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Bret Thorn

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  • 2 min

New on the Menu: Squash tortelloni and Guinness stew

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, covers food and beverage trends and oversees F&B coverage. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast. Columnist for The New York Sun (2005-2008). In Thailand (1992-1997), he wrote business and food articles for Manager magazine and Asia Times. Thorn holds a BA in history from Tufts University (1990), studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (1986), and Chinese language and culture at Peking University (spring 1989) and Nanjing University (fall 1988). He reported for ABC News during the Tiananmen Square protests (1989). His work won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and he was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier (2014). Contact: [email protected]
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Gluten-free, high-protein dosas are growing in popularity on restaurant menus

🥘 Chef Jay Kumar of Lore in Brooklyn, N.Y., creates classic dosas made from a fermented rice and lentil batter with fenugreek, offering a vegan, gluten-free, high-protein meal. Dosas, with a 15% increase on appetizer menus, are on nearly 1% of menus. Lore serves masala dosas and uttapam with a Swiss-inspired mushroom ragout. Tapori, opening in Washington D.C. in January, will feature dosas with innovative fillings like spiced potato and cheese, and curried crab. Dosas are now popular in both South and North India and in Pakistan.
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New on the menu: Artichoke carpaccio and PB&J jello

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, joined in 1999. He hosted the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" and wrote for The New York Sun from 2005 to 2008. A Tufts University magna cum laude graduate, he also studied at Peking University, Nanjing University, and has a Cértificat Elémentaire from Le Cordon Bleu. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, served as the IFEC president in 2005, and was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Email: [email protected]
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Af&co and Carbonate to make annual trend predictions this week

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor, with tenure at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality from 2016, previously wrote for The New York Sun (2005-2008), Manager magazine and Asia Times in Thailand (1992-1997), and was a runner for ABC News in 1989. A magna cum laude Tufts University graduate (1990), a Phi Beta Kappa member, and Le Cordon Bleu-trained, Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and joined the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. His expertise spans food and beverage trends, French and Asian cuisines, and restaurant operations.
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New on the menu: Two seafood stews and fried milk shark

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, has guided F&B trends since 1999. Host of "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" podcast, he covered New York City’s restaurant scene for The New York Sun from 2005-2008. Before that, Thorn worked in Thailand as a writer (1992-1997) and ABC News runner in 1989. He's a Tufts University magna cum laude graduate, a Phi Beta Kappa member, and studied French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. His editorial work earned him the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award and a presidency at IFEC in 2005. Thorn authored food entries for Oxford Encyclopedia (2012) and Oxford Companion (2015), and was inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.
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New on the Menu: crackling pork and titanic shrimp

🍝 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation's Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999, also writes for the New York Sun (2005-2008) and previously worked in Thailand as a journalist (1992-1997). He is a Tufts University magna cum laude history graduate (1990), studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (1986), and reported for ABC News during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award, was IFEC president in 2005, and was inducted into the Disciples d'Escoffier in 2014. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
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  • 5 min

Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson traces her career path from corporate America to ‘Queen of Cupcakes’

🍰 Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles and Pizzana, and a TV personality featured on Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" and Netflix's "Sugar Rush," shared her entrepreneurial journey at CREATE: The Event for Emerging Restaurateurs. She authored "Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit," a best-selling book given to conference attendees. Sprinkles, known for its gourmet cupcakes, debuted in Beverly Hills during the low-carb craze and had lines out the door from day one, selling out before noon. After selling Sprinkles to KarpReilly, Nelson opened Pizzana, an artisanal pizza concept with seven locations, and is now expanding through a loyalty program and seeking new investments with CN2 Ventures.
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