Restaurants generally have several reasons for launching limited-time items, including seasonal promotions and a chance to try out a dish to gauge whether guests love it enough to perhaps make it permanent. But the McRib has evolved into a special case, not tied to a holiday, not a permanent part of the menu but a recurring character around which buzz seems to grow greater each time it appears. So, how did it go from another test sandwich to perhaps the most famous limited-time quickservice offering?

McDonald’s began testing the sandwich at a few restaurants in 1981 and did a nationwide release the next year. In its first two incarnations, the sandwich was part of the regular menu. It was pulled in 1985, reintroduced in 1989, then stayed for six years until it was pulled again. This time, McDonald’s promoted the McRib’s exit with a “Farewell Tour” that proved so successful that the chain repeated it after limited runs in 2006 and 2007.

McDonald’s has done its part to promote the McRib mystique since, including an ad campaign last year that featured a groom reluctant to embark on his honeymoon and miss the McRib. Another campaign featured a Facebook game called “The Quest for the Golden McRib.” But one thing McDonald’s said it doesn’t do is time the sandwich’s return to rivals’ release of pork products. The comment came in response to newly released research from the University of Dayton saying that the chain does exactly that. A pair of researchers said they studied the timing of McRib releases between 1982 and 2011 and found that they typically came within months of the introduction of pork items from McDonald’s competitors, including Au Bon Pain, KFC, White Castle, Burger King and Quiznos.

Another source said the McRib’s reappearances have more to do with the supply chain. The sandwich is made from pork-shoulder trimmings, which is also used in products including SPAM and Vienna sausage. Two years ago, University of Nebraska professor Roger Mandigo told the Lincoln Journal Star that one key reason the McRib isn’t a permanent offering is that prices for relatively scarce pork trimmings increase with demand spurred by a McRib promotion, and the long interval between promotions gives prices time to stabilize as supply is replenished.

Whatever the reason, the limited-time strategy has turned what was once a less-than-popular sandwich into an iconic menu item that gains big buzz and media coverage each time it returns.

Does your restaurant do limited-time items? What works best when it comes to promoting them? Tell us in the comments.

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Companies say they are hiring for positions in:

• Kitchen and dining-room operations
• Management
• Beverage operations

According to CIA’s survey, conducted in advance of the career fair, recruiters are looking for candidates with:

• Previous work experience
• Communication skills
• Problem-solving skills

It might be good time to be looking for a job in the industry. The National Restaurant Association announced in its 2012 industry forecast that restaurants are expected to outpace national job growth and reach record sales. Restaurant employment is forecast to hit nearly 13 million, or 10% of the U.S. workforce.

Last week, the Labor Department reported that employers brought the unemployment rate down for the fifth consecutive month, with 243,000 jobs added in January, compared with 203,000 in December. The report exceeded economists’ expectations; however, about 6 million jobs are needed to return to the 2008 employment level.

At the past eight CIA job fairs, there were more companies and more interviews compared with the same season the year before. This year, three-quarters of companies are adding more jobs than they did in 2011.

Keep an eye in ProChef SmartBrief and Restaurant SmartBrief for job listings. Learn more about featuring your job listings at SmartBrief.

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Not long ago, I was working with a large, regional, all-you-can-eat chain — a chain that devoted $1 million to research why people came to them. They would then use the research and revelations to attract new customers. You know what they found? They learned that people came to them, for (million-dollar drum roll, please) freedom of choice!

Really?

Who would’ve thought that Middle America went to an all-you–can-eat buffet for the all-you-can-eat buffet?

Seems to me that there are better ways to spend a million dollars. Seems to me that a lot of organizations keep searching to find out what they are not, instead of deeply branding into the American psyche what they actually are.

Why does everyone want to be someone else?

If food purveyors just gave their devoted repeaters one more weekly or monthly reason to repeat, most would be golden. How about working on a little loyalty instead of lunging for the target du jour?

From the agency side, the hardest thing to get clients to realize is who they are and who they are not. Who is attracted to them and why? Who won’t give them the time of day? (Why does everything relate back to high school?)

Lots of money is tossed away chasing rainbows instead of encouraging repeat business.

As a veteran in the agency world, and as someone who has collaborated with a number of restaurants in my tenure, my advice is to spend some time in your own restaurants. Getting that first-hand, quality research is more advantageous and valuable than observing focus groups while you stuff yourself with stale crackers and bad chocolate.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not slamming research. It’s a known fact that most things that have tested well in research have worked well in the marketplace. But really, it doesn’t take much more than common sense to realize that foodies aren’t going to flock to buffets and that buffet lovers are looking at prices before anything au poivre.

I love the restaurant business. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting in one of my client’s restaurants on a Monday or Tuesday night observing a full house and knowing I helped pack them in.

And I love restaurants. All restaurants: from drive-thru-tacos-for-under-a-buck joints to dine-in-at-the-peril-of-your-monthly-mortgage eateries. But I’m not normal and I live in Chicago (which is kind of like saying the same thing). I am lucky enough to have all of those options at my disposal — sometimes right next to each other — so I savor them all.

But in other places, people either don’t have many restaurant choices or they choose not to patronize them. Most folks have a few go-to places for specific occasions. They like what they like. And lot of them don’t like what you’re serving. For a ton of reasons. So let them go. Focus on your objectives.

Treat your lovers like, well lovers. Just keep giving them more reasons to keep loving you.

The Beatles were right. All you do need is love. That and a decent price point.

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Image credit: narvikk, via iStockphoto

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Chicken prices take wing

About 63% of consumers planning Super Bowl parties plan to serve wings, and, despite record-high prices, Americans will consume about 1.25 billion wings — enough to circle the earth twice, with some left over, according to the National Chicken Council. Wholesale chicken-wing prices from Georgia producers increased 52% in the past year, and consumption and price typically peak in the first three months of the year, largely driven by the big game, Bloomberg reported.

“Chickens only have two wings, so when the supply declines, the price will rise because demand is relatively inelastic,” Poultry Perspective economist Paul Aho said. “People really want wings, and the recession doesn’t seem to have an effect on demand.”

Pizza chains prepare

About 61% of football fans plan to serve pizza, and Domino’s expects to sell about 11 million slices during the Super Bowl, according to Pizza Marketplace, which ran a roundup of national chains’ game-day specials.

Papa John’s Pizza will give away a large pizza and a 2-liter Pepsi Max to Papa’s Rewards members, but only if fans correctly choose the winner of the coin toss.

Pizza Hut has a simpler offer: a pizza of any size, crust and topping for $10.

Naked Pizza invited customers to post photos of themselves wearing clothes but “living naked,” and the winner gets five free pizzas along with salad and sticks to serve during the game.

Chefs face off

Unless you run a sports bar or your restaurant will host a Super Bowl party, it’s likely business will be down Sunday. OpenTable typically books half of the number of reservations on game day that it does the Sunday before and after, The New York Times reported. “It’s a great night to get into a hot restaurant,” said Drew Nieporent, founder of Myriad Restaurant Group, which operates Tribeca Grill and Nobu New York. “It’s not a great day for a restaurateur.”

So, fine-dining chefs from New England and New York won’t be serving pizza and wings Sunday, but a handful of them still have a lot riding on the outcome of the game. Food & Wine’s Mouthing Off blog reported on the Super Bowl Restaurant Smackdown, in which Jamie Bissonnette of Boston’s Toro and Coppa; Tiffani Faison of Sweet Cheeks; Matt Jennings of Farmstead and La Laiterie Bistro in Providence, R.I.; and Gabriel Frasca of Straight Wharf Restaurant and Provisions face off against New York chefs and Giants fans Harold Dieterle of Perilla Restaurant and Kin Shop; Lee Anne Wong of Vynl; and Michael Ferraro of Delicatessen. Fans of the losing team will dress in the winning team’s colors and wear either a Statue of Liberty hat or a lobster hat for a week, and they will serve up a special dish in honor of the winning team.

How are you preparing for the big game? Tell us in the comments.

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Saving energy with a multipronged approach

Campbell Soup saved $500,000 in utility costs with an efficiency initiative at a plant in California, where it reduced electricity and water usage per pound of product by 4.85% and 13.45% respectively, and total waste at the site was cut by 860 tons. The success was attributed to a metering system, a recycling program and lower-flow water nozzles. Another $500,000 will be saved each year using a heat-recovery system and a hot water generation system.

Cutting carbon through natural refrigeration

One of Kraft Foods‘ refrigerated-storage facilities is located in a natural limestone cave near Springfield, Mo., and it uses 65% less energy than conventional storage sites. The natural insulation is just one benefit — Kraft also has saved 1,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 180,000 gallons of fuel and 1 million trucking miles each year.

Partnering with customers to green the supply chain

Saving 900,000 gallons of diesel fuel in 2009, Bumble Bee Foods makes the best use of its truck and container loads and uses intermodal transportation when available. By partnering with its customers, the food maker is able to arrange direct-from-plant deliveries and schedule customer pickup and fixed-day delivery, which decreases the number of trucks on the road. Another benefit: Bumble Bee avoided more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.

How waste becomes a valuable resource

A Nestle beverage-manufacturing site in Freehold, N.J., works with a fireplace log maker to avoid waste and save energy. Spent coffee grounds are made into fire logs, which create fewer emissions and also a stream of revenue for the food company. Another example: More than 88% of Kroger stores participate in the retailer’s Perishable Donations Partnership, which donates food that is beyond the sell-date but still safe to eat. Through this partnership last year, 33 million meals were donated to local food banks.

Rethinking processes to save water

Dole Food has reduced its water use by 90% in the remote areas of the Philippines with Mobile Banana Processors, which eliminated the need for pools of water to clean the fruit and completed the activities in the field. More cost-efficient processes, less noise and humidity and a lower overall carbon footprint were other benefits to the new process.

“Food, beverage and consumer products companies have a longstanding commitment to improving the lives of consumers, and that includes environmental stewardship,” said GMA President and CEO Pamela Bailey in a news release. “This report showcases not only the considerable progress GMA members are making towards greener facilities, supply chains and products, but also the innovation and creativity that has made this progress possible.”

Share your company’s successes in the comments.

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I frequently hear from restaurants whose No. 1 problem is retaining and attracting employees. Yet, they never seem to have a solid plan for retaining good employees and attracting recruits. Let’s discuss some ideas about a strategic plan for retaining current employees. Here are two strategies that I have found successful: confidential employee surveys and employee evaluations.

Confidential employee surveys

Employees have great ideas. Usually managers and owners fall short and just never ask. Or, they might cordially ask, “How is it going?” But are they really getting honest, candid answers? The answer is no. Employees will not “be honest” unless they can remain anonymous with their suggestions and opinions.

Employees need to have a safe environment to deliver feedback through a confidential survey. After the survey is compiled, owners and managers have to be willing to “look in the mirror” and see what the employees see and be mature enough to make the necessary changes to move forward.

Sometimes the news is grand, and sometimes it’s like a kick in the teeth. But by taking employees’ input, and by applying small yet meaningful changes, you instantly receive employees’ attention, and productivity and retention soar.

Employee evaluations

In my many discussions with management, I always ask them how often they conduct employee evaluations. Answers usually vary from “we’re working on that” to “what am I recommending?”

The No. 1 reason an employee works for your business is to feel their efforts are of importance. So why not give them constant feedback and coaching? There is nothing an employee despises more than having an annual evaluation where a manager brings up an incident from eight months ago. The employee is helpless to correct and feels beat up after it is all over.

Employees must be evaluated formally after 30, 60 and 90 days on the job. Then they need to be evaluated every six months.

One effective method is to have the employee fill out their evaluation scoring their own performance then submit it to their supervisor prior to the evaluation. Using that approach, the supervisor can compare their own observations with the employee’s perceived performance prior to the meeting.

Your employees are your most valuable assets. And how you treat your employees will be reflected in how they treat your customers.

Resolve in 2012 to make confidential employee surveys and employee evaluations a part of your overall strategic employee plan, and watch your business grow.

Share your experiences in the comments.

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As the Los Angeles Times reported, the issue of loud cellphone talkers at restaurants, a hotly debated issue in recent years, has shifted a bit now that most people have a smartphone. Instead of talking, they’re texting, Googling, Facebooking and otherwise populating the room with beeps and clicks, while other diners snap and send photos of each dish.

Some fine-dining eateries abhor the digital distraction, including Patina, where a request to turn off cellphones in the dining room is printed on the menu. Others accept it as reality, and some even cater to it, according to the Times. Il Covo in Los Angeles provides patrons with small plates for their phones, to keep the gadgets safe from food and drink spills. Others keep iPhone and BlackBerry chargers on hand for guests to use and train servers on the etiquette of approaching diners who are on the phone and how to handle it when phones get in the way of putting plates on the table.

“It’s a busy world now, so it’s hard to tell people to not text when they have so much business going on and so many business dinners,” chef Kerry Simon of Simon L.A. and Simon Restaurant & Lounge at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas told the Times. “What are you going to do? You can’t dictate to diners how to behave.”

Make it a game

Blogger Brian Perez has nothing against digital technology, but he’s over it at the dinner table, New York’s Daily News reported. Perez created a game aimed at getting people to put down their phones and converse face to face during meals. Players put their phones in a pile at the start of a meal, and the first one to touch a phone before the check comes must pick up the tab. What started as a joke quickly gained in popularity after Perez posted it on his website on New Year’s Eve.

Even nature’s call doesn’t stop digital communication

Consumers aren’t using digital devices only in the dining room. A recent survey found that multitasking Americans don’t stop taking calls even when nature calls. Three-quarters of men and women said they’ve used their cellphones in the bathroom: 63% said they’ve taken a call, and 61% said they’ve made a call, TechJournal reported.

Does your restaurant encourage, discourage or ignore digital distractions in the dining room? Tell us in the comments.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

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Rosendale is the executive chef of The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., where he specializes in serving classic dishes with impeccable presentation. The Pennsylvania native has trained extensively in Europe and in 2010 was awarded the title of Certified Master Chef. He returned to Bocuse d’Or USA this year after taking second place in 2008.

The other finalists – Bill Bradley, Danny Cerqueda and Jeffrey Lizotte — also boast impressive culinary backgrounds. Bradley is a chef instructor at Massachusetts’ prestigious Le Cordon Bleu; Cerqueda works as an executive sous chef at the Carolina Country Club in Raleigh, N.C.; and Lizotte is a chef at ON2O in Hartford, Conn.

The Bocuse d’Or competition was founded in 1987 by legendary French chef Paul Bocuse. The U.S. has been represented at Bocuse d’Or since the 1980s, but it was not until 2009 that the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation was established, with the goal of nurturing U.S. culinary talent and emphasizing the importance of competing internationally. Paul Bocuse’s son, Jerome, serves as vice president of the foundation’s board of directors. The younger Bocuse is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in New York, where the competition is held each year. The CIA recently named Bocuse Alumnus of the Year during an event in which the school named his father Chef of the Century.

Although an American has never won Bocuse d’Or, Jerome Bocuse is confident that a victory is near for the U.S. “You will see an American chef on the podium [as the winner] in Lyon very soon,” he said.

Gavin Kaysen, who is charge of training Rosendale for the January 2013 competition, was the U.S. representative at the 2007 Bocuse d’Or, where he came in 14th. Also assisting with Rosendale’s training are renowned chefs Grant Achatz and Gabriel Kreuther. “The training process … it’s kind of crazy … You’re putting everything into the game, and you’re surrounded by people that coach you, that judge you, that push you to extreme boundaries,” Kreuther told The Wall Street Journal, comparing the intense training to that of a top athlete.

The next regional Bocuse d’Or competition will be Bocuse d’Or Europe, scheduled March 20 and 21 in Brussels. Twelve European finalists will be selected from 20 competing nations.

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