Hi-Tech Restaurant
Operating a successful restaurant is more than just serving delicious food and providing exceptional service. The unsung hero behind the scenes is often the state-of-the-art equipment that ensures every dish leaves the kitchen cooked evenly and to perfection. But what happens when that trusty equipment starts to falter? Inefficient or outdated appliances and utensils can have a significant impact on your restaurant’s performance, affecting both the quality of your food and your bottom line. Restaurant owners and operators should be aware of the signs that it’s time to invest in new equipment and how to make these upgrades a reality so they can continue turning out tasty, well-cooked food, along with a profit.
2022 was a milestone year for mankind. By November 2022 the United Nations estimated the global population had reached an astounding eight billion. With more people on Earth than ever before in history, ensuring equitable global access to resources, food, water, and housing has become more important than ever before.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an extra-spicy beef gyro with lettuce and tomato, wrapped in fresh, warm pita bread with hot sauce and a can of Pepsi on the side. And it’s catching a ride from the restaurant to the customer’s home in the basket of a food delivery drone.
These winged waiters are the futuristic delivery method emerging on the horizon. Literally. In some restaurants, drones are taking the place of food couriers. In other places, they are inside the restaurant itself, carefully carrying the food from the kitchen to the dining room. Proponents of drone food delivery hope to redefine the food industry, claiming that drones are more efficient, reliable, and even more affordable than in-person service. Others in the industry are more cautious, and think the trend will take several years to “get off the ground.”
Put your signature mark on every touch point of your business by learning the art and skill of what has been coined “Five Sensory Dining.” Have you heard of the cruise ship that offers its customer a “Journey for the Senses?” No matter where guests are dining, onboard or during onshore excursions, they aim to create sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and touch experiences that entertain all five senses. If you work in the foodservice industry and want to edge out the competition, don’t leave customer experience to chance.
The phrase “the sweet smell of success” has never come to life more than in today’s restaurant ‘biz. Increasingly, in what has been coined “olfactory dining,” aromas are being used by foodservice providers to not only whet appetites and entice diners their way, but to generate an orchestrated profit.
If you work in foodservice and are wondering what the future of the industry will look like, here is what some experts are forecasting. In their crystal ball, a proliferation of new automated services are on the horizon for restaurants, paving the way for a new landscape in the short term and possibly a ‘new normal’ going forward.
If wine appears on your eatery’s menu, then put “get know your bubblies” at the top of your to-do list! Although more global wine varieties exist than you or your bartender can count, the good news is that becoming familiar with the top three in-demand sparkling wines (aka sparklers) will put you and your restaurant, catering business, or other eatery in good standing. The mighty threesome are: Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco.
Restaurant tech innovations are booming, revolutionizing the foodservice industry in ways that were once only imaginable. From the cash register to the kitchen and beyond brick-and-mortar buildings, the latest technology phenomenon is already solidifying its place as an integral part of how restaurants and catering services operate.
If you work in foodservice and food photography is not yet on your menu, it’s time to give your business a modern-day makeover. We are all familiar with the proliferation of images inundating the Internet, appearing particularly on sites such as Pinterest and Instagram.
Pop-up restaurants are thriving, literally popping up everywhere and catering to consumers who clamor for out-of-the-box, exciting, novel, and ‘different’ dining experiences. While they are currently trending in the food industry, this informal dining concept actually harkens back to the underground speakeasy clubs of the prohibition-era, followed by the popular high-end ‘supper club’ dining destinations, where the social aspect of the gathering was just as important as the food itself.