Want to Know the History of Chafing Dishes? #FoodBusinessReference
Chafing dishes have been around for millennia and are a sort of indoor barbecue set in the form of charcoal-burning braziers and, possibly, the forerunner to the fondue set. Beautifully crafted bronze chafing dishes were found in the ruins of Pompeii, showing they were in during the first century AD. They were highly prized by the Romans at their lavish banquets and later mentioned in historical letters dating to 1520, when the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes, described to Charles V their profuse usage for keeping plates and dishes warm during sumptuous banquets for hundreds of gormandizing noblemen at the height of the Aztec empire. The sixteenth century baroque painter, Diego Velazquez, portrayed a woman preparing a meal of eggs in a chafing dish and Louis XV's kitchens used them to keep the dainty dishes for the epicurean courtiers piping hot. By the seventeenth century this form of cookware was being documented in household inventories in America.
Velasquez's chafing dish appears to be earthenware, but silver chafing dishes used as plate-warmers were mentioned during the reign of Queen Anne, at the end of the seventeenth century. It was George II, around the middle of the eighteenth century, who had the foresight to put handles on the chafing dishes, which must have made life so much easier for the cooks and scullery maids of the time! The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, exhibits a gleaming copper chafing dish with brass fittings dating to circa 1895. Copper is an ideal metal because it is hard-wearing and conducts heat evenly while the brass handles remain cool enough to lift and move around.
In the 1950s the hostess trolley was designed. This was essentially a large chafing dish (or series of dishes) on wheels in a wooden surround to imitate a piece of furniture. It was thought to liberate women from the kitchen, enabling her to prepare food in advance and keep it warm, while she entertained the guests along with her husband. These fell out of fashion relatively quickly as the penchant for formal dining declined along with tastes for food left standing on a hot plate for several hours! With the demise in popularity of the hostess trolley came the revival of the chafing dish, more versatile, space-saving, portable and attractive than the great wooden tiered hearse for plates.
Nowadays a silver chafing dish (or at least, silver plated) is a popular accessory to any dinner table, catering or hotels and restaurants, it cost as little as $15.00. Different countries offers different price and brand. And whether your taste runs to Princess House Fantasia collectibles or traditional silver salver serving trays, there will be a chafing dish out there to match your decor and tastes and make entertaining friends for dinner just that little bit easier for you.
5 Great Websites for Grill Recipes #FoodBusinessReference
You have found the perfect grill, selected the tools you want to use when grilling and chosen a reason to fire up your new grill. The new burning question on your mind is "What should I cook?" There are many, many websites on the internet that have barbeque recipes and searching through all of them is time consuming. Listed below are five fantastic websites that you will find yourself going to time and time again for culinary inspiration. Peruse the sites yourself and add them to your favorites. You will not be sorry that you did.
1.) www.foodnetwork.com
This particular website has a specific tab located at the top of the home page that concerns all things grilling related. Alton Brown offers a crash course on barbeque basics, including a video called "How to Grill Like a Pro." If you are already familiar with the basic aspects of cooking on a grill, you can skip that part and head right to Bobby Flay's section that includes his ten best recipes. The website includes different toppings for hotdogs and choosing vegetables that are in season to keep your meals fresh and interesting. If you are tired of the same old pasta salads that you have been making for years, the site offers 100 pasta salad recipes as well. Food Network's site is full of fun and inspirational techniques and recipes to keep you grilling all year long.
2.) www.womansday.com
There is a tab at the top of the homepage that is labeled "Food and Recipes" If you click on this tab, you will be brought to a page that has a search box for the recipes. Typing "Grill" into the search section yields 78 results. The recipes include everything from chicken to grilled banana splits. This is a versatile site that is user friendly.
3.) www.goodhousekeeping.com
At the upper right hand side of this site there is a search engine. You can choose to search the whole site or simply the recipes by clicking on the recipes tab over the search box. Simply typing the word "barbeque" into the search field yielded 584 recipes. Paula Deen has recipes on the website as well as the Barefoot Contessa. There is also an advanced search option that allows the user to select the different ingredients that they want to use. For example, clicking on the boxes for "beef", "all vegetables" and burgers brings up 19 results to choose from. This is a great way to use what you already have to prepare a fun meal.
4.) www.bbqrecipesecrets.com
This website is run by Barbeque Bob Quinn and is brimming with information on all things barbeque. There are sauce recipes, food recipes, articles and videos. This is a fantastic page and includes recipes such as a tomato less barbeque sauce, barbequed duck and many other inventive and interesting recipes.
5.) www.recipes.com
This is a recipe search engine that will direct you to many other sites online. They are sponsored websites so the results of the search word "grilling" will bring you to sites such as Hebrew National and Kraft as well as specific websites devoted to grilling. This is a great site to use to add to your recipe collection, but to find what you want may take some time due to having so many choices of links to explore.
Wherever you begin your search for the perfect barbeque recipes, you will definitely find a plethora of options on any of these five sites. The most difficult part will be which technique to try first.
Opening A Restaurant - 7 Vital Tips To Help You Start Your Restaurant On The Correct Path #FoodBusinessReference
Opening a restaurant is a dream for many budding restaurateurs. If you want your restaurant venture to be successful then it is vital for you to know what you would require exactly to ensure a huge popularity. You think establishing a restaurant is all fun and excitement, but what you must know is that it is also extremely tiring and a stressful job. Below are seven important tips on how to start a restaurant that will help you ensure you a roaring success.
Tip#1 - Finance
You will have to prepare a proper budget and see the correct amount you will need to establish a restaurant. How would you get this amount, you can consider taking a bank loan or also talking to your investors. To make a proper budget, you will have to take into account the expenses on food, taxes, leases, staff, legal fess etc. you have to determine how you will be able to pay the loan back every month. The money lender or the bank would want to see your business plan; therefore it is advisable to make a proper business plan before hand. This will ensure the loan provider about your success. Bank or a money lender would want to know if they are making a right investment to help you opening a restaurant.
Tip#2 - Experience
If you want to establish and manage a restaurant then you will require certain experience for it. You would need to know all the aspects of accounting, advertising and promotion, managing staff and inventory management.
Tip#3 - Theme of the restaurant
You have to construct a restaurant around a theme. A particular theme would always attract the crowd towards you. For instance, you could begin a Chinese specialty restaurant or a Mediterranean restaurant. Make sure that you are opening a restaurant that is unique. The uniqueness of you restaurant can be your USP!
Tip#4 - Obtaining a permit
You will require a lot of permits when you are opening a restaurant like the alcohol license, building permit, zoning permit, health permit etc.
Tip#5 - Supplies for your restaurant
You will have to design and decorate your restaurant. This will include buying furniture, and other accessories, lights, cutlery, glasses etc. to do this you can seek a help of an expert interior designer and get your restaurant designed as per your theme.
Tip#6 - Menu
Food is vital for any restaurant and a successful menu will always get you applause. The menu should be in compliance with the theme of your restaurant. Always serve your food fresh and do not keep your customers waiting for too long. Make a menu that will attract your customers. The pricing is also vital; the pricing must be moderate if you want to establish a good base on the start.
Tip#7 - Kitchen and waiting staff
Ensure that you are hiring professional chefs for your kitchen and also look into the cooking personally. Hire the waiting staff that has a good experience. They will know the right politeness and courtesy for your customers.
The success in opening a restaurant really depends on all the above stated tips. If you follow them I am sure that your restaurant will be a roaring success!
Source: Ray Freeman
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