Foodservice Trends in 2015

     What's the newest Trends in Foodservice?  Number One is Ethnic Cuisine, Foodies are craving foreign flavors and spices and will pay top dollar too!  Try an appetizer of something Exotic or perhaps highlight something on your Specials and see how it goes before adding it as a permanent dish. 

     Ever hear of an "Ugly" fruit or vegetable?  Ugly fruit and vegetables were all the rage in France last summer? Well, they’re here in America. They’ve actually been here this whole time — just not on most people’s plates, nor in supermarket aisles. A new Oakland-based startup called Imperfect is out to change that. Its founders, three veteran food-waste entrepreneurs, are on a mission to bring ugly produce (they prefer the term “cosmetically challenged”) to, quite literally, your doorstep.  “Our bold vision is for consumers across America to have the option of having a box of Imperfect produce delivered to them weekly, for 30 to 50 percent cheaper than what they’ll find in grocery stores,” said Ben Simon, Imperfect’s cofounder. 

     Seasonal Sour items such as the Lemon and Key Lime are making a Summer splash and not just in Desserts.  Try making a Chicken or Fish dish with Lime instead of Lemon with some fresh herbs!

     Local Sourcing is still a big Trend in 2015.  Chef's are sourcing ingredients from local farms and highlighting on their Menus.  Consumers are enjoying knowing where their food comes from and selecting Menu items that state local sourcing.  China and Flatware are also reflecting a new Rustic feel and image.

     Allergens and Cross-contamination are still a big concern for Foodservice.  Gluten-free, Peanut and Fish allergies are on the radar for Food Prep and Service. 

 

Cheese, Now the Main Course

     Adventurous Restaurant Customers aren’t settling for plain grilled cheese or the same old Swiss on a sandwich, Chefs say. Foodies and their ever-more sophisticated palates are in search of new flavors, and eateries are answering the call with innovative dishes that meld flavors from around the world.

     Rob and Karen Lawlor left Restaurant careers when they bought Denver-based The Truffle Cheese Shop eight years ago and, in addition to selling retail and teaching cheesemaking classes, the shop sells its cheese to a long and growing list of local eateries. In recent years, Denver’s restaurants have gotten more innovative with their menus to feed the increasingly sophisticated palates of their guests, Karen Lawlor said.

     “The restaurants in Denver are more sophisticated than they were even five years ago, and they’re looking for European products as well as local,” she said, “Right now it’s a lot of fresh cheeses, mozzarella, ricotta, fresca. Those are seasonal for us, the fresh milk cheese because animals eat grass and when the grass is in season and fresh, that’s when they are most likely to have fresh milk.”

     Cheesemonger Michel Lemmerling, from the Brick Farm Market in Hopewell, NJ has earned the honor of Chevalier du Taste Fromage, routinely scours the neighborhood and US for the best-quality cheese.  Michel can also help you arrange for a beautiful cheese plate to match any entertaining occasion or is happy to use your own serving ware so that you may simply take it from their market to your table!  The Brick Farm Market also has monthly Cheese Classes.

     Andrea Frizzi, chef and owner of Il Posto in Denver is a Truffle Cheese Shop customer. Frizzi grew up in Milan, the son of a sommelier who learned the culinary trade, first in school and then in a series of restaurant gigs that brought him to Washington, D.C. and eventually Denver. He worked as a consultant on the openings of scores of eateries before opening Il Posto in 2007.

     He’s all for local sourcing when it makes sense, but the Italian menu at his upscale restaurant requires imported Italian cheeses. “I’ve got to use Parmigiano Reggiano, I can’t use a cheese from Wisconsin or California.”

     The menu at Il Posto reflects the more sophisticated tastes, with dishes including Bufala mozzarella Affumicata made with imported burrata, and ricotta gnocchi with imported Grana Padano. “In Italy, there are a lot of small producers doing a lot of stuff that’s really cool. My job is to take whatever we have and be an ambassador for these beautiful cheeses,” he said.  Frizzi says he loves dairy cheese too much to ever give it up. Increasingly, though, guests who eschew dairy cheeses for health or ethical reasons have increasingly tasty plant-based options.

     The menu at Veganized Foods in New Brunswick, N.J., includes 14 items that have some type of house-made, cashew-based vegan cheese, said General Manager El Rachmani.

     The menu at Veganized includes a raw beet ravioli with herbed nut cheese and saffron cream, a tempeh reuben with cashew cheese and a vanilla cheesecake, all made with different versions of the cultured cashew cheese he said.

     “We’ve pretty much been using the same recipe since day one,” he said. “My brother, the chef, has been making this kind of food for a very long time. We started in Brooklyn, were the more advanced vegan chefs have been doing it all over the city.”

     So we better keep up with our knowledge of Cheese!

 

Fire Prevention is Key to your Restaurant

     With more than 8,000 fires strike restaurants each year, operators can help prevent a disaster by installing fire suppression systems, maintaining equipment and training employees.

     Restaurateurs spend a lot of time, money, and effort ensuring their businesses never have to deal with the devastation that a fire can cause. But with a Restaurants’ propensity for open flames, hot cooking equipment, flammable oils, and cleaning chemicals in the kitchen, it’s no surprise that data released by the National Fire Protection Association in 2012 reveals approximately 8,000 restaurants report a fire each year.

     Some things operators can do to prevent fires seem like no-brainers—storing paper products, liquids, and food away from heat and cooking sources; disposing of soiled rags and trash properly; and cleaning ovens and equipment daily. The problem, experts say, is that operators can follow all the precautions and still have a fire wreck their business.

     In 2013, Jim Joyce, owner of Rich’s Restaurant in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, watched a three-alarm fire engulf his Restaurant as a fire that began on the cooking line jumped into the exhaust hood and spread. “It was utter devastation throughout, specifically on the cooking line,” says Ryan Beeck, project manager for Paul Davis Restoration & Remodeling, who led the restoration job. “The bulk of the equipment was damaged beyond any sort of repair. We took everything out, gutted it all, and started from scratch.”

     Joyce used the opportunity to make significant improvements. The last remodel had occurred more than 10 years ago; the revamped Restaurant now has a trendier feel with new interior finishes and an updated menu. Along with changing the Restaurant name to Jim’s Grille when it re-opened in March 2014, Joyce also educated his staff about what to do in case a fire breaks out again.

     “Most times, the work we do is related to grease fires that jump up and then there’s no means to stop it,” Beeck says. “The two biggest things you can do for prevention is to have annual maintenance checks on your equipment, especially anything involving gas, and stick to the cleaning program as prescribed for your exhaust hoods.”

     Outside of arson, the most common form of kitchen fires occur due to cooking equipment, which is why installing an automatic fire-suppression system in the kitchen is crucial. These systems automatically dispense chemicals to suppress the flames and also have a manual switch to shut down the fuel or electric supply to nearby cooking equipment.

     Shane Ray, executive vice president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, says of all the efforts a restaurateur can exert, fire suppression is the only automatic life- and property-saving one.

     Previous owners of a building also affect the chance of fire. John Rossmiller, regional fire director at Cintas Corporation, which provides fire-protection services to Restaurants, gives an example of this. He says if a bar and grill moves into a space that previously served Chinese food, for instance, it might have an increased risk of fire because Chinese restaurants don’t use the same cookingequipment or oils that bar and grills do—making it crucial the new owners update their fire-suppression systems.

     A sound fire-suppression system is not the only requirement for Restaurants to guard against flames. Restaurants with up-to-date fire-suppression systems must still ensure regular cleanings of exhaust systems, Rossmiller says.

     Phil Ackland, who has worked in commercial kitchen safety education for more than 25 years, serves as a commercial kitchen fire investigator and prevention specialist. He says restaurant owners make too many decisions based on the price of a bid from exhaust cleaners, and that can lead to devastation.  “There are a number of exhaust systems that cannot be cleaned properly without additional access [such as openings in the duct work],” he explains. Restaurants should shoulder any additional expense and deal with a reputable company to ensure exhaust systems are up to par, he adds.

Everyday Checks

     Beyond regular checks on fire-suppression and exhaust systems, there are plenty of things a Restaurant can do to protect itself from a fire. Having a Class K fire extinguisher at the ready is vital in case of a kitchen fire involving grease, fats, and oils that burn at high temperatures. For other accidents, such as paper, wood, plastic, and electrical fires, portable ABC extinguishers should be in an easy-to-reach location.

     If a fire does break out during regular business hours, the most important thing for staff to do is remain calm and lead everyone out of the building. All staff should be trained in emergency preparedness and at least one worker per shift should understand how to shut off gas and electrical power.

     Mike Amidzich offers one more tip to operators and employees. The owner of the 44-year-old Pizza Man in Milwaukee suffered $3 million in damages after a 2010 fire started by an arsonist at a nearby business destroyed his own eatery. He is in the process of re-opening Pizza Man at a different location with a more extensive sprinkler system in toe.

     “One thing I would recommend is not to keep personal items in the Restaurant. Keep them off premise—the pictures, awards, and other meaningful items,” Amidzich says. “You just never know.”

 

Be Careful about Food Safety

     How many times have you said, “It must have been something I ate.”  That’s the typical statement when a person develops some relatively minor symptoms from food.  Maybe not severe enough to go to the doctor so you choose to tough it out without medical care.  Sudden onset of flu-like symptoms such as onset of stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and fever could possibly mean you are the victim of a foodborne illness.   The illness is sometimes referred to as “food poisoning”, but it’s often misdiagnosed.

 

     Who’s the Culprit? Foodborne illness has occurred when you are sick from eating food that has been contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi.  Causes of the symptoms vary greatly, but it’s help to know that misinformation exists via the customer route, the food service managers and crew, and even the medical professionals (if they haven’t had much specific training about foodborne illness).
     The Best Investigators –In the food service industry, we never want to get a call from a customer with a foodborne illness claim.  Prevention of such an incident is what food safety is all about.   If the restaurant manager does get a call, you need to take it seriously and record the facts from the customer for further investigation.  Many times the consumer does an incorrect self-diagnosis based upon the last meal that they ate at a restaurant – never from food out of their own refrigerator or from a meal eaten days before the illness symptoms show up.  Health department professionals trained in food protection are the best source of helping to correctly diagnose a foodborne illness (contacted as soon as possible), provided the consumer has also contacted their doctor if they have acute symptoms.

The Common Foodborne Illness Myths:

1. Myth: Foodborne illness is caused by the last meal or food item eaten.
FACT:  Foodborne illness can be caused by foods eaten a few hours to several days prior to your illness.   A graphic point is that when symptoms show up, for example vomiting, you would throw up the last meal you ate, even though that is not the food that made you sick.  In the case of the Hepatitis A virus, you may not have symptoms for up to 50 days.  Can you remember what you ate for every meal up to a week ago, much less 50 days?  It’s a tough task.

2. Myth:  Foodborne illness is caused by eating foods from restaurants.
FACT:  Bacteria and other pathogens (germs) can live and multiply in both the home and restaurant kitchens.  Foodborne viruses are the very tiny hitchhikers that travel via fingertips and sometimes are airborne. Foods can be contaminated on counters, sinks, cutting boards, utensils, or via hands, resulting in a cause known as “cross-contamination”.

3. Myth:  Foodborne illness is caused by food that has “gone bad”.
FACT:  This is seldom the cause of foodborne illnesses.  You CANNOT see, taste, or smell the food poisoning organisms in the food.  Foodborne illness is usually caused by food becoming contaminated from the food preparers hands not being properly washed, incorrect time and temperature control, poor food handling practices, and unsafe preparation methods.

4. Myth:  It must have been the mayonnaise that made me sick.  It was not refrigerated.
FACT:  Commercial mayonnaise and most bottled salad dressings are what we call “acidified foods”.  They are safe at room temperature even after opening, although most restaurants and the manufacturer want them refrigerated to preserve the freshest flavor.  Mayo and salad dressings have an acid level low enough that they do not support growth of microorganisms, unless they are heavily contaminated by a dirty utensil or mixed with other foods changing the acidity level of the mixture (such as in potato salad).  Mayo all by itself and unrefrigerated is perfectly safe.

5. Myth:  Foodborne illness is easily diagnosed.
FACT:  In order to make an accurate diagnosis, the ill person must give a history of the symptoms and the foods eaten within the last three days.  A stool specimen is the most telling clinical sample and should be collected from the victim for lab testing to identify the organism.  Other samples to be collected might be emesis (vomit), the suspect foods from the restaurant or home kitchen, any leftover food from the suspect meal, and sterile swabs of equipment or food workers skin or nasal passage.  These samples are now like a fingerprint and organisms can be matched to one another or to other victims in many cases.  On a more positive note for food service, they can also be used to clear a restaurant of being the cause.  Viral foodborne outbreaks, such as the #1 leading foodborne enemy, the “Norovirus”, are also tougher to diagnose than bacterial illnesses and have an incubation time of 24 to 48 hours before the victim has symptoms.  Infection rate for Norovirus is high, but is sometimes not reported so continues to spread.

6. Myth:  All foodborne illnesses are the same
FACT: Foodborne illness is caused by many different organisms. For example, “Salmonella” has approximately 2000 identified types.  The organism determines how long it takes for illness to occur, signs, symptoms and duration of the illness. The illness can vary from mild flu-like symptoms to very serious illness or even death if the victim is a high risk individual (children, elderly, pregnant women, people who are immune compromised or on certain medications).

Are You Ready for Gen Z?

     Millennials. How can we engage them, how can we influence them, how can we gain their loyalty? ,How can we evolve with them as they age? How can we meet their shifting needs? Still others are starting to ask how to reach Millennials without alienating Boomers.

     These are all great questions, and all worthy of research, but there’s a major question that’s largely gone unasked: What’s next? Or more specifically, who is next.

MEET GENERATION Z

     Gen Z, Gen Next, Gen Tech, Post-Millennials. Regardless of what you call them, and of the larger societal factors that will ultimately determine how we classify this generation, they are next. With some defining the generation as those born as early as 1995, by some accounts they are already here. They share many traits that set Millennials apart from other generations, often to an even greater degree, but there are also important differences. The first true digital generation, Gen Z has never known a world without instant access to information via the Internet and mobile technology. They are highly multicultural—according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly half (47%) of all Americans under the age of 20 are non-white. And they are grounded. Coming of age in a post-recession, post- 9-11 era has tempered the optimism seen among many Millennials.

     So why does Gen Z deserve our attention? Buying Power and Influence.  If you think Gen Z isn’t worth your time yet due to a lack of spending power, think again. Many are teens or college students, already with an estimated $250 billion in spending power and primary decision makers for both their retail and foodservice food and beverage purchases. Many college students, teens and, increasingly, even older tweens routinely visit restaurants outside of family-dining occasions.

     While the youngest in the cohort may not earn an income beyond an allowance, they have considerable pull when it comes to their parents’ purchases and dining decisions. Moms tell us that most family-dining decisions are made as a group and that children’s preferences are strongly considered. Technomic’s Teens & Tweens study found that parents also often comply with specific restaurant requests from their children. For example, 80% of parents whose child suggested a restaurant after seeing a television ad agreed to the visit Patronage and Reliance on Foodservice Gen Z uses foodservice heavily, and chances are good they will eventually be heavier users than any other generation.

     Technomic’s recent Generational Consumer Trend Report found that 68% of Gen Z consumers (defined as those aged 13-21) and 73% of older Gen Z consumers aged 18-21 already use foodservice at least

once a week. Their visitation is on par with Boomers (67%) and in the same ballpark as Millennials

(77%) and Gen X consumers (74%) — pretty remarkable for a group largely not yet earning a substantial income. Their usage will likely grow—and not just as a result of greater earning power as they age. Gen Z is poised to be especially reliant on foodservice because it’s deeply ingrained in their lifestyle. It fits their needs for a wide range occasions: a place to socialize, a place to work or study, and an easy source for the fast, convenient meals their busy schedules require. They’ve grown up using foodservice more than other generations and will likely continue the trend of increasingly opting for foodservice over cooking family meals at home.

     Expectations and Loyalty Gen Z is a highly demanding consumer group. Just as they were

raised to rely on foodservice, they have also grown up in an environment where foodservice caters to

customers’ needs and embraces technology that streamlines ordering and delivery processes, making

occasions more engaging and interactive, and putting them in greater control of their experience.

Although the general use of foodservice is already part of their lifestyle, Gen Z is still in the trial phase. Compared to other generations, their brand, food and flavor preferences are less established, meaning that their specific habits and loyalty are (largely) still up for grabs.

     WHY NOW?  Perhaps the most compelling reason to ask about Gen Z now is that few others are. The industry was late to jump on the Millennial bandwagon, responding to the shifting behavior of their changing customer base rather than preparing for it. The next big generation will both embody and create the future of foodservice. 

     Those who understand Gen Z before the industry as a whole will be best armed to anticipate and meet their needs, putting them at a significant advantage. Deciding if and when Generation Z deserves your attention is the easy part; the hard part will be figuring out how to get THEIR attention.

Source: Technomic Foodservice Monitor