• Shari's Restaurants tip of the week:
• Visit Shari's Restaurants January & February 2007 and Support ProStart!
• 2007 NRAEF Summer Institutes
  

Shari's Restaurants tip of the week: The Perfect Plate

A picture is worth a thousand words. People eat with their eyes. If it looks good, it tastes good.

It’s not enough to just prepare food correctly— restaurant guests expect it to look good too! In today’s market of ever-increasing competition, this is one area where restaurants can really shine.

Here are some tips from Shari's Restaurants: Arrange the food so that it fills up the plate, this is especially important for platters. Always use the correct plate size and spread the food out. Cook the food the proper amount of time; for example, hash browns should be golden brown, omelettes should be lemon yellow but cooked thoroughly, and bacon should be crisp with all the fat rendered out.

Garnish each plate with a good sized, fresh sprig of parsley. Use the proper garnishes, sprinkle paprika over country gravy, parsley and paprika on plain mashed potatoes, cheese and ingredients on top of omelettes. In other words, make the plate colorful.

Make sure there is not excess oil on the plate. If the item is pictured on the menu or table tent, ask yourself if your plate looks like the picture.

Place sandwiches so that the cut side is facing the guest.

Wipe your fingerprints and gravy drips from the plate rim.

Ladle gravy and sauces over products, don’t drown them.

Visit Shari's Restaurants January & February 2007 and Support ProStart!
Proceeds from certain menu items donated to ProStart

Shari's Restaurants, located throughout the Pacific, are featuring several menu items at their Oregon locations that will result in proceeds being donated to ProStart. Vicki Irish, who sits on the Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation Board, and is the Vice President of Human Resources & Workforce at Shari's, was interested in expanding the restaurant chain's support of ProStart and also creating awareness among their customers of this school-to- career program in 44 high schools around Oregon. As a result, Shari's is showcasing ProStart on their menus and featuring specific items whose proceeds will be donated directly to ProStart. This opportunity will be raising public awareness of the program and further illustrates Shari's Restaurants as a proud supporter of the future of the hospitality industry workforce in Oregon. For a list of Shari's Restaurants in Oregon, please visit:

http://www.sharis.com

2007 NRAEF Summer Institutes

For the last 6 years, restaurant management and culinary arts educators from across the nation have experienced the NRAEF Summer Institutes, weeklong intensive workshops delivered by industry experts. The goal of the NRAEF Summer Institutes is to provide educators with a forum to learn cutting-edge skills, which they can then take back to the classroom and teach their students to prepare them for a rewarding career in the restaurant and foodservice industry. In this dynamic and interactive environment, educators have the opportunity to:

Earn restaurant/foodservice instructor certification
Secure academic credits and CEU's (at select institutions)
Learn from faculty composed of nationally recognized content experts
Accrue great networking opportunities
Participate in best practices forums
Tour restaurants and foodservice facilities
Receive classroom materials

To learn more about these programs, check out the schedules and find out costs, please visit the following website:

http://www.nraef.org/prostart/t eachers/development/institutes.asp