Recap of Friday, August 25, 2023: Chef Marco Pierre White’s Not Feeling Restaurant Romance, Are Robots Coming For Your Job, “Joint Employer” Labor Law Rulings

Welcome to Restaurant News Roundup presented by LiveFlow, your go-to source for the latest updates and happenings in the restaurant industry.

In this special recap article we roundup stories on Pork prices up 100%, EV charging units, brand’s online reputation, pizza kiosks, Spanish speaking AI drive-thrus, and more breaking news.

Our mission is to bring you a rapid-fire of the 10 top stories covered in under 10 minutes. We strive to keep restaurant professionals informed of the current affairs of the industry.

To watch the Videocast of this installment of Restaurant News Roundup, click here

Celebrity Chef Marco Pierre White Says There's No Romance in Modern Restaurants by Tunir Biswas - The New Indian Express

Chef White says, “If you look at those three-star and two-star (Michelin stars) of the old world, they were romantic. There’s no romance in modern restaurants. The waiter tells you what the dishes are and how to eat them. 

Marco Pierre White famously returned his three Michelin stars after realizing that ‘he was being judged by people less knowledgeable than him’. “They give the stars so easily now. In the old days, the head inspector of Europe used to say it takes a chef eight to 10 years to win three stars. Today they give it in one. It’s marketing. 

Debate:

Has fine dining jumped the shark? Is it no longer relevant and romantic?

Article Link: Read More

Should You Install an EV Charger at Your Restaurant? - Restaurant News Resource

31 million electric vehicles are expected to hit the road by 2030. Restaurants and retail operations could benefit from that traffic, especially if they install EV chargers at their locations. 

The Biden Administration earmarked $7.5 billion for installing chargers with a near-term goal of installing 100,000 chargers. In exchange for the investments, they’re offering tax incentives and credits to companies who buy electric vehicles or install charging stations. 

Spotlight:

To look into how to get EV charging stations for your restaurant, hit up Dante White over at Oppuous

Article Link: Read More

Pork belly prices are up 100% this year — your breakfast bacon is about to get pricier by Lee Ying Shan - CNBC

Pork belly prices rose over 100% year-to-date from 131.59 cents per pound to 270.89 cents at the end of July.

California’s Prop 12, has had a major impact on these prices, the law mandates sows be housed in spaces no less than 24-square-feet. 

August is typically referred to as “BLT season,” said Cobank’s lead protein industry analyst, Brian Earnest, referring to the time that tomato harvest is in full swing.

Debate:

Commodity pork producers are vehemently against these types of cost increasing laws, while other premium brands like Tender Belly, they already adhere to these practices. What side of the argument are you on? 

Article Link: Read More

Could food freshness sensors be the end of ‘best by’ dates? By Danielle Beurteaux - Food Dive

Expiration and date labels on packaging can cause confusion and food waste. To change that, companies and researchers around the world are testing inks, pH sensors, hydrogels and other approaches.

The condition of the majority of food products as they travel along supply chains is unknown because there’s no quality monitoring, apart from perhaps a visual inspection at the grocery store.

Spotlight:

If you’re interested in learning more about getting a tool using bioelectrical impedance analysis to give quantitative scores of the quality of your food products, check out our partners CQF over at certifiedqualityfoods.com

Article Link: Read More

Gene Technology Spares Male Chicks Culling by Preventing Them from Hatching by Hannah Confino - Reuters

Every year, egg farmers kill 7 billion day-old male chicks because they cannot grow up to lay eggs and are the wrong breed for meat.

Yuval Cinnamon’s laboratory in Israel takes eggs and activate a genetic trait using blue-light illumination which immediately causes the males to stop developing. The females don’t carry the trait and are entirely non-genetically modified, as are the table eggs they lay.

Debate:

Is this a more humane practice than culling male chicks or is this scientific over manipulation to our food system?

Article Link: Read More

Subway Has Worst Restaurant Online Reputation Score, Chick-fil-A Tops List by Erika Wheless - Ad Age

Fast food and Fast casual chain restaurants have long been known to have very poor response rates to their customers giving online reviews or engagement on social media. 

Some experts are beginning to directly attribute a brand’s ability to respond to their audiences and build a strong online reputation as a strong metric for success. Many cite the demise (and now sale of) Subway and the continued dominance of Chick-fil-A as a clear representation of this expectation of consumers. 

Question:

Be honest, how well does your restaurant respond to and engage with your online audience? Could be the difference between success and failure, especially as Millenials and Gen Z begin to grow in buying power. 

Article Link: Read More

Major Decisions on U.S. Labor Policies Coming Soon - Restaurant News Resource

The National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) is expected finalize a new definition of what constitutes a “joint employer.” This would apply to franchisors and franchisees, as well as any operator that contracts with another company for on-site work, such as janitorial services, and potentially make them liable for one another's labor practices.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to issue a final rule changing the classification of employees and independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) taking the classification of workers from two factors to six much more nuanced factors. 

The U.S. Department of Labor is finalizing an Overtime rule, the proposed rule could raise the income threshold for overtime eligibility to $72K/year. Currently, the income threshold is $36K/year.

Opinion:

Restaurants, you have to be paying attention to all the new labor laws being implemented at local, state and federal levels or it will end up costing you.

Article Link: Read More

Checkers & Rally's roll out Spanish drive-thru voice ordering by QSRweb.com

Minh Le, CIO at Checkers & Rally's, said, "With the addition of Hi Auto's Spanish translation capabilities to our AI voice ordering technology at the drive-thru, we're further enhancing guest interactions, increasing order efficiency and embracing our welcoming culture.

"70% of Miami Dade's population are of Hispanic descent, so I congratulate the leadership of Checkers, Rally's and Hi Auto on being pioneers and leading the way for other companies to follow," Liliam M. Lopez, president and CEO of the non-profit South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Opinion:

This is one of the most revolutionary advancements I’ve seen in years. Full stop. If you are considering a drive-thru or have it existing, Spanish language ordering is mission critical. 

Article Link: Read More

Pizza-Making Robots Take Nation by Storm by Satyne Doner - QSR Magazine 

A kiosk comes complete with a 32-inch touchscreen, robotic arm, and a convection oven that bakes artisanal pizza in about three minutes. Currently, customers have eight types of pizza options, from classic pepperoni to flavors like honey and goat cheese. 

The process begins with Sysco, which delivers ingredients and utensils to each unit, which can hold up to 70 pizzas. Then, once a customer places an order, the robotic arm retrieves a pizza from the refrigerated section and places it into the oven.

Question:

Are you ordering a pizza from an automated kiosk? Will these kiosks disrupt the pizza industry?

Article Link: Read More

Analyzing The Current Kitchen Robotics Players In The US by Matt Newberg - HNGRY

For this one, Matt goes deep and wide for this report. Too much too even try to condense down, go read the report. I just wanted to list off all the entities he mentions so we all know who we need to be paying attention to

Here are the robotics companies and some food brands in the robotics game: Vebu Labs, Miso Robotics, Piestro, Bobacino, Nommi, 800 Degrees Go, Artly, Blendid, Middleby Corporation, Hyphen, Truebird, Cafe X, Stellar Pizza, Sweetgreen, Chipotle, Creator Burger, Jamba Juice, Kernel, White Castle, Jack In The Box, Robert Chicken, Costa Coffee

Article Link: Read More

Thanks for joining us for this week's recap from Restaurant News Roundup presented by LiveFlow.

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We hope these summaries keep you informed about the latest industry updates. Remember to follow along with our fast-paced show every week, where we deliver ten stories in under ten minutes. Fridays at 8am EST on Best Served Podcast Facebook and YouTube pages.