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While there are a lot of areas in a restaurant business which needed scrutinizing, there are areas of primary concern that an owner or manager should always look after. The good service, food and affordability are just one of the few restaurant concerns.

Nobody really knows what are going to be the major changes that await restaurant owners and restaurant businesses but the trends with food are certain to grow and improve and even evolve in the next coming years.

Today, there are about 4 out of 10 restaurant diners each day. That means; more and more people find it easier, comfortable and fast to dine at restaurants at least once a day. Because of this increasing interest and changing diner traits, restaurants should also adjust and make sure that they serve only the freshest, safest and healthy food for their frequent customers.

Self-medication and disease-free food is the top requirement in following restaurant and food trend. It’s not all about the taste of the food or the look of it that matter to customers but also, the healthy benefits it gives off. Customers who are health-conscious would know whether the fresh vegetable you serve is really fresh. As the restaurant owner, you wouldn’t want to have your business affected by comments as small as this one. But all small things grow to be big so watch out for this part.

Speaking of freshness, this would usually appeal to most customers especially when you have a wide selection of freshly baked items, salads, sauces and other produce. Your customers will benefit the same health and nutrition goodness by serving the mentioned fresh selection. This doesn’t only increase your restaurant’s “health consciousness” reputation but customers will find it even safer to dine frequently because of the clean food.

Still, these aren’t just the food trends a restaurant can start following; there are several items to look in to which means, it just always pay to know the latest trend about your business.

The recipes that are chosen for your restaurant play a major role in your business success. It is not an easy task to choose a recipe. Each and every restaurant would have some specialty food for which the customers come back again and again. It will be because of the recipe of that particular food item. Many restaurants guard their secret recipes. Only the restaurant owner or head chef may know the complete recipe of that particular dish.

There are many categories of recipes available for a restaurant. Depending upon the season and the holidays in that locality there could be some seasonal addition to the menu items available.

The locality in which a restaurant is situated plays an important role in the selection of your recipes. People who frequent a particular area may be seeking a particular food item which could be native to that locality. Recipes of such foods should be included in your menu items if you want to retain those customers. These customers also tend to be more frequent, as they have a taste for a particular specialty that is served in the area.

Before you choose the best recipes for your restaurant, it is advantageous to monitor the area for what types of foods are the most popular and experiment with integrating menu items using these recipes into your repertoire. If your restaurant is aiming at providing different types of foods that people would try to experiment with, then you should have an experienced chef who can provide those varieties of dishes in your restaurant. For example, you could try more international recipes if your restaurant is situated in a place which is of interest to foreign tourists. Bringing in international chefs once in a while to spice up the recipes in your restaurant would also help to attract new customers.

There are many ways to make a living of course, but opening a business is one of the best ways to become wealthy.

Creating a business is not easy, and opening a restaurant without a solid restaurant business plan to guide you would simply be foolish.

Adding All Of The Pertinent Information To Your Business Plan

After all, a restaurant business plan will be the first document any potential lenders, investors or partners want to see, and the restaurant business plan will also serve as an important guideline as the business moves forward.

It is therefore vital to put as much pertinent information into the restaurant business plan as possible.

Hiring And Retaining Good Employees

Some of the factors on which that restaurant business plan should focus include the business owner’s plans for finding, hiring and retaining the most talented chefs and cooks in the industry.

The restaurant business is known for being a highly competitive one, and it is important that the restaurant business plan spell out exactly how the business owner plans to find not only the best chefs but the best waiter staff, management and support staff as well.

Detailing The Type Of Food You Will Serve At Your Restaurant

The restaurant business plan should also provide details about what kinds of food the new restaurant plans to serve. Some restaurant owners will focus on a serving a wide variety of fine American cuisine, designed to appeal to a variety of different tastes.

Other restaurant owners will choose to serve a more eclectic mix of cuisines, while others will decide to focus on a smaller niche market. It is important for the restaurant business plan to be prepared to spell out this important distinction.

Getting Your Business Plan Reviewed By Professionals

As the restaurant business plan is being prepared, it is important for the would be restaurant owner to have the document carefully reviewed by a number of business professionals.

It is a good idea, for instance, to have the restaurant business plan reviewed by a qualified business attorney, as well as an accountant or other tax professional.

This professional input can help the business owner structure the restaurant business plan in a way that will make it most effective when it comes to attracting the financing that will be needed to get the new restaurant up and running.

Any owner of a restaurant establishment, no matter how small or big his business is needs to have a list of important things needed in keeping his record for business straight. The owner needs to know which part of his restaurant needs improvement.

For one thing, food is not only the focus when running a restaurant. Though it is the main purpose in running and owning one; there has to be something more about why a type of food is selected as one of the food items. As for the taste, you simply would not want to give it all away as if you are serving something fresh out of a grocery store. You have to realize first why this type of food should be served in your restaurant and whether there is going to be a significant taste to it. A trademark taste of your restaurant, perhaps? Ask yourself what your diners are going to say initially once they start tasting the food being served in your restaurant.

Considering the taste, a lot of restaurant establishments (including fast food chains) out there put extra effort to how one, two or even three of their main food items should taste uniquely and deliciously different. Think of something you can consider originally yours. It may not be exactly the entire recipe of a food item but feel free to experiment with how you want the taste to be uniquely yours.

If coming up with a unique taste is just not your area of expertise at the moment (but surely you will have an idea soon enough), think of something diners can only find in your restaurant and nowhere else. It does not have be with the food alone, what about the food presentation? You can tell your crew to be extra hospitable and happy when welcoming customers too. Work on the overall look of your restaurant as well. Think of what you can do to make it appear more like “home” for your diners.

There are just many areas of improvement you can take to consideration especially if you are really focused in creating the best outlook for your restaurant. Don’t worry if it does not work right away, you can always innovate.

Every restaurant can benefit from proper food costing. Food costing is one of the most important elements for making your restaurant more profitable. Costing out your food enables you to have complete control over how much you spend on food and allows you to price your dishes for maximum profit, as well as good value to your customer.

Typically, food costs should account for around 1/3 of a restaurant’s expenses. The food cost along with labor and overhead costs should account for more than 2/3 of the total expenses. Above that is the profit the restaurant will generate. Since food costs are one of the highest expenses for a restaurant, food costing is viewed as one of the best ways to increase profitability for a restaurant who needs to generate more profits to stay in business.

There are a number of ways you can analyze and optimize your food costs. First, you can do this manually, by thoroughly analyzing your food costs during a set period of time, usually a period of several weeks or a month. Your statistics should then be analyzed against restaurant industry average food costs to try and pinpoint areas of expense where your restaurant can improve. Remember that all beverages should also be included in your food cost analysis. From there, you should have a detailed report of all food purchases that were made in your restaurant during the reporting period. You can then compare this to your food inventory costs for the same period. You’ll be able to calculate your total food cost and be able to make adjustments for inventory and food costs. For an even more accurate analysis, try to conduct your reporting period over a longer period of time. This will allow you to further reduce costs and maximize inventory and overall profits.

Another way to calculate and optimize food costs is to use software. There are food costing systems, as well as full scale restaurant inventory and management software packages that include extensive food costing analysis and reporting. The reporting and calculation is automatically done for you as inventory and sales are calculated. Cost Genie is one of the leading software packages for this task and it’s available at CostGenie.com.

Once you have analyzed your food costs and inventory, whether manually or via a software package like Cost Genie, you can make adjustments to your business, including standardizing your recipes, evaluating your purchases, minimizing spoilage and taking steps to streamline your entire inventory and sales process.

Caption: The “original keg cart” is a lightweight keg-moving device recently exhibited at the New York Restaurant and Food Service show in New York City. According to the maker, the unit is a “lightweight, smooth-rolling, innovative way to move kegs.” The keg carts are manufactured in Ontario, Canada by Steel Mobilia III. The carts are in use at Labatt and Molson breweries in Ontario, and have also been adopted by Labatt parent brewery Interbrew. Several small U.S. breweries have also found use for the keg cart, including the Summit Brewing Co. of St. Paul and Gentle Ben’s Brewing Co. of Tucson, AZ.

If your passion is food and you’re unemployed or seeking a change, you may want to consider the food writing profession as presented by seasoned writer Dianne Jacob in Will Write For Food: The Complete Guide To Writing Cookbooks, Restaurant Reviews, Articles, Memoir, Fiction And More. From getting started and breaking in as a restaurant reviewer to writing recipes, cookbooks, and freelancing, Jacob covers all possible industry careers and writing avenues. Will Write For Food is a outstanding and practical guide for career-minded food fans and aspiring resturant critics.

ALSEA, a Mexican fast-food franchisee, has agreed to buy 100% of Grupo Mozarella, a franchise operator in Mexico City controlled by Dominos Pizza, a U.S. pizza retailer. The purchase will give Alsea 22 outlets. Terms were not disclosed.

The popular hamburger joint ran out of food before its last scheduled closing time, according to a report by the Associated Press. Roger Patterson, owner of Roy’s since 1977, said he planned the closing to coincide with the biweekly meeting of the Salinas Valley Hot Rodders, which has used Roy’s as its meeting place for 18 years.

Club attendance, combined with other customers looking for one last Roy’s burger, caused parking to overflow into nearby lots and left the restaurant without food two hours before closing.

Patterson told the Associated Press he was closing because he couldn’t afford to fight a lawsuit over the restaurant’s lack of wheelchair access.

That’s easy! All the same comfort food I craved as a little girl. Cinnamon toast, cream of wheat with brown sugar, rice pudding, tapioca and, when I’m feeling a little better, grilled cheese. Mmm! Why, I think I feel a cold coming on right now!

Diane Carlin

Green Bay, WI

When I’m sick, I love to curl up in my PJs with a cup of hot lemonade with honey. My mother always made this for us when we were little; it brings back memories of Morn taking care of me. It has a magical way of soothing a sore throat and opening the airways. I now add a little cinnamon and cloves to spice it up a bit.

Sharon Bartlett

Port Orchard, WA

When I was young and didn’t feel well, Mom always made me macaroni with butter and salt–not really the most nutritious meal, but comforting for sure. Today, I crave the same thing when I have the sniffles, but now I use whole wheat pasta, olive oil and just a touch of salt–a little improvement at least!

Kimberly Blackburn

Greensboro, NC

Veggie pot pie. I make it with a store-bought whole wheat crust, then cook potatoes, peas, cauliflower and carrots in a bit of vegetable stock, and whisk in some cream of broccoli or asparagus soup and soymilk. Bake for 45 minutes, and I’m back on the road to health!

Sarah Collins

San Francisco, CA

Mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy. Nothing comforts me like this.

Charlene Poling

Haines City, FL

A big steaming bowl of creamy tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. My tastes have gotten a bit more sophisticated since childhood, but I still can’t resist opening a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup the second the sniffles start.

Samantha V.

Cleveland, OH

Amy’s No Chicken Noodle soup and–I know this is terrible–french fries. I swear, there’s something about oily foods that makes you feel better when ill. Either that, or it’s the remnants of my morn buying me Happy Meals when I was sick as a kid.

Lorena S.

Columbus, OH

SOUP, SOUP, SOUP

Nothing motivates healing like a soup full of healthy root vegetables and spices. I keep some containers in the freezer just in case. I also like lemon-water. I boil water and add the juice of half a lemon, then sip it.

Tamara Hitson

Via email

I love nice, warm potato soup. It makes me feel as if my room were there, holding me and rubbing my back.

Karen A. Mahoney

Via email

Matzoh ball soup. Sadly, I am presently sick and without a frozen stash of the soup. All of the commercial mixes contain MSG. Plus, they’re not all vegetarian, and if you’re working on going vegan, none will do.

Stacey Grimm

Via email

Soup, soup, soup! I make it with my favorite veggies … kale, carrots and Brussels sprouts. I also load it with lentils, onions and lots of garlic. A slice of crusty bread and it’s almost worth getting sick for!

Sharon Roy

Shabbona, IL

Amy’s No Chicken Noodle soup, and for an upset tummy, Mi-Del gingersnaps.

Nick Shepherd

Via email

I love a steaming bowl of homemade Thai coconut soup. The combined benefits of coconut milk, ginger, garlic, fresh basil, veggies, chili and lime soothe inflamed sinuses, muscle aches and fatigue. Also, the aroma is naturally energizing, and the soup feels like a comforting treat.

Betsy Faber

Bellingham, WA

Hot-and-sour soup from Harmony, the best vegetarian Chinese restaurant in Atlanta. When I have a cold, it really opens up my sinuses!

Elise Ray

Chamblee, GA

The Vegan Wanton Soup from Natural Village Chinese in Huntington Valley, PA, or Brown Rice and Braised Tofu. Weird choices, I know, but I always feel better when I eat these!

Shannon Ward

Hatfield, PA

HOT & SPICY

Strong ginger tea made with about four inches of sliced ginger, 1/3 cup of brown sugar and 2 cups of water. I simmer it for 1/2 hour and remove the ginger pieces before drinking. But if you have a sore throat, of course you have to eat a lot of ice cream!

Heidi Marquardt

Via email

Hearty vegetable stew with lots of spices–they start clearing out my sinuses almost immediately, and the warmth gives me an energy lift.

Lori Scott-Sheldon

Manchester, CT

Homemade mushroom and smoked Gouda tamales with roasted tomatillo salsa and Spanish rice on the side. It takes a while, but it’s worth it! Not only is the cooking a soothing and healing ritual, but stick-to-your-ribs nutrients are so important when you are sick!

Alice Schucard

Carlsbad, CA

UNIQUE TREATS

Miso soup and a clementine. The soup is a tasty, warm delight, and the citrus fruit is refreshing and cleansing. This is a healing food pair!

Nicole Haas

West Milwaukee, WI

Orange sherbet. I’m certain it kept me from succumbing to pneumonia last year!

Margaret O’Connor

St. Louis, MO

Pop-Tarts taste good no matter how sick you are and remind me of being a kid!

Brenda Caron

Via email

Any extremely chocolatey cake is enough to make me feel a thousand times better.

Jackie Martinez

Via email

Editors’ Note: For a healing warm-you-up drink, check out the recipe on p. 96.

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READER Recipe

HERB-CRUSTED TOFU
WITH MUSHROOM
GRAVY

Serves 4 * Vegan
30 minutes or fewer

Suchitra Swift created this savory
dish while playing around with
ways to make crispy tofu.
A lifelong vegetarian, she teaches
first grade in Harlem, NY.

1 16-oz. pkg. extra-firm tofu

Herb Crust

1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried Italian herbs
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mushroom Gravy

1 small onion, minced
2 Tbs, olive oil
2 tsp. dried rosemary
5 white mushrooms,
chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium
vegetable broth
2 tsp. cornstarch