FMI applauds debit card fee reform law

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In response to President Obama signing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) voiced its support of the law, which will reform debit card swipe fees set by banks and credit card companies.

"Retailers and their customers are winners today," said Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO, in the statement. "Consumers have been paying more than $50 billion a year in hidden swipe fees to credit card companies and banks every time they swipe their credit or debit card. We applaud the President for signing this law to bring fairness and transparency to these fees."

FIA is a founding member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of nearly 100 associations representing retailers, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, fuel stations, online merchants and other businesses that accept debit and credit cards. For more information about FMI, visit www.fmi.org.
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WACS to assume administration of WCC certification

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The World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) will assume administration and implementation of the WACS Certified Chef (WCC) certification program, currently managed by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), starting Sept 1.

The WCC certification, administered by ACF since its institution in September 2006, is based on international standards of education and training, with qualifications determined by individual member countries. As the current administration agreement with ACF ends, WACS has sufficient resources to preside over the certification program from now on. John Clancy, WACS certification chair, will assume responsibility for administration.

For more information, visit www.worldchefs.org.
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Law firm creates guide for businesses affected by
BP oil spill

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For business owners adversely affected by the Gulf oil spill, Dallas-based law firm Baron & Budd P.C., a specialist in environmental and water contamination cases, has posted a "Gulf Oil Spill Business Resource Guide" on its website.

The guide is designed to support restaurant, hotel, casino and tourist attraction owners as well as shrimpers and fishermen in the Gulf region. It answers questions in a Q&A format about future losses and insurance claims and lists the documents helpful in calculating losses.

This online resource for business is the second in a series of guides issued by Baron & Budd to help those affected by the Gulf oil spill. The first guide outlined helpful tips for residents in Louisiana. Click here to see the guide.
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Finding America's Favorite Farmers Market

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In order to help promote the value of farmers' markets in U.S. communities, American Farmland Trust has launched the America's Favorite Farmers Market contest.

Farmers' markets in 49 states and Washington, D.C., are competing for the title in four size categories. At the end of the contest, one small, medium, large and boutique farmers' market will be named America's Favorite Farmers Market for 2010. Online voting is open until Aug. 31 at www.farmland.org/vote. People can only cast one vote per market.
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The 'suite' sound of winning

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SPONSORED POST

Montague fires the imagination with an intriguing new design challenge

Designers ... imagine the chance to partner with a chef/operator to design the most intriguing, most versatile Island Cooking Suite ever created. Now see your design selected by a team of foodservice experts and from a wide variety of entries, as the most creative, most efficient cooking suite design submitted. And if you can see this, imagine your design, your partners' dream cooking suite, with a value of up to $200,000.00, built and awarded to their operation! Thanks to The Montague Company, this fantasy is about to become reality.

The premier manufacturer of the world's finest cooking equipment since 1857, Montague is setting the foodservice industry a-sizzle with the Montague Suite Dreams Design Challenge, an exciting competition that pairs a designer with a chef/operator and pits them against other pairs of like teams to create the ultimate kitchen suite design.

Montague will then award the winning suite to the venue for which it was designed. Plus, the winning design team and operation will be featured in print and electronic ads in trade publications, and will enjoy an expenses-paid trip to The NAFEM Show 2011. In addition, four first-place winning teams will be chosen from entry designs. Courtesy of Montague, they'll win travel and accommodations to The NAFEM Show as well.

Sure to stir the creative juices of a crowd known for its competitive spirit, the Montague Suite Dreams Design Challenge is an incredible opportunity for designers and chef/operators to show off their talents and set themselves apart, and bring famous Montague quality, versatility and innovation to their kitchens.

The Montague Suite Dreams Design Challenge is open to professional foodservice equipment designers working in collaboration with a professional foodservice operator/chef as client on a foodservice concept in one of the five qualifying market segments. All interested teams must visit www.montaguecompany.com/suitedreams by Oct. 8, 2010, to register and review contest rules. The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Oct. 15, 2010. For more information, please contact The Montague Company at suitedreams@montaguecompany.com, or visit the Web site.
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Share Our Strength holds third Great American Dine Out webinar

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Share Our Strength is hosting the third in a series of Great American Dine Out webinars on July 22 from 3 to 3:30 p.m. EDT, to provide strategies and ideas for restaurant operators who want to participate in the dine out for charity, which takes place from Sept. 19 to 25. Amanda Hite, founder and CEO of Talent Revolution, and Diana Hovey, senior vice president of marketing for Corner Bakery Café, will share their insights and expertise on the power of social media and cause marketing as business-building tools, and discuss what makes the Great American Dine Out such an easy, successful program.

Talent Revolution's Amanda Hite

The Great American Dine Out is a week-long, nationwide event in which participating restaurants donate a portion of proceeds to help end childhood hunger in America. It is a flexible program, meaning operators can decide how they want to implement and promote it.

Corner Bakery's Diana Hovey

Registration is open to operators of every type of foodservice establishment. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/808098160.
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Taking the work out of portion control

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by Maggie Shea, Chef Magazine

American foodservice, retailers and consumers discard more than 96 billion pounds of good food each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite many American diners' insistence for super-size portions at deep discounts, the troubled economy of the past two years has forced many restaurant operators to re-evaluate the need to serve a 16-ounce steak with a 9-ounce side dish. By offering smaller portion sizes and portioning out sides and toppings more efficiently, restaurants can save on food costs and diminish their overall food waste. Here, Chef's editors have rounded up some of the companies that have taken the work out of preportioning proteins, sides and toppings.

Cuisine Solutions offers a line of chef-created, fully cooked and pasteurized frozen food for foodservice. Cuisine Solutions has perfected the sous-vide cooking technique, a method whereby food is hermetically sealed, slow-cooked and pasteurized under precise temperatures in its natural juices. The pressure of the vacuum-packing infuses the herbs and spices deep into proteins, resulting in intense flavors and succulent, tender textures. The sealed cooking process creates products with 10 to 15 percent more moisture content than conventional cooked items. Products include a variety of preportioned fish and seafood items, flavored chicken breast and roulade, duck confit, beef and veal, pork, lamb, pasta dishes, vegetable preparations and a variety of classical and ethnic sauces--all with multiple reheating options. (Pictured: braised beef top blade in red wine and beer.) The 18-month shelf life of items allows storage of Cuisine Solutions products in your freezer. Visit www.cuisinesolutions.com, and click on the Professional tab.

The foodservice division of Hormel Foods has introduced Always Tender Oven Roasted Pork, fully cooked boneless, center-cut loins and tenderloins. Always Tender Oven Roasted Pork eliminates the worry of overcooking the notoriously lean pork loin by using a proprietary cook process that results in consistently tender and juicy pork. The product gives operators the time to create exciting and unique pork dishes such as Thai pork quesadillas (pictured, below), grilled pork chops with blue cheese and ginger and pomegranate-glazed pork. Additionally, pork offers a cost-effective and leaner alternative to beef. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com.


The Marzetti Foodservice family of products for restaurant use offers a variety of single-serve sizes, as well as bulk packaging. Marzetti sauces and dressings come in gallon, pouch and cup options, depending on operator needs in a variety of flavors from full-bodied, rich, tangy to lightly sweet, fat-free and light dressings. Marzetti's Slaw Dressing has a smooth, creamy homemade flavor great for potato salad recipes, macaroni salad and deviled eggs. Mayonnaise, mustard, barbecue and other sauces provide toppings for your specialty dishes. Marzetti Frozen Pasta Inc. has expanded for foodservice applications into a wide variety of convenient precooked products that save time and labor. Preparation with precooked products is fast, easy, convenient and with little or no waste. Remove just the amount you need from the freezer, drop in boiling water to thaw for approximately 30 seconds, and it's ready to serve. Marzetti products are made from the finest ingredients and then frozen fresh resulting in pasta that looks fresher and tastes better. Visit www.marzettifoodservice.com.


Kettle Cuisine Foodservice offers a range of soups, chilis and chowders in sizes ranging from bulk to cups with flavor and nutrition profiles to meet all your customers' tastes and needs. Timeless and regional favorites as well as globally influenced flavors satisfy any palate. (Pictured: Hungarian Mushroom soup with fresh mushrooms, Kettle Cuisine beef stock, light cream, sour cream, dill, Hungarian paprika and Madeira wine.) Kettle Cuisine also offers vegetarian, dairy- and gluten-free, organic, low fat and everyday wellness options for those with special dietary requests. Additionally, Kettle Cuisine recently rolled out a newly expanded suite of product information and product promotion tools, including an ingredient and nutritional information nutrient content matrix, product specification sheets, countertop promotional signs and menu/calendar templates. Visit www.kettlecuisine.com/foodservice.

Chef John Hubschman was an executive chef in fine-dining restaurants for 20 years before launching Epicurean Butter six years ago to offer a line of infused butters, combining grade AA butter with all-natural ingredients using proprietary recipes. The compound butters come in spreadable form in tubs, as well as in preportioned coins and logs for time and cost savings. Operators can choose from a variety of sweet flavor profiles, including sweet cinnamon, orange honey and honey pecan, or savory flavors, such as balsamic peppercorn, chimichurri, black truffle, Chardonnay shallot and Tuscan herb.
The butters have a three-month refrigerated shelf life and nine-month frozen shelf life for extended storage needs. For more information, including serving suggestions, visit www.epicureanbutter.com.
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Calif. Table Grape Commission launches chef contest

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The California Table Grape Commission is calling on foodservice chefs to create the best grape recipes for its 2010 Foodservice Chef's Recipe Contest. The top three winners will each receive cash prizes and national publicity for their recipes. Suggested categories include starters, small plates, entrées, salads, sides and desserts.

Contestants can submit entries via e-mail to recipecontest@grapesfromcalifornia.com. The deadline is Nov. 1. For contest rules and entry forms, visit www.grapesfromcalifornia.com.
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Nutrition-analysis tools now available to NRA members

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National Restaurant Association (NRA) members now have access to a suite of nutrition-analysis providers at discounted rates to help them plan and enhance their menus. This partnership comes on the heels of President Obama signing the healthcare reform bill into law in March, which includes a provision that creates a national, uniform nutrition-disclosure standard for restaurants.

The NRA partnered with three nutrition-analysis providers to offer personalized services to restaurants of all types based on their different needs: FoodCALC, Healthy Dining and Silliker.

MenuCalc, a FoodCALC product, is a web-based recipe nutrition-analysis software solution designed for restaurant operators that provides easy-to-use, low-cost options based on individual needs. For more information, visit www.menucalc.com.

Healthy Dining offers a team of nutrition professionals, registered dietitians and a doctoral-level researcher to provide nutrient analysis (calories, fat, sodium, etc.), allergen declaration, development of gluten-free menus and guidance in complying with menu labeling legislation. For more information, visit www.healthydiningfinder.com.

Silliker offers expert laboratory, technical and information services to help companies comply with menu labeling requirements. Chemists and research and development professionals can help substantiate nutrition claims and address analytical challenges posed by variables in menu item preparation. For more information, visit www.sillikerrestaurantnutritionals.com.
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