Today's restaurant tech may need some catch-up
Imagine if the course of food trends was reversed and home kitchens suddenly became the source of the best and most interesting culinary ideas. In that alternate reality, restaurants would be the followers, not the innovators, hoping to catch up with customers who were routinely more inventive and advanced.
How a failing guest feedback program helped Texas Steakhouse improve
What happens when your guest feedback programs insist your customers love you, but your restaurant is empty? That was Terry Smith’s dilemma when he was brought on board as consultant for Texas Steakhouse in 2008.
The 100 or so chain executives attending Chicago researcher Technomic’s 2015 Consumer Insights and Planning Program this January learned how the perplexing consumer is evolving under such influences as a tepid economy and rapid-fire technical advances. Some revelations had pens scratching across notepads in a frenzy, including these.
Chef Robert Irvine is better known for his performances before a stove or TV camera than for what he does at a computer keyboard. But the celebrity chef will reveal his ease at the digital screen when he delivers a keynote address at the upcoming FSTEC NexGen conference on paperless restaurant and bar management.