UFood Restaurant Group, Inc. announced that it has signed a Master License agreement with premier travel retailer Hudson Group Retail LLC for the expansion of its UFood Grill concept to 10 additional US airports.

UFood Grill currently operates fast casual restaurants in Boston’s Logan International Airport and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, two of the busiest airports in the world. The company recently entered into a franchise agreement for a location at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport.

The company slogan is “Feel great. Eat Smart.” They specialize in cuisine that contains “better-for-you” versions of traditional fast food favorites. Offerings include healthy, low-fat dishes made with natural and organic ingredients, fresh produce, whole grains and light cheeses and dressings. All UFood menu items are baked, grilled or steamed; nothing is fried. In addition, nutritional information for each food item is accessible and accurate.

Airports have burgeoning “healthy eating” segments in the Food & Beverage market and UFood is seeking to clearly be on the cutting edge.

Headquartered in Boston, Food Restaurant Group, Inc. is a franchisor and operator of fast-casual food service restaurants. UFood Grill offers healthy lifestyle alternative to consumers in the fast-casual restaurant space and is positioned to become a leading player in the “better-for-you” quick-serve restaurant category. The Company is led by franchise innovator George Naddaff, who founded Boston Market and led the franchising of several companies including Sylvan Learning Center and Ranch 1. Mr. Naddaff has a veteran management team with a successful record in the franchise market. UFood is currently launching a growth plan to franchise nationwide.

Sometimes all it takes is a simple idea right in front of you all the time…or at least every time you run through an airport.

While it’s hard to dispute the statement that “fast food is bad food,” we all give in to the need for grabbing a quick bite to eat. Fortunately, many in the fast-food industry have responded to demands for healthier fare, and some restaurants are making it easier to alter existing menu choices.

For example, Irvine, California based Taco Bell restaurants offers customers what it calls a “Fresco-Style” alternative designed to help cut fat and calories but not the flavor. Consumers can substitute fresh Fiesta Salsa (a mild mix of chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro) for the cheese and sauce found in many of the popular Mexican food chain’s dishes.
“Cutting your calorie and fat intake, combined with an active lifestyle, can increase energy and self-esteem and decrease the chance of obesity and certain diseases,” says registered dietitian Jackie Newgent, a nutritional consultant for Taco Bell.

In a world where consumers rank taste and convenience twice as significantly as eating healthy, a concept such as Fresco Style is essential to promoting a healthy diet without sacrificing taste.

And – for those who refuse to give up fried foods but still want to eat healthy – Taco Bell and other fast-food restaurant chains have responded to a nationwide concern about high levels of trans fat in fast food by switching from partially hydrogenated soybean oil to a zero grams trans fat canola oil.

Someday we might all eat healthier…even at the fast food restaurants.

Many restaurant operators consider buying insurance a “necessary evil”. You don’t like it, but you know you need it; when a guest or employee files a claim you’re glad you bought that insurance policy. But, how do you know you’ve spent your money wisely?
Our experience in working with restaurant operators has shown us that what you don’t know about business insurance translates to lost profits, for example:

• Insurance companies don’t like to offer restaurant insurance, considering it too risky, so the ones that do offer it charge more – but not to everybody
• The information you supply to your insurance broker is key
• Learning how to avoid common restaurant insurance claims is essential
• At least once a year, taking time to “look under the hood” to evaluate your insurance program could also mean a big difference in what you pay.

Please contact us for more information regarding insurance for your restaurant!

The restaurant industry, which has been lobbying for voluntary reduction in salt use by consumers, is getting assailed on all sides. The government simply wants to control how your restaurant can prepare its food and how consumers can enjoy it.

“Michael Jacobson, executive director of the CSPI, which has lobbied against trans fats and for menu labeling throughout the restaurant industry, said that the food industry would need regulating in order to successfully reduce the public’s daily sodium intake.”  Read the full article here: http://nrn.com/article/talk-sodium-regulation-boils-over

Food for thought

Did you know that the recommended adequate intake amount of sodium per the IOM (Institute of Medicine) is just  1,500 milligrams daily, or just less than 1/2 a teaspoon? 

America has been called a “fast food nation” and for good reason. Everyday, one out of every four Americans eats fast food. A fast food restaurant is often the cheapest option, but unfortunately, not usually the healthiest one. Eating just one fast food meal can pack enough calories, sodium and fat for an entire day, but the quick-and-cheap temptation can be hard to resist.

As an informed restaurant owner, you can help customers make healthier choices and still allow them to enjoy the convenience of a restaurant. Over the next series of blogs, we will discuss what restaurant owners can offer both on and off the menu to create healthy choices for guests.

Making healthier choices at restaurants is easier if you prepare ahead by creating guides that show the nutritional content of menu choices at your restaurant. Create a free downloadable guide and promote it to help your customers evaluate options. Emphasize how much you care about people with special dietary concerns such as diabetes, heart health or weight loss. Focus on aspects of your restaurant menu that offer natural, high quality food.

Offer guests common sense menu guidelines to help make their meal healthier. For example, a seemingly healthy salad can be a diet minefield when smothered in high-fat dressing and fried toppings, so suggest salad options with fresh veggies, grilled toppings and lighter dressings. Portion control is also important, as many fast food restaurants serve enough food for several meals in the guise of a single serving or ‘value’ meal. Help guests understand the value of portion control and not wasting food.

As a restaurant consultant who goes on eating missions religiously, I am always asked, “What are you top pet peeves in a restaurant?” I have many, however, these are just a few that aggravate me the most:

• Hot food served on cold plates and cold food served on hot plates
• Greeters that are unwelcoming and make me feel like I am imposing upon them
• Dirty restrooms – Not surprisingly, I always feel dirty after using one
• Dirty silverware or forks with bent tines.
• Dirty or chipped wine glasses
• Salt and pepper shakers that are half empty or crusted inside
• Dirty or sticky tables
• Wobbly tables or chairs
• Uncomfortable booths or chairs
• Orders that arrive incomplete
• Failure of the manager to approach the table when there is a problem
• Not bringing all the serviceware needed for the menu item
• Servers with poor personal sanitation practices and are constantly touching their hair or scratching themselves
• Necessary condiments that don’t arrive with food
• The entree showing up when I am still eating my appetizer or salad
• Servers not pre-bussing the table and removing dirty or unnecessary dishes

It is obvious that the little things matter. More importantly, you’ll notice that many of my complaints arise from a restaurant being dirty in some respect – sanitation and cleanliness are no-brainers and should always come first! To restaurant owners, remember: these top complaints come with easy fixes and will leave restaurant guests coming back.

What upsets you most about a restaurant dining experience?  Please share your peeves and comment!

How much more juice does the burger craze have left? Lots, but nothing lasts forever.  My crystal ball says watch out for pizza!  Based on numerous eating missions, Synergy Consultants has sighted a strong emergence of restaurants serving “old world” pizzas that are wood and coal fired.  The cooking style is very similar to what I experienced when I was in Naples, Sardinia and the amazing island of Panaria.

So what does that look like?  Well, after eating at Mozza in LA I am betting that the pizza niche is ready to make a move.  What do you think?

Please check out this article for more information:

Burger boom is a ‘bubble,’ expert says

Rosemont, Ill.— The recent upswing in hamburgers is a bubble, foodservice analyst Nancy Kruse said here Wednesday in a presentation covering chain-restaurant menu trends during the Technomic Restaurant Trends & Directions conference.

Kruse told Meatingplace that the “extraordinary uptick in the number of new burger-oriented chains or chain wannabes” is unsustainable, especially considering the QSR burger segment. “I’m surprised that it has continued on as robustly as it has for such a long time,” she said. “I am confident that we’re going to get to a point where we’re going to be at an oversaturation of burger newcomers clashing with an already established competitive set.”

“When [the burger bubble] is going to burst?

Sign up at meatingplace.com to read the rest of the article..

Yes, it is after the fact, but it can provide a wake up call. Do you know what you just ordered in terms of nutritional value…or lack thereof? Now you can see the nutritional value of the meal you just ordered at all 39 Burgerville restaurants in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Burgerville is the first burger restaurant chain to introduce the Nutricate program, a nutritional education and enhanced marketing solution from SmartReceipt, Inc.

Nutritional information, including calorie, fiber, fat and carbohydrate counts, is prominently featured on the front of all restaurant receipts.

Read the full press release here.

During my recent trip to Chicago, while I was checking out new burger concepts, I was also investigating wings.  I had heard that Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap had the best and hottest wings anywhere in the country. Of course, this was something I needed to confirm!

Having lived in Missouri for three years (the show me state) I had to experience this for myself.  Being an adventurous diner with a appetite for hot food I courageously ordered the hot wings.  At first glance they looked great and they were the jumbo type and crisp, just the way I like them.  After my second bite my mouth was ablaze – Dammmmn they were HOT!  After about 20 minutes of sucking on ice cubes and drinking multiple glasses of ice cold water I was finally able to speak.  I asked the chef what on earth did use to make the wings so damm hot.  He informed me that it was a pepper called  the ghost chili and that they needed a special permit by the US government to import them.  I have eaten a lot of very hot food from all over the world and if you could measure heat intensity in scoville (see below) this pepper would be off the grid.  I dare anyone to eat a dozen wings and try to have a conversation without using profanity to describe the heat intensity.  If you can, please send me an email with your comments of the experience.

More on the “Ghost Chili”

The bhut jolokia—also known variously by other names in its native region, most commonly naga jolokia — is a chili pepper generally recognized as the hottest in the world. The pepper is often called the ghost chili by Western media,^[1][2][3] possibly erroneously.^[4]

ChicagoEatsTV.com: The Hottest Buffalo Wings Around from ChicagoEatsTV on Vimeo.

Jake Melnick’s Corner on Tap

http://www.jakemelnicks.com

41 E Superior St
(between Rush St & Wabash Ave)
Chicago, IL 60611
Neighborhood: Near North Side

Wet Floors in Restaurants:  How Wet is Too Wet?

According to a major insurance carrier 65% of all lost employee work days are due to slip-and-fall injuries.  Of injuries our guests sustain, those who fall, sometimes on a liquid spill no larger than the size of a coin, account for 57% of liability claims.

1. Insist on every employee, including managers, wearing approved safety shoes such as “Shoes for Crews”
2. Train employees to clean up all spills immediately.
3. Pay attention to areas around entry/exit doors, bus stations, salad bars, self-service beverage towers and refuse containers.
4. If someone falls, make an immediate record of all details to provide to your insurance carrier.
5. When building or remodeling, consider slip-resistant surfaces.
6. See your trouble spots by mapping date, time and location of every slip-and-fall.
7. Use slip-and-fall prevention, and other safety topics, as part of your shift “cast calls.”
8. Inspect what you expect.