On Foodable Weekly

Urban Farm & Eatery, the world's first fully sustainable restaurant that can grow all of its food — farmed, brewed, crafted, or baked within the premises — is aiming to open this year and has a goal to serve with a minimal ecological footprint. At the forefront of this movement is chef and entrepreneur Jaime Guerrero, a multi-talented chef who focuses on the need for wholesome food and sustainable farming practices.

Guerrero is also the co-founder of the Schurz Food Science Lab, a one-of-a-kind food science program in Chicago's Schurz High School that makes it a mission to raise the next generation of the country's farmers by translating science, nutrition, and environmental awareness into real-life skills.

Whether seeking vegetarian or completely vegan trends, consumers are demanding for more plant-based menu items. Superfoods, such as microgreens, are moving on to be more than just garnishes but key ingredients to a dish. Guerrero urges chefs to be conscious of and support the movement.

Watch the full episode of "On Foodable Insight Series" to learn more.

There's more to restaurant success than the ingredients behind a menu. Marketing is the voice of a brand and content marketing, brand development, digital trends, social media strategies, public relations, and local store marketing are all a part of the perfect marketing recipe. Need a little help cooking up some great ideas?

In this "On Foodable Insight Series" episode, join Foodable's Director of Marketing, Chelsea Keenan, as she sits down with two marketing mavens: Chief Marketing Officer of Cici's Pizza, Sarah McAloon, who also formerly served as CMO for Sbarro and Media Director for Pizza Hut, and Tijuana Flats Senior Marketing Manager, Brandy Blackwell.

With the digital landscape still being relatively new and vast in comparison to traditional advertising, one of the biggest dilemmas brands face is determining whether to build an in-house social media team or outsource services. In the case of Tijuana Flats, the social media team is in-house to put more control in the brand's hands.

McAloon joined the CiCi's team in 2014 and wanted to ensure that the brand had a clear marketing strategy. So, what approach did she and her team come up with? "Now, Wow, Who and How."

Watch the full episode to learn more about marketing through rebranding and developing audience involvement.

The last few years have brought revolutionary technological advancements. From LDC monitor signage and location-based beacons, to tablet-based POS systems and inventory control systems that update as soon as a chef takes ingredients from the stock, to mobile apps to new, energy-saving equipment, foodservice is delving deeper into the digital landscape. Irvine has even seen brands in Canada that pay their servers through credit card, putting their tip amounts into those card accounts, and while making it possible for the government to track those expenses, also allows servers the ability to spend that money immediately.

Although electronic payments provide efficiency, and while he believes the technology is ready for it, he doesn't think consumers are. Understandable, considering the idea of hackers having access to money and personal information makes the population wary, but the future is near, as long as cybersecurity continues to improve. Want to learn more? Check out this "On Foodable Insight Series" episode!

Fast casual is undisputedly the poster child of growth within the restaurant industry. Five years ago, the segment had barely begun to thrive, with only a handful of concepts making their names, but now more fast casual champions are entering the playing field. In fact, just two years ago, fast casual sales were reported to have skyrocketed 600 percent since 1999. With this rapid expansion and with the influx of concepts, why have consumers embraced this segment and how do operators stand out?

In this "On Foodable Insight Series" episode, industry experts explore that while the segment was initially known to be dominated by better-burger ideas and craft pizza, there is a hatching success for concepts focused on the chicken sector. The consumer eats two times as much chicken as any other protein and has a reputation of being the healthier alternative after fish. It's no surprise that is a growing arena for fast casuals in order to meet the consumer demand.

Sean Kennedy, president and CEO of Cowboy Chicken, said his brand sets itself apart because they do not fry their products. Their chicken is artisan, cooked naturally over a hickory wood-burning fire, and their service target time is four minutes from point-of-sale to delivery. Astonishing, but how much headroom improvement is left in the fast casual space?

Restaurants are known as a starting ground for people in their career paths. The industry has evolutionized to a more welcoming and empowering arena. How do we meet the huge employment needs in the future? How can we ensure that the proper research, training, resources, and talent add to the growth and prosperity of the industry? In this "On Foodable Weekly" NRA Special Report, we are joined by National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation EVP of Strategic Operations and Philanthropy, Rob Gifford.

What are some of the most recurring issues restaurants face when it comes to food safety? In this NRA Special Report edition of "On Foodable Weekly," we are joined by three food safety champions: Hal King, president and CEO of Public Health Innovations LLC; Mick Miklos, senior manager for program compliance at the National Restaurant Association; and Dave Crownover, product manager at ServSafe®.

We are sharing more than just words across cyberspace — we're exchanging money, as our society is moving from cash to mobile payment. How can restaurateurs do their part to keep paying customers' information safe, especially in the time where data breaches are a huge risk? What security measures, tools and resources are available? Find out in this NRA Special Report edition of "On Foodable Weekly," where we are joined by the National Restaurant Association's Director of Commerce & Entrepreneurship Laura Knapp Chadwick and EVP and General Counsel David Matthews.

Restaurants nationwide already have strong partnerships with charities and others already provide workforce opportunity and training for their teams, but what is the best way those in the industry can make an impact? In this NRA Special Report, as part of "On Foodable Weekly" and Foodable's exclusive coverage of the 2016 National Restaurant Association Show - NRA Show, meet the National Restaurant Association Director of Political Advocacy and Grassroots, Jon Simons.

South Beach became pig paradise on April 3, when more than 200 porc lovers gathered at The Ritz-Carlton for the eighth year of the Cochon555 Tour. With each city stop, five chefs — all individually assigned a different heritage breed pig — go head-to-head in a downright delicious cookout. Miami was no different, and in this episode of "On Foodable Weekly," we step away from the studio to meet founder Brady Lowe and discuss the origins and the future of the event, as well as chat with the five Miami chefs competing this year and pick their minds on their menus.

Five chefs, five heritage breed pigs, five winemakers, over 36 dishes, and a whole 'lotta hungry mouths to feed. It seems like this event comes with a lot of work on its plate, but Lowe believes it's worth it.

Dwight Furrow is a philosophy professor and author (check out his book “American Foodie”) who writes on the aesthetics of food and wine. We got a chance to speak with him on this episode of “On Foodable Weekly.”

There’s no denying that we live in a “foodie” generation. But what does this term even mean? And perhaps more importantly, how did we, as a nation, become so obsessed with food? From a philosophical standpoint, Furrow says it starts with our hectic lifestyles; values of the workplace have seeped into every other dimension of our lives, including at home. With food, he says, we get a different set of values. “In food, we put pleasure before production and care before commerce. It’s a way of introducing more creativity in our lives because we don’t necessarily find that in the workplace any longer,” he says. “It gives us a chance to slow down and savor the moment, to sort of get outside that hectic workplace dimension.”

While not all foodies flock to social media, a surge of them are — to show off what they’re eating, to engage in conversations about food-related topics, and to position themselves as social influencers (which, stereotypically, wouldn’t be complete without trending hashtags like #foodporn and #nomz). Furrow says the appeal of social media comes from users’ ability to create their own content how and when they’d like without having to go through a gatekeeper or editor to get noticed.

Watch the full episode to hear Furrow’s analyses on the craft movement, Millennial diners, sustainability, and what operators and chefs should keep in mind for the future of food.