Saturday, October 31, 2009

Follow up



I will be adding more KOSHER content to this blog. The recipies posted thus far have been kosher. The new postings will follow that thread. You may not even realize that they are kosher, which is the point. GREAT FOOD that happens to be Kosher.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

What a great new day.

Thanks to all those who came to hear me speak and visited me at Kosherfest.
I will be in touch with all of you very soon.

Just a note about professional shows. I believe that there is no end
to education, professional or otherwise. If you gleen only ONE thing
from your days at a show, you have one more then the day before and
that may make the difference in your business.

Read everything, listen to everyone you may find the ONE thing
that takes you to a different level. My friend Bill Marvin,
The Restaurant Doctor, asks everyday, "What did you learn from
your staff today." Not a bad piece of advice. www.Restaurantdoctor.com

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Kosherfest day two

I had some time this morning to meet and greet other exhibitors. I believe that I reached my goal of 50 contacts.

I did not find much in the way of new and exciting products but the show was better than last year.

Today I was one of four judges for the sandwich competition. The sandwiches interesting and very, very different from each other. The winner from UCafe in NY was a tarragon chicken salad with smoke salmon on brioche with a plate pained with tapenade and basil oil. The others included a sammie with smoked bison and chopped liver and one with a corned beef and salmon hash. All interesting and worthy of fame in their own right.

I will be in touch with all contacts in the next day or so.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Kosherfest

What a day! 0330 rise 3 hour trip in the rain but..
A great placement in the New Product Area at Kosherfest
A good, attentive attendance for my talk and then
TRAFFIC, steady interested traffic from noon until 4:30.
30 people to contact
Thank you all very much.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Build the Buzz

Word-of-Mouth Marketing:
How to Build Customer Buzz on Your Product

Somewhere, way off the beaten track, there exists a company that has never run an ad, never issued a news release, doesn't have a web site, has never sent a newsletter. The self-satisfied owner of this company dismisses marketing as an unnecessary expense since he claims his product thrives solely on word-of-mouth marketing.
The implication is that marketing is for chumps -- build a better product and the world will beat a path to your door.
So if word-of-mouth marketing doesn't mean "no marketing," what does it mean? Simply stated word-of-mouth marketing means that one person recommends a product or service to someone else, typically a friend or associate.

Studies show that people talk about products and services in 14 to 27% of their conversations. People talk about products and services so often because they like to give friends the benefit of their experience -- good or bad.

Buzz Builder

A recommendation doesn't necessarily mean, you must eat this, but it's about one customer finding something intriguing, worthwhile, valuable, noteworthy, amusing or interesting about your product. "Let's give them something to talk about," and giving your customers something to talk about is the seed of word-of-mouth marketing.
Word-of-mouth marketing makes common sense. We've all seen it happen with a fad or a news story. Marketers call this "buzz" -- when everyone seems to be talking about a new movie, book or piece of celebrity gossip.
How information is passed from friend to friend is easily understood -- think of neighbors talking across the back fence -- the concept has scientific basis as well. In 1967, Stanley Milgram, a sociologist, developed the proposition called the "Small World Phenomenon." Milgram set up an experiment with a goal to hand-deliver a small package from one person to another. The sender and receiver did not know each other, and they lived in different locations. To get delivered, the package had to be handed through an intermediary chain of people. These "Small World Phenomenon" experiments found that a chain of six people, at most, connect every person in the United States.

That's how the "six degrees of separation" concept came into being. For a food producer, the community you want to affect is even smaller so you can imagine how customers you could reach through the satisfied experience of just one.

Six Degrees of Separation

It is said that everyone knows at least 250 people -- and some know up to 3,000 people. If you have 250 customers who also know 250 people, then you can potentially reach 64,000 people. Of course there is going to be overlap within the confines of one trading area, but the numbers are impressive. Everything is in your reach. There is always another person to contact.


Commercial E-mail vs. Word of Mouth

The main reason generating positive word of mouth is crucial is that messages received through word-of-mouth channels are trusted. For example, if you are afraid to go to the dentist, the recommendation of another fearful patient is far more convincing than a dentist's ad.
What's more, consumers feel bombarded with marketing messages through television, radio, magazines, newspapers, billboards as well as some of the more imaginative places marketers have found to put messages such as the reverse side of event tickets, inside restroom stalls, or on envelope stuffers that accompany most invoices. There are always the omnipresent sponsor logos during any sporting event in the form of signage or a logo on a player's uniform.

The growth of the Internet has compounded the feeling consumers have that they are being assailed at every turn with commercial content. In the year 2000 the average consumer received 400 commercial e-mails a year. By last year, the number of commercial e-mails receives was 1,600 and growing. But it's not just the Internet that is creating marketing overload. One estimate put the average number of marketing messages received on an average day 20 years ago at 300. Today, it's 10 times that much -- 3,000 separate marketing messages. That equates to more than a million marketing messages that an average person sees. Is it any wonder that your occasional print ad doesn't yield the results you want?

How Much Marketing is too much?

DMA research indicates that this barrage of marketing has left consumers feeling put upon. So how much is too much? Nearly two-thirds of consumers feel constantly bombarded with marketing and advertising. When consumers feel bombarded, they shut down. Consumers can avoid marketing messages actively by grabbing the remote control and channel surfing during commercials. Remember how the television version of Charlie Brown and his friends in Peanuts would only hear the teacher's voice as "wah-wah-wah-wah?" That's how many consumers respond to excess marketing messages. Consider a person waking and the marketing messages that come their way, from commercials on the clock radio to marketing messages on toothpaste, breakfast cereal, even a coffee cup. Most likely the person hears more commercials on the car radio on the way to work along with billboards, signage and ads on bus stop benches. You arrive at work and, around the water cooler, hear, "I ate the best new food last night." You don’t hear that as a commercial marketing message, but it is. Of course, you respond, "Really? Where?" And then you get an authentic, friendly, credible commercial for a restaurant in which the recipient is giving 100 percent of his attention. That's the power of word of mouth.

The foundation for any successful word-of-mouth marketing campaign is that you must supply your consumer with a positive experience. No one is going to volunteer information about a plain baked potato, ho-hum service or an average piece of pizza. Before positive word of mouth is generated, you must have a high-quality product. Listen to this customer: "The food was beyond fantastic. The crab fritters are the best thing that I've ever tasted ... period. The duck was incredible, mouth-watering, and well worth the price." Or this one: "I ended up spending more than I did on my first car, but thought it was worth every penny." This last comment reiterates the power of word of mouth. The source is an everyday person, with whom others identify, making a very honest statement. The combination of honesty and enthusiasm is a strong one.

Selling Airplanes, Filling Seats

In 1963, Bill Lear invented the Learjet, the first mass-produced business jet. At the time, Lear said, "I want every pilot in the world to be a Learjet salesman." He didn't mean that literally, of course, but he was tapping into the power of word of mouth. He knew pilots talked to each other. He knew that friends and colleagues would ask pilots their opinion of this new airplane. He wanted pilots to be armed with the information they needed to talk knowledgeably about his new airplane, how fast the airplane flew, how much it cost, how many passengers it could seat. If Lear limited his marketing efforts to only those company officers who were the decision makers for an aircraft purchase, he never would have had a successful new airplane introduction. By running multipage ads in aviation magazines, he was able to create thousands of Learjet "salesmen." His efforts were so successful that, now, more than 40 years later, despite all the other companies that manufacture corporate jets, Learjet is still synonymous with "business jet."

Give Them Something to Talk About

Giving them information is really the first step in getting people to talk about your product or restaurant. You must have something worth talking about. For example the entire restaurant experience is frequently talked about; it is more likely that a consumer will comment on a detail of your restaurant. While it is definitely to your advantage to create elements and products that are unique to your operation, it is also important to create points of difference in those items you know that every one offers.

Identifying Opinion Leaders

Part of enacting a word-of-mouth marketing program is to realize that all talkers are not created equal. Some people's opinion carries more weight than others. That's why toothpaste manufacturers quote dentists' opinions when it comes to the best toothpaste. You must identify people in your community who are opinion leaders. The opinion leaders may be rabbis, business owners, corporate executives, doctors, the Rotary Club president, or the high school principal. The opinions of these individuals carry more weight than the average Joe. It's the same theory for why so many companies use celebrities as spokespeople. These companies know that many people look up to these celebrities and believe in them. You may not be able to afford Paris Hilton or Tom Cruise to vouch for your product, but identifying opinion leaders and inviting them to your restaurant (or alerting them to your existence) and telling them a little about your operation shows clearly how word of mouth doesn't magically happen by itself. You still have to drive people to your product. When you send out a letter or a brochure with a note to these opinion leaders, you are planting seeds.

Word of Mouth Complements Your Marketing

A fantastic byproduct of generating positive word of mouth is that you will know exactly what customers love most about your product. When you listen to customers, they may tell your story far better than you can. You can take their comments, with their permission, you can make
them into copy for your promotional materials. Positive comments from your customers can also be turned, with their permission, into testimonials to use on your Web site or ads. Testimonials continue to be a powerful marketing tool as the comments have built-in credibility when a customer thinks the person giving the testimonial is "just like me."

Engage Your Staff

To help generate word of mouth, your staff must reinforce customer comments. If a customer says to the server, "We love your fried chicken," don't stop there...” The server needs details, what about your fried chicken sets it apart. Once you have a word-of-mouth program up and running, you may want to share stories of what has worked it’s the human factors that will make a word-of-mouth marketing program successful. "The qualities in your staff that bear on the success of your word-of-mouth program are sincerity, enthusiasm and naturalness." In other words, forget about scripts.

Kosher at a Different Level provides full-service consulting services to the Restaurant and Hospitality industries. The firm offers a full menu of advisory services focusing on every aspect of the life-cycle of restaurants and other hospitality organizations, from pre-opening and conceptual planning, to day-to-day operations, as well as design and brokerage. We operate primarily in the kosher market but do have significant experience in the broader, non-kosher world. The Principal of KADL is Chef Scott Sunshine. Chef Sunshine is CFBE, ServSafe, TIPS and HACCP certified. He has owned and operated four successful restaurants and has been a Chef and Food & Beverage Director in a variety of hotels. Chef Sunshine has also done both large and small scale catering on and off-site in the kosher and non-kosher world. He has also been featured in Shimon Apisdorf’s Kosher for the Clueless but Curious, Leviathan Press, 2006, has spoken at the NY Restaurant and Foodservice show and has appeared on TV and radio. You may contact him at chef@differentlevelkosher.com.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

PR vs. Advertising

Public Relations vs. Advertising

If a picture is worth a thousand words, an article is worth a thousand ads.

”Advertising you pay for, Public Relations (PR) you pray for." Though the adage is an old one, it is especially true today. People often confuse PR with advertising, but the two are dramatically different. Simply put, advertising places ads while PR places news. Both are designed to elevate consumers' interest in product or service. Both often use the same media -- print, radio and television and the Internet. This is where the similarities end.

PR Builds Credibility, Advertising Breeds Skepticism

The late entertainer Will Rogers once said, "All I know is just what I read in the papers." PR generates news coverage, and news coverage builds credibility. The objective of PR is to tell your story through third-party outlets, primarily the media. People believe what they read in newspapers and magazines, what they hear on the radio and what they see on television, whereas they are skeptical of what they see in an advertisement. Many advertising campaigns are mathematical successes and marketing failures. Advertisers may reach their intended mass audience with enough frequency and still not increase sales of their product or service. The emphasis of PR is not on reach or frequency, but the credentials of the medium and the quality of the placement. A published article or a broadcast story on radio and television is more credible than the most well placed advertisement.

Credibility is critical. Consumers will trust a feature in Car & Driver or Consumer Reports describing why the Ford Taurus is the best in its class, more than they will with a slick advertisement from Ford claiming that it stands above the competition. Volvo didn't gain its reputation of safety through advertising. Instead, it gained consumer trust through publicity from stories like its invention of the three-point lap-and-shoulder safety belt. In an attempt to fool readers, some companies even attempt to write advertisements that are designed to look like features.

These are known as advertorials. Publications, however, make sure readers are aware the advertorial is a paid advertisement.

Is Not Intrusive

In one of Aesop's fables, the sun and the wind disagree about who is the stronger of the two. They see a man walking down the road, so they decided to settle the dispute by seeing who could make him take off his coat. The wind took its turn first. The harder the wind blew, the more closely the man wrapped his coat around him. The sun then began to shine, and it wasn't long before the man felt the sun's warmth and removed his coat. Like the wind in Aesop's fable, advertising is often perceived as an imposition. The harder the sell the harder the prospect resists the sales message. Public relations are like the sun. It leads to action and produces results subtly by presenting its message through an objective third party -- the media.

PR Is Cost-Effective, Advertising is Costly

Some business executives have the wrong impression that, because it appears on television or in a slick, glossy magazine, history has shown that an advertisement that has entertainment value may not be worth the expense. It doesn't move consumers to purchase the product. People enjoyed the Pets.com sock puppet, but apparently not enough to purchase their pet products online. David Leisure was funny as Joe Isuzu, but his comedic advertisements did not cause a rush at Isuzu dealerships. It would be difficult to find an executive who would prefer seeing his company's ads on TV instead of a news feature in Forbes or Fortune. The article builds credibility, positions the company as an industry leader and generates awareness without costing a penny.

Some people believe that the higher the price, the greater the value. In the case of advertising, figures indicate companies pay Rolex prices for Timex value. Brands are best built with a long-term public relations plan, not a short-term advertising blitz.

PR's Life Span Is Longer Than Advertising

To the typical consumer, an ad is like a butterfly. Its life span is short-lived. This isn't the case with PR. A well-placed story can reap benefits for an extended period. The fundamental PR strategy is to place a story in one publication and move it up the ladder to another magazine or newspaper, or transfer it to another medium such as radio or television. A story can also be sent down the ladder. For example, an article in the Wall Street Journal often later appears in smaller publications, further enhancing the story's effectiveness. When determining whether to spend your marketing budget on public relations or advertising, --weigh the importance of credibility, cost-effectiveness and a positive corporate image. Though your public relations campaign may not be as expansive, the figures show that in the eyes and minds of consumers, what they see and read in the media is more impactful and viable than what they see and read in advertisements -- making the phrase, "Advertising you pay for, public relations you pray for," fact and not just an old adage. High-volume restaurants, chain restaurants and leading supplier companies looking for cost-effective marketing should first consider PR as a tool. Effective PR can create record sales for your company and often for less than the cost of a single newspaper ad or billboard. If PR isn't currently part of your marketing mix, strongly consider appropriating 15% - 30% of your total promotional budget on an effective PR campaign. You'll find both short-term and long-term gains from this approach that will have a positive cumulative impact far greater than traditional advertising approaches.

let us show you how at www.differentlevelkosher.com

Thursday, October 22, 2009

What a beautiful day

I must send out my thanks to my friends and advisors Shimon Apisdorf,
Eric Sunshine, Marlene Kirshenbaum, Steve Dembo and Amy Silberman.
With their help I am ready to roll at KosherFest and events following.

You can visit Steve and the chef in the new products area next Tuesday and Wed in the Meadowlands.

If all goes well we will be able to generate buzz for Shimon's books and our services. You can view more information on
Kosher for the Clueless but Curious
at www.artscroll.com and search for the title and then open to view pages.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Kosherfest is a week away

We are just about ready for KosherFest.
The marketing materials for Kosher at a Different Level
are almost complete and the site is up at http://www.differentlevelkosher.com/.

We hope to entice exhibitors to allow us to be their
Corporate Chef. By this we mean we hope to have
producers subscribe to a recipe development service
where by we would provide recipes show casing the
product for the consumer.
We would like distributors to allow us to create
recipes for several of the products they carry
for the restaurant, caterer or retail outlet.

Monday, October 19, 2009

New WEB SITE


Please take a look at our brand new site at www.differentlevelkosher.com

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sunday in the house


Yet another rainy day. it did clear as it looked like the Ravens
were going to win, but no soap. Giants creamed by the Saints.

I am organizing the marketing plan for KADL and should have a site up
this week www.DifferentLevelKosher.com

Any suggestions on a hook to entice the radio and TV producers to
work with me.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

What a day!


Yet another rainy day.
It has been constructive though. I have completed most
of the materials that we will need for KosherFest.

We hope to sign about 30 clients for a recipe building service
with a cross marketing e-newletter and 2 or 3 for
full line consulting services.

In the kitchen today
Short Ribs with Lentils
Ground Beef and Turkey Pasta Sauce
Turkey and Beef Burgers

Take at look at this pair, Beef and Sea Bass

Friday, October 16, 2009

Interesting day


This is a hot Port Simmered Chicken Sandwich served on a crusty baguette.
The intention for most of the recipes that will be posted here is that they will be, or could be Kosher.
I will be speaking to people at KosherFest about Consulting services ranging from menu and recipe development to logistics for large events. We hope to contact between 30 and 40 firms about writing regular recipes for them to supply to their customers, wholesale or retail and how to reach out beyond their comfort zone, the Kosher market

Thursday, October 15, 2009

White Beans with Steamed Artichoke


This simple dish features a Lemon and Tabasco Steamed Artichoke,
filled with Balsamic marinated Great Northern Beans, Beefsteak Tomato
Wedges and Pepper Cress (V)

Getting into Media


I am considering moving further into speaking, writing, TV and radio.
I would love feedback on the whys and wherefores of being sucessful at
these projects.
I hope to be including in this blog a recipe per day, each will meet the
requirements of kosher but will fit onto any table anywhere.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Chicken Picatta

4 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts (M)
5 tbls lite olive oil
1 1/2 tbls flour
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup lemon jice
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup drained capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Between two sheets of wax paper, pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.
Season with Salt and Pepper, mix 1 tbls oil with 1/2 tbls flour and mix until smooth

Dredge chicken in remaining flow and cook in a heavy pan with the remainer of the oil heated to just below smoking. Cook until golden brown, 165 degrees internal temp

Remove chicken from pan, add liquid to pan bring to boil add roux and thicken Add capers and parsley , re-add chicken and heat through.

If it is Wed...

This morning I meet with Shimon Apisdorf about Kosherfest and the re-marketing of the Kosher for the Clueless book.
I hope to be able to put together a multi-pronged approach to becoming more of a media Chef including more speaking, writing, classes with JCCs, Shuls, schools and TV and radio.
Shimon and Rabbi Goldberger have always been wise advisors and I thank them in advance for their time.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Recent work




These are from top to bottom:
Duck Confit with Heirloom Tomato Concasse
Fresh Mozzarella and Tapenade Caprese
Ceviche
Apple and Oyster Mushroom Stuffed Veal Chop

Great Seasonal Recipe, Short Ribs

Braised Short Ribs (M)
1 Small Onion
1 Medium Carrot
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup dry red wine
2 thyme springs
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tspn cracked black pepper
3 lbs "Korean" cut short ribs
flour for dusting ribs
2 cups veal or vegetarian stock

Cut onion and carrot into equal sized pieces, sautee in 1tbspn oil until soft. Add wine, thyme, bay leaf, pepper and simmer for 3 minutes, cool.

Add cold ribs to cool liquid, marinade for at least 8 hours.

Remove ribs from liquid, season with salt and pepper to taste, dust in flour and brown in a single layer in the remaining oil in a heavy pan

Discard oil and add marinade to the pan and reduce by 1/3, add ribs to hot liquid, cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours.

Remove ribs from liquid and reduce liquid by another 1/3 adjusting seasoning to taste.

Arrange ribs over the starch of your choice, top with julienne vegetables and baising liquid reduction

General information

You can find me on Facebook and at http://chefdb.com/nm/19431

I will be speaking on Marketing Outside the Box at Kosherfest at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Seacacus, NJ on the 27th and 28th of October. If you would like the materials from that talk please drop me a line.

The First Day

Welcome! Today is the first day of my blog. Thanks to Henry Pertman of Micros an all around good guy for suggesting this.
I hope to communicate here my read on the current trends in food, on foodies, to give some interesting recipes and outlook on the food industry often with a view toward the Kosher World.