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February 2012

Cover Stories

50 Great Ideas 2012
The industry never stops innovating. Better promotions? Check. Ingenious service upgrades? Got it. And don’t even think restaurants are done improving on the farm-to-fork trend. Once again you’ve managed to put lightning in a bottle—50 times. Click here to go to the latest 50 Great Ideas.                 ...
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MonkeyDish

Positive signs on the commodities front
There would seem no way possible 2012 could be as withering a year in commodity prices as 2011, and the New Year kicked off with positive news: Congress allowed its 30-year-old subsidies for corn-based ethanol to expire. Ethanol will still be produced, but commodity forecasters expect that in the long run, corn-based fuel production will take up less and less of the corn crop, meaning less competition and better prices for food uses....
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Warming weather is affecting key food items
Rising temperatures in the years ahead could have a direct impact on a wide range of food items. Here’s a look at six that play a significant role in many restaurant menus—and have already seen the impact of climate change....
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Franchisee of the Month: Chris Partyka
Chris Partyka bought into the Pizza Patron franchise system seven years ago with three units in San Antonio, intent on developing that market for the Latin-inspired, Dallas-based chain. Since then, he’s opened five more stores in San Antonio and another three in Austin. But he’s done a lot more for the brand than simply expand its presence. He helped the chain develop its new QSP (quick-service pizza) prototype, a carry-out only variation of its stores specializing in LISTA-NOW READY products as well as in custom-made pizzas baked in just over three minutes....
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Skills

I started a "buy-one, get one" back in 2007 and if I don't run it, I don't do any business. I am very concerned as profits have dwindled and business is slow. How can I get my customers back spending regular prices and entice new customers?
It’s important to remember that any promotion is defined as a short-term incentive for customers to buy. In other words, part of what makes the offer effective is urgency. The customer sees it as something they must act on right now, because they may not have the chance again for a long while....
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How Wildfire does gluten free
The annual “What’s Hot” survey of 1,800 chefs by the National Restaurant Association pegged gluten-free/food allergy-conscious items as No. 7 on the top 10 trends list this year. That’s up a notch from its 2011 position. Technomic’s recent “Restrictive Diets Market Intelligence Report” notes that menu items billed as “gluten-free” experienced significant growth between 2010 and 2011, increasing by 61 percent....
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20-Minute University

Effective service management
One night early in my career as a manager, I passed one of my new servers in the dining room and heard him responding to a guest’s question about our beers. “We have Heineken and um… Budweiser and um…Becks and um…” After service, I met with him and explained that he had told the guests we had two brands that we did not, in fact, carry and forgot three that we did serve. In addition, we did not have any “and um…” beer. He defensively replied that he couldn’t help it—he was an actor, not a waiter....
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Menu R&D

The morning daypart continues to rise and shine
Restaurant dinner checks may be shrinking along with patrons’ wallets, but morning people are putting their money where their mouths are....
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Fresh catch at Friday’s
Casual-dining pioneer T.G.I. Friday’s has invested in elevating its menu ingredients. On the protein side, two recent upgrades include Norwegian salmon and Black Angus Rib-Eye—both of which are featured in LTOs this winter....
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Winter plates pop with color
Tossing up a salad in the dead of winter may take a bit of legwork. Sourcing the variety of produce necessary to create a colorful mix with complex, fresh flavors can be challenging. But that doesn’t stop David Bazirgan (a.k.a Baz), chef at Fifth Floor at the Hotel Palomar in San Francisco. He’s a regular at the Farmer’s Market in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, and it’s packed with produce....
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Fritter fans
Long a staple of Southern kitchens, fritters have been around in both savory and sweet versions. Corn, seafood, sweet potatoes and apples are the best-known of these deep-fried morsels. But chefs are now shaking up tradition, and fritters crafted from more unusual ingredients—like chickpeas, sunchokes and quinoa—are showing up on menus....
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Wood-fired ovens
Sometimes the secret in doing something right is simply a matter of going back to basics. When it comes to pizza, that means using a wood-fired oven to give the crust a slight char and the toppings that savory “fire-roasted” flavor. Since a wood-fired oven impacts your kitchen design (not to mention cash flow), some input from operators who currently use them may prove useful....
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Morning beverage service
One of the bright spots in the restaurant industry is the morning daypart. Breakfast generates $42 billion in annual sales or 12 percent of the industry total, estimates Chicago market consultancy, Technomic. Significantly, coffee is playing an increasingly important role in consumers’ breakfast purchasing decisions, according to the consultancy. Good coffee service can bump up a.m. traffic. One-third of consumers who drink coffee at breakfast say they are loyal to a brand or restaurant that serves their preferred coffee....
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Ideas Index

February 2012 Ideas Index
Promotions: Chicken Fried Steak Day Pasta Plate from Hell Guest chef Cooking classes Weight loss competition ...
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