All posts by Dana Williams
If you work in the food or beverage industry and are wondering how to create a restaurant menu that sells, you have come to the right place! It’s common knowledge that great food and drink, above-average customer service, and a super-smooth guest experience are some of the key ingredients to business success. But did you know that the potential power and profitability of a well-crafted menu is often underrated?
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Berry season is back, and with it, a potential bonanza for anyone working in the foodservice industry. Wherever berries can be found around the world, strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry flavors top consumers’ all-time favorite lists. They appeal to individuals of all ages, and they can be found in recipes for breakfasts, desserts, beverages, and side dishes. But did you know that there is an entire smorgasbord of equally delicious and nutritious berries just waiting to be discovered by your chefs and devoured by your customers?
If you follow food industry trends, you know that sourdough bread sales peaked during the corona crisis when interest in making sourdough at home became one of the most popular activities worldwide. Dubbed by some as a culinary silver lining to the pandemic, recipes for the naturally leavened bread went viral, with renowned chefs and bakers posting sourdough how-to videos online and using social media to demystify the unique baking process.
With the days of quarantines, closures, and social distancing rules gradually waning, restaurant owners are anxiously waiting to see what the future holds for their businesses in a post-COVID-19 reality. Forward-thinking restaurateurs, however, are taking things into their own hands, exploring any and all means of staying one step ahead of the competition in 2021. If you own a food or beverage ‘biz and are looking for practical steps to help your eatery thrive in the aftermath of corona, you have come to the right place.
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Croutons, traditionally made from yesterday’s stale bread crusts, are experiencing a modern-day makeover. Creative croutons are on the rise in restaurants and topping chefs’ lists for favorite ingredients. Breathing new life into a food that has been around since the 17th century, now is the time for forward-thinking foodservice pros to jump on the bandwagon and learn all they can about what’s new in croutons and how to incorporate them into their menus.
If you are looking for new dishes and ingredients to add to your restaurant’s holiday menu, think “nut butters.” Rising to the top of the popularity charts among professional chefs and bakers alike, your customers are in for a New Year’s treat as you introduce their pallets to the likes of walnut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, soy nut butter, and even seed butters for those with nut allergies.
If you owned a restaurant or managed a take-out service over the past few years, and survived, chances are that you rose to the challenge by turning obstacles into opportunities. One recipe for success was creating a niche menu that appeals to your most frequent diners, giving them many flavorful and favor-filled reasons to come back for more.
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If you manage or own a restaurant, it’s time to update your menu with some immune-boosting ingredients. Today more than ever, diners are interested in their physical health and will pay top dollar for foods and beverages that help fight infection and strengthen their resistance to disease. Once these items are integrated into your menu, diners may not even realize the enormous benefits they will be getting from dining out in your restaurant.
Restaurants around the world have taken advantage of the pandemic to open their doors to outdoor dining, maybe permanently, with the permission of state and local laws. The sidewalk, owned by the city, was graciously turned over to restauranteurs during the pandemic so they could try to turn a profit and stay afloat. Over the years, allowing outdoor dining has certainly saved many a restaurant from caving in under the woes of the pandemic. Looking ahead, especially in larger cites such as NYC and LA, restaurant owners are in talks with city officials and neighborhood groups to allow this trend to continue, maybe forever.
If you work in foodservice, you have been impacted, for better or worse, by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Fortunately, some of you have managed to survive the pandemic and are operating or perhaps even thriving despite the restrictions on restaurant operations and social gatherings. However, one constant unites you all: Whether you are offering takeout for the first time, operating out of a pre-existing ghost kitchen, or have transformed your brick-and-mortar eatery into a remote restaurant, the name of the new game in the industry is: Safe food delivery.