News for w/e 3 August

Food Prices Poised to Increase

This summer’s lingering drought—the worst in at least 50 years, with over 1,000 counties in 26 states currently qualifying for disaster relief—will inevitably cause a spike in food prices. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, corn is now 22% more expensive than at the beginning of the year, and soybeans are up 32% (see in “For Food, It’s the Bad and the Ugly”). The World Bank also reports that wheat prices have spiked considerably—up 50% since mid-June. After a period of high food prices, consumers initially got a bit of a break this year.

World's best pop-up restaurants

Found in art galleries, train stations, on the street, and dangling in mid-air, pop-up shops are the ultimate solution for the busy people. They've become more than just a fad, especially when it comes to food. Busy travelers, local foodies and workaholics with little time to spare between meetings seek out pop-up restaurants to enjoy fine dining on small budgets. The best part about these pop-up restaurants? Not only is the food worthy of a game of hide-and-seek, they're a lot cheaper to set up and dine in than restaurants

CALL it the chai backlash.

Chai tea, with its gentle kick of ginger root and cinnamon bark, was the hot drink du jour back when world economic skies were blue, before the global financial crisis. But as Sydney's sky turned from blue to grey yesterday, Sydneysiders queued in their hundreds for a much stronger brew: Mayan coffee with chilli and chocolate. It's the stimulant trifecta with a social conscience, made with beans grown by a workers' co-operative in Guatemala. Even the chai variety came with chocolate and molasses.

Customer Feedback and the Local Guest Experience

In today's food service industry, everything revolves around guest experiences. Restaurants that focus on delivering exceptional dining experiences are rewarded with above average diner loyalty and other "mile markers" in food service success.

Audit Reveals US Beef Quality, Transparency Up

While the US beef industry continues to make progress in the area of beef quality, there is still room for improvement, according to results of the 2011 checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) released during the 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver. 

An Olympic-Sized Appetite

The XXX Summer Olympic Games kick off today, and sponsors and supporters are using the event to discuss nutrition, new initiatives and other aspects related to food.McDonald's Corporation is a one of two food-industry sponsors of the Olympic Games, and is using that exposure to announce new initiatives (see "McDonald's Takes Olympic Stage to Announce Advances in Children's Well-Being, Menu Innovation and Access to Nutrition Information"). Recent developments include its "Favorites under 400 calories" menu, which lists all of its items that fit that criteria (representing 80% of its menu), and the announcement that most if its packaging will include nutrition QR codes by the end of 2013. 

Consumer Interest in Smaller Restaurant Meals Rises

Combo meals, the by-number bundled meals that make ordering easy for customers and yielded larger orders for restaurant operators, are down about 1 billion servings since 2007, according to The NPD Group. A recently released NPD foodservice market research report finds that smaller lunch and supper meals, more and better value offerings, price concerns, and composition of meal are among the contributors to combo meal declines. Consumers purchased 8 billion combo meals in the year ended January 2012, down more than 12%

Flying chefs serve up fine dining in sky

Gourmet cuisine has long been a staple of business class and first-class menus. But a number of airlines are taking the in-flight meal to new heights by bringing chefs on board to serve up a fine dining experience in the sky -- scooping up culinary awards in the process. Etihad Airways has gone as far as to poach expert cooks from a number renowned Michelin-starred restaurants since launching its "Flying Chef" service on long haul flights late last year. The concept has thus far proved a recipe for success,

Dying wish: 95 Random Restaurant Servers to Receive $500 Tips

Aaron Collins didn’t die a wealthy man, but he has left behind a legacy of kindness that has touched countless hearts across the nation. After Collins unexpectedly passed away on July 7, his brother, Seth, found a copy of his will that included the young man’s final wish: Go out for pizza and give the waiter or waitress a $500 tip. The request was one Seth Collins wanted to honor, but there was a slight problem. Aaron didn’t leave behind enough money to make his wish a reality, so Seth created a website called Aaron’s Wish to tell his brother’s story and accept donations...

Read more: http://www.foodservice.com/news/human-interest/dying-wish-95-random-rest...