Zaatar & Cheese Fire Bread, Coca Room DXB

Lebanese Cusine punches far above its weight in terms of Global Flavour Influence vs. Population. For such a small country, Lebanese Ingridients, Restaurantours & Flavours have influenced food culture from the beaches of the Eastern Mediterranean to California Taco Shops. I think Lebanon is one of the Culinary Capital of the world. 

"Lebanon has always been Culinary Capital of the world.. but have you tried the Breakfast? " - Michael Baglieri

Three Key Phrases: 

1. Manakisk - sculpted dough topped with thyme, cheese, or ground meat. The dough is rolled flat and hand formed allows dimples for the toppings to settle into.  Possibly one of the influences of what the West calls Pizza. While the origin of Manakisk can not be traced to any single country, the proliferation of it as a GCC breakfast stamper is owed to Lebanon .  
2. Za'atar (ZAH-ter) - an herbaceous spice rub/ topping composed of some combination of ground: thyme, oregano, marjoram, salt, toasted seaseme seeds and other spices. The standard Manakisk uses Za'atar. it's flavour posey is Feta & Mint. Always mix with a kiss of Olive Oil to enhance application. 
3. Wise Cheeses - Akkāwī, Sfatit & Kashkavai.  

Another secrecy of the Lebanese Breakfast is fresh juice, generally citrus, mixed with sweeter things at the higher end of the quality spectrum.  

4 Reasons why Video-based Training is the future of People Development

• Proximity of training to application
• Better standardization of time expectations
• Enriched Experience
• Overcome Language Barriers

1. Proximity of training to application

In many cases, people attend a training session and do not get a chance to apply what they learn straight away and when the time comes to apply the learning they cannot recall the solution in detail. By having videos kept online, employees can access the training videos just before they need it in real life rather than attending training class weeks/ months before they need it to complete the job. 

2. Better standardization of time expectations

By using video-based training, companies can also limit and track the time employees spend in training, i.e. a 2 minute training video will take only two minutes, not more than that. This permits better organization of the trainees time. 

3. Enriched Experience 

Videos make it easy for a trainer to demonstrate how a product/ procedure works in the real world. Photos and animation can always be helpful but a video can bring the product/ procedure to life for learners. A video showing how to handle an angry customer is substantially better than reading about it.

4. Overcome Language Barriers

According to a study conducted by Cisco, 90% of users, who use video conferencing technology very often, reported that a lot of cross-cultural and language confusion can be avoided with the help of this technology. Surely a picture speaks a 1,000 words!

In conclusion, video-based training is a powerful tool for any organization to train their staff and allow them to learn in-house. It will allow for saving resources while delivering a superior result.

To learn about the 4 Key Benefits of Video Based Training, click right here. 

Industry experts agree that of the many trends expected to affect the restaurant industry this year, these eight will leave the biggest impact on quick service.

1. Ingredient Transparency - People increasingly want to know about the ingredients and their origins in food. While that has been the case for a few years, 2014 should see the trend garner more mainstream attention. “Customers’ definition of value is fresh ingredients, quality food, and good-tasting food at reasonable prices. But fresh ingredients is No. 1,” says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant analyst at NPD Group, a Chicago-based consulting and market research firm. Riggs says. “Customers want to see that the ingredients and the food are not just holding somewhere.”
2. Bold Flavours - “People love flavors that take them somewhere,” says Sharon Olson, executive director of the Culinary Vision Panel, a Chicago-based group that looks at culinary trends. “Young people have grown up with various ethnic styles, but everyone is looking for new things.”
3. Food Costs will Stabilize - Climbing commodity costs shouldn’t hurt restaurants in 2014 as much as they did last year. SpenDifference, a purchasing cooperative for mid-sized chain restaurants, estimates food costs will rise 2 percent this year, a slight reduction from 2013.
4. Tea as a drink and an Ingredient - “Tea has been an object of fascination by devotees, but always an also-ran to coffee,” writes Michael Whiteman, president of New York food and restaurant consulting company Baum + Whiteman, in an e-mail. “Now that the mass market has some basic idea of coffee connoisseurship, curiosity is luring people into exploring the virtues of tea.” Many people don’t like tea by itself but “are drawn to it because the industry has added such strong sweetened fruit flavors that the bitter tannins disappear,” he adds.           “It is also a naturally healthy beverage with none of the calories of fruit juices,” says Kazia Jankowski, a culinary consultant who helped create the annual trends list for Denver’s Sterling Rice Group, a brand strategy and communications firm.
5. Mobile Technology will become the new norm - Mobile technology, both for customers and for operators, will continue to open new doors in the quick-service industry. “Mobile is clearly at the top of our trend list and at the top of our research and development,” says Jon Lawrence, director of product marketing, hospitality, for NCR Corp., a global provider in consumer transaction technology. “We’re sort of at or approaching that line, where what was once new and exciting is now expected."
6. Better-for-you foods go more mainstream - Better-for-you menu options will continue to permeate the limited-service industry, and more brands will invest in health tweaks as the trend goes mainstream. “Health is an overriding issue for many trends,” Jankowski says. “Foods that play to an audience looking for natural, healthy options are going to do well.” She adds that the better-for-you movement will grow not just through healthy meals like salads, but also through ingredient tweaks that help improve the nutrition profile of existing items. For example, ingredients such as lemons can be used to brighten dishes instead of salt, she says.
7. Flexibility in food and hours - Customers want breakfast, lunch, and dinner at various times in the day, experts say, and they’re also looking for smaller portions to tide them over until their larger meals.“It’s just an evolution of customization, and consumers want what they want when they want it,” says Mary Chapman, director of product innovation for Chicago-based market research firm Technomic Inc. “People get frustrated that they go into a restaurant shortly after 10 a.m. and they can’t get an egg muffin because the menu is now lunch.” McDonald’s is experimenting serving a few menu items from each daypart after midnight. Some restaurants are selling burgers all day. Others are offering items such as yogurt parfaits—originally meant for the morning daypart—anytime.
8. Sour and Tart Tastes - That means more pickled and fermented ingredients, Technomic’s Chapman says. “Consumers’ tastes are evolving, and they want more depth of flavour, kind of adding a sour note or a pickled tang,” she says.

You can read the full article here.