In response to the federal budget plans submitted to the U.S. Congress by President Obama, Dawn Sweeney, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association (NRA), issued the following statement:
"The National Restaurant Association, representing the nation's second-largest private sector employer, welcomes initiatives in the federal budget to support small business, job creation and our nation's economic recovery. We support President Obama's call for tax incentives to help spur the economy and generate additional jobs.

"We encourage the extension of expired tax provisions that allow businesses an enhanced deduction for expensing and 'bonus' depreciation for capital expenditures. These measures will encourage restaurants to invest and grow. A tax credit for new hires will further encourage restaurateurs to create jobs.

"While our industry expects to reverse a short-term contraction and add jobs in 2010, the scale of the industry's upturn depends largely on consumer confidence. Until personal disposable income increases and general unemployment levels fall, economic recovery will be pro­longed. Consequently, we strongly support efforts that lead to measurable, overall results, while reducing deficits in the long term."
For more information, visit www.restaurant.org.
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The digital edition of the February 2010 issue of Chef Magazine is now online through the Chef Web site. This digital edition features all the same great content as the print edition, plus an online exclusive on seafood recipes. To access the issue, click the icon below. You can also register on the Chef Web site to receive e-mail notification when each new digital magazine is available for viewing.

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"I believe passionately that we, as chefs, have to use our unique position to educate people about the importance of food and good nutrition, the scarcity of food for some families, and the importance of local and sustainable approaches. I also think that we have to evolve to keep our work relevant. I know I only serve a portion of the community through my restaurant, HotChocolate in Chicago, and that I don't need to go more than a couple streets from here to witness real need. We all need to bear witness to that--an to respond."
--Mindy Segal, pastry chef/owner, HotChocolate, Chicago
"Industry Voices," February 2010, Chef Magazine

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"A.A. Milne, the beloved author of Winnie the Pooh, once said, 'In the quiet hours when we are alone and there is nobody to tell us what fine fellows we are, we come sometimes upon a moment in which we wonder not how much money we are earning, nor how famous we have become, but what good we are doing.' Many chefs are fine fellows: They do good by being good neighbors. They volunteer at local food banks."
--Irena Chalmers, "Giving a hand,"
"The Last Word," February 2010, Chef Magazine


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