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36 FEDA News & Views As our economy starts to revive and reorganize and the new "as is" state materializes, it is important for us to notice how things have landed after tumbling downhill for three or four years. The ideas that have ended up on top of the pile are worth looking at in a more thorough way as we try to discover what the continued effects may be. Here are a few top issues from my perspective. Sugar is the New Salt Watch out beverage world, here is the wave that will take us into the pleasures of liquid flavor. The beverage program is still profitable, while adding an opportunity for variety to be demonstrated in a way that proves differentiation. The concepts to explore are endless and the need for equipment systems plentiful. The point being, as the world converges to control the overuse of sugar, beverages stand as an open target. As soda systems move from the front and center position and begin taking a back seat to less sugary options, dis- play wares for these new products and service systems to support new concoctions will be required. Attractive juicers, blenders and display machines to make better beverages (and show them off) are on the horizon, allowing our operators to market their newly crafted liquid deli- ciousness. Labor Concerns Unemployment? Where are the people who need jobs? I hear it all the time and I have been around the country speaking with all types of establishments and organizations from colleges to healthcare, to restaurants, and hotels and NAFEM members. The search for qualified labor is on and it is a competitive game to attract them. As chefs, employers, managers or who- ever holds the reigns over your company's labor force, it is incumbent upon us to create the environments that entice the best employees. Hot, humid kitchens are rapidly disappear- ing and giving way to the smoothly designed, air-conditioned workplaces that they should be. Thinking of the day-to-day stress of these environments and the jobs they house, the support they are required to deliver, presents the opportunity to change the way we do business, create these spaces that facilitate productivity and keep the best people comfortable while they toil tirelessly at a thankless task. Authenticity with Creativity State of the art cooking equipment is coming onto the mar- ket that captures the flavors of fire and smoke in the cooking chamber and allows the user to precisely adjust the intensity of both. The result is a highly controllable item that can repro- duce the most authentic flavors of many traditional cooking practices. As the globe shrinks, and our customers better understand the differentiation of craft and quality as related to value, being able to better control our cooking processes in a precise fashion is critical. Resource Management Care for the environment, particularly in high-consum- ing areas like kitchens, is on the forefront. As we speak, there are so many busi- nesses looking to lower their carbon footprint for all the right rea- sons, from ventless equipment sav- ing on every- thing from cleaning costs to utility bills. This equates to a movement toward making our kitchens much more responsive to needs and uses, rather than very gen- eral purpose huge power mongers that simply are there when you need them. It challenges chefs and operators to be better at conceptual planning and to think through the operation, the facility design and how people will work within the given environment. The great news is that we have plenty of new frontiers to explore, capture and conquer. I am sure as we all look to the next few years, we can identify with the ideas of fighting for our business, being better than the next guy, driving our busi- ness from a thought leadership frame of mind and realizing that at the end of the day, it is all about people. Where Are We in 2014: Foodservice Observations and Trends By Chef Brad Barnes chef@nafem.org