total food service march 2012
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Total Food Service's March Issue featuring Show coverage of the IRFSNY Show at the Javits Center in New York City.TRANSCRIPT
2 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
East End vineyards and lodging
entities broaden the scope of the
eight-day promotion by offering
exclusive Hamptons Restaurant
Week deals. Vineyards take part by
offering discounts in tasting rooms
15-percent off select bottles, 20-per-
cent off select cases or a $5 flight of five
tasting wines or by offering restaurant
participants a wholesale discount on
wines to sell to diners for $19.95 and/
or $24.95 per bottle during the week.
Lodging properties will offer special
rates that may include 15-percent off
accommodations; stay two nights, get
the third night free; or stay one night,
get the second at half price.
Residents and visitors are given the
chance to save while dining out at new
restaurants (or old favorites), sam-
pling vintages from local and notable
vineyards, or staying at a unique lodg-
ing property before the start of “high
season.” For participants, this media-
able, value-pricing campaign delivers
a surge in business, a return on invest-
ment and community goodwill as they
put their best foot forward to attract
new and returning patrons.
The campaign has partnered with
Maureen’s Haven a local organiza-
tion that seeks to address the issue of
homelessness, by “Bringing Hamp-
tons Restaurant Week to Maureen’s
Haven.” Participating chefs will serve
a three-course meal featuring their
restaurant week dishes to homeless
guests who can’t take advantage of the
promotion and volunteers on Mon-
day, March 5. The campaign is also
donating $10 to Maureen’s Haven for
each new fan of the Hamptons Res-
taurant Week Facebook page through
March 25 (up to $2,495).
Hamptons Restaurant Week is pre-
sented by Long Island Restaurant and
Hospitality Group the new business-
to-consumer promotions division of
WordHampton Public Relations. Me-
dia sponsors include: Hamptons.com,
Long Island Pulse, LongIslandRestau-
rantNews.com, NewYorkCorkReport.
com, WEHM and WBAZ.
Long Island Set To Celebrate Pair Of Restaurant WeeksAfter serving more than 209,000 prix fixe meals since 2003, Hamptons Restaurant Week kicks off its tenth annual campaign this
month. From Sunday, March 18 through Sunday, March 25, participating restaurants offer three-course prix fixe menus for
$19.95 or $24.95 which will be available every night they are open except Saturday when it must only be offered until 7 p.m.
// NEWS EVENTS
Steve Haweeli of WordHampton is the driving force behind Long Island’s Restaurant Week Celebration.
Lodging properties will offer special
rates that may include 15-percent off
accommodations; stay two nights, get
the third night free; or stay one night,
get the second at half price.
3 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
4 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Funding was provided
through GE Capital’s bank
affiliate, GE Capital Financial
Inc. The company opened
its first Connecticut restau-
rant in Darien last month. The newest
restaurant is the 12th ACFP restaurant
to open in the Northeast.
Known for its high-energy atmo-
sphere and signature menu items,
ACFP uses 800-degree anthracite coal-
burning ovens and the highest quality
ingredients. Anthracite is known to be
the “cleanest” of coals, burning smoke
free with extremely high heat to create
a unique taste and perfect pies.
In addition to its famous pizzas, the
restaurant’s simple and consistent
menu features award-winning “Ital-
ian Soul Food” creations, including
coal-oven-roasted chicken wings with
caramelized onions, pork ribs
with vinegar peppers, home-style
meatballs made from founder Antho-
ny Bruno’s family recipe, and Eggplant
Marino (named for ACFP partner and
NFL Hall of Fame legend Dan Marino.
The financing includes a $17 million
term loan and an $8 million revolving
credit facility. Funding was provided
through GE Capital’s bank affiliate, GE
Capital Financial Inc.
“GE Capital proved to be a great
choice for us,” explains Henrik Falk-
toft, partner, The Quilvest Group.
“Their team was very supportive and
knowledgeable about this market and
GE Capital Underwrites $25 Mill Credit For Anthony’s To Grow In Metro NYGE Capital, Franchise Finance provided a $25 million credit facility to support an investment in Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza, Inc. by
an affiliate of The Quilvest Group. The financing includes a $17 million term loan and an $8 million revolving credit facility.
// NEWS CHAIN CONCEPTS
Booth #3831
5 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Main Office: 282 Railroad AvenueGreenwich, CT 06830
Publishers: Leslie & Fred Klashman
Advertising Director: Michael Scinto
Creative Director: Ross Moody
Director of Social MediaSandy Klanfer
Phone: 203.661.9090 Fax: 203.661.9325
Email: [email protected] 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 2012 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
that made for a better transaction.”
The Quilvest Group has invested
around $4 billion in more than 300
private equity and real estate funds
and 150 direct investments.
“We were in a great position to
help both parties using our experi-
ence in the space and our relation-
ship with the sponsor, Quilvest,” said
Mike Kurtz, vice president, GE Capital,
Franchise Finance.
Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza launched
in 2002 and has grown to 32 restau-
rants throughout Florida, Pennsylva-
nia, Delaware, New Jersey and New
York. Last year, Anthony’s successfully
debuted six restaurants throughout
the Northeast, including Edison, Clif-
ton and Ramsey, N.J.; Woodbury, N.Y.;
Pike Creek, Del.; and Robinson Town-
ship (Pittsburgh), Penn. Additional
locations in the Northeast and Florida
are planned for 2012.
A crew from the original Florida res-
taurants comes to new locations to
put local employees through a two to
eight week training process. The goal,
Bruno said, “Is to offer a consistent
menu that we are very proud of.
The food is what sets this place
apart,” Marino added. “It really speaks
for itself. Good food, and good people.
It’s like our gift certificates, 10 percent
of all of the gift certificates sold goes to
the Dan Marino Foundation,” he said.
GE Capital, Franchise Finance is
a leading lender for the franchise fi-
nance market via direct sales and
portfolio acquisition.
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8 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
“I f you’re caught talking behind
the wheel, you get a $150 tick-
et. That jumps to $250 if you
don’t curb your dog,” said Sean Ba-
sinski, Director of the Street Vendor
Project at the Urban Justice Center.
“So why is it that when a street vendor
parks his cart an inch too far from the
curb, he’s hit with a $1,000 fine?”
The campaign comes in response
to the more than 26,000 tickets that
were handed out last year - many
costing vendors $1,000 for minor
infractions unrelated to health and
safety, such as carrying their vend-
ing license in their pocket instead of
wearing it around their neck.
“I work hard. I play by the rules,”
said vendor Tressie Smiley. “But I
don’t earn a thousand dollars when I
work two weeks straight.”
The vendors were joined by their
allies in the City Council, includ-
ing Councilman Stephen Levin, who
sponsored Intros 434 and 435 to re-
duce vendor fines and ticketing. The
legislation has the overwhelming
support of the Council.
“I’m very proud to sponsor legisla-
tion that will protect small businesses
and make life a little easier for hard
working vendors,” said Councilmem-
ber Stephen Levin. “The way fines are
assessed now is simply unfair and I,
along with more than 30 of my col-
leagues on the City Council, am de-
termined to restore fairness in our
City. I am excited that we are moving
Intros 434 and 435 closer to becom-
ing law and providing real relief for
thousands of street vendors.”
Street vendor advocates including
the Street Vendor Project at the Urban
Justice Center, ¡VAMOS Unidos!, the
North Star Fund, and the 125th Street
Merchants’ Association were also on
hand to urge the City Council to pass
the legislation.
“The reduction and restructuring
of fines will decrease the pressure
on poor working families in the New
York area,” said Rafael Samanez, Ex-
ecutive Director of VAMOS UNIDOS.
“At a time of severe economic crisis
for many working families, the city
should be looking at how to promote
street vending, not limiting it.”
As part of their campaign, the
street vendors are planning follow-up
events, lobby visits, public education,
letter writing, an online media push,
and additional organizing efforts
aimed at passing the City Council leg-
islation into law.
“Street vending has been part of
New York City’s economic, social and
cultural life since the day our city
was founded,” said Hugh Hogan, Ex-
ecutive Director of the North Star
Fund. “Today, thousands of vendors,
including war veterans, single moms
and others who rely on vending for
their household’s economic security,
are being excessively fined for con-
tributing to the vitality of the neigh-
borhood level economy. It is time to
stop the harassment and excessive
fining of New York City’s proud ven-
dor community.”
There are approximately 20,000
street vendors in New York City, all of
whom would benefit from common-
sense revisions to the city’s vending
laws.
NYC Street Vendors Launch Campaign Against Ticket Blitzes With City Hall RallyNYC street vendors joined with elected officials and advocates last month in a push-cart rally
and march at City Hall to kick-off a major grassroots campaign aimed at ending New York
City’s excessive ticket blitzes and $1,000 in fines.
// NEWS LAWS
“So why is it that when a street vendor parks his cart an inch too far from the curb, he’s hit with a $1,000 fine?”
9 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
10 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
This collaboration included
an exhibit of mixed media
artwork; a tasting that fea-
tured top NJ restaurants
and a silent auction. The reception
benefitted the New Jersey Restaurant
Association, the ArtPride New Jersey
Foundation and the National Ovarian
Cancer Coalition.
“When we take the time to think
about who has inspired us, I am clear
that mostly it’s the women in our lives,”
said Betsy Alger of The Frog and The
Peach NJRA Vice Chair/Event Chair. “I
am thrilled that we have made a con-
nection between the women who are
leaders in the culinary arts and those
who stand out in the visual arts, and
acknowledge that they represent the
creativity of all women as we all create
and inspire every day.”
Restaurants featured included: As-
sembly Steakhouse (Englewood Cliffs),
Cranbury Inn (Cranbury) D’Artagnan
(Newark), Hudson County Commu-
nity College (Jersey City); Kitchens
Hospitality Group - Langosta Lounge,
(Asbury Park); Kuzina by Sofia (Cherry
Hill), Landmark Hospitality (Jersey
City); Milford Oyster House (Milford),
Restaurant Serenade (Chatham); and
Terra Momo Restaurant Group (Princ-
eton). Beer was provided by The Ship
Inn Restaurant & Brewery (Milford)
and Nicolas Wines were served cour-
tesy of Lionel De Ravel.
NJRA Leads Garden State Celebration Of Women’s History MonthThe New Jersey Restaurant Association and the ArtPride New Jersey Foundation presented “Inspiring Women: A Celebration of
Visual & Culinary Arts,” on Monday, March 5 at “Hospitality House” New Jersey Restaurant Association Headquarters (NJRA).
// NEWS ASSOCIATIONS
continued on page 82
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Montammy Golf Club Presi-
dent Frederic Krieger said:
“We are delighted that Vinay
has joined the Montammy
family. He has a distinguished culinary
background, and his passion for creat-
ing exceptionally fine cuisine adds to
the Club’s many attractions, including
our golf course and program, our full
service tennis facility, fitness center and
programs for individuals and families
alike. We are also opening our superb
new swimming pool complex complete
with a state-of-the-art hot tub.”
Mr. Swarup trained at the Culinary
Institute of America and has worked in
some of the finest kitchens in America,
including the acclaimed The French
Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley, Res-
taurant Gary Danko and La Folie in San
Francisco and the famed Daniel and
Jean Georges dining establishments in
New York City.
Mr. Swarup joins Montammy from
Restaurant Associates, one of the lead-
ing providers of fine food for institu-
tions, clubs and restaurants throughout
the United States. His assignments with
Restaurant Associates have included
Executive Chef at the Guggenheim Mu-
seum and management of the exclu-
sive executive dining room and superb
menus for HSBC’s New York headquar-
ters, where he presided over the highly
regarded food service for more than 500
patrons per day. He was also Executive
Chef at the New York University Torch
Club, the University’s alumni and fac-
ulty club.
Commenting on his appointment,
Mr. Swarup said: “It is truly an honor to
be a part of Montammy and its excep-
tional culinary team. I am inspired to
entice the membership with our shared
passion and love of food.”
Montammy Golf Club was estab-
lished in 1966 with a championship golf
course designed by renowned golf ar-
chitect Frank Duane. Located less than
10 minutes north of the George Wash-
ington Bridge, the high-quality course
was built for competition and provides
an excellent test for golfers at all levels
and an elegant clubhouse for dining
and private events.
// NEWS PROMOTIONS
Jersey Club Tabs Swarup To Toque PostMontammy Golf Club, located in the rolling hills of the Palisades above the Hudson River in Alpine, New Jersey,
announced last month that it has appointed Vinay Swarup as its new Executive Chef.
“We are delighted that Vinay has joined the
Montammy family. He has a distinguished
culinary background, and his passion for
creating exceptionally fine cuisine adds to
the Club’s many attractions.”
Booth #3220
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14 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
The annual show alternates
between Montreal and To-
ronto. The 2011 edition in
Toronto set records for ex-
hibitor participation and Pan-Cana-
dian attendance. SIAL Canada 2011
brought together 697 exhibitors (44%
international) and 12,415 visitors from
62 countries on 200,000 square feet
of exhibit space at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre.
Show organizers already report that
there is currently more exhibit space
reserved to date for the 2012 show
than for the last edition in Montreal.
SIAL Canada’s Managing Director,
Xavier Poncin affirms, “After excep-
tional results in Toronto, the space
already booked clearly establishes us
as the place to be in North America.
Montreal, gastronomical capital of
Canada is attracting 30% new exhibi-
tors.”
Offering an impressive panorama
of food and beverages on exhibit from
40 countries and nine Canadian prov-
inces, SIAL Canada 2012 will bring to
light dozens of innovative products via
four different signature competitions.
The Trends & Innovations competi-
tion will evaluate the most inventive
new food & beverage products by a
rigorous selection process and inde-
pendent jury. Last year a record 52
contestants produced a telling line-up
of finalists that included individual
frozen potato gratins, birch syrup, on-
ion confit with espelette pepper, duck
fois gras appetizers and quinoa salad
kits. The Grand Prize was awarded to
Your Bar Factory’s 100% natural fruit
bar from Lasalle, Quebec, Canada.
The 8th edition of the Olive d’Or
competition will once again bring to-
gether the best virgin olive oils from
around the world. The contest posted
record participation in 2011 with 124
oils from 14 countries; winners hailed
from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chili and
Crete. Coffee Cup by SIAL will gather
regular and certified coffees after a
successful debut in 2011 where variet-
ies from Colombia, Brazil and Ethio-
pia came out on top.
The La Cuisine by SIAL demonstra-
tion stage will introduce a new contest
for corporate chefs from the food pro-
cessing, food retail and food service
industries. Strict time limits, man-
datory ingredients and the theme of
« Our Health in Your Hands » will set
the stage for the food industry’s first
corporate chef competition.
SIAL Canada 2012 organizers are
also preparing other added-value fea-
tures to enhance the show experience.
“Hot Products” Expert Pathways will
guide visitors to up-and-coming prod-
uct categories such as Gluten-free,
Fair-trade and Halal with new routes
for Convenience Stores and Regional
Specialties. A three-day conference
program will parallel the pathways’
themes.
Montreal, known for some of the
best gourmet shopping and restau-
rants in North America, is the largest
city in the province of Quebec and the
second-largest in Canada. The food
industry is a major contributor to
Quebec’s economy, employing nearly
12% of the province’s workforce. Food
exports are booming, surpassing Ca-
nadian and worldwide growth rates
for the past 10 years. The industry
owes its vitality primarily to the abun-
dance and quality of raw materials
that Québec has to offer including
pork, soybeans, berries, vegetables,
maple syrup, refined sugar and vast
fresh water reserves.
SIAL Canada 2012 will host an offi-
cial USA Pavilion endorsed by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture featur-
ing over 25 U.S. companies on 3,000
square feet of exhibit space. To date,
three U.S. trade organizations have
plans to participate with booths in the
pavilion including Southern United
States Trade Association (SUSTA), the
Vermont Specialty Foods Association
and Food Export-Northeast who is
offering customized marketing assis-
tance to U.S. exhibitors through their
Food Show PLUS™ program. In ad-
dition, the International Dairy – Deli
– Bakery Association (IDDBA) and the
Association of Food Industries (AFI)
will exhibit in the show.
SIAL only admits food industry pro-
fessionals and is exclusively devoted
to food and beverage products, serv-
ing the needs of all market segments
including large-scale distribution, im-
port-export, wholesale distribution,
specialty retail, foodservice as well as
food manufacturing.
SIAL Canada is co-located with the
SET Canada exhibition of equipment,
technology and services for the food
retail, food service and food process-
ing industries.
SIAL Canada 2011 is supported by
the governments of Canada, Ontario
and Quebec through Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, OMAFRA (On-
tario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs) and MAPAQ (Ministère
de l’Agriculture des Pêcheries et de
l’Alimentation du Québec). The show
is also endorsed by the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
Produced by Paris-based Comexpo-
sium, the #1 trade show organizer in
France, SIAL Canada is one of the five
SIAL food and beverage exhibitions
organized in the world, the largest be-
ing held in Paris since 1964. For more
information on the SIAL trade exhibi-
tions, contact Rebecca Long at Imex
Management, U.S.Representative
tel: 704-365-0041, fax: 704-365-8426;
email: RebeccaL@ImexManagement.
com.
Canada’s Leading International Food Trade ShowRecaptures “The Flavor Of Montreal” In 2012Canada’s leading international food and beverage exhibition, SIAL Canada will return to Montreal for its ninth edition
scheduled to take place May 9-11, 2012 in the Palais de Congres de Montreal Exhibition Center.
// NEWS EVENTS
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16 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Mets Strike Out Vendor
SCOOP notes that religious Jews at-
tending Mets games at Citi Field on
the Sabbath will have to stick to pea-
nuts and Cracker Jacks. A judge last
month ruled against a vendor who
made a federal case out of the team’s
order that it’s not ok to peddle kosher
hot dogs on Friday nights and Satur-
days. Team officials felt that Sabbath
hot-dog sales did not cut the mustard
under Jewish law and feared offending
observant Jews. The controversy has
been going on for a while.
In the beginning was the contract.
In 2009, Citi Fields’ inaugural season,
the Mets and Kosher Sports signed
a pact that did not specifically ad-
dress the issue and the company set
up shop in the stadium. But soon the
Mets ordered the firm not to open its
hot-dog stands during Friday night
and Saturday day games when sales
are especially good. The company did
as the team demanded, but also filed
suit, pointing out that its contract did
not specifically prohibit Sabbath sales.
The team countered that the deal
didn’t specifically allow kosher sales
on the Sabbath. Brooklyn federal
Judge Jack Weinstein sided with the
team, but decided the devil is in the
details. In a Solomon-like ruling, he
asked another judge to mediate be-
tween the two sides to determine mat-
ters including what damages should
be awarded to the Mets for its lost con-
cession payments. That judge will also
try to hammer out details of the future
relationship between Kosher Sports
headed by former Wall Street trader
Jonathan Katz and the team.
Hoshizaki Services Schools
SCOOP hears that Automatic Ice Maker’s Jordan Singer is pleased to
announce that they will once again
be conducting their Hoshizaki Ser-vice training seminars, on Thurs-
day, March 15th, at the New Location
of Snuffy’s Pantagis, 250 Park Ave (Route 22 East), Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
“Because we have such a mix of
both experienced mechanics, and,
those new to our equipment, we have
found it best to ‘segregate’ our cus-
tomers into two groups and run two
service schools on the same day, with
each school being catered towards dif-
ferent levels of experience, said Auto-matic Ice Maker’s president Jordan Singer. The afternoon school (from
2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) will be focused
towards those who are new or unfa-
miliar to our equipment, with the eve-
ning seminar (from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30
p.m.) for those that are more familiar
with their equipment and targeting
advanced troubleshooting procedures
and maintenance on our KM Cubers,
with a small dose of flakers, as well as
updates on our new refrigerator and
freezer lines.
A full hot buffet dinner will be held
at 5:00 P.M. for those from the first
school who want to stay for dinner,
and, to welcome those coming for
the evening session. Unfortunately, in
running seminars of this style, scope,
and size, there are a few logistical
guidelines they must insist upon, as
they usually have more dealers who
want to attend than they have space
for. Additionally, if you have attend-
ed one of their seminars in the past,
you’ll remember that, especially when
it comes to “feeding” time, they spare
no expense in making all customers
feel comfortable, give away great door
prizes, and do everything they can to
make the learning process of how to
service their equipment as enjoyable
as possible. However, their experience
in running successful service semi-
nars dictates that:
They must limit the amount of tech-
nicians attending each session (after-
noon or evening) to three per compa-
ny. Again, attendee numbers allowed
are dictated by the factory - special
requests for sending more than three
technicians must be cleared by their
office in advance AFTER they have
given all their customers ample time
to respond; There service seminars
are provided to you by Automatic Ice
and Hoshizaki at no charge. Howev-
er, as they serve a full hot buffet din-
ner, $50.00 per technician REFUND-
ABLE “reservation deposit”, is required
to insure your place at the seminar.
“Reservation Deposit” checks will be
returned to attendees at the registra-
tion desk at the seminar; Please R.S.V.P
to Renee in their office at 1-800-423-
4787. Please Note – Because Of Limited
Space, They Cannot Accomodate Last
Requests!; Seminar Schedule Review:
R.S.V.P No later than March 8, 2012!
(Space fills quickly – first come, first
serve!).
Hoshizaki Introductory Service Seminar: Thursday, March 15th – 2:00
p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hoshizaki Cuber
Advanced Troubleshooting Semi-
nar: March 15th – 6:00 p.m. to 9:30
p.m. Dinner For Both Seminars –
Served At 5:00 P.M. Sharp!
We hope to see all of you at our ser-
vice seminars. Should any of you have
any questions or concerns, please feel
free to contact Renee at 1-800-423-
4787.
New York Restaurants Embark On Potential Recycling Change
SCOOP notes that New Yorkers who
aren’t sure whether to trash or recycle
their used yogurt cups, shampoo bot-
tles and takeout containers will soon
have an end to that dilemma. In a
move designed to boost recycling rates
// SCOOP INSIDER NEWS FROM METRO NEW YORK’S FOODSERVICE SCENE
Mayor Bloomberg
17 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
and reduce trash, the city is planning
to accept all so-called rigid plastics as
soon as next year. Mayor Bloomberg pledged to expand the program dur-
ing his recent State of the City address.
He also said the city is going to in-
crease the number of public recycling
containers to help people properly
dispose of bottles, magazines and
newspapers while they lounge in city
parks and exit subways. Eric Gold-stein of the Natural Resources De-
fense Council applauded the move
but said the city needs to do more to
re-educate New Yorkers about what
to toss out and when. “The rules are
so confusing that you almost need
a Ph.D. in garbology to figure it out,”
Goldstein said.
In 2010, the Bloomberg Admin-istration and the City Council re-
vamped the city law that mandates
recycling to expand it and toughen
up enforcement. “In many areas, the
mayor’s sustainability plan has been
visionary,” said Goldstein. “But recy-
cling and waste prevention haven’t
received the attention they have de-
served.” Bloomberg Administration
officials said the city is moving ahead
with an ambitious plan to double its
recycling numbers by 2017 and slash
the amount of waste sent to landfills
by 550,000 tons by that year.
Deal Beneficial To NYC Hotel Union Is Seen By Some As Special Case
SCOOP says by summer 2018, thou-
sands of people who spend their days
changing sheets and towels in hotel
rooms across New York City could
be the envy of the blue-collar world,
earning nearly $60,000 a year with a
promise of full medical benefits for
their families and pensions when they
retire. The proposed labor contract
covering 30,000 members of the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, A.F.L. -C.I.O. is so beneficial to work-
ers that it seems born from a different
era. Wages would rise by more than
29 percent over the next seven years.
A housekeeper, now making a little
more than $25 an hour, would have
her annual pay rise to $59,823 in mid-
2018. She would continue to receive
full medical, dental and eye-care ben-
efits, and her employer’s contribution
to her pension would rise each year.
Officials of other unions enviously
dismissed the proposed contract as a
special case that was not likely to be
replicated in the private sector any-
time soon. Still, some of them won-
dered, how were those terms even
on the table in an era of dwindling
union clout, frozen pensions and un-
paid furloughs? The simple answer
was emblazoned on flashing bill-
boards surrounding Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in Times Square two
months ago. Record numbers of tour-
ists have flocked to New York, more
than 50 million last year, the Mayor
said, filling its growing list of hotels at
higher and higher tariffs.
Last year, the average hotel in Manhattan charged $275 a night and filled 85 percent of its available rooms. In other words the typical
hotel room in Manhattan brought in
more than $85,000 last year, before its
occupants spent an additional dollar
on room service.
Yankees First Baseman Juicing
SCOOP asks, “What do Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Mark Teix-eira have in common? They’re both
investing in trendy pressed juice. The Yankee has partnered with The Juice
Press’ Marcus Antebi and Marquis Jets founder Kenny Dichter, to ex-
pand Antebi’s East Village shop to his
hometown, Greenwich, CT. “Mark
is a big natural juicer,” Dichter says.
“He makes his own at home. He loves
doctor green and Mother Earth.” They
plan to open by spring training.
Manhattan Chefs Commit To School Lunch Change
SCOOP notes that esteemed New
York chef Bill Telepan and the non-
profit Wellness in the Schools last
month launched the second annual
“Eat for Kids” program, a two-week
partnership with restaurants around
town including Babbo, Dell’Anima, Craft, L’Artusi and Mr. Telepan’s eponymous eatery, Telepan. As part
of the initiative, at over 30 participat-
ing restaurants, diners were able to
donate to Wellness in the Schools on
top of their restaurant check, conve-
niently during New York’s “Restaurant
Week,” when generally hard-to-land-
a-table haunts around the city slash
prices.
With the money raised, Wellness in
the Schools plans to continue its work
revamping school lunches by embed-
ding culinary-school graduates within
New York City public schools. Over
the course of three years, the Wellness
in the Schools ambassadors “undo
processed menus and replace it with
scratch-cook menus,” explained Nan-
cy Easton, the nonprofit’s executive
director.
Among the items that Wellness in
the Schools brings to New York pub-
lic schools are homemade pesto,
chicken cacciatore and Mediterra-
nean-inspired meat dishes. “Friday
is pizza day, and we don’t really mess
with pizza,” Ms. Easton added. “But
we do make a homemade flat-bread
pie.” Participating schools were lo-
cated in the South Bronx and other
neighborhoods. Asked what three cu-
linary changes he would implement in
all New York City public schools if he
could, Mr. Telepan, a Welleness in the
Schools board member, said he would
add a salad bar, replace chicken pat-
ties with roasted chicken and replace
taco meat with vegetarian chili. While
growing up in New Jersey, even Mr. Telepan wasn’t quite as food-savvy.
“Our school lunches were iffy,” he re-
called. “Once in a while I would enjoy
putting hamburgers, french fries and
pickles all on one bun. Looking back
on it, that wasn’t such a great deci-
sion.”
Tabletop Workout Latest Tri-State Craze
SCOOP sees that a new set of dumb-
bell cutlery from Dublin-based novel-
ty website TheCheeky.com promises
to put the right kind of burn in meal-
times. The 2.2 pound knife and fork
and the 4.4 pound spoon melt away
the calories, at least a couple of them,
as users pile on the reps from plate to
mouth. The handmade set, fashioned
from real dumbbells, retails for $160.
“I’d say only about half of the people
get that it’s a joke,” company founder
Colin Hart said. “I think you could
probably eat three or four foodstuffs,
like probably raw spinach and actually
lose weight.”
Hart got a European patent after
making some prototypes with a weld-
er friend, he said, but a Florida inven-
tor has been selling his own much less
expensive set since 2009. “I haven’t
gone to my lawyer, yet, but I’ll protect
my (U.S.) patent if I have to,” inven-
tor Tom Madden said. His knife and
fork combo, available at Knife And Forklift.com, sells for $39.95. “They’re
training wheels for overeaters,” Mad-
continued on next page
18 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
den said. “They slow you down, at
least enough to make you think of ex-
ercise.
Payard Patisserie NYC Expansion
SCOOP says more details are
emerging about sweets tsar Fran-cois Payard’s move to Columbus
Circle. Payard, a third-generation
pastry chef, and his partner, res-
taurateur Marlon Abela, are open-
ing an 1,100-square-foot patisserie
in the lobby of 3 Columbus Circle,
that’s the new building at West 57th
Street and Broadway owned by SI Green and the Moinian Group that
just secured ad giant Young & Rubi-
cam as an anchor tenant.
FPB, short for Francois Payard Bakery will be the duo’s third loca-
tion in New York, with more on the
way, including a flagship on the
Upper East Side. That’s along with
a growing global empire: Payard is
also in Las Vegas, Japan and South
Korea. It will be a classic spot, with
some seating, takeout and packaged
items, and is expected to open in
the next four to six months.
Ward Holds Cards On Tavern’s Future
SCOOP says will there ever be a
new Tavern on the Green? Despite
cherry reports about last month’s
Tavern site walk-through for pro-
spective new licensees, some res-
taurant-industry pros privately are
more dubious than they sounded in
their public statements.
Among the concerned points are:
Where the old Tavern grossed up
to $35 million a year, the stripped-
down, “no catering” edition the
City’s Parks Dept. wants might
take in just $10 million, and oper-
ating costs would not be reduced
by a commensurate amount; the
requirements in the city’s request
for proposals, including for land-
scaping, environmental features
and even menu approval, are just
as nitpicky as last time, and, most
important, a new operator still must
deal with the Hotel & Motel Trades Council union, aka Local 6, the out-
fit that caused a previous licensee
wannabe, Boathouse Café operator Dean Poll, to walk away. But at least
one restaurateur sees it in a more fa-
vorable light.
Peter Glazier, whose Glazier Group owns Michael Jordan’s at Grand Central Terminal, calls the
new RFP a “game-changer.” He said,
“The city has done a wonderful job
leveling the playing field” and that
the terms are far more advanta-
geous than they were the first time
around, a fiasco that embarrassed
City Hall, left the Tavern dark and
put hundreds of employees out of
work. Proposals, including how
much an operator is willing to pay
for the 20-year license, must be sub-
mitted by March 30. Most impor-
tant, where the first RFP called for a
30,000 square-foot restaurant where
the new operator might have to bor-
row up to $30 million for a massive
build out, the city now intends to
pay for much of the exterior work,
demolition and infrastructure. With
the Warner LeRoy-era Crystal and
Terrace rooms demolished the much
smaller new Tavern would occupy
only 10,320 square feet inside the
original 19th-century “sheepfold”
structure and 11,950 square feet of
outdoor terrace space. “That would
cost you maybe $5 million,” and
bring it within reach of a number
of established restaurant operators.
Asked how many jobs Hotel Trades
Council boss Peter Ward might de-
mand, union lawyer Josh Gold says,
“Probably less than the old Tavern”
which employed 400, but the num-
ber of jobs would depend on the op-
erator’s specific plans.”
Australian Pie Mogul Sets Sites On NYC
SCOOP notes that one thing that
inspires love in almost every Ameri-
can and Australian, for that mat-
ter, is pie. Whether it’s sweet or sa-
vory, there’s just something about
a perfectly browned crust encasing
a pocket of tasty filling. Pie Face Bakery & Café, an Australian chain
that recently opened its first U.S.
outpost in Midtown, is poised to
meet the needs of New York’s pie-
ophiles, Owner Wayne Homschek,
an American who lives in Sydney,
says he hopes to open 12 more loca-
tions in New York in the coming year
(the next is slated to open in Murray
Hill in June) and eventually to have
100 stores in Manhattan alone. The
pies are freshly baked, and each is
marked with a different face on top
to indicate the filling inside, a smile
for chicken, and a squiggle for steak.
New Beer Cooling Solu-tions Have Advantage
SCOOP hears that Nor-Lake has
extended the AdvantEDGE™ Prod-
uct line to include Bottle Coolers, Solid and Glass Door Back Bar Re-frigerators and Direct Draw Beer Coolers. These models come in a
variety of sizes and feature stainless
steel tops, black vinyl coated fin-
ishes and easy to grab handles. An
adjustable temperature range from
33°F to 38°F keeps your product
19 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
cool and refreshing. The line is rep-
resented locally by Clements Stella Marketing.
Serafina Makes West Side Debut
SCOOP notes that Serafina an
Italian restaurant chain debuted its
latest outpost late last month. Se-rafina 77 on the corner of 77th
Street and Broadway, take the space
formerly operated by Tom Valen-ti. Serafina’s thin-crust pizzas get
good marks, and the owners have
a strong track record. SCOOP loves
the “movie-script” story that is the
Serafina Restaurant Group. It was
conceived when Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato made a pact while
traumatically lost at sea. The two
friends agreed to open a restaurant
serving the best pizza and pasta in
the world if they were to survive the
ordeal. In 1995, they fulfilled their
promise by launching the highly ac-
claimed Serafina Fabulous Pizza. Following the success of their first
location, they have gone on to open
Serafina Fabulous Grill, Serafina
Osteria, Serafina Broadway and Se-
rafina at The Time Hotel. Expand-
ing their culinary horizons, in 2003
the talented Italian duo teamed up
with one of Vittorio’s best friends, Le Bernardin’s Eric Ripert, to create
Geisha, an immensely popular Japa-
nese fusion destination on the Up-
per East Side. In 2008, they opened Brasserie Cognac in the Theater District where Chef Florian Hugo, a great-great-great grandson of poet
Victor Hugo, serves fine French
cuisine. Most recently, the two em-
barked on a Mexican adventure by
creating Mañana with the help of Chef Omar Luna and Mama Enri-queta Mendez from Mexico City.
The Institute Of Culinary Education Welcomes Award-Winning Le Bernar-din Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis As Creative Director
SCOOP notes that The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New
York City welcomes award-winning
pastry chef Michael Laiskonis as its
first-ever Creative Director. Begin-
ning this month, Laiskonis will bring
his talent, insight and experience to
ICE students in this new and inno-
vative role. Laiskonis has long been
one of the industry’s most creative
and talented chefs. Fresh off of an
eight-year tenure as Executive Pas-try Chef at Le Bernardin, Laiskonis
is well known for helping the restau-
rant earn four stars from The New
York Times and three Michelin stars.
He was named to America’s Top Ten
Pastry Chefs by Pastry Art & Design
in both 2002 and 2003 and was Bon Appétit’s Pastry Chef of the Year in 2004. Best known for his use
of modern techniques to reinvent
classic desserts, he was also award-
ed the coveted James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2007. Laiskonis has been an active
writer, in print and on-line, includ-
ing Gourmet, Saveur and The Atlan-
tic and has appeared on television
shows such as Top Chef: Just Des-
serts. While Laiskonis is best known
as a pastry chef, he spent most of
the first half of his career on the
savory side of the kitchen. Accord-
ingly, ICE President Rick Smilow
noted, “While pastry and baking will
be Michael’s first focus, we know his
knowledge can transcend to other
departments at the school.”
As Creative Director, Laiskonis
will join the educational leadership
team to direct new projects in cur-
riculum development and research,
teach classes, mentor ICE students
and faculty and serve as an industry
ambassador for ICE. Smilow said,
“Michael’s been an active member
of our Advisory Board for over a
decade. So we know well the intel-
ligence, drive and commitment to
excellence that he will bring to our
program.” Laiskonis remarked, “Af-
ter twenty years in the kitchen, this
new role with ICE is the perfect op-
portunity for me to give back, and
inspire the next generation of chefs
to excel and innovate in the culinary
and pastry arts.”
CONNECTICUT NEW YORK
NEW JERSEY
• 181 Marsh Hill Road• 91 Brainard Road• 566 Hamilton Avenue• 15-06 132nd Street• 1966 Broadhollow Road • 720 Stewart Avenue• 43-40 57th Avenue• 1335 Lakeland Avenue• 650 S. Columbus Avenue• 305 S. Regent St.• 777 Secaucus Road• 45 East Wesley Street• 140 South Avenue• 1135 Springfield Road
• Orange, CT 06477• Hartford, CT 06114• Brooklyn, NY 11232• College Point, NY 11356• Farmingdale, NY 11735• Garden City, NY 11530• Maspeth, NY 11378• Bohemia, NY 11716• Mt. Vernon, NY 10550• Port Chester, NY 10573 • Secaucus, NJ 07094• S. Hackensack, NJ 07606• S. Plainfield, NJ 07080• Union, NJ 07083
• 203-795-9900• 860-549-4000• 718-768-0555• 718-762-1000• 631-752-3900• 516-794-9200• 718-707-9330• 631-218-1818• 914-665-6868• 914-935-0220• 201-601-4755• 201-996-1991• 908-791-2740• 908-964-5544
Chef Michael Laiskonis
20 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
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In the case of updating or reno-
vating a kitchen, many restau-
rants are reluctant because
they fear it means shutting
down service for days and los-
ing valuable business. DL Foodser-
vice Design is a foodservice design
build firm that specializes in over-
night work in commercial kitchens
of restaurants and bars so that not a
moment of normal business is dis-
rupted.
The overnight projects that DL
Foodservice Design completes are of-
ten just one part of the turnkey oper-
ation that Owner and Lead Designer,
Dean Langella, oversees and offers.
Clients of DL Foodservice Design
range from small neighborhood bars
and cafes, to large restaurants, coun-
try clubs and school systems, and
typical jobs include full overhauls of
their kitchens or front of house fa-
cilities. When clients select DL Food-
service Design for their project, it is
frequently because the design build
firm will take control of every stage of
the project and keep the job running
smoothly. For the DL Foodservice De-
sign team it’s not just about install-
ing the brand new kitchen – instead
they also take on everything from the
planning, designing, and equipment
supply, through to the demolition
and removal of the current kitchen.
Although overnight jobs have a
limited timeframe, they do not have
a limited scope. Most overnight jobs
are entire kitchen transformations in-
volving light demolition, renovation,
and full installations of new appli-
ances and equipment. Since Langella
began DL Foodservice Design he has
found this overnight work to be in
high demand with clients across the
Tri-State area. Since this unique ser-
vice utilizes the narrow nighttime op-
portunities when a restaurant is not
cooking and serving customers, DL
Foodservice Design’s clients are anx-
ious for this efficiency.
DL Foodservice Design’s most re-
cent overnight projects were Sardi’s
in Times Square and Avenue in Long
Branch, New Jersey. In both restau-
rants, DL Foodservice Design per-
formed complete overhauls of the
kitchens, and by sunrise, the new
kitchens were complete and ready for
business as usual.
As a busy restaurant that is open
late nearly every night of the week for
a post theatre crowd, Sardi’s did not
have a lot of time to renovate their
kitchen. Working with DL Foodser-
vice Design allowed Sardi’s to fulfill
their desire to update the kitchen
with no impact to business. Prior to
the night of the Sardi’s project, DL
Foodservice Design worked with Sar-
di’s to select ranges, ovens, and other
equipment for the kitchen, and then
to plan the kitchen’s design and lay-
out. When the evening came to install
the new kitchen, DL Foodservice De-
sign’s team and equipment arrived,
installation went smoothly, and the
DL Foodservice Design team was fin-
ished by early morning.
At Avenue in Long Branch, New Jer-
sey, DL Foodservice Design’s role as
a kitchen equipment supplier came
into play when helping the owner and
chef decide on a new cooking line
for the restaurant’s kitchen. Avenue
selected the Jade line of appliances
from DL Foodservice Design’s selec-
tion of equipment. DL Foodservice
Design’s overnight tear out of the old
kitchen appliances and installation of
the new cooking line was complete in
five hours – a new record for Langella
and his team’s overnight jobs.
DL Foodservice Design takes the
design build approach to kitchen and
restaurant renovation one step fur-
ther by also equipping projects with
the products, equipment, and food-
service items that are needed. With
a huge catalog of over 6,000 items
and equipment from a wide selec-
tion of manufacturers, DL Foodser-
vice Design always has over 4,800
foodservice products in stock. This
inventory, along with DL Foodservice
Design’s product and manufacturer
knowledge, allows the firm to provide
clients with complete start to finish
service on all projects.
Jersey Dealer Provides Unique Service In City That Never SleepsIn an industry that barely sleeps, there is something to be said about a company that will cater to the
limited window that a busy restaurant can spare.
// SPOTLIGHT DL FOODSERVICE
The overnight projects that DL
Foodservice Design completes are often
just one part of the turnkey operation that
Owner and Lead Designer, Dean Langella,
oversees and offers.
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25 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
A culinary visionary who counts
several Five-Star and Five-Dia-
mond hotel restaurants within
his decade-long career, Zamora
oversees all dining operations at Con-
rad New York including the hotel’s sig-
nature restaurant, Atrio, the seasonal
rooftop bar and in-room dining.
Chef Zamora joins the Conrad New
York team from Four Seasons Ho-
tel New York, where he was Execu-
tive Chef. During his four-year term,
he conceptualized the Garden Wine
Bar, which continues to be a success.
Zamora also oversaw a staff of 50 em-
ployees in five hotel dining outlets and
nine kitchens.
“It takes a stand out talent to com-
pete in the New York City dining scene
and we’ve found one in Chef Zamora,”
said Conrad New York GM Robert Rech-
termann. “Anthony arrives with a prov-
en track record and we look forward to
incorporating his creative touches as
the Conrad New York becomes a neigh-
borhood hotspot in Battery Park City.”
“I prefer to take a simple approach
Anthony Zamora Appointed As Executive Chef, Conrad New York
The soon-to-open Conrad
New York is pleased to
announce the appointment of
Anthony Zamora as Executive
Chef.
// NEWS
continued on page 82
HOTELS
Booth #2209
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What goals do you have for your ven-ture at Revel? My goal is to make
my guests happy. I want to create
wonderful emotions. If the guests are
also gaming while they are at Revel,
I want them to eat my food for good
luck.
How did the deal come together? Revel is a partnership that I have been
looking forward to for a long time.
What’s the attraction of Atlantic City vs. Las Vegas? I love the view of the ocean! Atlantic
City is a great location because it is
close to NYC, Philly, and Washington,
DC.
Who had the largest impact on your career and how? The great pastry chef Gaston Le-
notre. He brought me to America in
1974 for one year. I stayed for 38 years.
What’s your read on the DC restau-rant scene? The Washington, DC restaurant scene
is wonderful, and getting better and
better every day. There are great res-
taurants here. Chefs from all over the
country are coming here to open res-
taurants. NYC watch out.
How did you learn the business side? Trial and error. You try, you learn from
mistakes, you fix, and try again to give
people what they want.
What’s your approach to building a culinary and management team? You have to inspire respect and have
devotion by being a leader. You have
to stay fresh and new – I try to come
up with something new every day to
share with my team.
Sustainability is a big buzz word...how do you source fresh product? We try to find local ingredients and
buy from local purveyors. Our chefs
talk to our purveyors to get the best
products available in each market.
What has your approach been to a market in which consumers want to pay less but your food costs continue to climb? I copy my Mother in France, if you
follow the seasons, you can buy the
best ingredients at the most reason-
able prices. She never gave us straw-
berries in December. I also create dif-
ferent concepts to appeal to different
segments of consumers. There is Mi-
chel Richard food available at every
Michel Richard, Chef of Revel Casino in Atlantic City
Michel Richard, the internationally-known chef with restaurants in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas is the latest
addition to Revel’s culinary lineup. He chatted with Total Food Service about his new partnership with Revel and his
history in Foodservice.
// Q&A
Legendary DC Toque Michel Richard has set his sights on Atlantic City
29 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
budget in Washington, DC, Las Vegas,
and soon to be Atlantic City.
Do you go out to bid on a regular ba-sis or do you reward vendor loyalty? No not really.
Have the emergence of the TV/celeb-rity chef skewed the reality of what it takes to be a successful chef/restau-rateur?
Yes, somewhat. Many TV Celebrity
chefs are not restaurateurs. We are
two different beasts. It is tough to do
both.
What’s your approach to marketing? (social media vs. traditional print/radio etc.)? We still love traditional print of
course, but the social media and on-
line publications are the way people
communicate the most these days. I
love the immediacy of the new Inter-
net possibilities.
What is your approach to the design and build out of kitchens? I am very involved with my kitchen
designs. When you come to my res-
taurants the chefs are always visi-
ble. It reminds me of when I was a kid
and felt the first excitement of going
into a kitchen. That is the paradise of
the restaurant.
Your dining rooms are known for natural woods, neutral colors and an open kitchen as well as top-pling plate sculpture and sphere-shaped burgundy chandeliers. How did those design elements evolve? Do you have a designer that you work with? I tend to work with the same design-
ers over and over because we know
that we work well together, and they
know what I like and don’t like. My
dream was that my kitchen would
look like home kitchens where the
chef and the family are all together in
one room.
Are there “go-to” pieces of equipment
or (combi’s, convection etc.) that have made life easier? Do you shop the trade shows to find out what’s new? I love the microwave, induction
stoves, and water circulators for sous
vide cooking. They make cooking not
just easier, but better.
Do you see any interest in people eat-ing healthier? Of course. Let’s remove the butter
from the table!
What role does dessert (coffee) play on your menus and P&L’s? I was a pastry chef for 20 yrs, desserts
are very important to me. A good fin-
ish is everything!
What’s your approach to your wine and spirit menus? I love wine, and I try to create lists that
give the best wine for the best price.
Look in your crystal ball..what does the future hold? My restaurants will be busier and
busier for the rest of my life. I will
never retire.
I am very involved with my kitchen
designs. When you come to my
restaurants the chefs are always
visible. It reminds me of when I was a
kid and felt the first excitement of going
into a kitchen. That is the paradise of
the restaurant.
Chef Richard’s restaurants feature the freshest local products
Atlantic City’s New Revel Casino will feature a vast array of dining options
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Even if you didn’t really need
a certain item, it went on the
list anyway because, well,
you had to make your deliv-
ery minimum didn’t you? At
that point, you either called your order
in to the delivery company or waited
until your salesperson dropped by.
Either way, you were going to pay
extra for the actual items. Between the
salesman’s commission and the inflat-
ed prices of the delivered goods them-
selves, it’s no wonder that the success
rate for restaurants was so dismal. And
let’s not forget some of the actual de-
livery nightmares: broken cases, dam-
aged goods, missing items and you,
the poor Joe, standing at the curb with
less than 30 minutes to go before the
lunch-hour rush begins.
Enter Restaurant Depot: Opening
on the theory of offering foodservice
operators bulk discounts that were
Foodservice Distributor Gives Local Pub Owners A Fighting Chance:
How Restaurant Depot Has Changed The Foodservice Game
20 years ago, if you owned a bar or restaurant, chances are you followed a certain routine in getting your supplies into your place. You
took inventory of what you needed and made a list.
// NEWS DISTRIBUTION
Booth #4254
Restaurant Depot’s aisles offer bulk discounts to local operators
35 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
beginning to emerge in the retail club
stores at the time, Restaurant Depot
paired up with Jetro Cash & Carry and
took a chance; would the customers
come? Would they rent a van if they
had to? Would they take the time to
stand in line to save money?
The answers were yes, yes and oh,
sweet mother of nectar, YES! What
a concept! Customers roamed the
aisles, touching, feeling, and smelling
the products they wanted to buy. See-
ing the fresh meat display alone was
enough to bring even the manliest of
chefs to tears. RD had put chefs every-
where in charge of their own destiny.
New Bronx Warehouse: Biggest and
Best Yet. So here we are today, and the
concept is a no-brainer. Now with over
90 locations, Jetro/RD is the premier
foodservice wholesaler in the nation.
This spring they are relocating from
the Hunts Point, NY location where
Jetro has been since 1987 and open-
ing up their biggest warehouse yet, a
200,000 sq. ft. facility in the Bronx.
Good thing too, because the vacant,
undeveloped property was, among
other things, being considered for a
power plant or a prison. Now we have
a vibrant business expanding, pre-
serving jobs in the borough and cre-
ating new ones as well. And thanks to
Restaurant Depot, cafe owners won’t
be left standing out on the curb, won-
dering if today will be another day that
they’ll have to run inside and change
the daily special. “Local merchants are
eagerly awaiting us,” says Doug Klien,
sales director for Restaurant Depot.
“To save 15% on a weekly shopping bill
is huge. The built-in delivery charges
are non-existent and this helps the
small business owner stay afloat.”
Enter Restaurant Depot: Opening
on the theory of offering foodservice
operators bulk discounts that were
beginning to emerge in the retail club
stores at the time.
Restaurant Depot will cut the Ribbon at its new Bronx store this Spring
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T he weekend’s events are de-
signed to allow food and wine
lovers to meet and mingle with
chefs, winemakers and fellow wine
aficionados. Among the participating
chefs are several from North Jersey:
David Burke (David Burke Fromag-
erie); John Halligan (Park Steakhouse,
Park West Tavern); Thomas Ciszak
(Chakra); Alex Gorant (Axia); and Lou-
is Seger (LuNello).
The Opening Night Festivities on
Friday March 30 will include The Wine
Cellar Dinner. The event will be held
in the stunning award winning Crys-
tal Springs wine cellar, will honor Chef
Keller, with five courses prepared by
Restaurant Latour chef John Benja-
min, who worked with Keller at The
French Laundry, paired with wines
from one of America’s top winemak-
ers, Heidi Barrett who has made wines
for Screaming Eagle, Showket, Dalla
Valle, Amuse Bouche, and La Sirena.
Opening night will also include Top
Chefs & Top Wines featuring a five
course dinner paired with boutique
wines, showcasing some of the fin-
est rising culinary talent in America
including dishes by Michelin-starred
chef/owner George Mendes of Aldea,
NYC and James Kent, chef de cuisine
of New York Times four-star Eleven
Madison Park, NYC. Both dinners
will be preceded by a Champagne Re-
ception where guests will meet Chef
Jersey Wine And Food Fest Set To Honor NYC Chef Keller
// NEWS
continued on page 82
HONORS
The fourth-annual New Jersey Wine & Food Festival at Crystal Springs Resort in Hardyston is set for the weekend of March 30- April 1.
Chef Thomas Keller of Per Se and French Laundry fame is the honoree; the festival will benefit the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation (of
which Keller is a trustee) and the James Beard Foundation, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
39 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
40 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
As Chef Irvine was investigat-
ing where she’s losing money,
one of the things he discov-
ered was Ms. Malone’s commercial ice
machine was not functional and she
had been purchasing bagged ice at a
cost of $3000-$5000 per year.
The Restaurant:Impossible produc-
tion team reached out to Easy Ice for
a solution to Ms. Malone’s ice supply
problem. A state of the art Hoshizaki
commercial ice maker was delivered
to Chatterbox and Ms. Malone was
set up with an all-inclusive Easy Ice
subscription. Towards the end of the
Restaurant:Impossible Chatterbox
Cafe episode, Easy Ice technicians are
shown installing the ice maker.
The Easy Ice solution was a perfect
fit for the Chatterbox Cafe because it
follows one of Chef Irvine’s key princi-
ples: focus on areas of the restaurant
that make a difference for the custom-
er and help the restaurant owner reign
in unnecessary costs.
“Our experience with Easy Ice was
as smooth and seamless as I could
imagine working with a vendor on
Restaurant:Impossible. Easy Ice’s ser-
vices provide a miracle solution for res-
taurants,” said Restaurant:Impossible
Associate Producer, Justin Leonard.
“It’s not uncommon to see business
Easy Ice On Restaurant:ImpossibleEasy Ice was selected as part of Food Network’s Restaurant:Impossible episode, which aired on
February 15, 2012. In this Restaurant:Impossible episode, host Robert Irvine traveled to
Windham, NH to assist Lynn Malone, owner of the Chatterbox Cafe, who has poured nearly
$500,000 into her business without positive return.
// NEWS ENTERTAINMENT
continued on page 92
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42 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
To be more exact, it’s been a
busy few months trying to
shame and, in less visible
cases, praise some of the
country’s most prominent restaurants.
The New York-based organization
released a Zagat-style “Diner’s Guide”
to the nation’s restaurants last fall. But
rather than critique the beef carpaccio
or lamb rib chops, the guide details
working conditions, listing whether
workers receive decent pre-tip wages
or sick days. Longhorn Steakhouse,
among others, received a frowny-face
rating, which the group says denotes
“alleged illegal practices.”
Then, late last month, workers affili-
ated with the group filed a federal law-
suit against The Capital Grille, accus-
ing the restaurant chain of relegating
minority employees to less desirable
jobs and shorting workers on wages
in New York, Chicago and Washington,
D.C. The lawsuit is part of a broader
campaign launched by Restaurant
Opportunities Centers United against
The Capital Grille’s parent owner,
Darden Restaurants whose holdings
include Olive Garden, Red Lobster and
Longhorn Steakhouse.
Restaurant Opportunities Centers
United’s “Dignity at Darden” cam-
paign accuses the company and its
managers of paying “poverty wages,”
denying employees paid sick days and
requiring them to work during breaks.
Manhattan Based ROC Launches Dignity At Darden InitiativeIt’s been a busy few months at Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a scrappy non-profit
that advocates for low-wage restaurant workers.
// NEWS ADVOCACY
43 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
On a website that all but wags a fin-
ger in Darden’s face, the group urges
the company to “have the courage to
be a real leader and lift up industry
standards.” A Darden spokesman de-
nied the charges, adding that Darden
management reached out to the group
about specific allegations before the
lawsuit was filed, only to be rebuffed.
Restaurant Opportunities Centers
United “doesn’ t seem to be inter-
ested in the facts,” said Rich Jeffers,
a Darden spokesman. “We believe all
the allegations are baseless.” Darden
employs 180,000 people, and roughly
30 percent of its managers are minori-
ties and 41 percent are women, ac-
cording to Jeffers.
Saru Jayaraman, a co-founder of
Restaurant Opportunities Center
United, said she stands by the lawsuit
and the campaign against Darden.
She was quick to add that the prob-
lems her group alleges aren’t unique
to that company.
“It has to do with the industry cul-
ture and a lobby that Darden is a big
part of, that fights to keep the mini-
mum wage low in an industry of oc-
cupational segregation,” Jayaraman
argued. “Darden is a part of it.”
As for the negative publicity her
group has been foisting on some res-
taurants, Jayaraman said it’s mostly
about raising awareness among con-
sumers rather than employers or
workers. The group’s members, taking
a cue from successful PR campaigns
by environmental groups, seem to be-
lieve that the best way to change the
employment practices inside restau-
rants is to involve diners.
“The larger campaign is to engage
consumers in changing the restaurant
industry,” Jayaraman said. “Ten years
ago, consumers were asking restau-
rants, ‘Is this sustainable food? Is this
organically grown?’ And the restaurant
industry responded. I think the more
that consumers ask and require and
discuss with restaurants - What’s your
lowest paid wage? Do you provide sick
days? the more they’ll see they need to
get ahead of the trend.”
The first branch of Restaurant Op-
portunities Center United was found-
ed after the Sept. 11 attacks to support
displaced World Trade Center res-
taurant workers. The group now has
branches in eight cities and includes
8,000 workers, having attracted res-
taurant employees like Kristin Vieira, a
former New York server who’s named
in the lawsuit against The Capital
Grille.
“For a server, the money is defi-
nitely great, but at a certain point it’s
not worth the money anymore,” Vieira
said. “We just felt like they weren’t go-
ing to listen to us, and we feel like it
could be a great place to work.”
Among Restaurant Opportunities
Center United’s pet issues are the
tipped minimum wage and paid sick
days. The minimum wage for servers
and other workers who receive tips is
lower than the normal minimum wage
in most states. The current tipped fed-
eral rate is $2.13 per hour compared
with $7.25 for other workers although
the restaurant is obliged to make up
the difference if a server doesn’t reach
the normal minimum wage after tips.
The group has found an ally in Rep.
Donna Edwards (D-Md.), who intro-
duced legislation last year that would
raise the federal tipped rate.
The National Restaurant Associa-
tion has been less enthusiastic about
the group’s campaigns, particularly
continued on page 83
44 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Booth #4200
45 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Booth #1044
46 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Shake Shack’s New Haven
home will be centrally lo-
cated at 986 Chapel Street,
across from the New Hav-
en Green and kitty-corner
to Yale’s Old Campus. Fall 2012 marks
the start of the Shack-ademic calen-
dar, with the new location opening its
doors just as students return to cam-
pus.
“We are delighted to welcome Shake
Shack to New Haven,” said Abigail
Rider, Director of University Proper-
ties. “Shake Shack is an excellent ad-
dition to the many dining options that
New Haven offers and will attract din-
ers from the City and beyond to Cha-
pel Street.”
“My colleagues and I are proud to
bring Shake Shack to New Haven,”
said Danny Meyer, CEO of USHG. “We
are incredibly excited to establish
roots in this food-loving, bustling city
which some even say is the birthplace
of the hamburger. New Haven is stag-
ing a thrilling urban renaissance and
we are excited for the opportunity to
Shake Shack’s Ivy League Debut Opening In New Haven
// NEWS OPENINGS
Welcome Class of
2016! Danny Meyer’s Union
Square Hospitality Group
(USHG) plans to bring its
Shake Shack to New Haven
in 2012. One of NYC’s most
beloved gathering places,
Shake Shack is a modern day
“roadside” burger stand
known for its delicious
burgers, hot dogs, frozen
custard, beer, wine and more.
47 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
join this community as employers and
citizens.”
The New Haven Shake Shack will
build upon the popular success of sev-
en siblings throughout New York City
as well as locations in Miami Beach,
Washington, DC (Dupont Circle & Na-
tionals Park), Saratoga Race Course,
NY, and Westport, CT. Additionally,
Shake Shack has locations in Dubai,
UAE, and Kuwait City.
Shake Shack was born from a hot
dog cart in Madison Square Park cre-
ated by Union Square Hospitality
Group to support the Madison Square
Park Conservancy’s first art installa-
tion “I ♥Taxi.”
The cart was a success and lines
formed daily, so it re-opened for an
additional two summers in 2002 and
2003. In July 2004 USHG was awarded
the contract from New York City’s De-
partment of Parks & Recreation and
the Madison Square Park Conservan-
cy to create a permanent food kiosk in
the park. Shake Shack opened and in-
stantly became a NYC institution with
a loyal following, receiving numer-
ous accolades from the press includ-
ing The New York Times (One Star),
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New
York Magazine, Food & Wine, Travel
& Leisure, Food Network and The
TODAY Show among others, and was
voted one of the Most Popular Restau-
rants in New York according to Zagat.
Shake Shack is part of Danny
Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality
Group (USHG), which includes sev-
eral of New York City’s most celebrat-
ed restaurants: Union Square Cafe,
Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, Jazz
Standard, Shake Shack, The Mod-
ern, Cafe 2 and Terrace 5 (located at
The Museum of Modern Art), El Ve-
rano Taquería and Box Frites (both
at Citi Field), Maialino, Untitled at
the Whitney Museum of American
Art, as well as Union Square Events
and Hospitality Quotient, a learning
business. USHG is best known for its
blend of excellent food and its unique
style of warm hospitality.
Actively involved in the community,
USHG and its employees are commit-
ted to extending its enlightened hos-
pitality beyond the walls of its restau-
rants through its support of hunger
relief and civic organizations as well
as other causes. Meyer, his restau-
rants, and chefs have earned an un-
precedented 24 James Beard Awards,
as well as numerous other media ac-
colades. Six restaurants the company
has established are included in Zagat’s
list of the Most Popular Restaurants in
NYC, including the #1, 3 and 5 spots.
NYC’s beloved burger, hot dog
and frozen custard stand to
plant roots in New Haven.
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50 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
International Restaurant & Foodservice Show New YorkMarch 4-6, 2012 / Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Once again, the 2012 edition was a reflection of show boss Ron Mathews’ commitment to “What’s New. “ The
International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York - the Culinary Demonstration Theater was an
educational, interactive and entertaining hub for restaurant and foodservice professionals who want to stay
abreast of what’s hot in the food world.
51 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
(L to R) Jon Whiteside and Jay Sor-rensen of Java Jacket
Delivery Concepts East’s Gary Sample Jr. anchored this year’s show booth
Kenneth Smith (L) and Kathy Ely (R) of Stoelting with Air Comfort’s Pat Fava (C) (L to R) Ace Endico’s Michael Endico, Ivan Schulman and Laura Endico-Verzello brought
exciting new products to this year’s show
(L to R) Americold’s Kevin Sampson and David Berke brought refrigeration expertise to the show
The Culinary Dem-
onstration Theater
which was located
right on the show
floor featured Execu-
tive Chefs from the
top restaurants in New York City
showcasing their farm-to-table, lo-
cal sourcing and healthy cooking,
Certified Master Chef Fritz Sonnen-
schmidt – Master of Charcuterie,
Hell’s Kitchen Season 6 Executive
Chef Kevin Cottle with delectable
and sustainable seafood dishes –and
much more! Trends techniques and
sourcing information shared all day
all three days! Certified Master Chef
Fritz Sonnenschmidt – Retired culi-
nary Dean of CIA, Master Chef Fritz
not only holds the highest ranking
certification bestowed by the Ameri-
can Culinary Federation, he has
taught many of the top chefs coming
from the CIA as well.
A native of Germany, CMS Fritz is a
member of the America Academy of
Chefs Honor Society “Hall of Fame,”
and holds numerous honors such as
52 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
53 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
The Day & Nite team brought their expertise to the show floor
Roebic’s VP of Commercial Sales Dale Schmidt brought an array of cleaning solutions to the show
Chef Sarah Tresser demonstrating Blodgett Combi Ovens
AmeriKooler’s VP of Sales, Gian Carlo Alonso brought the best in walk-in refrigeration to this year’s show
(L to R) Manitowoc’s Vic Rose, Lou Boero, and Paul Young
American Trading Company’s Amanda Blattner and Paul Weintraub
The Equipex team of Tom McHale and Irina-Mirsky Zayas offered show-goers innovative countertop solutions
ACF Chef of the Year and several gold
medals from the International Culi-
nary Competitions. CMS Chef Fritz
brought many insights to the show.
Kevin Cottle – Hell’s Kitchen (Sea-
son 6) runner-up also seen weekly
on FOX61 Hartford. Kevin brought
his expertise to the Demo Theater to
share some of his tips that have pro-
pelled his career.
Training under such chefs as
French Master Chefs John Joho and
Chef Raymond Ost, Chef Cottle
began to fuse contemporary New
England cuisine with the elegance
of French gastronomy. Chef Cottle
is the Corporate Executive Chef at
Jordan’s Caterer’s in CT. A chef and
a nutritionist from SPE cooked farro
with truffle oil, as a demonstration
of their “Sanitas Per Escam” (Health
Through Food) healthy eating prin-
ciples which have already been ap-
plied at the Michelin-starred Rouge
Tomate in Manhattan.
The Front of House Experience
was an exciting new feature and was
the most talked about area at this
year’s event. The concept evolved
from the trend of Front of House im-
provements being made to create a
more inviting and memorable visit-
ing experience for diners.
The battle for customer loyalty
begins with first impressions; re-
gardless if you are an independent
54 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
(L to R) Imperial Bag’s CEO Robert Tillis with Directors of Sales, Christopher Freeman, and Imperial’s President Jason Tillis
Giacomo Fasano of Rockland Bakery served up new fresh baked solutions
(L to R) Roger & Sons’ Gary Mira-bella, Carl Saitta, and Hector Ramirez brought commercial cooking solutions to this year’s show
Cambro’s booth featured many new products
restaurant, multi-unit operation,
university, bar, or hotel. Simply put,
restaurants are looking for ways to
create a hospitality experience that
delivers return customers. The Front
of House Experience at the show had
five unique sets including: dining
room, lounge, and bar displays. All
featured the latest designs, colors,
and product options.
Everything from tables, chairs,
couches, lighting, tabletop displays,
and multiple décor solutions. De-
signers were on hand for discussions
on trends, do’s and don’ts, and over-
all best practice sharing. These ex-
perts were also available to give free
advice and made suggestions about
what changes might benefit you.
A Featured Presentation: “What
The Hell Happened to My Plate Pre-
sentation?” - Using Tabletop to Help
Brand Your Restaurant was present-
ed by Dave Turner, Publisher, Table-
top Journal. Turner took us through
why braining of even a single restau-
rant is critical and unique tabletops/
tabletop that help the branding pro-
cess.
He has over twenty-five years ex-
perience in the tabletop industry
with such companies as Villeroy &
Boch, Corning, and his current posi-
tion as President of Woodmere China
Decorators and Publisher of Table-
top Journal. If you want to build buzz
about your restaurant, improve cus-
tomer loyalty, or just want to make
some changes to that all important
first impression, this new seminar
fed us valuable knowledge to help
you make it happen!
‘Mr. Châteauneuf-du-Pape’, Alain
Junguenet and his son, John, set us
on a journey through the history
of the Southern Rhône through 10
wines possessing significant links to
many important events in the area’s
history. Wine tasting included: Cros
de Romet, Bosquet des Papes (1996!),
Château Fortia, Le Vieux Donjon,
Clos des Papes, the legendary Henri
Bonneau ‘Réserve des Célestins’ and
more! We discovered the New Wines
of Greece with Steve Olson.
Steven Olsen aka/Wine Geek,
discussed Greece’s major wine re-
gions, its distinctive terroir, globally
unique vineyard practices, and hall-
mark indigenous varieties Assyrtiko,
The battle for customer loyalty begins
with first impressions; regardless if you
are an independent restaurant, multi-
unit operation, university, bar, or hotel.
Simply put, restaurants are looking for
ways to create a hospitality experience
that delivers return customers.
55 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Booth #3734
56 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Total Food’s Michael Scinto (L) wel-comed Lehr-McKeown’s Rob McKeown (R) to this year’s show
JC Furniture’s VP of Marketing Jaime Lebovic
The Marsal and Sons booth led by Joseph Ferrarra, Carl Ferrara and Rich Ferrara (Far Right) with DMM’s Ro Doyle (BACK L), Chef Santo Bruno (Front L) brought top quality restaurant equipment to the show
Systrum Energy’s Dominick Tullo, Denise Tussi and Alex Tullo offered at-tendees energy-saving solutions
Hoshizaki’s Steve De Simone, Bob Haim, and Jeff Basolis had a great show
Moschofilero, Agiorgitiko and Xino-
mavro. They showed us what makes
the quality of New Wines of Greece
uncommonly good. EYE enjoyed and
experienced an exciting time with
“The Wine Guy,” John Cressman, as
he took us on a tour from Piemonte
in the North of Italy to Puglia in the
South, while tasting and exploring
the styles and grapes of some high
end DOCG wines. The Ultimate
Barista Challenge was back at the
International Restaurant & Foodser-
vice Show of New York. Professional
baristis faced challengers on the ex-
hibition floor where they prepared
their signature espresso beverages
for a panel of discerning judges.
There was a showdown of three
flights of espresso frappe, espresso
cocktails and beautiful café latte art.
In addition to watching the action
unfold we learned the value of fine
espresso and coffee on your menu,
secret tips to drive profitability into
your offerings and tips to impress
your customers. Paris Gourmet pre-
sented the 23rd Annual U.S. Pas-
try Competition on “Show Sunday”
where 20 rising stars of the pastry
world were selected to compete for
the coveted title, Pastry Chef of the
Year. The event was hosted by Paris
Gourmet, a leading specialty food
importer and distributor sourc-
ing products worldwide with ser-
There was a showdown of three flights of
espresso frappe, espresso cocktails and beautiful
café latte art. In addition to watching the action
unfold we learned the value of fine espresso
and coffee on your menu, secret tips to drive
profitability into your offerings and tips to
impress your customers.
57 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
E&A Supply’s executive chef Adam Trachtenberg with Vice President Joel Green
Antonio Massol of Epic Industries offered many cleaning and sanitation products this year
Allied Metal’s CEO Arlene Saunders offered the best of baking solutions to show attendees
(L to R) JC Furniture’s Gaye Niver-Agi and Lynette Celli Rigdon brought cus-tom furniture solutions to IRFSNY
Taft’s CEO Jessica Taft offered up many all-natural products with Master Gyro Maker Horace Perkins
vice throughout the North America.
Board members of the Societe Cu-
linaire Philanthropique, one of the
oldest and most prestigious chef
associations in the world, presided
over the judging procedures.
The event was co-sponsored by
Cacao Noel Chocolate, Pastry 1
(pastry ingredients), Beurremont
Butter, Gourmand and Maison de
Choix. The U.S. Pastry Competition
is America’s most prestigious pastry
competition. The event allows lead-
ing pastry chefs to showcase their
talents by creating advanced dessert
and chocolate bonbon recipes ex-
hibited along with highly technical
sugar and chocolate sculpted show-
pieces. The 2012 showpiece theme
was The Four Elements: Earth • Wind
• Fire • Water.
The winners for this year’s Pastry
Competition were:
1st Place - Anthony Smith, The
Cosmopolitan Club, New York City;
2nd Place - Daniel Keadle, Grand
Hyatt, San Antonio, Texas;
3rd Place - Ashley Alioto, Pastry
Chef Consultant, New York City;
and Honorable Mention went to
Artis Kalsons, The Fairmont, Seattle
WA. Reed Exhibitions was pleased to
bring local sourcing to the show with
the Pride of New York Pavilion. The
area, featured 30+ exhibitors which
provided restaurant and foodservice
operators and chefs the opportunity
to preview exclusive products from
New York farms and processors.
The Pride of New York Pavilion
brought attendees face-to-face with
family farmers and food proces-
sors who have made New York State
one of America’s leading suppliers
of food and agricultural products.
Products in the Pride of New York
Pavilion included locally grown pro-
duce, syrups and sauces, cheese,
honey, meats, pasta, wine and baked
goods - fresh and processed prod-
ucts that never go out of season.
Complimenting this years’ Pavil-
ion was a new event hosted by New
York City Council Speaker Christine
C. Quinn, “Farm to City Expo: Con-
necting Farmers to NYC’s Wholesale
Food System,” On “ShowTuesday.”
The session explored how the New
York City wholesale food system
operates, and how New York State
farmers can access local markets.
The event provided attendees the
opportunity to hear from farmers,
distributors, retailers, large-scale
buyers and more. Representatives
from Yelp.com were on hand, and
hosted a seminar on how businesses
can use Yelp to drive traffic and build
their brand.
Suggestions included respond-
ing to negative feedback posted on
the site and participating in Yelp’s
Deals program. Reed Exhibitions,
Ferdinand Metz CMC and Kathleen
Wood were pleased to present to you
the New York 2012 Presentation and
Networking Event of The Foodser-
vice Council for Women: “Breaking
Barriers to Success - How to be Un-
stoppable in Life and Business!”
A dynamic panel of industry lead-
ers shared their real life experience
for overcoming obstacles to suc-
cess and insights on how to become
unstoppable! Leaders shared how
not to let fear be a factor in achiev-
ing success and provided attendees
practical tips and techniques for
how to set yourself up for success!
This high-energy interactive session
left EYE even more inspired about
the possibilities in life and business!
Kathleen is the founder of Kathleen
Wood Partners, LLC, an innovative
growth strategy firm, specializing in
shifting leaders and businesses to
58 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Server’s John Rayburn brought new innovative solutions to this year’s show
John Agliato and Mark Holden of Electro Freeze showed off the latest in soft-servce ice cream equipment
NYSRA’s New York Chapter Executive Vice President Andrew Rigie
RC Fine Foods’ James Pineau, John Nestor, and Jeff Quille
HESS Small Business’ booth of Amy Israel, Daniel Francisco, Andrea Levine, and Matt Hettler offered smarter, more economical energy savings
Sea Breeze’s Patrick Godfrey and Bill Schiffman offered show attendees new beverage solutions
Hub International’s Robert FioritoRuggerio Seafood’s Steve Chen and James Magee offered up new seafood solutions at the show
new levels of success.
Kathleen and her partners offered
consulting services, career coach-
ing, keynote presentations and re-
sult driven solutions for hospitality,
healthcare, service, manufacturing
and retail clients. Her firm consis-
tently works with Fortune 500 lead-
ers, INC 1000 founders and entre-
preneurs. Kathleen is a nationally
recognized growth strategist, moti-
vational speaker and author, and a
proven leader in business and non-
profits. Before founding her own
company, Kathleen served as the
President and COO of Raising Cane’s
Chicken Fingers from 2005 – 2007.
In 1997, She co-founded Elliot So-
lutions, a premier consulting firm
for the hospitality and foodservice
industry and continued as its Presi-
dent through 2005. Wood learned
from the very best: Alice Elliot.
Additionally, Kathleen co- found-
ed the Elliot Leadership Institute in
2003 and served as its first President
through 2005. The Elliot Leadership
Institute is the only non-profit orga-
nization dedicated to the develop-
ment and advancement of executives
in the foodservice and hospitality
industry. For the sixth consecutive
year, the Japan Pavilion at the Inter-
national Restaurant & Foodservice
Show of New York acquainted the
industry with the unique flavors and
exciting new culinary innovations of
Japan. The Japan Pavilion 2012 fea-
tured various food products, dem-
onstrations, and seminars.
Additionally, the Japan Pavilion of-
fered opportunities to talk to distri-
bution professionals and learn tips
for importing and exporting diverse
Japanese ingredients. Additionally,
the Japan Pavilion featured the Third
Annual JRO Umami Culinary Chal-
lenge, a recipe contest that aimed to
promote Japanese umami and food
culture through demonstrations of
the versatility of fundamental Japa-
nese umami ingredients in different
dishes. Following a growing trend
in the restaurant industry, Reed Ex-
hibitions Companies was pleased to
introduce the all new Healthy Solu-
tions Pavilion and Culinary Demon-
stration Theater at the International
Additionally, the Japan Pavilion
offered opportunities to talk to
distribution professionals and learn
tips for importing and exporting diverse
Japanese ingredients.
59 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
(L to R) Robert Milea and Charlie Albanese Jr. of Milea Truck led the Bronx truck legends team at the show
ChefTec’s Bev Daniels, Brian Bennett, and Jeremy Rice displayed innovative software solutions
Scott Macy of JW Macy Cheesesticks
(L to R) Borax’s Howard Hirsch and Marc Borak anchored an active booth
(L to R) Supreme Oil’s Michael Leffler and Rick Kepniss
(L to R) Win Depot’s Helen Chang and Andrew Wolfe of Lehr McKeown
( L to R) Schultz Ford’s Eddie Ratner and Mike Moscatello anchored Ford Transit’s show booth
(R to L) Roebic’s new national sales chief Dale Schmidt visited with many of New Yorks’ top operators including BR Guest’s Big Lou Elrose
PBAC’s Michael Posternak and Karen Grezner of HMS Host
(L to R) Bosco’s Wil Osantich wel-comed Eric Hoffman to his booth
A dynamic panel of industry leaders
shared their real life experience for
overcoming obstacles to success and
insights on how to become unstoppable!
Leaders shared how not to let fear be a
factor in achieving success.
60 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Henry Bodner & Sean Green from Prince Seating
(L to R) Long Island’s Crescent Duck Farm’s booth was manned by Blake Corwin, Douglas Corwin, and Shannon Corwin
Contract Furniture’s Gene Trivell and George Agcaoili
Turbo Air’s Phillip Han with DMM’s Ro DoyleThe Greenworks AROSE team led by Robert Hiller (5th from right) had show-goers
buzzing
61 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
I am very involved with my kitchen
designs. When you come to my
restaurants the chefs are always
visible. It reminds me of when I was a
kid and felt the first excitement of going
into a kitchen. That is the paradise of
the restaurant.
Restaurant & Foodservice Show.
The Healthy Solutions Pavilion
featured 13 exhibitors providing de-
licious, health-sustaining foods and
products. Attendees had the oppor-
tunity to taste new products, and
talk directly with exhibitors about
sourcing new health-conscious
items. Partnered with the New York
State Dietetic Association and Betsy
Craig, CEO of Kitchens with Confi-
dence. The Healthy Culinary Dem-
onstration Theater featured 30+
culinary demonstrations over all
three show days, and tastings from
industry experts including Execu-
tive Chefs from the top restaurants
in New York City.
For complete photo coverage of the
IRFSNY Show visit totalfood.com
The Restaurant Depot team had a busy booth with a broad selection of products
62 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
The Modern-assortment of petit fours, lollipops and chocolates
(L to R) Aldea Chef George Mendes, photographer Diana DeLucia, SHO Chef Shaun Hergatt
Daniel-pistachio dacquoise with fresh raspberries and vanilla cream
C-CAP Founder and Chairman Richard Grausman and Sarabeth’s Sarabeth Levine
Michael McCarty and Barbuto Chef Jonathan Waxman
(Left to Right) 2012 C-CAP Honoree Michael Lomonaco, Michael McCarty, Michael’s NY Chef Kyung Up Lim and Michael’s Santa Monica Chef John-Carlos Kuramoto, Beacon Chef Waldy Malouf
“This year, C-CAP was thrilled to
honor restaurateur, art collector, entre-
preneur, vintner, and chef Michael Mc-
Carty for his remarkable achievements
and contributions to the culinary in-
dustry and his commitment to nurtur-
ing the next generation of chefs,” says
C-CAP’s founder and chairman, Rich-
ard Grausman. “Having Bette Midler
and Martin von Haselberg as honorary
chairs of this event was a tribute to Mi-
chael’s outstanding career.”
Michael McCarty has left an unmis-
takable impression on the food world
with his legendary restaurants, Mi-
chael’s NY and Michael’s Santa Monica.
Careers Through Culinary Arts Program’s 2012 Benefit Honors Chef Michael McCartyMichael McCarty, Proprietor of Michael’s NY and Michael’s Santa Monica was honored at the annual
Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) benefit on Thursday, February 16, 2012, at PIER SIXTY
at Chelsea Piers to support the national not-for-profit’s mission of providing scholarships, education,
and career opportunities in the culinary arts to underserved youth. The event was the most successful in
C-CAP’s history raising over $900,000.
// EYE
continued on page 68
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The semifinalists were selected from
a record 28,000 online nominations,
and a 550-judge panel will narrow each
list down to five finalists in each cat-
egory. Those final nominees will be an-
nounced in Las Vegas on March 22nd.
The final James Beard Award win-
ners will then be announced at the
James Beard Foundation Awards Cere-
mony and Gala Reception, taking place
on Monday, May 7, 2012 in New York at
Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall with
the winners of the Book, Broadcast and
Journalism awards will be announced
on May 4 at a separate ceremony. “We
are looking forward to a very special
event that will honor many of our in-
dustry’s top performers,” noted Susan
Ungaro, President of the James Beard
Foundation.
Heading the 2011 James Beard Foun-
dation Awards Restaurant and Chef
Award Semifinalists nominations for
Best New Restaurant are New York
City’s ABC Kitchen, Recette, and Torrisi
Italian Specialties. Connecticut’s Com-
munity Table in Washington, CT will
also vie for top honors. New York City’s
La Grenouille has been nominated for
Outstanding Service.
The slate of nominations include
NYC’s Shuna Lydon of Peels and Angela
Pinkerton, Eleven Madison Park who
will vie for Outstanding Pastry chef
honors.
Manhattan’s Blue Hill and Eleven
Madison Park have been nominated
for top national restaurant honors. The
Nation’s Top Restaurateur award com-
petition will include Manhattan’s Bruce
Beard Foundation Announces 2012
Semifinalists For NYC EventThe James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists last month in restaurants and chefs
for the 2012 James Beard awards including pastry chefs, restaurateurs, wine and spirits
professionals, service, and rising star chefs.
// NEWS AWARDS
continued on page 79
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Among the participants were Chef
Bun Lai, the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Sustainability Leader of the Year, and
Yousef Ghalaini, executive chef of New
York’s sustainable seafood restaurant
Imperial No. Nine.
Recently, nearly 30 thought leaders
in the seafood; restaurant and sustain-
ability worlds came together to have a
conversation about how chefs can em-
brace seafood sustainability in a great-
er, more mainstream way.
“Thought for Food: A Discussion on
Sustainable Seafood” was facilitated by
James Beard award-winning chef and
author John Ash, widely respected as
a sustainability pioneer. Participants
came from a variety of backgrounds:
chefs, NGO leaders, journalists and
other members of the food industry
vanguard. Each brought a different
perspective to the buzz-worthy subject
of “conscious cuisine,” an idea brought
to the forefront by New York Times
journalist and author Mark Bittman. In
his book, “Food Matters, Guide to Con-
scious Eating,” he explains conscious
cuisine as the idea that one deliberately
chooses deliciously prepared food that
is not just good for you but is also pro-
duced with a keen appreciation for the
health of and respect for the planet.
Today, consumers are more naturally
curious about the provenance of their
food and its method of production,
and retailers have found a way to make
these types of conversations part of the
every day.
La Mar Cebicheria Peruana Names Michael Principe As
Director Of Operations/US And General Manager For NYC
La Mar Cebicheria, Chef Gastón Acurio’s pioneering Peruvian restaurant, has selected Michael
Principe as Director of Operations for La Mar USA and interim General Manager for La Mar
Cebicheria in New York City. Michael will be joined by Executive Chef Victoriano López in
leading La Mar’s outstanding team.
// NEWS CHEFS
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Often known as the “Father of Califor-
nia cuisine,” Michael McCarty remains
a driving force and inspiration in fea-
turing local and seasonal produce,
meats, and fish in his ever-flavorful
cuisine. Some of the country’s finest
chefs began their careers at Michael’s,
including Jonathan Waxman, Mark
Peel, Nancy Silverton and Sang Yoon.
“This walk-around tasting event
raised funds to support C-CAP’s mission
of providing scholarships, education,
and career opportunities in the culinary
arts to underserved youth who are in-
terested in pursuing careers in the res-
taurant and foodservice industry,” says
C-CAP’s president, Susan Robbins. “For
more than 20 years, we have been break-
ing the cycle of poverty for hundreds of
qualified students across the country.
We continue to manage the largest in-
dependent scholarship program and
have awarded over $34 million in schol-
arships.” More than 800 guests enjoyed
an evening of signature dishes presented
by 38 of New York’s top chefs with wine
donated by The Charmer Sunbelt Group.
More than 60 New York City C-CAP high
school culinary students and graduates
assisted the chefs of these renowned
restaurants. The evening’s festivities also
included a silent auction including once-
in-a-lifetime culinary and travel pack-
ages, and guests were entertained by the
David Grausman Quartet.
CBS2 News Co-Anchor Kristine John-
son was the Master of Ceremonies.
Sylva Senat, a C-CAP alumnus and Ex-
ecutive Chef of Tashan, the new, highly
acclaimed Indian fusion restaurant in
Philadelphia, was the C-CAP graduate
speaker. The Chef Chair was Marcus
Samuelsson of Red Rooster. Guests had
the opportunity to meet Wilma Stephen-
son and Fatoumata Dembele, two of the
stars of the Emmy nominated documen-
tary Pressure Cooker, directed by Jennifer
Grausman & Mark Becker, which focused
on a culinary arts teacher in Philadelphia
and how she improved the lives of her
students through the C-CAP program.
As this year’s honoree, Michael McCarty
received the C-CAP Honors Award. Past
recipients of the C-CAP Honors Award
include Michael Lomonaco, Marcus
Samuelsson, Drew Nieporent, Alfred
Portale, Lidia Bastianich, Thomas Keller,
Charlie Palmer, Danny Meyer & Michael
Romano, Daniel Boulud, Jacques Pepin,
Egidiana & Sirio Maccioni, Nina & Tim
Zagat, and Saul Zabar & Stanley Zabar.
Participating Chefs included: Chef Chair:
Marcus Samuelsson, Red Rooster; Chef Mis-
sy Robbins, A Voce Columbus; Chef Philip
DeMaiolo, Abigail Kirsch PIER SIXTY; Chef
George Mendes, Aldea; Chef Jason Weiner,
Almond; Chef Toni Robertson, Asiate; Chef
Yuhi Fujinaga, Bar Basque; Chef Jonathan
Waxman, Barbuto; Chef Waldy Malouf,
Beacon; Chef Philippe Bertineau, Benoit;
Chef Clifford Crooks, BLT Steak; Chef Dan
Barber, Blue Hill/ Blue Hill at Stone Barns;
Pastry Chef Thiago Silva, Catch; Chef Tom
Colicchio, Colicchio & Sons; Chefs Daniel
Boulud and Sandro Micheli, Daniel; Chef
John Fraser, Dovetail; Chef Joey Fortunato,
Extra Virgin; Chef Fortunato Nicotra, Fe-
lidia; Chef Alfred Portale, Gotham Bar &
Grill; Chef Ayumu Matsuda, kib♥; Chef Ma-
ria Loi, Loi Restaurant NYC; Chef Kyung Up
Lim, Michael’s NY; John-Carlos Kuramoto,
Michael’s Santa Monica; Pastry Chef Marc
Aumont, The Modern; Chef Scott Camp-
bell, New Leaf Restaurant & Bar; Chef Matt
Hoyle, Nobu Fifty Seven; Chef Ben Pollinger,
Oceana; Chef Kevin Lasko, Park Avenue
Winter; Chef Michael Lomonaco, Porter
House New York; Chef Marcus Samuelsson,
Red Rooster; Chef Matteo Bergamini, SD26;
Pastry Chef Sarabeth Levine, Sarabeth’s;
Chef Shaun Hergatt, SHO – Shaun Hergatt;
Michael Tong, Shun Lee Palace; Chef Kerry
Heffernan, Southgate; Chef Kelvin Fernan-
dez, The Strand American Bistro; Chef Wil-
liam Telepan, Telepan; and Chef Carmen
Quagliata, Union Square Café. In addition,
participating C-CAP Graduate Chef includ-
ed: Mehdi Chellaoui, Founder & Chocolati-
er at Dörk Chocolate C-CAP Alumnus.
C-CAP, from page 62
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Each year, this award is be-
stowed upon someone
whose lifetime body of
work has had a positive and
long-lasting impact on the
way we eat, cook, and/or think about
food in America. Wolfgang Puck will
be honored at this year’s James Beard
Foundation Awards, the nation’s most
prestigious recognition program hon-
oring professionals in the food and
beverage industries, on Monday, May
7, 2012 at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fish-
er Hall in New York City.
Culinary Legend Puck Named 2012 James Beard
Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
The James Beard Foundation recently announced that Wolfgang Puck, a multiple James
Beard Award–winning chef and restaurateur acclaimed for his contributions to the culinary
industry, has been named the recipient of the 2012 James Beard Foundation Lifetime
Achievement Award.
// NEWS ACHIEVEMENTS
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Booth #5422
“The Lifetime Achievement Award
recognizes passion, inspiration and
a commitment to doing good work
that goes beyond any individual’s
contribution,” said Susan Ungaro,
President of the James Beard Foun-
dation. “This year, as we celebrate 25
years of the James Beard Foundation,
I’m honored to commemorate Wolf-
gang Puck’s remarkable achievements
in our industry. He cooked the first
guest-chef dinner at the James Beard
House in 1987 and has won multiple
Beard Awards. He is the only person
to win Outstanding Chef twice,” Un-
garo explained, “Wolfgang has not
only demonstrated to the industry his
incredible talent but he has helped
shape the industry by revolutionizing
how American chefs think about food.
What sets Wolfgang apart, however, is
that his creativity takes him beyond
our industry’s walls. As a former Hu-
manitarian Award recipient, he has
shown that the culinary industry can
improve the lives of others and benefit
society as a whole. Wolfgang has a long
history with the Foundation,” Ungaro
concluded, “and we look forward to
following his achievements in our in-
dustry and beyond for years to come.”
Wolfgang Puck said, “Receiving the
James Beard Foundation Lifetime
Achievement Award is a tremendous
honor. It was a pleasure to be the first
chef to cook at the Beard House and
my relationship with the Founda-
tion has been one I’ve cherished ever
since.” Wolfgang concluded, “To be
recognized by such a prestigious or-
ganization with this esteemed award
could not have been possible without
the talented individuals that I’ve had
the pleasure to work with, mentor,
and befriend in my 30 years, including
James. I take great honor in accepting
an award that represents a lifetime of
accomplishment for the work I take
great pride in doing each and every
day.”
A native of Austria, Wolfgang Puck
has been a culinary icon for more than
30 years. For many, his name evokes
Hollywood glamour. The celebrity he
gained from his restaurant, Spago,
which opened in 1982, escalated him
from fame to stardom. It was at Spago
that Wolfgang pioneered many restau-
rant concepts now taken for granted:
the “open kitchen;” cooking with lo-
cally sourced, seasonal ingredients;
and the notion that “fine” dining need
not be stuffy and formal. Wolfgang’s
accomplishments continued to mul-
tiply, as he became the first name-
brand chef to open a restaurant in Las
Vegas, Spago in The Forum Shops at
Caesars, blazing a trail for other chefs
and restaurateurs to follow. Five more
Vegas restaurants followed at various
locations, all to critical acclaim.
Today, Wolfgang has 20 fine din-
ing restaurants including Spagos in
Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Maui, and
Beaver Creek, Colorado; Chinois on
Main; his ultra-elegant modern Chi-
nese restaurant WP24, which opened
in 2010 in The Ritz-Carlton, Los An-
geles, and his latest historic partner-
ship with the Hotel Bel-Air where he
now oversees the food and beverage
program for the entire property; and
additional establishments in Singa-
pore, London, Detroit, Dallas, Atlantic
City, and Washington, D.C. Adding to
his ever-growing empire, the critically
acclaimed steakhouse CUT debuted
in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in 2006,
and has since spawned four locations.
Then there are the multiple locations
of the fast-casual Wolfgang Puck Ex-
press and Wolfgang Puck Bistro. Five
million fresh and frozen Wolfgang
Puck pizzas are sold each year; twenty-
six varieties of Wolfgang Puck canned
soup are licensed to Campbell’s; and
Wolfgang Puck–branded cookware,
small appliances, kitchen accessories,
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Among the participants were Chef
Bun Lai, the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Sustainability Leader of the Year, and
Yousef Ghalaini, executive chef of New
York’s sustainable seafood restaurant
Imperial No. Nine.
Recently, nearly 30 thought leaders
in the seafood; restaurant and sustain-
ability worlds came together to have a
conversation about how chefs can em-
brace seafood sustainability in a great-
er, more mainstream way.
“Thought for Food: A Discussion on
Sustainable Seafood” was facilitated by
James Beard award-winning chef and
author John Ash, widely respected as
a sustainability pioneer. Participants
came from a variety of backgrounds:
chefs, NGO leaders, journalists and
other members of the food industry
vanguard. Each brought a different
perspective to the buzz-worthy subject
of “conscious cuisine,” an idea brought
to the forefront by New York Times
journalist and author Mark Bittman. In
his book, “Food Matters, Guide to Con-
scious Eating,” he explains conscious
cuisine as the idea that one deliberately
chooses deliciously prepared food that
is not just good for you but is also pro-
duced with a keen appreciation for the
health of and respect for the planet.
Today, consumers are more naturally
curious about the provenance of their
food and its method of production,
and retailers have found a way to make
these types of conversations part of the
every day. More and more people want
Tri-State Chefs Anchor California Seafood SummitChef John Ash serves on the Board of Advisors of Seafood Watch, an educational initiative for
sustainable seafood by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He recently hosted a panel discussion
about seafood sustainability as a practice.
// NEWS EVENTS
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to know where their tomatoes were
grown and who picked them. They also
genuinely care about the quality of life
of the cow that yielded that T-bone. But
fewer customers think about the sus-
tainability and origin of the seafood on
the menu, other than perhaps where
the fish were raised.
While some chefs are leading the
charge and embracing sustainability at
every level, others have been slower to
come around on the subject.
As Scott Nichols, PhD of aquacul-
ture innovator, Verlasso, said, “We can’t
keep depleting our oceans. To continue
to eat fish, we need to raise them in an
ecologically responsible manner, ben-
efitting both the consumer and the
species - not just capture them. With a
current worldwide population exceed-
ing seven billion people - estimates for
2050 push that number to nine billion
- effectively sourcing quality fish has
come to the forefront of the interna-
tional discussion on sustainability.”
As the Food and Agriculture Orga-
nization of the United Nations (FAO)
reported in 2008, “Fish provided more
than 2.9 billion people with at least
15 percent of their average per capita
animal protein intake.” That is a small
percentage of people, consuming a
whole lot of fish. Coupled with the fact
that the USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines
recommend doubling the consump-
tion of seafood from 3.5 ounces to eight
ounces per week, it is easy to conclude
that aquaculture will play a key part in
helping to feed a hungry world.
Salmon, like tuna, is just one type
of large fish that depends on several
levels of the food chain for survival. In
essence, each fish needs to consume
many smaller fish to thrive. As Daniel
Pauly of the University of British Co-
lumbia states, “A pound of tuna rep-
resents roughly a hundred times the
footprint of a pound of sardines.” And
given our growing population, this is
just not a reliable method for increased
seafood demand.
Yousef Ghalaini, executive chef of
New York’s Imperial No. Nine adds,
“Those chefs who do opt to put wild
salmon on their menus say that it is
harder to prepare - being lower in fat
- and some diners find the flavor too
intense.”
Most farm-raised salmon, on the
other hand, is raised in an environment
where every life stage is controlled:
quantity of eggs fertilized, number of
fish per pen, diet and harvest.
The detractors to this method, how-
ever, are clear: Farm-raised salmon
also demand high levels of feeder fish
for their diet.
Nichols notes, “This ratio is termed
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78 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
‘fish-in, fish-out’ and typically trans-
lates to four pounds of fish needed to
produce just one pound of farm-raised
salmon.” Adding to the sustainability
conundrum, many of these feeder fish
are considered consumable on their
own, as opposed to being used as feed
for salmon.
In recent years, environmental
groups like Monterey Bay Aquarium’s
Seafood Watch and the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA) FishWatch have brought in-
creasing attention to both wild fisher-
ies and traditional aquaculture, which
has led to improvement in the industry.
But, much remains to be done to make
aquaculture healthy and sustainable.
These are facts that every “Thought for
Food” participant could agree upon,
which led to the discussion of the third
solution: harmoniously raised salmon,
a new category that has emerged just
this past year.
Verlasso, located in the cold waters
of Patagonia, is the only company pro-
ducing harmoniously raised salmon.
With standards guided by the World
Wildlife Fund’s sustainability goals, the
company aims to change the way the
world gets their salmon. Situated away
from the threat of pollutants, industrial
waste or other contaminants, Verlasso
raises its salmon with a very low pen
density of four fish per ton of water.
This environment allows each fish to
be identified and monitored carefully
to ensure a healthy life.
The harmoniously raised salmon
also have a unique diet that reduces
the fish-in fish-out ratio by 75 percent.
This innovative process replaces fish
oil with yeast, rich in Omega-3s, mak-
ing Verlasso salmon markedly more
sustainable. The pens are also allowed
to rest for months between production
cycles, a process akin to farmers letting
fields go fallow and ameliorate them-
selves from the rigors of production.
The results have been significant.
At Imperial No. Nine, he serves Ver-
lasso salmon two ways: raw, in a salm-
on and tuna tartare with Sriracha and
Hawaiian-style poi, garnished with
chives. Chef Ghalaini makes this from
the belly of the salmon, which has
both a flavor and texture that “really
pops with a clean bite.” The salmon he
serves hot is seared with a horseradish
crust, plated on a bed of celery root pu-
rée and Brussels sprouts. “The bite of
the horseradish is totally balanced by
the unique sweetness of the salmon.”
The “Thought for Food” participants
discussed another important point:
it is one thing for the chef to advocate
sustainability, but how do we convey
this message to our customers?
As Chef Ash remarks, “That’s the
$64,000 question. You have to do it so
carefully and thoughtfully. Diners are
really coming to restaurants to enjoy
themselves. They do not want to be
preached at because you can turn peo-
ple off. Chefs need to set the stage for
it, but the waitstaff are the real touch
point to the diners.”
Chef Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi in New
Haven, Connecticut, was another
“Thought for Food” participant. The
recipient of the 2011 Seafood Ambassa-
dor Award from Monterey Bay Aquar-
ium for his leadership in the Sustain-
able Seafood movement, his restaurant
has been named one the country’s ten
most sustainable restaurants.
With such a commitment to sustain-
ability, Chef Lai is continuously looking
for producers, partners and models to
further the ideal all the way down to the
customer. Among the several perspec-
tives discussed, Chef Lai says, “I came
out of the ‘Thought for Food’ discus-
sion reconsidering farmed salmon. I
have admired Chef Ash for a really long
time, not just for the food he prepares,
but also for his philosophy and his
principles. There is great progress hap-
pening in the world of sustainability
so I think it’s important to keep one’s
mind open to improvements in science
and technology.”
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Bromberg and Eric Bromberg of Blue
Ribbon Restaurants, Richard Sandoval
Restaurants (Isla, Ketsi, La Biblioteca,
La Biblioteca de Tequila, La Hacienda
at the Fairmont Scottsdale, La Sandía,
Maya, Pampano, Sandoval’s Kitchen,
Tamayo, Venga Venga, and Zengo). Phil
Suarez of the Suarez Restaurant Group,
NYC (ABC Kitchen, Chambers Kitch-
en, Gigino Trattoria, J&G Steakhouse,
Jean Georges, Lucy, Matsugen, Mercer
Kitchen, Perry Street, Prime Steak-
house, Spice Market, and others) has
also been nominated for top honors.
The Modern’s Belinda Chang at the
Modern is among the nominees for
Outstanding National Wine Service.
Hearth and Terroir’s Paul Grieco was
tapped for an Outstanding Wine and
Spirits Professional nomination as
were Garrett Oliver, of the Brooklyn
Brewery, the Clover Clubs’ Julie Reiner,
and David Wondrich of New York City.
The 2011 RISING STAR CHEF OF
THE YEAR nominations include
many of the Tri-State areas top young
toques. Chef Eric Gabrynowicz of Res-
taurant North in Armonk, Dan Richer
of Arturo’s in Maplewood, NJ, and a
trio of Manhattan restaurateurs Jesse
Schenker of Recette, Manzo’s Michael
Toscano and Christina Tosi of Momo-
fuku Milk Bar have all been nominated.
A trio of Garden State chefs will vie
for Best chef in the Mid-Atlantic. An-
drew Araneo of Drew’s Bayshore Bistro
in Keyport, Michael Krikorian of The
Copper Canyon Restaurant in Atlan-
tic Highlands and Maricel Presilla of
Cucharamama in Hoboken have each
been nominated.
A highlight for the May event will
be the much-anticipated BEST CHEF:
NEW YORK CITY competition. This
year’s nominees are Michael Antho-
ny of Gramercy Tavern The Spotted
Pig’s April Bloomfield, Saul Bolton of
Saul, Hearth’s Marco Canora, Scott
Conant of Scarpetta, Dressler’s Polo
Dobkin, Wylie Dufresne of wd~50 Ga-
brielle Hamilton of Prune, Porchetta’s
Sara Jenkins, Craig Koketsu of Park
Avenue, Soto’s Sotohiro Kosugi, Mark
Ladner of Del Posto, Corton’s Paul Li-
ebrandt, Anita Lo of Annisa, Aldea’s
George Mendes, Missy Robbins of A
Voce, Masa’sMasa Takayama, Bill
Telepan, of Telepan, Marea’s Michael
White, and Galen Zamarra of Mas.
The Best Chef in the Northeast
award will be up for grabs among Fran-
cesco Buitoni of the Mercato in Red
Hook, NY, Gerry Hayden of The North
Fork Table & Inn in Southold, NY, Serge
Madikians of Serevan in Amenia, NY,
Daniel Nilsson of DA/BA in Hudson,
NY Suzanne Stack of Suzanne Fine Re-
gional Cuisine, Lodi, NY and Bill Taibe,
LeFarm in Westport, CT.
Established in 1990, the James Beard
Foundation Awards recognize culi-
nary professionals for excellence and
achievement in their fields and con-
tinue to emphasize the Foundation’s
mission: to celebrate, preserve, and
nurture America’s culinary heritage
and diversity.
The annual James Beard Foundation
Awards honor the best and the bright-
est talents in the food and beverage
industries, celebrating outstanding
achievement in each of the following
categories: Restaurant and Chef, Res-
taurant Design and Graphics, Book,
Broadcast, Journalism, and special
achievement awards. Each category
has an individual Awards Commit-
tee made up of industry professionals
who volunteer their time to oversee the
policies, procedures, and selection of
judges for their respective Awards pro-
gram.
The James Beard Foundation holds
an online open call for entries begin-
ning in mid-October of each year. This
year, over 28,000 entries were received,
the most in the Awards’ history. Inde-
pendent accounting firm Lutz & Carr
tabulates these entries for the Restau-
rant and Chef Committee. Based on the
results and eligibility requirements for
each award, the committee then pro-
duces a nominating ballot that lists the
semifinalists in each of the 19 Restau-
rant and Chef awards categories, some
of which include Outstanding Chef,
James Beard, from page 64
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Over 5,000 waiters
and bartenders
joined together in
a wage and hour
lawsuit against
Applebee’s, claim-
ing that the restaurant did not pay
the minimum wage to workers dur-
ing a time in which they performed
work that did not generate tips. The
plaintiffs cited the Department of
Labor’s 1988 handbook, that states if
a tipped employee spends a substan-
tial amount of time (defined as more
than 20%) performing related but
non-tipped work, then the employer
may not take the tip credit for the
time spent performing those duties.
While wage and hour policies are
designed to offer restaurants pro-
tection when it comes to tip related
lawsuits, many Employer Practices
Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies
simply exclude wage and hour cover-
age all together. While policies that
do cover against this exposure will
typically only provide coverage for
defense costs of up to $100,000. This
means that if you have a deductible
of $25,000, your coverage may only
amount to $75,000 to be used to-
ward legal fees associated with such
a claim.
In addition, restaurants that have
had a claim in the past may not be el-
igible for this coverage, even though
it is likely that restaurants that have
gone through this ordeal already are
probably more likely to be in com-
pliance than the restaurants that
may be caught off-guard. Therefore,
a thorough understanding of the
law, as well as a strategy for how to
implement a tip pooling procedure
that is in accordance with the laws in
your state, may be your “best” and in
some cases “only” line of defense.
Here are a few preparations your
restaurant can take (depending on
your state laws) to defend against tip
related issues:
1) In order to defend your restau-
rant’s pay practices, restaurants who
rely on the tip credit should deter-
mine and keep track of how much
time each tipped employee spends
The Risks with Tips: Restaurants Continue to Face Challenges With Wage and Hour Compliance
The legal issues surrounding tip pool participation and tip pool distribution continues as recent court actions illustrate the risks
that restaurants continue to face.
// INSURANCE FIORITO ON INSURANCE
Bob Fiorito, Vice President, Business Development at Hub International
The plaintiffs cited the Department of Labor’s 1988
handbook, that states if a tipped employee spends
a substantial amount of time (defined as more than
20%) performing related but non-tipped work, then
the employer may not take the tip credit for the time
spent performing those duties.
81 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
on “non-tipped” activities. If “non-
tipped” activities constitute more
than 20% of the total working time
for any shift, the employer may be
required to pay the employee the
federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour)
for all time spent on non-tipped
tasks.
2.) Never include a supervisor or
staff member with supervisory or
managerial responsibilities in any
pool or sharing policy. Employers
must look “beyond the job title” and
analyze each staff member’s service
and non-service duties, in order to
determine if their participation and/
or coordination of the tip pool is in
compliance.
3.) Ensure that all policies per-
taining to tips, tip pooling and tip
sharing are “recommended” and
not mandatory, unless specifically
approved by your state. While the
court decision in Cumbie v. Woody
Woo, Inc. can sometimes be used
to uphold the practice of employers
collecting and redistributing tips to
the entire labor pool, or even poten-
tially kept by management (without
violating the Fair Labor Standards
Act (FLSA), where FLSA is the only
statute at issue), many states have
wage and hour laws that override the
Woody Woo verdict.
For example, in New York, the state
wage and hour laws prohibit em-
ployers from retaining tips. In fact,
tip pooling, as well as tip distribu-
tion must be voluntary and orga-
nized among employees who “cus-
tomarily” receive tips. Even in states
where there are no state law restric-
tions to tip pooling and distribution,
an employer may face issues when
tip distribution arrangements steer
monies away from employees who
are engaged in direct service.
In addition, a restaurant who may
be in full compliance with the law,
may still find itself burdened with
the price tag for a defense from a
claim filed by a member of its wait
staff, who is eagerly represented by a
law firm experienced in filing these
types of lawsuits.
As wage and hour issues continue
to pose a problem for many restau-
rants, it’s more important than ever
to work with an insurance profes-
sional who can advise you about
the latest coverage options and new
products in the marketplace; one
who truly understands the insurance
needs of a restaurant or food service
business. To identify and better un-
derstand the unique regulatory en-
vironment and coverages surround-
ing “tip pooling,” as well as address
specific questions you may have re-
garding your current coverage, con-
tact Robert Fiorito at 212-338-2324
or robert.fiorito@hubinternational.
com.
82 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
to food,” explained Chef Zamora, who
makes it a priority to seek out the fresh-
est ingredients from local markets and
create dishes that highlight those in-
gredients. “Food preparation should
evoke a sense of comfort, because
there’s nothing more satisfying than
dishes that make you feel good. The
key is respecting the flavors of quality
ingredients and preparing them to per-
fection.”
Chef Zamora, who is of both Italian
and Lebanese ancestry, will bring a
strong Mediterranean flavor and flair
to his cuisine at Atrio. The restaurant’s
innovative and contemporary menu
will complement the restaurant’s sleek,
modern design and stylish décor. The
wood-burning stone oven will be the
focal point of the open-air kitchen,
which will have a cooking studio feel
so diners can enjoy watching their
meal being prepared. Atrio will offer a
variety of fare including inventive flat-
breads, artisanal cheeses, cured meats,
salads and meatballs, as well as Old
World wines by the glass and signature
martinis.
Prior to his tenure at Four Seasons
Hotel New York, Chef Zamora spent
six years with The Biltmore Hotel in
Miami, where he designed a new In
Room Dining kitchen to streamline the
team’s structure. During this time, he
also served on the Advisory Committee
at Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary
Arts in Miramar, Florida.
A native of Michigan, Zamora earned
a Bachelor of Science degree in Cu-
linary Arts from Johnson and Wales
University in Miami. He has also been
honored with the Florida Restaurant
Association’s Award of Excellence in
Hospitality. When he’s not in the kitch-
en, Chef Zamora enjoys photography,
skiing and spending time with his fam-
ily. He resides in Waldwick, New Jersey.
Zamora, from page 25
Keller, from page 38
NJRA, from page 10
“Art Pride NJ is thrilled to be part of
this special collaboration,” said Ann
Marie Miller, Executive Director of the
ArtPride NJ Foundation. “This event
was a creative way to celebrate the ex-
traordinary artistic and culinary skills
of women throughout New Jersey.”
Artists featured included: Kiyomi
Baird (Far Hills); Chris Carter (Mar-
tinsville); Maureen Chatfield (Leba-
non); Kim Huyler Defibaugh (Toms
River); Buel Ecker (Long Valley); Aylin
Green (Lambertville); Daryl Lancaster
(Lincoln Park), Linda Osborne (Pen-
nington); Laura Petrovich-Cheney
(Asbury Park); Ingrid Renard (White-
house Station), Carol Rosen (Califon),
Joanie Gagnon San Chirico (Toms Riv-
er); Ellen Siegel (Lebanon); Armisey
Smith (Newark); Karen Titus Smith
(Pemberton); and Laurinda Stockwell
(Lebanon).
The restaurant and hospitality in-
dustry in New Jersey is comprised of
25,000 small businesses providing over
311,000 private sector jobs generating
$14 billion in annual sales. Founded
in 1942, the New Jersey Restaurant
Association (NJRA) is celebrating 70
years dedicated to fostering a vibrant
industry that nourishes communities,
tourists, and the economy and shares
the bounty of the Garden State. Res-
taurants are uniquely important from
farm to table, hosting lifetime celebra-
tions, adding sizzle to New Jersey cit-
ies and anchoring main streets
The ArtPride New Jersey Founda-
tion is the programs and services arm
of ArtPride New Jersey, Inc., a non-
profit coalition of organizations and
individuals that advocates at local,
state and national levels for funding,
support and recognition of the arts as
vital to New Jersey’s economy, educa-
tion and overall quality of life.
The mission of the NOCC is to raise
awareness and promote education
about ovarian cancer. The Coalition is
committed to improving the survival
rate and quality of life for women with
ovarian cancer.
Keller.
On Saturday March 31, a daylong
series of events kicks off with Chef
Thomas Keller speaking and signing
copies of his books. At Noon, meet
New Jersey’s Best Burger Chef, deter-
mined from a statewide contest, will
pair the winning burger along with
Terra D’Oro Zinfandel. A Marketplace
Lunch with local New Jersey wines
and products will be served from noon
until 3 p.m.
For wine connoisseurs, a selection
of wines from the cellar, including rare
and highly rated bottles, will be tasted.
The Leading Ladies of Wine tasting
($40, 3 p.m.) follows with four dynamic
women winemakers: Heidi Barrett (La
Sirena), Deborah Brenner (Women of
the Vine), Diane Snowden (Snowden
Vineyards) and Terry Wheatley (Mid-
dle Sister).
Additional events will showcase
premier spirits and chocolate. St.
Germain will offer a modern spin on
the classics during The Classic Cock-
tail Reinvented. For chocolate devo-
tees, Chef Marc Aumont of New York
City’s The Modern will lead Terroir in
Chocolate & Wine, pairing wines with
his delectable Valrhona chocolate
creations. Whiskey lovers will meet
Johnnie Walker’s Master of Whiskey
Peter O’Connor and sample premium
scotches during The House of Walker.
The Festival’s signature event, The
Grand Tasting takes place from 7 p.m.
10 p.m. featuring more than 100 wines
from over thirty wineries and top
restaurants from New York City and
New Jersey. Highlights of The Grand
Tasting and new for 2012 is the VIP
Experience. The event will feature an
outstanding collection of wines and
spirits as well as tastings from four-
star restaurants Per Se and Restaurant
Latour, as well as New York City new-
comers Maialino and Lincoln in the
VIP Lounge.
Participating restaurants include
Aureole, Ninety Acres at Natirar, Da-
vid Burke Fromagerie, Elements,
SHO Shaun Hergatt, The Frog and
the Peach, Tribeca Grill, CulinAriane,
Boulevard Five 72, Maritime Parc, The
Orange Squirrel, Monkey Bar, Strip
83 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Darden, from page 43
James Beard, from page 79
the diner’s guide. “ROC’s purported
dining guide is a transparent attempt
to disparage many of America’s restau-
rants, an industry which provides op-
portunities for millions of Americans
to move up the ladder and succeed,”
Sue Hensley, the group’s senior vice
president for public affairs, said. “ROC
‘reports’ are opinion surveys and not
an empirical analysis of the facts. Even
in a challenging economy, the restau-
rant industry has continued to be one
of the country’s leading job creators,
and for thousands of individuals from
all backgrounds these jobs lead to
management and ownership oppor-
tunities.”
By winning, say, paid sick days for
some workers, Restaurant Oppor-
tunities Center United’s campaign
wouldn’t be the first time public pres-
sure changed workplace policy within
the food supply chain. Earlier this
month, Trader Joe’s signed a “fair food
agreement” with the Coalition of Im-
mokalee Workers, a worker advocacy
group of mostly immigrant workers
who pick tomatoes and other crops in
Florida. Trader Joe’s had long resisted
signing the agreement, but caved af-
ter months of protests outside stores.
Taco Bell and McDonald’s, among oth-
ers, had already signed the agreement,
which requires grocers and restau-
rants to pay a penny more per pound
of tomatoes to help provide better
working conditions for pickers.
Worker groups typically encounter
strong pushback on these issues from
industry lobbies, which often claim
that higher wages or paid sick days will
raise costs and kill jobs. The restaurant
industry in Florida, for instance, is
now trying to have the minimum wage
for servers lowered there. And the Na-
House, Blue Morel, Bona Vita Oste-
ria, Ho Ho Kus Inn & Tavern, Restau-
rant Blu, Lu Nello, Axia Taverna, Park
Steakhouse, The Bernards Inn and
Michael Anthony’s, as well as Crystal
Springs Resort’s Springs Bistro and
Crystal Tavern.
tional Restaurant Association poured
more than $100,000 into a successful
effort to stymie a ballot initiative for
paid sick days in Denver.
Outstanding Restaurant, Best Chef in
10 different U.S. regions, Rising Star
Chef of the Year, Outstanding Service,
Outstanding Wine and Spirits Profes-
sional and Best New Restaurant.
The list of semifinalist nominees is
then sent to an independent volun-
teer panel of more than 550 judges
from across the country. This panel,
comprised of leading regional restau-
rant critics, food and wine editors, cu-
linary educators and past James Beard
Foundation Award winners, vote on
specific award categories to deter-
mine the final five nominees in each
category. The same judges then vote
on these five nominees to select the
winners. The governing Awards Com-
mittee, board of trustees, and staff of
the James Beard Foundation do not
vote, and the results are kept confi-
dential until the presentation of win-
ners in May.
Much of the fireworks at the annual
event come over the selection of the
Best Chef: New York City award. This
year’s nominees are Michael Anthony
of the Gramercy Tavern The Spotted
Pig’s April Bloomfield, Hearth’s Marco
Canora, Scott Conant of Scarpetta,
wd~50’s Wylie Dufresne, John Fraser
of Dovetail, Wallsé Kurt Gutenbrun-
ner, Dan Kluger of ABC Kitchen, Del
Posto’s Mark Ladner, Paul Liebrandt
of Corton Annisa’s Anita Lo, Aldea’s
George Mendes, César Ramirez of
Brooklyn Fare Diner’s Sean Rembold,
Masa Takayama of Masa, Telepan’s
Bill Telepan, Rich Torrisi and Mario
Carbone of Torrisi Italian Specialties,
Barbuto’s Jonathan Waxman, Michael
White of Marea and Mas’ Galen Za-
marra,
Once again, Metro New York domi-
nates many of the James Beard Award
restaurant and nightclub categorties.
Leading the list of nominees for Best
New Restaurant are Manhattan’s Isa,
Tertulia, and Tremont as well as Zep-
poli in Collingswood, NJ. New York
City’s PDT and the Pegu Club will vie
for outstanding Bar program honors.
A number of Tri-State chefs and res-
taurateurs head the slate of national
nominees. David Chang, Momofuku
Ssäm Bar and Daniel Humm of Eleven
Madison Park in New York have both
been nominated for outstanding na-
tional chef. While Ohaya Oliveira of
Boulud Sud and Al Fiori’s Bob Truitt
will vie for top pastry honors. Bruce
Bromberg and Eric Bromberg of Blue
Ribbon Restaurants and Suarez Res-
taurant Groups Phiul Suarez have
been nominated for top national res-
taurateur of the year awards.
A trio of gifted New Yorkers: Paul
Grieco of Terroir, Brooklyn Brewery’s
Garrett Oliver and Neal Rosenthal of
Mad Rose Group in Pine Plains, NY
will compete for the 2012 national
Wine & Spirits stars Beard award.
The national Rising Star Chef of the
Year will find New Yorkers Noah Ber-
namoff of Mile End, Sorella’s Emma
Hearst Sara Lukasiewicz of the Red
Devon, Recette’s Jesse Schenker, Max
Sussman of Roberta¹s and Momofuku
Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi competing
for top honors.
A trio of Garden State toques: An-
drew Araneo of Drew’s Bayshore Bistro
in Keyport, Michael Krikorian of Cop-
per Canyon, Atlantic Highlands and
Hoboken’s Maricel Presilla of Cucha-
ramama head the list of nominees for
the Mid-Atlantic’s Best Chef.
A pair of Connecticut’s top chefs:
Kara Brooks of the Still River Café in
Eastford and Le Farm’s Bill Taibe Le-
Farm in Westport have been nominat-
ed for Best Chef: Northeast
New York City’s Balthazar and Blue
Hill will vie for the Outstanding Na-
tional Restaurant award and La Gre-
nouille and Picholine have been nom-
inated for National Service awards.
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Booth #3224
Booth #3224
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Booth #318
New York based toque Michael
White, who’s behind such lauded
Italian restaurants as Marea and
Ai Fiori, announced last month that he’ll
be opening his first Washington venture
in summer 2013. The concept, a spinoff
of his more casual Soho eatery, Osteria
Morini is slated for a 4,250-square-foot
space in the Lumber Shed, a developing
retail pavilion at the Yards Park.
White will bring a near-replica of his
original Soho location to DC, with the
same hearty dishes from the Emilia-
Romagna region of Italy, where White
worked for seven years. Meals can be
served family-style, with multiple pas-
tas and platters of grilled steaks and
sausages to share, or individually. The
lineup changes seasonally, but pastas
could include truffled ricotta ravioli
with prosciutto, lasagna verde, prosciut-
to and mortadella meatballs baked in
tomato sauce, and oven-baked polenta
with mushrooms and sausage ragu.
While the region’s cuisine is tradition-
ally meat-heavy, White will introduce
more seafood items for the waterfront
location, perhaps borrowing a favorite
from Marea: whole branzino baked in
a salt crust, served with simple arugula
salad and lemon.
Funding for White’s expansion is
coming from Ahmass Fakahany. The
former chief operating officer of Merrill
Lynch now the head of the Altamarea
Group. It was Mr. Fakahany who put up
the roughly $6 million it took to open
NYC’s Marea.
The rustic, warm decor from the
Soho and recently opened New Jer-
sey locations will also be translated to
Washington, though this third spot is
the only one with water views. Look for
lunch and dinner service to begin at the
opening. And if Osteria Morini DC is
anything like the boisterous, constantly
packed spot in New York, book early and
book often.
Manhattan Chef White Set To Brig Osteria Morini To DC
// NEWS CHEFS
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These companies had an idea:
convert used cooking oil into
biofuel for clean electricity
generation. They soon merged
to form Greenworks, a company which
has now established itself across the
country as the most sustainable alter-
native for restaurant waste oil disposal.
They don’t just take a restaurant’s cook-
ing oil, they’ll pay for it.
The Greenworks merger produced
a company that has rapidly expanded
across the United States. Says Green-
works’ Director of Marketing and Strat-
egy, Bob Hiller, “The company started
out as just two guys with two trucks in a
garage. When I arrived, it was four guys
around a little conference table. Now,
we have six plants across the coun-
try, 7000 square feet, and we have two
shifts of oil pickup seven days a week.”
The company has plants in the Lehigh
Valley area of Pennsylvania, the New
York City area, the Boston area, one
each in Alabama and Mississippi, and
one in California, though the company
is still based out of Allentown. “Allen-
town has been a great place for our
company. The labor force here is out-
standing. We wouldn’t imagine moving
anywhere else,” Hiller says.
Many companies pay for used cook-
ing oil, but Greenworks’ refining pro-
cess is unique. “The other companies
who buy used cooking oil aren’t pro-
ducing the same product,” says Hiller.
“They refine used cooking oil into a
component of animal feed. We produce
biofuel. A lot of people tend to con-
fuse biofuel and biodiesel, but they’re
completely different products.” Unlike
biodiesel, biofuel can’t be used in auto-
mobiles. Biofuel is a clean alternative
to coal or natural gas in electricity gen-
eration. “The difference between what
we do and what they do,” says Hiller, “is
that our product is much better for the
environment.
Greenworks’ rapid expansion has
not been without its obstacles. “We’ve
had to work hard to educate people
about what we do,” says Hiller. To that
end, the company has put together a
large sales force, to show potential cus-
tomers why working together would
be, as Hiller describes it, “a no-brain-
er.” Greenworks has also established
AROSE—the Association of Restaurant
Owners for a Sustainable Earth—to
educate both restaurateurs and con-
sumers about biofuel conversion. The
AROSE brand name also helps demon-
strate participating restaurants’ “green”
credentials. Greenworks also plans to
attend the New York Restaurant Show
and the International Boston Seafood
Show.
Greenworks has been able to over-
come these obstacles because, as Hiller
says, “We appeal to the restaurateur
who wants to do the right thing. Our
process is cleaner and our product
helps limit pollution.” Hiller also cred-
its Greenworks’ success to the business
acumen of Ralph Tommaso, the com-
pany’s founder. “He knows the market
and knows the customer better than
anyone else, and he puts in the effort
necessary to turn that into success.”
The future looks bright for Green-
works. They recently announced a
partnership with Sysco Boston, in ad-
dition to their long-standing partner-
ship with Sysco New York. These part-
nerships help Greenworks attract more
clients, and offer Sysco the opportunity
to burnish its sustainability creden-
tials. Greenworks also has started serv-
ing New York area airports and hopes
to expand into airports in other cities
in the near future. Beyond cooking oil,
Greenworks has also sought out other
food-based waste oils. Their plants in
Alabama and Mississippi process fat
runoff from catfish farms, a particu-
larly rich source for biofuels that was
previously being ignored.
For more information about AROSE,
visit http://www.arose.biz/ or call 888-
473-2735.
Greenworks Makes Cleaner Energy One Restaurant At A TimeFor years, restaurant owners had to pay to get rid of their used cooking oil. There was no other clean way to deal with it.
But 2005 brought the rise of two companies in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania that changed all that: Allentown, PA’s
Environmental Energy Recycling Corporation and Windgap, PA’s Smarter Fuel Company.
“We appeal to the restaurateur who
wants to do the right thing. Our process
is cleaner and our product helps limit
pollution.”
// NEWS CLEAN ENERGY TRENDS
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Call Vic Rose: 732-864-2220
Manhattan’s Chefs
Z E R OTrans-Fat Solution Is
888-531-Chefwww.iceculinary.com
Pastry & Baking arts
Classes
Call For Upcoming Class
Schedule
owners spend far too much money on
their ice supply. Commercial ice ma-
chines can be fickle and expensive to
repair leading owners like Lynn to pur-
chase bagged ice at a premium price.
Our all-inclusive solution guarantees
the ice maker’s performance. And if
it’s broken, we provide food-quality
bagged ice at no cost” said John Mahl-
meister, Easy Ice Vice President.
“Putting Lynn on the Easy Ice sub-
scription plan will save her thousands
of dollars this year alone,” added
Mahlmeister. “The after-tax cost of
the Easy Ice subscription will be less
than $2.50 per day”.
“Easy Ice is the only national com-
pany that guarantees the lifetime
performance of commercial ice ma-
chines with an end-to-end solu-
tion that requires no purchase or
long-term lease,” added Mahlmeis-
ter. Easy Ice has a comprehensive
offering (subscription) that includes
Hoshizaki commercial ice machines
(manufactured in U.S.A.), all repairs
and preventative maintenance, free
replacement ice, water filters, flexible
no-penalty cancellation and more for
a fixed monthly fee.
Food Network’s #l rated program,
hosted by famed chef Robert Irvine,
takes struggling restaurants and
makes changes towards their success
in just 48 hours and with only $10,000.
Chef Irvine’s resourcefulness, ingenu-
ity and empathetic nature gives hope
to struggling restaurants.
Easy Ice, from page 40
93 • March 2012 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
Wolfgang Puck, from page 71
and tableware are sold on HSN.
In addition to his appearances as a
regular contributor to ABC’s Good Morn-
ing America, hosting an Emmy Award–
winning Food Network series, “Wolfgang
Puck,” in the early 2000s, and authoring
six cookbooks, Wolfgang has won mul-
tiple James Beard Foundation Awards.
In 1991, Wolfgang Puck became the first
James Beard Foundation Outstanding
Chef honoree and to date he is still the
only person to be awarded that honor
twice. (A winner is not eligible for five
years after receiving the award.) He has
received the Foundation’s Outstand-
ing Restaurant Award for his landmark
Hollywood eatery, Spago, and has col-
lected some of the Foundation’s most
notable honors such as an induction
into the Who’s Who of Food and Bever-
age in America, which is given to those
who have contributed in a substantial
way to America’s constantly evolving
culinary scene; and the Humanitarian
Award, which is given to an individual or
organization whose work in the realm of
food has improved the lives of others and
benefited society at large. Wolfgang has
also been an honoree at the James Beard
Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne®
party in the Hamptons, has received a
total of five Restaurant and Chef awards,
and served as a James Beard Foundation
Awards Host in 2010. This represents
a lifetime of achievement from a man
whose motto is, “Do what you love. Work
hard. Be patient. And, with a little luck,
you could succeed.”
On Monday, May 7, 2012, the James
Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony
and Gala Reception will take place at
Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New
York City. During the event, which is open
to the public, awards for the Restaurant
and Chef and Restaurant Design and
Graphics categories will be handed out,
along with special achievement awards
including Humanitarian of the Year, Life-
time Achievement, Who’s Who, and the
America’s Classics award honorees.
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