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--Bryan Dame, executive chef, Inn at Ocean’s Edge
and The Edge restaurant, Lincolnville, Maine,
"Industry Voices" column, July 2009, Chef Magazine
and The Edge restaurant, Lincolnville, Maine,
"Industry Voices" column, July 2009, Chef Magazine
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Share your thoughts in the comments section.
--Irena Chalmers, "Foundations of food artistry,"
"The Last Word," July 2009, Chef Magazine
"The Last Word," July 2009, Chef Magazine
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Share your thoughts in the comments section.
For more information and to listen live to Chef Brian Whitcomb, visit www.garage71.com and www.roadkillsideshow.com.
Chef Brian Whitcomb
In a first-ever promotion of its kind, ConAgra Foods' Lamb Weston and participating restaurants in the Tri-Cities, Wash., area gave away more than 25,000 servings of french fries to local residents on July 24 during Free Fries Fryday. The promotion kicked off the community's annual Tri-City Water Follies and Lamb Weston Columbia Cup Hydroplane Race weekend.
Working with 35 local independent and chain restaurant locations, the company provided its quality french fry products to the eateries to serve for free throughout the day. From local hamburger favorites to national chain fast-food restaurants to sports bars and hotel restaurants, thousands of residents walked in or drove through and enjoyed a total of 25,200 free servings of fries.In addition to satisfying thousands of Tri-Cities residents with terrific french fries, Free Fries Fryday boosted local restaurant business and helped to tie the local restaurant community to the Water Follies event.
"Lamb Weston has been an official sponsor of the Water Follies Columbia Cup for three years now, and this year we really wanted to reach out to the community in a new and bigger way," Jeff DeLapp, president of Lamb Weston, said in a press release. "We have more than 4,000 employees who live and work here in the Columbia Basin and many of the products we make in our facilities here are enjoyed by restaurant patrons throughout the Tri-Cities area, as well as restaurants and foodservice operations around the world. We know that people love fries, but we really didn’t know what to expect, so we're very pleased this was such a big success for our customers and our community," he added.
"No question about it, we did see an increase in traffic in all three of our stores. We sold more of everything…we saw a 20 percent bump in business, particularly at the lunch hour," Mike Scott, owner of Bruchi's Cheesesteaks and Subs, said in a press release.
For a complete list of participating restaurants and more information on Free Fries Fryday, visit www.freefriesfryday.com.
"Alice is an accomplished leader who has been involved in national organizations and will bring a fresh perspective to the Women's Foodservice Forum," said Mary O'Broin, chair of WFF, in a statement. "Her long-term interest in combining leadership and career opportunities for women and her unique ability to think strategically but act as a builder is just what the WFF needs."
For more information, visit www.womensfoodserviceforum.com.
According to the National Fisheries Institute's Top Ten list, Americans continue to include shrimp and canned tuna in their diet more than any other seafood, though overall seafood consumption dipped for the third year in a row in 2008.The amount of shrimp eaten in the United States remained steady last year, while canned tuna consumption increased slightly. Consumption of salmon, which held the third place spot, and Alaskan pollock, which was fourth, both dropped slightly. In the fifth spot, tilapia consumption rose slightly, as it has since it first appeared on the list in 2002. The remaining seafood on the list were: catfish (6), crab (7), cod (8), flatfish (9) and clams (10).
The Top Ten List is compiled for the National Fisheries Institute by H.M. Johnson & Associates, publishers of an annual report on the U.S. seafood industry. Data for this list came from the National Marine Fisheries Service. For more information, visit www.aboutseafood.com.
For today's increasingly informed coffee-guzzling consumer, a watered-down cup of instant coffee just won't do. Whether stopping in at a café, having quick-casual breakfast or ordering a hot after-dinner beverage at a fine-dining restaurant, customers want their coffee freshly brewed--and it wouldn't hurt if it was fair trade and organic, as well.
To keep foodservice operators and aspiring baristas abreast of all things coffee, the Culinary Institute of America now offers a free online learning module at www.ciaprochef.com that tracks coffee from bean to mug. The e-learning module explores how coffee beans are produced, guidelines on being a barista, responsible coffee-growing practices, how to brew coffee beans properly and how to evaluate a cup of coffee. The program also examines coffee's compatibility with a range of cuisines and includes recipes and videos created by CIA chefs to provide techniques for cooking with coffee.
And for those looking to brew up new coffee offerings in their establishment, Chef Magazine has compiled a list of some of the latest coffee products, from fair trade and customizable to shelf-stable.
As the demand grows for socially and environmentally responsible coffees, Seattle's Best Coffee has responded by creating an entire line of Fair Trade-certified and certified-organic premium smooth-roasted coffees. The offerings include Fair Trade Certified Vanilla Bean, Fair Trade Certified Organic House Blend, Fair Trade Certified Organic Decaf Twilight and Organic Sumatra. For more information, visit www.seattlesbest.com/services/foodservice.
Specialty coffee roaster The Roasterie Inc. recently launched MyBlendCoffee.com, a Web site that allows users to create their own blend of coffee from their computer. After users answer a series of taste preference questions, MyBlend matches their preferences against thousands of coffee and roast combinations to identify the right blend. The site also lets users customize a a label with their own words and photos. For more information, visit www.theroasterie.com.
From Kraft Foodservice, The Maxwell House Coffee Co. has launched Classic Select Roast, a shelf-stable liquid coffee concentrate for operators with freezer and refrigeration constraints. The aseptic bag-in-box product, a blend of 100 percent coffee beans, has a 12-month unrefrigerated shelf life. It is available in both caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties. For more information, visit www.kraftfoodservice.com.Few foods go better with freshly brewed coffee than a crisp biscotti. Tempt coffee drinkers with this recipe for chocolate biscotti drizzled with a sweet orange glaze.
Yield: 24 servings
Pam Original No-Stick Cooking Spray, as needed
2 3/4 c. Healthy Choice All-Purpose Flour with Ultragrain T-1
1 T. baking powder
3/4 c. Egg Beaters Original
1 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. Parkay Original stick, softened
1 1/2 t. almond extract
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. sliced almonds
1 c. confectioners' sugar
2 T. orange juice
1 t. grated orange peel
Method (1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray. Mix flour and baking powder; set aside. (2) Beat Egg Beaters, sugar, Parkay and almond extract with electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Blend in flour mixture (batter will be stiff). Set aside 1 1/3 cups batter. Stir cocoa into remaining batter. Using wooden spoon, work almonds into chocolate dough. (3) Roll chocolate batter into 2 12-inch by 1-inch logs on baking sheets. Carefully spread reserved white batter evenly over top and sides of each chocolate log, forming two 13" by 2" logs. (4) Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown and almost firm to the touch. Remove from oven, place baking sheet on cooling rack, and let cool about 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 300°F. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf into 12 biscotti. Place biscotti cut-side down on same baking sheet; bake 10 minutes. Turn biscotti over once; continue baking additional 10 minutes, or until slices are crisp and dry. Remove from oven; let cool completely on wire rack. (5) Stir together confectioners' sugar, orange juice and orange peel. Drizzle over each biscotti.
Pam Original No-Stick Cooking Spray, as needed
2 3/4 c. Healthy Choice All-Purpose Flour with Ultragrain T-1
1 T. baking powder
3/4 c. Egg Beaters Original
1 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. Parkay Original stick, softened
1 1/2 t. almond extract
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 c. sliced almonds
1 c. confectioners' sugar
2 T. orange juice
1 t. grated orange peel
Method (1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray baking sheets with cooking spray. Mix flour and baking powder; set aside. (2) Beat Egg Beaters, sugar, Parkay and almond extract with electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Blend in flour mixture (batter will be stiff). Set aside 1 1/3 cups batter. Stir cocoa into remaining batter. Using wooden spoon, work almonds into chocolate dough. (3) Roll chocolate batter into 2 12-inch by 1-inch logs on baking sheets. Carefully spread reserved white batter evenly over top and sides of each chocolate log, forming two 13" by 2" logs. (4) Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown and almost firm to the touch. Remove from oven, place baking sheet on cooling rack, and let cool about 5 minutes. Reduce oven to 300°F. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf into 12 biscotti. Place biscotti cut-side down on same baking sheet; bake 10 minutes. Turn biscotti over once; continue baking additional 10 minutes, or until slices are crisp and dry. Remove from oven; let cool completely on wire rack. (5) Stir together confectioners' sugar, orange juice and orange peel. Drizzle over each biscotti.