Revenue Management

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, covers food and beverage trends. He hosts the podcast "In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn" and wrote for "The New York Sun" from 2005-2008. Thorn joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999, Restaurant Hospitality in 2016, and lived in Thailand for about five years writing for "Manager" magazine and "Asia Times." A Tufts University graduate (magna cum laude, 1990) and member of Phi Beta Kappa, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu and was in Beijing for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Thorn won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award, was IFEC president in 2005, and contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (2nd edition, 2012) and Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (2015). Inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014, he's from Denver and resides in Brooklyn.

🍸 The early 2000s cocktail renaissance continues, with bartenders using savory ingredients like cilantro in drinks. Empirical Spirits in Brooklyn, N.Y., launched a cilantro spirit last fall with 38% alcohol volume, made from French wheat, cilantro stems and leaves, lime, and tomatillo. Lolita in New York City offers the No Güey using Empirical’s cilantro spirit and sotol. Dear Strangers, which opened in November in Greenwich Village, features cilantro in the Star Treatment cocktail. The trend extends to international locations like NoMad London with their best-selling Sergeant Pepper cocktail and Licorería Limantour in Mexico City with an Al Pastor Margarita. Despite cilantro's divisive taste, its use in cocktails is growing.

🏨 Hidden costs can undermine hotel profits; this article suggests implementing expert cost-saving strategies to streamline operations, reduce expenses, and increase revenue. No specific numbers or statistical data provided. Published on February 17, 2025, by Akanksha Mohapatra, the article emphasizes the importance of smart strategies to avoid hidden costs in hotels.

💸 Inflation rose 0.5% in January, annual rate at 3%. Costs driven by shelter, energy, gasoline, food. Overall food index up 0.4%, food at home +0.5%, away +0.2%. Year-over-year, food prices increased: overall +2.5%, at home +1.9%, away +3.4%. Egg prices surged 15.2%, the largest monthly jump since June 2015. The gap between grocery and restaurant price increases was the narrowest since April 2023, yet grocery stores maintained a 150-basis-point advantage over the historical average of 70-basis-points, impacting restaurant sales in 2024. Menu pricing increased 3.4% year-over-year, equalling the 23-year average. Companies like McDonald’s and Brinker observed easing inflation, with Brinker's food and beverage costs improving by 20 basis points year-over-year.

🍴 Briar at Number One Bruton, led by Sam Lomas, earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand just four months after opening. The Somerset restaurant, praised for its exceptional value and quality, showcases simple, seasonal, farm-to-fork dining. Lomas, a former River Cottage chef and Great British Menu contestant, focuses on local produce. Briar has been shortlisted for "Chef to Watch" and "New Restaurant of the Year" at the Good Food Guide Awards, and listed in Squaremeal’s Top 100. Owners Claudia Waddams and Aled Rees partnered with Lomas for Briar, which replaced the Michelin-starred Osip at their hotel.

🍴 Bohemia Restaurant at The Club Hotel & Spa retains its Michelin star for the 21st consecutive year, a feat matched by only 19 other UK restaurants. Head Chef Callum Graham, having led the team for five years, celebrates this honor. Bohemia is the sole Channel Island restaurant with a Michelin star, known for its modern European menu with fresh Jersey and French ingredients. The Michelin ceremony's personal significance is heightened for Graham, being held in Kelvingrove, near his birthplace, East Kilbride. The Huggler Group plans to commemorate 21 years of exceptional dining at Bohemia.

🍴 COJE Management Group, since 2010, runs successful restaurants in downtown Boston and Seaport District with diverse cuisines. CEO Chris Jamison and co-founder Mark Malatesta, who opened their first venue in 2010, now boast eight concepts and nine restaurants. Yvonne's, opened in 2015, replaced the historic Locke-Ober space. Chef Tom Berry joined as culinary director and COJE's management is mostly promoted internally. COJE's portfolio includes Ruka, Lolita, Mariel, Cuban-themed Underground, Coquette, Cocorico, nightclub Caveau, and Mr. H, with a new Sicilian restaurant under construction. COJE focuses on experiential dining with meticulous attention to detail, targeting mostly local customers.

🥚 Salted egg yolks, a Chinese and Southeast Asian staple, are gaining popularity in U.S. restaurants as a unique flavoring in various dishes. Market research from Datassential shows a 71% increase in menu appearances over four years, now at 0.5%. However, among the U.S. population, while 50% are aware of salted egg yolks, only 23% have tasted them. The trend reflects a rising interest in indulgent, umami-rich flavors.

🥒 Dukkah, an Egyptian seasoning blend, is gaining popularity in the US with a 35% increase in restaurant menu presence over four years, particularly in independent and fine-dining venues. Market research from Datassential reveals 14% of the US population, mostly Gen Z, recognizes dukkah. It's creatively used in salads, soups, as a protein coating, and as garnish on avocado toast.