Peter Romeo

The December issue of FoodService Director is dedicated to employees of the Starbucks at 167 Court Street in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, though they almost blew it with their playlist.

I may be new to non-commercial foodservice, but even I can see that steroid testing may be in order. You directors move too fast to be operating just on adrenaline and market pressures. Menu cycles, ever-shifting consumer tastes, new health concerns, profit pressures—no wonder I’m waiting to hear a Road Runner-esque “meep-meep” as you zip from change to change.

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.

MenuDirections abounded in ideas, some so self-contained that it’s difficult to lump them into categories or one of our larger themed stories from the conference (which you’ll find here.) Here, then, is a mixed assortment of those notions and insights.