FOOD FANATICS FOOD FOOD PEOPLE MONEY & SENSE PLUS Name Drop Fight or Flight? Greener Pastures Pucker Up Rebranded cuts draw How to handle workers fearful Weighing the costs of Diners are sweet on attention, page 14 of immigration matters, page 48 sustainable practices, page 59 sour beers, page 78 PUT THE SQUEEZE ON Sharing the Love of Food—Inspiring Business Success PUT THE WINTER 2018 CITRUSSQUEEZE REVEALS ALL ON No matter what kind of business you run, Check out FOODFANATICS.COM for more menu inspiration and we’ve got you business solutions. Winter 2018 FoodFanatics.com MONEY & SENSE THE ROAD TO GREENER PASTURES The pros and cons of operating an earth-friendly restaurant. covered! 59 THE BEST OF TIMES Fine-tune your hours of feafeatturinguring operations to yield profits. FOOD 64 BITTERSWEET SURRENDER Hot chocolate gets a IN EVERY ISSUE grown-up edge. TREND TRACKER Herein lies overover 3030 7 What’s hot and what’s not. citrus’ 36 coverageverage options!options! A CUT BY ANY OTHER NAME appeal, co Rebranded proteins reach FEED THE STAFF page 22 GeneralGeneral center plate. Take this test to separate 14 overachievers from LiabilityLiability underperformers. 52 MAIN SQUEEZE Workers’Workers’ compcomp Drop citrus into your IHELP culinary arsenal. Your POS should be your 22 BFF. Here’s how. CommerciaCommerciall 68 HOT CHICKEN! autoAuto Take pride in your poultry by PR MACHINE serving roasts with the most. Give your website the attention 28 it deserves. 70 FOOD PEOPLE BEYOND THE PLATE A LITTLE PRIVACY, PLEASE? Strategies to thrive during Winning with private diners is economic uncertainty. easier than you think. 72 43 DEAR FOOD FANATICS TALK SHOP Advice from the experts. How to support staff vulnerable 76 to U.S. immigration policies. 48 I’LL DRINK TO THAT! Sour beer takes a wild turn. TREND TRACKER ROAD TRIP! 78 Get a taste of the protect your business with proGressive today! dining renaissance in BY THE NUMBERS Washington, D.C. Count on sandwiches. Be in the know Visit ProgressiveCommercial.com. PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICKI LILEY 56 80 @FoodFanatics Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. & a liates. Business insurance may be placed through Progressive Specialty Insurance Agency, Inc. with select insurers, which are not a liated with Progressive, are solely responsible for servicing and claims, and pay the agency commission for policies sold. Prices, coverages, privacy policies and commission rates vary among these insurers. FoodFanatics.com | FOOD FANATICS 1 14B00256.G (03/17) Go online for exclusives. W! FoodFanatics.com NEWhite Cheddar Mac & Cheese Join the US FOODS ADVISORY BOARD President and Chief Executive Officer Pietro Satriano conversation on social. Senior Vice President of Marketing Marshall Warkentin Vice President of Product Development and Innovation Stacie Sopinka Vice President of Corporate Marketing Diane Hund Program Sales and Sponsorships Jennifer Paulson CHEF AND RESTAURANT OPERATION CONSULTANT CONTRIBUTORS Scott Blair, Manassas, VA Alexander Boggs, Memphis Rahm Fama, Los Angeles Gene R. Gransaull, Port Orange, FL Ryan Hicks, Raleigh, NC Bob Kassal,Bensenville, IL Alex Kaulbach, Denver Shawn J. Kiene, Coralville, IA Janelle Lhotka, Seattle Pasul LaRue, Seabrook, NH Rick Pannoni, Manassas, VA Steven Mercer, Allentown, PA ON ACID Jaci Shelby, Kansas City, KS Get the low-down on how the Lance Reynolds, Phoenix Jeffrey Schlissel, Boca Raton, FL acid in citrus can dramatically improve a dish and the ways PUBLISHING PARTNER Feedback We welcome your comments. your menu can benefit. Contact Food Fanatics at: [email protected] Publisher Elizabeth Ervin Contact Bite Me Media at: Bite Me Media HIGH OFF THE HOG Chief Content Officer 4407 N. Beacon St., Suite 3S Chef Ed Sura at Chicago’s NoMI Laura Yee Chicago, IL 60640 or email [email protected] shares the backstory of an Chief Creative Officer Unless otherwise specified, all Joline Rivera correspondence sent to Food underutilized cut of pork that Fanatics is assumed for publication diners ask for by name. Get the Contributing Editors and becomes the copyright Carly Fisher property of US Foods. recipe, too. Peter Gianopulos Advertising Information Contributing Writers For rates and a media kit, contact Lisa Arnett Jennifer Paulson at Kate Bernot 847-268-5176 or email ROCK YOUR POS Jodi Helmer [email protected]. Matt Kirouac A point of sales system may Megan Rowe Food Fanatics is the go-to source Jeff Ruby for the foodservice industry and not seem like scintillating Mike Sula anyone truly passionate about conversation but it will become food, food people and improving Photographers the bottom line. Issued quarterly your favorite topic once you Frank Lawlor and hand-delivered to readers, the Sean McGill magazine is a US Foods publication know how a POS can improve Paul Strabbing produced by Bite Me Media. your business. For more information on the Prop Stylist Food Fanatics program, visit Johanna Lowe www.FoodFanatics.com All rights reserved. © Cover Photography GROWING GREEN Vicki Liley Just how deep can a restaurant About US Foods dive into earth-friendly US Foods is one of America’s great food companies and a leading practices? Deeper than the foodservice distributor, partnering with approximately 250,000 chefs, restaurateurs and foodservice operators to help their businesses succeed. owners of The Perennial in San With nearly 25,000 employees and more than 60 locations, US Foods Francisco ever imagined. Learn provides its customers with a broad and innovative food offering and a comprehensive suite of e-commerce, technology and business solutions. A CONTEMPORARY WAY TO OFFER A REAL CLASSIC. from their lessons. US Foods is headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., and generates approximately $23 billion in annual revenue. Discover more at www.usfoods.com. Elevate classic comfort with melty, creamy 9-month-aged white New York Sharp Cheddar and tender cavatappi. THE HERO IN YOUR SANDWICH With no preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial colors, it’s scratch-made taste you can be proud to call your own. Work the statistics behind trending sandwiches to jump-start menu ideas. 9300 W. Higgins Rd. Contact your Nestlé Professional Sales Representative at 800-288-8682 or nestleprofessional.com/stouffers. Suite 500 Rosemont, IL 60018 All trademarks are owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., Vevey, Switzerland. (847) 720-8000 www.usfoods.com 2 FOOD FANATICS | WINTER 2018 Reaching Back to Move Forward It all starts with the basics. From creating a new menu item to running a profitable restaurant, getting the fundamentals right is essential to building a foundation for long-term success. In the latest issue of YOUR PASSPORT Food Fanatics®, we’re going back to basics to help you find new ways to move forward. TO QUALITY A great example is chicken, America’s favorite protein. Smart chefs We go to great lengths to locate authentic premium ingredients begin with the basics – starting with a quality bird, seasoning properly, from the best regional sources. Because providing distinctive quality cooking to just the right temperature and letting it rest – and then build means going a little farther. Explore your inspiration at usfoods.com, on presentation, complementary side dishes and next-level flavors to where you can order from a selection of oils, grains and extraordinary flavors from around the world. make it special and sell at an even better price point. In this issue, we also explore how savvy chefs are using “forgotten” cuts of protein to reinvent the basics – transforming otherwise straightforward beef and pork dishes into on-trend attention-getters. Learn more about how rebranding these overlooked cuts, like the underutilized baseball, bavette and zabuton for beef and porterhouse and cotta for pork, can provide new room for menu creativity while also controlling food costs. And don’t limit your embrace of the fundamentals to the kitchen. In this issue, we offer ways to maximize your private dining potential by understanding how to meet diners’ basic needs and then build loyalty. We’ll also share stories of how operators are going green – and saving money – by rethinking the basics in their operations. Improving your menu and your business doesn’t require a total transformation. By looking back to the basics, you’ll move forward with a stronger, more profitable business. Good luck, and enjoy the issue! Pietro Satriano President and Chief Executive Officer US Foods® © 2017 US Foods, Inc. 10-2017-FOF-2017100205 © 2017 US Foods, Inc. 10-2017-FOF-2017100205 FOOD PEOPLE DISCOVER SACRED GROUNDS We search high and low for the full-bodied character and singular quality only the best regional sources can provide. Explore your inspiration at usfoods.com, where you can order from a selection of coffees, teas and other speciality ingredients from around the world. BITTERSWEET SURRENDER Hot chocolate gets a grown-up edge BY KATE LEAHY PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL STRABBING PAUL BY PHOTOGRAPHY © 2017 US Foods, Inc. 10-2017-FOF-2017100205 FoodFanatics.com | FOOD FANATICS 7 ❱ Hot chocolate, the mild, milky drink The Healthy Edge What it is: Hot chocolate made with raw cacao, topped with a couple of coconut oil, honey and Ayurvedic herbs. It’s free of marshmallows, occupies dairy and refined sugars. Mann offers two kinds of hot chocolate at Baba the sleepy corner of the Cool: classic ($3.50) and “activated” ($5), with the latter designed to be an energizing sipper. Raw cacao beverage menu right mixed with the herb ashwagandha, prized for its energy-boosting and stress-reducing properties, next to orange juice. serves as the base of the activated drink, along with “Regular hot chocolate is sold to children and maca: the powder form of a root known for its mood- people who are having a bad day,” says Gabriella lifting elements. The base is blended with either Mann, owner of Baba Cool in Brooklyn, New York. water or a choice of milk for smoothness and raw Nearly half of all Americans like hot chocolate, honey for sweetness.