Next Results for articles with tag 'food' (21 total)
11/11/2024 02:24:32 PM 
Restaurant experiences can be amazing, but you are often just one of quite a few "covers" being served that night, you have very little connection and feedback from the chef and you are distanced and not interacting with any of the other guests.
As people increasingly crave special and unique experiences, there are pioneers looking for new ways to deliver these experience and transcend the typical restaurant experience.
Nuno Mendes and Clairse Faira at The Loft Project in London are two such pioneers who invite leading up and coming chefs to cook in an intimate setting and have their guests seated at a single communal table.
Obviously, there are are tremendous number of ways in to providing new experiences for dinners, Outstanding in the Field, is another great example. Restaurants should think carefully about how they might twist the familiar into something unexpected and fresh, their audience is looking out for it.
Via We Heart
Posted by Ed Cotton
09/28/2010 09:44:33 AM
Ikea isn't a grocery store, so the idea of a cook book seems absurd, but when it's called "Homemade is Best", the idea makes a lot of sense. Great brands don't just tell people what they do, they elevate themselves onto a higher plane that transcends the rational world. In this case, Ikea isn't about furniture, but the bigger concept, Home.
It helps that the book is beautifully designed and has a very different take on typical food styling and photography- thanks to the photographs by Carl Kleiner and the styling by Evelina Brattel.
More here.
Posted by Ed Cotton
09/27/2010 02:11:36 PM (1)
(1) 
Nestle's announcement that it's expanding rapid fire into the new world of Health Sciences is evidence that it there's a massive opportunity for food to get closer to the world of pharma and possibly provide an alternative.
Nestle obviously has a head start in this space as it's been part of its vision for years, but given the ageing global population and the importance of health to this demographic, it makes sound business sense.
What's interesting is how this might challenge the pharma world who've been successful at fighting disease with a pill for every ill.
It's a question of where the opportunity might lie.
1. Could food work in unison with pharma to deliver better health impacts?
2. Can food health science provide a viable alternative to pharma?
3. Does food health science have a huge advantage because a healthy diet is something that's being considered more widely by governments and consumers as an alternative to high medical costs?
For food companies- there's a lot that they need to do to be effective and take advantage of the opportunity and they need to find a way to answer some of the challenges.
1. How can they change the perception of processed food and show how it can be part of a healthier diet, but not the only thing?
2. What's the science behind your food and how does it work?
3. How do you not end up selling pharmaceuticals in food form?
It's early day and it's likely in the future,we will see whole new classes of food stuffs that we've yet to imagine and go well beyond the yogurt bacteria cultures that currently represent the space.
Posted by Ed Cotton
09/14/2010 11:24:11 AM
Apparently, consumption of the "foodstuff" is at an all time low and the media have been doing a hatchet job on the substance to such a point where it's something that's become a staple of peoples "Do Not Shop" lists.
However, a solution is at hand for those concerned manufacturers with their dwindling Corn Syrup sales, a new name.
Brand re-engineering might sound like its a highly technical discipline, it maybe, but the solutions are pretty simple, in this case, Corn Sugar is the new name for High Fructose Corn Syrup.
There's nothing wrong with brand repositioning or even re-branding, when there's a misconception about a brand that's changed, but does this kind of marketing trick work anymore, when nothing has changed?
To control the "story" the Corn Refiners Association need to do more than re-name and run an ad campaign, they need to remove every single negative story that appears from now on and everything that links the newly named Corn Sugar to Corn Syrup.
People aren't dumb and sadly for the CRA, they are increasingly empowered to learn more about the food they are eating.
Command and control is just not a valid strategy anymore and not the way for big agribusiness to interact with a consumer audience.
A little bit of searching and I soon discovered this isn't a new campaign, they've been at this since 2008 and here's a TV ad they ran back then.
Posted by Ed Cotton
09/25/2009 03:11:21 PM
In the escalating arms race for goodness claims, it now appears farmers have to pick and deliver their produce using bio-diesel vehicles.
Spotted at Rainbow in San Francisco.
Posted by Ed Cotton
08/09/2024 02:05:17 PM
1. Tell us a brief history of how Mission Street Food came into being?
The current incarnation of MSF came about in a rather piecemeal and organic way. I was happy working at Bar Tartine, but had been there for a long time and had learned each station and seen the chef's repertoire for more than one cycle through the seasons. I started to think about ways I could still work at BT, but keep learning. I sublet a taco truck which, historically, parked near my house on Friday and Saturday, on Thursday--my day off. Some friends wrote food blogs publicizing the endeavor and, much to my surprise, there was a line before I had even set foot in the truck. After a few weeks of increasing popularity a real estate mogul complained and basically harassed us and continually called the police. We decided not to get into a fight about it, and went door to door in the neighborhood looking for space to continue. After the Chinese restaurant operation was successful we decided to invite guest chefs to join us--as both a way to keep things interesting and also to make things manageable for me (in terms of sheer volume of food preparation--I was working full-time during this whole process). Eventually I left BT amicably to pursue MSF full time and opened for a second day. We also introduced the charitable element, which I'll address later.
2. Do you see Mission Street Food as part of a new movement for eating out and do you see it being replicated in other parts of the country/world?
SF has already seen the emergence of gourmet street food or occasional restaurants, which is not surprising, given both the current economic climate and that it is a natural niche. I have a received a few emails from people interested in starting similar things, and asking for advice, so maybe. In terms of what we have called "an indie chef movement" though, I don't know because we are not even overwhelmed with interest by cooks.
3. If you had more resources available to you, what would you do?
I originally wanted fine dining experience to make good (technical) but affordable food in a chain setting with the profits going to charity. MSF was never intended as a realization of that goal--just a thing on my day off. As it grew in popularity we just added that charitable element. That said, I would love to expand, and in doing so, possibly start a movement in which charity is the next "green"--that is, a viable marketing strategy.
4. How do you select the non-profits you work with and why do you feel this is a vital part of what you do?
The specific non-profits are hunger related because it seems like a good resonance with a food business. Also, I don't know if we try to reinforce this line of thinking, but if it were like cancer research, a customer's donation might account for like 0.0000000001% of an eventual cure or progress, whereas with hunger it's like your meal just bought a family groceries for a week or something. Like I said though, we don't really talk about it because it seems maybe a little preachy.
5. Who and what inspires you?
I don't really know. I think being disappointed in a lot of things (like say sandwich shops in SF), or just seeing a lot of overrated things (like MSF has become) motivates me to try and do some of those things better. Maybe also the desire to do some kind of good, even if only an arbitrary one--you know ease the ol' conscience for living a cushy middle class American life while half the world suffers.
Posted by Ed Cotton
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Articles for tag food (21 total).