Share Our Strength presents chefs and restaurateurs with leadership awards

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At its 25th anniversary Leadership Awards Ceremony on Nov. 8, Share Our Strength presented its 2009 Leadership Awards to chefs, restaurants, restaurateurs, community volunteers and corporate executives who have made a significant impact on the fight to end childhood hunger in the United States.

Daniel Boulud and Zach Bell, Café Boulud, Palm Beach, Fla.: Share Our Strength's 2009 Community Leader – A Tasteful Pursuit Award
Boulud and Bell have been committed to Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit since the program began in 2005. They received the first Community Leader award for A Tasteful Pursuit because of their extraordinary fund-raising accomplishments and event production for the traveling dinner series. Each year, the two raise more funds by expanding the event's chef network and supporter base. Along with the rest of their team at The Dinex Group, they also actively support other Share Our Strength events in their area and across the country.

Billy Grant, Restaurant Bricco and Grants Restaurant and Bar, Hartford, Conn.: 2009 Share Our Strength Chef/Restaurateur of the Year Award
Grant helped revitalize Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation in Hartford by recruiting the area's top culinary talent, donating to the event's live auction (and receiving the highest bids in the room!), developing deep relationships with local affiliates of Taste of the Nation's national sponsors, and enrolling both of his restaurants in the Great American Dine Out and encouraging other restaurants to do the same.

(l to r) Jenny Dirksen, director, community investment, Union Square Hospitality Group; Billy Grant, chef-owner, Restaurant Bricco and Grants Restaurant and Bar, Hartford, Conn.; and Carrie Welch, vice president, public relations, Food Network

Mindy Segal, HotChocolate Restaurant and Dessert Bar, Chicago: 2009 Share Our Strength Chef/Restaurateur of the Year Award
New to Share Our Strength, this James Beard Award nominee went beyond expectations to rebuild Taste of the Nation in Chicago. She became the event's chairperson, led a 35-member committee and involved more than 800 people in the event. She leveraged her professional contacts to bring $25,000 of donated goods and services to the event, encouraged other major movers to get involved and served on the national Taste of the Nation Culinary Council, participating in other Taste of the Nation events across the country.

(l to r) Jenny Dirksen, director, community investment, Union Square Hospitality Group; Mindy Segal, HotChocolate, Chicago; and Carrie Welch, vice president, public relations, Food Network

Morris Salerno, president, Epicurean World Master Chefs Society, Highland Village, Texas: 2009 Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline Hall of Fame
Like all Operation Frontline Hall of Fame inductees, Salerno has been a volunteer chef-instructor for 15 or more Operation Frontline courses. Unlike many of them, he has operated three fine-dining restaurants and is still running two of them, Salerno's Restaurant in Flower Mound, and The Grotto in Highland Village. He has also been a competing chef for the Epicurean World Master Chefs Society of America since 1992 and is now that organization's president. Salerno has been teaching Operation Frontline courses at the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas for the past ten years.

Jean Bowen, Owner, Cuisine by Jean, Boulder, Colo.: 2009 Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline Hall of Fame
Operation Frontline teaches families--adults, teens and kids--how to make healthy, tasty meals on limited budgets. Bowen's personal chef business prepared her well for the courses she teaches with Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline-Colorado in Denver. Her business specializes in meals for those with medical needs, especially Type II Diabetes, something many Operation Frontline students must consider in addition to making healthy meals on very limited budgets.

(l to r) Operation Frontline Hall of Fame winners: Jean Bowen, owner, Cuisine by Jean, Boulder, Colo.; Eva Forson, chef-instructor, the Institute of Culinary Education and the culinary arts division of The New School, New York City, and owner, African Palava; Marilyn Matusch, retired educator, Portland, Ore.; Morris Salerno, chef-owner, Salerno's Restaurant, Flower Mound, and The Grotto, Highland Village, Texas; Kori Reed, ConAgra Foods Foundation, the national sponsor of Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline

For more information about Share Our Strength, its work to end childhood hunger by 2015 or any of its programs, visit www.strength.org.
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NRA releases statement on health care reform bill

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National Restaurant Association (NRA) president and CEO Dawn Sweeney made the following statement today regarding the introduction of an amendment to the U.S. Senate's health care reform bill by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) that will help the nation's small businesses and restaurants:
"The National Restaurant Association strongly supports Senator Mary Landrieu's amendment for a 90-day waiting period for employers in the Senate health care legislation. This pro-restaurant amendment would eliminate the onerous fees currently in the Senate bill for waiting periods of less than 90-days.

"Senator Landrieu's pro-small-business, pro-worker amendment will enable restaurant operators to provide our employees the highest quality benefits at the most affordable price. On behalf of the nation's nearly one million restaurants and its 13 million employees, we thank Senator Landrieu for her outstanding leadership.

"Due to the restaurant industry's average annual turnover rate of 75 percent of the workforce, a 90-day waiting period is critical. Restaurateurs want to offer affordable health coverage for our employees and lower the cost of that coverage. By allowing a 90-day waiting period, restaurant operators will be able to keep the cost lower for premiums of their employees that stay with the restaurant long-term.

"We strongly believe a 90-day waiting period before coverage requirements begin could have a significant impact on lowering health-care costs our restaurateurs provide their employees-- for both new and current employees. This reasonable waiting period will mitigate the resources spent to cover employees who have no intention of staying with the organization for an extended period of time.

"We are working hard in this debate to protect our industry and the men and women who work in it, and we truly appreciate Senator Landrieu's efforts on their behalf."

For more information, visit www.restauranthealthcarereforminfo.com or www.restaurant.org.
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Robot Coupe introduces new juicer

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SPONSORED POST

For chefs and operators looking to make delicious fresh juice quickly and quietly, Robot Coupe developed the J80 Ultra Juicer, which won the Apria Prize for technological innovation at the 2008 International Equip'Hotel Exhibition in Paris. The J80 Ultra Juicer's large feed eliminates the need to cut up whole fruits and vegetables before juicing. Users can simply drop the product into the feed lead, turn on the juicer and the product will automatically be drawn down onto the grating plate. The juice comes out smooth and consistent and nutrient-dense. For more information, call (800) 824-1646 or visit www.robotcoupeusa.com.

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American Personal & Private Chef Association summit to be held in Chicago

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The 2010 American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA) National Summit will take place Feb. 19 to 21 at The School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago. This year's theme will be to promote the building of successful businesses and careers of personal and private chefs as the nation emerges from a recession.

Ina Pinkney, chef/owner of Ina's in Chicago, will keynote the 2010 summit to share the story of opening her restaurant. Other presenters include Maria Caranfa, R.D., director of Mintel Menu Insights; Judith Dunbar Hines, director of culinary arts and events for the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs; Renee Zonka, R.D., associate dean of Kendall College; service expert and former private chef Audrey Heckwolf of Grand Rapids Community College; and Peggy Ryan, executive chef of The Dining Room at Kendall College.

For information on registration, hotel, programming and personal-chef-training, visit www.personalchef.com/summit.
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Marlow's Tavern partner named Restaurateur of the Year

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Hank Clark, market partner for Marlow's Tavern in Atlanta, won the 2009 Georgia Restaurant Association's Crystal of Excellence award (GRACE) for Restaurateur of the Year. The annual GRACE awards pay tribute to people who have made outstanding contributions to Georgia's restaurant industry.
Hank Clark of Marlow's Tavern

Clark, a 16-year veteran of the restaurant industry, was honored at the 3rd Annual GRACE Awards Gala on Nov. 15 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, Ga. For more information on the GRACE Awards or to see the other 2009 winners, visit www.discuss-gra.com/grace.
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MRA honors hospitality innovators at 20th annual awards dinner

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The Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) held its 20th Annual Massachusetts Hospitality Hall of Fame Awards Dinner on Monday, Nov. 23 at Anthony's Pier 4 in Boston. This annual event is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and honors those individuals who have exhibited extraordinary dedication to the hospitality industry in Massachusetts. Master of Ceremonies for the evening was NRA director Raphael Oliver, general manager of Top of the Hub, and the invocation was done by Lawrence Wolozin.

The 2009 inductees were: Harvey Allen, president and CEO of M.S. Walker Inc.; Billy Costa, well-known entertainment personality, originally on the Phantom Gourmet and now on NECN's TV Diner; Donato and Filippo Frattaroli, owners of Ristorante Lucia and Fillippo Ristorante; and Jon Luther, CEO of Dunkin' Brands.

For more information on the MRA, visit www.marestaurantassoc.org.

(l to r) Massachusetts Restaurant Association president and CEO Peter Christie with Filippo and Donato Frattaroli of Ristorante Lucia and Fillippo Ristorante (photo courtesy of Alan McPhee Photography)
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New resource for recipes utilizing sauces, breads and pastas

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Marzetti's new foodservice dedicated Web site, www.marzettifoodservice.com, offers new applications and recipes for Marzetti dressings and sauces, croutons, hearth baked breads, yeast rolls and pasta.

Foodservice professionals can explore exciting new taste experiences with featured Marzetti recipes or easily search Marzetti's extensive library of appetizer, dessert, entree, salad and soup recipes. The site also includes special offers and tips on adding profit to your menu, information on pairing Marzetti dressings with greens, new product features and an opportunity to have your culinary queries answered through "Ask the chef."

Marzetti offers coast-to-coast production and distribution of portion control and bulk pack food products including Marzetti and Cardini's brand salad dressings, dips and sauces; Marzetti brand croutons; New York brand hearth baked breadsticks and garlic toast; Sister Schubert's yeast rolls; Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand frozen egg noodles and fully-cooked pasta; and Romanoff caviar.
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Drive new customers to your restaurant using local search marketing

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Contributed by Jennifer Black, vice president of marketing, Local.com

In the past, all a restaurant had to do to attract new customers was to advertise in the local newspaper, magazine or Yellow Pages directory. The problem was that print ads could be costly and weren't always viewed or found by customers in the first place.

Today, the Internet has changed everything and has become the medium of choice for consumers looking for products and services in their local region. With approximately 80 percent of an individual's income being spent within 25 miles of their home, there is good opportunity for restaurants to reach local customers online.

One of the best ways to do this is through "local search," which allows you to target potential customers in a desired area or region. For families, friends, or corporate executives searching online for a restaurant in a particular area, they get highly relevant search results. These results are specific to their search inquiry and do not include a lot of irrelevant listings from outside that area. According to global Internet information provider ComScore Inc., 47 percent of local searchers contacted or visited a local merchant as a result of their online search. But the trick to successful online marketing is improving ways that your restaurant can be found online.

Connecting with potential customers
The trick to connecting with your potential customers involves a successful online marketing strategy that helps improve your chances of being found online. Using local search, you can target your message using the right keywords and search phrases to "pull" them to your Web site. With local search, it's also about relevancy--that is, delivering highly relevant search results.

Facilitating local search involves providing efficient search algorithms and solid local web indexing technologies that can help "connect" the searching customer to the right restaurant that can meet their needs. Here are some tips to help you get started:
  1. Conduct a search for your restaurant major local search sites. Does yours appear? Is the information accurate and up-to-date? Many of the major players allow businesses to add and update their free listing. This will ensure that customers can actually find you and it doesn't cost anything. (For instance, you can visit: http://advertise.local.com.)
  2. Determine who your target customer is and what type of products or services they want to purchase. Are you targeting families, singles, corporate executives or a specific clientele? Are they looking for a certain type of menu, entertainment, ambiance (casual, eclectic or formal) or private dining rooms? Know who you want to reach and what they may be looking for.
  3. Determine the key words these potential customers use when trying to find you and your type of restaurant. Add these keywords to your website and make them part of your core marketing blueprint.
  4. Add fresh content to your Web site regularly. This can include: new menu items, promotions or specials, or events to keep your customers informed. You could include customer quotes or testimonials that validate your restaurant's cuisine or service.
  5. Make it easy to be found online. Whether you have a Web site or not, you can leverage the marketing tools offered by your local search engine provider, including free and paid online listing services that offer flexibility and cost-effective marketing and allow you to:
    • create a personalized landing page, which can be instantly updated as products or services change;
    • build "back-links" or links from the local search engine to your site to assist with your search engine marketing efforts; and
    • cost effectively reach prospective customers already searching for type of business on the Internet.
Some of the local online advertising programs also guarantee that your restaurant's listing will appear at the top of the search results page in a specified category and region to gain higher visibility. It is less expensive to advertise using local search than traditional national search engines because the ROI is much higher when you are able to target your advertising dollars with the category and geographic location. Some providers now also offer advanced call tracking capabilities that allow local businesses to further measure the success of their online advertising campaigns by linking their online ad to phone calls received. This provides an audit trail to effectively measure the results of your marketing campaign.

So, if you are looking for effective ways to market your restaurant to customers in a specific region, take the first step and get involved with local search and implement an online local search marketing strategy. There are many opportunities that can help deliver local customers to your Web site and through your restaurant's front door.

Jennifer Black is vice president of marketing for Local.com, the largest local search network and one of the leading local search engines in the U.S. The company uses patented technologies to provide more than 20 million consumers each month with the most relevant search results for local businesses, products and services on Local.com and more than 700 regional media sites. For information, call (888) 857-6734, or visit www.local.com.
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