By Frederick J. DeMicco, Dr. Food Tech and Mike Teng

Tablet PCs, including iPads are taking our hospitality industry by storm. About 140 million tablets are manufactured and shipped worldwide each year and this is projected to increase to at least 2017 (Statista, 2013).

We recently asked our capstone hospitality strategic technologies class here in the Lerner College at the University of Delaware to provide some examples of how the tablet/iPad could be used in a F&B operation. One interesting idea that was germinated was using the iPad as an ordering device from the table (not very new or novel these days), but the novelty was being able to view the entire preparation of your dish live via a camera in the kitchen (and see the step of the recipe in real time) from your restaurant seat as the chef prepared your menu item. We like this, as today’s consumers generally tend to be “culinary literate” but not as “culinary savvy” (in preparing menu items). So this video of the action of menu item preparation is a type of culinary education for the guest. Read more of this >>

Here is what is in a Chicken Nugget. From the marketing you would think that there is only chicken, breading, and seasonings in this favorite food of ours:

**As of October 9, 2010, the ingredients are as follows: Chicken, water, salt, sodium phosphates. Battered and breaded with bleached wheat flour, water, wheat flour, modified food starch, salt, spices, wheat gluten, paprika, dextrose (sugar), yeast, garlic powder, rosemary, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil with mono- and diglycerides, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate), natural flavor (plant source) with extractives of paprika. Fried in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid). Dimethylpolysiloxane is added as an antifoaming agent.[4] McDonald’s ingredients can vary outside of the United States.

** Sodium Phosphates (Added to foods to increase shelf life, to emulsify, a leavening agent, a foaming agent, and an additive to neutralize the acidity or alkalinity of food.)

** Modified Food Starch (Added to foods to substitute for fat, to emulsify, to thicken, and extending shelf life to name a few. It is known to affect many people with food or gluten allergies.)

** Diglycerides (Another food emulsifier additive. May contain trans-fats which lead to possible stroke, heart disease and diabetes.)

** Dimenthylpolysiloxane (An antifoaming agent that is also used in items like Silly Putty. It’s actually used to keep the oil in the nugget from foaming. That’s an appetizing thought.)

** TBHQ (My favorite. This is an oil preserving additive. According to Wikipedia, as long as the upper limit of 0.02% dosage is not exceeded in the food, there should be no concerns for this carcinogenic additive. Also, if you consume enough Lycopene from the ketchup you dip your chicken nuggets into, this acts as a carcinogen blocker – antioxidant. No, I wasn’t paid by Hunt’s or Heinz to say that. )

** Ketchup (If you are like most people, a chicken nugget is bare unless it’s drowning in ketchup. A cup of Ketchup (272 grams) contains 320 calories, 64 grams of sugar (that’s what makes it taste so good) and 2,560 milligrams of sodium. The recommend daily sodium intake from the Mayo Clinic is less than 2,300 milligrams for the average person.)

It is any wonder why we are experiencing some of the health issues we are seeing now? Until next time…

Passionate explosions in an early morning prep kitchen probably occur more often than not. First cook in the kitchen starts up the ovens, cleans the left-over greases from the grill area, and sets the staging for food preps of the day. There’s also similar fluidity to the common tasks required of each line cook and garde manger.

Occasionally when staffing schedules cannot sufficiently meet seasonal demand during peak season (think Spring Break, for instance), the prospect of seeing the GM working back of the house stations might provide the necessary assist on demand. Suffice it to say, the GM then moving along to wait tables, serve, and connect with the diners plays a very responsive PR part when all is accomplished to voluntarily move the orders as expeditiously as possible. In certain brand properties this motivational pull (volunteering to service outside of one’s ordinary station, regardless of managerial hierarchy at the property) is called “Snap.” It’s part of this restaurant’s business model, and its all-around effectiveness is a great marketing and public relations tool. (See the recommended reading below.) Read more of this >>

There’s a storm coming, and you have a full schedule. The hypothetical given is that this is NOT Day One of the storm, rather the week of a weather dynamic headed in your direction.

Today you have a full schedule: Morning buffet breakfast for the Community Economic Development group in the hotel courtyard (65 seats); power luncheon for the University Advisory Board in the private dining room (14 seats); and an evening annual membership reception for the Chamber of Commerce (225 seats). You can thank your reputation and excellent group sales staff for keeping your schedule fully booked. You’ve probably found it useful to have your additional chefs de partie on call for heavy workloads, yet space is limited in the kitchen to cook everything on pre-orders as well as the regular dining call-ins for room service. If your hotel is set up with a catering kitchen, this would be the ideal time to use it for your specialty (pre-cooked) menus and buffet service, while the main kitchen retains orders for service to the main dining room, room service, and any ancillary dining spaces under your helm. Read more of this >>

Move over “Green Washing,” here comes a new term for the day….”Local Menu Washing.”

I’ve always gotten a good chuckle with the liberties menu writers take with their final menu copies. You know, when the “Fresh Catch Of The Day” turns out to be whatever deal the distributor had on frozen fish blocks caught over a month ago. How about “seasonal vegetables” when the produce comes from thousands of miles away (I guess it’s always technically a season somewhere in the world, right?) or, a “hand-crafted” sauce that is actually made from a purchased stock base (I guess that meticulously opening up the number 10 can by hand can be considered a hand-crafted process as well)? We could have an absolute field day with some of the menu print I’ve seen in my travels.

But,….I digress…… Read more of this >>

By Dr. Fred J. DeMicco & Mike Teng, the University of Delaware

Pinterest is a new social media tool that can be used in your F&B operation. Since it is web-based, you can engage all of your customers and far flung global hotels using this tool. You can create your own hotel “group” on Pinterest for your managers and/or associates as a training and education device. For example, you can “pin” articles from trade magazines, any guest comments, new recipes with photos, etc., to share with your staff (anywhere in the world).

Think of Pinterest as a giant bulletin board for employees (and guests) to see. We have been using this here at the University of Delaware in our classes, for students to share Wall Street Journal articles with the class. You can also engage all of your operations to share new recipes, marketing ideas, and guest comments all in a very user-friendly and fun space on the Web. Read more of this >>

All too often I speak with colleagues in the restaurant or retail business baffled by the loss of customer base.  For the life of them they cannot figure it out. They add product, change advertising methods, and make numerous updates to get customers in the door, but the real problem is they can’t keep them—no return interest.

They either refuse to notice or they simply don’t see that the problem is closer than they think.  Truth is that it is often their greatest investment—the staff. While lack of training is the first thought that comes to mind, you will find there is another staffing issue that customers find offensive and reproachable.  So what is it? Arrogant behavior, too superior to serve, expressed with a haughty facial expression and lack of attentiveness. Read more of this >>

I read a quote recently by John Maxwell, he says “You can measure a leader by the problems he tackles. He always looks for ones his own size.” Well, I should begin by informing those who don’t know me personally that I am 6’8”. Yes, I tend to hit my head often, and in case you’re wondering, the weather is fine up here. Although the quote may lead some to ponder the obvious, given a recent incident I encountered, I looked at it a little differently. Instead of thinking about the biggest external issues I face, I forced myself to look at the biggest internal issues I face. Not anyone’s favorite topic to think about.

It has been said that we are our own worst enemies. It has also been said that we are our own worst critics. I can say both of these things about myself. We all battle character flaws which prompt us to find some sort of handicap to help mask or shine the light away from them. These could be traits we are aware or unaware of; pride, jealousy, fear, inadequacy, the way we react to stress, or even anger can top this list. Read more of this >>