Certified Food Manager MN Archives

January 27, 2020January 27, 2020

Healthy Menu Trends for 2020 and Certified Food Managers

2020 is upon us, and the time has come for MN certified food managers to consider menu trends, assess their menus and evaluate if they’ve designed a menu that’s going to bring in new customers and keep their regular clientele happy. We’ve talked with industry professionals and taken a close look at forecasted trends, and we’ve discovered that many insiders believe that many restaurant menus will become healthier and simpler in the coming year.

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Forecasted Restaurant Menu Trends for 2020 Impact Certified Food Managers

While there will always be a niche for nearly any menu strategy, we’ve heard a few professionals speculate five things will be key to keeping a loyal clientele in 2020.

Fewer Menu Choices
Simpler Dishes with Small Portion Sizes
More Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free Dishes
Clear Menu Labeling
Seasonal Menu Rotation

The concept of smaller menus has been growing in popularity for several years. A streamlined menu not only helps guests make easy decisions but also helps your bottom line. With limited dishes, MN certified food managers have the opportunity to reduce waste by keeping a limited selection of product on hand rather than gambling on keeping an inventory full of ingredients for dishes that guests may never order.

Guests are more and more frequently searching for meals that help contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Smaller portions, simpler recipes and meals that fit certain dietary needs are increasingly in demand. You may want to consider creating a portion of your menu with dishes on the lighter side, this will attract guests who are looking to save on calories when dining out.

Diners are increasingly searching for establishments that serve vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and keto-friendly menu items, and including these types of dishes on your menus can attract repeat customers. But is simply having these types of menu items available enough? We suggest clearly labeling these items so guests don’t have to make their best guess or take the time to ask their servers a myriad of questions about every dish that could possibly fit their dietary preferences.

Finally, many potential patrons seek restaurants that use local and fresh ingredients. Rotating your menu to fit what local and sustainable ingredients are currently available will heighten your appeal to customers who value fresh and locally sourced ingredients. It may even benefit you to mention food sourced from local farms directly on your menu.

As a certified food manager will 2020 menu trends affect your menu designs?

January 21, 2020January 27, 2020

Certified Food Protection Managers and Efficient Inventory Control

January is upon us and for many foodservice operations that means a predictable lull in business after the hectic holiday months. If you’re one of those operations that experiences a post-holiday slow down, you may want to focus on projects that will contribute to how efficient the business side of your operation works. We recommended certified food managers assess and streamline your inventory control system during the offseason. It can go a long way towards helping your foodservice facility run more safely, efficiently and achieve a profit margin well into the new year.

Certified Food Protection Managers and Efficient Inventory Control

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Inventory Control Assessment Tips for Certified Food Managers

There are many benefits to periodically assessing your inventory control system to make sure it’s effective. Two of the most important are waste reduction and cost control.

Having your inventory information at your fingertips gives you the knowledge to both reduce waste and control food costs. Knowing how long product sits in your storeroom or under refrigeration will help you control ordering and prevent spoilage by giving you a better idea of how much of any given ingredient you use over certain periods of time. You’ll find that simply knowing what’s on hand will have you throwing out less outdated product and also prevent running out of key ingredients between orders.

How can certified food protection managers create an efficient inventory system? While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every business, here are a few ideas to help you get started.

Create daily usage and waste logs
Find an easy to use a mobile app to track inventory
Upgrade your point-of-sale system to track product used

Most certified food protection managers only take a full inventory once a month on average. While this is great for assessing monthly food costs, it has the potential for giving you an incomplete picture of how your inventory works. Creating a daily log of what product is used or wasted can give you a much clearer picture of where you need to trim inventory or increase ordering pars.

Finally, there are many software solutions to help you keep track of your inventory. Apps are available for mobile devices and modern POS systems allow users to enter recipes and ingredients for menu items. Talk with a representative from the company that provides your point-of-sale software to see if there is an upgrade available to help track your inventory. It may cost more, but you may find you’ll save money in the long run with a more efficient inventory process.

Is it time for your certified food protection manager to take a closer look at your inventory systems?

October 7, 2019October 4, 2019

Certified Food Manager’s Guide to Safely Serving Shellfish

The waters in the Atlantic and Pacific are getting colder, and that makes it the prime time to eat and serve shellfish. Before the shellfish season begins, let’s take a moment to review food procedures for safely serving shellfish.

FDA testing shellfish is the first step in safely serving shellfish — Image credit: US Food and Drug Administration

Serving Shellfish Safety

There are a few types of potentially hazardous foods that certified food managers need to take extra care with when processing, molluscan shellfish is one of them. If handled improperly, they can cause catastrophic foodborne illness and pose a life-threatening situation to any guest who may be allergic. Food safety procedures for safely serving shellfish should begin the second they are received at your facility.

All shellfish must come from an approved source. Your local seafood provider should have more information on where your shellfish come from, and chances are most shellfish shipped to Minnesota come from approved waters. You shouldn’t simply accept this, however. All shipments of shellfish must include a tag or label that signifies where it came from and when they were harvested. Each batch must also be stored on its own. Shellfish from one container cannot co-mingle with shellfish from another batch until it’s time to prepare and serve. This helps to keep any bacteria from spreading from one batch to another and also helps identify the source of any batch that may have caused illness. Once these containers are empty, their labels must be stored for 90 days.

To prevent the growth of bacteria and safely serve shellfish, certified food managers should be very careful to keep all raw shellfish stored at 41 degrees or below. Shellfish are sensitive to bacteria growth, so extended times over 41 degrees greatly increase foodborne illness risk.

Shellfish allergies can be severe. We recommend that you designate a specific station in your facility for shellfish preparation. This will greatly reduce the risk that cross-contamination occurs. It’s also important to store shellfish as far away from other product as possible. Another key to safely serving shellfish is never store raw shellfish over ready-to-eat foods or other items in your refrigerated storage.

Finally, it’s important to warn your guests who may be allergic that shellfish are processed in your kitchen. Some allergy sufferers can’t take any chances. A simple disclaimer on your menu should suffice.

Do you serve or prepare shellfish? If so, what steps do you take to serve them safely?

September 30, 2019September 4, 2019

Minnesota Football Season and Certified Food Managers

It’s football time, and that means it’s time to pull the jerseys out of the closet, cook up some tailgating cuisine and root on our favorite teams. Many local restaurants will offer game day specials, buffets on weekends and pull out all the stops while their guests enjoy some pigskin action. Whether you bleed maroon and gold or purple and gold, we have some tips for certified food managers to draw in additional Minnesota football season fans and provide exciting service that will keep customers coming back week after week.

Certified Food Managers and Football Specials

Sports fans look for two things when considering places to enjoy games: excitement and value. No true football fan wants to sit in an empty lounge and pay regular price for nachos and beer, so we have some tips to help you attract guests looking to get the most out of their pigskin viewing experience.

Value-priced food specials
All-you-can-eat menu items
Contests, games and prizes
A lively environment

Football fans are looking for a deal, and a certified food manager can provide it without taking a hit in profit margins. Ingredients for menu items such as nachos or chips and dip don’t take a huge food cost hit, and can even be offered as an all-you-can-eat item without killing profit margin. You may even want to consider affordable and refillable items like French fries, and discounted menu items whenever the home team is on top. Remember, the goal is to get people in the door. Offer upgrades such as handmade guacamole, meat, dips or other toppings at an additional cost. Be creative, you know what your food costs look like, and certified food managers can use their intimate knowledge of their menu to find value items that customers will enjoy and lead them to make additional purchases.

This may be an idea more suited for the front of the house managers, but if you’re a certified food manager than runs both front and back of the house operations, consider running contests and games rewarding patrons for various activities. Consider some sort of football bingo for a free appetizer, reward the best-dressed fan with a two-for-one special or create a random fantasy or knockout pool that runs the entire season. This will keep guests coming back to see their fellow contestants week after week.

Finally, football fans want an environment where they can be loud and have fun. Having several televisions playing various games is a plus and will draw out of town guests.

Do you use football season to market your restaurant? What’s the best promotion you’ve seen a certified food manager use during football season?