Archive for September, 2006

New York to ban trans-fat use

Guardian Unlimited: New York is set to become the first city in the United States to ban all but tiny quantities of trans-fats from being used in its 24,000 restaurants. According to plans agreed this week by the board of health, under the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, all the city’s restaurants, cafes and street stalls will be forced to keep to a limit of half a gram of trans-fats in any item served from their menus.Read more

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Credit unions to the rescue

They’re churning out more and more small-business loans—and becoming financial saviors

Joe Bennett was finally ready to buy his own restaurant, an established 100-seat eatery in St. Paul, Minnesota, and he needed a loan. He’d been in the business for 25 years—including stints as VP of operations for Grandma’s Restaurant Co. in Duluth, and director of restaurants for Morrissey Hospitality Co., also in St. Paul—and figured his experience and track record would win him the financing he needed.

But Bennett’s bank passed on a business loan, instead recommending he take out a home equity loan. “That wasn’t going to help me with my credit rating at my new place,” Bennett recalls. “I needed the loan to come through my business.”

At the urging of friends, he contacted a local branch of the Twin City Co-ops Federal Credit Union.

“Right away they got me in touch with the head of business development, and he was very receptive to what I wanted to do,” says Bennett. In early July, he completed his application for a $50,000 down payment, plus another $50,000 for improvements that included painting, new interior artwork, a new sign and awnings.

Three weeks later the money was approved.

Across the country, credit unions are expanding their loan programs as small- to medium-sized businesses seek alternatives to traditional funding sources like larger banks. Last year Minnesota had the highest year-to-year increase in the percentage of credit unions offering business loans—9.1 percent over 2004. That boosted the percentage of credit unions doing business loans in the state to 37.3, according to the Credit Union National Association—but it’s hardly alone. Maine, New Hampshire, Florida, Oklahoma, Kansas and Montana also saw year-to-year increases of up to 8 percent. In Maine, that translated to 43.2 percent of the state’s credit unions engaged in some form of business lending. Nationally, 21.1 percent of credit unions engaged in non-agricultural business lending last year, up from 18.4 percent in 2004.

Experts point to a changing banking landscape as the key reason why more small businesses are looking to credit unions for business loans and working capital. The banking industry has undergone enormous consolidation in recent years as big banks have been acquired by bigger banks, and with that has come the perception—and sometimes the reality—that banks aren’t as responsive to local needs as they once were.

Credit unions, by contrast, are member-owned non-profit organizations—membership can be organized around where you live, where you work, where you go to church and so on—that focus on service rather than profitability. Their non-profit status means they don’t pay federal taxes, which helps them undercut the interest rates offered by banks, and their community orientation helps them remain responsive to the needs of smaller operators. In addition, more credit unions nationally are participating in the Small Business Administration’s loan guarantee programs, further raising credit unions’ profile as a source of small-business capital and expertise.

“We’ll actually go out and visit small business owners, help them structure loans, and help them build their business plans—no large bank is going to take the time to do that,” says Jill Casselman, chief executive of the Business Loan Link, a cooperative of 10 credit unions in Southern California that pool their resources for a wide array of business lending, including restaurants. About two-thirds of the loans made by the Business Loan Link since it launched in October 2005 have been less than $150,000.

While Casselman can’t say how much an operator might save borrowing money from a credit union as opposed to a bank, she points to a credit union’s core mission—returning profit to the community in the form of lower interest rates and fees, as well as an emphasis on member services—as a good place to start. “We also have more freedom to structure deals than banks do,” she says. “We can find strengths in the deal that banks may not be willing to look at.”

Casselman’s Business Loan Link is part of a trend among credit unions to band together to form what’s called credit union service organizations, or CUSOs. About 50 credit union cooperatives exist nationally, she says, and the number is growing rapidly. “CUSOs offer us an opportunity to share the expense of expanding the number of products we offer, and they offer a huge advantage to small business owners in terms of cost and service.”

Bennett is just happy that he had an alternative to the bank he’d done business with for years; he was reluctant to leave, he says, but ultimately the credit union offered him exactly what he needed.

“They were willing to believe in me and my experience and my business plan,” he says. “Now I tell everybody I’m living the American dream by owning my own small business.” —Scott Sutherland

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An International Affair!

We have now added coaching clients to the following countries, bringing our total international client list to 37 countries!

Australia, Japan , Canada, Mexico, India, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Algeria, Singapore, New Guinea, Norway, Swededn, Finland and Russia!

Sign up here to start building a better restaurant!

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More Bar Promotions!

Gratifying Gossip
Fake tabloids and sensational service have made Tuesday nights the night to gossip and gather at the Ghostbar in Las Vegas.

Gossip Tuesdays take the concept of a tabloid and turn it into a party. Every Tuesday night, the people of the local nightlife industry are the treated like stars, literally. One lucky person who is affiliated with the club is featured on the cover of the Ghostbar’s fake tabloid. And just like a real tabloid, that person is usually the victim of misleading photos and false headlines.

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Monkey Business

Several scientists were studying a group of monkeys. Its always the monkeys who get the attention.

In a large room the scientists had hung a climbing rope with a bunch of bananas at the top. When the monkeys were brought in, it was only a short time before one of them figured out that a short climb up the rope produced a great reward: a banana. However, when any of the other monkeys tried to follow his lead, they were sprayed with water. The first monkey up the rope was always allowed to climb to the reward, but others were always hosed down each time they tried to do the same.

Eventually, when the rope-climbing monkey would make a move to go for another banana, the others in the group would physically prevent him from climbing. Eventually he learned not to climb the rope.

The scientists then removed that special monkey and put a new one in the room. The moment the new recruit made a move for the rope, the other monkeys would beat him up. After several attempts, and several beatings, he too learned not to climb the rope.

New monkeys were periodically introduced into the group and each time the other monkeys made certain no one climbed the rope and got a banana.

Recently a friend told me he had left what appeared to be a super job with lots of potential, to be a night manager for Wal*Mart. He agreed the money and hours were better working for a giant in the financial service industry, but he was tired of getting beat up by his fellow employees every time he tried to get things done.

Say what you want about Wal*Mart, he affirmed, but they expect you to perform and don’t stand in your way. I couldn’t handle the stress of being told to produce and being beaten up every time I tried.

That’s what you get in some organizations when you reach for the banana beaten up by the other monkeys!

I see businesses pursuing re-imagined brands and hitting their head on this reality all the time. New brand-critical standards arise as they discover and attempt to deliver on their brand difference. Frequently its been a long time since their team has had to welcome new definitions of success and new performers into their midst. It can get ugly at times; with those who want to live the new brand getting chased away.

Don’t let it happen!

The first requirement for creating a healthy re-imagined brand is a high demand on performance within the organization regardless of what the other monkeys think. This is why brand ownership initiatives call for higher levels of leadership, if they are to succeed. We find commitment to growing a strong brand uncovers under-performing cultures that need to have their cage rattled. Otherwise you chase off the very people you need.

Source: http://www.ownyourbrand.com/2006/09/25/monkey-business/

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Contaminated Spinach Continues to Impact Quick-Service

The current outbreak is raising concerns among industry observers who believe current E.coli fears will scare customers away from eating prewashed, bagged greens. Currently, the $286 million dollar bagged spinach category is almost completely shut down.
Read full story >

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Whitepaper summarizes survey findings that show high employee turnover stems from short-sighted hiring practices.

Pleasant Prairie, WI (PRWEB) September 27, 2006 — Meeting an employee’s personal needs is more critical to job satisfaction than ever, according to a nationwide survey of recruiting professionals conducted by eBullpen, creators of the TalentPen candidate collection and matching system. The survey, released today, shows that worker loyalty is more precarious than ever — 46 percent of new hires leave their jobs within the first year, and only 49 percent remain after two years. A whitepaper summarizing the survey findings is available for download at http://www.talentpen.com/read_the_whitepapers.html.

“It’s never seemed more daunting to recruit and maintain a committed, content workforce,” the paper says. “Baby Boomers are now facing tiered-retirement schemes, as employers face a dearth of skilled workers. In this ‘buyer’s market,’ younger skilled workers can pick and choose their job options and loyalty isn’t high.”

While 75 percent of respondents named quality of hire and retention as the two most important HR metrics, 59 percent of those surveyed believe that less than half of all candidates interviewed are qualified. Additionally, more than half of the respondents marked personality as critical for a good hire. Yet more than 80 percent are spending their money on standard criminal and/or reference background checks, while significantly less measure personality fit.

“It’s no longer enough to find a candidate who is qualified for a position,” explains Michael Sproul, president of TalentPen. “Many other factors play into the overall success of a hire; companies need to connect with a candidate as an individual before expecting them to give back. In a sense, retention begins before the hire.”

The whitepaper offers suggestions to employers, including the development of “talent pools” and active communication with prospects. Personality assessments are also cited as key measurements for how an employee fits a company’s culture, which directly impacts their loyalty. Employers who don’t follow this advice will pay a high price, reports the paper. Conservative industry estimates put the cost of turnover at 1.5 times that of salary, with some companies reporting a six-fold expenditure above salary when hidden costs such as “chain reaction” turnover and lost productivity are factored in.

Most recruiting professionals who responded to the survey were from companies with between 100-1,000 employees. More than a quarter of these respondents were from service companies; other industries represented include healthcare, manufacturing, education, and financial services.

TalentPen, a web-based candidate collection and matching system, measures candidates’ personalities, job preferences and qualifications, then collects them into private talent pools and matches them to employers with appropriate cultures. Candidates don’t apply for a specific job, but instead complete personality profiles and are placed into expandable talent networks.

The same personality methods used by TalentPen were recently featured in Inc. magazine’s August issue. “The New Science of Hiring,” a cover article, compared modern scientific hiring options to older hit-and-miss tactics. Writer Stephanie Clifford wrote that personality fit cannot be determined by traditional job interviews.

 

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Domino’s Delivers Hot New Dessert

by Lisa Bertagnoli

Pizzamakers aren’t known for their desserts, but Domino’s is trying to change that. In addition to hot pizzas, the delivery chain is offering free hot brownies with fudge dipping sauce. 

Read the whole story…

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Other Flavor Considerations

You have to look beyond ingredients to really understand flavor

Although ingredients are the foundation, the cooking techniques that are employed also help form the flavors that we experience. For example, the Chinese technique of stir-frying involves using a high heat source to achieve the Wok Hay flavor, an illusive smoky flavor that translates into English as “Breath of the Wok.”

It is not always heat application that provides another layer of flavor; preparation techniques like the Chinese technique of velveting creates a tender moist texture to meats and seafood. The meat is placed in a marinade of egg white, cornstarch and rice wine. Just before cooking, the meat is “velveted” in either barely simmering water or in hot oil whereby the meat is partially cooked and added to the stir-fry at the end of the cooking process. This velveting process also protects the meat from the intense heat of the wok yielding meat that is tender and juicy. Another cooking technique that can help you understand a cuisine: frying spices in coconut oil before making a Thai curry illicit unique flavors that would not be achieved if the paste was simply boiled with the same ingredients.

Another aspect to take into account when discussing flavor principles is the culture itself. Consider the comparison of salsa verde made in Mexico versus one made in Italy. Or the aromatic “spiciness” of a Moroccan tagine versus the intense hot “spiciness” of a Thai dish. The levels of intensity when it comes to flavors will also vary with each culture. In Asia, the bitter taste scores very high on the flavor scale, whereas it scores very low on the Western palate. However, this is changing, and it may be due to the introduction of some vegetables once employed exclusively by the Italian culture. Radicchio and arugula used to be relegated to fine dining restaurants yet now can be found in chain restaurants across the country.

In a 2000 interview Chef Mark Miller—who with a background in anthropology and cultural studies lectures on the topic of flavor around the world—states that “when people say a food has no flavor; this means they have no cultural background with which to organize what’s being received.” Thus familiarity leads to acceptance.

The flavor world we live in is in constant flux. Foods evolve, consumers learn and chefs expand their culinary repertoire. The leaders in the restaurant business will strive to learn more about the different flavor principles that each country or region has. Take the time to travel, taste, cook and refine the dishes that you offer to your guests. Get an understanding, then create items that fit your menu and pay respect to the original versions from their places of origin.

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Understanding Flavor Principles

The food revolution in the United States has helped breed a more sophisticated consumer and added pressure on restaurateurs to deliver more authentic foods. But before you add new globally influenced items to your menu, getting to understand the flavor principles of a cuisine or region is important.

In the early 1970s Elisabeth Rozin published “The Flavor-Principle Cookbook” where she identified the defining ingredients within a cuisine as a way of better understanding the foundations and constructions of various dishes. When those defining ingredients are combined, she showed, a familiar flavor is achieved that is recognizable as that particular cuisine.

Fundamentally, as Rozin illustrated, most cuisines have three common ingredients that take lead roles in their cooking. In Chinese cuisine, for instance, a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine and ginger would have a “Chinese taste.” The big three in Mediterranean cuisines are wheat, olives and grapes, and in Thai cuisine they are fish sauce, lime and chilies. These are not to be found in a master flavor principle textbook yet each educated chef subjectively determines what these are. Much the same way a musician must understand how combining certain notes can make a “blues” sound or a “jazz” sound, chefs must know how to combine certain ingredients to make a Chinese or a French dish before they can improvise authentic versions on their own.

To begin identifying a cuisine’s defining ingredients, you should think in terms of ingredient categories: aromatics, fats, liquids, pastes, herbs & spices, acids, sweeteners or compound seasonings such as ketchup, Worcestershire or hoisin sauce. One should also look to the variety of cooking techniques employed by a particular culture to help in identifying a cuisine’s flavor principles. Once the menu developer can get a grasp of the common flavors they can begin to introduce authentic flavors onto their menu and meet what the savvy diner is craving.

The categories

Aromatics lay the foundation of flavor as they are often used as a start for most dishes. In China, the aromatic base is ginger, garlic and scallions. This aromatic combination is usually the base for the wide variety of stir-fry dishes we see in that country’s cuisine. In the West, the combination of onions, carrots and celery, otherwise known as “mirepoix,” is often the base for stews, braises, soups and in the flavor development of our classical French sauces. Sometimes they are added at the end of the cooking process to preserve the vivid aroma, such as when Thai chefs add crushed lemon grass stalks or kaffir lime leaves at the end of cooking a curry. This is also similar to how fresh basil is added right before the pasta is tossed in a fresh Italian tomato sauce.

Next, you may take a look at the fats that are used in the cuisine’s cooking. It could be animal fats such as the rendered fat of pigs or lard used in Mexican cuisines, or it could be plant-based oils such as olive oil used in Italy and Greece, mustard oil used in North Indian cuisines or ghee (clarified butter) which is used throughout the whole of India (and even burned during wedding ceremonies).

Liquids can be used as a cooking medium or as a seasoning. Stocks and broths based on seafood, poultry and meat have long been a trademark of any great French chef. In Asia they often rely more on concentrated forms of protein-based liquids such as fish sauce and soy sauce. A dish’s flavor can be impacted by other liquids, such as alcohol-laced flavoring like wine, vodka or beer. Sometimes they are the essential ingredient that is a trademark of that dish—what would the French Coq au Vin be without copious amounts of red wine? In China they would opt for Shao Xing, a rice wine that is use for dumpling fillings and meat simmering liquids. Dairy items like cream not only add flavor but can be used as a thickener.

Acidic flavor attributes are added by vinegars, citrus or even fruit such as tamarind. In China, rice vinegar is most common while the French rely on grape-wine-based vinegars—each lends colors, flavors and different levels of acidity to the dish.

Balanced dishes have the acidic taste balanced by some type of sweetener. The source for sweetness comes from a variety of different ingredients and choosing a particular ingredient to sweeten a dish will change the character of the dish. For example, you can choose tamarind if you wanted to have a sweet/sour note or you could use palm sugar, which would give the dish a more muted sweetness.

Spices, which can be made from bark, seeds, buds, fruit, stems or roots, add definite flavor, aroma and color to a dish (e.g., saffron, turmeric, pepper). Herbs are sometimes used as a garnish or flavoring or, as in pesto, used as the primary thickener. In fact, as one moves closer to the equator you see an increased use of herbs and spices. It is theorized that this increased use of spices and herbs may be due to the short-term preservative effects of spices and herbs used in combination as well as their antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.

Although not a new concept, we as modern culinarians now have a myriad of compound seasonings to shorten the preparation process where some of the aforementioned ingredients are combined to create flavorful mixtures. Especially in Asian cooking, these prepared condiments, like Chinese hoisin sauce, Thai curry pastes and chili pastes across Asia, enable a chef to create authentic flavors with minimal time and expertise. North Africa touts Harissa—a caraway-spiked chile paste, the Mexicans may use a molé paste, and here in the United States ketchup reigns supreme.

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