Fifteen Winston-Salem, NC restaurants will reduce prices on their signature dish every Tuesday night between Feb. 3 and Mar. 31. The promotion, The Bi

Fifteen Winston-Salem, NC restaurants will reduce prices on their signature dish every Tuesday night between Feb. 3 and Mar. 31. The promotion, The Big Eat: Tuesday Nights Downtown, is sponsored by the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, reported The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area. Full Story (Free Registration Required)

Digital City compiled a list of the "Best Burgers of the United States of America," including those served at Charlotte, NC-based Penguin and Cleveland, OH-based Swenson's. Full Story

Specialty food retailer Lorken Food Finery will open in West Jordan, UT, reported The Salt Lake Tribune. Full Story

Supermarket News released its 2009 Top 75 Retailer list. The Top 75 posted $893 billion in sales, up 7.6% over the year-ago total of $830 billion. The 10 largest companies on the list accounted for about 68.7% of the total volume on the list, the same proportion they comprised a year ago. The top five are Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu and Safeway. Full Story
The weak economy hasn’t just reduced restaurant traffic; it has influenced diners’ choices in entrees. Many consumers are bypassing beef for less expensive proteins like chicken, says Darren Tristano, EVP at foodservice consultants Technomic. When ordering beef, and especially steak, explains Tristano, they expect more quality, better cuts, aging and seasonings to justify paying a higher cost. Their expectations are reflected in emerging flavor and preparation trends and in menu descriptions.

These and other findings are detailed in two new reports in Technomic’s Center of the Plate series, the Poultry Consumer Trend Report and Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report. Based on more than 3,000 consumer interviews and analysis of about 500 restaurant brand menus, the reports examine changing consumer protein preferences, attitudes toward health and food safety issues and their effects on purchase behavior, plus emerging trends in flavor, preparation and presentation. Select findings include:

• More than three out of five consumers think that turkey (64 percent) and chicken (61 percent) are healthier than beef or pork.
• Among emerging full-service chains and independent restaurants, the top three preparation methods for beef were “cut” (as in hand-cut, center-cut or barrel-cut) at 16.7 percent, “grilled” (13.3 percent) and “aged” (12.4 percent). These were often used together in describing specific beef entrees.
• Though consumers say they would like to order more ethnic and regional chicken dishes, restaurants have not yet met growing demand. Operators have increased their offerings of bolder, globally-inspired poultry dishes, but menu analysis reveals there is even more room for growth.

Compared to the population at large, both students and Canadians displayed interesting differences, including:

• The high protein content of beef was less appealing to students (39 percent) than to non-students (47 percent). However, students were more likely than non-students to think that beef is healthier than pork, chicken or turkey.
• Several flavors for beef preferred by Americans, such as bourbon and chipotle, are significantly less appealing to Canadian consumers.
• For beef, students show increased interest in spicy, ethnic flavors such as chili pepper, chipotle and hot sauce, and less for traditional flavors such as garlic and black pepper.

The Poultry Consumer Trend Report and Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report were designed to help restaurant operators and food service suppliers understand consumer attitudes and preferences that drive purchases and to identify growth opportunities in beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Leading and emerging chicken chains, steakhouses and barbecue chains are profiled in appendices which also provide exclusive information on limited-time offers and new menu items.

To purchase or learn more about these and other Consumer Trend Reports from Technomic, please visit www.foodpubs.com or contact one of the individuals listed below.

The wine world is hoping that President Barack Obama's enjoyment of wine will have an impact

The wine world is raising a glass to President Barack Obama as he moves into the White House, hoping his enjoyment of U.S. wine will impact on American's drinking habits.

U.S. wine producers could hardly contain their glee at the news that the Obamas had bought a $1.65 million mansion in Chicago equipped with four fireplaces -- and a wine cellar that reportedly holds up to 1,000 bottles.

"I can't help but think that after eight years of no wine drinkers in the White House that (Obama) will have a felicitous effect on Americans' drinking habits," John Gillespie, head of the Wine Market Council, told the 2009 Wine Market Council Research Conference in New York.

Outgoing President George W. Bush is a teatotaler who gave up alcohol over 20 years ago.

The White House has no official wine cellar but wines are chosen by a small team for specific events, based on their affinity with the menu as well as politically correct pairing depending on the guests in attendance.

But all wines served at state dinners are American.

President Lyndon Johnson decreed only American wines should be served at White House state dinners and it has stayed the same ever since -- although President Richard Nixon reportedly had his beloved Chateau Margaux secretly poured.

The contents of Obama's own wine cellar remain unknown but Chicago area merchants have noted Obama's eclectic taste in wine.

HOPES FOR WINE BOOST

One told the Chicago Tribune that her shop quickly sold out of a South African sparkling wine made by Graham Beck after the first couple reportedly poured it on election night.

The Duckhorn Vineyards and Goldeneye Winery have seen the same effect since it was revealed that Duckhorn's 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and Goldeneye's Pinot Noir would be served with the first two courses at the official Inauguration lunch in the Capitol.

"I definitely think that with all the buzz there's been an increase in sales," said Emily Gorton, a spokeswoman for the wineries.

La Finquita Winery in Napa Valley is hoping to join the party with a bottle of 2005 Merlot in a limited collector edition bottle with a handetched and gold painted picture of Obama.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Obama carried the vote in eight of the 10 top producing wine states that make more than 95 percent of the wines produced in the United States.

But that support is unsurprising given that wine drinkers as far back March 2008 seem to have preferred the candidate with a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll finding wine drinkers preferred Obama to Republican rival John McCain.

But McCain had the beer vote and the lion's share of campaign contributions from the beer, wine and liquor industry, netting $634,355 to Obama's $386,929, according to opensecrets.org.

Any Obama boost will be a good thing for the industry.

While the United States remains on track to become the world's largest wine-consuming country by 2010, it does so despite a dramatic slowdown in growth recorded by retailers and tracked by the Nielsen company in the last three months.

The slowdown has affected most of the industry from $10 bottles of Chardonnay to $1,000 bottles of Petrus. The Liv-ex 100 Fine wine index - the wine industry's leading index - recorded a 2.2 percent drop in December for the third straight month, finishing 2008 down 14.6 percent.

Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy

Visiting one of his favorite Chicago restaurants in November, Barack Obama was asked by an excited waitress if he wanted the restaurant's special margarita made with the finest ingredients, straight up and shaken at the table.

"You know that's the way I roll," Obama replied jokingly.

Rick Bayless, the chef of that restaurant, Topolobampo, says Obama's comfortable demeanor at the table - slumped contentedly in his chair, clearly there to enjoy himself - bodes well for the nation's food policy. While former President George W. Bush rarely visited restaurants and didn't often talk about what he ate, Obama dines out frequently and enjoys exploring different foods.

"He's the kind of diner who wants to taste all sorts of things," Bayless says. "What I'm hoping is that he's going to recognize that we need to do what we can in our country to encourage real food for everyone."

Phrases like "real food" and "farm-to-table" may sound like elitist jargon tossed around at upscale restaurants. But the country's top chefs, several of whom traveled to Washington for Obama's inauguration this week, hope that Obama's flair for good food will encourage people to expand their horizons when it comes to what they eat.

These chefs tout locally grown, environmentally friendly and - most importantly - nutritious food. They urge diners, even those who may never be able to afford to eat at their restaurants, to grow their own vegetables, shop at farmer's markets and pay attention to where their food comes from.

Dan Barber, chef at New York's popular Blue Hill restaurant and a frequent critic of the country's food policy, says a few small gestures from the president and first lady Michelle Obama could accomplish what many of the chefs have been working toward for years.

"I recognize that I'm an elitist guy," says Barber, who cooked a $500-a-plate meal for incoming Obama aides and other guests at a small charity fundraiser the night before the inauguration. "Increasingly raise awareness, but don't do it through chefs like me. ... My advice would be more of a symbolic nature, and to not underestimate what can be done through the White House."

Barber said good food needs more publicity, and he hopes Obama and his wife will advertise what they are eating and what they are feeding their children, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha.

Many high-end chefs like Barber believe that most food in the United States is over-processed, over-subsidized and grown with no regard to the environment, making it harder for small farms to make a profit selling more natural, nutritious food.

Barber cooks with food grown at his farm, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. At the pre-inauguration fundraiser, organized along with several other dinners by food guru Alice Waters, passed hors d'oeuvres included carrots, lettuce and cauliflower - untarnished and raw, delicious in their natural form. Sweet beets had been recently chiseled from Stone Barns' frozen ground, and hog snouts left over from slaughter were used as a garnish on a plate of Maine sea scallops.

Most of the chefs say they realize food policy and government support for larger corporate farms won't change any time soon. Congress, with Obama's support, overwhelmingly enacted a $290 billion farm bill last year that directs many subsidies to the largest agricultural players.

But Obama has already given chefs like Barber a small reason to hope. At his confirmation hearing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made an overture to the growing number of food groups and experts who have criticized government subsidies for large corporate farms, saying he will seek to work "with those who seek programs and practices that lead to more nutritious food produced in a sustainable way."

"There's a lot of work that can be done in this area," Vilsack said after he was sworn in.

Other chefs in town for the inauguration and Waters' dinners had many suggestions to improve food policy. Daniel Boulud, the veteran New York chef of the restaurant Daniel who has cooked for at least five former presidents, said he thinks the Department of Agriculture should form an agency that exclusively oversees small farms. Lidia Bastianich, a New York-based Italian chef who has starred in several cooking shows on public television, says the government needs to encourage regulations and incentives to small farmers to give them the opportunity to compete against the "big giants."

Chef Tom Colicchio, the lead judge on the popular cable television series "Top Chef," agrees. He says foods that are genetically engineered should be labeled as such and fewer subsidies should go to corporate farms.

But despite loftier goals, Bayless, the Chicago chef, says the Obamas could make a world of difference if they just publish what they are eating every day.

"Everyone's going to want to be like the Obamas," he said.

Economy is Shaping Restaurant-Goers’ Entrée Options

The weak economy hasn’t just reduced restaurant traffic; it has influenced diners’ choices in entrees. Many consumers are bypassing beef for less expensive proteins like chicken, says Darren Tristano, EVP at foodservice consultants Technomic. When ordering beef, and especially steak, explains Tristano, they expect more quality, better cuts, aging and seasonings to justify paying a higher cost. Their expectations are reflected in emerging flavor and preparation trends and in menu descriptions.

These and other findings are detailed in two new reports in Technomic’s Center of the Plate series, the Poultry Consumer Trend Report and Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report. Based on more than 3,000 consumer interviews and analysis of about 500 restaurant brand menus, the reports examine changing consumer protein preferences, attitudes toward health and food safety issues and their effects on purchase behavior, plus emerging trends in flavor, preparation and presentation. Select findings include:

• More than three out of five consumers think that turkey (64 percent) and chicken (61 percent) are healthier than beef or pork.
• Among emerging full-service chains and independent restaurants, the top three preparation methods for beef were “cut” (as in hand-cut, center-cut or barrel-cut) at 16.7 percent, “grilled” (13.3 percent) and “aged” (12.4 percent). These were often used together in describing specific beef entrees.
• Though consumers say they would like to order more ethnic and regional chicken dishes, restaurants have not yet met growing demand. Operators have increased their offerings of bolder, globally-inspired poultry dishes, but menu analysis reveals there is even more room for growth.
  
• 
  

Compared to the population at large, both students and Canadians displayed interesting differences, including:

• The high protein content of beef was less appealing to students (39 percent) than to non-students (47 percent). However, students were more likely than non-students to think that beef is healthier than pork, chicken or turkey.
• Several flavors for beef preferred by Americans, such as bourbon and chipotle, are significantly less appealing to Canadian consumers.
• For beef, students show increased interest in spicy, ethnic flavors such as chili pepper, chipotle and hot sauce, and less for traditional flavors such as garlic and black pepper.
  
• 
  

The Poultry Consumer Trend Report and Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report were designed to help restaurant operators and food service suppliers understand consumer attitudes and preferences that drive purchases and to identify growth opportunities in beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Leading and emerging chicken chains, steakhouses and barbecue chains are profiled in appendices which also provide exclusive information on limited-time offers and new menu items.

To purchase or learn more about these and other Consumer Trend Reports from Technomic, please visit www.foodpubs.com or contact one of the individuals listed below.

Snacking and Beyond in 2009

Gilroy Foods & Flavors™ has released a new issue of Food & FlavorCast™, the company’s quarterly update designed to bring insights and ideas on the trends shaping the way Americans eat today. And the forecast: heavy on snacks and South American inspired meats.

Food & FlavorCast reports that the snacking craze is altering eating and shopping patterns in the United States. Currently, 21% percent of all meals are snacks (NPD Group). Snacks offer consumers new flavors in on-the-go formats to fit hectic lifestyles, and, in foodservice, snacks are often “right-size” food portions at the “right-size” price. Several snacking trends give operators and menu developers new ways to appeal to snacking enthusiasts, from flavorful wraps to unique savory snacks, like the chile lime pepitas the company created to highlight its expertise in custom flavors and seasoning blends.

Gilroy Foods & Flavors looked to South America to see what’s really cooking within the popular culinary and travel destination. In a word, meat. Americans are true carnivores consuming 62.8 lbs. of beef per person each year—it’s no wonder upscale churrascaria and rodizio chains are a hit. To top it off, 22% of Americans are interested in trying a Brazilian restaurant (Dataessentials). Liz Olsen, sous chef at Gilroy Foods & Flavors notes: “We’ve been having fun with robust barbeque cooking from Brazil and Argentina. The simple grilled meats provide a perfect canvas for fresh, flavorful seasonings and sauces.” Food & FlavorCast explores ways to enhance menus with South American flair such as a versatile chimichurri sauce that can top a steak, fries or blended in a dressing.

Technomic Revises its 2009 Restaurant Industry Forecast Downward

More Doom and Gloom in the food sector

Citing further contraction in the economy, a continuing slowdown in consumer spending, and accelerating job losses, foodservice consultancy Technomic revised its 2009 U.S. foodservice industry nominal growth forecast downward to -2.2 percent. With both real and nominal growth now dipping into negative territory, the firm expects 2009 will be the worst year for foodservice since it began tracking performance in 1972.

In comments delivered to clients at its Foodservice Planning Program meeting, Technomic acknowledged that lower commodity prices will help operators reduce the need to take price increases in this tough economic environment. “However, even if the economy were to improve quickly in the second half of 2009, real growth is expected to remain negative,” added Joe Pawlak, Technomic vice president.

Additional details on Technomic’s current forecast for all major U.S. foodservice segments can be viewed at their web site, www.technomic.com/facts/forecast.html, or by contacting Technomic at 312-876-0004.

Top Kitchen Toy? The Cellphone

THE tech revolution has been a long time in coming to the kitchen. Our coffee machines are so advanced that they can practically drive us to work, but Internet-controlled toasters and Web-enabled refrigerators became punch lines.

One high-tech cooking tool, however, has transformed the kitchen lives of many Americans: the cellphone.

It has become the kitchen tool of choice for chefs and home cooks. They use it to keep grocery lists, find recipes, photograph their handiwork, look up the names of French cheeses, set timers for steak and soft-boiled eggs, and convert European or English measurements to American ones.

“It taught me to cook, really,” said Kelli Howell, a college sophomore in Chicago, of her Nokia phone. Its photography, Internet and instant-messaging capabilities let her consult with friends, family and online sources as she got started in the kitchen. “I e-mailed about 20 pictures of a vegetable lasagna to my sister’s phone while I was making it,” she said. “And then I I.M.’ed with my mom about the topping.”

Restaurant chefs have a proud history of technophobia — their attitude was: if it can’t cook a steak or smell a fish, I don’t need it in my kitchen — but cellphones have crossed the technology barrier from the office into the kitchen.

Chris Cosentino, the chef at Incanto restaurant in San Francisco, says his iPhone has greatly simplified the math in his cooking. “When I’m making salami or sausage, the proportion of meat to salt to spice is key,” he said. (He uses an application called iConvert to adapt each batch for the amount of freshly butchered pork he is working with that day.) Mr. Cosentino said that he sees multifunction devices like the iPhone as the real technological revolution for chefs.

“You’re never going to get a chef to sit at a desk or a computer screen all day,” he said. “But I can take this to the farmers’ market, I can take it to Italy, use it as a camera, look up the history of dishes so I can brief my servers, and make voice notes while I’m cooking,” he said. “And then do I use it to play the Macarena in the kitchen and drive everyone crazy? Yes, I do.”

For amateur cooks, new cellphone software helps control the chaos of planning, shopping and cooking dinner at the end of the day. Michael Pavone, a firefighter, does most of the shopping and cooking for Engine Company 3, in the South End neighborhood of Boston. “If we’re called out to an incident or a fire, I don’t exactly have time to write down a list of ingredients,” he said. “But I always have my phone with me.” Since last year, Mr. Pavone has used his iPhone to skim recipes and generate shopping lists to make dinner for 14 firefighters.

His phone holds software from BigOven.com, a Web site with about 167,000 recipes. BigOven’s free iPhone application, searchable by ingredient, by rating, and by course has been downloaded more than a million times since it was released in October. “We have user-generated content, imported from all over the Web, combined with an active social network,” said Steve Murch, the founder of BigOven. “It’s like YouTube for recipes.”

As mobile technology permeates American life, buying ingredients, sharing recipes and working in the kitchen is becoming more phone-friendly. “At first, mobile devices changed our social lives,” said Amanda Lenhart, a researcher for the Pew Internet and American Life Project. “Now, they are penetrating into our domestic lives as well. Cooking has become far more interactive and mobile than it was a decade ago.”

At the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., the executive chef, Tom Bivins, said tech-loving culinary students quickly learn to use their phones to document their dishes for class portfolios or Facebook pages, to set reminders for the ingredients they have to prep for the next day’s classes, and to develop restaurant-business skills like purchasing, inventory and budgets, via mobile links to the school’s online resource material.

“These days, part of working in this kitchen is that you have to check e-mail right before service, once during service, and once afterwards,” said Floyd Cardoz, executive chef of Tabla, in the Flatiron district. Mr. Cardoz uses his BlackBerry to communicate with the sous-chefs who work under him throughout each shift. “If I see one of my guys putting the duck in the oven flesh side down instead of skin side down, I just send everyone an e-mail immediately,” he said. “It’s a great teaching tool.” In low-tech kitchens, yelling often performs this function, but Tabla has three separate kitchens and a soft-spoken chef. Electronic communication is simply more effective.

With so many possibilities opening, software designers, food companies and Internet entrepreneurs are racing to stake out space on every cook’s phone. Most of the mobile apps now available are simple timers or list-making programs, like Grocery iQ and Jott. Already, phones can hold quirky chunks of information like lists of environmentally friendly seafood, vintage cocktail handbooks and a timer for making the perfect soft-boiled egg.

“I am equally obsessed with Apple and with eggs,” said Michael Ratledge, a British musician who designed such a timer. Called Eggy, it is just the kind of quirky, crisp little widget that has made the iPhone so popular. A warning whistle summons the cook to the kitchen to assume a ready position next to the stove, slotted spoon in hand: when the timer finally goes off, with a crowing sound, the egg is supposed to have reached the exact moment when its yolk is runny and the whites have set. For 99 cents, Eggy provides visual pleasure, edification and entertainment (including egg-related citations from English literature). “It’s not absolutely necessary, but it’s intensely pleasurable in its small way,” Mr. Ratledge said.

Small is nice, but big companies, sensing the purchasing power of a device that goes with you to the grocery store, have bigger plans.

In November, Kraft Foods introduced iFood Assistant, the most detailed and user-friendly mobile cooking app yet. It provides access to Kraftfoods.com, the most-visited Web site of any food manufacturer, according to Nielsen Online.

The iFood Assistant is the first cooking application to make use of the iPhone’s global positioning system. Once you have chosen a recipe (say, this week’s Cheesy Football — a football-shaped cheese ball), it will pinpoint your phone’s location and provide directions to the nearest grocery store (where, of course, relevant Kraft products like Philadelphia cream cheese, Miracle Whip and Ritz crackers are sold). At the store, your phone can play Kraft’s instructional video on Cheese Ball Basics and break down the recipe’s shopping list according to aisle (Dairy; Crackers), presumably speeding progress through the store.

“We look at cooking and shopping as a seamless experience,” said Ed Kaczmarek, director of innovation for new services at Kraft’s headquarters in Chicago. “We wanted an app that would streamline both parts, because that’s the main thing we hear from the community: make it easier.”

The application also makes reading the recipe easier once the cook is back in the kitchen: turn the phone from vertical to horizontal, and the directions break down into boldface steps that flip, like index cards, with a touch of the screen.

As busy as the Kraft Web site is, more than twice as many people visit Allrecipes.com, where most of the content is user-generated and the community rules. (Allrecipes and BigOven both have five-star rating systems, like the one that is so powerful for shoppers at Amazon.com.)

Both sites, and other media outlets like Food Network, Epicurious and The New York Times have software designed for mobile phones. Barbara Sweeney of Branford, Conn., uses the Allrecipes DinnerSpinner, an iPhone application with a slot-machine-like display, to pull up new recipes while browsing the aisles at her local Stop & Shop.

“I used to end up shopping and cooking from memory and making the same five things all the time,” she said. Users choose the course, main ingredient and prep time, and then spin through the various recipe options — or just shake the phone to bring up a random choice. If lamb is on sale, or if artichokes are in season, she can search for recipes that contain both. Depending on the number of stars that recipe has, Ms. Sweeney says, she might try it out.

“I love reading the ratings beforehand and doing the ratings afterwards,” she said. “You do feel like you have shared something with the other people who made that dish, even if you will never meet them.”

The top-rated recipe on Allrecipes.com is one for Banana Banana Bread. Exquisitely plain (and useful, because it uses five or six overripe bananas, not the usual two or three), it has been rated by more than 3,500 cooks. Each review offers comments and variations: a topping here, chocolate chips there, a trick for greasing the pan. That’s feedback from far more cooks than anyone at home leafing through a cookbook, or pulling out mom’s old recipe scribbled on an index card, usually has to go on.

“The status of the family recipe, the chef and the cookbook is definitely changing” said Ms. Lenhart. “The Internet has taken away the gatekeepers, and replaced them with majority rule.”

Guided by a four-star BigOven rating and a sale on shrimp at the supermarket, Mr. Pavone made a new recipe last Saturday, kung pao shrimp. “I just typed ‘wok’ into the phone,” he said. Mr. Pavone is trying out new dishes for an upcoming charity cook-off among New England firefighters. He has just acquired a wok, and also a kitchen torch for making crème brûlée. “Having all these recipes at my fingertips has definitely made me more curious as a cook,” he said.

Dinner was successful, but late, he said. The company was called out several times during the afternoon, but one firefighter stayed behind each time to keep shelling the mountain of shrimp.

“I guess that’s one thing my phone can’t do,” he said.

Pasta makers' business cooking as economy droops

Low-carb craze now history, pasta makers see business cooking as economy droops

As struggling consumers turn to casseroles, soup, pasta salad and good old macaroni and cheese to stretch their food dollars, the nation's pasta makers are returning to a rolling boil after many years overshadowed by the low-carbohydrate fad.

Sales of pasta products in the United States -- including frozen and refrigerated pasta, canned pasta, soup mixes and prepared dinners -- rose 5 percent last year to $6.4 billion, according to Kansas City-based American Italian Pasta Co., the nation's largest manufacturer of dry pasta.

Most of that increase came as manufacturers passed along a stiff jump in the price of wheat and other costs.

But Peter Smith, chief executive of Harrisburg, Penn.-based New World Pasta, which makes such brands as Ronzoni, American Beauty and Creamette, said he was amazed commodity price hikes last year didn't dampen pasta sales the way they did sales of other consumer goods.

"I think what happened this past year is with all the inflation running rampant through the stores," he said, "It's like a certain number of people rediscovered pasta."

Smith said revenue at his company rose 25 percent last year to around $460 million while volume grew between 1 percent and 2 percent.

Total U.S. consumption rose 0.4 percent by volume, according to The Nielsen Co., although those number don't include sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where industry officials say noodle numbers grew even faster.

The volume increase is particularly welcome because pasta consumption had been falling 1 percent or 2 percent annually for years because of high-protein diet fads, said Carol Freysinger, spokeswoman for the National Pasta Association.

"There's this renewed vigor, this renewed energy in the pasta companies," Freysinger said. "They really got beat up by the low-carb diets, which showed to not be that effective in the long run.

"Pasta has been vindicated," she said. "And (now) the economy is driving consumers to more cost-effective options."

Judy Donnellan, 45, was shopping for macaroni at a grocery store in Kansas City Tuesday and said her family eats pasta about three or four times a week.

"It's simple and cheap and I have kids and that's something they like," Donnellan said.

She said she couldn't tell if she was buying pasta more than before but said the staple's price and flexibility "is basically why I use it."

"When they sell it for, like, four for $1, I stock up," she said.

The U.S. division of Italy-based Barilla Group, the world's largest pasta manufacturer, saw a 15 percent boost in pasta volume and a 22 percent increase in sales, said the division's president, Kirk Trofholz.

He said the company, which makes Barilla-branded pasta, has also seen success with pasta made with whole wheat or extra fiber, calcium, omega-3 and other nutrients.

"We expect the 'better for you' pastas to continue to grow fast," he said.

In 2008, consumption of dry pasta hit its highest level since 2003, according to American Italian Pasta, which makes consumer brands such as Ronco, Mueller's and Pennsylvania Dutch and supplies pasta for in-house grocery store brands and for manufacturers who use pasta in prepared dishes.

Annual sales at AIPC soared 42 percent to $569 million in 2008, and AIPC's net profits more than tripled to $19.1 million -- even as its volume fell 0.5 percent.

CEO Jack Kelly expects higher volumes in 2009 as his company focuses on its best markets, and he predicts improved sales of grocery store brands, which have benefited from bargain-hunting consumers.

The company has seen its stock price rise 76 percent to $25.90 since mid-November when its shares were relisted after it spent three years dealing with an internal accounting matter.

"It is still an incredibly great value," Kelly said of pasta. "For about $5, you can feed a family of four."

Three More Food Companies Issue Peanut Butter Recalls

Three more U.S. food companies have issued voluntary recalls for products containing peanut butter paste sourced from Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) that may be contaminated with Salmonella.

As reported by FLEXNEWS, General Mills, Inc., recalled Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie flavor snack bars and JamFrakas Peanut Butter Blisscrisp flavor snack bars; Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products recalled all Wal-Mart Bakery brands of peanut butter cookies sold in the in-store bakery sections of Wal-Mart Stores, as well as its Lofthouse brand and Food Lion brand peanut butter cookies; and Meijer recalled two types of its Meijer Brand sandwich crackers and two types of Meijer Brand ice cream sold in its stores and gas stations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are continuing their investigation into the tainted food product and advising consumers to avoid eating other peanut butter-containing products until information becomes available about whether that product may be affected.

Edible, Affordable Indulgences for 2009

Could frozen hemp milk provide a silver lining for the food business in a down economy?

The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade anticipates a 4% downturn for the industry this year. But sales in subcategories like specialty beverages, snacks and premium chocolate continue to grow.

The reason: These less pricey items are a means for people to continue to treat themselves well when times are challenging, says Ron Tanner, NASFT's vice president of communication and education.

In a 2008 specialty-food industry report, dollar sales for gourmet snacks increased nearly 31%, drinks jumped as much as 37% (depending on the type) and candy rose about 85% between 2005 and 2007.

Food and beverage market research firm Packaged Facts predicts that upscale chocolate sales will outperform the entire chocolate industry by five times by 2012. Packaged Facts's chocolate report also forecasts that as more Americans become strapped for cash, large-ticketed luxuries are likely to be replaced by these "little pleasures."

Likewise, consumer market research company Mintel anticipates sales in the nonalcoholic beverage sector to grow by 24% between 2007 and 2012. Mintel's analysis attributes the growth to the rising popularity of a "new generation of beverages that offer something extra to the consumer," such as antioxidants, energy or vitamins, as consumers demand more from their drinks.

The positive outlook for these industries signals that, despite the economy, we'll still permit ourselves small indulgences when it comes to food and drink.

A look at a few out-of-the-ordinary products to be introduced this year:

Goat Milk GoodsThe use of goat milk was on the rise in 2008, according to a survey of goat milk processors by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. With this trend continuing, new goat milk products will hit store shelves this year.

Redwood Hill Farms in Sonoma County, Calif., started releasing fresh quarts of goat milk into the marketplace about six weeks ago. The company also plans to add to its line of goat milk kefir, a cultured probiotic yogurt beverage, throughout 2009, starting with a pineapple orange mango version this spring.

"Even though our major products for the past 20 years have been goat milk cheeses and yogurt, we had enough milk to be able to expand our line to beverages," says Jennifer Lynn Bice, co-owner of Redwood Hill Farms.

Gourmet goat milk ice cream company Laloo's, also in Sonoma County, will introduce goat milk chocolate bars and vanilla goat milk ice cream sandwiches in March.

The chocolate bars will be available in black mission fig, chocolate cajeta (traditional Mexican caramel with toffee), rumplemint, capraccino (with espresso beans) and plain milk chocolate.

Goat milk benefits: Goat milk contains a smaller fatty acid chain than cow's milk, which makes it easier for the body to break down and digest. It's also about 10% lower in lactose than cow's milk.

Hemp Milk Frozen Treat

In the U.S., hemp is often associated with marijuana or rope. The plant's distant relation to Cannabis has raised concerns over its THC levels, the psychoactive substance found in the illegal drug.

But findings published in the July/August 2008 Journal of Analytical Toxicology indicate that hemp foods in the marketplace do not contain detectable levels of THC.

Now, food companies are trying to overcome the challenges of shedding the mysteries of hemp by introducing it as milk, protein powder and nuts (shelled hemp seeds) with some success.

According to a study by natural products market research firm SPINS, these are the top three growth-driving categories for the industry. The report found that from 2007 to 2008, sales of hemp milk grew about 162%, protein powder increased 21% and nuts rose 44%.

Living Harvest, the first company to commercially produce hemp milk in the U.S., hopes to cash in on that growth in April, when their hemp milk ice creams debut. The company will offer vanilla bean, chocolate fudge, toasted coconut and lime, coffee biscotti and mint chip. It will also introduce a cooking oil the same month.

Hemp milk benefits: Hemp milk contains no common allergens and is easily digestible. It also has some of the highest amounts of iron of all types of milks, has the same amount of protein as cow's milk and 92% of its fat content is made up of omega fatty acids (also known as "good fats").

Beverages With a New Berry

Exporting the delicate Chinese fruit yumberry, or yang-mei, into the U.S. is not possible yet. The red, prickly fruit that resembles a soft lychee spoils quickly, which makes properly transporting the whole fruit difficult, says Terry Xanthos, founder of Frutzzo -- the first beverage company to offer bottled yumberry juice blends in America.

Processed in China as juice concentrate, the fruit has a sweet and tangy berry flavor with hints of pomegranate, making it a popular addition to beverages.

That's why yumberry has been making initial appearances in bottled drinks and restaurant cocktails. Several new beverages with the fruit juice are already slated to come out in the early half of this year.

R.W. Knudsen Family will introduce Organic Yumberry, a drink with a blend of organic yumberry and berry juices.

Anheuser Busch's subsidiary 9th Street Beverages is debuting a line of 180 Energy All-Natural energy drinks at select Super Bowl events and will then launch them nationwide. One of the three -- 180 All-Natural Orange Citrus -- will contain a mixture of orange and yumberry flavors.

Frutzzo also plans to offer four new juices, including a yumberry-pomegranate version.

Yumberry benefits: Yumberry is high in antioxidants, specifically Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins (OPCs). Antioxidants are dietary substances that prevent and repair cell damage by battling molecules called free radicals.

Chocolate Dessert Obsession

Chocolate preferences

Chocolate desserts dominate over other desserts on restaurant menus—no other flavors even come close. Anywhere from 40% to 60% of the selections will feature chocolate.

High-end restaurants, often the driving force for culinary innovation, tend to initiate chocolate-dessert trends, which eventually find their way to casual dining. Pastry chefs sometimes take classic desserts and replace low-quality chocolate with, for instance, Valrhona or Scharffen Berger chocolate to refine flavor and craft an outstanding final product. The masters source the best-possible natural ingredients and use innovative plating to give these old classics a new twist. Good examples of this are a classic chocolate donut or Ho Ho gone gourmet.

Marketers want the consumer to know about chocolate’s percentage of cocoa mass (also called chocolate liquor—cocoa solids plus cocoa butter), as well as any unique features of their brand, whether it is a single origin or blend of different beans from different countries. Many small chocolate manufacturers have a story to tell, such as the region the chocolate originated from, and the care taken to harvest it.

Consumers are finding out that the percentage indicated on chocolate labels refers to the amount of cocoa mass in the chocolate and are learning to differentiate the distinct characteristics between semisweet (more sugary) and bittersweet chocolate (a sharper taste). Most consumers are learning that a 70% to 80% chocolate is extra bitter, 55% to 62% is bittersweet, 45% to 50% is semisweet, and 32% to 41% characterizes milk chocolate.

From bean to fork

Many people believe that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the quality of the chocolate. This is not necessarily true. First of all, the type of cocoa bean affects the quality and the flavor of the chocolate. The three most common types of beans are Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario. The flavor differences between these beans are subtle, but chocolate made from Criollo is generally milder and more delicate, while the flavors in chocolate made with Forastero and Trinitario are more robust. Their flavor is influenced by weather, soil, and growing and harvesting conditions. Criollo beans are often considered the “luxury” beans; they comprise 10% of the cocoa beans available worldwide, and have a floral flavor. Nevertheless, all three types of beans can make high-quality chocolate—it’s simply a matter of personal taste preferences.

Single-origin chocolate is made from beans cultivated from one region or even one farm. Chocolate companies often blend Criollo with Forastero and Trinitario beans to produce high-quality chocolate and, eventually, desserts. There is no standard or rule regarding what types of chocolates are best used in specific kinds of desserts. Part of the artistic and creative freedom enjoyed by pastry chefs comes with choosing chocolate from different types of beans that pair well with the other flavors in the dessert.

Favored are Schokinag and Callebaut chocolates for desserts. The Schokinag extra-bittersweet chocolate in our whiskey-accented sabayon Chocolate Ribbon Mousse Cake and our orange-flavored Grand Sequoia Mousse Cake gives these particular cakes a focused, intense, distinctively dark-chocolate flavor. Mousses and cakes can contain anywhere from 20% to 50% chocolate. This flavor intensity is balanced by the mousse-based texture, resulting in a rich, but light, dessert. The relationship between flavor and texture is one that I am constantly thinking about.

Prevailing trends

Several exciting developments are currently occurring in chocolate desserts trends. The first is adapting desserts to specific geographic regions. Deciding what flavors to pair with different chocolates is not a science, but rather an art. It is all about creativity and experimentation. For example, in New Orleans, a molten chocolate lava cake might be crafted with either a spicier, Mexican-style chocolate, or spiced with red pepper. Regional flairs and customizations can also be expressed in plating techniques. In Asian restaurants, green tea ice cream often accompanies the lava cake, while in classic American restaurants you’ll see either vanilla ice cream, crème anglaise or fresh seasonal berries.

The second trend is a move toward mini-desserts, or dessert samplers, where, consumers can sample variety and also feel indulged, without excessive calories. Severalyears ago, I noticed shot-glass-style desserts were becoming a trend in France. I returned inspired to use my expertise in mousse production and manufacturing to develop a line of mousse based products. They are comprised of two complementary mousse flavors, such as bittersweet and coffee chocolate mousse, or raspberry and lemon.

Another trend is the combination of savory and sweet flavors in the same dessert, such as chocolate and spicy chiles. Macarons are adaptable to savory-sweet combinations. For example, a spicy apricot chutney should go well with a chocolate macaron.

France has a perfect dark-chocolate-ganache candy with just the right quantity of sea salt as a decorative touch. The flavors complemented one another perfectly.

Lastly, I think people are really starting to think about the pros and cons of sourcing and knowing the origins of the ingredients they are using and, at the same time, balancing this quest with a growing awareness of the true cost of importing ingredients. Chefs need to balance their desire for the very best with educating themselves on what may be available to them locally. Since chocolate raw materials come exclusively from outside the United States, this connection to local ingredients might come in the form of deriving manufactured chocolate ingredients from a local company, or via sourcing other ingredients for the dessert from local manufacturers.

Adventurous inspirations

I think, dream, eat, live and breathe desserts, and inspiration for developing innovative, chocolate-based products comes from many sources. I’ve noticed, for example, that high-quality, easy-to-utilize products are clearly missing from the market. Galaxy’s Triple Mousse Cake—with layers of dark-, milk- and white-chocolate mousse, topped with white-chocolate shavings—in individually sized, easy-to-plate portions is one example of how we filled a market need.

Another source of innovation for me is expanding upon successful product concepts. After the success of our recent Cannelés—a baked dessert with a vanilla-rum custard center, originating in the Bordeaux region of France—I decided to create a chocolate version, as well.

World travel always interests me, as does discovering regional desserts that I can adapt to the American market. I visit every local bakery, no matter what city or country I’m in. I constantly read books on chocolate and desserts, and further my education. Tasting is key for me in inspiring new ideas for dessert products. I love tasting exotic fruits when I’m traveling abroad, and I also taste regional desserts when I’m out to eat.

I can be inspired by a single ingredient. I recently tasted a unique Colombian chocolate with a dynamic coffee flavor that was inherent in the bean. I’m already dreaming about new products I can make using this chocolate. I was invited to visit the farm where the beans are grown; however, due to the presence of the FARC rebel organization, my Colombian friends strongly discouraged me from visiting. I am not deterred in my determination to find a safe way to source this ingredient, and whatever product I create with it will certainly have a great story behind it, as well as a great name, like The Rebel Cake.

Whether you’re a pastry chef in a four-star restaurant, a chef in a chain restaurant, or a food scientist in R&D, find your own sources of inspiration and don’t be afraid to be creative with ingredients or products. Whether it’s adapting recipes and adding your own twists or experimenting with plating or presentation options, the best ideas often come from trial and error, and the very best ideas come from your own experience.

Restaurants share survival strategies for 2009

Restaurant operators large and small provided their outlooks for the year ahead -- and most of them were not pretty.

At the seventh annual Cowen & Co. consumer investment conference in New York, which took place Monday and Tuesday, about 20 restaurant firms presented their strategies for 2009, most of which included cutting costs, slashing development plans, retooling menus and tweaking marketing messages

High-end operator Stephen Hanson, founder and president of B.R. Guest Restaurants, a multiunit operator with concepts in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas, said consumer traffic just about died at the end of the 2008, and he worried that it may not return for some time.

“For 2008, we’re going to be like, 'That was a good year,'” he said. “I think the consumer will just shut down, and even when they do go out, they will be thinking differently about how they spend their money É 2009 will be a very, very tough year.”

Hanson, whose company boasts brands like Ruby Foo’s, Fiamma and Dos Caminos, said chain operators should focus less on the cost side of running the business during these tough times, and more on the customer.

“In general, chains need CRM [customer relationship management],” he said. “Today you need volume; you need to hug the customer.”

A laser-like focus on generating customer traffic -- through discounting, improved marketing or retooled menu items -- was an obvious theme throughout the conference.

Domino’s Pizza chief executive David Brandon said the pizza delivery chain had neglected consumers who were looking for more value, as individual operators let menu prices increase too much to fight off inflation. The lack of traffic that resulted could have led to the nine Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings by Domino's franchisees in 2008. Domino’s new oven-baked sandwiches, priced at $4.99 each, are an answer to customers seeking value, Brandon said.

Sonic Corp. executives said the drive-in chain’s new permanent value menu, with items priced at $1, will attract more customers. The company also said it would ramp up its media spending by about 5 percent from a year ago to about $200 million.

Buffalo Wild Wings is promoting its Big Jack Daddy Burger, a burger topped with pulled pork, fried onion rings, cheddar-jack cheese and honey barbeque sauce, while Papa John’s Pizza is looking to introduce “non-pizza items,” which it would not disclose.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., the operator of the burrito chain that has struggled of late, said it is completely revamping its marketing efforts. A new chief marketing officer and a new advertising agency will bring a more sophisticated advertising approach to the fast-casual chain, said founder and chief executive Steve Ells. The chain just finished in December a systemwide menu price hike of as high as 6 percent in some locations.

Almost all companies said they would slow development in 2009. Bob Evans Farms Inc., for example, said it would open just one location of its namesake family-dining brand this year, and Morton’s Restaurants Inc. said it would open only two or three restaurants in 2009. Not only are financing and site selection for new developments not favorable, but returns for new units just won’t hit targets with the consumer staying at home, many companies said.

To help cut costs in the face of slowed sales, most restaurant operators said they are looking at labor scheduling that highlights sales per shift or even per hour so that efficiencies are gained. At BJ’s Restaurants Inc., for example, executives said new technology will help the casual-dining chain monitor shift progress in real time so that labor decisions can be made immediately.

At Ruby Tuesday Inc., about $60 million in cost saving during the past 12 months has come from labor cutbacks, including field management, corporate staff and executive positions, the company said.

“It’s the toughest I’ve seen out there,” said chairman and chief executive Sandy Beall. “It’s a good cleansing process, though, and it will benefit us in the long term.”

Moroccan food and its surge in popularity is profiled

THE cookbook author Paula Wolfert paced around a demonstration kitchen in Marrakesh's ritzy Es Saadi hotel, fielding questions from a group of American tourists on a subject dear to her heart: cooked granules of semolina, better known as couscous.

Some questions were historical: How old is couscous? (“Semolina in North Africa dates to the 12th century.”) Others were practical: Can you make couscous in a rice cooker? (Yes, but a clay vessel works better.) The group, which included restaurateurs and food writers, scribbled notes attentively.

“Moroccan cuisine is very hot in America these days,” said Ms. Wolfert, whose pioneering 1973 cookbook, “Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco,” won last year's Cookbook Hall of Fame Award from the James Beard Foundation. “It's an exciting time to eat in Marrakesh.”

As the fascination with Moroccan cuisine has taken off — both in the United States and around the globe — epicures and chowhounds are flocking to the ancient ochre-hued city of Marrakesh. Foreign-led food tours are sprouting. Homegrown cooking classes are multiplying. And high-end restaurants run by European hotshots are opening alongside the city's nonpareil street food and old, home-style establishments.

The excitement begins in Djemaa el Fna, the teeming central square, which offers an immersion in the city's myriad eats. As the dusk call to prayer fades from the tall minaret of the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque, hundreds of men and boys in soiled chefs' whites erect makeshift food stalls to feed Marrakesh's 1,001 appetites. They fire up grills and reach into steaming cauldrons to serve up bean soups, deep-fried sole, grilled eggplant strips, tripe stew, hard-boiled-egg sandwiches and skewered meats.

Each stand is numbered with a tall, handwritten sign, and putting together a meal in Djemaa el Fna is like cracking a safe: it's a matter of finding the right combination.

Start at No. 6, where Ahmed ladles bowls of escargot (10 dirhams, or $1.22 at 8.2 dirhams to the dollar), before advancing to No. 32, where Hassan and his team grill mounds of tiny beef sausages served with mild red tomato chutney (12 dirhams). The payoff is at No. 10, where Mustafa slices off tender strips of slow-cooked lamb that you eat with a dash of ground cumin and warm disk of bread (25 dirhams). Sweet mint tea balances the flavor of the savory meat.

But for the most refined take on traditional cooking, follow the ladies. Led by the chef Halima Chab and her all-female staff, the restaurant Al Fassia (55 Boulevard Zerktouni, Gueliz; 212-24-43-40-60; www.alfassia.com) specializes in the striking mixtures of meats and sweets that characterize the best Moroccan food.

Exhibit A: Pastilla. To most city dwellers, the pigeon is an ignoble nuisance, a rat of the sky, a menace to statues. But at Al Fassia, the lowly bird is cooked, diced and deployed in a perfectly flaky pastry along with finely chopped pistachios and almonds. Topped with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar, the concoction becomes remarkably delicious. And followed with a tagine of chicken and caramelized pumpkin, the meal is a study in savory-sweet sublimity.

Cooking in Marrakesh is also getting increasingly haute, thanks to a growing number of top French chefs. Christophe Leroy, the toast of St.-Tropez, is now running La Table du Marché, a sleek French nouveau restaurant at the luxurious Hivernage Hotel (Rue des Temples, Gueliz; 212-24-42-41-00; www.christophe-leroy.com). And Fabrice Vulin, after earning Michelin stars in France and Switzerland, is making a new name for himself at Dar Ennassim (Le Pavillon du Golf, Circuit de la Palmeraie; 212-24-33-43-08; www.pavillonfabricevulin.com), a high-design villa in the fashionable Palmeraie district.

“The quality of produce here is amazing,” said Hadrien Villedieu, a veteran of the Michelin-starred Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris. Only 26 years old, he's now running the chic white restaurant of Le Bab (Rue Mohamed el Beqqual; 212-24-43-52-50; www.babhotelmarrakech.com), a new boutique hotel. “And I'm often astonished to find fish that are better than in France,” he said, “and the same for the meats.”

Besides sampling these new flavors, amateur chefs can experiment with their own. Cooking schools have sprung up everywhere in recent years, from old-school restaurants like Maison Arabe (www.lamaisonarabe.com), to fancy hotels like Kasbah Agafay (www.kasbahagafay.com). Learning to cook a couscous merguez now ranks with carpet haggling as a must-do Marrakesh activity.

Among the first to offer Marrakesh cooking classes to foreigners was the Rhode School of Cuisine (www.rhodeschoolofcuisine.com). Today, the England-based company offers a dozen one-week Marrakesh cooking classes. Recent students included Rick Browne, the cookbook author and host of the PBS show “Barbecue America,” who spent a week at the luxury villa Dar Liqama, shooting a special segment on Moroccan grilling techniques.

In and around the teeming Rue Mouassine, in the old Medina, you can forage for conical tagine pots and bottles of rare argan oil, made from the pit of a fruit unique to the country. And then there are the spices.