R&I Insider - March 15, 2006

By The Editors -- Restaurants & Institutions, 3/15/2006

Ivy’s Class of 2006
Winners of Restaurants & Institutions’ 2006 Ivy Awards have been announced. Six winners of the award—given annually to foodservice operations that demonstrate the highest standards of excellence in food, service and overall hospitality—will formally be recognized at the Ivy Awards Celebration and Dinner held on Sunday, May 21, at The Field Museum in Chicago. The event, which draws more than 300 attendees, coincides with the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago. This year’s inductees are:

Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Commander’s Palace, Las Vegas
mk the restaurant, Chicago
The Peabody, Orlando
Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
Trattoria dell’Arte, New York City

Each year, nominations are solicited from previous winners, and the entire readership of R&I is given the opportunity to cast votes. This year, 87 operations were nominated for the award. The Ivy Awards program began in 1971; to date, more than 300 operations have won this prestigious award.

Restaurant Raffle
Knowing about nutrition not only helps make Anna Stone and Jose Sanabria eat well at school, it earned them a trip to a restaurant. The two students at Joseph Jenks Junior High School in Pawtucket, R.I., won a raffle that was part of the school’s “Eat Healthy, Get Active and Score High” program to promote healthful eating. Their prize was a visit to Gracie’s restaurant in Providence, where they received insights on nutrition and then cooked with Chef Joseph Hafner (shown).

Hafner says he and his staff talked with the winners about moderation, food variety and “the importance of salads and things that are lower in fat such as bouillabaisse,” a French, tomato-based fish soup.

Raffle tickets were handed out at random to Jenks students who had grain, milk and fruit components on their cafeteria breakfast trays. Students also were entered in the raffle if they could read labels and identify the most sensible beverage choices, says Dorothy Brayley, executive director at Kids First, the Providence, R.I.-based nonprofit organization behind the school’s pilot program. This approach to nutrition education can be an effective part of the wellness programs all school districts are mandated to have in place by July, she says.

Menu Focus
Available fresh or dried, aromatic lemongrass stalks are central to Thai cuisine and find applications that span world cuisines and menu courses.

HAVERFORD, PA.
Haverford College: Sweet potato and lemongrass soup

HOUSTON
BANK Jean-Georges: Grilled chicken with kumquat-lemongrass dressing, baby corn and broccoli (shown)

MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Zao Noodle Bar: Chicken, kaffir lime, cilantro, carrots, tomatoes and mein noodles in coconut-lemongrass broth with chiles

NEW ORLEANS
Dominique’s at the Maison Dupuy Hotel: Passion-fruit panna cotta with vanilla-lemongrass custard and passion-fruit jus

NEW YORK CITY
Flatiron Lounge: Lychee & Lemongrass Fizz (gin with fresh lychee juice, lemongrass and hints of citrus)

SEATTLE
Ponti Seafood Grill: Penn Cove mussels with ginger, lemongrass, shallot and sweet sake broth

Table Turns

• Jeff Gaetjen (r.) was named corporate chef for restaurateur Bob Kinkead’s three restaurants, including Colvin Run Tavern in Vienna, Va., where Gaetjen had been chef de cuisine. Succeeding him in that post is Chris Newsome. ...
• Yvonne Wolf joined Denny’s Inc. in Spartanburg, S.C., as vice president and chief people officer. She has held positions with Triarc Restaurant Group and other companies. ...
• Benjamin Ford opened 70-seat Ford’s Filling Station in Culver City, Calif. He previously was chef-partner at now-closed Chadwick in Los Angeles. ...
• The Clarkes’ Group opened a second New York City location of 120-year-old P.J. Clarke’s, this in the World Financial Center. Morris Nathan Design created the 220-seat space. ...
• Karen Shelledy (r.), a 27-year veteran of Atlanta-based Arby’s Restaurant Group was named senior vice president for franchise services. ...
• Christopher McGlothlin was appointed chief information officer for Domino’s Pizza, Ann Arbor, Mich. He has held several posts at Yum! Brands. ...
• Kevin and Alan Shikami, owners of Kevin in Chicago, plan to open a second concept in the city by year-end. ...
• Atlanta-based Fifth Group Restaurants partners Robert Kukler, Steve Simon and Kris Reinhard opened a second location of their South City Kitchen concept, this in Smyrna, Ga. Timothy Magee, who headed the kitchen in the original, is executive chef. ...
• Allan Rosenberg, recently chef de cuisine at Park Place on Main in Louisville, Ky., opened his own restaurant, Danielle’s. ...
• Seattle-based Taco Del Mar named Paul Curhan its vice president of marketing and advertising. His career includes stints with Starbucks Coffee and Tully’s Coffee. ...
• Restaurateurs Danielle Billera and Matthew Johnson (SushiSamba and Sugarcane Lounge partners) and Simon Oren (Nice Matin, Marseille) opened Barbounia in New York City. Executive Chef Michael Cressotti (formerly sous-chef at Patria) creates a pan-Mediterranean menu. ...
• Famous Dave’s of America, Minneapolis, promoted Christopher O’Donnell to executive vice president for operations and Clark Grant to vice president of finance and controller. ...
• Outback Steakhouse Inc., Tampa. Fla., sold its 50% interest in four-unit Paul Lee’s Chinese Kitchen to concept founder Paul Fleming.

Wendy’s Second Helping
In 1985, an upscale menu and a $50 million-plus media blitz weren’t enough to make Wendy’s International’s first foray into breakfast a success. This year, the Dublin, Ohio-based quick-service chain says it will try its hand at morning meals once again, with a new menu scheduled for in-store tests this year and a rollout in 2007.

In a recent Webcast, Wendy’s executives declined to detail potential breakfast products but said they would differ from the made-to-order omelets, scrambled eggs and French toast the chain tried 21 years ago. Wendy’s likely will follow competitors in focusing on portable, handheld items that are amenable to dining on the go. Wendy’s executives said they expect the daypart to add $160,000 in annual sales per restaurant within three years of launch.

Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. also continues to explore a.m. dining opportunities, this time with a 12-store test of Grani, a blend of low-fat granola cereal and nonfat steamed milk served in the coffee chain’s tall-sized cups. Priced from $2.25 to $2.45, options include Classic Whole Grain, Cinnamon Raisin, Caramel Apple and Fruit Medley.

Gaspergoo on a Lark
Parents have little time to indulge in family fine-dining, but that’s not stopping enthusiasts from expanding choices for the small set. In a move away from its success pleasing adult diners, San Francisco-based Lark Creek Restaurant Group has partnered with the creators of “Gaspergoo,” a children’s cooking television show that is in development, to design a restaurant concept where kids can be VIPs.

Bill Bourdon, vice president of Napa, Calif.-based entertainment and brand-development company Zoup-ah! LLC, says Lark Creek’s commitment to farm-fresh foods makes it a perfect partner to develop the restaurant concept, which both companies hope will inspire families to cook together. The plan is to open the first Gaspergoo restaurant in a major metropolitan area in 2007, the same year the TV show will launch.

Opening a concept challenged by its name (which it shares with a little-known freshwater fish) and by its audience of knee-high diners may seem an unusual step for Lark Creek, whose eight properties include Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. But Michael Dellar, co-founder and partner, sees it as an extension of what Lark Creek has learned from its Yankee Pier restaurants in Larkspur, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. “We have had great success bringing families together, all the way from kids playing in the sandbox outside the restaurant to eating foods that people wouldn’t expect them to like,” Dellar says. “This is a wonderful continuation of our concept.”

Center Plates
Chicago-based International Foodservice Manufacturers Association has named the 2006 Silver Plate Award winners. The nine honorees, selected for outstanding and innovative talents, will be recognized at the 52nd Annual Silver and Gold Plate Celebration on May 22 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.

• Elizabeth Blau, former executive vice president of restaurant development, Wynn Las Vegas (hotels and lodging)
• Craig Culver, CEO and co-founder, Culver Franchising, Prairie du Sac, Wis. (fast-service chains)
• Ronald Ehrhardt, director of food services, Prudential Financial, Newark, N.J. (business and industry/foodservice management)
• Beverly Girard, director of food and nutrition services, The School Board of Sarasota County, Fla. (elementary and secondary schools)
• David Goronkin, president and CEO, Famous Dave’s of America, Eden Prairie, Minn. (full-service chains)
• Robert Kinkead, chef-owner, Kinkead’s, Washington, D.C., and Colvin Run Tavern, Vienna, Va. (independent restaurants)
• Ted Mayer, chief operating officer, Harvard University Dining Services, Cambridge, Mass. (colleges and universities)
• Sister Alice Marie Quinn, program director, St. Vincent Senior Citizen Nutrition Program, Los Angeles (specialty foodservice)
• Ron Rech, director of food and nutrition services, Resurrection Medical/Holy Family Medical Center, Des Plaines, Ill. (healthcare)

Candidates were nominated from within the industry and chosen by a jury panel that included last year’s Silver Plate winners and representatives from industry trade magazines. The Gold Plate honoree, selected from among the Silver Plate winners, will be announced at the Silver and Gold Plate Celebration.

In the Swim
Two of the largest contract-management companies are putting support for sustainable foods into action. At several restaurants in national and state parks, Philadelphia-based Aramark this year will introduce special prix-fixe menus featuring sustainable and organic foods. For example, at Denali and Glacier Bay national parks in Alaska, hotel and lodge restaurants will offer locally sourced organic produce, heirloom grains and wild salmon (r.).

At Kalaloch Lodge and Lake Quinault Lodge in Washington’s Olympic National Park & Forest and at many other park venues it caters, fish species recommended by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list (which monitors over-fishing) and grass-fed beef will be served. Eco-friendly prep methods such as thaw cycles that reduce use of running water also are part of Aramark’s PlanetEVERgreen program, which it initiated in 2004.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, N.C.-based Compass Group USA announced that as of March 1, its operations will avoid fish species on the Monterey Bay Watch List and seek ways to further reduce purchases of shrimp and salmon not farmed with sustainable methods.