NRA Show Blog

"Tuberific" Recipe Ideas

By Better Homes and Gardens Better Recipes' Kristina Vanni and Floored! Blogger-in-Chief Derrek J. Hull

Even though it's the last day of month, it's still February, and that means its National Sweet Potato Month. Did you know 43% of consumers said they’d be more likely to visit a restaurant if it served sweet potato fries, and they would pay more for them than any other type of fry?*

This versatile root is packed with fiber and beta carotene and is an excellent source of vitamin A and C. The following dish is colorful, spicy and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts adds a salty crunch. Expand your palate with the unique flavors of Africa and make this soup today! Best part is, this recipe reheats well and gets better and better as the flavors marry over time!
 
SPICY AFRICAN SWEET POTATO SOUP (View and print recipe by Kristina Vanni)
 
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 cups peeled and cubed fresh sweet potato
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1-1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
32 ounce carton chicken broth
1/3 cup long grain white rice
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried majoram
6 ounces fully cooked spicy sausage links, cubed  (like andouille or other spicy sausages)
1 cup chunky salsa, hot or medium
15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup cubed zucchini
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup dry roasted peanuts, for sprinkling on top of soup

O Canadian Nanaimo Bars

Origial post by Floored's resident food blogger Kristina Vanni of Better Homes and Gardens Better Recipes

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver are coming to a close this weekend! Athletes from across the world have gathered in Vancouver, British Columbia to compete. We are learning more about our neighbors to the north, but what about Canadian cuisine? Check out this video and recipe to learn about a local favorite - Nanaimo Bars!

Canadian Nanaimo Bars

A New Cleaning, Sanitizing Tool to Keep an Ion

 
By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Activeion Cleaning Solutions' ionator EXP™  kicks off our blog series on this year's standout Kitchen Innovations Award recipients set to debut at NRA Show 2010. The National Restaurant Association recently announced the recipients selected by KI's elite team of industry experts. This widely respected panel of judges is constantly on the search for the most cutting-edge equipment available today.

“We are honored to be recognized by the restaurant industry through the prestigious Kitchen Innovations Award program. We know the award—and the related promotion and publicity around it— will play a critical role in our plans to introduce this exciting technology to the industry as well as significantly help us grow our business,” said Todd Schaeffer, vice-president, general manager, Activeion Cleaning Solutions.

The ionator EXP™ is a hand-held power cleaner than converts good old-fashioned tap water into ionized water – a powerful dirt-removing, bacteria-killing “secret agent.” The best part is that it does it all without the use of toxic chemicals. See for yourself how it works.

Award Recipients Represent Latest Kitchen Innovations

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

This year's 16 Kitchen Innovations Award recipients help operators improve efficiency and productivity, conserve energy and water, and save space.

The National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2010 will showcase these cutting-edge solutions selected by the independent panel of judges in May at Chicago's McCormick Place.

“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, president of Aramark’s business and industry group. “Selecting the right equipment for a restaurant kitchen is crucial to creating and serving safe, nutritious and delicious meals.” Cohn is the NRA Show 2010 convention chairman.

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.

Catering to Your Sweet Tooth

 
By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis  Network (FAAN), nearly 13 million Americans have food allergies, and more than 3 million of them are children. That’s 1 in 25 Americans. For those with food allergies, even a trace of an allergen could be life threatening, including those delicious baked treats many of us enjoy regularly. It's hard to imagine a world without dessert.

Families often avoid ordering dessert, or may even avoid restaurants and concession stands altogether, in order to save their children the pain of feeling left out.

Jill Robbins, HomeFree™ founder, mother and clinical psychologist, turned to baking when her son was diagnosed with food allergies almost ten years ago. Before HomeFree, Robbins family would occasionally go to select restaurants, and bake treats to bring with so that her son, Bradley, could enjoy dessert time. She says it just wasn’t the same as being able to order off the menu like everyone else. However, restaurants, as you might expect, do typically go above and beyond to accommodate people living with food allergies, Robbins adds. 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Original post ran February 15, 2010 in SmartBlog on Social Media by Jesse Stanchak, associate editor, SmartBrief on Social Media

Today’s post comes from Derrek J. Hull, voice of the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and International Wine Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) blog Floored!, as well as its Twitter and Facebook profiles.

Restaurants need a response plan that includes social media elements to cope with the fact that customers can leave negative comments almost instantaneously.  Having a plan in place before a situation occurs lets everyone on your team know who the point person is for the response, along with the chain of command and the plan for monitoring the conversation.

Everyone gets a good or bad review at some point. Embrace it — and in the case of a bad review, don’t sweat it. Look at every comment as an opportunity to have a conversation.

“If people are taking the time to give you feedback — even if it’s negative — that’s an opportunity for you to re-frame the conversation with them and hopefully turn the situation into a positive,” said Spike Jones, of word of mouth and identity firm Brains on Fire.

Nobody is perfect. A couple of bad reviews alongside highly positive reviews actually makes potential customers more likely to take you seriously, because they realize your page isn’t full of shills posting fake positive reviews. In the case of Yelp, business owners have an option to respond privately and publicly to reviews — this free feature can be unlocked by visiting biz.yelp.com.

Falling in Love (Over Food)

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Have you made your dinner reservations yet for Valentine's Day? If not, you'd better get on it right away (time's a ticking!). These restaurants are creating mood-setting recipes to warm your heart.

Acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson's C-House will be stirring up the perfect love potion with a three course tasting menu coupled with a glass of sparkling wine (the menu will be available Friday, February 12 through Valentine's Day).

C-House's sibling rooftop bar C-View is offering a Love Potion 29. For $29 per person (Friday, Feb. 12 - Feb. 14, no reservations required), enjoy: A bottle of Santome Prosecco plus your choice of: Potion #1 - Raspberry - Thyme; Potion #2 - Ginger - Lemongrass (this blogger's personal fave), or Potion #3 - Strawberry.

Pastry chef Toni Roberts of C-House will be serving up chocolates, cookies and confections to pair with your choice of "potion."

Upscale French-Vietnamese Le Colonial restaurant embraces the allure and spirit of 1920s French colonial Southeast Asia. Enjoy a $50 prix-fixe menu, featuring all the favorites and several specials. If you prefer to make it a "bar night," enjoy champagne and Scotch specials and the aphrodisiac bar menu.

For the "Breakfast (out of) Bed" romantic

If you're the type who enjoys Sunday Brunch - after all, Valentine's Day is on a Sunday this year - over the prix-fixe dinner route, then ZED451 holds the key to your heart. The restaurant is offering a $24 Sunday Brunch with a champagne toast for two.

C-House and Le Colonial are participating in the National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2010 International Back of the House Restaurant Tour set for Monday, May 24 in Chicago.

Taking the Live Off Groupon Challenge

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

People across America use Groupon for daily deals on local goods, services and cultural events in their city. Recently launched, the Live Off Groupon Challenge has begun a search for one brave applicant crazy enough to attempt to live solely off Groupons for one year to fetch them a whopping $100,000.

The Live Off Groupon winner will begin by surrendering all of their personal possessions (including bank accounts and apartment) in exchange for a laptop, smartphone, a suit made of paper Groupons (no word yet as to whether or not it’s made out of recycled paper), and an unlimited supply of Groupons.

Working only with the resources provides, this lucky Live Off Groupon soul must use only Groupons to survive the wilds of their favorite Groupon cities. The challenger will work with Groupon customers via social media and the Live Off Groupon blog to secure transportation and cover societal demands such as tax and gratuity at neighborhood restaurants.

There are a few compromises Groupon is willing to make:

• Challenger can have healthcare
• Challenger will get some basic equipment
• Groupon will work out a few special Groupon deals for you with businesses featured in the past (such as hotels) to help make this challenge somewhat feasible

2010 Shaping Up to Be Best of Three

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

Coupled with the National Restaurant Association's 2010 Restaurant Industry Forecast projections that restaurant industry sales will reach $580 billion (a 2.5 percent increase over 2009 sales), the Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – edged up 0.9 percent from November and its strongest level in nearly two years.

“Along with a solid improvement among the current situation indicators, restaurant operators are increasingly optimistic about industry growth in the months ahead,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of Research and Knowledge Group, National Restaurant Association. “More than a third of restaurant operators expect their sales to improve in six months, the highest level in more than two years.”

Goose Island Serves Food and Beer Pairing Tips

By Derrek J. Hull, Blogger-in-Chief

What's "hot" on restaurant menus in 2010 you ask? The National Restaurant Association's annual survey of American Culinary Federation member chefs sheds the light. For example, in addition to local wine and beer, the top alcohol trends are culinary cocktails; artisan liquor; organic beer, wine and spirits; food and beer pairing; craft beer; bar chefs/mixologists; gluten-free beer; specialty beer, and organic cocktails.

With Super Bowl XLIV just around the corner, brewmaster Greg Hall of Goose Island Beer Co. shares tips on pairing food with beer in this exclusive Floored! video. Foods highlighted include several cheeses, mussels, and roast chicken paired with Goose Island’s IPA, 312, and Belgian Style Ale Matilda.

Be sure to check out Greg and the Goose Island Beer Co. team at International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB), held May 23-24 at Chicago's McCormick Place in conjunction with the National Restaurant Association's NRA Show 2010. Cheers!