Don’t miss the first annual StarChefs.com 2010 Chefs Week New York City. Monday, Sept 20 through Wednesday, Sept 22

It’s September: time for the StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress and the StarChefs.com New York Rising Stars Revue! But why pass up the potential to completely overrun the Big Apple with chefs in whites? There is a colossal wealth of opportunity for chefs to convene over the course of the week. Here at StarChefs.com, we feel it’s our duty to put out the APB: “Calling All Chefs and Wannabes! This Is Your Week!”

Join industry insiders and culinary icons during this week-long celebration of chefs. At StarChefs.com 2010 ChefsWeek New York City, food and beverage professionals crowd together in America’s culinary capital from across the city, the country and the globe, to chart the future of the edible landscape. This is an opportunity for forward-thinkers in food to powwow with their peers, all over this tremendous city, for one week full of non-stop events.

For the first time, 50 consumer passes available to the public!
ICC is a three-day culinary symposium where more than 70 of the world’s most influential and innovative chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, and sommeliers present the latest techniques and culinary concepts to their peers. Rub elbows with Thomas Keller (The French Laundry), Albert Adria (Inopia Classic Bar), Tom Aikens (Tom Aikens Restaurant ), Dan Barber (Blue Hill), Martin Berasategui (Martin Berasategui), Dale DeGroff (Museum of the American Cocktail), Elizabeth Falkner (Orson), Dan Hunter (Royal Mail), David Kinch (Manresa), Geoff Kruth (The Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant), Johnny Iuzzini (Jean Georges), Normand Laprise (Toqué),Richard Melman (Lettuce Entertain You), Rick Moonen (rm Seafood), Charlie Palmer (Aureole), Michael Ruhlman (Ruhlman.com), Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate), Bryan and Michael Voltaggio (VOLT & formerly of The Dining Room at the Langham) and many, many more. This year, StarChefs.com introduces the First Annual Pastry Competition and Somm Slam!

I recently read a top-line consumer report from one of the biggest consumer research think-tanks in nation that stated customers are racing to prepared food and meals from supermarket retailers…and why restaurants should be concerned.

A snap shot of the data reports that of those consumers that were interviewed, over half were more likely to eat a dinner at home, with food purchased from the grocery store. The data also indicates that 64% reported buying ready-to-heat, ready-to-eat, or ready-to-prepare meals within the last 30 days. Most of the comments and reasons for the purchase intent were value and one-stop shopping convenience.

The retail food industry seems on track for a 7% top line sales growth increase in the next year which is almost unheard of in the industry.  Much of the growth is coming from customers who seek a low cost alternative to restaurant meals or those who see the time value in buying prepared foods at the store instead of dealing with the dining hassle of a restaurant. Price, Time, and value all seem to be the drivers of this trend.

A recent article in Nation’s Restaurants News highlights that although our recovery is still a bit shaky, more and more guests are dining out and that bodes well for our entire industry.

Read More Here

Mark

Happy St. Patty’s Day Everyone!

One of my favorite Foodie websites, Gayot.com published a recommended list of the top pubs and bars around the country to celebrate tonight.

Authenticity is a must. Check Out The List Here:     Pub List

Cheers!

Mark

Mark

My good friend and mentor Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Per Se restaurants topped this year’s list of the “30 Most Important Restaurants in the United States,” according to online guide Opinionated About Dining.

The list is composed of restaurants that earn a rating of at least 95 points in the Opinionated About Dining guide.

The French Laundry took the top spot for the second year in a row with a perfect score of 100, while Per Se, which scored 99.73, was ranked second.

The full survey, which examines 1,000 restaurants throughout the United States, will be released March 1.

The 30 Most Important Restaurants in the United States and their ratings, according to Opinionated About Dining

• 1. The French Laundry, Yountville, Calif., 100
• 2. Per Se, New York, 99.73
• 3. Masa, New York, 99.00
• 4. Manresa, Los Gatos, Calif., 98.53
• 5. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, N.Y., 98.50
• 6. Mini-Bar, Washington, D.C., 98.48
• 7. Urasawa, Beverly Hills, Calif., 98.43
• 8. Jean Georges, New York, 98.30
• 9. Alinea, Chicago, 97.78
• 10. Corton, New York, 97.53
• 11. McCrady’s, Charleston, S.C., 97.50
• 12. Le Bernardin, New York, 97.17
• 13. Sushi Yasuda, New York, 97.08
• 14. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas, 97.00
• 15. Schwa, Chicago, 96.71
• 16. Kuruma Sushi, New York, 96.43
• 17. Eleven Madison Park, New York, 96.27
• 18. Momofuku Ko, New York, 96.26
• 19. Komi, Washington, D.C., 96.11
• 20. Cyrus, Healdsburg, Calif., 95.93
• 20. Providence, Los Angeles, 95.93
• 22. Marinus, Carmel, Calif., 95.81
• 23. Town House, Chilhowie, Va, 95.73
• 24. Coi, San Francisco, 95.72
• 25. Hugo’s, Portland, Me., 95.66
• 26. Bouley, New York, 95.45
• 27. Aubergine, Carmel-By-the-Sea, Calif., 95.39
• 28. L’ Atelier de Joel Robuchon, New York, 95.28
• 29. O Ya, Boston, 95.16
• 30. Elements, Princeton, N.J., 95.04.

Normally on this section of the website, I highlight new restaurant concepts or new restaurant openings.

However, I read a recent article by Tom Van Riper at Forbes.com that highlights an ominous wave of restaurant closures yet to come in this country.

Mainly casual dining chains will feel the impact. Their operations are expensive. Casual dining chains require more dining and kitchen space than fast-food joints, not to mention more people to cook and serve food. At the same time they lack the premium prices that upscale restaurants use to generate larger margins per table. Caught in between, the Bertucci’s and Country Kitchens of the world rely on volume–tough to draw consistently during a recession.

If there has been one phrase that has been used by almost all Fortune 500 companies over and over again throughout the executive and middle management levels… it is “We Just Have To Learn To Do More With Less”

I am here to tell you that we need to “stop the madness”

When has anyone ever truly been able to “Do More…With Less”?

My mother was the first in her family to be born here in the U.S. from France. She comes from a long line of Boulangerie and Patisserie professionals (Bakers and Pastry Chef to my non-culinary readers)

Many of my earliest childhood memories are from all of the wonderful breads and pastries she made for family and friends all throughout the year. Especially during the Holidays!!

She rarely used recipes. When I often asked why, she always said the same thing…”I don’t need to..it’s basically science and chemistry what has to go in and in what proportions.

I thought about her baking recently as I heard more predictions of businesses needing to do “more with less” in 2010.  In fact a Google search resulted in over six million results. More with less.

If you add more flour to bread dough, it won’t rise. Why? Because the yeast can’t lift the added weight.  If you cut the yeast in half and use the same amount of flour, the dough won’t work either. In either case, less is still less – something suffers. Basic reality that’s proven by science.
So how can you get more with less?  Entrepreneurs are still wearing too many hats; are they supposed to put on another one?  Instead of adding staff, are retailers supposed to give existing staff even more responsibilities?  Is a store department manager supposed to manage an additional department’s employees? This applies to my hospitality and restaurant friends as well.

In all of these cases, something has to give because the reality is, less is still less.

This reminds me of another old saying I heard a lot at a mastermind meeting recently, “perception is reality.” No, only reality is reality. If I perceive I’m Tom Cruise – sorry – it doesn’t make me Tom Cruise. I think that makes me delusional.  Only reality is reality.

Doing less with more, cutting past the fluff and the fat into the marrow, has led to:

• Deterioration of basic merchandising and display techniques
• Deterioration of hiring standards
• Less people on the sales floor
• Less training by the few who run the sales floor
• An emphasis on looking backwards at data rather than selling in the moment

So what should you do? Make a list every morning of what you want to accomplish.  Next prioritize it.  Work through your list.  What is left each day may be insignificant or major.  After awhile, you’ll probably see that many major things were left undone.

I think we’ve seen plenty of “profitable” companies crowing how they are doing more with less.  Really or are they just doing less?

For many businesses, the bread’s in the pan – waiting to rise to the occasion or sit. What’s your choice going to be?