Education & Networking

Ted Fowler, president and CEO of Golden Corral, the Raleigh, N.C.-based grill-buffet chain, has been appointed 2012 chair of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ProStart Initiative Cabinet.

Fowler, who assumed the chairmanship from Carlton Curtis, vice president of industry relations for the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., will be tasked with raising funds to benefit ProStart, the NRAEF's two-year program that teaches high-school students the management skills and culinary techniques needed to forward their careers in the restaurant industry. As the 2011 chair, Curtis achieved great success raising unprecedented funds to grow and enhance the program at the national and state level, the foundation said.

Fowler, a member of the NRAEF's Board of Trustees since 2002, said he is excited to raise the funds needed to grow ProStart's reach and accessibility across the country.

The next round of National Restaurant Association study group meetings begins in February.

The NRA's executive study groups are bi-annual conferences for multi-unit restaurant company executives in human resources, risk and safety, nutrition, quality assurance, internal audit, marketing, information technology, finance and quality assurance.

The first conference of the year is a joint meeting of the Human Resources and Risk & Safety Managers study groups. The meeting is set for Feb. 7 through 9 in Las Vegas.

The Information Technology group is scheduled to meet Feb. 20 through 23 in Austin, Texas.

Other upcoming meetings include:

• Nutrition, March 20 through 22 in Portland, Ore.
• Internal Auditors, March 28 through 30, Orlando.
• Marketing Executives Group, May 2 through 4, Chicago.
• Supply Chain Management, May 3 and 4, Chicago.
• Finance and Tax Executives, June 27 through 29, Boston.

Participants gain insight into specific business challenges through presentations from their peers and other experts. In addition to the education sessions, the meetings offer benchmarking, best practices and networking opportunities.

In her latest Ask the Nutritionist commentary, the National Restaurant Association’s Director of Nutrition & Healthy Living Joy Dubost, Ph.D., R.D., offers up helpful tips to maintain New Year's resolutions.

Many of us set goals for ourselves around each new year, but it’s all too easy to lose sight of those goals as we resume our busy lives after the holidays. Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions focus on weight loss or becoming more physically active. Making small changes in your diet or exercise routine can eventually add up to big success. It’s important to initially focus on the behavior change, which will eventually lead to positive results. Remember, health and wellness is a life-long commitment, not just for a year or even month. 

Below are a few strategies to keep in mind to make your life healthier for 2012:

Wednesday is the deadline to apply for the National Restaurant Association's Food & Beverage Product Innovation Awards.

The program recognizes innovative food and beverage products that have a significant impact on the restaurant and foodservice industry. Award recipients will be honored in May at the Association's annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.

Manufacturers who have made significant advancements and innovations in ingredients, preparation, processing and packaging of food and beverage products launched in the U.S. marketplace between Jan. 1, 2011, and May 5, 2012, are eligible to apply. The product may be designed for one, several or all operator segments.

Learn more about eligibility criteria, judges and the NRA Show, set for May 5 through 8 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Apply here.

The Georgia Restaurant Association is working with the state's Department of Education to enhance vocational culinary training for secondary school students that help create job opportunities for them once they graduate.

Karen Bremer, the GRA's executive director, was one of several business and industry leaders named to the board of education's Career Pathways task force to help oversee an overhaul of its technical curriculum. She will focus on updating academic courses and training for the hospitality and tourism track.

Bremer said she is working closely with Lee Gray, executive director of the Hospitality Education Foundation of Georgia, which coordinates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ProStart program in the state, to help establish curriculum for students interested in culinary and foodservice management careers.

The National Restaurant Association has formed a new Supply Chain Management Executive Study Group to facilitate dialog and best practice exchange around issues such as increasing commodity and wholesale food prices, sourcing of ingredients, and traceability of products.

Food and beverage purchases alone by the restaurant industry are expected to exceed $200 billion this year, underscoring the importance of addressing supply chain management.

The group, whose steering committee met today, will address the full spectrum of the field, including purchasing, distribution, logistics, quality assurance, freight and inventory management, and provide perspective applicable to restaurant operations of all sizes. The group’s first conference will be held in Chicago in May 2012, preceding the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, which will be held at its new dates May 5-8 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving in foodservice operations around the world converged on the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone Campus in Napa Valley, Calif., last month for the Hennessy Travelers Association Education Foundation's 2011 Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence.

Twenty-five honorees attended the event, which was held Oct. 22-30; eighteen of them represented the U.S. Air Force and the other seven are members of the Marine Corps.

The honorees, nominated by evaluations teams during a month-long, worldwide tour, were recognized for excellence in foodservice at their respective military installations. The evaluations teams are composed of members of the National Restaurant Association's Board of Directors, the Society of Foodservice Management, the International Food Service Executives Association, and military headquarters staff.

As the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation closes in on its goal of raising $3 million on behalf of its ProStart education program, its chairman, Carlton Curtis, vice president of industry affairs for the Coca-Cola Co., recently talked about its importance to students and the restaurant industry, how it prepares the next generation of industry professionals and what is planned for the months ahead.

What are some of the new and exciting initiatives being explored by the NRAEF?

About 24 months ago, the NRAEF decided to put a national focus on its philanthropic purpose through ProStart, a two-year, high-school program that introduces students to careers in the restaurant industry. A key aspect of this is to raise awareness about the program and the financial resources that will expand it to its natural potential and support state ProStart programs. This year we have an objective of raising money to help support the enhancement of the current program and expansion of it and we are well along on that path. We have over $2.1 million raised for 2011 and another $500,000 committed for 2012 in multiyear grants even though we haven't even started stumping for 2012 yet.

The National Restaurant Association has added Steven Hilton, Vice President of Government Relations for McDonald’s Corporation, to its Board of Directors. Hilton was inducted at the Association’s fall 2011 board meeting in Washington, D.C., last month and will serve through Dec. 31, 2013, when he is eligible to renew his commitment.

The National Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors consists of industry leaders who serve on a voluntary basis to guide the Association toward its vision of leading America’s restaurants into a new era of prosperity, prominence and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all it serves.

In his role at McDonald’s, Hilton leads the corporate government relations team, which manages McDonald’s state, federal and international government activities. He is responsible for building and protecting the brand through shaping public policy.

We have invited the National Restaurant Association’s Director of Food & Healthy Living Joy Dubost, Ph.D., R.D., to regularly contribute news, tips and information on how American families can live a healthy lifestyle full of enjoyable food and beverage experiences. In this first installment, Joy helps adults and kids alike navigate healthfully through this season’s football tailgating events with easy-to-follow tips for cutting back calories and unhealthy fat, and increasing nutrient-rich foods in your diet. Also watch a video of Joy dishing up tips for restaurant operators on creating healthful kids’ menus, as part of the Association’s new Kids LiveWell program.

Balance and moderation is key when it comes to enjoying your favorite foods, especially during football season with its tailgating parties and other sports-centered social events. Typically, if you follow a healthy diet 90 percent of the time, you can allow for 10 percent of “wiggle” room for more indulgent items.

Many food items commonly served at tailgate parties fall into that more indulgent category. But, there are ways you can make your tailgating healthier, by tweaking recipes or choosing different items. For example, adding choices of fruits and vegetables can be creative, fun, tasty and healthy.

Here are some tips to consider for your next tailgating event: