"food business" news and stories

Okay, so I don't know for sure if he really is the last milkman in this country, but I'm pretty sure that milkmen are an endangered species. I mean, when was the last time you heard about someone delivering milk to your doorstep (other than Amazon, that is)?

After dedicating 70 years of prompt, friendly, reliable service, 80 year-old Clyde Priest has reluctantly retired from his duty as milkman in Hannibal, MO. He began delivering milk at the age of 10, helping his father, and by July 20, the day he retired, he had outlived and out-serviced eight of the dairies that used to provide his products.

If it weren't for an emergency appendectomy in June, Priest probably would have kept on delivering, since he says he "loved every minute of it."

His customers trusted him so much that he would put their dairy purchases directly into in their refrigerators when they weren't home.

We need more people like Clyde Priest in this country.

Charlotte Church, the "voice of an angel" and accomplished classical singer, is entering the restaurant business. She has recently made an offer for a restaurant known as the Old Post Office in St. Fagans, outside Cardiff, Wales, where she is originally from. Despite the name, the Old Post Office is a fine dining restaurant that is up-to-date on modern trends. Ms. Church has often admitted to a preference for junk foods, that that does not seem to have put her off the cuisine of the restaurant, whose menu features dishes such as "Terrine of ham hock & foie gras and pear with gazpacho," "Roast fillet of dorade on olive oil creamed potato with a wild mushroom cappuccino" and, for dessert, "Vanilla and peppercorn parfait." The trend of using flavored foams is evident in the kitchen with their "wild mushroom cappuccino" side.

The offer was accepted and the restaurant sale is expected to go through within the next month.

Source

Just when I thought there wasn't enough room for yet another Mexican fast food place, Chipotle opened up in my neighborhood right alongside Taco Bell (which is nasty, but the original), Del Taco, El Pollo Loco, Baja Fresh, La Salsa, Rubio's, and Wahoo's.

But Chipotle didn't just blend in with the lot of them. They had a twist. Chipotle went beyond Baja Fresh's menu of no microwave ovens nor can openers, and served a very simple menu, with ingredients in front of you, sort of like a hybrid of In n Out's minimalistic menu and Subway sandwich artistry before your eyes. I went a Chipotle kick for about six months, but got bored a little with a rather narrow menu.

Now, the business, which launched in 1993, has just gone public, and the founder, Steve Ells, has found himself worth $44 million (share prices doubled on IPO day). Ells originally thought the fast-food burrito place would be the "cash cow" to fund his dream of opening a high-end restaurant after studying at the CIA and cooking at Stars in San Francisco. Ha. He could probably buy a restaurant or a half-dozen now.

Who knew a little dried pepper could be worth $44 million?