cuisine

For chefs, music is often as important as the knives they cart around. While chefs tend to avoid music during restaurant service, prep is another matter.

Ruby Tuesday’s narrowly averted cheese-biscuit apocalypse demonstrates how social media’s role is evolving from marketing to operations. The chain has spent several years working through a major brand refresh, migrating from a down-home bar-and-grill to a more upscale-casual concept. To that end, the company decided to phase out the free cheddar biscuits given to diners, testing the new program in one area where the biscuits went AWOL. The reaction was telling: customers had a fit, sharing their displeasure through social media.

Senior Editor Pat Cobe shares 10 business-building food and beverage trends she spotted at the show.