Who's News in Catering for June 5, 2021

Upcoming Events

Savantis, a leader in deployments of SAP solutions and IT staffing to improve operational efficiencies for midmarket and large enterprises, today announced that Keith Hontz, CEO & President, is scheduled to present at the Wine & Spirits Virtual Fair 2021 (WSVF) on Friday, June 11, 2021 at 1:40 PM ET. The most recognized industry speakers take center stage at WSVF and Hontz will be among them discussing repositioning strategies for the alcohol utilizing Savantis’s Digital Transformation. Free registration for the event is here. From a control state or open market, on- or off-premise, route-to-market, path-to-purchase, intelligent digital commerce, supply chain, last-mile or market enablement, Savantis can help reinvent alcohol beverage businesses for the new economy. 

Hot Off the Presses

Hosting an event at the California Science Center just became tastier – Schaffer is now a preferred caterer at this Exposition Park institution.  Home to Space Shuttle Endeavour and world-class exhibits, California Science Center offers many spaces for small and large events alike.  Our favorite is the versatile indoor/outdoor Wallis Annenberg Building. With 10,000 square feet, you and 500 friends can dine amidst the bamboo in this lush yet industrial space.  Contact the museum here for availability and pricing. 

The ALLIE Awards, a reputable, annual gathering of Atlanta’s leaders in the event and hospitality industry, has recognized Founding Chef Vagn Nielsen of Proof of the Pudding with a 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. Securing the esteemed title with over 50 years of unparalleled culinary creativity and events, Nielsen’s work spans from elegant dinners for former Presidents to large-scale private dinners, conventions, golf tournaments and curated meals and experiences.  Nielsen originally began his career in Copenhagen, Denmark in a six-year training program at a local culinary school, which eventually led him to a four-year apprenticeship at the Hotel Imperial in Copenhagen, one of Europe’s finest hotels, followed by another apprentice at Copenhagen’s Sheraton Hotel. After a year of required military service, Nielsen left Denmark in 1975 on a foreign exchange program that relocated him to Atlanta. He then went on to work as a chef for Midnight Sun restaurant, and five years later, Nielsen entered into a joint partnership to run The Anchorage House in Beaufort, South Carolina, a restored antebellum mansion in the Low-Country specializing in continental cuisine. In 1984, he returned to Atlanta to pursue a role as executive chef before ultimately joining the Proof of the Pudding family as the company’s founding chef. In 2020, Nielsen celebrated an official five decades as a chef.  

Today BLU1877, Barilla’s Venture Group, announced its call for start-ups to participate in the fourth Good Food Makers global accelerator. The program, which launched in 2018 in collaboration with KitchenTown, a San Francisco based incubator, selects a small group of young companies from around the world to work directly with Barilla teams in developing and implementing innovative business solutions. For this cohort the global pasta leader has identified four specific challenges that reflect the trends, technologies, consumer behaviors and values that will shape the future of the food system:

One start-up will be selected for each challenge area and work directly with a custom-built, dedicated team of Barilla experts for 8 weeks to create actionable solutions and implement them in real-time.  The cohort will also receive a $10,000 grant to use during the program to advance its own business growth. 

Products on the Market

The Jolt Print Station, combined with the Jolt cloud based Jolt Label Printing Application, is a fast, reliable solution for label printing, offering a wide variety of label types, such as expiration dates, nutrition facts, grab-and-go, and more. The JPS uses thermal printing, which doesn't require ink and can hold up in hostile environments like a kitchen. The JPS includes a digital display that provides easy access to multiple label templates. Employees can print perfectly accurate labels within seconds, ensuring compliance with brand standards as well as food safety requirements. 

Key players within the industry are recognizing benefits of electric conveyor in the name of speedy cooking, lesser workforce and many more. An altogether new range of electric ovens is seen in the market which narrates the fact that electric conveyor ovens are more likely to surpass gas conveyor ovens during the assessment year 2021-2031. Relative high research & development spending by the key players has been witnessed for introducing conveyors with improved operational flexibility and enhanced technologies. In addition, the demand of conveyor oven claiming less space is more likely to attract small scale food service providers during forecast year. Moreover, increase in demand from the food processing industries are rising demand for conveyor oven. As per the report published by an ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm, the conveyor oven market is anticipated to surpass US$ 137.4 Mn by the end of 2031, and is poised to expand at a CAGR of around 3.7% over the next ten years from 2021-2031.