Thursday, October 27, 2016
Today's Specials:
READ: RESTAURANT HORROR STORY
It's the spookiest time of the year and in honor of the horror, we're sharing some shocking restaurant stories. From thongs to urine, check out our horrific list of some gross restaurant guests.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Troll Job
A NY Burger King had a sweet troll job on McDonald’s for Halloween. They dressed their BK sign as a ghost with “McDonald’s” written on it. Check out the pics here.
A Scary Good Halloween Drink
Thrillist had a cool Brain Shooter drink recipe and it really does look like brains. Ew. Check the recipe out here and video of the drink here.
Oh Christmas… Tree?
Anti-gay activists are protesting in Paris because a giant inflatable Christmas tree looks too much like a butt plug. Their social politics aside, the tree does look a little bit like a sex toy. Photo here.
BEER and PIZZA, A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN
Why it matters to you: Offering expert advice is a good way to keep guests coming back.
You’ve heard of wine and food pairing, but don’t pizza and beer already go together? Capitalizing on the trend of artisanal and craft everything, a new pizza chain called Blast & Brew is offering a new experience. Guests can customize their pizza, and also get expert advice from staff on their craft beer choice to accompany said pizza.
The pizza joint will offer diners a choice of 30 local and regional craft brews and guests pour it themselves. The pizza themselves are also made of locally sourced ingredients. We love the idea, but this should give you some ideas. Menu suggestions of appropriate accompaniments to certain dishes can boost wine, beer and liquor sales, and also improve the guest experience.
CHECKERS CHOKES
Why it matters to you: Staff are fully responsible for what they post to Facebook.
A Facebook Live video that went viral has resulted in the temporary closing of a Philly Checkers and the firing of several employees. The man featured most prominently in the video, Richard Benson, is seen smoking a cigarette in the kitchen and boasts of unsanitary acts involving food ingredients and also customers.
Given the nature of the statements made by Benson, Checkers handled the situation really well. A spokesperson for Checkers has since made a statement assuring the employees featured were terminated and the location has since been sanitized and re-inspected for safety. Benson says he did the video as a publicity stunt for his music. He deleted the video, but on the internet, anything can live forever.
A HEALTHY SERVING OF SUPER-BUG?
Why it matters to you: Does over using antibiotics for livestock scare you? It should!
The movement to eliminate the unnecessary use of antibiotics for the growth promotion of livestock is gaining momentum in the United States. The European Union banned the practice in 2006 after successful testing in countries like Denmark which proved no negative effect on farm output and reduction in antibiotic resistance in the herds. Here in North America, we have been much slower to respond to the growing threat of a super bug that is antibiotic resistant. We hear about dangerous infections such as staph or MRSA, but we don’t make the connection to our food supply as a major contributor to the risk of an out of control ‘bug’.
Since restaurants are an obvious and aggregated consumer of farm raised meats, many who are fighting against antibiotic over use are pointing at our industry to make a change. The Consumers Union has created an infographic calling out 16 national chains as all but ignoring the importance of antibiotic conservation. You can participate in your own way by asking your purveyors if they stock antibiotic-free meats. Then use that fact to your advantage, but marking your menu as addressing the overuse of these medicines and giving your guest confidence they are safe eating your food. It may cost a few pennies per portion more, but in the end, a super bug will cost us all a helluva lot more!
A CHANGE WILL DO YOU GOOD [Song]
Why it matters to you: If you love feeding people, the restaurant industry isn’t your only option.
How do you follow up a gig as a chef in a Michelin 2 star rated restaurant? Go to work in a school cafeteria of course. Trade that toque for a hairnet and get to feeding a few thousands of kids a day. That’s exactly the path Daniel Guisti followed after leaving his fine dining gig in DC as he took over food operations for the New London School District. What’s interesting is Giusti didn’t do it because he wanted to replicate Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. No, he points to his Italian heritage inspiring a desire to feed lots of people.
Giusti certainly got his wish in New London where his team feeds over 3000 hungry kids daily. The budget is tight, the kids are like pint-sized critics, but he is truly happy in his new role. There is certainly a segment of people that join our industry for the same reason that Giusti went to work in the school system. He just wants to see a lot of people loving his cooking. He is quite clear that he isn’t about nutrition saying, “If they aren’t eating it, it’s not nutritious”. So, he focuses on flavor and making his customers happy. Obviously not much has changed for him except that his customers don’t have to tip.