Fine Dining

Why food matters: Industry leaders share their smarts

Four luminaries of the restaurant and food industries took the stage at a Culinary Institute of America event last week to share their culinary philosophies and formulas for success. The quartet—Rick Bayless, Cliff Pleau, Daniel Humm and Walter Robb—was there to be honored with a 2013 Augie Leadership Award, a CIA honor now in its seventh year.

Marketing

The future of social media

RB's virtual roundtable of restaurant tech execs predicts the platforms and strategies that will spur engagement in the future.

Mushroom season inspires big sales opportunities. The Little River Inn in Mendocino, Calif., is promoting its 6th Annual Mushroom & Beer Dinner as a “culinary adventure” centering on the mushrooms that sprout in the wilds of northern California at this time of year. Each course of the Nov. 8 dinner is paired with a barrel-aged beer from the Russian River Brewing Co.

A new search feature will also recommend better times to drop in.

Before you help patrons ring in the New Year, take a moment to consider what restaurateurs chose as the top business stories of the past one. Here are our most-read stories of 2013.

The celebrity chef was stripped of his finalist nominations because of sexual harassment allegations.

It’s rare to hear of dog owners rising up in protest when an business posts a “No dogs” sign on the door. But when the sign says “No guns,” restaurateurs are finding themselves under fire.

Changes in the RLC’s content and a few tweaks in the format should help veteran show-goers get the most out of their visit as well.

If colleagues attended the NRA Show and you didn’t, grant them some deep-thought time. They’re likely grappling with new necessities that mandate changes in their attitudes and ways of doing business. You may want to sit at their feet and get a download, Grasshopper.

Here are 6 stealable ideas from the Restaurant Leadership Conference that can help you grow and improve your business.

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