Editorial Review:  This comprehensive and massive 600 page new book will show you step-by-step how to set up, operate, and manage a financially successful foodservice operation. The author has left no stone unturned in explaining the risky business of running a restaurant. Operators in the non-commercial segment as well as caterers, and really anyone in the food service industry will find this book very useful. 

The books nineteen chapters cover the entire process of a restaurant start-up and ongoing management in an easy to understand way, pointing out methods to increase your chances of success, and showing how to avoid the many common mistakes that can doom a start-up. The new companion CD rom contains all the forms demonstrated in the book for easy use in a PDF format. 

While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through finding a location that will bring success, learn how to draw up a winning business plan, how to buy and (sell ) a restaurant, franchising, basic cost control systems, profitable menu planning, sample restaurant floor plans & diagrams, successful kitchen management, equipment layout and planning, food safety & HACCP, successful beverage management, learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, learn how to hire & keep a qualified professional staff, brand new IRS tip reporting requirements, managing and training employees, generate high profile public relations and publicity, learn low cost internal marketing ideas, low and no cost ways to satisfy customers and build sales, learn how to keep bringing customers back, accounting & bookkeeping procedures, auditing, successful budgeting and profit planning development, as well as thousands of great tips and useful guidelines. 

The extensive resource Guide details over 7,000 suppliers to the industry, this directory could be a separate book on its own. This Restaurant Managers Handbook covers everything that many companies pay consultants thousands of dollars for. 

This book is also ideal for professionals in the hospitality field as well as newcomers who may be looking for answers to cost containment and training issues. There are literally hundreds of innovative ways demonstrated to streamline your restaurant business. Learn new ways to make the kitchen, bars, dining room, and front office run smoother and increase performance. Shut down waste, reduce costs, and increase profits. In addition operators will appreciate this valuable resource and reference in their daily activities and as a source of ready-to-use forms, web sites, operating and cost cutting ideas, and mathematical formulas that can be easily applied to their operations. Highly recommended!
Cutomer Review 0: The Restaurant Managers Handbook is a no-nonsense, coverall manual for the food establishment industry. Its the essence of a successful handbook-no jokes, parables, and preachy lectures, just the facts. If you delve into the heal-thy index for fault, youll abruptly bump into a page number for an answer, and if youre currently running a restaurant and afraid to appear inadequate, you can load the handy CD-ROM and pretend youre checking your e-mail while figur-ing out the monthly audit procedures or why the beer is flat. Im not kidding. The next time your favorite kitchen runs short of the daily special or closes down for a lack of permit, serve them a copy of this great reference book.
Cutomer Review 1: I recieved this book anxiously, but soon became quickly disappointed with its extreme lack of content. It could have just as easily been published in 30 pages of novel sized text, because thats about all thats contained between its large vinyl bound covers. There are less expensive books that tell you just as little as this one.
Cutomer Review 2: This book has a lot of information, however it does not go into great detail for those who are familiar with the principals listed inside but are looking to expand on those ideas. If you are an experienced restaurant manager or owner, this book is a waste of money.
Cutomer Review 3: The books nineteen chapters cover the entire process of a restaurant start-up and ongoing management.The companion CD rom which contains all the forms is worth the modest price of the book alone. I would highly recomend this book to anyone in the industry now or who wants to get started with sound financial planning. Also the extensive resource guide in the back of the book is superb - we will use this book often.
Cutomer Review 4: This book is an elementary guide, definitely not one I would reccommend fo an upscale restaurant owner. Plenty of outdated material that has no relevence for todays operator.

Editorial Review:  If youre a Weight Watcher, this collection of 500 recipes in a handy loose-leaf binder could put you in the fast lane on the road to success. This cookbook is designed for Weight Watchers 1•2•3 Success program: points are assigned to foods based on fat, fiber, and calories, and your daily point allowance is based on your current weight. So you can eat what you want, as long as you dont go over your allotted points. The better your food choices, the more you can eat before you run out of points.

 Recipes are varied and cover the whole gamut: sauces; breads; soups; meat, chicken, fish, and vegetarian entrees; pasta; vegetable, grain, and potato side dishes; and, of course, desserts. The recipes are more healthful but not drastically different from foods you and your family enjoy now. Many are familiar comfort foods, such as Pizza, Oven "Fried" Chicken, Beef Stew, Tuna Noodle Casserole, Chocolate Layer Cake, and Cheesecake. Internationally inspired favorites include Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), Orange-Flavored Fajitas, Moo Shu Chicken, Tandoori Haddock, and Senegalese Peanut Soup. The nutritional breakdown for each recipe is more complete than in most cookbooks, and includes calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber, protein, calcium, and Weight Watchers points. --Joan Price
Cutomer Review 0: This is a great cookbook even if youre not dieting. The food is all great tasting and recipes relatively easy to follow. Sometimes the ingredients are not things you would normally keep on hand, but you can usually modify the recipe to your liking.
Cutomer Review 1: Ive seen a lot of the Weight Watchers cookbooks, and this is the most all-purpose general-appeal one Ive seen. Id even go as far as to say this is the Joy of Cooking for the Weight Watchers crowd.

Many of these recipes have become standards in our house, and they never taste like "diet" food at all. This is just a common sense good-health cookbook that happens to provide points values for people following the Weight Watchers program. There is a huge variety of recipes, nothing is repeated, and it would take a very long time and much effort to ever get sick of this cookbook.

I will repeat one common complaint of reviewers--the book doesnt state what the serving size is, just how many servings there are. This means you have to divide your whole soup (or whatever) out into 6 portions, then measure, to get the portion size. Ive made notes to myself about any of the recipes that Ive tried, but I wish the authors had just done that from the beginning.

I adore the spiral format of this cookbook. I hate having to destroy the spine of a book to make it lay flat for my uses. The pages are also high-gloss, which helps if anything accidentally gets spilled on them.
Cutomer Review 2: This book is the one I use over and over again, Ive made so many recipes from it. These recipes do not taste like "diet" food. Although they are low in fat, calories, and food points, they really taste good too. Some favorites I make regularly from this book are the Parmesan-Turkey Meatloaf, Shrimp Creole, Tuna-Noodle Casserole, Chicken Avgolemono Soup, Indian Carrot Soup, Hummus, and our absolute favorite - the Chicken Quesadillas with Corn-Tomato Salad. I brought the Rolled Orange Sponge Cake to a family gathering and everyone devoured it - no one would have guessed it only had 2 grams of fat per serving.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a great all-around sourcebook for all kinds of healthy low-fat recipes that taste great and fit into a Weight Watchers plan or even anyone who is just looking for good, nutritious meals. The book is well laid out and has an excellent variety of reliable recipes. Its easy to read and browse through, has an adequate amount of photos, and contains all the nutrition information and points for each recipe.
Cutomer Review 3: your recipe for rice pudding sucks. dont you test these recipes before you print them.
Cutomer Review 4: WW has great recipes but theyve done my pet peeve again! It is so annoying to look at, for instance, the soup you just made and be forced to either guess at 1/8 or measure the whole batch of soup and then extract an 1/8. Why not: Serving size 1 1/2 cup?

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What makes fashionistas willing to pay a small fortune for a particular designer accessory -- a luxe handbag, for example? Why is it that people all over the world share the conviction that a special occasion only becomes really special when a champagne cork pops -- and even more special when that cork comes from a bottle of Dom Pérignon? Why are diamonds the status symbol gemstone, instantly signifying wealth, power, and even emotional commitment?

One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides the answer to these and other fascinating questions in her account of how, at one glittering moment in history, the French under Louis XIV set the standards of sophistication, style, and glamour that still rule our lives today.

Joan DeJean explains how a handsome and charismatic young king with a great sense of style and an even greater sense of history decided to make both himself and his country legendary. When the reign of Louis XIV began, his nation had no particular association with elegance, yet by its end, the French had become accepted all over the world as the arbiters in matters of taste and style and had established a dominance in the luxury trade that continues to this day. DeJean takes us back to the birth of haute cuisine, the first appearance of celebrity hairdressers, chic cafes, nightlife, and fashion in elegant dress that extended well beyond the limited confines of court circles. And Paris was the magical center -- the destination of travelers all across Europe.

As the author observes, without the Sun Kings program for redefining France as the land of luxury and glamour, there might never have been a Stork Club, a Bergdorf Goodman, a Chez Panisse, or a Cristophe of Beverly Hills -- and President Clinton would never have dreamed of holding Air Force One on the tarmac of LAX for an hour while Cristophe worked his styling genius on the presidents hair.

Written with wit, dash, and élan by an author who knows this astonishing true story better than virtually anyone, The Essence of Style will delight fans of history and everybody who wonders about the elusive definition of good taste.
 

Cutomer Review 0: Captivating, awesome reading!! I was amazed the depth of reseach. A unique perspective and delightful insite. Could not put this book down!! Super attention to detail. The Essence of Style" is an extraordinary and tantalizing look at our culture. 

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Editorial Review: Based on the nations #1 bestseller

Published in January 2004, The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide has sold more than three million copies and has continuously topped national bestseller lists. An essential tool for success, the completely revised and updated guide will feature a new, more user-friendly format and an expanded list of foods, as well as the most up-to-the-minute new information on nutrition and healthy eating to aid the now millions of early adopters.
The new edition will include:
o An expanded nutritional breakdown: total carbs and net carbs, total fat and saturated fat, fiber, and sugar.
o More food listings including meal replacement bars, other convenience foods, healthy fast-food menu items, and beverages.
o FAQs organized by phase and designed to answer dieters most common questions.
o A foreword by Dr. Agatston detailing new research and outlining the changes to the diet.
o Each food listing will now have a recommendation by phase. For example, bananas might be a food to avoid in the first 2 weeks of Phase One but will be a food to enjoy in Phase Two.

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Editorial Review:  When Morgan Spurlock, the star of Super-Size Me, gained nearly 30 pounds after a month of eating at McDonald’s for every meal, nobody was more horrified than his fiancée Alex Jamieson, a vegan chef and holistic health counselor. When his liver showed signs of damage just 20 days into his fast-food diet experiment, she knew hed need serious help to recover at the end of his "gastrointestinal form of hari-kari."[p.viii] The Great American Detox Diet is her prescription for helping him shed the chub as well as rid his body of the chemical additives (such as propylene glycol alginate—yuck) so prevalent in fast food. She notes that since a British medical journal recently reported that eating fast food just twice a week increases ones risk of developing insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition, you dont need to have gorged yourself on McDonald’s to benefit from her quick-results plan. 

Jamieson does a noble job of spelling out the detrimental effects on the body of sugar, caffeine, and an overload of fat, carbs, and protein, all of which are present in your typical fast-food meal, let alone a "super-sized" one. (Spurlocks diet included a repulsive 30 pounds of added sugar and added sweeteners over the course of the month.)[p22] Those horrified by Fast-Food Nation will find familiar territory here, but will also receive constructive advice on how to alter ones diet for the better. Jamieson also spurns wheat, corn, and dairy products, citing them as potential allergens (interestingly, she points out theyre all heavily subsidized by the government), and she recommends viable sugar and caffeine substitutes. Nearly 90 recipes round out her treatise on healthy eating, and although some are not unusual (revamped versions of Guacamole, for example, and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies), a few others like Miso Tofu Cheese Spread will be a bit of an acquired taste for those so accustomed to burgers and fries. --Erica Jorgensen
Cutomer Review 0: I found "Supersize Me" to be one of the great documentaries (of sorts) in quite a while, not the least of which was the healthy dose of irony in that the girlfriend of star Morgan Spurlock, Alex Jamieson, was a vegan chef witnessing this diet he went on.

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