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Steve Marks is perfectly content choosing the cable company’s budget package and will pass on spending $300 on a pair of designer jeans. But plunking down a few extra bucks for a tricked-out doughnut? Sold!

During a recent brunch with friends at Nightwood Restaurant in Pilsen, the 28-year-old persuaded his companions to spring for a $4 bacon and butterscotch doughnut as a starter.
“It was the concept of having bacon on a doughnut that made it so exciting,” said Marks, a human resources consultant from Wicker Park. “The combination of sweet and savory made it really unique, and if you’re spending $3 on a single doughnut, you might as well swing for the fences.”

Move over, cutesy cupcakes. The doughnut’s reputation has undergone an overhaul from Homer Simpson’s chocolate- and sprinkle-covered breakfast of choice to become the latest trend in the pastry scene.

Bakers in Chicago and beyond are experimenting with gourmet flavor combinations and unorthodox ingredients in doughnuts-everything from jelly beans to pomegranate and even sweet potatoes.

Continue reading . . .

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

With a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts within any two-block radius and McDonald’s offering its new McCafé line of premium coffee and espresso, there are more than enough options for Chicagoans in need of a caffeine fix. But followers of locally-owned Intelligentsia Coffee Co. have found a haven for the hot stuff that, in their eyes, those other chains simply don’t deliver.

“It’s by far the best coffee in the city,” said 57-year-old Simon El Hage, as he sipped his post-dinner cup at Intelligentsia’s hipster-esque Broadway Coffee Bar. A senior vice president at Draft FCB, El Hage and his wife trek to Lakeview from their Andersonville home four or five evenings a week for this coffee.

But a small cup, eight ounces, starts at $3. That’s more than at most coffee spots, where a standard 12-ounce small usually runs about $1.50. And with by-the-cup brewing, you can forget free refills.

“Price is no issue when you have the best coffee – period,” El Hage said.

“I wouldn’t mind paying $10,” said his wife, Consuelo. “And I would walk. Any distance!”

Others there and downtown echoed these convictions, raising the obvious question: what’s the big deal?

Continue reading . . .

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

Some food stories beg to be launched with lapidary prose and the gentle ladling of descriptive passages, maybe with a French phrase thrown in for good measure.

Gentle reader, this is not one of those stories.

So we’ll cut to the chase: Do you think you have the guts — or gut — to eat an 11-pound pizza, crust and all, in two hours or less? Could you down — and keep down — a burger consisting of 5 pounds of ground beef topped with a pound of cheese and another pound of bacon? How about a 7-pound burrito?

Maybe it’s the altitude. Maybe it’s the recession. Maybe it’s just some weird paradox about living in what is purportedly the fittest state in one of the world’s fattest nations.

Whatever the reason, Colorado is awash in belt-busting food challenges.

One of the latest entries in the stomach sweepstakes is the “Hugilio” offered at Virgilio’s Pizzeria in Lakewood.

The concept is simple: Devour the entire 28-inch, 11-pound combo pizza in under two hours, and you win $1,000 plus a few other goodies. Fail, and you pay the $65 tab. Yes, you sign a waiver.

Continue reading . . .

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

Adding an extra pickle slice or two to a burger and calling it customization just won’t cut it today. Burger customization now encompasses protein choice, bun style, toppings and more. Just-the-basics burger joints are making way for build-your-own burger bars that boast countless combinations.

These choose-your-elements restaurants range in price from classically trained chef Hubert Keller’s three Burger Bar locations (where meat choices include a $16 American Kobe beef patty) to 23-unit The Counter, which claims to offer 312,120 burger-topping combinations.

Tim Goodell saw the customization trend developing and wanted to tap it because he saw it as an affirmative expression. “People want the freedom to choose rather than be told what they should eat,” he says. “It’s liberating.”

The president of Domaine Restaurants, Goodell and his wife, Liza, have operated several upscale West Cost restaurants, including Aubergine, Troquet and, currently, Red Pearl Kitchen and Dakota. In 2006, they opened 25 Degrees in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The name refers to the difference between a medium-rare and a well-done burger, hinting at a sassy style that extends to fuchsia wallpaper and retro leather-upholstered booths.

Continue reading . . .

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

Jack in the Box restaurants will offer a free Grilled Sandwich with the purchase of any large drink on Tuesday, Feb. 23, to drive trial of the new premium product launched earlier this month.

Jack in the Box offers two varieties of Grilled Sandwiches, each served on grilled artisan bread: Turkey, Bacon & Cheddar, which features roasted turkey, two slices of cheddar cheese and two bacon strips topped with a sundried tomato sauce; and Deli Trio, which features Genoa salami, sliced ham, roasted turkey, two slices of provolone cheese and two pickle fillets topped with a creamy Italian sauce. Grilled Sandwiches are available at participating Jack in the Box restaurants for $3.99 each, plus tax.

“Our new Grilled Sandwiches have been very popular, especially among guests looking for something different than the traditional fast-food fare,” said Tammy Bailey, division vice president of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box Inc. “This is an innovative menu item for a major fast-food chain, with a distinctive blend of high-quality, flavorful ingredients, like the new grilled artisan bread. As word spreads about the February 23 promotion, we want to drive trial of our new Grilled Sandwiches and attract consumers who might not typically visit a fast-food restaurant to introduce them to the many other innovative menu items that differentiate Jack in the Box from our competition.”

Jack in the Box serves its full menu all day, every day, so the free Grilled Sandwiches will be available from the time restaurants open on February 23 until the close of business that day or Midnight if the location is open 24 hours.

[Grilled Sandwiches are not available at restaurants in Yakima, Wash., Twin Falls, Idaho, nor in the Texas markets of Austin, Beaumont/Pt. Arthur/Lake Charles and Waco.]

About Jack in the Box Inc.

Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK), based in San Diego, is a restaurant company that operates and franchises Jack in the Box® restaurants, one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains, with more than 2,200 restaurants in 18 states. Additionally, through a wholly owned subsidiary, the company operates and franchises Qdoba Mexican Grill®, a leader in fast-casual dining, with more than 500 restaurants in 42 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.jackinthebox.com.

• Restaurant Marketing Secrets
• The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget
• Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money
• Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood
• Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers
• The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales
• The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day
• Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success
• Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off
• Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry
• Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)
• 1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between
• Bar and Restaurant Logos
• Logos of American Restaurants
• Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

As London Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow, it’s not just the designers who will be putting the finishing touches to their collections. An army of caterers, drafted in to provide perfect bite-sized morsels for the fashion crowd to nibble upon, will be busily finessing their menus. In recent years at least, the business of making canapés has been elevated to an art form – each small mouthful a chance for the chef to exhibit limitless culinary trickery. It has, it seems, all come a long, long way since the dark old days of pigs in blankets and cheese and pineapple on a stick.

“It’s amazing to think that 10 years ago people didn’t really know what a canapé was,” says Victoria Blashford-Snell, caterer and author of three canapé recipe books. “We’ve been through many incarnations in a very short space of time. First, they got a bit a too clever and ironic; then they became incredibly over-fussy and complicated. Now I think we’ve come to realise the best are the ones that are fresh, clean and honest, that look brilliant, and in one bite taste absolutely stupendous.”

One catering company that has its work cut out for it this Fashion Week is Nomad Food and Design, which, tellingly, was set up by a fashion photographer-turned-restauranteur, Martin Phillippe. Nomad opened in Paris in 1999 and it wasn’t long before its ability to create canapés which perfectly reflected the various aesthetic demands of a brand had lured in many of the big names, including Dior, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint-Laurent, Hermes and Chanel. Business became so brisk that a second kitchen, headed by chef Tomasz Adamowicz, opened in London in 2005.

“One of the key things that Martin set out to do was to create something that was very different to the bog-standard French catering company,” says Nomad’s events director, Michael Namock. “It may sound quite hard to believe but when it comes to outside catering, Britain is way ahead of France. In France it’s all very traditional and French. Martin set out to create a company that could create food to match any brief.”

Continue reading . . .

Burger King Corp is taking a page from the playbook of McDonald’s Corp and pulling a slice of cheese from its $1 double cheeseburger.

Starting on April 26, the fast-food chain will sell a “BK Dollar Double” with two burgers and one slice of cheese, Burger King said on Wednesday. That’s six days after the company raises the price of the $1 double cheeseburger to a suggested $1.19.

Burger King and McDonald’s have successfully used $1 burgers to lure diners into stores. McDonald’s raised the price of its popular double cheeseburger to a suggested $1.19 from $1 in December 2008.

Continue reading . . .

• The Burger King: Jim McLamore and the Building of an Empire

The National Restaurant Association has announced the recipients of this year’s prestigious Kitchen Innovations™ (KI) Award and the ionator EXP™ from Activeion Cleaning Solutions is on the list of standout innovations. The awards program recognizes the most innovative and revolutionary commercial kitchen equipment from around the world.

The ionator EXP is a revolutionary cleaning and sanitizing tool that converts tap water into ionized water, a powerful dirt-removing and bacteria-killing agent. To see how the ionator EXP works, click here.

“Products like the ionator EXP from Activeion make restaurants run faster, smoother and more efficiently, which will result in better customer service and higher quality food,” says Ira Cohn, convention chair for NRA Show 2010 and president of ARAMARK Business and Industry Group. ”Selecting the right equipment for a restaurant kitchen is crucial to creating and serving safe, nutritious and delicious meals.”

“The ionator EXP is great for restaurants and food service operations. When applied to a surface, the ionized water cleans and kills harmful bacteria without chemicals, even H1N1, while leaving nothing behind — zero residue,” says Todd Schaeffer, vice-president and general manager, Activeion Cleaning Solutions. “In fact, the ionator EXP is one of the only cleaners in the world without a chemical-related health warning label, providing an excellent alternative for cleaning — and a good choice for humans, animals and the environment. It’s easy on the budget too — just fill with tap water and you’re ready to clean and sanitize.”

The Kitchen Innovations Awards are judged by an independent panel of restaurant, foodservice and lodging industry leaders, and sponsored by the National Restaurant Association.

The ionator EXP, along with the other Kitchen Innovations winners, will be showcased at the 2010 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show®, from May 22-25 at Chicago‘s McCormick Place, the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals in the world. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org/show.

Both the ionator EXP and a smaller consumer version, the ionator HOM™, are available now at www.activeion.com.

Activeion Cleaning Solutions, LLC, headquartered in Rogers, Minn., is a privately held cleaning technology company created to revolutionize the cleaning industry through the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of advanced cleaning technologies and products. Addressing the ever-growing need for sustainable cleaning, Activeion’s ionized water technology solutions — including the ionator EXP and ionator HOM — are ideal for restaurants, offices, hotels, hospitals, schools and private residences, and have been featured on Forbes.com, The Doctors, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. For more information, call 866.950.4667 or visit www.activeion.com. © 2010 Activeion Cleaning Solutions.  Patents Pending, Activeion Cleaning Solutions  and Tennant Company.

Dawn Professional, a leading provider of foodservice cleaning solutions, today announces the launch of the “Make Your Restaurant Shine” contest, awarding one U.S. restaurant $20,000 toward business improvements and a one-on-one expert consultation with restaurateur and “Top Chef” star Chef Spike Mendelsohn.  The award can be used to update kitchen equipment, make cosmetic improvements or implement other business-driving investments that may have been put off during the down economy.  Restaurants owners can apply online now through April 12, 2010 at www.DawnCelebrations.com.

“Last year, restaurant industry traffic experienced the sharpest decline since 1981, so we understand what our customers are going through,” says Eric Hetrick, Director, P&G Professional.  ”We’ve been a trusted part of the restaurant industry for decades and saw an opportunity to give back to this community by helping restaurants emerge from the recession stronger than ever.  The program is a direct extension of our commitment to providing trusted products and resources that help restaurants succeed.”

Dawn Professional partnered with “Top Chef” star Chef Spike Mendelsohn on the launch of this program because, as an experienced restaurateur, he understands the importance of all ingredients in running a successful business – including everything from food and staff to presentation and cleanliness.  In fact, having started in his family’s restaurant business as a dishwasher, he especially values using trusted, powerful products that can make a big difference in the kitchen.  

“I’ve been using Dawn Professional in my restaurant, The Good Stuff Eatery in D.C., for years,” says Chef Mendelsohn.  ”As I get ready to open my second restaurant, I am again going through the process of vetting and securing only the best partners and resources. I’m looking forward to working with the brand to share the expertise I’ve gained with restaurateurs looking to establish themselves, build a reputation for their food and grow their business.”

The winner of the “Make Your Restaurant Shine” contest receives:

• A $20,000 check toward restaurant improvements
• A one-on-one consultation with Chef Spike Mendelsohn at the winner’s restaurant to provide recommendations on how to use the prize and to share best practices on running a successful business today
• A paid trip for 4 adults to the 2010 National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, where the winner can attend educational seminars and partner with industry peers

The “Make Your Restaurant Shine” contest is now open online at www.DawnCelebrations.com.  U.S. restaurant owners can apply today through April 12, 2010 by filling out a simple form on the Dawn Web site.  The program complements Dawn Professional’s current brand campaign, “Twice the Power, Twice the Smarts,” which was developed to communicate the importance of performance and value of Dawn Professional so restaurant owners can focus on creating memorable customer experiences.  For more information and full rules, visit www.DawnCelebrations.com today.

The Dawn Professional line provides comprehensive kitchen cleaning solutions to restaurants around the country.  Its concentrated formula uses the most advanced grease cutting technology to wash up to twice the number of dishes than similar products.  More information is available at www.DawnCelebrations.com or http://www.pgpro.com.

Dawn Professional, a leading provider of foodservice cleaning solutions, today announces the launch of the “Make Your Restaurant Shine” contest, awarding one U.S. restaurant $20,000 toward business improvements and a one-on-one expert consultation with restaurateur and “Top Chef” star Chef Spike Mendelsohn.  The award can be used to update kitchen equipment, make cosmetic improvements or implement other business-driving investments that may have been put off during the down economy.  Restaurants owners can apply online now through April 12, 2010 at www.DawnCelebrations.com.

“Last year, restaurant industry traffic experienced the sharpest decline since 1981, so we understand what our customers are going through,” says Eric Hetrick, Director, P&G Professional.  ”We’ve been a trusted part of the restaurant industry for decades and saw an opportunity to give back to this community by helping restaurants emerge from the recession stronger than ever.  The program is a direct extension of our commitment to providing trusted products and resources that help restaurants succeed.”

Dawn Professional partnered with “Top Chef” star Chef Spike Mendelsohn on the launch of this program because, as an experienced restaurateur, he understands the importance of all ingredients in running a successful business – including everything from food and staff to presentation and cleanliness.  In fact, having started in his family’s restaurant business as a dishwasher, he especially values using trusted, powerful products that can make a big difference in the kitchen.  

“I’ve been using Dawn Professional in my restaurant, The Good Stuff Eatery in D.C., for years,” says Chef Mendelsohn.  ”As I get ready to open my second restaurant, I am again going through the process of vetting and securing only the best partners and resources. I’m looking forward to working with the brand to share the expertise I’ve gained with restaurateurs looking to establish themselves, build a reputation for their food and grow their business.”

The winner of the “Make Your Restaurant Shine” contest receives:

• A $20,000 check toward restaurant improvements
• A one-on-one consultation with Chef Spike Mendelsohn at the winner’s restaurant to provide recommendations on how to use the prize and to share best practices on running a successful business today
• A paid trip for 4 adults to the 2010 National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, where the winner can attend educational seminars and partner with industry peers

The “Make Your Restaurant Shine” contest is now open online at www.DawnCelebrations.com.  U.S. restaurant owners can apply today through April 12, 2010 by filling out a simple form on the Dawn Web site.  The program complements Dawn Professional’s current brand campaign, “Twice the Power, Twice the Smarts,” which was developed to communicate the importance of performance and value of Dawn Professional so restaurant owners can focus on creating memorable customer experiences.  For more information and full rules, visit www.DawnCelebrations.com today.

The Dawn Professional line provides comprehensive kitchen cleaning solutions to restaurants around the country.  Its concentrated formula uses the most advanced grease cutting technology to wash up to twice the number of dishes than similar products.  More information is available at www.DawnCelebrations.com or www.pgpro.com.

Burger King Corp. and Seattle’s Best Coffee, part of the Starbucks Corporation family of brands, today announced they have signed an agreement to offer Seattle’s Best Coffee®, in approximately 7,250 BURGER KING® restaurants across the United States by September 2010. Offering freshly-brewed premium coffee made from 100-percent arabica beans is part of Burger King Corp.’s commitment to enhancing the brand’s beverage platform and breakfast menu.

In keeping with the BURGER KING^® brand’s HAVE IT YOUR WAY^® philosophy, restaurant guests can enjoy a great-tasting, freshly-brewed cup of Seattle’s Best Blend^® coffee, hot or iced, with optional vanilla or mocha flavor and whipped topping, at a suggested retail price of $1 to $2.79.

“With more than 40 years of heritage in premium coffee, Seattle’s Best Coffee^® brings a high-quality, great tasting cup of coffee to BURGER KING^® restaurant guests in the U.S.,” said John Schaufelberger, senior vice president, global product marketing and innovation, Burger King Corp. “The addition of Seattle’s Best Coffee^® expands on our HAVE IT YOUR WAY^® brand promise by offering our guests even more beverage options and strengthens our ability to remain competitive in a continuously changing industry.”

“We believe everyone should be able to get a great cup of coffee,” said Michelle Gass, president, Seattle’s Best Coffee, LLC. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Burger King Corp. to complement their breakfast program. Together, we are making premium coffee far more accessible than it has ever been.”

Seattle’s Best Coffee^® first started roasting coffee back in 1970, and today is one of the most recognized specialty coffee brands in the United States. The Uncommonly Smooth™ taste profile of Seattle’s Best^® comes from years of experience in sourcing and roasting the highest-quality beans, creating truly satisfying and delicious blends.

Seattle’s Best Coffee^® will replace Burger King Corp.’s current BK JOE^® coffee program.

The BURGER KING^® system operates more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and in 73 countries and U.S. territories worldwide. Approximately 90 percent of BURGER KING^® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. In 2008, Fortune magazine ranked Burger King Corp. (BKC) among America’s 1,000 largest corporations and in 2010, Standard & Poor’s included shares of Burger King Holdings, Inc. in the S&P MidCap 400 index. BKC was recently recognized by Interbrand on its top 100 “Best Global Brands” list and Ad Week has named it one of the top three industry-changing advertisers within the last three decades. To learn more about Burger King Corp., please visit the company’s Web site at www.bk.com.

Founded in 1970, Seattle’s Best Coffee, LLC has more than 550 specialty coffee cafes and kiosks in the U.S. and Canada including an expanding franchising program. Its packaged coffee is available in supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada and its recently introduced ready-to drink iced lattes are available in the Western U.S. Seattle’s Best Coffee is also brewed at more than 15,000 locations, such as college campuses, restaurants, hotels, airlines and cruise lines. Seattle’s Best Coffee’s smooth roasting delivers a rich and balanced Uncommonly Smooth^™ taste. Seattle’s Best Coffee is a featured brand within Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX). For more information, please visit Seattle’s Best Coffee online at www.seattlesbest.com.

Restaurant Marketing Secrets

The Restaurant Marketing Bible: How To Market Your Restaurant on a Shoestring Budget

Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money

Foodservice Marketing for the ’90s: How to Become the #1 Restaurant in Your Neighborhood

Restaurant Marketing for Owners and Managers

The Food Service Professionals Guide to: Increasing Restaurant Sales

The Food Service Professional Guide to Restaurant Promotion & Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day

Restaurant Biz Is Showbiz!: Why Marketing Is the Key to Your Success

Restaurant Newsletters That Pay Off

Grassroots Marketing For The Restaurant Industry

Marketing Plan for a Fast-casual Restaurant (Fill-in-the-Blank Marketing Plans, Volume 1 – Fast-casual Restaurant)

1000 Restaurant, Bar, and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything In Between

Bar and Restaurant Logos

Logos of American Restaurants

Creative Restaurant Graphics 1: Excellence in Contemporary Design

The National Restaurant Association today announced the recipients of its prestigious 2010 Kitchen Innovations™ (KI) Award, which recognizes the most groundbreaking equipment on the global foodservice market as selected by an independent panel of experts. This year’s awardees will provide restaurant and foodservice operators with new solutions to serve their guests the highest quality meals and service while increasing productivity, safety, cost-efficiency and environmental sustainability. All the KI products will be showcased in an interactive demonstration area at the 2010 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show at Chicago’s McCormick Place, May 22-25.

“Each member of our panel of judges has the hands-on experience to recognize true innovation, which is what makes our KI program so exciting. These products will make restaurants run faster, smoother and more efficiently, which will result in better customer service and higher quality food,” said Ira Cohn, Convention Chair for NRA Show 2010 and President of ARAMARK Business and Industry Group. “Selecting the right equipment for a restaurant kitchen is crucial to creating and serving safe, nutritious and delicious meals.”

The 2010 Kitchen Innovations Award recipients are:

Activeion Cleaning Solutions, LLC – The ionator EXP™
A hand-held, on-demand power cleaner that converts tap water into ionized water—a powerful dirt-removing, bacteria-killing agent. When used as directed the ionator EXP kills 99.999% of harmful bacteria without the use of toxic chemicals.

Alto-Shaam, Inc.- The Alto-Shaam CombiTouch™
An intuitive pictorial and video graphic touch screen control. CombiTouch commands all the basic and advanced cooking functions for 250 standard and customized recipes and training, without operators having to read text.

Champion Industries – E2series Flight with Quad Rinse
A unique linkage between the conveyor and the water flow control conserves water and energy use, as hot water input is reduced proportionately, when the speed of the conveyor is slowed.

Champion Industries – Heat Recovery Unit with Temp-Sure system
This innovation eliminates the need to pre-heat the final rinse water, to conserve energy, while the temp-sure system continually monitors outlet temperature and adjusts airflow to maintain the proper rinse temperature.

Ecolab- Scrub N Go™ – Cordless Floor Scrubber
This compact scrubber replaces the daily mop and bucket. It cleans, scrubs, vacuums, and dries, all in one pass. With its rapid-recharge
lithium battery, Scrub N Go scrubs at 1045 rpm and the powerful vacuum leaves floors virtually dry and safe.

Henny Penny Corporation – iControl™ for Evolution Elite®
The Gas Evolution Elite Open Fryer now offers the new iControl, which monitors all fryer activity. iControl provides the operator with data to improve oil usage, meet product quality standards, and continuously optimize frying operations.

Hobart Corporation – Ventless AM Warewasher
The Hobart AM Ventless eliminates the need for purchase and installation of a hood. It’s the first ventless door-type that recaptures water vapor, and condenses it, to heat the incoming cold water inlet for the final rinse cycle.

Irinox USA, LLC – Multi Fresh Blast Chillers
Multi Fresh brings it all together – blast chill, shock freeze, rapid thaw and proofing – controlled by its Dynamic Fresh System®, which allows you to cook, hold and serve optimal food freshness to the table.

Manitowoc Beverage Systems/Manitowoc Foodservice – TRUfill™ Beverage Dispensing System
This unique system dispenses beverages, most notably draft beer, in 84% less server time. It delivers the “perfect pour” via a nozzle that engages through a one-way resealable valve in the bottom of the cup.

Merrychef / Manitowoc Foodservice – eikon™ Accelerated Cooking Oven
The new eikon series of speed ovens, offer an icon-driven touch screen operation enabling instant menu management with archive capacity,
ethernet updates, operator training and service maintenance instructions.

Middleby Corp. – Middleby Marshall Mini WOW Oven
This high speed conveyer oven with the Middleby Marshall patented energy-eye and motor sleep mode technology automatically powers down between uses and saves 30% in energy versus prior models.

Middleby Corp. – Southbend Ultimate Range
The Ultimate Range is completely configurable to customers’ needs. Design your own range, using its dedicated website, offering an array
of options like gas tops with electric ovens, front sauté burners with high output back burners, and many more.

Multiplex/Manitowoc Foodservice – Blend In Cup Smoothie Machine
This small footprint, refrigerated Blend In Cup machine produces a wide range of quality smoothies and dairy based beverages. All ingredients are onboard, including the ice machine, and its touch screen allows operators to manage inventory and operational procedures.

Oliver Packaging & Equipment Company – Mini Chip Slicer
This countertop slicer is designed to safely and efficiently create healthy snack chips from day old bakery … bagels, baguettes, and buns. The blade frame guard makes cleaning safe. Easily replace blade cartridge: no service call required.

Perfect Fry Company – Spin Fresh Centrifugal Fryer
Perfect Fry’s countertop fryer uses Spin Fresh technology with a built in spinner basket. After cooking it spins off the excess oil during a finishing convection cooking step, to provide reduced calories and enhanced taste experience.

Vegawatt – Vegawatt™ Cogeneration System
Vegawatt is a fully automated and work-flow integrated energy cogeneration (CHP) system that generates on-site electricity and hot water for foodservice operations by using the waste vegetable oil from their fryers as a fuel source.

All Kitchen Innovations Award applicants were judged by an independent, expert panel of industry leaders consisting of Dan Bendall (principal, FoodStrategy, Inc.); Martin Cowley (senior manager design & standards, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts); William Eaton (chairman of the board, Cini-Little International); Robert Forrester (principal, Restaurant Industry Solutions); Foster F. Frable Jr. (founding partner, Clevenger Frable LaValee); Aaron LaMotte (director, Sodexo Performance Interiors); Robert Marshall (V.P., U.S. operations, McDonald’s Corp.); George McNeill (vice president, culinary and corporate chef, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC); and Kathleen H. Seelye (managing partner, Ricca Newmark Design).

The annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals. NRA Show 2010 will be held May 22-25, at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event attracts tens of thousands of attendees and visitors from all 50 states and 100+ countries, and showcases more products, services, innovative ideas and other growth opportunities than any other industry event. For more information, visit the Show Web site at www.restaurant.org/show.

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which is comprised of 945,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a work force of 12.7 million employees. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.

A new fast food sensation has hit the Emirates’ culinary scene.

Right now, Dubai diners can’t seem to get enough of the “camel burger.”

“It’s a sensation,” Ramesh, restaurant manager at “Local House” the restaurant chain behind the burgers told CNN. “Everyone’s bored of beef and chicken. So, as soon as the word got out, we had queues of customers eager to give it a try.”

Not only are the exotic burgers a novelty, they are also a healthier alternative to their beefy American cousins, the restaurant claims. The $6 “camel quarter-pounder” is virtually fat and cholesterol-free, according to Ramesh.

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McLane, a leading supply chain services company, today announced that two of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s regional franchisee associations presented the company with their respective “Vendor-of-the-Year” Award for outstanding service and overall performance.

The Southern California KFC Franchisee Association honored the McLane Riverside team for their excellent day-to-day performance, and for their heroic effort in continually supplying fresh chicken during KFC’s free meal giveaway announced on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Additionally, this KFC franchisee association recognized the flawless transfer of business to McLane last year; a move that involved 145 KFC locations and 50 of the Southern California KFC Franchisee Association’s members.

“McLane proved their systems and capabilities are top-notch at our most challenging times. Their expertise and dedication makes the whole process run smoothly,” said Mark Steinke, President of the Southern California Franchisee Association.

The KFC Northeast Franchisee Association recognized the McLane Albany, Burlington and Manassas teams for their day-to-day outstanding support and efficiencies.

“McLane goes above and beyond our expectations to service our organization,” said Keith Cole, President of KFC Northeast Franchisee Association. “Whenever there’s a problem, McLane finds a solution to fit our needs. They’re a key partner in our success.”

McLane services some of the world’s largest chain restaurant systems and adheres to the most rigorous standards. With nationwide reach and a local presence in key population centers, McLane delivers world-class expertise, logistics, technology and promotion services.

“Every day we’re grateful to be the distributor partner of choice for all of our customers and we’re very honored to be presented with these prestigious awards from both the Northeast and the Southern California KFC Franchisee Associations,” said Susan Adzick, VP of Sales & Marketing for McLane Foodservice.

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy®, Kentucky Grilled Chicken™ and Original Recipe Strips with home-style sides, Honey BBQ Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches. Every day, more than 12 million customers are served at KFC restaurants in 109 countries and territories around the world. KFC operates more than 5,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 15,000 units around the world. KFC is world famous for its Original Recipe® fried chicken — made with the same secret blend of 11 herbs and spices Colonel Harland Sanders perfected more than a half-century ago. Customers around the globe also enjoy more than 300 other products — from Kentucky Grilled Chicken in the United States to a salmon sandwich in Japan. KFC is part of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, with more than 36,000 locations around the world. The company is ranked #239 on the Fortune 500 List, with revenues in excess of $11 billion in 2008.

McLane is a $34 billion supply chain services leader, providing grocery and foodservice supply chain solutions for thousands of convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and military locations, as well as thousands of chain restaurants throughout the United States. With 38 modern distribution centers and one of the nation’s largest private fleets, the company optimizes the purchase, flow and sale of products from thousands of suppliers to over 60,000 locations. Every year, McLane delivers over 10 billion pounds of merchandise to satisfied customers in every state and county in the U.S. The company also provides logistics services in Brazil and exports to 34 countries around the world. McLane is a wholly owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK) and employs 15,000 teammates globally. For more information, please visit www.mclaneco.com.

The “McItaly,” hawked with the slogan “McDonald’s speaks Italian,” is made entirely of Italian DOP products (Protected Designation of Origin) and the meal’s ingredients make up the colors of the Italian flag — red, white and green.

“We’re out to defend our identity and the ‘Made in Italy’ trademark,” Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia said in a statement, adding that the venture was designed to “promote the taste of Italy,” particularly to young people.

“We want to give an imprint of Italian flavors to our youngsters,” he said.

But the flag-flying burger, which comes with a choice of artichoke spread and Asiago cheese or onion, lettuce and smoked pancetta, has come under heavy criticism by food critics both in Italy and abroad.

Continue reading . . .

• Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s
• McDonald’s: Behind The Arches
• Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success
• None of Us is As Good As All of Us: How McDonald’s Prospers by Embracing Inclusion and Diversity
• Biography – Ray Kroc: Fast Food McMillionaire (DVD)
• Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia, Second Edition
• My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons from Behind the Counter Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Domino’s Pizza sent out a press release this week – timed coincidentally for Superbowl Sunday – claiming that an “independent, blind taste test of nearly 1,800 random pizza consumers” proves their new recipe is better than those of their main competitors: Papa John’s and Pizza Hut.

That’s good news for American pizza lovers, but don’t expect to be able to find the new, improved menu items in Canadian Domino’s restaurants this Superbowl weekend.

“The new pizza is in the US only right now,” said a spokesman Friday. “Not sure of any other plans [...] I don’t have any info on what’s happening in Canada.”

Dominos faced a torrent of criticism when USA Today published the results of a national pizza taste survey that ranked Domino’s behind every other pizza restaurant but Chuck E. Cheese.

That pushed the company to recently launch a campaign called “Oh Yes We Did,” in which executives admitted focus groups had lambasted their product as being “like cardboard,” “worst excuse for pizza I’ve ever had” and “totally devoid of flavour.”

“The cardboard complaint is the most common one we hear,” said Lozen in an ad for the campaign.

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Jeanne Debons, executive director of the Potato Variety Management Institute (PVMI), is meeting McDonald’s officials and other officials from within the potato industry in Caldwell, Idaho, Tuesday.

Debons hopes the meeting leads to McDonald’s considering new varieties of potatoes for its French fries. She believes her organization has promising new varieties that will satisfy the fast food restaurant chain’s needs.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to McDonald’s for three years,” Debons said. “It’s very exciting. I really want to make this meeting count.”

The meeting was organized by the Idaho Potato Commission. In addition to officials from McDonald’s, there will be a representative from each of the potato commissions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho and four breeding researchers and scientists from the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program, which is supported by the PVMI.

Continue reading . . .

• Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s
• McDonald’s: Behind The Arches
• Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success
• None of Us is As Good As All of Us: How McDonald’s Prospers by Embracing Inclusion and Diversity
• Biography – Ray Kroc: Fast Food McMillionaire (DVD)
• Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia, Second Edition
• My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons from Behind the Counter Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style

Whether you’re a dipper, a squeezer, or a health-minded ketchup lover, Heinz is giving everyone more ways to enjoy America’s Favorite Ketchup. Today, Heinz announced three ketchup innovations in response to consumer demand: Heinz Dip & Squeeze™, with a breakthrough dual-function ketchup package for the foodservice industry that promises to make eating on-the-go more fun and convenient; a reduction in sodium across its base ketchup line to support consumers’ desire for lower-sodium products; and the launch of Simply Heinz™ Tomato Ketchup, made with sugar, for the retail market.

“For more than a century, product and packaging innovation based on a thorough understanding of what consumers want has been a critical part of the great success of Heinz Ketchup,” said William R. Johnson, H.J. Heinz Company Chairman, President and CEO. “Heinz Ketchup’s Dip & Squeeze product is just the latest milestone in our long history of packaging innovation. From the first plastic ketchup bottle to Top-Down™ and Fridge Door Fit™, Heinz continues to lead the industry in ketchup packaging innovation.”

To Dip or Squeeze?

A true packaging breakthrough, the Heinz Dip & Squeeze dual-function package gives ketchup lovers two ways to enjoy Heinz Ketchup: either peel back the lid for easy dipping, or tear off the tip to squeeze onto favorite foods. The new package holds three times as much Heinz Ketchup as the traditional packet.

That means more ketchup when it’s wanted and where it’s wanted with less mess and a better overall dining experience. Now, busy Americans have a portable, clean and versatile package that makes it easier and more fun to dip or squeeze Heinz Ketchup no matter where they are.

“Americans love Heinz Ketchup, and now the Dip & Squeeze product makes it easier and more fun for them to enjoy it on-the-go,” said Dave Ciesinski, Vice President of Heinz Ketchup. “From dipping nuggets and fries to squeezing ketchup on hamburgers or eggs, the Heinz Dip & Squeeze product gives consumers more flexibility, so they can have fun and enjoy eating Heinz Ketchup on whatever and wherever they want.”

The new Heinz Dip & Squeeze product marks the first ketchup packet makeover for the foodservice industry in 42 years. In the past, on-the-go eaters have struggled to open multiple ketchup packets while worrying about making a mess.

More Choices

Heinz also is extending its range of lifestyle-driven products available in retail to include Simply Heinz Tomato Ketchup, which is made with sugar, instead of high fructose corn sweetener. The product will be available in 32-oz. and 15-oz. ketchup bottles beginning in March. This new addition extends Heinz Ketchup’s range of lifestyle products, which also includes Heinz^® Organic Ketchup, Heinz^® Hot & Spicy Ketchup, Heinz^® No Salt Added Ketchup and Heinz^® Reduced Sugar Ketchup. As the leading ketchup producer in the U.S., Heinz is passionate about providing its consumers with choices that fit a diverse array of lifestyles and dietary needs.

Now with Lower Sodium

To help in the effort to reduce consumers’ sodium intake, Heinz will reduce sodium by 15 percent in its core line of ketchup beginning this summer.

“As the largest producer of ketchup in the U.S., Heinz is dedicated to meeting the growing consumer demand for better-for-you products, particularly with lower sodium,” said Idamarie Laquatra, Director of Global Nutrition, Heinz. “Heinz Ketchup is proud to provide consumers with lower sodium ketchup with the great taste that Americans expect.”

This reduction in sodium will make Heinz Ketchup the lowest-sodium, nationally available ketchup in the U.S. So, whether people are on the go, eating out or at home, they will be enjoying the same great taste of Heinz Ketchup they love, with less sodium.

Sharing the Love

To give America’s ketchup lovers a place to express their love of ketchup, Heinz Ketchup is launching a Facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/HeinzKetchup. The destination is a place for enthusiasts to share stories, videos, photos – anything and everything related to Heinz Ketchup. Fans of the Heinz Ketchup Facebook page also will be the first to receive exclusive news on new products and innovations, including the latest details on the launch of Heinz Dip & Squeeze.

Heinz Dip & Squeeze is rolling out nationwide and will be available at quick service restaurants nationwide by the end of 2010.