News from E. H. Manley and Associates

Efficiency experts help restaurants save cash
Restaurants are investing in efficiency experts to help them cut waste and save money. The experts check things such as syrup levels in fountain sodas, napkin use and how to save prep time. SmartMoney Magazine

Many thanks to Frank Cocheo
Frank has done some great classes and made many friends among you. As he leaves the company we wish Frank only the very best for his chef/manager/teacher future endeavors. He helped me build the company over the past couple of years.

White House Blue Wins MHA's Military Culinary Competition
We had a great time with 17 teams including two from the White House, 1 from Camp David, Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and more. We had some celebrity chefs with us this year - former Executive Chef at the White House for 11 years, The American Chef, Walter Scheib, did a fabulous job teaching for two days; also, look for a segment of, "The Grill Sargeant," with SFC Brad Turner from the Secretary of the Army's dining room, on the Pentagon Channel. A whole show will feature our competition. The winning team consisted of FSC Ignatius Baran, CS1 Katina Hoyles, CS1 Sonny Lalatag and CS2 Arthur Johnson. 2nd place was the Joint Chiefs of Staff team headed by SFC Brad Davis, with military chef of the year CS1 Michael Edwards, CSC Derrick Davenport & SSgt Scott Stripoli. 3rd was the Chief of Staff of the Air Force's team headed by SMSgt Keith Smith, TSgt Randy Gill, SSgt Pamela Peyton and SSgt Paul Lane. Special thanks to MGySgt Jesse Camacho and the Commandant's residence team, Karl Insani, Will Garner and the MHA team for pulling together an awesome event including an Enlisted Aide seminar for over 60 people. Surely the best ever, until I messed up the scoring system. My apologies to those teams who thought they placed, the good news being they got to keep the money.

Homeland Security: Send sick employees home

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security advised businesses to send sick workers home to prevent the possible spread of H1N1 flu. "If an employee does become sick while at work, place the employee in a separate room or area until they can go home, away from other workers," the federal H1N1 flu guidebook said. American City Business Journals/Phoenix (9/14)

Restaurants bank
on drink discounts

Restaurant chains are lowering the price of alcoholic drinks -- some of the most profitable menu items -- in an attempt to entice more consumers to dine out. Some restaurants are making up the price difference by using less expensive liquor. The Wall Street Journal

NEW PROGRAMS COMING
I am working with a great team at Pearson Learning Solutions. Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson is the global leader in educational publishing, providing scientifically research-based print and digital programs to help students learn at their own pace, in their own way. Tests are in development, books are at the printer, and soon we will have some fun and exciting classes on culinary arts, nutrition, beverage management, serving alcohol responsibly, customer service, HACCP and more. Stay tuned, surely by the first of the year, and those that said "no thanks" to doing the program with me are going to be saying, "Ooooops." You can see the book covers on the web.

LOOK FOR CERTIFICATION & SYMPOSIUM SURVEY
As we develop programs, and various camps have their ideas on what certifications various levels of people ought to get, I'd like YOUR input. It seems the people with the most concrete ideas about my symposiums are the people who haven't been to one; I'd like the people who HAVE to be on record as to what you're looking for. Key question is, should E-5 and below be restricted from taking the highest level tests because of their rank? PLEASE weigh in, your voice counts, at least with ME.

How to make a video go viral

Making a promotional video is a cheap and easy marketing tool, but getting it to go viral is difficult. Wall Street Journal reporter Raymund Flandez offers three tips on getting people talking about your business video: Determine what message resonates with your audience, sponsor a video competition, and promote it on social-networking and clip-sharing sites. The Wall Street Journal

McDonald's on the hunt for new potato variety
McDonald's purchases 3 billion pounds of potatoes every year, and potato farmers and researchers are hoping to persuade the quickservice chain to take note of new potato varieties. This article profiles some of the varieties of potato under consideration. National Public Radio/The Associated Press

Which chefs have
the greatest empires?

New York magazine's Grub Street blog developed a point system to come up with the 20 biggest chef empires. Gordon Ramsay came out on top, with Alain Ducasse, Wolfgang Puck, Jo�l Robuchon and Nobu Matsuhisa rounding out the top five. New York magazine/Grub Street blog

50 Years Later -
The Same Result

I didn't realize Navy students submitting for payment one day late could become such a big deal, but it did. So they're sitting in class, day 2, and the word comes down that they have to leave the class and go back to their submarine because their vouchers went in on Wednesday rather than the required Tuesday noon - where is that posted? Well, I guess they could have hopped to it and helped the sailors out, but, rules are there to be followed. In high school, I failed gym when the coach asked me why I wasn't swimming in the icy cold New York winter pool, and I said, "Frankly Coach, I don't see much point to it," to which he replied, "Well, I'll show you some point to it."

So, fast forward 50 years, and again I'm saying, to myself this time, "That doesn't make any sense, having the sailors drive 3 hours round trip each day, car pooling, expense, etc." So we bent the rules. And again, the "coach" said, "I'll show you some sense in it." So, a class in Sasebo was cancelled, some postponed, we're approved again, NO, I didn't get indicted (good grief).

The sailors got their training and certifications, they didn't have to drive, so at the end of the day that's what matters and all else is just to show me some sense in an inflexible system, so maybe I'll never again act on my urge to say, "That doesn't make sense to me!" Smile. I never failed gym again, and I'll never fail this again. I GOT IT, follow the rules, whether they coulda been bent and helped people out or not, not my call, I need to follow the rules - wrote it on the blackboard 100 times - follow the rules.

Dangerous foods list includes leafy greens, eggs, tuna

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com
Leafy greens -- including lettuce and spinach -- top the list of the 10 riskiest foods, according to a study from a nutrition advocacy group released Tuesday.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest listed the following foods, in descending order, as the most risky in terms of outbreaks: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries.
The scientists rated these foods, all of them regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, by the number of outbreaks associated with them since 1990, and also provided the number of recorded illnesses.

The severity of the illnesses ranged from minor stomach aches to death, the center said. With leafy greens such as lettuce, the top cause of illness were pathogens like E. coli, Norovirus and Salmonella in foods that were not properly washed.
Over the past 20 years, leafy greens caused 363 outbreaks, resulting in 13,568 reported illnesses, the center said. That's compared to berries, No. 10 on the list, which were associated with 25 outbreaks totaling 3,397 reported illnesses.

American chefs turn to eggs for every meal
American chefs are taking note of a longtime French culinary practice and adding eggs to a variety of entrees outside of breakfast. From puddings to quiche, dishes infused with eggs are becoming more popular in American cuisine. Restaurants & Institutions

Subway on track to become world's largest food chain:
Within the next few months, Subway is expected to overtake McDonald's as the food chain with the most locations worldwide. McDonald's has 32,158 restaurants, and Subway is expected to pass 31,800 this week. "Our focus continues to be on our customers around the world," a McDonald's spokeswoman said. Advertising Age

Chipotle's founder on accidental success
Steve Ells started Chipotle Mexican Grill to fund his dream of owning a fine-dining restaurant. But on the way to 900 stores and $1.3 billion in annual revenue, Ells realized that his vision of "food with integrity" was gaining a wide following. "I don't know if I would ever have that kind of impact with one full-scale restaurant," he says. The Wall Street Journal

Same Scenario -
Different Result

Over 60 Army personnel owe their certifications to the Army AVOTEC office. A record 60 students - Marines, Navy and Army - showed up for our symposium in Okinawa with Frank and Fort Riley with Colin. Great, except about 45 of them thought I was supposed to submit their payment requests. At the same time, I'm in Iraq and Afghanistan doing classes, and it's not easy to get the word over there, so another dozen or so soldiers who hadn't submitted. So, nothing ventured nothing gained, we give the wonderful folks at AVOTEC a call and their attitude is, "We're here for the soldiers, they need our help, we're busy as heck with this $19 million stimulus grant, but we'll take care of our soldiers." God bless Carol Anne Hammersen and the team at AVOTEC for an awesome support system. THAT is what customer service is all about. THAT is what supporting our men and women in uniform is all about. OK - zip it!

Restaurant industry
focuses n labor

The quickservice industry's employment needs will rise 14% in the next 10 years, but its primary market of workers -- teenagers and young adults -- will shrink 7%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "We need to help (teens and young adults) see that incredible opportunities are available in this industry," said Dawn Sweeney, the National Restaurant Association's CEO and president. "Where else can you be 26 years old and run a $1 million business?" QSRWeb.com

THANKS to the National Restaurant Association's Quick Briefs staff which provides most of the articles. I pick the best, from their daily offerings, for my readers.

Have a wonderful and bountiful holiday season. Being a workaholic, I'm always glad when it's over - smile. To my new and long-time friends serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, God Bless, stay safe, I'm glad I got to experience it with you - hot and dusty have a new meaning in my life now.