The Restaurant Business

The economy continues to devastate the restaurant business worldwide and here around DC many restaurants that haven't closed their doors are seeing business drop by up to 40%. Others are holding their own, and a few are actually doing well. The brutality of the economic hardship is not spread evenly.

On the bright side there is a new focus on the product, the experience and the ingredients. Chef's have to become marketing experts to discover what their diners need and prefer. It is no longer "Build it and they will Come" for they now need to be sold on the idea, and the experience. Innovative and market savvy chefs will come out of this recession stronger, the rest will, well ....... move on.

Say Cheese!

The Cheese Plate is making a comeback and the consumption of Cheese proves it. The Europeans have known the power of Cheese for a couple of thousand years, but in the US it's appeal and value have just been recognized. The joke was "American Cheese" meant processed chemical filled products that often are more oils than milk products. The staple of the fast food industry.

Today there are over 400 Artisan Cheese makers in the United States as well as a renewed drive to export to the huge US Market from around the world. Along with this desire to export to the US has come a equally strong desire to have an attractive product to put before the consumer. Packaging is key here and when you compare the squelched wedge of hermetically sealed Stilton on the Supermarket display, with the block of aged cheddar from Ireland in it's special paper packaging you understand the problem

Restaurants can provide a cheese selection that looks both attractive and brings out the full impact of the flavor, and aroma of the cheese. A simple Cheese Plate can be a trip around the world, featuring a selection of several thousand cheeses that identify a country, or region. Alas many cheese plates are just thrown together by a cook in the kitchen, and heaped on a plate with a few grapes, or available fruit. Cheese can tell a story, and make a perfect end to a meal. Instead of just squeezing it onto a burger pate and watching it dribble down the sides. Thousands of years of evolution, and regional appeal deserve better.

It's Showtime!

On the Atlantic Coast it's showtime again as the major food shows take place. The Fancy Food Show at the Javit's Center in New York is the biggest. A true trial of endurance and stamina, with an overwhelming barrage of thousands of stands, products and ideas.

The National Restaurant Show (NRA) in Chicago hasn't any rifles or guns, but lots of stands, celebrities and equipment. There are other big shows in Atlanta, and local shows by the dozen. The problem is that for a chef to keep up to date by visiting these shows there is no time to cook. That is the idea behind Chef's TV.

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