Article
Sustainability ‘hot topic' at 2008 NRA Show
Chipotle CEO spoke of sustainable, ethical food products.
May 26, 2008 by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance
More than 71,000 attendees converged onChicago
Among the more than 65 educational sessions held during the four-day event was a presentation given by Chipotle Mexican Grill chief executive officer Steve Ells, who discussed an owner's perspective on serving food in an ethical and sustainable manner.
Sustainable and eco-friendly products were a hot topic once again at the NRA Show, with an abundance of exhibitors displaying cage-free, growth-hormone free vegetarian-fed animal products.
Ells expressed his disappointment with what he describes as the American food paradox.
"What most Americans eat today isn't real food," he said. "Eating has become just an act of putting calories into our body. Most of us don't even know where we're going to get our next meal."
The paradox, according to Ells, is that Americans practice such eating habits while at the same time representing the most health-obsessed culture in the world.
So what went wrong with food inAmerica
Ells claims scientists "led us astray" when they began engineering out of food what they thought was unhealthy, putting in its place preservatives, antibiotics and other ingredients they thought were good for us.
"They've contributed more to a problem than they have to a solution," Ells said.
The real solution, he said, is "to eat real food – unprocessed, whole food that has been cooked in a classic way and sourced from real farmers," as opposed to large corporate farms.
For foodservice operators who have had a difficult time implementing sustainable initiatives, especially in a struggling economy, Ells advises, "Just cook good food. If you cook good food, the people will come."
Live from Chicago
Fast Casual editor, Valerie Killifer, and publisher, Paul Barron, conducted several video interviews from the NRA Show floor. Watch below for trends and products found at the Show's first International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event, held May 19-20.
Featured Exhibitors
The National Restaurant Association Hotel-Motel Show is one of the largest trade events in the world. Search NRA on FastCasual.com for more extensive coverage of the show, and in the meantime, enjoy this brief look at just a few of the exhibits. Click here to view a slideshow of the NRA Show featured exhibitors.
BUZZTIME. Any operator who has ever been to a Buffalo Wild Wings, and watched customers get their trivia in between beers, is already familiar with Buzztime's nationwide interactive games. Now, for operators who want to take the application a step further, Buzztime is introducing a way for them to put their customized messages on the screen beside the games. A web-based interface allows deployers to log on, choose from various fonts and other tools, upload their own images, and have the resulting messages sent to their screens. Uses include making real-time specials to move certain items during slow periods or executing general promotional efforts. Space can be sold to third parties for additional revenue, and content can be changed as often as the operator likes.
CUSTOMER2YOU. Fax machines have served an important role in the history of mankind. But so have 8-track tapes, dot-matrix printers and pet rocks. Online ordering can help do away with the busy signals and overlooked faxes so toxic to the customer experience, but until recently, the technology has been too cumbersome and expensive. Customer2You can work directly with POS providers to set up an online ordering application in no time flat, including complete menus, and have orders zoomed straight into the POS. Service is ongoing and seamless with the POS provider to give operators the proverbial one-throat-to-choke. Cost? Free to deployers because customers foot the 75 cent transaction fee.
EPICURE DIGITAL SYSTEMS, based inBeverly Hills ,Calif.
H.C. BRILL continues to strengthen its foodservice presence by leveraging in-store bakery expertise and innovation. This year's exhibit featured a broad range of operator-friendly products including freezer-to-oven cinnamon rolls, focaccia dough, scoop-and-bake batters and thaw-and-sell cookies and muffins. "Our products are very versatile," said company president Troy Hendricks. "We used cobbler crusts for quiches, puff pastry for sweet-and-savory applications, and focaccia dough for breadsticks and pizzas." The exhibit also featured the Karp name, after H.C. Brill spent a few years integrating its best products. "Now, we offer a line that can accommodate operators without ovens as well as those with pastry chefs," Hendricks said.
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TORANI, specializing in flavored iced teas, specialty coffees and lemonades, had two products make their NRA debut. One was a new drink with an especially fresh strawberry taste. The other was Torani Amer, a bitter orange liquor the company introduced shortly after the end of Prohibition. Torani, based inSouth San Francisco
VULCAN HART RANGE had a new, composite metal cooking top that offers up to 40-percent energy efficiency. It's so efficient that the company is pursuing an Energy Star rating. The unique surface requires no seasoning and can be cleaned with water and a razor blade. Cook zones are precise and reliable, and the grill reheats so quickly from standby that more operators will feel comfortable shutting it down between busy times, thus saving them energy costs. While some grills can vary from 75 to 100 degrees from corner to center, the new Vulcan Hart range has a 12-degree idle average variance.
VGS won't be left behind in the move to green. At the NRA Show, the company showcased its new ecofriendly products. MgO board, for example, is made of magnesium oxide and other materials that require no energy for the manufacturing process. It cuts into shapes easily and is one of the most durable and flexible eco materials for today's signage and displays. Wood veneer panels are abrasion, scratch, stain and impact resistant. Plywood panels made from abundant, plantation-grown coconut palms can be used as stand-alones or integrated into most of VGS' proprietary signage and fixture systems. "When we think of our company as being very product focused, we were trying to showcase in our booth that visibility starts with design and builds from the ground up," said Patrick Benasillo, vice president. "We showed two different pathways, one more creative and vibrant, the other eco-friendly."
WILD VEGGIE made its debut at the show with four vegetable-based, frozen products that can be served hot or cold, as beverages or as parts of soup or other recipes. Currently, broccoli, cauliflower, edamame and red bell peppers are available. The process takes the whole vegetable, lightly cooks it and uses micro-cutting technology (as opposed to a puree process) to liquefy it. The advantage is that the product retains greater color and fresher taste. Wild Veggie traces all products from raw materials through the manufacturing processes and distribution channels to assure full accountability. In addition, Wild Veggie uses state of the art equipment for quality assurance, lot tracking and food safety analysis.
WINSTON INDUSTRIES, founded in 1969, a leading foodservice equipment manufacturer, designs, builds and markets state-of-the-art equipment for a wide variety of foodservice operations. Winston manufactures two product brands, Collectramatic and CVap. Collectramatic fryers use a gravity filtration system to remove loose breading from cooking oil, which extends shortening life, and lowers operating costs. CVap (controlled vapor) technology uses a patented dual heat system, composed of vapor heat and air heat. The system precisely controls food moisture and temperature, meaning food can be held for extended periods, without any loss of quality or temperature. Because CVap technology is available in a wide variety of product configurations, it offers operators the solution to a multitude of cooking and holding challenges.
* Additional reporting by Joseph Grove and Caroline Cooper.
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