May 2008 Blog Posts (122)

Sow Slaughter and the Pork Markets

The chart of the week is US weekly sow slaughter. As reported in the latest issue of the Weekly Commodity Report, the percentage of sows slaughtered during April compared to total hog slaughter was the largest in 9 months which indicates that swine breeding herd liquidation likely accelerated during the month. Why did this occur? Well, inflated feed costs have pinched hog farmer margins for some time now with Iowa State estimating losses since… Continue

Added by David Maloni on May 30, 2008 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Are you overloading your kitchen stations?

Long ticket times are a common problem in restaurants, and nothing will scare a potential regular customer away like having to wait 45+ minutes to get their food.

There are many factors that can increase ticket times. In this post, I would like to cover one of those issues, overloading a kitchen station.

Part of designing a menu that works is making sure you are not overloading one station in the kitchen, or one piece of equipment. Your menu needs to be designed with… Continue

Added by Brandon O'Dell on May 30, 2008 at 12:09pm — 7 Comments

Marketing for Restaurants

Comming soon! Just testing out this blog feature!

Added by scott on May 30, 2008 at 8:24am — 1 Comment

Victory Gardens: War on Waste

From Treehugger.com

It's not quite war time, although sometimes it feels like it... Endless articles on the "credit crunch", cutbacks and soaring food prices are putting a chill in the air. During WW2 the British were digging Victory gardens in squares and public parks across the country. They were growing their own food in very tight compact spaces as a response… Continue

Added by Mark McKellier on May 30, 2008 at 6:45am — 5 Comments

A Tasting Buzz

When a certain west-coast based coffee chain opened it changed the way Americans look at coffee. No longer was the drink just a quick way to get a caffeine boost in the morning; the well-known company helped turn coffee into a way of life for people.

This is evident by the number of coffee shops that have opened all across the county. Some of these shops even face each other (as a few do where I live). It is becoming increasingly easier to find a cup of coffee that fits your… Continue

Added by Restaurant Supply Guru on May 29, 2008 at 2:04pm — No Comments

How Human Resources and Recruiters Can Do Their Fair Share To Help In This Economy…

By: Robert Krzak

President, Gecko Hospitality

robert@geckohospitality.com

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the cost of high gasoline is here to stay. Just recently, futures analysts on Wall Street predict the price of a barrel of gasoline to skyrocket up to $250.00 by the year 2012. As a professional recruiter in the hospitality industry we are constantly fulfilling the obligations of our clients in scheduling meeting after meeting with talented… Continue

Added by Robert Krzak on May 29, 2008 at 6:56am — 4 Comments

CMN Video: Pizza Throwing Championship

CMN Video: Pizza Throwing Championship

It's another video from the New York Pizza Show, where we see the championship round of the pizza throwing competition. These guys really know how to sling their pizza! Keep in mind that this is real dough, not the rubber… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 10:54pm — No Comments

Culinary Media Network Video Player

You can scroll through ALL of our videos right in this window. Just use the fast forward button to flip through them all.…

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Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 1:01pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate #145: Marsala Wine

ReMARKable Palate #145: Marsala Wine

Today's show is an audio soundseeing tour of Florio, the legendary producer of Marsala wine, in the town of Marsala, in the province of Trapani, on the far western coast of Sicily. Our guide Marcello tells us about the history… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments

CMN Video: D'Artagnan's Duckathlon

CMN Video: D'Artagnan's Duckathlon

Video coverage from our visit to D'Artagnan's "Duckathlon" at Chelsea Market. We learn about the competitive events, from crepe flipping, testicle identification, rapid milkshake drinking, and more. We also speak with several of the… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:59pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate #144: D'Artagnan's Duckathlon

ReMARKable Palate #144: D'Artagnan's Duckathlon

This week, we attend the 4th Annual "Duckathlon" hosted by fine food purveyor D'Artagnan. The event brought together teams from some of the top NY restaurants to compete in food related identification and… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:58pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate #143: Finger Lakes Wine Region

ReMARKable Palate #143: Finger Lakes Wine Region

This week, it's all about the food and wine of the Finger Lakes Wine Country, just a few hours north of New York City. I attended a tasting at New York's Astor Center, the state of the art tasting room above… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:57pm — No Comments

Chef Mark on the cover of Personal Chef Magazine

I'm so honored to be the coverboy of the latest Personal Chef Magazine. It's the main magazine for our industry, and it's amazing to have been chosen for it. The article tells my story and the circuitous way I came into being a personal chef.

More images:

Happy man

Photos by Kelly… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:55pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate Video #40: Taste of the World

ReMARKable Palate Video #40: Taste of the World

Video of the Cystic Fibrosis A Taste of the World event at New York's Chelsea Market. Over 25 restaurants and 20 wine and spirits producers gathered to raise money for CF. We speak with Arlene Weston of Maroon's and "Spike"… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:54pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate #142: Cystic Fibrosis Taste of the World

ReMARKable Palate #142: Cystic Fibrosis Taste of the World

I attend a special benefit tasting for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, A Taste of the World, at New York's Chelsea Market. Over 25 restaurants and 20 wine and spirits producers gathered to raise money… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:53pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate #141: Hall Wines of Napa Valley

ReMARKable Palate #141: Hall Wines of Napa Valley

I speak with Kathryn Hall of Hall Wines in the Napa Valley. She's pursuing her dream of making fine Cabernet Sauvignon which expresses the terroir of the Napa Valley. I attended a guided tasting of the Hall… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:52pm — No Comments

Culinary Roundtable #21 (Video): Chef Thomas Keller Keynote, Part 3

Culinary Roundtable #21 (Video): Chef Thomas Keller Keynote, Part 3

The final installment of our 3 part series: Chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry and Per Se gives the keynote address at the Ferdinand Metz Foodservice Forum at the NY International Restaurant… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:51pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate Video #39: Pizza Throwing

ReMARKable Palate Video #39: Pizza Throwing

Chef Mark learns a little about the basics of throwing dough from Youth Champion Sam Niemeier. It's a good thing we're not using real dough!

ReMARKable Palate is a… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:50pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate #140: Talking Tea

ReMARKable Palate #140: Talking Tea

Today I speak with Karl Kessab, tea sommelier of London's posh Lanesborough Hotel, which has just won the Tea Guild's award for best Afternoon Tea in London for the 2nd time. Karl teaches us about how to best prepare various… Continue

Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:49pm — No Comments

ReMARKable Palate Video #38: Asiago Cheese with Lou DiPalo

ReMARKable Palate Video #38: Asiago Cheese with Lou DiPalo

Chef Mark visits Caseficio Pennar in Asiago, Italy and learns about the different forms and ages of Asiago cheese with Lou Di Palo of Di Palo's Fine Foods of Little Italy.…

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Added by Chef Mark Tafoya on May 28, 2008 at 12:47pm — No Comments