FESmag

With no apologies to Canadian ‘80’s band Loverboy, which gained considerable notoriety with a song that shared the same title as this post, welcome to a pre-weekend edition of E&S Extra.

Usually by the end of the week, my attention span’s dwindled to that of my two-year-old daughter. Thinking that some of you might be in the same boat, I filled this post with shorter, more easy-to-digest pieces of information, some of which pertain to foodservice and others that are, shall we say, more whimsical in nature. With that in mind, here are a few thought nuggets for you to chew on as we head into the weekend.

NRA Energy Efficiency Webcast Follow-Up and Link
Yesterday, the National Restaurant Association hosted its webinar entitled “5 Things ...Read More

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The National Restaurant Association will host “Five Things Operators Need to Know About Energy Efficiency” at 2 p.m. (Eastern) this coming Thursday. You can register for this online event by clicking here.
 
If your schedule permits, I encourage you to participate in this webcast covering one of the most talked about topics in our industry. Operating in a more environmentally friendly manner, specifically conserving energy, has become more than the soci...Read More

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As more operators, commercial and non-commercial alike, continue to embrace the notion of sustainable foodservice, they seem to do so with an emphasis on the ingredients they use. And much like the morning glories that continue to grow rampantly in my backyard, the movement seems to show no signs of slowing down.

The notion of bringing the farm to the restaurant table by having the foodservice operator source locally, or regionally, grown, seasonal ingredients is a pretty good one. I like it because it seems to me as if changing ingredients with the seasons challenges operators to keep their menus fresh, which should spur further creativity and keep consumers like myself engaged.

As refreshing as this seemingly new-found emphasis on ingredients and their sourcing may be to all of us, it does not take the emphasis off some of the most fundamental aspects of operatin...Read More

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The challenging economy has spurred all sorts of businesses to adapt to the changing environment and the foodservice industry is no exception. Here are two notable examples that caught my eye this week.

Checkers
Checkers Drive-In Restaurants announced it was developing new formats, including end-cap and in-line options, to add flexibility for franchisees. The design of the in-line unit allows for placement anywhere in a shopping mall, which would include seating but not necessarily a drive-thru.

This represents a tremendous development for the burger chain known for its iconic dual drive-thru concept. It will be interesting to see how this plays out for Checkers as it places them into a new world from an operational perspec...Read More

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something new: The Culinary Institute of America is offering a new advanced certificate program for chefs with five or more years of experience in commercial and non-commercial kitchens across the country. The CIA calls it the Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP). 

Following an application process, the CIA will select 16 chefs to participate in an 18-month program that consists of a quintet of three-day segments, which will take place throughout the year. The selected chefs get to come to the CIA in Hyde Park, N.Y., and learn from some of the best culinary instructors in the country. Sign me up! Well not me, but maybe you, somebody you know, or your employee.

The three-day sessions will be jam-packed with time in the kitchen, of course, but also with speakers and other educational components. Each session will f...Read More

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This October, Foodservice Equipment & Supplies will showcase the fashion sense of foodservice. No, we’re not going to solicit photos of the best-dressed operators, dealers, consultants or service agents. But what we show will represent some of the best-dressed tabletops in the foodservice industry as selected by our panel of independent judges.

These facilities we highlight will be the winners of our 2008 Tabletop Performance Awards. The operators of these facilities will have worked with their partners in the distribution channel to create a tabletop that sets the tone for diners upon their sitting down to enjoy a carefully and expertly crafted meal.

Being somewhat challenged when it comes to my own personal fashion sense, this competition really intrigues and never ceases to impress me. I ...Read More

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Probably our most time-consuming and yet most rewarding projects of the year has to be naming our annual award recipients and coordinating the Dealer of the Year & Industry Awards Gala.

It’s a challenge to make sure that you pick the proper award winners from a pool filled with so many foodservice professionals and organizations deserving of industry-wide recognition. But when you get the award winners right then the event honoring these individuals seems to come together so much easier.

Such was the case with our 2008 Dealer of the Year & Industry Awards Gala. A top-notch roster of honorees set the stage for a celebratory evening that I, for one, won’t soon forget.

A FE&S record-setting crowd of more than 340 peopl...Read More

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If you’ve picked up a foodservice-related magazine or attended any industry events, then you’ve undoubtedly encountered some “green” content as everyone debates the many ways they and their clients can operate in a more environmentally friendly manner.  You might even be a little sick of hearing that word by now. 

During the foodservice industry’s unofficial spring conference season, I had the opportunity to sit next to Hatco’s Mike Whiteley as we enjoyed a green-themed presentation or two. As a way of breaking up the parade of presentations, Mike provided me with his own unique and humorous take on foodservice equipment and the environment.

I hope you will accept the following list in the light-hearted manner in which it is intended and that it will provide a humorous break in your day.

Top 10 Ways Foodservice E...Read More

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The concept of consolidation is one that’s been sweeping the foodservice equipment and supplies industry of late. For the most part, this trend has taken a rather standard format with one company buying or merging with another. In the dealer community, the most obvious example that comes to mind is TriMark’s shopping spree that saw it acquire S.S. Kemp, The Gill Group and, most recently, Economy Restaurant Fixtures in roughly one year’s time. Late last week, though, the concept of consolidation took a slightly different turn when QualServ began scaling back its operations.

In a letter circulated to the foodservice manufacturing community, QualServ CEO Rick Heller announced "an aggressive project to streamline our operations by consolidating our Columbia, S.C., and Kansa...Read More

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Regardless of industry, the basic premise behind most buying groups is pretty simple: Take a roster of dealers and combine their purchasing power to get better pricing from their manufacturer partners. But as we have learned time and again, pooling purchases is really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the good that buying groups can accomplish.

Organizations such as the EDI Marketing Group do a good job of bringing dealers and manufacturers to the same table to discuss difficult industry issues with the hopes of moving the foodservice community forward. And the ABC/IFED dealers are known for the very tight-knit nature of their organization and the almost fraternity brother-like support of one another.

When it comes to education, SEFA does exemplary work in getting DSRs up to speed on the many foodservice eq...Read More

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With all the information circling about "going green" out there, it’s easy for operators and everyone else in the foodservice industry to experience confusion about what steps to take to create or improve upon sustainable business practices, and do so in a cost-effective way.

Here’s where Kendall College comes in. The college became the first culinary school to operate a certified green restaurant, which in this case, is its dining room open to the public. 

As part of this sustainability education initiative, Culinary Arts Dean Chris Koetke teamed up with Michael Oshman, executive director of the Green Restaurant Association, to present a video during the National Restaurant Show in Chicago last we...Read More

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Let the war begin.  If you were at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago this weekend you likely already heard, but if not, Manitowoc put in a bid to beat out Illinois Tool Works in the official tug-of-war that began a couple weeks ago when Enodis dropped a previous deal with Manitowoc for ITW. 

The new bid from Manitowoc stands at $2.4 billion, including the assumption of Enodis’ net debt (approximately $245 million as of March 29).  The old bid was $2.1 billion so Enodis was swayed when ITW offered $2.3 billion.  Btw, Manitowoc’s old bid was...Read More

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