Twenty-five years ago FoodService Director published its first issue. On this silver anniversary, we’re pleased to unveil the all new FSD.
It’s been six years since this magazine last received a face-lift, and in those years much has changed. Food-related media has skyrocketed. Food trucks took to the streets. Gluten free has replaced sustainability as the industry’s hot topic. Smartphones and tablets grace the hands of even your youngest customers. And, perhaps the biggest influencer of all, the economy crashed.
Non-commercial foodservice has changed, and the pages of this magazine have been redesigned to reflect your changing—and growing—job responsibilities.
Your time is precious. With an ever-increasing to-do list, we understand that you often don’t have an hour or two to peruse the pages of a magazine. With that in mind, we’ve made several significant changes to the way we provide information to you. In the front of the book you’ll find several short stories on each page. These items are designed to give you the information you need to know in an easily digestible format.
Our front-of-book sections include:
- What You Need to Know: These stories about the news and programs that are shaping the industry will inform you on what’s happening in non-commercial foodservice.
- Emerging Trends: These are the stories that we think will affect the development of your programs. And because we recognize that there are so many influencers outside of the non-commercial industry, we’ll be sharing ideas from our colleagues in commercial restaurants, c-stores and industry partners on this page.
- Managing Your Business: You’re being tasked to do more with less. But that doesn’t mean innovation can’t occur. On this page we’ll profile some operations that have found a way to control their costs without stifling creativity.
- Steal This Idea: One of the carryovers from the previous FSD magazine, this popular page will remain in the new incarnation
We recognize that some stories can’t be told in that quick-hitting format, so we’ve bolstered our feature well. In this section you’ll find our cover stories, FSD of the Month and Under 30, our popular column profiling the rising industry stars. New to the magazine is the analysis story. This is where we’ll investigate and dig deep into the issues that are most affecting foodservice. These stories aren’t just the who and what of an issue; it’s about the why, with a particular emphasis on how these topics will influence your operations in the months and years to come.
Perhaps the biggest change you’ll notice is in our food pages. We hear every day how customers are more food and nutrition savvy than they were even 10 years ago. You’ve been tasked with elevating your programs to meet those increasing demands. So we’re also upping our game. We’ve increased our breadth of coverage greatly in the food pages. We’re continuing our popular Menu Strategies and Ingredients stories, but we’ve added some exciting new features:
- Three Takes On: As a proud Texan, Becky knows there are no beans in chili—a fact that came as quite the shock to Bill, an Illinoisan. That’s where the idea for this story came from. This country is full of regional differences in food, and menu inspiration can be found in a variety of outlets. This story highlights those differences by sharing three versions of the same menu item.
- Menu Signatures: Here we’ll profile the dish for which an operation is best known.
- Desserts and Beverages: Menu planning isn’t just about the entrée and sides, and this story allows us to help guide you in creating your entire menu portfolio. Each month, either a dessert or beverage will be featured.
- Growers’ Insights: Farm-to-table is a big part of your business philosophy. This story is about providing you with the growers’ perspective, to help you foster better relationships with your local farmers. In this column, you’ll read about what it takes to grow a certain crop, what affects the pricing of that crop and what varieties are available.
- Creating Healthier Menus: As the name suggests, this column is about health and your menus. We’ll share tips from operations on how they’ve accomplished tasks like reducing sodium.
- Recipe Revamp: This popular online column finds a home in the new book. Here we’ll showcase how an operator has taken a recipe and tweaked it to become a better-for-you version.
Speaking of online columns, look for more integration between our print and online properties. We know just how important online resources are to doing your job well, so we’ll be beefing up our online reservoir. Whenever you see a red callout on the pages, that’s your cue that there’s an online component to that story. For example, many of our food pages have red callouts for recipes. We’ve transferred most of our recipes online because we feel that’s an easier way to search—and then actually use—those recipes in your operation.
Last, but certainly not least, you’ll notice the pages of FoodService Director have a new, clean and modern look. We’ve updated our color scheme and fonts to provide you with a more easily read product. We’ve added more art and illustrations to our pages. Foodservice is a visual industry, and the pages of our magazine have been redesigned to reflect that through visual storytelling. We’ve also revamped our cover treatment, starting with an updated, more modern logo. We’re featuring a more dominant cover image in an open, airy look. This treatment is similar to one you’d see on magazines on the newsstand. We’re also putting more emphasis on our FSDs of the Month to highlight their hard work and dedication.
As we move into the next 25 years of our publishing history, we’d like to thank you, our readers, for your loyalty, support and sharing your stories with us.