Chefs (and everyone else) have long known that the aroma and appearance of a dish profoundly influence how it will taste. But now the new science of neurogastronomy indicates that the sounds in the spaces where food is served also influence taste.
Chefs (and everyone else) have long known that the aroma and appearance of a dish profoundly influence how it will taste. But now the new science of neurogastronomy indicates that the sounds in the spaces where food is served also influence taste.
Topics: Dining environment, Sound, Neurogastronomy, Starbucks, Food
Not all that long ago, conventional wisdom said the best Mexican food could be found only near the border, in Texas, Arizona or California. Then chefs around the country began stretching the definition of fine Mexican dining.
Topics: Latin America, Feature, Food, Margarita, salsa, chilies, Mexican, mariscos
The move to a greener operating style is paying off for restaurants of all sizes. Fully 79 percent of consumers prefer dining at certified green restaurants, according to the Green Restaurant Association. "Consumers are a lot more educated now than they used to be," says Michael Oshman, founder of the association. And going green, he says, helps solve two perennial challenges for restaurants: "How can I save money, and how can I bring customers in?"
Topics: Restaurant management, Durability, Operational efficiency, Green Restaurants, Food, Customer Service
Beautiful, delicate pintxos—a type of tapas from Spain's Basque region—with olives, cucumbers, anchovies (right).
In Asian nations, there's a big appetite for small plates. Tapas culture—the sharing of dishes among groups of friends—has close ties to the dining culture in China and other Asian nations, making it a natural fit, says Miguel Utque, vice president of the recently formed Spanish Chefs' Association in Asia.
Topics: Feature, Food, China, Tapas, Restaurant trends in Asia, Restaurant trends in China, Spanish restaurant trends
While individual diners may claim Yelp doesn't influence their decisions, the data shows that reviews play a huge role in where people eat. A 2011 study by Harvard Business School assistant professor Michael Luca found that a one-star increase in a restaurant's Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue. This effect held true for independent restaurants but not chains, Luca found. Yet it's tricky for restaurant owners to encourage positive reviews without openly asking for them. And what should they do about the inevitable bad review on Yelp and other sites? Here are a few pointers.
Topics: Restaurant Reviews, Social media, Yelp, Featured, Feature, Marketing, Retaurant business
Although decadent and vegetarian are not often used to describe the same dish, these terms aren’t mutually exclusive, either. Just look at French chef Alain Passard's vegetable tasting menu at L'Arpège, which made the New York Times' food critic swoon over carrots and peas.
Topics: Vegan, Vegetarian cuisine, Food, Menu, Chef
A blender may seem like a simple appliance — blades, motor, jar. But every time a chef turns a blender on, complex forces of physics combine to turn multiple ingredients of varying textures into a single perfect consistency. That is to say, culinary blenders are powerful machines.
At first glance, a culinary blender looks similar to one used for drinks. But “they're not interchangeable tools,” says Karen Williams-Roman, product manager for Hamilton Beach Commercial's line of culinary blenders, "there really are differences." Three important features to look for in a culinary blender are variable speed, the ability to blend difficult ingredients, and container options.
Topics: Featured, Feature, Food, Emulsions, Immersion Blender, Culinary blenders
Food, service, and atmosphere are the three main components in any dining experience, but which matters most and how is “good” defined? Coyle Hospitality studied data from nearly 2,500 diners worldwide and found that diners’ views varied according to how much they were spending.
Topics: Waitstaff, Dining environment, Atmosphere, Restaurant management, Research, Featured, Food, Restaurants
When Jessica and Josh Bufford opened Estilo in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, the most common question they heard from guests was, “Is this just fancy Mexican food?”
The restaurant opened in August 2013, and in January 2014 it won the “Best New Restaurant” award from Richmond Magazine. Now the mesa Latina is packed for lunch and dinner nearly every day of the week. Clearly the Buffords are doing more than a few things right, including riding the waves of two key trends—Latin American food and gluten-free kitchens—and managing the restaurant with the perfect balance of art and science.
Estilo's signature dish, Duck Confit Pozole (right).
Topics: Gluten-free, Latin America, Peru, Restaurant management, Brazil, Featured, Feature, Food, Restaurants
A return to classics such as seafood paella is just one of four trends sweeping through Spanish restaurants
At the end of 2012, the New York Times noted the surge of Spanish modernism as a global cuisine. As critics celebrated the technical, flavorful feats of mad food scientist Ferran Adría and his disciples, there seemed to be only one problem with the hot new trend—everyone wanting to know “what's next?”
Topics: Featured, Food, Tapas, Spain, Gastrobotanics, Basque cuisine, Spanish Modernism, Pinxtos, Spanish restaurant trends
