You say tomato, I say food collection

Retiring Globe and Mail restaurant critic Joanne Kates describes the emerging no-reservations trend as “unfriendly,” but she’ll have no problems saving a seat at the soon-to-open food court at Toronto’s upscale Yorkdale Mall.

Er, make that, food collection:

(General manager Anthony) Casalanguida cringes when you call his food court, a food court.  It’s a “food collection,” he insists.

To whit, a few things you won’t find at your average mall:

• plated food, with cutlery,
• a perfume butler,
• a translator service,
• convenient under-the-table bag hooks,
• two fireplaces, and
• an outdoor patio that seats 60.

(Source: Yorkdale food court sneak peek, The Toronto Star)

The Toronto Star has posted an online photo gallery giving a sneak peak at the new food court/collection, slated to open June 2.  Check out the gorgeous Morello Forni oven at Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria‘s first Toronto location.

Industry consultant — and RestaurantCentral.ca contributor — Diane Chiasson had the final word when it came to whether or not advance booking was a thing of the past or the wave of the future:

Those better be good french fries for someone to make a reservation.

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100% relevant, 0% Kardashian

RestaurantCentral.ca is, unquestionably, the site you want to keep bookmarked for the latest in industry news — like the tagline says, it’s Canada’s go-to site for foodservice professionals.

But if you want to know what legislative obstacles and opportunities are facing foodservice operators, CRFA.ca is worth a gander, too.  Here’s what’s been making news in the last week:

May 28

• After years of lobbying for reform by CRFA and licensees, New Brunswick is set to undertake a complete review of the province’s Liquor Control Act.  For more information and to share your recommendations: New Brunswick to overhaul Liquor Control Act.

May 24

• CRFA supports proposed Employment Insurance changes that “will better connect workers to available jobs.”  Full story: CRFA welcomes government clarity on EI plans

• The association is not in favour of the federal government’s plan to prop up the competition: Open letter from restaurant industry on Canadian Government’s $12-million hand-out to frozen pizza manufacturer

May 22

• Earlier this month, the Competition Bureau began its case against MasterCard and Visa; CRFA and other business groups have long complained about restrictive merchant contracts.  Full story: Credit card fees in the spotlight

• Following government’s announcement to eliminate the penny, CRFA has been highlighting the impact of this change on restaurateurs: Tackling the penny’s demise

Of course, the easiest way to get all the great info all in one place is to sign up for CRFA News, a free monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on hot issues, new research and special offers.

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Six, seven, eight, nine …

Doing our food and restaurant news roundup by the numbers today!

• Six ways to handle negative online reviews (via: AmEX OPEN Forum)

Not just for restaurants, these tips are helpful for all hospitality operators, from caterers to hotels and everything in between.  Be sure to check out the story of the small business owner who was forced to develop a strategy for dealing with threats (tip #5) when a customer threatened his business with negative reviews — his solution may surprise you.

• Seven tips for moving up in search rankings (via: RestaurantCentral.ca)

It’s no surprise that three of the seven tips focus on showing your personality and creating personal connections with your customers (by responding promptly and taking them “behind the scenes” with value-added content).

• Eight egg-cellent pies (via: Serious Eats)

Admittedly, this one is a little strange … but I needed an “eight” for this post, dangit!  The pies in question are actually pizzas, and though eggs and pizzas might seem like a far-out combination, this slideshow has me rethinking my topping options.  Warning: do not read the comments if you are allergic to puns.

• Nine ways to be brilliant at the basics of business (via: SmartBrief on Food & Beverage)

Just one of the great tips from an expert in leadership training: “To serve better, know that guests don’t want to be treated like customers, they want to be treated like people. Teach your customer-facing team members the art of conversation; this skill is the connective tissue of guest engagement and heartfelt hospitality.”

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Happy Valentine’s Day (2013)

None of the how-tos noted below are things you can easily pull off in one day — well, except maybe for the heart-shaped eggs — but I don’t imagine that hard-boiled eggs are really a hot menu item in 2012.

We’ve got a year to work on that.

In the meantime, you can get crackin’ (sorry) on these treats for next year’s celebrations:

• How to make a heart-shaped egg (Anna The Red, via Pinterest)

(Confession: this is the only item on this list I’ve actually tried to make.  It didn’t work so well.  Then again, my two-year-old kid did correctly identify the shape as “heart” and not “misshapen eggy blob,” so maybe it worked okay after all.)

• (Amazing) Heart cake tutorial (I Am Baker, via Babble)

… which of course you’ll want to wash down with an equally beautiful beverage …

• How to draw a latte-art heart (Serious Eats)

The next item might seem like a no-brainer, but check out the slide show for some time-saving tips:

• How to make heart-shaped pepperoni slices (Serious Eats)

… which naturally leads to …

• How to make a heart-shaped pizza  Serious Eats)

Of course, if you’d rather dine than dash around a kitchen, you could always head to a local Boston Pizza restaurant, where more than 50,000 special one-day-only heart-shaped pizzas will be served up.  With love, no doubt.

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How many wings would a woodchuck fling?

Well hey there, February!

Though not traditionally a month of strong sales — being shortchanged a few days makes a big difference to the monthly bottom line — February is home to two major food events: the Superbowl and Valentine’s Day.

In The perfect match: Super Bowl and chicken wings, Vancouver restaurateur Sammy Hussein (Sammy’s Hot Wings) puts it simply: “Super Bowl is one of the biggest days we have.”

Chains echo this experience:
 

For Canadian chain Pizza Pizza, the televised event is expected to translate into such a high volume of orders, the company is recommending that customers place their requests online before game day to beat the rush.  Last year, Pizza Pizza restaurants across the country sold more than 200,000 chicken wings for Super Bowl, chief marketing officer Pat Finelli says. In comparison, the company typically sells between 70,000 and 100,000 wings on a regular Sunday.

Similarly, Boston Pizza’s Canadian locations recorded a 55-per-cent increase in its in-restaurant sales of wings during Super Bowl last year, compared with a typical Sunday. For takeout orders, chicken-wing sales jumped to 108 per cent above normal, says Perry Schwartz, Boston Pizza’s director of communications.

Nine days later, chicken gives way to chocolate.  In the U.S., consumers report plans to open their wallets along with their hearts this Valentine’s Day, with 46% planning to visit their favorite restaurants to celebrate the holiday, up from 39% last year (source: American Expres Spending & Saving Tracker).

Less popular than wings, pizza and heart-shaped ravioli?  Woodchuck, aka: whistle-pig, aka: land-beaver, aka: groundhog.  Less popular, but reportedly quite tasty — apparently a vegetarian diet and innate sciophobia make for tender victuals.

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