What I Learned From J-School

J-School meaning journalism, of course.

Something I totally never, EVER thought I would take from this program would be the more tech-y aspect of journalism. I was the absolute worst with computer stuff, and I didn't even know I could create a folder on my desktop until I came into this program.

When I looked at the program courses, I was baffled as to why we were learning about audio/video production, InDesign/Photoshop stuff and making websites. I was like, nope, I don't think I will ever need this, nor will I actually enjoy it! I dreaded these classes and was scared I would screw it all up.

And now?

I have my own website, www.hotandefficient.com, and I make fitness videos and demonstrative photos to accompany posts. Jeez, this foot in my mouth tastes great :D This website may very well have remained as a little blog with no followers if I didn't have these certain courses while at Sheridan.

I'm extremely grateful to have learned about designing website and magazine layouts, HTML coding, how to use WordPress and how to shoot and edit good quality videos. Without learning this in school, I don't know how I could have put together my website, and my fitness videos and photos would probably be really low quality. Also, I'm currently writing my eBook for Hot & Efficient, which I could never put together without learning InDesign and photoshop skills.

Learning how to freelance was also inspiring. This is exactly what I want to do and now I know how to tackle it, how to get my name out there, how to do the taxes/invoicing for it, etc. Learning about the importance of social media outlets and how to use them correctly is also helping me right now, and will continue to help me succeed.

The best part about this program would be the faculty and the students. I've never met a student or a teacher in this program that I didn't like. I learned something valuable from every teacher here, even if the course itself didn't float my boat. Every student has been kind, helpful and inspiring - and there are some students here that I never actually talked with, but even from a distance, I could learn something. Whether it was some girl's new hairstyle or outfit that gave me style ideas, or someone that had a really cool presentation with excellent speaking skills, or someone asking an intriguing question or making a point in class that I never thought of before - I learned something.

And Alison, since you're probably the only one reading this blog, I just wanted to say THANK YOU! The magazine aspect of journalism is where my interest is truly at. You've taught me amazing things about the magazine industry, and you totally had faith that I would get the Oxygen internship! You've helped me improve my magazine feature writing skills, you've taught us about good blog writing and SEO skills which I apply to my website to help it grow, you have a great sense of humour which makes your classes more interesting, and I never felt the need to skip your classes. It's also cool to see a teacher who's into health and fitness, despite hating broccoli. I can't thank you enough for everything that I learned from your classes. Good luck with everything, I wish you (and all the faculty members who don't read this blog) the best.

Hotel room? Ha, I'll take the whole brand.

Over the next three years, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide expects to have so much money they may consider adding an entirely new luxury brand to their family. This would be their tenth brand.

(Some of us can't even afford a luxury hotel room, let alone an entire hotel! But back to the story...)

Company executives said during an investor and analyst day (in Dubai) that they would rather just purchase a brand than start from scratch.

But there is a challenge, said CEO Frits van Paasschen in a statement. That would be finding a brand for sale.

“It’s not clear that there's a lot that are sort of fluidly traded and open for buying,” he said. “It's been that reason largely, more than anything else, that's prevented us from doing anything in the last seven or eight years."

Not Just Blowing Hot Air

Expand your menu and impress customers with smoke-flavored foods without purchasing a separate smoker oven.

Cleveland Range has released the ConvoSmoker, a built-in smoker box filled with flavored briquettes, for their electric Convotherm Combi ovens. How does this work? A low-watt heating element below the smoker box is designed to make the briquettes smolder and infuse the food with flavor.

The company says it is suited for overnight smoking, provides faster cooking times and can use steam in smoking recipes, without flavour transfers after the cleaning cycle. 

The ConvoSmoker is designed for fish, beef, pork, poultry, cheese and vegetables, and is able to do both hot and cold smoking.

D'oh! (nut)

Have you noticed lately that fancy cupcakes are no longer all the rage? They used to be super popular last year, but are now being replaced by doughnuts.

Doughnuts are now on six per cent of all fine-dining menus, a 100 per cent increase in four years, according to a Restaurant News article.
“People are always looking for anything that is tasty, that is sweet, that is not a cupcake,” said Tom Henneman in a statement, co-owner of Federal Donuts, a wildly popular fried chicken and doughnut shop in Philadelphia.

At Henneman's shop, some doughnut flavours include cherry almond, French toast, strawberry-lavendar and chocolate peanut butter. It looks like Tim Horton's will have to step up its game!

Plastic Foam Ban

New York City is considering banning plastic foam from restaurants. This would include cups, takeout containers and trays. The alternative would be environmentally friendly but more expensive.

New York’s annual waste stream includes about 20,000 tons of plastic foam, according to the New York Times.

Plastic foam is currently the cheapest option, according to Andrew Moesel, spokesperson for the New York State Restaurant Association.

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle have already banned plastic foam.

Perhaps the restaurants will increase menu prices to make up for the extra cost of more environmentally friendly options?

Female CEOs in the hotel industry

Kathleen Taylor, CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, has resigned from the job after three years.

What's the big deal? Now, there's even fewer female leaders in the hotel business, according to a Hotel News Now article. Sure, it's definitely news that a major CEO has resigned - but the article is so concerned that now there are less female leaders.

But really, what's the big deal? Why are we so concerned with females having leading roles in the workforce? Instinctively, naturally, in our DNA, men are "breadwinners" and women take care of the home and children. Occasionally, they switch roles, but overall, that's just the way it is. Women naturally aren't dominating, powerful, business-minded creatures. And that's okay. Why must we masculinize women? Why are we so obsessed with making men and women gender-less and neutral? Since men are the dominating, powerful ones, it makes more sense to leave those kind of roles up to males. Women are softer, gentler, empathetic - which is why they make excellent school teachers, nurses, and caregivers. We should play to our own natural strengths.


These are some of the leading women in the business:

Denise Coll, president of Starwood’s North American division;
Angela Brav, CEO of Europe for InterContinental Hotels Group;
Liia Nou, senior VP and CFO, Pandox AB;
Sophie Stabile, global CFO, Accor;
May Wu, chief strategy officer; Home Inns & Hotels Management; and
Nancy Johnson, executive VP of development for Carlson Hotels, who also served as chairwoman of the American Hotel & Lodging Association in 2012.

Good for them that they are successful and making big bucks! It takes hard work, but let's just remember that success doesn't always mean leading a business. Success also means teaching young children to tie their shoes, or taking care of a home all day.

Is there something Facebook DOESN'T do?

Facebook has recently hired a "head of travel" and has come up with two new travel products which will directly influence hotel performance, according to this Hotel News Now article. The two products, Graph Search and Nearby, are predicted to be boost up the hotel industry.

What does Nearby do? People with Facebook on their mobile device can easily search up what hotels are, well, nearby. This app will also provide comments and recommendations of those hotels from their Facebook friends.

Graph Search is similar. When a person searches something on Facebook, those results will also have friends' comments and recommendations.

"They're game changers," Lee McCabe, Facebook's new head of travel, said in a statement. "Graph Search and Nearby are going to be huge for hotels. And they're pretty good, and they're a long way off from their potential."

I'm not sure if this is bigger news for Facebook or for the hotel industry!

No Bones About It

Inhaling as many chicken wings as possible is clearly important to many restaurant diners, but the darn bone just seems to get in the way. No problem, though - boneless wings are the latest thing.

In 2012, sales in boneless chicken wings grew faster than any other menu item - including the old-fashioned chicken wings, according to research from GuestMetrics.

Chicken wing sales overall rose by 10.7 per cent, but 81 per cent of that came from the boneless version. Restaurants, on average, sell the boneless wings for a higher price than the bone-in wings, but customers clearly didn't mind.

Technically, though, it's breaded chicken breast pieces, not actual wings. Perhaps adults just feel too mature to order chicken nuggets?

Hotel Loyalty is Going Down

People seem to be cheating on more than just their partners.

According to a Deloitte survey, a small eight per cent of consumers are always loyal to specific hotel brands.

"With heightened competition and eroding customer loyalty, hotels and airlines, now, more than ever, need to focus on enhancing and personalizing the consumer experience," said Adam Weissenberg in a statement. He is the vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. Travel, Hospitality and Leisure leader.

The survey also found that customers believed grocery stores had better loyalty programs. About half of respondents were satisfied with their hotel's loyalty program.

The most important aspect of choosing a hotel is comfort and location for consumers. When it comes to the actual booking, 61 per cent of respondents said they used hotel sites the most to book their stay and they primarily want a secure and easy purchase process, along with email discounts and up-to-date news.

"Travel brands need to be more innovative and clear in communicating their product and service offerings," said Weissenberg. "For example, Deloitte's research showed that while earning and redeeming points are the most important attributes for choosing hotel and airline loyalty programs, travel brands should focus on enhancing the customer experience, making rewards personally meaningful, encouraging loyalty with unexpected rewards if they want to boost consumer engagement, and ultimately building long-term customer relationships."

Menu Trends for 2013

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) surveyed upwards of 1800 chefs from the American Culinary Federation (ACF) to find out what menu trends will be for 2013.

The following is the list of top 10 trends:
(from  www.restaurant.org/pressroom/pressrelease/?ID=2346)

1. Locally sourced meats and seafood 
2. Locally grown produce 
3. Healthful kids' meals 
4. Environmental sustainability as a culinary theme 
5. Children's nutrition as a culinary theme 
6. New cuts of meat (e.g. Denver steak, pork flat iron, teres major) 
7. Hyper-local sourcing (e.g. restaurant gardens) 
8. Gluten-free cuisine 
9. Sustainable seafood 
10. Whole grain items in kids' meals 

Children's nutrition is being taken more seriously, seeing as three trends revolve around just that. Parents can feel more relaxed taking their little ones out to eat. Also trending will be local food sourcing for menu items. This will be a cheaper option for restaurants, as well as a healthier option for customers.

“Making sure that nutritious food is available for children and their families, and for everyone in the U.S., is paramount to the future of foodservice," said Michael Ty, ACF national president, in the press release.