September 1, 2001

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Soulful Soup
Soups have become more sophisticated crations. Playing off the familiar, chefs are ladling more refined flavors into the bowl. "Today you have to look at soup more like a plated dish. It has to have the elements of texture contrast, flavor contrast and color contrast," says Chris Floyd, chef de cuisine of Silks in the Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco.

Squeezing Profits
Fruit and vegetable juices provide a high-profit solution for adult guests who want a nonalcoholic beverage.

SPECIAL REPORT

Wake-Up Call
As the battle for the breakfast dollar heats up, conventional breakfast sandwiches and bacon-and-egg offerings are being joined by more varied and innovative morning meals.

BUSINESS

Wave of the Future
At Santiago High School in Corona, Calif., a lifesize diver suspended from the cafeteria ceiling seems to swim toward a coral reef rising up from the floor. It is one of several schools finding that an investment in creative, themed redesigns of school dining areas can yield improvements in student morale as well as in foodservice revenues.

INTERFACE

Barbara Lang
When she was a partner in an Ithaca N.Y., restaurant, Barbara Lang wanted to bottle its salsa for retail sales. That plan fell through, but she has remained a student of and is a lecturer on taking proprietary foodservice products to retail shelves.

OPERATIONS

Staying Power
Favored kitchen utensils and gadgets stick as chefs' careers sail.

Government Report Rebukes FDA for Lax Regulations on Shellfish Safety
Report to congress claims biggest health risks are ignored.

EDITORIAL

Viewpoint