Published October 8, 2015
Chicago’s Carnivale, known as one of the finest and most innovative restaurants in the Windy City, will soon host a rock-themed fashion show called “Fashionably Loud.” The show will feature fashions inspired by music legends like Tina Turner and Led Zeppelin. Tickets to the events also include an elegant brunch that includes sumptuous items like key lime French toast and Galician eggs Benedict. Carnivale hopes to recreate the success of its previous fashion event, the Valentine’s themed “50 Shades of Red.”
Read the full article here: Chicago’s Carnivale to Host Rock Fashion Show
Link:https://www.fsrmagazine.com/restaurant-experience/chicagos-carnivale-host-rock-themed-fashion-show
Published October 7, 2015
Purdue University has just rolled out a new option for students looking to eat on campus. Students can now send their meal plan dollars at The Daily Bite, a food truck that operates in a couple different locations at the university. Although using a food truck as one of the options for on-campus food may seem gimmicky, Purdue officials say that the truck will help alleviate crowding at Purdue’s more traditional dining halls. Other colleges have also been experimenting with food trucks, so this may be a new trend in college eating.
Read the full article here: Purdue takes a bite out of traditional campus dining
Link: http://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_3b25a888-71af-5d1d-9270-7b005d134252.html
Published October 7, 2015
Restaurant operators everywhere are familiar with the difficult dead time between the end of lunch and the beginning of dinner. It can be tempting to just close for those couple of hours to prepare for the dinner rush. However, by closing down operators may be missing out John Buckner, VP of marketing at S&D Coffee and Tea, says beverage sales can be an ace-in-the-hole profit drivers during these afternoon hours. Specifically, tea may be the key to generating all-day sales.
Tea has many advantages for operators. It can be the base for of popular seasonal items like pumpkin chai lattes or wintery spiced teas. Tea also is an ingredient in high-margin specialty products like Bubble Tea. Perhaps most importantly, restaurants can release their own self-branded teas brands to drive customer loyalty and create a unique in-restaurant experience.
Tea is a fast-growing and relatively new category in many restaurants’ menus. Hopefully, as the tea-loving Millennial generation grows up and acquires more purchasing power, tea will only become more popular.
Read the full article here: Beverages help boost the post-lunch crowd
Link: http://www.qsrweb.com/articles/beverages-help-boost-the-post-lunch-crowd/
Published October 7, 2015
Pie may not be the hippest or flashiest dessert around, but it never fails to stir up nostalgic memories when the weather turns a little bit cooler. Pies also provide an opportunity to use seasonal autumn ingredients like apples and pumpkins. The humble pie can be a friendly vehicle for more experimental ideas as well, like Abigail Quinn’s cayenne pecan pie or the ever-more-popular Oreo Cookie pie. Pies can also be presented in fun ways, like Scott Calhoun’s pies grilled in a cast-iron skillet.
Read the full article here: Pie Adds Warmth to Cold Weather Menus
Link: http://nrn.com/dessert-trends/pie-adds-warmth-cold-weather-menus
Published October 6, 2015
The first 100 percent organic McDonald’s burger ever will be served on October first. The “McB” burger will be available exclusively at the 1,500 McDonald’s locations in Germany. Another organic burger, the “Long McB,” will be released on October 26th. The organic beef sourced for the burger comes from farms in Germany and Austria. The release of organic burgers in Germany complements the company’s initiative in America to use only grass-fed beef in all of its burgers.
Read the full article here: McDonald’s Ready to Release Its First Organic Beef Burger
Link:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/burgerbusiness/mcdonlds-doing-organic-bu_b_8194662.html
Published October 6, 2015
Hospitality recruitment company The Change Group recently came out with a study claiming that looser immigration restrictions are needed in Britain to ensure that enough foreign chefs can work in the country. The Change Group’s director Craig Allen believes that there is a looming chef shortage in Britain, and that the best short-term solution is to allow more oversees cooks to work in Britain. Currently, non-EU chefs must make the equivalent of £29,570 annually to be permitted to work in the UK. This is an onerous requirement for cooks in many countries, according to the vice president of the Bangladesh Caterers Association.
Currently, 42 percent of vacancies for cooking jobs are considered “hard to fill.” The only long-term solution is to get more British people interested in a career in cooking. It is interesting to compare the plight of British restaurants to the situation in America, where foodie culture has inspired thousands of people to give up their day jobs for their kitchen dreams.
Read the full article here: Relax immigration laws to help address chef shortage, says recruiter
Link: http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Business/Relax-immigration-laws-to-help-address-chef-shortage-says-recruiter?utm_source=RSS_text_news&utm_medium=RSS_feed&utm_campaign=RSS_Text_News
Published October 6, 2015
Hai Street Kitchen has debuted a wild new menu item: the Slammin’ Salmon burrito, a mega-sized sushi roll filled with seared tataki-style salmon, crunchy vegetables and tempura bits, and rice. This novel item was inspired by America’s love of large portions, but the ingredients in the wrap hold closely to sushi traditions. Customers can also order a “Dynamite” version that is breaded and deep-fried, making it a sort of sushi chimichanga. Delicious!
Read the full article here: Inspirations: Hai Street Kitchen’s Dynamite Slammin’ Salmon
Link: http://www.qsrmagazine.com/menu-innovations/inspirations-hai-street-kitchen-s-dynamite-slammin-salmon
Published October 5, 2015
Restaurant owners can use more sophisticated methods than ever before to determine their labor needs and maximize the potential of their staff. Anthony Lye, the CEO of Hotschedules, recommends that restaurants collect data on their busyness in 15-minute increments. This allows owners to schedule the exact number of workers needed at any given time, and save money. Lye also recommends asking servers what they do best and placing them in roles where they will excel.
Read the full article here: 5 ways restaurants can better leverage their teams
Link: http://restaurant-hospitality.com/management-tips/5-ways-restaurants-can-better-leverage-their-teams
Published October 5, 2015
Restaurant Hospitality posted a great interview with three chefs/owners of “Chef-casual” restaurants who discussed the appeal and challenge of running a restaurant in this new market segment. Chef-casual is a new take on fast-casual dining that uses menus and concepts created by well-known fine dining chefs but serves food at a much lower price point than the chefs’ flagship establishments.
In the interview, the chefs talk about what drove them to create their fast-casual concepts. Dallas-based restaurateur Tim Byres noted that he wanted to create a more hospitality-focused vibe, and tried to emulate nostalgic memories of old fast food places. Chef Ken Rathburn talked about celebrating the local foods he grew up with. The chefs noted that they try to keep up the quality of cooking at their casual restaurants despite the lower price point.
Chef-focused casual restaurants are definitely popular right now, but the trend is so new that it is hard to say how the concept will fare in the future. Hopefully, chefs will be able to serve a high enough volume to remain profitable without sacrificing food quality.
Read the full article here: Why the chef-casual segment is so appealing
Link: http://restaurant-hospitality.com/new-restaurant-concepts/why-chef-casual-segment-so-appealing?page=1
Published October 5, 2015
Beer cocktails are quickly becoming more well-known in America’s bar scene. They’ve been a fixture for years in other places, and American drinkers are finally beginning to appreciate the refreshment and depth of flavor a good beer cocktail can give. This article from Shiftgig has a list of classic beer cocktails like the Modelo 75 and the Dirty Saylor that bartenders can use to expand their repertoire and earn more tips on slow nights.
Read the full article here: How To Especially Increase Your Tips With Beer Cocktails
Link: http://www.shiftgig.com/articles/how-especially-increase-your-tips-beer-cocktails
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