MenuDirections

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Learn more and register

Last Words from MenuDirections 2012

Much was said at MenuDirections about spices jazzing up a dish. The same can be said for conferences, as this sampler of flavorful quotes attests. Here they are, delivered without any adulteration.

Operations

Calm After the Storm

After five days on the road, I’m back in our New York office, collecting my thoughts in the aftermath of what might have been our best MenuDirections conference ever.

No longer a MenuDirections newbie, I was able to work the comprehensive education program more aggressively today, jumping from chef demos to flavor forecasts while sampling recipes developed with both health and flavor in mind.

One day into the Menu Directions conference here in Charleston, S.C., I’ve stumbled across some truths that surprised this first-time attendee of the meeting, an immersion in America’s foodservice preferences.

Well, the first day of MenuDirections 2012, in Charleston, S.C., is in the book, and it went off without a hitch. From a lunch with foods prepared by nearly 20 sponsors to a Dine-Around at three of Charleston’s best-known restaurants, our 150 operator attendees were treated to one culinary delight after another.

Last weekend, FoodService Director and CSP Information Group gave New Orleans a small but, I’m sure, much-appreciated shot in the arm when the city hosted our ninth annual MenuDirections conference. We had record attendance, which meant more than 200 people contributing financially to the restaurant, bar and tchotchke businesses in town.

This Sunday at noon, we will kick off our ninth annual MenuDirections conference at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans. All of the pieces are falling into place for what could be our best conference ever.

After spending a much-needed week off from work—during which time I still managed to log in a couple of hours of work each day—I returned to our lower Manhattan offices to begin the full-court press to wrap up all the details on our ninth MenuDirections conference, which will take place Feb. 27-March 1 in New Orleans.

  • Page 5