Chain Leader

David Farkas

Surprise, not-so-fresh food still exists.
June 19, 2006

A week ago or so, a fellow called me wanting publicity for a client that manufactures MREs, or Meals Ready to Eat--the food that feeds our servicemen in the field. The PR man said the company is launching a product fit for restaurants, the reason for his call.

To be sure, it isn’t MRE-like. It is much improved, meaning that its contents are in a boil-ready (or “shelf stable”) pouch, he explained. Once heated, the bag merely needs to be cut open and poured onto a steam table.

The company promptly dispatched five sample pouches of food designed for commercial kitchens. I do not want to mention the company’s name for two reasons.

First, I can’t believe there’s a commercial market for what I boiled and shared with several friends. If there is, where is it? The dishes--all familiar menu items--were so lacking in fresh flavor none of us could imagine anyone but the hungriest willingly paying for them.

Second, I was floored by the long roll call of ingredients in each one. A pouch of white rice features 13, including two kinds of partially hydrogenated oils (also known as trans-fatty acids, the restaurant industry’s current bane). A beef dish contained dozens, among which was “binder product” and potato flour. Yum.

The point here is despite the obvious labor efficiency gained with these products, there is also the evolving American palate, which today can feast on fresh ingredients in even the most mainstream restaurants.

Of course, should any “forward-thinking…operators,” as the press material says, want to know more about these products, e-mail me. I’ll hook you up.

Posted by David Farkas on June 19, 2006 | Comments (1)