate in Culinary Arts & Food Management—a one-year certificate designed for students with a college degree in another field. Kingsborough also features an on-campus learning, student-run restaurant, The Ocean View Dining Room, where students learn to work in the kitchen and dining room of a fine dining restaurant in a safe, mentored environment. Kingsborough Community College serves approximately 14,000 full- and part-time students a year in credit and non-credit bearing courses in liberal arts and career education. As one of the City University of New York’s seven community colleges, Kingsborough provides a highquality education through associate degree programs that prepare students for transfer to senior colleges or entry into professional careers, and is dedicated to promoting student learning and development as well as strengthening and serving its diverse community.

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// Q&A

EXCLUSIVE FOODSERVICE INTERVIEWS

Alan Rosen, Owner of Junior's Not everyone wants to go into the family business. But some, like Alan Rosen know they’re going to do it from just about the day they’re born.

wner of Junior’s Cheesecake, one of the hottest-selling brands of this confection ever, along with its restaurants, Rosen took over the business from his dad, Walter, who took it over from his dad, Harry, who started the business in 1950 in Brooklyn. Known worldwide for its rich, creamy cakes that come in a variety of sizes, from round to heart-shaped, from lemon coconut to red velvet, Junior’s has become the standard-bearer for this kind of dessert for over 50 years How did you end up in the business? When I was 5 years old, if I wanted to see my dad, I had to come to the restaurant because this was where he spent every waking minute. And so, I loved it. If you would have met me as a 13- or 14-year old and said, what do you want to do when you grow up, I would have told you right away, I want to be in the restaurant business. Do your children see themselves as working here, too? I have twins and a younger/older child. They do enjoy coming here. But I certainly don’t want to put any pressure on them. The chips will fall where they may. Or, if I can be corny, the cheesecake will fall where it falls.

Owner of Junior’s Cheesecake, one of the hottest-selling brands of this confection ever, along with its restaurants, Rosen took over the business from his dad, Walter, who took it over from his dad, Harry, who started the business in 1950 in Brooklyn.

So you’ve always loved this business? I gravitated towards it -- as much time as I could get in this building I came to it. It wasn’t just the food or the smell. It was everything. But I really think it was mostly about being with my Dad, to be totally honest. It’s always been a big part of my life. When I started working here 25 years ago, some of the

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same people I knew when I was 6 years old are still here! And it just becomes part of you. My dad used to half-jokingly say; this place was like his child. What’s different today from when your grandfather started the business? It’s still got the mom and pop feel. I

think it’s just a bit more professionalized. It's technology. It's new media. It's how we run the business. It’s not that different from when my grandfather ran it. But you have to structure your business so it doesn't run you. You run it. Thirty years ago, the restaurant business was not looked upon as the professional industry it is today. Back then, restaurant guys were single guys, single entrepreneurs, who ran one or two restaurants. And now, you have all these restaurant groups running multi-units, doing big volumes, running a real professional organization with lots of systems and controls, who instill that hands-on management. How does Junior’s compete with that? I got an education. I'm the first generation in my family to even go to college. And so the takeaway from that was that this could be a professional business, a real business, a growing business that could support a lot more people and have opportunities for our employees and it could transform and transcend from our one location in Brooklyn. Granted, we're not a quick grower. I look at, for example, the Shake Shak IPO, and I say to myself, I could have been doing that. But then I think, maybe that's not what gets us going. So, what is it that gets you going? If we're going to have four restaurants, they should be four great restaurants. If we're going to sell a million cheesecakes, they should be the best million cheesecakes we ever made. We should also have a company that has good values and a good culture, where people like working here. We'll grow when we're ready or when the right opportunity presents itself. And I don't have

the pressure of saying; we’ve got to do this tomorrow. We don’t answer to shareholders. We don't answer to Wall Street. But we have the advantage of owning a key piece of real estate. On the other hand, how can you get a good business going without decent retail rent? The numbers are astounding and it's a real impediment to growing your business in this environment, unless you want to really make what I call a very risky deal. You can't sell a $20 slice of cheesecake and you can't sell a $30 plate of lentils. It doesn't work. What do you think about the Millennials? Do Millennials eat corned beef pastrami every weeknight? No, they don’t. But there’s a broad enough offering here at Junior's for them to find a reason to come. Comfort food will always be comfort food. And, as long as we're on kids, what do you think about the kids you see coming up? We are going to put together an industry of all stars. Thanks to the Food Network, and I say this not in jest, but in complete seriousness, I have kids whose parents are calling me -their kids are 11 or 12 and they want to come spend the day with me in the bakery. They want to learn how to bake or they want to work the line. Or they want to just see how the restaurant runs -- can they come in with me on a certain day. I'm telling you, the interest in our industry has never been greater. Because of that renewed interest in food, in 20 years, 15 years, you're going to see a cast of young men and women who are just going to hit the cover off the ball in this industry. And it's getting more competitive and more professionalized. It's no longer; you take a couple of bucks and go. You can't put it all together on a shoestring. You have to raise real money now. We’re watching the  “Manhatta-

nization” of Brooklyn, so much growth everywhere. And the question's going to become, can we hang on? Because, I mean, there's skyscrapers everywhere. And the pressure is getting even greater. I turned down $45 million for our place several months ago. At the end of the day, running a restaurant is a great thing, but running the restaurant at the base of a skyscraper is not a bad thing, either. Are you concerned about how the neighborhood is changing? We've managed to survive and thrive here for 60, going on 65 years without great entertainment draws like the Barkley Center or the Paramount. Without movie theaters, without density of residential property, with some commercial traffic, we survived. It’s all quite different now. And yet, we've managed because we're almost like a destination restaurant. Now we're going to have thousands and thousands and thousands of residents within five blocks of our restaurant. And hockey and basketball. Concerts. To me, it's going to be great. I mean when Century 21 opens down the street, and an Alamo Draft House, I can’t wait. People have first-run movies to go see. You know, at 11 o'clock on a Friday night, we need compelling reasons to have people come here, and entertainment is usually one of them, to be right here, in downtown. Do you think it will change that much? Well, even though the perception might be it's still staid and it’s a throwback, that's what we want it to be. We're a throwback with craft beers. We're a throwback with great New York wine lists. It's not like we're just sitting here with our heads in the clouds. You brought the Junior’s brand to

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BOOTH #1601

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// NEWS

PASTA SOLUTIONS

Philadelphia Pasta Manufacturing Firm Brings Pasta Creativity to Tri-State Chefs For many years, the only way for a busy restaurant to create signature pasta was to purchase what local distributors had to offer. At the same time specialty Italian restaurants in many cases made their own pasta.

ventually, pasta crossed over from being just an Italian specialty to a staple on most restaurant and food service menus. As with so many areas of foodservice, the bar has been raised and today's chefs are looking for the key to creating old world taste with an economy of scale. Arcobaleno LLC has created a solution with its line of pasta Extruders. The Lancaster, PA firm blends old world tradition with the best of today's technology. Its history actually goes back to Italy, and president Antonio Adiletta. “Antonio is from Italy and he came to Canada to setup Pasta Factories in the Late 80's. Our background is industrial and we went from that to foodservice and restaurants,” says Maja Adiletta, the firm's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “When we started, we found that Italy had a lot of time off and it was really hard when we needed something. Antonio studied mechanical design and engineering in Italy, my background was in marketing and sales so we decided to open our own manufacturing company and produce our own line

President Antonio Adiletta (L) and Vice President of Sales and Marketing Maja Adiletta (R)

of machines. We’d have our own parts and service, making it much easier for us to be available to the market.” "Our background was creating in-

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dustrial machines. We actually began by building pasta machines for manufacturers including Joseph's Pasta. When the company opened it was with

a stripe machine, developed by Antonio. “That’s where our name comes from. Arcobaleno means ‘rainbow.’ We named the company this because of our color-striped pasta machines,” Maja added. Foodservice operators then started coming to us and asking for smaller units. So what we have done is to bring the technology that could only be created on a very large scale for manufacturers. "As we entered food service, we made it a priority to calculate the restaurateur or operator's return on their investment with us," Maja continued. "We found that if you sell 25 eight ounce portions a day for 27 days that the investment in our AEX18 pasta extruder will pay for itself.” "Most importantly, we have found that chefs love the creativity that our pasta machines give them. We have one chef that grinds pretzels into a powder and then runs it through our machine to create Pretzel Gemelli Pasta. We have another restaurant in Philadelphia that is using a smoking gun to infuse hickory smoke into the semolina to create smoked pasta flavor. In Boston, we have a chef that freezes pork and creates a pork flavored pasta with our machine. We offer over 100 different pasta shapes and continue to grow the shapes library! The Arcobaleno line has also become a favorite among the Tri-State's top chefs with its ability to fit the needs of tight space requirements. "Marco Canora at Hearth in Manhattan is using our 18" model (AEX18). In addition many top chefs including Jonathan Benno of the Patina Group and Tom Colicchio of Craft Restaurant group have been drawn to our ability to produce in a very limited footprint." The 18 model features a minimal footprint of 11" wide 24"

deep and 15" high. The firm introduced its Stella machine (AEX30) last May at the NRA in Chicago. "Chefs came to us and asked if we could build more capacity into the "18" model and continue with both the 120 volt and add the water cooling feature. "So we did along with adding a dual-speed motor, the same kind used in industrial equipment. “We incorporated that feature into Stella. Basically, we’re improving on the original, offering more value to

Arcobaleno means ‘rainbow.’ We named the company this because of our color-striped pasta machines,” says Maja.

the customer and a minimal footprint 15.5" wide 26" deep and 20" high. The chefs’ community enjoys the ability for the machine to have the flexibility to be displayed in the front of the house if space permits or in a kitchen prep area. "In New Jersey, we actually have a chef who once a week will bring the machine upstairs every Wednesday and puts on a show of making pasta in the middle of the dining room.” It also amazes us at how often our chefs will take their machines with them to cook either elsewhere in the restaurant or off-site. Today's operators are also challenged with creating a variety of gluten free and allergy sensitive menus. "The only way that a true gluten free pasta can be created is with an extruder," Maja explained. Arcobaleno has also become a favorite of equipment and supply dealers across the country. "If you talk to the folks at M. Tucker and Singer, you will find that we have created a very different experience,” Maja noted.

"Pasta machine brokers have come and gone through the years. We’re the first company to come in with a fullservice local facility that includes a full portfolio of our machines where you can try before you buy. We also stock machines and parts, and can ship machines the same day we receive an order. The facility also features a full service machine shop, custom fabrication, test kitchen and offers factory training. Arcobaleno also offers the convenience of on location training. “ "We have built a nationwide service network of dedicated professionals," Maya added. Arcobaleno prides itself on its service so one of the most popular service options the company offers is live people answering the phones. “We understand that for our customers a machine going down can feel like a matter of life and death. We are committed to keeping their business running so in most cases, we will ship them a loaner.” The company has also built a reputation for its ability to assist its customers in selecting the the right piece of equipment. “We have a number of customers who go to Italy for equipment and then end up coming to us because there’s simply no training or service in the US to support many of the imported options. Having the customer come in and try different equipment to ensure they are buying is our mantra,” says Maja. We offer try before you buy to ensure their success and it ensures our goal of a happy customer." The company sells both large and tabletop pasta cookers, pasta extruders, pasta sheeters/mixers, Ravioli machines, Gnocchi machines pasta dryers, pasta cutters and stripe machines, along with pizza and bakery equipment. The firm's complete line of solutions will be on display at the International Restaurant and Food Show in March at the Javits Center in New York this month in the M Tucker booth.

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// SCOOP Introducing The Spaghetti Sandwich - The Latest Culinary Creation To Get New York's Food Scene Buzzing Scoop hears that last year it was all about the ramen burger. But one month into 2015 and New York already has a new It sandwich. M. Wells Dinette, the French-Canadian restaurant at MoMA's PS1 outpost in Long Island City, has been selling up to 100 of its $13 spaghetti sandwiches per day since it was listed on the menu last month. The dish sees spaghetti in a tomato-garlic sauce take the place of a patty. The noodles are mixed with pecorino cheese then coated in egg and baked in a blini pan to hold them together. Chef Aidan O'Neal says, “We serve it on a toasted onion roll with extremely delicious garlic butter and a layer of chopped Caesar salad with red pepper flakes.” Cooks first scoffed at the idea. But then decided it's very, very good. Of course, this is no diet food. Carb-loading aside, the spaghetti sandwich packs a punch in terms of calories too. A member of the staff at the restaurant said that

INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE

they try to fit as much between the bread as possible. This equates to around an appetizer-sized portion of pasta (420 calories according to Calorieking.com) and the same

of salad (204 calories). Add the bun (150 calories), pecorino (20 calories) a generous lick of garlic butter (102 calories) and a side of potato chips (160 calories) and the total calories

are a shade over 1,000. The concept of the spaghetti sandwich is not actually a new one. The brainchild of restaurant owner Hugue Dufour, it was originally listed on the menu four years ago - much to

The spaghetti sandwich fell off the menu a year ago after the restaurant decided to focus more on seasonal ingredients.

The concept of the spaghetti sandwich is not actually a new one. The brainchild of restaurant owner Hugue Dufour, it was originally listed on the menu four years ago.

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the chefs' disdain. “We cooks all kind of scoffed at the idea,” Mr O'Neal said. “But he was right; it's very, very good.” The spaghetti sandwich fell off the menu a year ago after the restaurant decided to focus more on seasonal ingredients, but following a surge of complaints from regulars, it was reinstated last month. And the

demand has been unprecedented, Mr. O'Neal says: “It's been insane. We'll get a ticket to fire up seven at a time for one table, and then another will come in, and another.” Daters beware though - the spaghetti sandwich is not a first date dish. Maybe save it for the third? It’s incredibly messy to eat, but well worth the tomato stains.

M. Tucker Set To Host Top Chefs At Javits Scoop hears that a pair of Metro New York's top chefs will be meeting and greeting at the M. Tucker booth

Mendes (R) and Dieterle (L) will meet at the M. Tucker booth at IRFSNY

#2218 at the annual IRFSNY Show at NYC's Javits Center. On Monday, March 9th at 11 am, Harold Dieterle will sign his new book Harold’s

Kitchen Notebook in the M. Tucker booth and at noon the noted toque George Mendes will sign his latest: My Portugal Long Island born Dieterle is best known as the winner of the first season of the Bravo television network's reality television series Top Chef. His signature dish is spicy duck meatballs. The CIA graduate spent five years as the souschef at The Harrison before opening Perilla, Kin Shop and most recently The Marrow in New York City to tremendous acclaim. Mendes is the acclaimed executive chef of Aldea, a Michelin stared restaurant in Manhattan. Mendes is a Danbury, CT native and graduate of the CIA. He joined David Bouley at Bouley upon graduation. He later moved to Paris and worked at Alain Passard’s L’Arpège. In 1996, Mendes became the executive chef of Le Zoo, a small French bistro in Greenwich Village. He returned to fine dining two years later as executive sous chef at the three-star Lespinasse in Washington, D.C., working under Sandro Gamba and traveling to France to stage at Le Moulin de Mougins with Roger Vergé, and at La Bastide de Moustiers with Alain Ducasse. Mendes returned to New York to help friend and fellow Bouley alum Kurt Gutenbrunner

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open Austrian restaurant, Wallsé, but he returned to Europe in 2003. Returning to New York, he joined Tocqueville. In December 2008, Mendes opened Aldea. Inspired by the Iberian Peninsula and Mendes’s heritage, Aldea has become a Michelin awardwinning restaurant. Founded in 1955 by Marvin Tucker, M.Tucker Co., Inc. “M.Tucker” is one of the largest independent foodservice equipment distributors on the eastern seaboard. It became part of the Singer NY team in 2011.

Body & Soul Fundraising Event Boasts Four Top New Jersey Chefs Scoop says Jazz House Kids, a Montclair-based nonprofit that has gained a reputation as one of the nation's preeminent arts education and performance organizations, held its 7th annual signature fundraising event, Body & Soul, late last month, at the historic Van Vleck House & Gardens in Montclair, New Jersey. This gala event was hosted by Jason and Deborah DeSalvo and the Jazz House Kids Board of Directors. New this year, four of the region's hottest restaurants intrigued the palette with a menu specially created to celebrate the great eras of jazz and culture.

Participating restaurants included Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen in Morristown, Villalobos in Montclair, Ariane Kitchen & Bar in Verona, and Pig & Prince in Montclair. The "Early Show," 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.:

The well-matched menu of cuisine, along with wine from Amanti Vino, captured the flavor, feel and sound of these favorite jazz eras.

Renowned restaurateur Chris Cannon and his team from the new and highly-acclaimed Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen presented an oyster bar and paired bites at a special patron "Early Show." The "Early Show" also featured a private jazz performance by award-winning Jazz House Kids students, and a tasting of exclusive wines selected by board member emeritus Jason DeSalvo and Sharon Sevrens, proprietor of Amanti Vino,

a boutique, artisanal wine shop in Montclair. Both Mr. DeSalvo and Ms. Sevrens were on hand to pour, inform, and field oenological questions. The "Main Set," 8:00 p.m. 11:00 p.m.: Body & Soul patrons were invited to stay for the second part of the evening, "The Main Set," as guests swung through historic eras of jazz and culture. Music by the French gypsy jazz band,

More than $314,000 in programmatic funds was directed specifically toward Newark's public and charter schools.

Manouche Bag, inspired French cuisine by Chef Michael Carrino of Pig & Prince Restaurant and GastroLounge in Montclair. The all-female, multi-national Latin jazz orchestra, Coco Mama, were featured in the Rhythms of Afro-Latin Jazz Room with taps by Chef Adam Rose of the new, hot Montclair restaurant, Villalobos.Blues & Soul performed by talented Jazz House Kids' emerged musicians at the Juke Joint stirred up Southern cuisine by former Bravo's Top Chef contestant Ariane Duarte and her team from the new Verona restaurant, Ariane Kitchen & Bar. The well-matched menu of cuisine, along with wine from Amanti Vino, captured the flavor, feel and sound of these favorite jazz eras.

Pondicheri Signs Lease To Expand To NYC Scoop says Pondicheri, the James Beard-nominated Indian restaurant with chef Anita Jaisinghani, has signed a lease and will expand into

New York City. This will be the first location outside of Texas for Jaisinghani, who also co-owns Indika in Montrose. Jaisinghani said she plans to open the restaurant on W. 27th Street in the Flatiron district of New York. “It's the biggest move we've made in our business,” Jaisinghani said. Jaisinghani said she had planned to expand the restaurant into Austin, where she looked for a location for more than a year. “Somehow, something with Austin just wasn't working out, so we began to look in New York in the spring of last year,” Jaisinghani said. “I didn't think it would be this quick that we'd find a good location.” Pondicheri will take a little more than 3,300 square feet on the ground floor of an 11-story building at 15 W. 27th Street. New York-based The Kaufman Organization owns the building in a joint venture with Iowa-based Principal Real Estate Investors as part of a four-property portfolio it purchased last year from New York-based Extell Development Co. Pondicheri is the first tenant signed on. Jaisinghani said she was working with a small design firm to design and build out the space. She said she'll focus on the New York location and may consider an Austin location after that. “There's no plan to rollout a dozen more because we do them one at a time,” Jaisinghani said. “We are not trying to build a chain.” Jaisinghani said she is also developing plans for

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an e-commerce site that will include recipes; to encourage people to start cooking Indian food, not just eat it at restaurants.

City Restaurateurs Await Impact Of 50% Minimum Wage Increase Scoop notes the biggest regulatory change to the restaurant industry

is happening right now, and it’s not for the better. A Wage Board, which is a panel of three citizens appointed by the Governor, has recommended that the cash wage for tipped employees be increased from $5.00 to $7.50, a 50 percent jump, effective December 31, 2015. The Board’s recommendation is now in the hands of the New York State Acting Commissioner of Labor who has the power to accept, reject, or amend the proposal. The public has a short comment period, which ended February 20, to submit objections to the proposal for the Commissioner to consider. The New York State Restaurant Association is also gathering signatures for an online petition against the proposed increase. Please sign and share the petition with anyone who is willing to help out. It can be found at www.tinyurl.com/WageBoard. The Association is encourag-

BOOTH #1930

ing all industry representatives to sign the petition, even employees who feel this will negatively affect them through hour cuts, decreased tipping from the public, or wage stagnation for the back of the house. The more objections and signatures we collect the more likely it will be for the Commissioner to amend or reject the proposal. “We need to strengthen our industry together and the time to take action is now,” said Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO NYS Restaurant Association. The New York State Restaurant Association’s mission is to help restaurateurs succeed. The Association is

the first place owners and managers turn to gain a competitive edge, by taking advantage of cost saving benefits, education, and advocacy.

The Middleby Corporation Acquires Marsal & Sons, Inc. Scoop notes that The Middleby Corporation recently announced it has acquired the assets of Marsal & Sons, Inc., a leading manufacturer of deck ovens based in Lindenhurst, New York with annual revenues of approximately $5 million. “We are excited to add Marsal to our portfolio of leading brands. Founded in 1969, Marsal is a long standing

“We are excited to add Marsal to our portfolio of leading brands. Founded in 1969, Marsal is a long standing and highly recognized brand with pizza restaurant operators."

and highly recognized brand with pizza restaurant operators. We are excited to add Marsal to our portfolio of leading brands. Founded in 1969, Marsal is a long standing and

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highly recognized brand with pizza restaurant operators,” said Selim A. Bassoul, Chairman and CEO of The Middleby Corporation. “Marsal has an outstanding reputation for quality and innovation with a broad product offering of deck, hearth bake and brick fired ovens. Combined with their specialized pizza refrigeration systems, Marsal is able to provide complete pizza systems that are scalable for single restaurants to large chains. The acquisition is highly synergistic with our existing product platform.” The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a broad line of equipment used in the commercial foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment industries.

// NEWS

FOODSERVICE LAW

From Farm to Fork to Landfill — Yale Law School Debuts Food Law & Policy Course With a growing interest surrounding the laws and regulations that govern the foods and beverages we grow, raise, share, sell, cook, eat and drink, an entire new area of law continues to emerge and take hold in academia across the country.

n response to this evolving subject matter, Yale Law School is rolling out its first-ever course on U.S. Food Law and Policy. The idea for the course sparked when Jennifer McTiernan ’15, founder

of the non-profit CitySeed, came to Yale Law School with a passion for food law and a desire to engage in a course on the topic. She had attended a conference at Yale Law School in 2010 titled Developing Food Policy,

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where Dean Robert Post ’77 addressed the audience and noted the critical importance of this area of law. “For the movement, it was this huge moment to have the Dean of Yale Law School recognize that food law is a big

issue,” recalled McTiernan, who initially met with Professor Amy Kapczynski ’03 to begin the framework for bringing a course like this to Yale. Then last fall, McTiernan joined forces with Graham Downey ’16 and Lee Miller ’16, who bonded in their mutual interest and prior experience in food law and policy. The three started a reading group on food law, sponsored by Professor Kapczynski, which generated substantial student interest with more than 40 students participating. “It was this beautiful moment where you had Yale Law professors acknowledging this emerging, exciting, important area of

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BOOTH #1831

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// NEWS

POS SOLUTIONS

TouchBistro Reignites Customer Experience With iPad App How do you think customers would feel if their orders could be taken painlessly, their meals delivered effortlessly and their entire dining experience enhanced by a relaxed, confident wait staff? This is what restaurants are discovering with the new TouchBistro iPad point-of-sale (POS) Solution, and it's catching on fast.

reated on an iPad to replace outdated POS systems that were clunky, sometimes hard to use and often unreliable, this new technology makes it easy for wait staff to work together to make dining out the best possible experience for both customers and the restaurant staff members that are serving them. Why a tablet? “With TouchBistro‘s easy-to-use POS solution, your staff gets things done faster and more efficiently. From taking orders to processing payments, the tasks are seamlessly integrated into one application on your iPad,” says Toan Dinh, TouchBistro's Chief Marketing Officer. "We’re a perfect match for the Metro New York City area," Dinh explained. "This is a marketplace that has thousands of independently owned restaurants, many with a single to a dozen locations. TouchBistro has proven that its features deliver maximum performance for that operator profile." TouchBistro, which bills itself as the “#1 grossing food and drink app in 33 countries on the Apple App Store,” helps foodservice operations stay up-to-date and in control with intuitive and smart management, easy bill

splitting, table side payments, and more. “TouchBistro helps you bring increased efficiency to order-taking and payments,” says Dinh. “TouchBistro allows a member of the wait staff to spend more time engaging with the customer. And for restaurants with multiple tables, multiple locations, and multiple employees, small efficiency gains add up to real savings," he adds. The TouchBistro iPad POS can be used by quick-service, food chain, food truck, bar and coffee shop operations to achieve the same efficiencies. In bars, the app manages open tabs by seat or customer name, and with wirelessly connected silent thermal printers, patrons aren't disturbed by noisy impact receipt or order ticket printers. In coffee shops, TouchBistro keeps lines moving to get quick fixes to caffeine-starved customers. And in food trucks, TouchBistro's Smart iPad POS gets customers served quickly and ready to go. “Compared to traditional POS systems, TouchBistro is not only lower in cost, but also offers more value. TouchBistro's low monthly payments and flexible financing options make it easy for restaurants to get a POS solu-

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The TouchBistro iPad POS can be used by quick-service, food chain, food truck, bar and coffee shop operations to achieve the same efficiencies.

tion that allows them to quickly focus on running their business,” says Dinh. “It’s the smart move.” As for support, TouchBistro offers support 24/7 (by phone and email) from one of the most capable support teams in the software industry. TouchBistro won the Best In Biz's Support Department of the Year award for 2014. Supplementing on-call support, TouchBistro provides a huge library of lucid end-to-end documentation and help videos. Restaurant opera-

tors can choose a training pack for over the phone or (at select locations) an on-site, in-person training pack. TouchBistro supports major payment gateways, such as Cayan (formerly Merchant Warehouse), Mercury, Moneris, Premier Payments, RBC Caribbean, and PayPal Mobile. “With our app, the POS isn’t over at the counter cash register by a bowl full of mints. It’s at table side,” says Dinh. “With TouchBistro, servers enter customer orders at the table which are sent directly to the kitchen or bar. No more running back and forth to a distant terminal, because the terminal is always with the server. Every order is associated with an individual seat at the table, and orders are built one customer at a time, just like on paper, but with greater accuracy. Items can also easily be shared by the whole table, moved or modified, and notes and special requests are accommodated. Cost can be allocated to special requests, too! TouchBistro even supports a sign-on screen option for a paperless experience.” Dinh says the company's main mission is to make dining out as pleasant as possible for customers, and TouchBistro does that by making it easy for wait staff to satisfy them. “Customer happiness is in our DNA,” Dinh says. TouchBistro will be in booth #2306 at the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show in New York March 8 – 10 at the Javits Center. Guests to TouchBistro's New York booth will be invited to participate in a 30-day free trial of the app. "The New York restaurant community will love visiting with our team at the show because every one of them has worked in a restaurant before and speaks their language,“ Dinh concluded.

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// NEWS

FOODSERVICE HYGIENE

American Dryer Redefines Restroom Hygiene with Cold Plasma Clean® Technology It's not pleasant to think about, but only 15% of people correctly wash their hands after using the restroom. (10% of women don't do it at all, while 25% of men don't, according to a recent survey.)

hat can sure make a restroom germy. American Dryer is determined to change all that.

Pioneering one of the most high-tech dryers in the world, the company manufactures a product that not only

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dries your hands -- it can do it in a quieter, softer way. And, best of all, it kills germs.

That's because the company, originally founded in 1952, has a technology it calls Cold Plasma Clean (cPc®) that dries your hands while killing germs. “Cold plasma is something that occurs in nature,” says Mike Robert, American Dryer Vice President of Sales and Technology. “You know how you walk on the beach after a storm and the breeze off the ocean is so fresh and clean? That's literally the cold plasma experience. It's nature's way of killing germs. We took something that occurs in nature and packaged it in a small, energy-efficient solid-state device®and called it our eXtremeAir cPcdryer.” American Dryer got into the business at a time when electric motor technology was such that electric hand dryers became possible, according to Robert. “It was revolutionary and new. For the

first time, you could dry your hands without needing some sort of towel, which might spread germs,” he says. But it's not just germs that concern the company. “Until recently, all hand dryers used to be the same,” says Robert. “They simply dried your hands. It took forever to dry your hands. Ours are very fast. They dry hands in 10 seconds. We were pioneers in that technology. Now many companies make similar types of hand dryers, but we've evolved to an even more attractive, unique feature: adjustable sound and speed. “Most high-speed hand dryers are known to be too loud. They work great, they're energy-efficient and environmentally friendly but the user experience was not always what we wanted it to be. Most have one setting – the tooloud setting! We have adjustable sound and speed. You can adjust the sound level to match the environment in which the dryer is being installed,” he says. “A cafeteria at a college at certain times can get very, very busy, so those dryers can be turned on high and move people out of the restrooms very quickly and no one minds the noise. “But you can put those same dryers in a five-star restaurant, where the ambiance is very important and you can't tolerate a lot of noise. The same dryer could be toned down for that application. Our technology allows us to make one high-speed hand dryer that's suitable for all different applications in the foodservice industry.” Jim Fisher, American Dryer Vice President of Sales and Marketing says foodservice is a big part of the company's business. "We serve a lot of largeand small-scale restaurants, and we can make recommendations based on the size and type of your restaurant," Fisher added. But what's truly revolutionary, Fisher claims, is the company's patented eX-

But what's truly revolutionary, Fisher claims, is the company's patented eXtremeAir hand dryer with cPc. “This is like nothing else out there,” he says.

tremeAir h and dryer with cPc. “This is like nothing else out there,” he says. "Why should a hand dryer just dry your hands? You're in the restroom, and the #1 concern right now is germs, especially if you're processing or serving food. We really care about germs in the restroom. Why just dry your hands when you can use our Cold Plasma Clean technology to actually kill the germs?” Fisher says most people know the best thing you can do after using a restroom is wash your hands. “But unfortunately, many studies have found that only a small percentage of people actually do that. And most don't wash their hands per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation of 20 seconds. We agree the correct answer is to properly wash your hands, but it's important to dry them properly, too. Why not use a hand dryer that's capable of killing germs?” Typically, sanitizing is accomplished with chemicals or soaps. “That's not practical in a hand dryer application,”

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he says. “We invented something new and revolutionary for the market, that’s also maintenance free. If it had containers of chemicals, people wouldn't want to put chemicals on their hands and restaurants wouldn't want to take the time to refill the bottle. So we use electronics, which don't need maintenance, to create cold plasma. It's the fourth state of matter. We create plasma with our electronics. There are no chemicals, nothing to change or replace. Our electronics are solid state and maintenance free.” Robert says the plasma has equal numbers of positive and negative ions that attach themselves to germs like E.coli, Salmonella, Influenza, Staph, C.diff, and MRSA*. “When these ions attach themselves to germs, they immediately blow them up into pieces. And what you're left with is pure water vapor that's always in the air in the first place, a simple natural process that kills germs through creation of this plasma,” he explains. American Dryer even has a calculator on its website that can help restaurants figure out how much they might save if they switched over from paper dispensers. “Paper towels are used in roughly 85% of public restrooms. It used to be over 95% but it's steadily declining. The way paper towels work is great but producing them is very energy-intensive. You have to start out by cutting down some nice trees, then haul those trees away and process them into paper, so it's an environmentally impactful process. It also takes a lot of water -at least 7,000 gallons of water have to be polluted to produce a ton of paper towels. A lot of oil and gas resources are also used to create and distribute the paper towels. And as if that's not bad enough, once you use a paper towel, it can't be recycled or made into paper again. It has to be put in a landfill, and that's an environmental issue and very

expensive. It takes a lot of energy to create and transport and dispose of paper towels,” says Robert. In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, foodservice companies' cost savings can be huge. “We're talking about a cafeteria with the experience of saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Even a small restaurant will save at least $2,000 a year,” he says. In schools and restaurants where American Dryer products are used, posters on the restroom walls tell students or patrons that the establishment cares about the cleanliness of their restrooms as well as paper towels’ environmental impact. “It gives them a great marketing opportunity,” he adds. “It makes a statement to customers that they care about hygiene and are an environmentally friendly business.” And in terms of recouping the cost, the eXtremeAir cPc and dryers sell for around $500, Fisher says. “But if you're spending $2,000 a year, you break even in just a few months and then save a couple thousand a year. These dryers last 12 to 15 years, so that's an enormous amount of savings over a product's lifetime.” The company distributes its dryers in Canada, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia. “Everyone else is just figuring out how to dry your hands. We're providing a complete hygiene solution,” says Fisher. “You're not just going green with hand dryers. You do it in a very profitable manner.” For more information, go to www.americandryer.com;call 800485-7003, or email Jim Fisher at jim@americandryer.com. *EPA Est. No. 091022MI001. This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent any disease.

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BOOTH #1902

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BOOTH #1945

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// NEWS

PARTNERSHIPS

NYC's Mountain Capital Partners with Diversified Foodservice Supply This leading distributor of maintenance, repair, and operations parts, supplies, and equipment to the U.S. foodservice industry, recently announced that it has partnered with New Mountain Capital, a growth-oriented investment firm that currently manages over $15 billion in assets.

he DFSI focus on best-in-class service and great value resonates strongly with foodservice owners, dealers, and operators.” Diversified Foodservice Supply, Inc. (“DFSI” or the “Company”), based in Mt. Prospect, IL, is a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and operations (“MRO”) parts, supplies, and equipment to the U.S. foodservice industry, serving over 250,000 foodservice customer locations. The Company is uniquely positioned in the industry due to its strength in sourcing high quality parts from both original component and original equipment manufacturers. DFSI currently operates through multiple brands including AllPoints Foodservice Parts & Supplies, Tundra Restaurant Supply, Franklin Machine Products, Mill Hardware, and Restaurant Parts & More. The Company’s brands are consistently recognized as market leaders in service, quality, and value. DFSI has a long track record of strong organic growth complemented by successful acquisitions. These acquisitions have helped to broaden the Compa-

ny’s product offering and geographic footprint, enabling DFSI to provide industry-leading selection and service to its customers. “The DFSI team has developed a proven growth strategy and we are excited to put additional resources behind this strategy to grow and expand the business,” said Mat Lori, Managing Director at New Mountain Capital. “We look forward to working closely with management over the coming years to support the realization of the Company’s full growth potential by investing behind both organic initiatives and acquisitions.” “The DFSI focus on best-in-class service and great value resonates strongly with foodservice owners, dealers, and operators,” said Larry Benjamin, Senior Advisor at New Mountain Capital and former Chief Executive Officer of US Foods. “We are excited to partner with Mike Cate and the rest of the DFSI team for continued growth and success.” “New Mountain is the ideal partner to help DFSI achieve the next level of growth,” said Mike Cate, Chief Executive Officer of DFSI. “New Mountain has a long track record of supporting business building, and we will have

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significant resources to achieve our strategic objectives. We look forward to our partnership and the benefits it will yield for our customers and em-

ployees.” New Mountain Capital is a New York-based private equity firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, public equity, and credit funds with over $15 billion in aggregate capital commitments. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies.

BOOTH #1453

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// LIZ ON TABLETOP

TABLETOP SOLUTIONS

Why The Internet Is Not Cheaper We all have the tendency to go on line and look for the best price, but what we see is not what we think we will get. Or how we will get it.

raditional dealers do provide services that may cost the end user, or may not. We help you find the right items that present the image that the establishment wants. We make sure that all menu items have the correct vessel for presentation, which in turn allows the chef to creatively

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

present food, which allows restaurants to charge the correct pricing, or sell more items. We make sure that owners can maximize their profits. And we do it in a way that allows others to use their time better. We consolidate deliveries so that the establishment receives their order timely and in a way that is pleasant. Our delivery personal and salesmen help unload the trucks and place items where necessary. And with a smile. On-line orders shipped via common carriers only take merchandise to the back of the truck. Then you will need to take merchandise off the truck and bring inside. We also smile as we take care of chipped plates on delivery. And we stock items so that you can have

quick deliveries. So what else does your Equipment and Supply Dealer do for you? We make sure that glasses have the correct racks, reducing breakage. We make sure that you are using the correct dish detergent so that your tabletop maintains your look. We look at storage and refuse, fit covers, establish par levels, remember thermometers, know which floor mats will work for you, check inventory before your opening and take care of a thousand small details that allow the Chef, manager, and owner to concentrate on other more pressing issues. We know what “my white wine glass” is as opposed to you remembering every detail of your service. That should be worth something! As dealers, we educate our customers with the differences in product, styles, materials, performance, and warranties. And the programs that are offered. We allow for savings

As dealers, we educate our customers with the differences in product, styles, materials, performance, and warranties. And the programs that are offered. We allow for savings on freight, and save money by knowing where the best alternatives are.

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on freight, and save money by knowing where the best alternatives are. And, boy, our experience and knowledge can really save you money, time, and frustration, should there be any issues. When ordering on line, you run the distinct possibility of getting items that do not meet your expectations. Returning may not be possible, or they will make it so costly and time-consuming that you will have unwanted inventory. Your Equipment and supply salesperson makes sure you have samples: samples so you can look at and hold the product, plate food, and check that the items you receive are the same as the ones you ordered. And if you are not checking, we are! Dealer salespeople watch trends and know what is new in the marketplace. We attend conferences and seminars to bring to you new and improved items. We help to keep you

looking forward to the future. And then try reordering in the future. Will the on-line retailer have records of your items? Will they ship the same items as before, or will they ship another “11” dinner plate that will not match or stack with your existing plates? Will your fill-in pricing be remotely similar to what you paid in the beginning? And will you get a rational reason as to why? I should only be speaking of “we” as H. Weiss and my co-workers. We spend countless hours making sure that your life is less frustrating and you have the items you need to make more profits. I do not know if all Equipment and Supply dealers are as diligent as we are, but I am pretty sure that most of us do add value, and save you money in the long run.

// NEWS

FOODSERVICE

Irish Beef Is On Sale In The US Irish Beef Exporters held events in three US cities last month in order to celebrate the arrival of Irish beef in America.

eef from the EU has been off the retail shelves in the US since it imposed its ban after the BSE outbreak over 15 years ago. Irish beef is the first to be accepted for sale in the US. A trade mission

led by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney covered three cities, New York, Washington D.C, and Boston, with high-profile promotional events around Irish beef for each city. Coveney says, “This visit to the US represents a huge opportunity to promote

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Irish beef in one of the most valuable markets in the world.” “Irish beef is the choice of some of the world’s leading chefs with over 80 Michelin star chefs in Bord Bia’s Chef’s club. Their endorsement provides further evidence to the US

audience that Irish beef is unique in terms of flavor, taste, texture and tenderness.” He said that the visit was planned to build on the momentum generated by the US announcement last month that Ireland is the only EU member state approved for access there. Irish beef companies accompanied Coveney on the visit, along with Bord Bia who used the tour to launch their strategy for the marketing of Irish beef in the US. Among the high profile promotional events was a launch for high-end trade buyers in New York, featuring a range of international chefs who endorsed the premium quality of Irish beef. Sysco Corp. reached an agreement with ABP Foods Group to sell Irish

Sysco Corp. reached an agreement with ABP Foods Group to sell Irish beef in the United States making ABP Food the first Irish company to reach such a deal.

beef in the United States making ABP Food the first Irish company to reach such a deal. The deal is worth about $17 million. Pallas Foods, a subsidiary of Sysco based in Ireland, facilitated the agreement.  ABP will supply beef to Sysco Metro New York and Sysco Boston locations. Steakhouses and restaurants will be the initial customers. Shipments are expected to begin in March.  “We look forward to developing and growing our partnership with Sysco who will be key in helping us bring our sustainable, grass fed, hormone free Irish beef to the plates of US consumers,” said Paul Finnerty, CEO of ABP Food Group “We greatly appreciate the efforts made by Tadhg Geary and Pallas Foods in helping build this international partnership.”  “Our initial focus will be on the Northeastern region of the US where we will concentrate on establishing Irish beef in a sustainable and measured way,” he added. “I would also like to commend the work of the Minister, the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia in helping to achieve the significant milestone for the Irish beef sector.”   The announcement comes as Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Simon Coveney TD led a three-day promotion tour for Irish beef in New York on Feb. 9. Coveney said, “This is about building on the momentum of the recent an-

nouncement that Irish beef is the only European beef approved for sale in the US.”  “New York was the first day of our three-city promotional tour and it’s fitting that we start here in a city with a reputation for high quality food but also with deep links with Ireland,” he said. “Our key aim is to build awareness and generate excitement about Irish beef among trade buyers and opinion formers.”  Coveney also is hosting a number of bilateral meetings with key US food buyers to highlight Irish beef. Joining Coveney on the promotional tour are leading

“Our initial focus will be on the Northeastern region of the US where we will concentrate on establishing Irish beef in a sustainable and measured way.”

Irish beef exporters.  Ireland became the first European Union member to regain access to the US market for beef after US officials lifted a 15-year ban on beef produced in the EU. The ban came in response to an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the EU during the 1990s. Irish authorities started the process of approving individual beef plants to export beef products to the US after a successful inspection by US authorities of Ireland's beef production systems in July 2014.

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BOOTH #1100

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// MIXOLOGY

WITH WARREN BOBROW

Metro New York Mixology Roll up… Roll up for the Mystery Tour croons John Lennon… And on this sweet note and closely approaching cold front from the west, my palate quickens and my thirst becomes ever present.

Warren Bobrow Warren Bobrow is a barman/author. He’s written for Whole Foods, Foodista, and Williams-Sonoma along with three books

need something that sticks in my mind and quenches my desire from the dry air.

The bracing flavor of freshly picked heirloom apples, as found in Eden "Calville Blend" Ice Cider calls out for

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on mixology. Warren appeared in the Saveur 100.www.cocktailwhisperer.com

your grandfather’s favorite cut crystal glass adorned solely with a glistening chunk of hand cut ice. Splash a few ounces of this lush ice cider over this pure ice and let it capture your imagination for flavor. You can also drink the ice cider straight if desired. Eden Ice Cider is world-class stuff and if you’ve never had ice cider, I’d get some as quickly as possible. It’s that striking. For the uninitiated, the whiskey for this drink is none other than the Barrell Batch #001, Cask Strength, and 122.5 Proof. When combined with the salubrious Eden Ice Cider something truly charmed takes place. The robust notes of charred stone fruits and tangy quince gives way to the playfulness of

the ice cider. I’ve frolicked in a glass with the flavors of ice cider and bourbon, but not with something as complex and haunting as Barrell Whiskey. Barrell Whiskey is crafted with a mashbill consisting of corn, rye and malted barley. There really are very few whiskies that I like as much as the new version of the Barrell #001. This is amazing stuff, Barrell Whiskey and it is more than worthy of your hard earned money! A hand-polished spear or a shimmering hunk of ice with the addition of a healthy splash of the Eden Ice Cider makes this drink noteworthy by itself, but then you should get to the serious business of hand-extracting the richly

I’m a fan of cocktail bitters in my drinks and I recommend that you utilize the high quality, Bitter Truth lemon bitters for balance. Bitters to the mixologist are comparable to the spice drawer for chefs. Bitters add balance and candor and they offer a sense of humility and depth to your craft cocktail. Bitters are the framework for completion and in my humble opinion they are essential in many mixed drinks. Lemon bitters add a bit of acidity and wittiness to your guest’s experience. Lemon bitters are available almost everywhere so you should at least find them just so you can do a bit of experimentation with them. If you are ever looking for a refreshing “mock-tail” please try taking a pint of seltzer water and adding about 5 drops of lemon bitters…. Sip, sip away!

Thomas Paine’s Throbbing Left Elbow Eden Ice Cider is world-class stuff and if you’ve never had ice cider, I’d get some as quickly as possible. It’s that striking. aromatic, zest of an orange. My friend and fellow cocktailian, Gary Regan always says that you should never use a peeler- but always cut your orange zest with a paring knife. I agree with him because even when you are in the weeds, with guests parked three deep at the bar clamoring for another finger-stirred Negroni, your favorite paring knife will be your best friend. Every drink that you make will recognize the extra effort that you utilize. I think it’s vital to use the best components in all mixed drinks even if they take a few extra seconds. This time shows that you care deeply about the world outside of your own.

Ingredients • 3 oz. Barrell Whiskey #001 • 2 oz. Eden Ice Cider • 2-3 shakes Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters • Hand Cut Ice (Essential) Prep: 1. To a cocktail mixing glass, fill ¾ with regular bar ice 2. Add the Barrell Whiskey 3. Add the Eden Ice Cider 4. Mix with a long cocktail spoon 5. Pour into 2 “Old Fashioned” glasses with a nice rough chunk of ice 6. Cut a wide zest of orange and twist over the top, releasing the essential oils 7. Dot with the Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters to finish… 8. Thomas Paine! Thomas Paine! Whacked his funny bone (Thomas Paine’s elbow) on a cast iron drain… Oh gosh that smarts, Thomas Paine.

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// CHEF OF THE MONTH PRESENTED BY

Danielle Palmer Dianna A. Palmer is a Bronx native who discovered her passion for cooking at the early age of 13. She is currently an aspiring Chef now studying at Hudson County Community College and is currently employed by Restaurant Associates, working under Executive Chefs Anthony Verga and Ed Hardy.

S BOOTH #1737

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he also freelances as a personal Chef specializing in Soul - Caribbean Fusion. While growing up in a Caribbean household, she was exposed to the many cultures in her area of the Bronx, and she has used those influences to create unique recipes. After engaging in many careers ranging from Health Care Coordinator, Executive Administrative Assistant and Bank Teller (to name a few), becoming a Chef never crossed her mind. However, in 2010, she realized that her real passion was food, and she hasn't looked back since. After receiving the great honor of being selected as a mentee for the first ever Mentoring program sponsored by the Black Culinary Association, her desire has grown, and with the constant guidance from Chef Alex Askew and her Mentor Sean Kennedy, her dream has become even more of a reality. Her passion for food is evident from preparation to presentation by using fresh ingredients and preparing it like she would for her own family--it is done with love. She believes that food is nourishment for the mind, body & soul. Her company, Gifted Hands Catering encompasses her dedication to Wellness

Dianna A. Palmer is a Bronx native who discovered her passion for cooking at the early age of 13. She is currently an aspiring Chef now studying at Hudson County Community College and is currently employed by Restaurant Associates, working under Executive Chefs Anthony Verga and Ed Hardy.

and also ties in her talent as a Certified Massage Therapist. For further information please feel free to contact @ dianna@chefdpalmer.com.

BOOTH #1902

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// NAFEM SHOW 2015

SHOW COVERAGE

Metro New York City's Dealer & Consultant Community Make Trek to West Coast for NAFEM '15 EYE notes that it’s fairly safe to say that Tri-State dealers and consultants were thrilled to get out of a cold winter to the sunny climes of Southern California.

he North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) is a trade association of more than 625 foodservice equipment and supplies manufacturers that provide products

for food preparation, cooking, storage and table service. Every other year, over the course of four days, more than 550 suppliers and tens of thousands of buyers come together to make lasting connections that drive business profitability and

shape the future of the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry. The bi-ennial event serves a very unique niche in the food service calendar. The show is uniquely positioned to enable the nations’ leading equipment and supply manufacturers to

Per Se NYC and French Laundry, legendary Chef Thomas Keller (R) welcomed guests at the launch of the new Hestan brand

(L to R) Continental Refrigeration’s Kevin Brown and Sean Maloney

American Range’s Shane Demerjian (L) had a busy show working with customers

(L to R) H. Weiss’ Jeff Dellon and Liz Weiss shopped the show in search of the latest innovation

Restaurant Depot’s Larry Rosenthal (R) was in great demand by the nation’s factories

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(L to R) Waring’s Giuliana Montenegro and new addition Keith Sisco welcomed the throes of dealers and end-users

tell their story to the industry's equipment and supply dealers and the food service consultant community. EYE notes that the show is looked upon as a leading source for finding that new product, trend or idea. The show's big news had a local New York twist to it. Middleby announced that it was purchasing long time pizza oven manufacturer Marsal. The Long Island firm not only brings access to a high quality product but also gives the always savvy Selim Bassoul access to some very valuable human capital with the Ferrara brothers and the one and only chef Santo Bruno. After work, it was time to play; as the Grammy Award winning Zac Brown band served up their finest during the All Industry Celebration, on Show-Saturday. The conference began with an opening party on ShowWednesday, which featured many of SoCal's most notable food trucks. It was a sure way to connect manufacturers and customers before the busy

New Jersey Rep Ro Doyle of DMM

Pecinka Ferri principal and outgoing MAFSI president Joe Ferri (2nd L) was toasted on his foodservice doctorate award by notables including his son Joe Louis Ferri

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// NAFEM SHOW 2015 show floor opened. EYE enjoyed The What’s Hot! What’s Cool! Pavilion. One of the Metro New York's food service legends Elliot Horowitz was feted as The Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry (MAFSI) hosted more than 400 reps and manufacturers at its membership celebration and cocktail party. The Alison Cody led group toasted long time New York City area rep Elliot Horowitz for his decades of service to the industry. New technology enabled visitors to enjoy a guided tour of the products that showcased labor savings, life-cycle

SHOW COVERAGE

costs, sanitation and/or operational improvement. The pavilion was divided into four product groups: Community Responsibility; Health & Wellness; Productivity & Efficiency and Craft. EYE's tour of the "What's Hot" pavilion really crystallized our opinion that there continues to be a clear line of demarcation in the industry. There would appear to be two camps. The first group of cooking equipment is aimed at the operator who still cooks with an open flame (Jade, Montague, American Range, Garland etc.) The second category of product is the approach that many na-

One of the Metro New York's food service legends Elliot Horowitz was feted as The Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry (MAFSI) hosted more than 400 reps and manufacturers at its membership celebration and cocktail party.

tional chains have adopted in which product are pre-prepared in many cases by a food distributor and then heated and plated. EYE notes that the world now moves so fast and in many cases has eliminated the personal interaction of buyer and seller due to social media and the Internet. So among the truly great features of NAFEM is the ‘face’ time offered by manufacturers, dealers, end-clients, fellow suppliers and strategic partners. EYE was pleased to see that key buying group leaders took the reigns off of many of their dealer constituents. In the past, with the focus

Chipotle founder Steve Ellis was among a large contingent of key operators that shopped the show

Irinox’s Ira Kaplan welcomed many of the nation’s leading operators including the director of California’s Correctional Dining Laura Maurino

Equipex’s Irina Mirsky showed off the firm’s new ventless innovation

Day & Nite’s Rick Sher

The Wine Racks by Marcus booth was a bevy of activity with (L to R) Sebastian Eckholt and Nancy Marcus anchoring the booth

(R to L) Eurodib’s Alex Dumaine, Shaun McDonald and Jean Yves Dumaine celebrated a successful ’15 NAFEM show

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(L to R) Lehr McKeown's Kim Lehr, Andrew Wolfe, CDN's Shawn DiGruccio and Rob McKeown

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being on maximizing a pre-negotiated rebate, the dealer traveling to shop the show would be given a punch card and directed only to visit manufacturers that were members of their buying groups. EYE found many dealers at least kicking the tires of products that in many cases were not members of their buying groups. EYE kudos to HATCO for a truly special NAFEM celebration. The Wisconsin based firm took over the Anaheim Grove on Thursday night of the show. Their NAFEM bash which was long a mark of former chef David Hatch welcomed hundreds of NAFEM revelers with a California beach celebration. The large contingent of Metro

No question that the elephant in the room this year was the Webrestaurantstore web site, which is reportedly taking a $200 million bite out of nationwide equipment and supply sales.

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NYC area service professionals were able to attend both the show and The Commercial Food Equipment Service Association Spring 2015 Conference, Guest presenter Richard Young, senior engineer, director of education and industry expert from Pacific Gas & Electric’s Food Service Technology Center, San Ramon, Calif., conveyed the true cost of equipment neglect in his presentation, “Preventative Maintenance Pays: Research from the Field, Online Tools and Best Practices.” No question that the elephant in the room this year was the Webrestaurantstore web site, which is reportedly taking a $200 million bite out of nationwide equipment and supply sales. The show always

presents its share of the ironic. EYE drove 10 miles from the exhibit hall for the debut of Hestan's new commercial line. The Anaheim firm showed off its spokesperson: Chef Thomas Keller of Manhattan’s Per Se and Napa's French Laundry in a party it co-hosted with the CIA alumni. Should be very interesting to see what the impact will be of the Stanley Chen owned firm on commercial food equipment. Chen's Meyer Corp. has made his mark with residential branded lines for notables including Rachel Ray and Buddy Valastro.

(L to R) DMM’s Brian Mahoney and Turbo Air’s Phillip Han had overwhelming reaction to the firm’s self cleaning refrigeration’s new standard feature (L to R) Globe’s Kevin Woods and Jason Fox

(L to R) Chip Little and Chris Little of CLVMarketing flank Waring's Mike Kaldenberg

Peter Lociento (L) and Michael Fortanascio (R) led the TD Marketing team

(R to L) BFA's Bob and Meryl Finkelstein visited with many of their peers from across the country

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Pat Fava (2nd L) led the Air Comfort team

Marsal’s chef Santo Bruno (L) celebrated news of the Long Island firm’s sale to Middleby with old friend Pete Ashcraft of Turbo Chef

// INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

WITH FRED SAMPSON

Social Media Offers Opportunities & Problems We all marveled when email became the method of immediate communication for anyone who had a computer. We also came to realize we could surf the Web and find the locations of the newest eateries, and read reviews placed online by members of various social networks.

Fred G. Sampson,

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

ome reviews were complimentary and some were scathing, and most of the latter were unsigned. A number of states are reviewing this practice of not signing damaging remarks. Recently the highest court in Virginia has ruled it a no-no. While an unsigned comment is almost impossible to intelligently answer, there are still the signed ones that should be. Here is why. A recent study revealed the following about the impact these sites have on their viewers and your business. Of the responders, 90 percent said positive reviews on a website will influence whether they visit the restaurant; 80 percent said a negative review will prohibit them from ever going to that restaurant; and here is the kicker: 88 percent of your customers are using sites such as Trip Advisor, Google, Yelp and Yahoo. If your operation has been the recipient of negative comments, you’ll want to be extremely careful in how

you respond. Vivian Wagner, owner of V Creative Enterprises, LLC, has developed “5 tips for Responding Positively to Negative Comments.” I have condensed her comments due to space and time. Respond appropriately. Reading negative comments about your business, your employees or your product or services can make you want to justify yourself and claim that the commenter is just plain wrong, misinformed or simply off the mark. While these are natural reactions, they won’t help your brand or your social media presence. Whatever you do, don’t say the problem is a result of something the commenter has done—even if you think it is true. Never take a comment personally and write something emotional or accusatory in return. Instead, pay attention to what’s being said, and then respond in a balanced, appropriate and professional way. Ms. Wagner went on to say, “Be brief. You don’t want to reveal too much in your response to a negative comment. Remember, social media is a public space and airing dirty laundry isn’t going to help your business or your customers.” Make it simple: “We’re sorry about this.

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Respond appropriately. Reading negative comments about your business, your employees or your product or services can make you want to justify yourself and claim that the commenter is just plain wrong.

Please call our customer service line if you would like to talk to the specifics of your situation.” She also feels that you should consider comments as free research. The information you receive on social media can help you and your business if you look at it as follows. Keep a record of comments as you answer them and make notes. Your customers may be giving you some valuable information, which you might otherwise have to dig for. I totally agree with her next statement. Probably the most important

reason to respond to comments— both negative and positive—is that everyone else is reading them. Although many people won’t comment themselves, they’ll read the comments of others and pay close attention to how your business responds. Responding to negative comments is a chance for you to demonstrate how caring, thoughtful and engaged your business is, and how it solves potential problems. If you show that your business listens to and responds to feedback in an appropriate manner, you’re creating a sense of trust, which will go far beyond the particular comments you’re dealing with at any given moment. Ms. Wagner also recommends that you consider hiring someone to do your responding. To get the most out of social media, consider hiring a social media manager to stay on top of interacting with the public. If you do go this route, make sure to set a clear, consistent policy about commenting and responding to comments, so your social media person is on the same page as you. No matter the size of your operation, you should have a social media monitoring service. They are relatively inexpensive, and offer you a chance to address any harmful remarks aimed at your business. Google offers a long list of these firms. Remember, the worst complaint is the SILENT complaint, so when an unhappy or disappointed guest takes the time to go online with their complaint, it is worthy of a response and offers you a chance to keep or win back your guest. You’ll never know unless you have someone surfing the Web.As I said, social media offers opportunities and problems. It all depends on how you use it.

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// INSURANCE

FIORITO ON INSURANCE

Minimize Workers' Comp. Costs by Keeping Employees Healthy: Creating a Healthconscious Culture That Promotes Productivity Recent studies show that a variety of risk factors can contribute to today's rising workers' compensation (WC) claims, including workplace stress and an employee's habits, behaviors and health status, including obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

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

ccording to one Duke University Medical Center Study, the average medical claim cost per 100 employees came to $51,019 for obese workers who filed two times the number of claims and just $7,503 for the nonobese. Additionally, the cost breakdown of WC has changed. Employers used to focus more on the indemnity side, which typically came in at about 60% of the total cost, while only 40% went to actual medical expenses. By contrast, today's WC cost split is 40% or less for indemnity and 60% or more for medical [1]. Now more than ever it is critical for employers to create a healthy and safe work environment in order to minimize the frequency and cost of WC claims. Healthier people are more productive, happier and have lower stress

levels, help cultivate the desired team environment and have lower turnover and absenteeism - all things that bring efficiency to a work environment. What can your business do? While each industry and company faces its own unique risks, there are four major areas that impact WC claims in severity and frequency: The Physical Work Space Start by eliminating, or at least minimizing, physical risk from the workplace. Ensure that physical conditions that could cause injury are engineered out of the operation and that safety is designed and planned as part of new projects. The Work Itself Often times the type of work that is required can pose a risk. Assess the required work, establish work rules, train employees to do it safely and provide the necessary tools and protective equipment to perform the job safely. Emotional Health of the Worker Without the right balance between driving worker productivity and ensuring worker safety, emotional stress and

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Ensure that physical conditions that could cause injury are engineered out of the operation and that safety is designed and planned as part of new projects.

anxiety can surface. Without a doubt, the work culture created by the employer affects worker engagement and stress levels. Create a culture that values health and well being by making sure leaders and supervisors aren't encouraging increased production while ignoring safety. When possible, utilize performance management strategies that engage

continued on page 97

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// MEET THE NEWSMAKERS

Steve Seabury, Owner of High River Sauces and Founder of The NYC Hot Sauce Expo

This year I am proud to build the Hot Sauce Hall of Fame Foundation. This foundation will highlight and bring to the mainstream the history of hot sauce and showcase the men and women who built this industry. This year’s EXPO we will present in front of the live crowd the

High River Sauces was started by music industry veteran; food junkie and Heavy Metal Cookbook author Steve Seabury. His cookbook titled Mosh Potatoes (Simon & Schuster) is a collection of recipes from the biggest bands in Hard Rock & Heavy Metal.

hile putting together the cookbook Seabury found that his passion for food was shared by many of his favorite icons. He wanted to bring his shared passion of food and music to the masses. High River Sauces has been formed out of this passion and provides the music and food fanatic with artisan sauces made from the best organic ingredients for that ultimate culinary experience. Where did you come up with the idea for The NYC Hot Sauce Expo? I own a hot sauce company based here in New York called High River Sauces. Hot sauce is an absolute passion for me. I LOVE IT. Driving home from the Weekend of Fire (Hot Sauce Food Show based in OH) one year I heard a voice cry out “Why isn’t there a Fiery Foods Expo in NYC?” I was baffled by this question and kept asking myself over and over why there wasn’t one. After a week of thinking of the possibilities I started to lay the course of creating the first ever NYC Hot Sauce Expo. I reached out to some of my friends to see if they would travel to NYC for a Hot Sauce Expo if I put one together. Within weeks I had 45 of the best artisan craft hot sauce makers from around

High River Sauces was started by music industry veteran; food junkie and Heavy Metal Cookbook author Steve Seabury.

the country coming to NYC to have one helleva good party. What is the Expo all about? The NYC Hot Sauce Expo celebrates the pepper and the people who believe in the power of the pepper. You will never

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see another Food Festival like this. This is on a level all its own. Everything in the building represents the spicy awesomeness in food. We have vendors bringing in their spicy flare from their respected local cuisine. People who attend the show are tasting hot sauces that are beyond anything you will find anywhere else. The various styles and the pure amount of hot sauce that is showcased at the EXPO is truly insane. Do food industry professionals get involved with the expo? During the course of the day we have so many fun filled activities for people to watch or run in horror! Each hour on the main stage we feature eating challenges, cooking demos and other competitions. People sign up for these events months prior to the expo from the official website. The Spicy Pizza Eating Competition is a crowd favorite. Last year we set the Guinness Book of Records with the Carolina Reaper Pepper eating contest. We are hosting the NYC Bloody Mary Mix Down to crown the best bartender in NYC. Last year Staten Island took the crown. What’s the NYC Hot Sauce Expo Hall of Fame?

induction ceremony of the Hall of Fame. We then commence the weekend by presenting the Screaming Mi Mi Awards to an eager audience filled with anticipation of the announcement of the winners. Over 400 sauces will enter and only 14 of them will win. We have chosen 20 of the best judges representing the culinary world of NYC to decide their fate. The Screaming Mi Mi Award has become one of the highest honors you can win within the Hot Sauce Industry. When does the 3rd Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo take place? The Expo takes place on April 25 and 26 at the Brooklyn Expo Center. If you’re a food professional or an artisan hot sauce maker, please visit www.nychotsauceexpo.com for more information. And if you’d like to become a vendor and sponsor, please contact: steve@highriversauces.com

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// HOW GREEN ARE YOUR WAYS?

WITH PETER KAPLAN

The Energy Efficiency Dilemma for Local Business In a world where we expect things to continually go up in cost and usage, how can it be that in a segment of the energy space, things are actually going down?

n a world where we expect things to continually go up in cost and usage, how can it be that in a segment of the energy space, things are actually going down? In fact,

Peter Kaplan,

COO & President of United Energy Consultants peter@uecnow.com

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with electricity, growth has essentially stopped. According to a February 2014 White Paper from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient

Economy (ACEEE), the commercial and industrial use of electricity has been modestly declining from its peak in 2007. The residential sector has also seen declines since its peak in 2010. Beyond reasons such as warmer weather patterns, changes in the GDP, and changes in electricity pricing, the primary factor for decreased electricity growth stated in the report is energy efficiency programs and policies. So what are you doing to make your business more energy efficient and green? Many of us set out to adopt best practices for energy usage in our work places, but over time we find that we may stray operationally let-

ting good buildings go bad. And while these programs have good intents, they typically involve variables that may be out of our control. One of the most difficult variables to control is the energy mindset of the individual. Water usage, light usage, heating and cooling usage, for example, revolve around individual preferences. So without proper rigors, all the proposed energy policies that you may suggest to tenants and co-workers are just that, suggestions. But there are things that are in your control – things that can have positive effects to the bottom-line and may require little to no involvement on your part. One of the easiest things to do is bring in a reputable energy consultant who can help reduce costs and save expenses. From auditing previous energy bills to uncovering erroneous fees, and having them refunded to the company to creating a plan on how to reduce the energy used by the company, a consultant can show immediate efficiencies without any cost to the business owner. Here are 5 key value points to help you stay in the green when considering a consultant: A good consultant can enable competition. Some suppliers may offer one price to an energy consultant as opposed to a price they would give you directly because you do not have to compete for the business.  Consultants enable volume discounts. Suppliers know that an energy consultant can get them the opportunity for more business. As a single customer, you may not get a volume discount because your energy contract may only be renewed every 1 to 2 years.  Consultants are partners.

Most suppliers do not have the staff to perform additional consultative services. A consultant, who cares about your business, can add value through deeper analysis such as bill audits, rate analysis, tax audit analysis and certain quantitative measurements, among other things.  Consultants have large shopping

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lists. This means they have many suppliers to tap into in order to get you the best rate. How many suppliers can you think of on your own? One, two?  Consultants can read between the lines. Without your own dedicated internal staff, sorting through mul-

tiple energy bids can prove difficult. Not all suppliers are alike and their contract terms may differ. And more importantly, a bid they give on one day may change a week later based upon fluctuating market rates. Information provided by Founders Club member, United Energy Consultants

BOOTH #1212

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BOOTH #1954

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Yale, from page 38 the law and seeking to create a class to meet student interest," noted Jennifer McTiernan ’15. At the same time, Downey and Miller, who were both involved with food law clinical work through the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP), approached YCELP Associate Director Josh Galperin, asking him for ideas about how to get a course on these topics brought to YLS. With faculty support from both the clinical and academic side, and armed with evidence about the importance and popularity of engaging students

on the rapidly evolving topic of food law, the students met with Deputy Dean Al Klevorick, and less than one year later, the course launched this Spring semester. “It was this beautiful moment where you had Yale Law professors acknowledging this emerging, exciting, important area of the law and seeking to create a class to meet student interest,” said McTiernan. “We were able to show Dean Klevorick that food law is a real and important area of law and that YLS students wanted to have such an of-

fering,” added Miller. Taught by Visiting Lecturer in Law Emily Broad Leib, who directs Harvard University’s Food Law and Policy Clinic, the course will present an overview of topics in food law, including the environmental, health, and safety impacts of current methods of food production and distribution. The course will also address the lack of comprehensive U.S. food policy and the challenges posed by this fragmented regulatory framework. In addition, the course will address the ongoing debate between personal, corporate, and

societal responsibility for diet-related disease and the ways in which this debate plays out in legislatures and courtrooms across the country. “Food Law and Policy is a discipline that hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet,” said Galperin. “The idea of food and agriculture law policy as a holistic area of study with the environmental, sustainability, cultural, and socioeconomic, and regulatory side of it that is something that has really been emerging over the past decade.” The U.S. Food Law and Policy course adds further depth to the ar-

BOOTH #2111

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ray of environmental law offerings already in place at YLS thanks to a strong partnership with Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, a host of clinical and extracurricular opportunities available through the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP), and a renowned environmental law faculty. It is also part of a larger wave of interest and activity surrounding food law at the Law School, which includes clinical projects through the Environmental Protection Clinic and the Ludwig Center for Community & Economic Development Clinic at Yale Law School, and a recently launched student organization, the Yale Food Law Society (FoodSoc). The Environmental Protection Clinic that Galperin co-teaches currently has six ongoing food law projects that include working with local and national NGOs on a number of initiatives, from developing a database of industrial agriculture facilities in the U.S. to authoring a book chapter surveying food and animal policy across the world. “Josh has done a tremendous job bringing excellent food clients into the clinic, and I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue my passion at the intersection of food, agriculture, and the environment,” said Miller. “By offering clinical opportunities and now the Food Law and Policy course, YLS has shown that it is willing to help students pursue their passions,” added Downey. Downey and Miller launched FoodSoc this semester, a non-partisan community that promotes the study of and engagement with food and agriculture law and policy. The Society advocates for an approach that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. The student group will bring together scholars, activists, policymakers, and professionals, and represent students

directly interested in the food system as well as those interested in how food law touches and concerns their primary areas of interest in the law. Downey and Miller will serve as co-presidents along with a 16-person student board. FoodSoc will also have a faculty advisory board, which will include Dean Post, Professor Kapczyn-

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ski, Associate Professor David Singh Grewal ’02, and Galperin. Watching the food law movement build and take shape is exciting, Galperin said, because young lawyers have the ability to really influence and mold the dialogue and debate. “With more traditional environmental issues, we have well-devel-

oped statutes, case law, and common law,” explained Galperin. “However, we don’t have that yet for food law, so lawyers need to think about what they are advocating for at the legislative level and the kind of case law they are developing with an eye on how that is going to influence this body of law that is still really emerging.”

Q&A, from page 29 Manhattan. What were you hoping to accomplish with that? I always thought that the Theater District was a great location for us. When you're spending hundreds of dollars on theater tickets, it's really nice to be able to get what I call “a great New York meal.” That's something that's quality-driven for less than $50. Hopefully, we've taken the headache out of it for people. And we've filled a niche there. Junior's is probably one of the most successful restaurants in the United States.

in the last five years to go into the wholesale business. We have distributors not all across the country, but in select markets, where we're distributing foodservice-size cakes as well as retail-size cakes for grocery, Costco, BJ's, other retailers. And that business is growing very nicely.   You've been busy. I see that you at one

How does the theater customer differ from the customer you see in Brooklyn?  Obviously, we have a very urban demographic here in Brooklyn. A mixed demographic. But I think we have a very mixed demographic anywhere we go because our menu has such broad appeal.  Now where else can you find matzo ball soup next to barbecue ribs? Where else can you sit and have a tuna fish sandwich on rye toast and a great glass of chardonnay? So, it's sort of a unique menu in that regard. The food's not overly fussy, but it's very good and it's very wholesome. And it seems to appeal to a broad demographic regardless of economic status. Do you think you'll locate somewhere else? If a great Florida location pops up or a great Vegas location, I'm going to jump. In the meantime, we're continuing to grow our wholesale business. You've recently started selling Junior's Cheesecakes on QVC and you've written a book. What has that been like?  We are probably the largest mail order company for cheesecakes direct to consumers in the country. That's number 1. Number 2, we've started 88 • March 2015 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

point opened another restaurant in Manhattan. It's closed now but what did you learn? Enduro, it was called. It was a fantastic restaurant. It was the original restaurant my grandfather owned at this location. It was feeding on all the points that everyone's talking about today. Farm-to-table. Hormone-free. Antibiotic-free. Real great food at what I

believed to be moderate prices. It was a beautiful restaurant, recycled wood, all that. Great local wine program, craft beers, the whole thing. But the location was tough. I learned, location, location, location.  Visit www.totalfood.com for the full interview with Alan Rosen.

Data, from page 12 cent three-year period (2011 to 2014) were still open in the second half of 2014. "We would expect between 11 and 12% (twice the 6 month rate) would close in a one year period," Dunbar continued. The closing rate is 3% lower than the national average of 14 to 15% for restaurants opened in the most recent three-year period. The NYC metro restaurants opened in the same period have a success rate, which is 3% higher. Focusing on restaurants opened in the 2011 to 2014 period, the firm looked at the Top 10 metro areas in the US to see how the NYC metro area compares. San Francisco had the highest closing rate in the second half of 2014. Over 11% closed in the 6-month period. "We’d ex-

pect between 21% and 23% would close in a 12 month period, " Dunbar added. Atlanta has the best success rate – 95.74% and we’d expect a full 12 month success rate of over 90% in Atlanta." Since 1997, Restaurantdata.com has tracked restaurant openings in the NYC metro area and the rest of the country. The firm's research includes scouring information from government sources, newspaper articles and industry news. As of December 31, Restaurantdata. com found 36,038 restaurants in the New York Metro Area were open for business. The 1,238 restaurants that closed in the second half of 2014 included 502 locations we reported in our res-

taurant openings reports. These 502 locations represent roughly 4.3% of the restaurants whose openings were covered in our reports. Independent restaurant annual closing rate in all US regions, cities and towns was over 9%. In contrast, the NYC metro area shows a rate of 6.64%. The new Restaurant Investor Report also includes summaries by cuisine, service style and check average. These summaries will include recaps by state, zip code, DMA and for 25 major metro areas in addition to the national statistics.

BOOTH #1945

BOOTH #1844

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Raw Fish, from page 2 corners of the globe. But because of health concerns and growing demand, 50 to 60 percent of sushi in the United States is frozen at some point in its journey from the ocean, according to wholesalers. And rare is the sushi restaurant that tells customers upfront that they may be eating fish that has been in deep freeze for up to two years. Most would be even more surprised to learn that if the sushi has not been frozen, it is illegal to serve it in the United States. Food and Drug Administration regulations stipulate that fish to be eaten raw - whether as sushi, sashimi, seviche, or tartare must be frozen first, to kill parasites. ''I would desperately hope that all the sushi we eat is frozen,'' said George Hoskin, a director of the agency's Office of Seafood. Tuna, a deep-sea fish with exceptionally clean flesh, is the only exception to the rule. But tuna is often frozen, too, not necessarily to make it safe, but because global consumption of sushi continues to rise. Frozen fish usually costs about half as much wholesale as fresh. And some cuts, like the prized fatty toro, are not always available fresh. Naomichi Yasuda, the owner of Sushi Yasuda, the acclaimed sushi restaurant in New York City, said he imported fresh tuna but froze it himself, selling it for $10 a piece. ''American customers don't want to hear that something is out of season,'' he said. ''People want toro every day.'' At the Elizabeth, N.J., warehouse of True World Foods, a manager, Ken Kawauchi, recently readied a roomsize freezer to receive eight more tons of premium tuna frozen with sophisticated technology that chefs say preserves the texture and flavor of the fish. ''This product is better than fresh,'' he said. ''We start freezing it almost

before it's dead.'' At 76 degrees below zero, you can feel your hair follicles freeze. A 20-pound chunk of premium bluefin tuna is rock hard and cold enough to burn a blister on your finger. But all it takes is a band saw, 10 minutes and a bowl of warm water to produce deep red, dewy slices of the finest sushi money can buy, the same toro served at Manhattan sushi shrines. Sabine Marangosian, who works in Midtown Manhattan, said she ate sushi ''at least once a week.'' ''I guess I would understand that some sushi is frozen,'' she said. ''But I would hope that's not the case at Nobu.'' But Shin Tsujimura, the sushi chef at Nobu, closer to Wall Street, said he froze his own tuna. ''Even I cannot tell the difference between fresh and frozen in a blind test,'' he said. Even Masa Takayama, whose sushi temple Masa, in the Time Warner Center, charges a minimum of $300 to worship, said he used frozen tuna when fresh is unavailable. Many sushi bars, in Japan and elsewhere, routinely use frozen fish when fresh is unavailable or more expensive than the market will bear. ''In Japan,'' Mr. Kawauchi said, ''50 percent of the sushi and sashimi is frozen. Only my American customers are so concerned with fresh fish.'' Americans have clearly overcome the initial resistance that greeted sushi when it was widely introduced nationally in the 1980's. The number of Japanese restaurants across the country has steadily increased in the past five years, according to the National Restaurant Association. And that number does not include the supermarkets, delis, cafeterias, and Costco stores where sushi can now be purchased. A.F.C. Sushi, a Los Angeles-based sushi franchiser, has more than 1,800 outlets nationwide. It already supplies the Staples Center, in Los

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Angeles; Florida State University, in Tallahassee, Fla.; and the United States military, which buys sushi for its commissaries. Although the company's Web site refers to ''fresh sushi,'' A.F.C. uses only frozen fish in

its products. Tuna, one of the most expensive sushi fish in the world, has been the test market for superfreezing.

BOOTH #1763

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Eva's Village, Paterson NJ General Manager

Executive Chef

Equipment & Supply Dealer

Donna Fico, General Manager Eva’s Village Paterson, NJ

Darryl Dela Cruz, Executive Chef Eva’s Village Paterson, NJ

Michael Konzelman, Principal Economy Restaurant Supply Clifton, NJ

said we have to do something about this. He started small, with the soup kitchen in the basement of a church. From there he built a mission in Paterson, an anti-poverty organization. He began feeding those same people he'd

seen sleeping on park benches and under bridges. Then came the need for shelters. Substance abuse and mental illnesses are why people find themselves homeless. So in the late 80's, he started treat-

Donna Fico's Approach Eva's Soup Kitchen was started by a local pastor in Paterson 33 years ago. He was concerned about people who were hungry, knocking on various doors of churches to find something to eat, and

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ment programs, and finally a health and dental center in a mobile van. The main obstacles for this population are housing and job skills. In 2010 we opened a 50-unit affordable housing complex with the plan that we would

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reserve 3,500 sq ft for some type of job training program. That's when Michael Konzelman and the Economy team came an essential part of the mission. We determined that the foodservice industry would be our training ground, being an in-demand occupation, and also, closest to our heart because that's how we started. We built the housing and on the ground floor, we have a beautiful training kitchen that was dedicated last month. We feed 350 people a day every day of the year. That's 142,000 lunches coming out of our community kitchen annually. We started building our new school, which is on the ground floor of our housing complex, as we were building the new facility because we already had a production kitchen, and while it was being built, we figured we could lay the groundwork and get the kinks out. We started in March 2014 to teach and we now have two classes under our belt.

Darryl Dela Cruz is the Executive Chef of Eva’s Village Paterson, NJ

We did a national search for a chef. We were looking for someone who had teaching credentials, experience

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and empathy for the population we’re serving. We found all of that in Chef Darryl Dela Cruz. He’s looking to make a difference and that’s why he left Seattle. He’s everything food here, and he helped establish our school. It's all about giving the students a skill that empowers them, base their ability to earn a living around and have peace of mind. It's a five-month program and a one-month internship where we place the students in foodservice jobs at the end. We’re providing hands-on experience but our main goal is jobs. We’ve been very successful building partnerships with the industry, including Aramark, Chili's and St. Joseph's Hospital to create employment opportunities for our graduates. Michael Konzelman has been very involved in taking an empty shell and molding it into a new teaching facility. He also helped us with a vision for the future while staying focused on the present. He helped us walk the fine

line between being a training facility rather than a production kitchen. For example, we can have a deck oven, to teach that skill, but we’re not outfitting it to be a pizzeria. He was very helpful with the type of equipment to teach all the competencies, and giving us room to grow. We are so proud of what we have accomplished. One of our biggest successes is Wanda. In 2010 we handed her the keys to her first apartment and she’s been helped by Eva’s Village over the years. She was a member of our first class in March, graduated and now is working in a social services agency in their kitchen. The two obstacles that create homelessness she overcame: housing and job skills. We had 90% placement in the first class. Our second class just graduated and we know we'll have the same outcome with them. We're well on our way.

Darryl Dela Cruz’s Approach I have a teaching background. I’m from Hawaii and I was an instructor there for about 22 years. I got my foodservice certification from a Hawaii community college. Then I opened the Four Seasons Hotel in Wailea, and worked in the Renaissance hotels, The Intercontinental and Embassy Suites, doing that for 15 years. After that, I moved to Portland, Oregon where I opened the Southwest Cafe and from there I moved to Seattle where I taught at Le Cordon Bleu for five years. After my years in education, I was looking for something different, and I found Eva’s Village. It fit what I wanted to do. So I put in an application. I saw their Web site, their mission, and it got me really excited. It’s still part of education but I wanted to do something that had more meaning. Starting this culinary school was the biggest event in my career. Initially I was an instructor but now I’m more about people, more about my students. I’m an instructor but I prepare them for their lives; prepare them to have a better life. I do a lot more than instruction, I teach them life skills, how to be successful, write resumes and go on interviews. I’m more into teaching about obstacles that you face, how to overcome them, how to deal with different types of personalities and how to make yourself more well rounded and get back into society. It’s one avenue they can take to be successful. Initially, my friends said, New Jersey? “Why do you want to go to New Jersey?” But I like working with these kinds of people. It’s a heart thing! It comes from what I believe in, these guys having a second chance. It satisfies me. The curriculum is set up to learn basic skills, and the goal is to help them establish themselves as a prep cook, to identify food products, work the equipment. We give them basic cooking skills: sautéing, frying, grilling. Enough to get their foot through the door. It’s such a short program,

just five months, but it’s intensive enough that they could be entering a workplace as a prep cook, or if skilled enough, a first round line cook. As soon as they graduate, they have the opportunity to go into the workforce or get more education if they can afford it. But the majority want to go to work, as soon as they get their certification. We want them to learn, to give them enough knowledge to be hired as a prep cook. And we’ve been very successful. Almost 100% of the graduates from our first class have found jobs. We’d like to expand in the future, offer more courses, maybe go for six months. We’re taking the baby steps right now and it’s doing great for us.

Michael Konzelman's Approach First, a little background. Eva's Village started as Eva's Soup Kitchen, founded in 1982 to feed the hungry and the poor of New York City, especially the homeless. Back then the kitchen fed 30 people a day. Today, after a major renovation, they serve almost 400 a day. While Eva¹s “guests” are served a hot lunch, they are introduced to one or more of the 14 integrated programs Eva’s Village offers to the homeless and struggling. Now here's where I come in. Like a lot of business people, you often get asked for donations. You're always skeptical as to how many dollars are going towards the actual need, a cure for cancer or heart disease, versus going to administration or staffing, not where it really needs to go. So, when you have an opportunity to work with a group that you can see it and feel it, you know where your dollars are going, you're doing a good thing, you know it's not going to the wrong place, you do it. It was a win-win for us, helping this charitable organization because it actually involves our industry, as well as a conduit. A lot of the time these are women who are homeless or have substance abuse problems. They have no skills. We train them on computers, we teach

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them skills to get them out into the workforce, to be viable. It's a win-win for everyone. Through this program, they've cleaned up; they've changed their lives. But they need a reason to put their feet on the ground every day. So we started with smaller groups right now 10-12 women but eventually we have room for 20 or 25 students at a time and are giving them something they never had before. Here, you get to have your own job. And, what's nice is we are in an industry that has plenty of jobs. In today's workforce, they want you to come in and fill a job opening and start doing it. They don't have the time or the luxury to train the person. And with our program, you end up with a trained employee, without the overhead of having to do the training. But it's more than just training. It's a fair bit of psychology. And helping them builds confidence. Once you've gained a skill and you begin to feel productive, think about how you feel about yourself. It's the ultimate paying it forward. What we did was take an empty space and talk to an instructor at the New Jersey food bank that had a similar program and they looked at the room from the standpoint of a chef and not from the standpoint of actually building it and so they said, fine go ahead. So I did. A lot of the building was floorto-ceiling glass and as I really didn't want to impede that, we worked with what we had and we were able to get all the important areas that any real kitchen would have, in there. Our goal with the design was to specify a package of equipment that would lend itself to teaching and at the same time provide a realistic on the job experience that the student will deal with after graduation. With that said, both the hot and cold packages feature the latest and greatest equipment. The hot side features Eloma Combis, Southbend Ranges, Globe Mixers, US Range’s convection ovens, Solaris kettles and Bakers Pride pizza ovens. The instructor focuses on basic skills including mak-

ing pizza and focaccia and some light bread. So while the curriculum might not be aimed at artisanal baking, it does include key components including: how to charbroil and how to work with pizza ovens. The cold side design features True Refrigeration with Master-Bilt walk-ins. We installed a Champion dishwasher with the heat reclamation system on it and the Eagle fabrication dish table work counter and sinks. With all the best equipment

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and teaching, they learn the skills and now they can go out into the world and get a real job. Down the road, they might do a catering event. They have to create food in a production kitchen. They're going to be feeding someone. Maybe they have to produce the food there, and then, depending on what section they're in, they're going to use that food to feed staff or a working event. The goal is to train folks, to give them a way to make a living.

There’s a classroom that's adjacent to the kitchen where they might do special events for fund raising. I've had a little experience before, dealing with technical or vocational schools but this is different because there, you're dealing with students, and here, you’re dealing with adults. It took a long time, but the hope is, this is going to have an imprint on a lot of lives.

HUB, from page 76 workers in shared decision-making and also enable shared accountability and rewarding of achievement. Physical Health of the Worker The physical health of a worker is a known indicator impacting the frequency and severity of workplace injury and illness. For example, a healthy worker isn't as likely to slip on a hazardous spill, but will also have an enhanced ability to rehabilitate from injury should they be affected. Most employers naturally focus on the first two areas, as required by OSHA but fall short in the last two because they often feel these areas are the personal responsibility of the workers themselves. Maintaining a healthy workforce It is possible to meet the requirements of all four areas simultaneously in order to reduce WC risk and associated costs as well as improve the overall health of employees. This can be done by promoting a healthy work culture through the structural and/or operational integration of all corporate safety and human resources departments and initiatives aimed at promoting employee wellness. In fact, companies who have done this already have seen both a drop in workers' compensation and disability claims by as much as 30% and a decrease in short-time sick leave by as much as 32% [2]. This may also include tactics like rethinking hiring practices, since hiring the right workers can help meet the demands of the job and can put individuals and the organization as a whole in a better position to succeed. Oftentimes skills can be taught, but alignment with an organization's values and beliefs are more important over the longer term. Your insurance broker can help you optimize your business’ health-related functions in order to maximize worker performance, while reducing costs associated with workers compensation claims. [1] Buck Consulting survey. [2] US Corporate Wellness study.

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// CHEFCETERA

UP CLOSE WITH METRO NEW YORK'S CHEFS

Marc Anthony Bynum, Chef at HUSH Bistro in Farmingdale, NY HUSH Bistro is a new Modern American restaurant in Farmingdale, NY. The creation of Long Island top chef Marc Anthony Bynum, HUSH Bistro delivers an innovative earth to table menu with emphasis on local and organic flavors enhanced by traditional and new cooking techniques.

ynum’s resume includes top tables throughout Long Island such as Four Food Studio, Tellers, Prime Restaurant and Venue 56 as well as two victories on the Food Network’s competitive cooking show Chopped and a subsequent stint on Chopped Champions. Now after 20 years in the industry, Chef Bynum brings his knowledge and his passion to his hometown offering diners an authentic and memorable culinary experience. We sat down with Chef Bynum in this month’s Chefcetera. You say watching your mother cook for the family was what initially drew you to the culinary world. Can you tell us a specific memory? And where did your cooking career begin? Every Sunday my mom used to make us breakfast before church. She’d make pancakes with strawberry compote, fresh whipped cream and caramelized bananas. For Sunday dinners she made things like chicken potpies and pot roasts with real mac and cheese. Seeing everyone’s facial expressions is what drew me to cooking. It brings people together and I love it.

Besides your Mother, who has had the biggest impact on your career? Chef Dan Dorherty of the Melville Marriot. He would have me come in two hours early every day so he could work with me. He made me cook him chicken picatta every night until I got it right. He’s the first man that ever gave me a chance. “The food speaks.” Tell us what this means to you. It’s really simple – the food speaks. Food is not meant to be manipulated. Every product has a purpose, and as a chef and artist you’re supposed to make that purpose come to life by listening to it. A painter can’t make green red. The food transforms us we don't transform it. A great product beats a crazy technique any day of the week. What led you to come back to your hometown to open your restaurant? I always wanted to give back to the town that gave me so much. To show the community what I've learned and to open a restaurant, such as HUSH, like none other around. It’s the perfect story.

Long Island top chef Marc Anthony Bynum, HUSH Bistro delivers an innovative earth to table menu with emphasis on local and organic flavors

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Walk us through a typical day at work. What are some of the challenges you face each day? I get in somewhere between 9:30 and 10 a.m. to make sure that all my orders are in and that the staff is here on time. A typical day as an owner involves managing people while maintaining creativity and the quality of food at the same time. All menu items are prepped daily, so I get right to prep work. I take breaks here and there to do paperwork, take phone calls, write checks, but I always get right back to it. Ultimately, my job is more than just food. It’s about maintaining a standard and assuring that my vision is

being brought to life the way that I see it and the way my guests expect it. You competed and won on the Food Network’s Chopped not once, but twice. How did you get involved and how has the experience affected your career? I got involved with just a simple interview. My personality is what got me on the show and it took me from a local chef to nationally recognized in a matter of hours. It also helped launch my consulting company, which led me to

difference. I may be a great chef but my success depends on the farmer. I look for loyalty but I also shop the market because my menu is constantly changing. What is the hardest part of your job and the best part of your job? The hardest part of my job is staying

Local sustainability is a must. It’s a win-win for the community, purveyors and farmers, and you can taste the difference.

the opportunity of opening my own place. How has the business changed since you began? People are starting to understand the concept more. Even though it’s the slow season, business is steadily increasing. What’s your opinion on local sustainability? And do you look for loyalty from your suppliers or do you go to bid each week? Local sustainability is a must. It’s a win-win for the community, purveyors and farmers, and you can taste the 99 • March 2015 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com

focused on one thing. I try to keep a balance between what I want to do as an artist and what is approachable for my guests. The best part of my job is seeing how my food transforms people. What advice would you give to young chefs just getting started?

Make sure you love it. Obsess over it. While always making sure that you have fun doing it. Crystal ball… what lies ahead for you? Everything. I now know that I can achieve anything.

BOOTH #1326

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// NEWS

GMO LABELING

NYC Chef Colicchio, Activists, Lawmakers Demand Action on GMO Labeling Chef Tom Colicchio joined Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) last month as they reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would give Americans more information about what’s in their food and how it was produced.

he bill – titled the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act – would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require that food manufacturers label foods that contain genetically modified ingredients (also called GMOs). It was reintroduced in both the Senate and the House.   “We

cannot continue to keep Americans in the dark about the food they eat,” said Rep. DeFazio. “More than 60 other countries make it easy for consumers to choose. Why should the U.S. be any different? If food manufacturers stand by their product and the technology they use to make it, they should have no problem disclosing that information to consumers.”   “The pub-

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lic wants more information about the food they are buying and how it’s grown,” said Colicchio, owner of Craft Restaurants and co-founder of Food Policy Action. “I applaud Sens. Boxer

and Blumenthal and Rep. DeFazio for their leadership and urge their colleagues to join them in standing up for the 93 percent of Americans who want to know whether their food has been genetically modified.”   Advocates from Food Policy Action, Environmental Working Group, Just Label It and Center for Food Safety were on hand to thank Sen. Boxer, Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. DeFazio and to urge Congress to act on the legislation. Prolabeling groups have helped to collect more than 1.4 million signatures on a petition to the FDA demanding the right for consumers to know what’s in their food.   “Under the leadership of Sen. Boxer, Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. DeFazio, our elected officials

have the opportunity to provide clear, transparent information to Americans who simply want to know whether their food has been genetically modified,” said Katrina Staves, campaign manager for Just Label It.   Earlier last month, farmers flew in to Washington from across the country to lobby Capitol Hill for GMO labeling legislation. Many growers have turned to more toxic herbicides for use on crops genetically engineered to withstand herbicides such as glyphosate. Overuse of glyphosate has led to the growth of “super weeds” that require farmers to use even more toxic herbicides that have been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease and reproductive prob-

lems.    “The industry promise that planting GMO crops would reduce the need for harmful weed killers has been broken,” said Mary Ellen Kustin, EWG senior policy analyst. “We’ve run the first 20 years of the GMO experiment and now know that in fact GMOs require more herbicides over time. With even more toxic compounds like 2,4D and dicamba being approved for use on GMO crops, consumers should be able to make informed decisions about what food they’re buying.”   Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs at the Center for Food Safety, said,

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// NEWS

SIGNATURE DESSERTS

Carousel Brings Three Decades Plus Of Signature Dessert Solutions To Metro NYC Foodservice Community Maybe it was the cake for Gayle King’s birthday, after a request from Oprah. Maybe it was the chocolate fudge rum cake that happened to be used for New York magazine’s Oscars party. Or maybe it was the pregnant Barbie cake.

says. “Liquor was a big thing in cakes in those days, and since it’s a natural preservative, our cake had an eightday refrigerated shelf life.” The business hummed along until someone from New York magazine

Finkelstein says the company tries to change with the times and stay with

o-owner Nancy Finkelstein isn’t sure. But all she knows is that these mouth-watering desserts put Carousel Cakes, on the map. Based in Rockland County, with three additional cupcake stores in New Jersey, Carousel Cakes has been in business since 1979, when Finkelstein – with her new baby on her chest -- and her brother decided to take over their father’s retail bakery and turn it into a wholesale operation, selling to the Tri-State area. Launched in 1965, Finkelstein’s father’s bakery gave her the first taste of how well great cakes could sell to restaurants, hotels, country clubs and the foodservice industry. “We started at my dad’s shop, got larger, then got our own facility and started our own wholesale business. My brother had the idea of selling the product in Manhattan. We went to 10 places and eight bought cakes,” she recalls. “We freaked out and said maybe we have something.” Finkelstein said the idea of going

trends. “When French macaroons are in, we bring them in gluten-free. We try to give people what they want.”

Launched in 1965, Finkelstein’s father’s bakery gave her the first taste of how well great cakes could sell to restaurants, hotels, country clubs and the foodservice industry.

wholesale replaced retail for a very good reason. “My dad was a slave to the business,” she says. With a new baby, that wasn’t something that appealed to her, she says. So the siblings took the business

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in a different direction, starting out with only one cake. “My dad had a whole line but we wanted to bring something a little different, so we came up with this chocolate fudge rum cake with walnuts,” Finkelstein

decided to use the cake for a party. “And we got written up and were able to say we were the cake that was in the magazine and I went with my little baby in his Snugli, up and down the avenues. Our dream was to sell 100 cakes a week. Thirty-five years later, we have three cupcake stores, an online business, and we sell 40 different varieties of cake.” Finkelstein says the company tries to change with the times and stay with trends. “When French macaroons are in, we bring them in gluten-free. We try to give people what

they want.” When Gayle King’s 60th birthday rolled around, Oprah knew she didn’t want a chocolate cake. “She loves yellow, so Oprah did the whole show in yellow,” says Finkelstein. “Oprah told her assistant that Gayle wanted a vanilla cake, so we did a vanilla cake with cream cheese filling, and brushed embroidery cream outside and lo! and behold, there it was in the January issue of O Magazine!” In 2007 Gayle discovered Carousel Cakes’ red velvet version and that’s when the online business went berserk. “We were one of the few doing it then. Now everyone does it but it took a while to catch on. Until there

was Gayle,” she says. The business is mostly in the Northeast, but Finkelstein says they’re looking to expand to other parts of the country. “We’re not getting into one of the big distributors, we’re a family company, and we want control of what we do. All our products are made by people. Sometimes, big isn’t better,” Finkelstein notes. The company has plans to show off its new line of seven different “Drizzle Cakes" at the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show in March at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. Flavors include “The Elvis”, which is vanilla cake filled with banana custard and iced with

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peanut butter buttercream, a layer of chocolate ganache with a peanut butter sauce drizzle. Then there’s the "Salted Caramel”, vanilla cake filled with a layer of smooth caramel and salted caramel buttercream iced in salted caramel buttercream with a salt and caramel drizzle. “We’re American, we don’t pretend to be anything else,” she says. “What makes us different is all our cakes are home-style. We’re very consistent. Zabar’s, Bergdorf, the Friars Club, they all sell our cakes. We make a red velvet cake for the New York Giants before every game. It’s their lucky charm. British Airways told us Prince Harry loves our cheesecake. Barbara

Walters did something with us on ‘The View’ for the American Heart Association.” Finkelstein says she likes to call her business “the little black dress of bakeries.” “We do all the basic stuff really well. It’s made with love. Everything is hand-finished, not by machine. You can defrost it and say you made it yourself!” she says. “We have followings on certain things, we have people go to certain restaurants to order certain cakes. It’s a fun business. It’s a happy ending to meals.” Oh, and the pregnant Barbie? That was for her daughter’s baby shower.

// LITTLE M. TUCKER

WITH MORGAN TUCKER

The Way We Shape Space Defines Us Culinary moguls have not only mastered the art of cooking, they have also perfected the art of plating. As food pleasure seekers, each image and meal uniquely affects us.

personally imagine how to adjust the settings, redefine the tablescape using all five senses, and offer a small addition or alteration that could enhance an already distinctive staging. My imagination is peeked as I happily travel the globe to find the latest trends and newest tabletop products. Here are my obsessions right now. Simplicity… In Stemware, there is a new kid on the block. Yair Haidu, brand architect and former in-house wine expert of Reidel, is taking risks with Nude Glassware. This lead-free crystal collection designed with Scandinavian simplicity is wellsuited for the modern beverage aficionado. It is sexy, edgy, contemporary, and purposeful… four of my favorite words. Vintage… Select your favorite Sambonet flatware pattern and allow us to offer a vintage finish as a superior option for the industry’s current historic resurgence. If you’re looking to make a small foray into this world, Peugeot has just released Antique: two rustic finishes on their bistro collection of grinders. Nostalgia… Thomas Kastl, director for the Dining segment of Ambiente, the world’s leading consumer goods trade fair held last month in Frankfurt, focused on the

on clean, natural tones and unconventional glaze finishes. My picks are from porcelain powerhouses. On the tails of Craft’s success, Steelite International just released Wabi Sabi from their factory in Thailand. Rene Ozorio’s new collection is refined and honest, raw beauty with a semi matte finish. Pillivuyt’s Sento is a bronzed offering, with a reactive glaze. This is the first of multiple collections the house is currently introducing to bring the world’s terrain to our plateware. In May, Revol will have US

The elevation of casualization has

Morgan Tucker, M. Tucker

arrived. Forget the

m p t u c ke r @ m t u c ke r.c o m

traditional bread basket!

word “Sehnfucht” which translates to yearning… about memories, dreams, and home. Cardinal International now has Chalk Chat, mini chalk boards affixed to all of their popular SKU’s. American companies are also reminiscing. Firefly from Hollowick is a new collection of Mason jar table lamps that capture the essence of this style. Informality… The elevation of casualization has arrived. Forget the traditional bread basket! Canvas bags from American Metalcraft and knit options from Arzberg would be my picks. Farm Stripe from SDI is a spun poly blend dinner napkin designed to replace the dish towel you are currently setting your table with. Mixology… Is hotter than ever. The Libbey Com-

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panies have a multitude of etched new collections available as well as dozens of pieces designed for a specific cocktail or spirit. Additionally, a complete chemistry set will be introduced over the coming months. Nature… “Return to roots leads to a greater appreciation for traditional materials.” -Kastl. Over the next few months we will continue to step away from white dinnerware. The decorated trend that has usurped the entire plateware industry will continue, but with a greater focus

stock of Into the Woods, a collection of dinnerware with the most exceptional embossment I have ever seen on three natural body colors. And already Rosenthal Mesh Dinnerware is on its way to our New Jersey warehouse: a subtly embossed cross stitch pattern available in restrained, neutral tones. Provenance… Sustainability of authenticity is the goal. A restaurant is one of the few places in New York City where people aren’t in a hurry. When dining amongst authenticity, we take a moment to suspend time, appreciate the gifts that are presented to us, and simply feast. Allow the framework for your cuisine to honor the vision. We eat with our eyes first. Please visit www.littlemtucker.com for more information.

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// NEWS

FIRE SAFETY

Bronx Firm Brings Three Generations Of Experience To Fire Prevention Strategy It’s not something restaurants like to think about, but the threat of a fire is always there. That’s why it’s so important to keep range hoods clean, sprinkler systems up to date, new fire prevention systems installed, old ones brought up to code, even fire extinguishers recharged.

ew York-based Master Fire Prevention, in existence since the ‘60’s, helps restaurants do all these things, and more. “Back then, it was a struggling business,” recalls Peter Martinez of his father’s budding company, which has grown to include a range of fire protection and prevention products, services, sprinklers, and systems. Martinez, owner and president, says his father, Peter Sr., took the company from fire extinguishers to fire-prevention systems. From there, customers began requesting a raft of services, including system and ductwork maintenance, cleaning and installation, even inspection. When Martinez took over from his father, he decided to add manufacturing to the company’s list of services—first out of a garage, then a small store, and finally a sheet-metal factory, where the company custommakes all the necessary parts and pieces for its customers. “We manufacture our own materials and install them,” Martinez says. “Someone can

The team at Master Fire Prevention has been in existence since the ‘60’s and helps restaurants keep range hoods clean, sprinkler systems up to date, new fire prevention systems installed, old ones brought up to code, even fire extinguishers recharged.

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“Every year the National Fire Protection Association numbers change, and we have to keep up with those,” says Martinez. “This is very important.”

come to us, and there’s no middleman. It’s a turnkey operation.” The business has changed over the years, Martinez notes. “Food service operations have been, looking for service contracts from reputable, licensed people to do their quarterly cleanings. Otherwise, they will not get insurance. It used to be the business was fairly fly-by-night but it’s a whole different story today. Now, the business is highly regulated and licensed.” Through the years, Martinez says, the company had to constantly retrain its employees for each kind of distributor, have safety and OSHA cards for construction personnel and hold safety meetings for all, including office workers. “Our training in fire protection was constant, because everything changes. We used to make most of our materials by hand, but as you look at your vendors, a lot of them have accessed a lot of new technology, and these products have obviously become far more sophisticated.

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BOOTH #1439