Third Annual "The Best"

{ RETAIL }
THE BEST COMMERCIAL RETAIL CONCEPT I'VE SEEN: In the Phoenix area, and I am sure in other warm winter areas, I am seeing more restaurants and wine bars that are able to open entire walls to take advantage of a casual outdoor experience. Some places have couches and lawn-style seating, giving the experience of your own backyard under the stars.
—Bill DeCicco, director, Food & Nutrition, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix

Smashburger, which just opened in a couple of places in Iowa. They take a shaped “meatball” of 100% Angus beef and “smash” it on their grill to deliver a great-tasting caramelized burger on a toasted artisan bun. You can customize your burger with toppings of your choice. They serve fresh, high-quality food at a reasonable price with great service.

Another is The Café, my favorite neighborhood restaurant in Ames, Iowa, which serves great local food with seasonally changing menus. It’s a warm and inviting atmosphere with gorgeous desserts and great service.
—Carol Petersen, director, Dining Services, The University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa

THE BEST-SELLING RETAIL MENU ITEM WE'VE HAD: We added Starbucks’ breakfast sandwich program to our store in the student union. Introduced in late August, we have already had four weeks in which we have sold more than 1,000 sandwiches and another four weeks in which we topped 950 sandwiches. Overall, we have seen an increase in patrons served and check average without experiencing any cannibalization from our other retail location in the same building.
—Cam Schauf, director, campus Dining Services, The University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.

THE BEST RETAIL MERCHANDISING I'VE SEEN: An Italian Market called Joe Leone in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. His new store boasts a slice of Italy that is packed by foodies at the Jersey Shore. The store is a mini version of New York City’s Eataly and has bread stations, cheese stations and olive oil that would bring a smile to anyone in search of that fine Italian cuisine.
—Stu Orefice, director, Princeton Dining, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.

Rochester is the home of Wegmans, a regional grocery chain, and its retail merchandising is fantastic. They are constantly changing, which keeps customers from making a beeline for an item or two and making a quick retreat. People often complain that they always purchase more than they intended to. Throughout the store products are bundled in attractive, suggestive selling displays. You are likely to find fresh mozzarella in the produce section with the tomatoes and fresh basil or a beer display near the steaks with a suggestion about outdoor grilling.
—Cam Schauf, director, campus Dining Services, The University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.

JetBlue. Just staring at the menu, the descriptors, the rotating specials to appeal to various passengers and a blurb about the menu development team are what makes its vision for flying something to be excited about.
—Gina Guiducci, R.D., dietitian, Brown University, Providence, R.I.

THE BEST FOOD TRUCK CONCEPT I'VE SEEN: Gourmet food trucks are carving out a niche in our culture, serving ethnic cultural foods rich in flavors, colors and tastes that fit our price points without much overhead expense to their operators. The best I’ve seen are The Culinary Chameleon at the University of California, Riverside; BabyBerk at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and Cruz N Gourmet at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
—Pete Napolitano, director, Auxiliary Services, SUNY-Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.

{ DESIGN }
THE BEST USE OF SMALL SPACE: Our most efficient use of space is where we execute our training table for our football team. The team is serviced from a workspace that is 9.5 feet long by 6 feet wide. It spills into an elevator that is locked open and used to hold two of the hot boxes. This space is used to stage daily meals for a team of approximately 110 diners—who eat like 400.
—Lisa Wenzel, assistant director, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.

I had seen another hospital turn a small space into a carryout/coffee/bistro-type location for the night shift. We did something similar here with a 10-by-10-foot space. I’ve found that with small spaces, it’s all in the planning.
—Beth Yesford, senior director, Providence Hospital, Washington, D.C.

THE BEST SIMPLE DESIGN FIX THAT PAID BIG DIVIDENDS: We put two large pieces of equipment closer together so that they could be operated by one person instead of two. Sounds simple, but it is a nice savings over a period of years.
—Christine Rankin, corporate services manager, Hallmark, Kansas City, Mo.

We recently converted a small dining room in one of our dining halls into a rec room. The conversion included only paint, a Coke Freestyle machine and some minor décor pieces. We promote the space on Facebook as a fun destination offering activities, contests and minor food specials.
—Lisa Wenzel, assistant director, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.

THE BEST PLACE I'VE LOOKED FOR MENU INSPIRATION: I like to watch “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” I find that getting back to the mom-and-pop joints is part of our culture, and I try to stay away from all the major chains.
—Steve Tortora, general manager for Nexdine, BJ Wholesale Club, Westborough, Mass.

Staff. One example, from a kitchen associate who takes care of the pizza area, was utilizing the leftover pizza dough to make cinnamon sugar breadsticks with an icing glaze. The students were waiting in line for these. They were added to the menu.
—Lisa Wenzel, assistant director, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.

Small non-franchise restaurants, especially ones that have been opened by a chef or a family. I just find those the most intriguing. When a chef has opened his/her own restaurant they are really into the quality and presentation of the food, and that is very inspiring.
—Beth Yesford, senior director, Providence Hospital, Washington, D.C.

Every year we spend an entire day in Chicago after the National Restaurant Show, visiting as many places as possible for menu ideas. We have been doing it for about nine years as a team, and it pays off with great ideas every year.
—Christine Rankin, corporate services manager, Hallmark, Kansas City, Mo. 

{ SOCIAL MEDIA }
THE BEST WAY TO INCREASE CUSTOMERS' USE OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS: On one of our fan pages we do trivia about the operation and award small prizes to the winner. We have new people “like” the page each time. Those posts also are viewed by double or triple the number of people who view a regular post.
—Janet Paul, associate director of dining services, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

Offer residents classes. Social media has been a hard road to travel. Seniors are very much willing to take the trip but lack basic computer skills to be comfortable to navigate the social media world.
—Jay Dorsey, director of dining services, Wesley Glen Retirement Community, Columbus, Ohio

THE BEST TWITTER PROMOTION WE'VE DONE: Tweet While You Eat. Twice a month people can tweet live with dining services managers and get immediate responses to questions, comments and suggestions. One of these dates is usually a Twitterview with a specific employee like the director or chef.
—Janet Paul, associate director of dining services, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

We have a holiday hospital gingerbread display on Twitter. Our chefs created this display, which is a replica of our hospital set in a festive holiday scene. The display was created entirely of sugar and gingerbread.
—Becky Ellis, Senior Director of dining and nutrition services, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, Va. 

{ EMPLOYEES }
THE BEST TEAM-BUILDING EXERCISE: We did a scavenger hunt that took us to all the small islands in Boston Harbor. It was hard work, but it made you learn to depend on each other. We broke up into small groups and had high-speed boats taking us from island to island.
—Steve Tortora, general manager For Nexdine, BJ Wholesale Club, Westborough, Mass.

We did an exercise where we took random things from the kitchen, broke into three groups and had to build a miniature golf hole. There was a 20-minute limit. We used items like wet floor signs, sheet pans and parchment paper.
—Joan Homrich, general manager for Bon Appétit, The Capital Group, San Antonio

We play a toilet paper game, where we pass around a roll of toilet paper and ask staff to take what they need. No further explanation is given. Each person must then tell a fact or something about themselves for each square of TP they took.
—Sherri Williams, director of nutrition services, Washington Regional Medical Center, Fayetteville, Ark.

THE BEST EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION PROGRAM: I recognized each school for a significant accomplishment. We had the Rise and Shine Award for highest breakfast participation, Super Star for most meals served, etc. We decorated plates with colored markers and stickers and presented them Academy Award style. It was great fun, and the staff really enjoyed it with little expense to the department.
—Leah Schmidt, director of food and nutrition services, Hickman Mills C-1 Schools, Kansas City, Mo.

One program I did was where we had the managers cook for the support services team and recognize the associates who shined throughout the year. We tried to give an award for everything and tried to include as many associates as possible. We would also flash pictures on the screen “catching” associates doing the right thing.
—Beth Yesford, senior director, Providence Hospital, Washington, D.C. 

{ HEALTH & WELLNESS }
THE BEST NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM: Our nutrition labeling program at Concordia College is clever, concise, colorful and quick to reference. Our college’s mascot is an ear of corn called Kernel Cobb. So we use a corn kernel to show different nutrition information. For example, the husk shows the amount of fiber.
—Janet Paul, associate director of dining services, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

When the program is combined with growing, whether that be in gardens or window boxes. I’ve seen schools that have taken old soda bottles and made them into a hydroponic [garden].
—Ann Cooper, director of foodservice, Boulder Valley School District, Boulder, Colo.

THE BEST HEALTHY TWEAK TO A MENU: Posting calorie counts on menus definitely makes me think twice before ordering.
—Janet Paul, associate director of dining services, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

“Hiding” beans in our taco meat; using refried beans as a nacho topping and putting sweet potato purée in cinnamon rolls.
—Sarah Martin, R.D., Highline School District, Burien, Wash.  

{ SUSTAINABILITY }

THE BEST PRACTITIONER OF SUSTAINABILITY: [One of] the best examples of sustainability in the Midwest is our operation at Hennepin County Medical Center. For example, we took the lead among hospitals in the Midwest to implement source separated organics (SSO) recycling. Also, in collaboration with a local organic farm, we implemented a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) drop site. This program is unique among CSAs as member shares are delivered to the hospital kitchen weekly. Shares are then split into half shares by the foodservice team, allowing smaller families to participate each week. Membership in the CSA has tripled over the past three years to more than 35 families currently participating. We have a rooftop organic herb garden, we compost 6 tons of waste per month and we eliminated the use of polystyrene trays.

We increased our inventory of reusable trays, allowed customers to take the reusable trays out of the retail operations and partnered with Environmental Services to have trays found in the Medical Center placed into foodservice galleys.
—Bill Marks, director, Food & Nutrition, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis

One of my counterparts at Geisinger Health System, Al Neuner, the vice president of Facilities Operations, is probably one of the best in the country when it comes to investing in energy-efficient systems, with positive returns on investments. To date, [Neuner’s] energy-management program has resulted in more than $6 million of annual savings from energy efficiency, an ROI on energy investments averaging 3.7 years, an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (more than 42,000 tons) and a 20% annual reduction in water usage (25 million gallons).
—Bruce Thomas, vice president, Guest Services, Geisinger Health Systems, Danville, Pa.

A local ice cream/gelato place in Princeton, the Bent Spoon. By working with local farmers this dessert specialty house has managed to entice customers with Jersey Corn Ice Cream, Basil Ice Cream and, my favorite, Blueberry Mascarpone—all made with local ingredients. The list of ice cream concoctions is now up to 400! The latest brainstorm from the shop is a partnership with the local middle and grade schools in the area that have herb gardens to produce a signature line of Princeton School Gardens Ice Cream.
—Stu Orefice, director, Princeton dining, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.

THE BEST USE I'VE SEEN OF AN ON-SITE GARDEN: The space we use here in Framingham gives a great impact. If you want to really make an impression, then make the garden part of the daily environment to the students in the school. Look for an internal courtyard or a space where as many classrooms as possible look out on the garden. The only way to get students involved in a garden is by constant exposure to it.

—Brendan Ryan, food service director, Framingham School District, Framingham, Mass.

The nicest garden/restaurant combo is the Creamery in Paoli, Wis. This gallery and restaurant has a kitchen that wraps around a working kitchen garden. The garden also borders the outdoor eating patio. Fresh garden items are featured in every menu offering.
—Susan Anderson, director, Food Services & Catering, The University of Wisconsin, Baraboo/Sauk County, Baraboo, Wis.

THE BEST MARKETING TOOL WE USE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY: We do quarterly farmers’ markets with the help of our produce supplier, offering a large variety of local product from fruits and vegetables, breads, olive oils, a variety of cheeses, chocolate, salsa, honey and, of course, tamales. We continue to retail some of the items on a daily basis in our cafeterias.

—Bill DeCicco, director, food & Nutrition Mayo Clinic, Phoenix

THE BEST METHOD I'VE SEEN FOR REDUCING WASTE: The best method I have seen and used is to let my staff know how much each item costs. They are amazed how much we spend and how much waste we have. We then have a contest to see where we can save and which area can save the most. Our chefs use everything they can each day. They make soup and stock with leftover vegetables that have not been put on our serving line.
—Carolyn Cooper, food service director, Twin Lakes Community, Elon, N.C. 

{ THE BOTTOM LINE }

THE BEST NEW REVENUE SOURCE I'VE FOUND: We opened our training kitchen to employees at the central office. This is enhancing training, testing of new recipes and offering lunch to employees at a reasonable rate while training new staff. This has [also] added an additional 50 plus adults eating daily.
—Debbie Mobley, director of child nutrition, Clarksville Montgomery County School District, Clarksville, Tenn.

THE BEST EXAMPLE OF TURNING LEMONS INTO LEMONADE: In 2004, with the help of an excited principal, our foodservice department took the leap of providing breakfast at no charge for all elementary students. I was prepared foodwise but not for conflict of all kinds on the first day. Long story short: Students made it through the breakfast line in time to get back in the lunch line. Disaster! Eight years later, we’re serving 35,000 breakfasts a month.
—Paula Montgomery, child nutrition director, Fairborn City School District, Fairborn City, Ohio

THE BEST WAY TO CUT LABOR COSTS WITHOUT CUTTING STAFF: We opened a central bakery that prepares and ships out the majority of our bread products. The bakery staff includes employees [who were] shifted due to lower participation at one location. We run two shifts and have not added additional labor except for the manager of the bakery.
—Debbie Mobley, director of child nutrition, Clarksville Montgomery County School District, Clarksville, Tenn. 

{MISC. }

THE BEST FUNNY COMPLAINT FROM A CUSTOMER: On our annual customer service survey someone complained that our corn on the cob was too “hairy.” I once had a customer complain that his ice water was too cold, could we please get him some warmer ice...dead serious. He was furious that our ice was so cold.
—Janet Paul, associate director of dining services, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

THE BEST OUTRAGEOUS CUSTOMER REQUEST: I once had a customer complain that there was a strange, creepy lady who was lurking in the seating area and kept picking stuff up off the floor and could we ask her to leave. She was our dining room attendant.
—Janet Paul, associate director of dining services, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn.

Can you warm my socks in the microwave?
—Jay Dorsey, director of dining services, Wesley Glen Retirement Community, Columbus, Ohio 

THE BEST WAY TO RELIEVE STRESS ON THE JOB: I simply love to scrape and wash trays. Sounds crazy, but I love it. The warm, soapy water mixed with just talking and laughing with the students changes my whole day.
—Diane Miller, executive director of child nutrition, Kanawha County Schools, Charleston, W. Va.

Primal screaming in the walk-in!
—Christine Rankin, corporate services manager, Hallmark, Kansas City, Mo.

THE BEST FOOD MEMORY I HAVE: I had an aunt who I spent the summer with. She took an inexpensive cut of steak and stuffed it with fresh vegetables and added stewed tomatoes and cooked it on the stovetop. The presentation and flavors were what really inspired me to look at food as an art. That same aunt reminded me that art has many mediums and that mine was food.
—Joan Homrich, general manager for Bon Appétit, The Capital Group, San Antonio

THE BEST FOOD-RELATED TV SHOW )PAST OR PRESENT: “Kitchen Nightmares,” because it not only opens your eyes to establishments that are out there that are just not sanitary, but it also helps me with management of staff. It keeps pushing me to better myself and helps me be more efficient in the operation of my kitchen, as well as making sure that I don’t fall into the trap that all the other establishments have fallen into.
—Renato de Leon, food service director, Winchester Nursing Center, Winchester, Mass.