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Restaurant Daily News 8 3 Sunday, May 21, 2017 TALKING TECH WITH MENUVATIVE Imenutech President Eric Arsenault dis- cusses table side technology in 2017. RDN: With the tech explosion going on in the industry, what has been Imenutech's biggest challenge? EA: The explosion is so overwhelming, restaurateurs struggle to understand the differences between tablet menus, kiosks, mobile POS, gaming platforms and other apps offering new ways to engage peo- ple. We still find ourselves explaining what a digital menu is. RDN: Tell our readers exactly what a digital menu is. EA: If a restaurant introduces a compre- hensive digital menu solution, there shouldn't be a need for a paper menu as well. The new solution should do every- thing the paper menu did except do it bet- ter, more efficiently and be more cost effective. Otherwise it is just an extra expense and another thing to worry about. Guests don't order or pay their bill from a menu. Those solutions should be labeled as kiosks or guest facing POS – aimed at replacing service more than replacing menus. If you look at the restaurants that have adopted such sys- tems, you'll find they still use their tradi- tional menus. While Menuvative has a few extra tricks up its sleeve, it is com- pletely focused on replacing the outdated method of presenting menu information without disrupting the important aspect of service. RDN: How does Menuvative make the menu better, more efficient and cost effective? EA: The menu experience is the most important 5-10 minutes in the dining experience. It's the time of first impres- sions and when guests decide what they will eat, drink and how much money they will spend. This is the optimal time to influence those decisions and market, edu- cate and sell your concept as well as your food and beverage. Most servers fall on the wrong side of the line that divides order takers versus informed sales people. As a presentation tool, paper has its obvi- ous limitations. When 95 percent of peo- ple have a smartphone glued to their hand, it's absurd to try and sell them something from a piece of paper. Tablets are now so inexpensive, digital menus can compete with printed menus on cost alone. Once you add the abilities to visually sell menu items, provide more descriptive and informative language, recommend wine or beer pairings, integrate promotions, elimi- nate clutter and real-time editing so you can respond instantly to out of stocks and price changes, you have a menu that is more effective and profitable. RDN: Where does Menuvative fit best? EA: Restaurants with high menu costs or upsell opportunity. Steakhouses and seafood restaurants were our early focus, but our clients now span the country and range from small town bar and grills to award- winning fine dining. We've learned suc- cess is determined more by the operator than the concept. Savvy operators who understand the eco- nomics of running a restaurant will gain the most. For more information, go to www.imenutech.com or stop by booth #6170. CARLA'S PASTA RECOGNIZED FOR HIGH SAFETY STANDARDS & BEST PRACTICES By Ashley Biel, Project Manager, Carla's Pasta, Inc. Quality assurance at Carla's is verified by independent audits and FDA and USDA inspections. We have earned the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards for Food Safety Certification in recognition of our high safety stan- dards and best practices in food produc- tion for six years in a row earning an 'AA' mark. We source only the most techno- logically advanced "washdown" equip- ment that produces pasta in the classic Italian method: laminated pasta giving the proper density and texture. The equipment also allows for diverse fill- ing profiles delivered in a consistent fashion. A clean process needs a clean envi- ronment. Our manufacturing facility has been built as a 'clean by design' facility: insulated metal panel walls sitting on stainless steel curbs, walk-on ceilings, cleanable HVAC and controlled "U" process flow. We oper- ate using a fuel cell that provides more than 50 percent of our power as well as emergency back-up, in addition to being an ultra-low emission power source. The fuel cell generates more elec- tricity using less fuel with an unparal- leled electrical power generation effi- ciency of 47 percent. Heat generated in operation is captured and used for pro- cessing or building heat resulting in less dependency on the electrical grid. It emits low CO 2 and virtually zero pollu- tants into the atmosphere. Carla's also recently completed a cooker modification which enhances the cooking capabilities by 15 percent and reduces the water usage by 10 percent over a year's period. The redesigning also reduced the water usage for cleaning by sanitation crews by 5 percent. Along with energy and water reduction, Carla's is also conscientious of waste reduction. The packaging is reusable and recycla- ble. The company constantly monitors current practices while searching for new and innovative ways to keep pack- aging as environmentally friendly as possible. For more information, visit www .carlaspasta.com, call 860.436.4042, email abiel@carlaspasta.com or stop by booth #707. AWARD-WINNING INDUCTION COOKTOP FROM PANASONIC PROVIDES OPTIMAL COOKING CONTROL Panasonic has been awarded the Kitchen Innovations ® 2017 Award presented by the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show ® for its Met-ALL Induction Cooktop (KY- MK3500). One of the new and most important features of the Met-ALL Induction Cooktop is the IR sensors embedded beneath the cooktop's glass surface. While IR sensors are nothing new for induction cooking, these sensors bring something entirely new to the table. By more accurately reading the temperature of the cookware's interior rather than exterior, they provide the user with far greater control of cooking heat and any adjustments that need to be made. This groundbreaking technology from Panasonic gives chefs an incredible level of precision. Additionally, the new Met-ALL Induction Cooktop can automatically adjust its temperature output for certain foods, using the cook- top's memory feature. Different food items can be programmed into the cooktop, which will then pre- pare the food depend- ing on its individual specifications. The IR sensors can even detect if additional items have been added to the cooking vessel, and adjust accordingly to main- tain optimal cooking performance. Another exciting facet of these new IR sensors is their ability to detect how much food is in the cooking vessel, and thus how much temperature needs to be distributed across the cookware's sur- face. This allows for even cooking at exactly the same temperature for the entirety of the pot or pan. Instead of a flame that only provides heat at the center of a cooking vessel, Panasonic's Met- ALL Induction Cooktop heats up the whole surface, providing consistent cooking for all of the food being pre- pared. Chefs looking to recreate the same dish time and time again can look to this depend- able cooktop for reliability in cooking performance. The new IR sensors com- bined with the memory feature provide an ease of use that will make chefs much more comfortable while preparing multi- ple dishes at the same time. Visit Panasonic at NRA booth #6040 and in the Kitchen Innovations Pavilion. For more information, call 815.341.4639 or visit www.panasonic.com/cmo.