On December 9th at 1PM EST fastcasual.com will be hosting a Webinar with trend analysts from PeopleMatter on the 10 biggest industry trends for 2015. This hour long webinar will be based around discussing whether or not these trends are worth the time, or just all hype. It is important for operators to begin planning for 2015 now, even though it may seem difficult to do simultaneously with the holidays.

The webinar panelists will first identify the 10 most popular trends employers will need to plan for in 2015 and then discover which are worth the time and worry and which are not. This will then segue into discussing the full cost impacts these could make on your bottom line. This also ties in to what operators need to really focus on to slow rising costs and maximize their profitability. The panelists will also offer very specific tips on how to increase customer and employee satisfaction. A portion of the webinar will also be reserved for a live Q&A.

To read more about the webinar speakers and to register, click here

Scott Harper of Sysco will be presenting an in-depth discussion about service levels in the industry, how to identify opportunities and then consequently improve standards. The event will take place Monday, November 10th at Agatina’s Restaurant in Rochester; the address is 2967 Buffalo Road ,Rochester, New York. The event will begin at 6PM with a cash bar & hors d’oeuvres followed by a dinner beginning at 6:45 for $30 per person.

Scott Harper consults with restaurant operators, owners and staff in the Western New York area. He was formally schooled in the hospitality business and has work experience as a Franchisee, General Manager, Operating Partner, Area Manager and Operations Manager for three restaurant brands in Ontario, Western New York, Michigan and Florida. Halpern will definitely be able to impart some words of wisdom and discuss at length the different strategies and tips for identifying opportunities to improve service standards.

To register for the event, please contact Kim Wightman either by phone at 585.678.4817 or by email at rochesternysra@hotmail.com. For more information, click here

On Tuesday November 18th, Food Tech + Connect will be hosting an important workshop on how to grow your restaurant  business using the power of brand development. A business’s brand is what gives it a competitive advantage and what sets it apart to catch the attention of guests, investors and the media. This workshop can be attended by start ups and growing businesses alike and will run from 10AM-5:30 PM; the location is yet to be determined.

The workshop will help attendees learn how to best utilize their brand to strengthen operations, marketing and overall culture by providing excellent insider tips. The start of the workshop will include a discussion with Founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, Danny Meyer. Another big name in the industry who will be joining the conversation is Richard Coraine, Senior Managing Partner, Business Development and Consulting at Union Square Hospitality Group.

The workshop will also cover how to use your brand in making important business decisions, the difference between growth and scale, and tips for activating the opportunities presented by building a strong brand. To read more about the workshop and to register through the New York State Restaurant Association, click here

On Thursday, November 13th a fun workshop will be held at the NYC Chapter office at 1001 Avenue of the Americas, 3rd Floor on do-it-yourself public relations techniques for restaurants. The workshop will take place from 10am to 11:30am and will be presented by Nancy A. Shenker, Founder & CEO of the marketing company, theONswitch. Nancy’s company specializes in growing companies through digital and conventional strategies. theONswitch has worked with food service businesses, restaurants and other industries to come up with innovative PR strategies. Nancy has also blogs for the Huffington Post and is the author of “Don’t Hook Up with the Dude in the Next Cube: 200+ Career Secrets for 20-Somethings.”

This seminar will be helpful to restaurant owners and managers or PR and marketing professionals who work in-house for restaurants or restaurant groups that are interested in learning about how to increase their press coverage. Nancy will walk through how to achieve this using traditional and digital media through an interactive session. There will also be a prize for one participant of a free pitch and a list of 10 media contacts.

The workshop will also teach how to write the perfect pitch, how to engage with the right media people, and how to prevent the ‘post-PR depression’ and deal with bad reviews. To sign up for the workshop and learn how to reach the press register with the New York State Restaurant Association by November, 11th here.

The first ever Zero Food Waste Forum was held earlier this month in Berkley, CA hosted by the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA). The forum consisted of a gathering of global leaders in food waste prevention and recovery that brainstormed together on how decrease the current 40% food waste in the U.S. This is an absurd statistic being that 1 in 6 adults and 1 in 4 children are food insecure at some point during the year.

One of the topics discussed at the forum was the need to re-determine the meaning of “food waste.” As it stands now, ‘waste’ in this context means “material that is not wanted; the unusable remains or byproducts of something.” The issue is that a lot of this so-called ‘waste’ is actually edible, recoverable food. Referring to this ‘waste’ as ‘food excess’ could impact people’s perceptions.

On November 14th a LeanPath webinar will be available to guid you through designing a food waste management plan. You can sign up for the webinar, Managing Food Waste: A Micro-Training Session for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals, here. For more information on the food recovery hierarchy visit Food Recovery Challenge page on the EPA website here.

Tis the season for fall harvest fairs! The Pride of NY Harvest Fest will be taking place this year on November 8th & 9th at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany. This will be a great opportunity to taste the best regional food and wine products. About 100 vendors from throughout the state will be showcasing and sampling their products ranging from wine to sauces. An auction will also be taking place during the event, the Harvest Fest Silent Auction, which will benefit the NYS Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

The event will be a great place to explore and find new food and wine products for the holiday season be it for offering gifts or for dinner! The event will take run from 8am to 11pm on both the Saturday and Sunday. The weekend tasting pass is being sold for $60, and as part of any ticket purchase, access to one seminar of your choice is free. There are more ticket options for different events on only the Saturday or Sunday. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, click here.

Culintro is hosting a panel series on Tuesday, October 28th called A Chef’s Tale: The Truth Behind Departing an Empire and Creating One’s Own. The speakers include acclaimed Chefs Missy Robbins (A Voce, Corkbuzz), Daniel Kluger (ABC Kitchen, ABC Cocina) and Chris Jaeckle (All’Onda, Uma Temakeria). The speakers will discuss their experiences rising to Chef stardom, their decisions to start their own ventures and the process behind it all. Editorial director for the Strategic Initiatives Group at the Culinary Institute of America, Anne McBride, will be moderating the discussion and revealing the challenges and positive aspects of following your dreams and pursuing your own restaurant.

The event will take place from 6PM-8PM at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway at 1871 Broadway. Non-Culintro member tickets are priced at $45, member’s tickets are priced at $30. To read more about the panel series and to register, click here