CompetitiveEdge Tip: Make Eating Healthy Easier for your Patrons

With economic trends beating up independent operators from both ends -- higher operating costs and lower dispensable income to splurge dining out-- restaurateurs need to embrace every opportunity to promote their business and to differentiate from their competitors. This article from CNN details a practical method to stand out to your prospective customers.

"The idea that eating healthy doesn't mean feeling deprived is something restaurants see as a vehicle for change, as a way to differentiate their offerings from their competitors," says Master Chef Mark Erickson, vice president for continuing education at the Culinary Institute of America.
Rock Creek restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland has reinvented their menu by offering "what you're supposed to eat -- proper portions, great flavor-and we use fresh, local ingredients as much as possible," says co-owner Tom Williams, who, with partner Judith Hammerschmidt, opened Rock Creek two years ago. The pair worked with Cynthia Payne Moore, R.D., a Baltimore, Maryland-based dietitian, to obtain nutritional analyses for every item on the menu, and they adjust recipes to avoid unnecessary fat and determine portion sizes.

They even put the nutritional information in the back of the menu, "so people who want to look at it do, and those who don't, don't," Hammerschmidt says.

Rock Creek is great example of a leader in our field. The nutritional analysis requirements for all food service establishments are coming... it's started in New York with multi-unit chains. Ruby Tuesday's is one of many national chains who have already dedicated their resources to labeling all menu items with their nutritional data. Even Dunkin' Doughnuts is offering healthier menu items starting August 6th! Like the smoking ban, it's only a matter of time before Philadelphia picks up similar legislature to force chains and independents to display their nutritional information.

Chef's Palette offers menu nutritional analysis and website design for restaurants at an affordable rate. Visit www.chefspalette.us for more information about menu nutritional analysis, recipe consultation and your website design needs.