FEATURE STORY
Should a Chef Need a License to Cook?
By John Kinsella
When I came into the industry many years ago, there was little opportunity for me outside the kitchen. A chef earning a degree was unheard of, and most management trainees went to a hotel school, where they learned their technical skills and were taught how to manage people. Much has changed.
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Supporting Your Budget
Even the most well-conceived bar budget is ineffective without the proper supporting tools---master sheets and forms that track inventory, purchasing, receiving, and staff schedules, and also analyze beverage usage, pouring costs, sales and labor costs, and other parameters.
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Do you have a tip that you'd like to share with fellow iSanté readers? E-mail your idea to tgerstel@santemagazine.com today, and don't forget to include your name, establishment, and contact information.
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The Press Club Goes Green
The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., has signed agreements with Good Energy, LP and Sterling Planet to purchase Green-e certified wind-generated energy to meet 100 percent of its annual electrical demand, including demands from its two restaurants and the catering operation. The club will purchase annually 1,200,000 kWh of clean, emissions-free wind energy, avoiding 1,500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, which would have taken 631 acres of forest to absorb and is equivalent to 255 tons of waste being recycled instead of landfilled. This purchase qualifies the organization as a member of the EPA Green Power Leadership Club.
The National Press Club's restaurant The Fourth Estate serves New American cuisine such as Grilled Lobster and Shrimp with Organic Caesar Salad; Grilled Sirloin Steak with Chive Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus and Mushrooms in a Port Sauce; and Filet Mignon with Portabella Mushrooms and Vegetables with a Potato Cake. Its more casual The Reliable Source restaurant offers patrons an all-you-can-eat buffet and salad bar as well as a complete a la carte menu.
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The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota to Receive Governor's Sterling Award for 2008
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has announced that The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota will be one of five organizations to will receive the prestigious Governor's Sterling Award for 2008. The Sterling Award is the highest award an organization can receive for performance excellence in Florida. Winners will be honored for superior management and operations at the Governor's Sterling Award Banquet in Orlando on May 30.
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Reed Takes Seat on NRA Board of Directors
C.W. Craig Reed, who has been overseeing the food and beverage program at The BROADMOOR in Colorado Springs, Colorado, since 1991, has joined an elite group of industry representatives as a member of the National Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors.
"My intention, as a board member, will be to champion for our great industry, and ensure that we are leading the charge to protect our businesses and the jobs that we provide to our employees,” Reed commented.
Reed is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
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S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2008
Now in its seventh year, the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants is compiled by The Nespresso World's 50 Best Academy, a group of prominent food writers, critics, publishers, and commentators, who each represent a different global region and chair a carefully selected voting panel for that region.
The top ten restaurants on this year's list are:
El Bulli, Spain
The Fat Duck, United Kingdom
Pierre Gagnaire, France
Mugaritz, Spain
The French Laundry, United States
Per Se, United States
Bras, France
Arzak, Spain
Tetsuya's, Australia
Noma, Demark
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Study: Smoking Bans Don't Affect Employee Turnover
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows that bans on smoking in restaurants and bars does not affect employee turnover. Researchers analysed payroll records of a national, full-service restaurant chain with 23 locations in Arizona, where several cities have adopted smoke-free laws. According to Ellen Hahn, a professor at the University of Kentucky, findings did show a decline in turnover within the first 18 months after implementation of a smoking ban. However, she said, long-range studies (over a five year period) showed no consistent pattern of decline or increase in employee turnover after a ban on smoking had been implemented. Eric Thompson, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said researchers thought a smoking ban may increase employee turnover, because "when the smoking law changed, the mix of characteristics in their job---such as wages, job responsibility, the presence of second-hand smoke---may have changed and caused people to choose another place of work." But, he concludes, "the study did not bear this out."
Source: newkerala.com
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Share Our Strength Announces New Initiative
Share Our Strength (SOS) recently announced its latest initiative, The Great American Dine Out. According to SOS representative Sherrie Bakshi, the program "rallies the entire restaurant community behind Share Our Strength's vision of ending childhood hunger in America." Bakshi said that more than 2,000 restaurants have already committed to the initiative, agreeing to donate between one and ten percent of their sales from the week of September 21 through 28 to the cause. "They can do anything they want, such as offering a prix fixe menu, specials on appetizers, etc.," Bakshi concluded.
Restaurants interested in learning more about and participating in The Great American Dine Out can do so online (greatamericandineout.org) or by contacting Jessie Sherrer at 202-478-6505 or jsherrer@strength.org. SOS hopes to recruit 5,000 restaurants and raise $5 million for its cause.
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Economic Slowdown Affects Waitstaff
A weakened economy, rising inflation, and increasing unemployment are making their way into the US restaurant industry in yet another way: Waitstaff are beginning to see a reduction in tips left by cash-strapped guests. According to Michael Lynn, professor of consumer behavior at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, there have been no studies conducted on the correlation between a bad economy and lower tips, "but the testimony is that tips go down in bad times."
Bryan Best, a server at Universal CityWalk's Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., reported that he once made as much as $200 in tips on a Saturday night. Since the fall of 2007, however, Best's gratuities fell to about $120 on a weekend night. "People just don't have the money," he said. "They will go out to eat but won't tip as much." Best has calculated that his tips have fallen from 15-20 percent of the guests' bill to around ten to 15 percent.
Source: Chicago Tribune
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It's About Time: Great Recipes for Everyday Life
Michael Schlow
Steerforth Press
Chef Michael Schlow has written a perfect cookbook for consumers, which makes it a must-read for any professional chef considering the publishing path. Included are more than 150 recipes that range broadly from 30-minute meals to elegant dinners to slow-simmering comfort foods. The chef has a warm, funny, and intimate writing style that makes his informative sidebars and stories instantly credible and a treat to read.
Buy at amazon.com >>
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