Lord I hope they don’t! Here is an interesting article about this “franken-food” from NPR…

Read The Full Article Here

Another great conference! Some of the relevant trends and emerging trends to watch that I noticed at this year show were the following:

1. Low Sodium and Salt reduction ingredients. Finally the industry is heeding the desire from the public for our food to NOT be loaded with sodium.

2. Gluten-Free products and applications

3. Clean label/simple ingredients. Imaging that, consumers want food without having to reference a molecular chemistry dictionary of ingredients.

4. Multi-Grain, Vegetable, Beneficial Fiber and other pro-biotic inclusions into foods.

5. Omega 3′s encapsulated products

There was also a strong international foods and ingredients presence at the show. With the advent and popularity of internet food sites and all of the cooking shows, more and more Americans are realizing the bounty of the worlds’ food basket.

Stay Tuned!

Mark

After seeing these salads in test for the past few months, Wendy’s will be rolling out a new entree salad line nationwide.

If you recall, Wendy’s was the first chain that brought the salad bar to the fast food arena. They also were first movers in 2002 with their  Garden Sensations line. My good friend and mentor Girard Lewis is at the helm of new product development for the company and here is the list of salads coming soon to a Wendy’s near you.

Apple Pecan Chicken, BLT Cobb, Spicy Chicken Caesar, and Baja

The four reinvented salads combine real ingredients and fresh preparation at unit level. The taste profiles and recipe builds are similar to a casual dining restaurant or cafe, but compete on price, value, and convenience of a QSR.

Ingredients not typically found at a fast food feeder include, spring mix with 9 different types of greens, real blue cheese crumbles, shaved asiago, fresh pico de gallo, roasted pecans, and two types of apples.

Thank God someone in fast food is realizing that most customers want quality, not 99 cent mystery products filled with more chemicals, processors, and fake food ingredients than anyone should ever consume.

Until Next Time,

Mark

RCKSTRCHF

Hello Everyone,

As many of my fellow chefs and colleagues know, those wonderful “live food bars” you see me eating all the time are from my favorite brand: Raw Revolution

When I shared my enthusiasm with the company about the products and how they were making a difference in my health and that of my teenage daughter, they generously agreed to sponsor my “Healthy Food Choices For Teens” workshops that I will be conducting during the month of June.

How Cool Is That!

What I love about their products is that they are organic, raw living foods. Raw organic foods to me as a professional chef are a MUCH better alternative for us than any high processed snacks that are advertised all over the media. An even better benefit is that these bars actually taste GOOD! You can visit their site at www.rawrev.com to find out more

As I have been talking to many of my Chef colleagues over the past year, informally we came up with a list of the top ingredients that we add to this comfort food staple either at home or in our restaurant kitchens.

1. Chicken – either diced, shredded, or grilled breasts, thigh, or leg meat
2. Garlic! – ’nuff said
3. Tomato –  either slices, puree, diced or roasted
4. Crunchy Topping – either cheese, bread crumbs, dried onions, or other veggies
5. Broccoli – parents, listen up…this is one way to get the kiddos to eat their veggies!
6. Onion – diced, sliced, pureed, roasted, or as a mixed crumb topping
7. Ham – Bacon, Sausage, or some other form of this comfort wonder meat
8. Cheese Topping – Parmesan, Romano, or any other cheese topping