Bartender mix-off raises $1,200 for children's cancer research

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Mixologists Xania Woodman and Earl Shelton raised $1,200 in a mixologist battle on May 28 at RA Sushi Bar Restaurant in Las Vegas to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Earl Shelton prepares to shake up a cocktail for a RA Sushi guest

For one hour, Woodman and Shelton made as many drinks as possible for patrons, with all sales and tips going to St. Jude. Woodman was named the winner after raising approximately $750 for the charity.

Xania Woodman makes a cocktail for a RA Sushi bar patron

The contest is part of the Fifth Annual Nicky's Week fundraiser, a week-long fundraising effort to benefit children's cancer treatment and research. Nicky's Week was created in honor of Nicholas "Nicky" Mailliard, a nephew of one of RA Sushi's founders who lost a battle with brain cancer in 2005 at age 13. For more information, visit www.rasushi.com.
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Chefs showcase fresh California avocado versatility on California Avocado Commission site

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The California Avocado Commission is showcasing talented chefs across the country using flavorful "Fresh Hand Grown in California Avocados" in innovative dishes. Check out the cataloged recipes from foodservice segments ranging from white tablecloth to quick-service. Avocado pasta to avocado carpaccio to grilled avocados: A world of creative fresh California avocado dishes is just a click away at www.avocado.com/foodservice.
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Nominations open for Chef of the Year!

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Do you know a chef who is a leader in the foodservice industry? An inspiration and mentor to others? An innovator in cuisine, techniques, management style and dish applications? A steward of community tenets?

Then nominate that chef for Chef Magazine's 2009 Chef of the Year!

Fill out the form online. Or if you prefer a PDF that you can print off and fill out by hand, e-mail enoetzel@talcott.com, then send your materials to Chef of the Year, Chef Magazine, 20 W. Kinzie St., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60654, by Aug. 31. The finalists will be announced in the November/December issue of Chef, and the winner will be profiled in the January 2010 issue. Chef Magazine will also make a $500 donation to the winner's charity of choice.
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Ralph Brennan Group wins Creole tomato auction

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In the first Creole tomato auction since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, New Orleans restaurant group Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group (Bacco, Red Fish Grill, Ralph's on the Park) won the first batch of Creole tomatoes of the season, brought into the New Orleans French Market by A.J's Produce from a farmer in lower St. Bernard Parish.

Out of five chefs participating in the auction, Ralph Brennan Group won a 10-pound lot of 18 tomatoes, which was used in a Creole Tomato, Grilled Vidalia and Crawfish Saffron Salsa dish at the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting on May 22. The restaurant group paid $1,800 for the tomatoes, which went directly to Children's Hospital as a donation. This auction reinstates a decades-long tradition of benefiting Children's Hospital, which was discontinued after Katrina.
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Operator outlook optimistic, according to NRA's Restaurant Performance Index

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The outlook for the restaurant industry grew more optimistic in April, as the National Restaurant Association's (NRA) comprehensive index of restaurant activity registered its fourth consecutive monthly gain. The NRA Restaurant Performance Index (RPI)--a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry--stood at 98.6 in April, up 0.8 percent from March, its highest level in 11 months.

"The recent growth in the RPI was driven by the Expectations component, which rose above 100 in April for the first time in 18 months, a level which indicates expansion," Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research and information services for the NRA, said in a press release. "Although the RPI's Current Situation indicators are still in a period of contraction, the solid improvement in the forward-looking indicators suggests that the end of the industry’s downturn may be in sight."

The RPI is based on the responses to the NRA's Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey, which is fielded monthly among restaurant operators nationwide on a variety of indicators including sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures. The RPI consists of two components--the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index.

The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 97.0 in April--up 0.9 percent from March and its highest level since August 2008. However, April represented the 20th consecutive month below 100, which continues to signify contraction in the current situation indicators.
  • 26 percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between April 2008 and April 2009, up slightly from 24 percent who reported a sales gain in March.
  • 59 percent reported a same-store sales decline in April, down from 63 percent who reported negative sales in March.
  • 23 percent reported an increase in customer traffic between April 2008 and April 2009, up from 20 percent who reported similarly in March.
  • 60 percent reported a traffic decline in April, down from 63 percent who reported similarly in March.
  • 43 percent said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months, the highest level in 10 months.

The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 100.2 in April – up 0.8 percent from March and its fifth consecutive monthly increase. In addition, the Expectations Index crossed above the 100 level for the first time in 18 months, which signifies expansion in the forward-looking indicators.
  • For the first time in 15 months, restaurant operators reported a positive six-month outlook for sales growth. Thirty-three percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), up from 30 percent last month and the highest level in 18 months.
  • 30 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, down from 38 percent who reported similarly last month.
  • 37 percent said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, up from 30 percent who reported similarly last month and the highest level in three years.
  • 16 percent expect economic conditions to worsen in six months, down from 21 percent last month.
  • 46 percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, up from 44 percent last month and just 37 percent four months ago.

While the RPI is released on the last business day of each month, more detailed data and analysis can be found on Restaurant TrendMapper, the NRA's subscription-based service that provides detailed analysis of restaurant industry trends. Follow Restaurant TrendMapper on Twitter @trendmapper.
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June issue of ACF Culinary Nutrition News tackles food allergens

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The latest installment of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Chef & Child Foundation and Clemson University's "Culinary Nutrition News," now available for download, examines the food allergies that affect 12 million Americans today. The article offers facts, resources and a quiz covering topics such as gluten sensitivity, the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance and the eight foods that account for 90 percent of all food-allergy reactions. (In case you can't wait, they are: eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat.)

Upcoming "Culinary Nutrition News" articles--available online for free on the first Monday of each month--will cover topics such as fiber-rich foods, calorie countdown, healthful cooking techniques, downsizing calories and portions and demystifying lipids.
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Reducing food waste

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by Evan Noetzel, Chef Magazine

This article is the Bottom Line Solutions online exclusive for the May 2009 issue of Chef Magazine.

All things being equal, what single aspect of foodservice is most vital to the success of any dining establishment? Whether you ask this question of a professional chef or a casual diner, the answer is almost always the same: the food on the plate. Of course, in this era of high-priced ingredients and financially strapped patrons, restaurateurs and executive chefs also are starting to pay close attention to the food they've purchased that never makes it to the plate.

Food-waste management--whether seen as a means to "green" a given restaurant or simply bolster that restaurant's bottom line (probably some combination of the two)--is a burgeoning trend in the industry. And while composting has become the de facto response to the problem posed by wasted food--especially among independent restaurants that cater to socially conscious diners and have the support of existing commercial composting operations (in cities like San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore.)--there are operational efficiencies that can be introduced to help reduce food waste before you even reach the composting stage.

For instance, if you could accurately monitor patterns and amounts of food waste over a period of time, then reasonably you could learn how to eliminate some of that waste and make better purchasing decisions in the future, right? That's the general philosophy behind the ValuWaste system from Portland, Ore.-based LeanPath Inc. The system includes a scale and touch-screen terminal (the ValuWaste Tracker; pictured right) that are used to weigh "pre-consumer food waste"--any food already purchased by a restaurant that's been overproduced or become spoiled, contaminated or expired, as well as catering leftovers, trimming scraps and burned items. The resulting terminal data is then uploaded to a software application (the ValuWaste Advantage) that stores the information in a customizable database and allows the user to chart waste by time, food type, work station, etc.
The ValuWaste Advantage maintains an up-to-the-moment snapshot of a restaurant's food waste from data collected by one or more Tracker units. As a value-added feature, the Advantage software is linked to LeanPath servers to ensure that all data is backed-up via the Internet.

LeanPath's software/hardware combo is marketed toward large commercial kitchens, so ValuWaste may not be especially helpful for those restaurants that do not see the same volume as, say, a hotel, a health-care facility or a college campus. But when it comes to preventing pre-consumer food waste, being relatively smaller isn't necessarily a bad thing.

For the average foodservice operation, the goal should be to use its smaller--more intimate, more nimble--staff to its advantage, educating each worker and instituting better policies for every aspect of food preparation--from purchasing to handling to storage to cooking. (For a more complete guide to reducing restaurant food waste, as well as other non-food restaurant waste, check out this list of "Food Service Waste Reduction Tips and Ideas" from the California Integrated Waste Management Board.)

It's also important to note that food waste is not strictly a back-of-house issue. When food waste of any kind strips a restaurant of a key ingredient, it affects the menu, the waitstaff and, most importantly, the customers. The good news is that many point-of-sale (POS) systems don't simply track sales, streamline the ordering process and improve order accuracy; they also keep staff--and by extension, customers--informed when drops in inventory levels change or negate menu items.

For example, to enhance its traditional POS system, Maitre'D by Posera has introduced a wireless POS solution through its Table Service Solutions division. With the wireless system's handheld device (pictured)--which uses the same interface and functionalities as standard Maitre'D software (meaning there's no additional training necessary)--waitstaff can accurately and instantly track inventory levels (including 86'd items) from the palm of their hand and provide diners with detailed menu information on specials and ingredients. As an added customer-service perk, this wireless application also can be used to submit orders remotely (even tableside, thanks to a built-in Magnetic Stripe Reader), instead of having to wait for an open terminal at a fixed station.

Other POS solutions that help combat food waste through efficient inventory management systems include Aldelo and Altametrics' eRestaurant, as well as ReServe Interactive for catering. To find which solution meets your needs, be sure to click on the provided links.
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