Food Service Resilient to Bad Economy

This article talks about more and more food service establishments turning to local and sustainable products. This trend is continuing to rule the leaderboard in top trends.

Americans are changing the way they dine out by looking for places that offer healthier and greener options. When a dining guest steps into a restaurant, they are looking for value, convenience, variety and healthy items. More and more restaurants are accommodating these needs and are making their clients happier. The number one trend among chefs was local sourced food products. 89 percent of fine dining operators serve locally sourced products, according to the National Restaurant Association.

The restaurant industry is thriving in this economy. They remain resilient to the economy and are becoming more innovative than ever to attract guests. They are not doing as much business as before the recession, but people still dine out instead of dining at home. They might even consider that dining out is a key part in their lifestyle. "In 2009, it is predicted that nearly half of consumers' food budget will be spent in restaurants..." This basically says that consumers spend half of their food costs dining out and having a meal cooked for them.

The industry's resilience to this terrible economy just shows how important dining out is to us, as consumers. This is shown by the industry's attempt to fulfill the desires for convenience, value and social aspects. To me, eating out is a great time to share with family or friends. As much as I love to cook for my family or friends, and strive off of the feedback, I still love to dine out. Dining out is not just about the food, it is about the experience that comes along with it. I dine out to have a great meal, don't get me wrong, but the atmosphere and experience that comes along with dining out is amazing. I love eating out because I get to be on the other side of the totem pole. Normally, I am in the kitchen cooking up a storm that ends up being the consumer's food. Being on the other side and being served food is a great experience that I take home with me with each restaurant that I attend.

I do not think that the food service industry is doing the best that they have ever done in this economy but I also don't think that they are having a hard time either. People have to eat to survive. With Americans being extremely lazy, dining out is here to stay and more restaurants are thriving under the economic pressure.

Green Government

Atricle

This article is interesting as we have mostly been talking about independent restaurant owners going green. This article explains how the Federal government is trying to place a sustainable system into their dining facilities. As many people work for the government i found it hard to believe that just recently it has been brought into sight. Eliminating saturated and trans fats in all dining facilities would be a great idea, and educating their employees on fitness may result in overall healthier employees. This plan that the General Services Administration is implementing covers a lot of ground. It goes from purchasing to cooking, and then on to cleaning making all of these processes now economically friendly.

One part of the article i did not get though is the fact that they mentioned costs. I mean we are talking about our Federal and state governments, not some independent guy just barely making it by.

I feel that if our government puts this plan into effect that they would be a big leader to follow. Maybe if more people saw that even our federal government is going green that maybe more will follow in their footsteps.

D.C. Sustainable Food: Breaking Down the Dish with Blue Ridge's Barton Seaver

This article i found particularly interesting. Blue Ridge is a restaurant that resides in Virginia, right outside of D.C. The point of the idea of this restaurant is to use nothing but locally grown or caught food. The main reason for doing this is to drive greater awareness of and diversity to eating sustainably and give back to the community.

The main focus of that sourcing, as the name suggests, is the area in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding Shenandoah Valley just south of D.C. For instants, the oysters and blue fish from the Chesapeake,meats for local farms. All the meats are nourished through the Virginia Department of Agriculture's Farm to Table program.

They have a really good daily special, "steak of the day". Blue Ridge breaks down the whole cow, and they will roll through one cut and into another, it will be a rotating selection, and you'll get to try something a little different every time. The way Blue Ridge is giving back works out great, its located in a town where they all take care of each other.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2655-Denver-Sustainable-Restaurants-Examiner~y2009m6d5-DC-Sustainable-Food-Breaking-Down-the-Dish-with-Blue-Ridges-Barton-Seaver

'Fine Dining Returns to the Earth'

Read this article! =)



This is about the Four Seasons in Philadelphia realizing a few years ago that their 'recycling program' was only capturing 3-5% of their total waste. Their Director of engineering was passionate about the fact that they 'strive for perfection', and so they implemented a composting program with a local farmer. I like how they originally had a contracted trucker to drive the kitchens waste material to the farm every day and then because of fuel costs, the director himself actually drives the material himself--on biodiesel fuel made from the same kitchen!

The idea of the 'close-looped partnership' is extremely cost efficient--the Four Seasons saves almost $5,000 annually by buying its own compost back from the farm to use for its landscaping and garden since it's cheaper than landfilling. It's literally being recycled right from the kitchen, to all around the establishment and it's soil.

They even incorporate this into their regular staff training programs, teaching their employees the importance of composting and how to separate waste correctly. I think the director said it perfectly: "People have to carry the message to make sure it happens; that's the success right there."

It's too bad more restaurants and food establishments don't take the initiative this director did in starting a program that not only benefited them financially, but more importantly the environment.

What do you think?

Napa Valley Wine Train

The Napa Valley Wine Train is a train that you can board and it will take you across the wine plains in Napa Valley. This train offers all different Napa wines as well as gourmet food. The experience continues throughout the train as there are no cell phones or blackberries allowed. These items create distractions that take away from the sway of the rail car and the mysterious landscape just out the trains windows.

All wines offered on the train are local Napa Valley wines that are made throughout the valleys you pass on your journey. Dining in the car is also offered. You can pay for a wine and dinner package or just order off their a la carte menu. The train is a great getaway with a mobile encounter. This train is basically a fine dining gourmet restaurant located inside a train car.

Executive Chef Kelly MacDonald joined the wine team in 1993. He became the executive chef of this train in 2001. He uses no chemicals and uses the freshest local products around. He offers many different items that are fresh and local products. He offers a farm raised grilled salmon with saffron parmesan and a crabmeat ride quo salad that apparently is to die for.

The thought that restaurants can be mobile yet still maintain the elegance of fine dining is pretty cool if you ask me. This can open up opportunities to many different things like bars, restaurants, and maybe even nightclubs on trains. This will offer all of these already great establishments in a newer and fresh setting that may just become a top trend in our society.

http://www.examiner.com/x-30206-SF-Fine-Dining-Examiner~y2009m12d1-Nappa-Valley-Wine-Train

A few different things...



I found this video completely by mistake, but then thought that maybe it could bring up an interesting point. [Watch it before continuing on ;) ]

Obviously, focusing on the FOOD is a given but has anyone ever given thought to the actual establishment itself? Yea, this would cost a gazillion dollars to just remodel all buildings already standing to accommodate this and would be completely impractical not to mention counterproductive, but what about newer places that aren't standing yet? This could cause controversy too--I'm not saying let's bulldoze rainforests and demolish historical buildings/landmarks to make and try out these hot boxes or anything of the sort but lets face it, its not as if there isn't going to be more construction eventually or ever again. So why not keep this in mind? It makes a lot of sense. It saves energy for our planet with finite resources [long-term] and saves money on utility bills for occupants of the space [short-term] and why not? It would save on installation of a heating system in the first place, is one less headache to worry about having (especially when an issue arises where something needs to be repaired...) and may even pose for more actual space for..I don't know more tables? No having to worry about someone sitting on top of the fireplace or too close to a radiator where if they get hurt, is another liability of the owner's.

I think i jumped the gun without explaining a little--even though this is something being done for homes and in a different country, this could easily be transformed into and for whole buildings. New restaurants, anything. Better insulation! What a concept! I mean if it actually works, why not? Windows that do what they are meant to do, but better and more efficiently. Doesn't that just seem logical? Unless there is some architectural issue that I would have no idea about [the weight of all the roof insulation potentially caving in...?] then I don't see why this would be a bad idea for any type of establishment.

~~~~~And have you ever heard The Story of STUFF? It is a little bit of a lengthy video, but the information behind it is so interesting it makes it go pretty quick. This really says a lot on a critical issue that we are living amongst everyday, that leads into every business--even the food industry!

It all comes down to the amount of wasting us humans do. If we learned to do less of it, and think logically and for the greater good, we'd probably be a lot happier as a whole. I'm not saying there is one solution to world peace or to end world hunger or all of the worlds problems, but I feel like if everyone chipped in a little bit in their own areas [locally!! theres that again], these issues wouldn't [or wouldn't have] escalate[d].

And chipping in nowadays seems to be the idea of going green, which seems to be working. It seems to be working in the industry we chose to get ourselves involved with, fine dining or otherwise. Awareness of these issues is the aspect that's lacking, and the people to care about it.

The End.

Dining: New Greenbelt bistro focuses on sustainability

This article was really interesting, on the fact that organic food is not cheap. Everything on the menu is produce locally and the cost is a lot cheaper. On a range from seafood to grown vegetables. Entrees include seafood, pasta, steak and other meat options, even the wine is grown domestic, independent, family-owned, grower-producer. I feel that its a great idea for what Williams American Bistro, using products from local venues and keeping local places in business.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/08272009/enteres140601_32524.shtml

Fine Dining Chef Cooks at Fenway Park

Sustainability is a key part in our society right now as local foods are used more and more each year. Fine dining is using locally grown produce and being eco-friendly. This article speaks about a fine dining chef bringing gourmet and local foods to Fenway Park.

After reading this article, I immediately am stunned on how well he is doing at a baseball stadium. Not only does Chef Ron Abell bring local foods into the menu, he makes them "gourmet" even at the lowest scale, the concessions. Chef Ron Abell has created menus for Fenway Park's concession stands, restaurants, and luxury suites.

At the concessions, Chef Abell offers the usual hot dogs, burgers and hot dogs. In addition to these choices, he offers a "gourmet" lobster roll and fresh, local produce. The lobster roll is built inside an 8-inch hot dog bun and had lemon, mayonnaise, mustard, chives, and scallions on top. These rolls were sold from $17-23, depending on the area of the ballpark.

I thought that the flattened chicken breast was an idea that just does not sound appetizing. I guess the fans at Fenway think it is a great idea. The breast is flattened with a brick from the original 1908 Fenway Park. This does not seem HACCP to me and I feel as if it is a waste of time. To be honest, I find it pointless and dumb. The only thing that is good about this item is the organic chicken they start with.

Going from working at a fine dining restaurant for many years to serving up to 36,000 people a day is a bit of a change. Actually, it is a huge change. Personally, I used to work at a place that would offer plated entrees and now I am working at a place that serves 850 people for lunch on a buffet. This gets tricky when firing items to match the rushes and cooking on a bigger scale. I can only imagine what he goes through with having to serve tens of thousands of people on a few buffet line. Doing this while still incorporating gourmet, local items and keeping sustainability high.

Chef Ron Abell claims that baseball fans have more sophisticated tastes than ever before. That is why he is succeeding bringing fine dining, local and sustainable items into Fenway Park.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_14_41/ai_n19377511/

Food Service New Years Resolution?

Top Trends of 2010

This article is especially interesting after reading the article in class about sustainability and purchasing locally. This article states that about half of the top ten expected popular trends in the food service industry for 2010 fall under the categories of sustainability or going green. The article from class stated that less than half of the chefs in the industry purchase locally or have in the past for different reasons, and this article contradicts that statement saying that more chefs will turn and start purchasing locally in the upcoming year. Many chefs claimed that they were not aware of their options to purchase locally, so hopefully chefs and farmers do their part to market and explore their options in regards to strengthening their local economy. This could have many positive affects ranging from helping local farmers to strengthening a menu. Although they are not only doing this for the freshness and quality of products, but also because it is an increasingly large consumer trend. To fit consumer needs and wants is one aspect of going green, but there is also many more beneficial attributes to it, and hopefully more chefs will alter their ways and start to think locally.