Mike Hohnen

Coaching for personal growth, change and development

Foodservice

Rise of the Sushi King

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https://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/0,17863,749970,00.html

By taking nigiri down-market, Ryuji Ishii’s Advanced Fresh Concepts made raw fish an American fast food.

Advanced Fresh Concepts (AFC) sells more sushi than anyone else in America — nearly $250 million worth of its Southern Tsunami brand nigiri and makimono each year. That’s 300 tons of fish, 20 million sheets of seaweed, and 1.9 million pounds of rice. The Rancho Dominguez, Calif., company operates sushi stands in supermarkets from Alaska to Alabama, relying largely on franchisees. AFC’s California rolls — which account for half the company’s sales — win newspaper taste tests despite costing less than $5. “I can keep quality high because volume keeps costs down,” says founder Ryuji Ishii. Here’s how he turned raw fish into a U.S. supermarket staple.

Vinaigrettes Switch Courses, Going Savory and Sweet

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CHEFS around the country are shaking up preconceived ideas of what vinaigrettes are and how they can be used. Tom Colicchio has taken to braising fish in vinaigrette. Thomas Keller of French Laundry and Per Se anoints pan-roasted duck with an emulsion of olive oil and 50-year-old sherry vinegar. Michael Moorhouse, the pastry chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is pouring warm orange vinaigrette on figs. [Read more…] about Vinaigrettes Switch Courses, Going Savory and Sweet

Hardee's hails burger as 'monument to decadence'

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https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-11-15-hardees_x.htm

ST. LOUIS (AP) – As many fast-food chains are catering to the health-conscious, Hardee’s is introducing the biggest and thickest of its Thickburgers – one with enough calories to make Ronald McDonald blush.

The Monster Thickburger has 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.

Hardee’s

The chain on Monday rolled out its Monster Thickburger – two 1/3-pound slabs of Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun. The sandwich alone sells for $5.49, $7.09 with fries and a soda.

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Even a news release touted the Monster – at 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat – as “a monument to decadence.” Add fries and a soda and a single meal would involve more calories and fat than most people should get in a day.

Fast food is embracing fast fruit.

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https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2004-11-07-fresh-fruit_x.htm

McDonald’s buys more apples than any other restaurant chain. Wendy’s is testing a fruit bowl entree. Arby’s chops apples into chicken salads.

But will folks go as gaga for fruit as they have for salads? In a world of increasingly nutrition-conscious consumers, many top names in fast food think so. Almost every major chain has some sort of new fruit salad or fruit side on the menu, in test or in planning.

Fresh fruit presents special problems. It has a short shelf life, is costly to store and requires refrigeration. Special packaging is needed to let nitrogen out, but keep air from getting in.

But consumers want it. Convenient fresh-cut fruit has ballooned into a $3.8 billion business at supermarkets. The fast-foodies want a piece of that.

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“How we feel about ourselves is linked to what we eat,” says Jeff Davis, a consultant at SandelmanEdge.com, which tracks consumer feedback on restaurants. “You can get a kid to eat fruit before you can get him to eat a carrot.

SIAL 2004 report from Just Food com

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https://www.just-food.com/features_detail.asp?art=915&lk=rss

SIAL Paris is the world’s second-largest food show and the largest food show to be held this year as it alternates with ANGUA in Germany every other year. This year its three halls divided into six food areas contained over 5200 exhibitors from 98 countries and offered 15 product sectors and numerous sub-categories of foods and beverages. [Read more…] about SIAL 2004 report from Just Food com

High in protein, low in fat – it's chargrilled super guinea pig

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/24/wmmmmm24.xml

To most people they are lovable pets, but guinea pigs could soon be on the menu at British restaurants after the development of a “superpig” designed to offer diners a nutritious low-fat meal.

The new “Raza Peru” variety has been bred by scientists in Lima, who say that it contains more protein and less cholesterol than beef, pork, lamb or chicken.

The animal has already been sent for consumption in America, Spain and Japan, and exporters say they are ready to market it in Britain if there is sufficient demand.