Industry Headlines
April 04, 2012

Read Pizza Today on Your iPad or Android Tablet!

Guess which magazine is the very first foodservice trade publication on the Apple newsstand? That’s right, Pizza Today. (And it’s FREE!)

“We’re the clear-cut leaders in the foodservice trade sector, and we pride ourselves on innovation,” says Pizza Today editor-in-chief Jeremy White. “I could not possibly be more excited. To bring our magazine to life on tablets — both the iPad and Android devices alike — has been a goal of mine for nearly a year now.”

To download the free Pizza Today iPad app, go to the App store on your iPad and search “Pizza Today.” Or go to the newsstand store and look for Pizza Today in the new releases and featured apps section.

If you’re on an Android tablet, go to the Android Market/Google Play store and click on “Apps.” Search “Pizza Today.”

So much can be done on tablets, from a magazine’s perspective. For example, you’ll notice that if you click on some of the photos on the iPad or Android version of Pizza Today, an embedded video automatically plays. Talk about taking interactive publishing to the next level!

“There’s no doubt that tablets are changing the publishing world,” says White. “Right now, we have a hand in publishing’s future. As a Pizza Today reader, you’re going to have a hand in it as well. We want and need your feedback. We want you to help us paint this blank canvas. Together, we’ll take this magazine where you need it to go as a reader. It’s not our magazine — it’s yours. That will be more evident than ever when you read it on your tablet.”

To read editor Jeremy White’s commentary announcing the launch of the tablet apps, click here.

To download the app for your tablet directly from the Pizza Today Web site, click here.

 

Identifying Profitable Menu Items

Your menu is much more than a lineup of the food you offer. It’s a selling tool, a marketing vehicle that can steer customers to order the dishes you want them to order — the ones with the highest profit margins.

But before you can take the step into the field known as “menu engineering,” you must first be able to identify which specific dishes actually make you the most money per transaction. That’s called contribution margin, and it’s a term with which you need to familiarize yourself.

“Some of your menu choices contribute lots more cash to the bottom line than others,” says consultant Big Dave Ostrander. “The trick is to identify which items are winners and which are losers.”

Click here to get started with Big Dave’s expert help.

 

Better with Age

Your pizza dough is a living being, a growing beast that can either develop into a flavorful, chewy pizza base or blow itself into a disaster. The fermentation process is the critical time in which your dough goes one way or the other. As a business professional who needs a perfect crust every time in order to make a living, blown dough obviously isn’t an option.

What exactly happens to your dough during fermentation? Why is the process important? What steps can you take to ensure your dough turns out the way you intended every single time?

Our Dough Doctor, Tom Lehmann, has all the answers. Click here to read his take on the fermentation process.

 

Driver Compensation

Your delivery drivers are the only representation of your business that many customers will see. You want and need them to offer their best foot forward at all times. You also need to keep a good driver once you land one.

Easier said than done, you think? Not necessarily. With drivers, it usually boils down to compensation. They’ll follow the tips. But minimum wage plus tips just might not be enough.

How should you compensate your drivers? Click here to read Chef Jeff Freehof’s advice on the matter.

 

Featured Recipe — Parmesan Zucchini Sticks

According to our research, 94 percent of Pizza Today readers serve appetizers. That’s a good thing — apps are red-hot and high-profit. Despite the trend towards healthier options, fried appetizers remain a customer favorite. This one happens to be one of our favorites. Enjoy.

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks

1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the rest of this delicious recipe, click here.