Archive for August 27th, 2010

Fiddling while Rome burns …

August 27, 2010

How many pundit columns or TV clips have you seen in the past week that have opened with “Nobody begrudges the President with some hard earned R&R”?

OK, I just have to get this off my chest … I begrudge Obama his vacation.

Geez, he’s the POTUS … not Clark Griswald.

Ask any C-level exec if they’ve ever had a vacation cancelled, shortened, or interrupted by urgent company business. 

I’ll bet 100% say they did. I sure did.  Just ask my family.

There’s no more important job than POTUS … and — except for war or a plague — few matters more urgent than an economic meltdown.

According to the AP …

The government is about to confirm what many people have felt for some time: The economy barely has a pulse.

Today, the Commerce Department will revise its estimate for economic growth in the April-to-June period and Wall Street economists forecast it will be cut almost in half, to a 1.4 percent annual rate from 2.4 percent.

That’s a sharp slowdown from the first quarter, and economists say it’s a taste of the weakness to come.

Such slow growth won’t feel much like an economic recovery and won’t lead to much hiring.

The unemployment rate, now at 9.5 percent, could even rise by the end of the year.

Consumers can’t be sure their jobs are safe, with unemployment so high. Business executives don’t know if sales and profits will grow enough to justify adding jobs.

And potential changes to tax laws at the end of this year and other policy reforms also make it hard to plan ahead, economists say.

“People have been overwhelmed by uncertainty.”

High unemployment is making it harder for people to make their mortgage payments and stay in their homes.

About 10% of homeowners have missed at least one mortgage payment this year.

AP, Snapshot of economy about to get a lot bleaker, Aug 27, 2010
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100827/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

Rather than strolling around swanky Martha’s Vineyard showing folks what a cool dude he is, I’d like our POTUS at least acting like he’s engaged on the economic problem.

Whatever happened to “”I will not rest until (fill in the blank)”

Oh, I know that he took time for a conference call with his economic advisers.

Big deal.

The outcome: stimulus was a grand success, staying the course with people and programs, not to worry – the home winterizing credits and solar panel tax incentives are still in play.

Give me a break …

Posted in Economics, Financial Crisis, Obama Administration | 1 Comment »

If they want it their way, “sauce ‘em” …

August 27, 2010

Takeaway:  Restaurants are increasingly using various sauces and dips to provide customers with the ability to construct their own flavor profiles built around existing menu items. 

This modular approach creates customized options without a large incremental increase in cost or delivery time. 

Particularly for Generation Y – the “customize-me” generation – sauces and dips are a point of entry, whereas older consumers simply see them as increments. 

However, to ensure new flavors don’t fizzle out, research and testing are crucial to avoid excess product on hand.

One constant?  Chicken is the most popular core product for sauces and dips at quick-service and fast-casual restaurants.

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Excerpted from QSRMagazine.com, “One Sauce Doesn’t Fit All” By Barney Wolf, August 2010

Using ketchup to dip or slather french fries is a long-established American tradition. The pairing has not only provided consumers with a distinct flavor, but it has given diners the ability to choose how much of the condiment to use, based on their own tastes.

Mass customization allows customers to be involved in making decisions regarding the design of an end product, often by using technology or flexible manufacturing processes.

One early example was Burger King, whose “Have It Your Way” campaign was used to differentiate itself from McDonald’s, the biggest mass burger operator at the time. 

In the late 1970s, McDonald’s was looking for ways to provide consumers with wider choices as a change of pace. He came up with the idea of fried chicken nuggets with dipping sauce.  Mickey D tried more than 100 sauce ideas until barbecue, sweet and sour, and hot mustard sauces were selected. The product, Chicken McNuggets, and its dips in prepackaged cups, went into tests in 1979 and were added to the national menu in 1983.

Sauces have played a valuable role in cuisine for centuries.

In the classical brigade-style kitchen, modernized by noted French chef Auguste Escoffier, the saucier is third in rank behind only the chef de cuisine and sous chef. 

Modern sauces have their roots in the classics,  Even mayonnaise, which we call a dressing, is classically considered a sauce. Mustard goes back to Roman times, and American ketchup was once dubbed a “table sauce.”

The growing interest in international and ethnic cuisine—thanks to media, immigration, and the ease of international travel—combined with bold, ethnic cooking by creative chefs bring many more sauces and dips to the attention of consumers.

Edit by AMW

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Full Article:
http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/features/144/sauce-4.phtml

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Posted in Food & Drink | Leave a Comment »