How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
How business, doctors and journalists prey on your food anxieties I
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CUinaire staff<br />
preparing<br />
breakfast at the<br />
Texas state caplo!<br />
"Presentati<strong>on</strong> is<br />
merch<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>ising,<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> merch<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>ising<br />
is everything."<br />
Lo .e Field airport, Guss<strong>on</strong>i displacs<br />
finished s<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>wiches placed in a glass<br />
case so travelers can examine the<br />
seltole-grair, brcad, meats, cheeses<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> dressings before m,ildng a sciecti<strong>on</strong>-visual<br />
tasting again . Asserts<br />
Guss<strong>on</strong>i : "Carercrs often box things<br />
for s•olume, but the customer c :m't<br />
see the fod ."<br />
Guss<strong>on</strong>i apprenticed Itimself to the<br />
fod b«,siness after graduating from<br />
The Citadel in 1976 . For the next<br />
three vears he «orlced 100-hour<br />
weeks as a maitre d' in South Carolina<br />
countr.clubs . From the clubs he<br />
graduated to running in-storc restaurants<br />
for Blo<strong>on</strong>iingdale's <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Federated<br />
Department Stores in Sen• York,<br />
Dallas <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Miami . Guss<strong>on</strong>i introduced<br />
such dishes as pumpkin tortellini<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> rotisserie chicken, injecting<br />
k 'en e into *_'.te staid depattment store<br />
cuisine .<br />
His big break came in 1988 . Lucv<br />
Crow Billingsley, Mho then headed<br />
the Dallas Market Center (owned b-<br />
deceloper Trammell CrosN's childrenl,<br />
invited Guss<strong>on</strong>i to run catering<br />
services at the huge sho«-room <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
uade-show facilin', "~Ve wanted to<br />
establish another le~el of expecrr<br />
ti<strong>on</strong> ;' Billingslesesplauns,<br />
Guss<strong>on</strong>i deiivered . He incigorated<br />
dte facilin"s tired hotdog-<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>-chili<br />
Forbes . dugust 14, 1995<br />
far'e with fniit drinks, fresh s<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>niches<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Italian <strong>food</strong> . Mhen the<br />
Ramses the Great museum exhibit<br />
came to Daiias in 1989, he persuaded<br />
Billinasic}, to let the :blar'.cet Center<br />
run " restaurant kcved to the exhibit-<br />
Guss<strong>on</strong>i designed a restauiant completc<br />
%sith columns <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> hieroghphs,<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> semcd dishes inspired bv North<br />
Africa : iamb <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> okrastewserred orer<br />
couscous, for example, <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> grilled<br />
chicken with yogurt <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> pita bread<br />
s<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>wiches . "He's a salesman," says<br />
Billingslev, "<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> he's hmtgre .^<br />
Under Guss<strong>on</strong>i the Market Center's<br />
<strong>food</strong>-sen'ices reaenues doubled,<br />
to $13 milli<strong>on</strong> bv 1992 . Guss<strong>on</strong>i<br />
-,vanted to e % p<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> the Market Ccnter's<br />
catering <str<strong>on</strong>g>business</str<strong>on</strong>g>, but manaeement<br />
«'asn't interested <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> agreed to<br />
Visual tasting: At the snack<br />
bar he runs at Dallas' Love<br />
Field airport, Guss<strong>on</strong>i<br />
displays fln.ished s<str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g>wiches<br />
placed in a glass case so<br />
travelers can examine the<br />
whole-grain bread, meats,<br />
cheeses <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> dressings before<br />
making a selecti<strong>on</strong>,<br />
sell the of}=sitc part of the <str<strong>on</strong>g>business</str<strong>on</strong>g> to<br />
him in \o%embcr 1993 . Guss<strong>on</strong>i scill<br />
sav <strong>on</strong>h• that the price was "less than<br />
S1 milli<strong>on</strong>" He got catering equipn<br />
:ent, 35 employees <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> a revenue<br />
stream saorth arotmd S3 milli<strong>on</strong> a year .<br />
Without a salan, for the first time ill<br />
his career, Guss<strong>on</strong>i had to mo °e fast .<br />
The tirst m<strong>on</strong>th he signed the Dallas<br />
Farmers Market to a <strong>food</strong>-sen°ices<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tract, C<strong>on</strong>tracts ro run cafeterias<br />
at Ericss<strong>on</strong> Inc . <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g> Apple Computer<br />
oliices followed, as Ncell as a c<strong>on</strong>tract<br />
to run <strong>food</strong> senices for the Dallas<br />
Comenti<strong>on</strong> Centcr .<br />
In 1994 Culinaire w<strong>on</strong> a 15-vear<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tract to operate the dining facilities<br />
in two Embassv Suites hotels in<br />
tim Dallas area . The facilities were<br />
losing m<strong>on</strong>ey, but instead of cutting<br />
costs Guss<strong>on</strong>i hired more staff <str<strong>on</strong>g>and</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
bctter mairagentent to improce service<br />
. This svas kcv, he says, to the fact<br />
that the operati<strong>on</strong>s were turning a<br />
profit within four m<strong>on</strong>ths .<br />
Guss<strong>on</strong>i is trring to sign up new<br />
clients in instituti<strong>on</strong>s like hospitals .<br />
Late last vea; he opened a sir-down<br />
ltalian restaurant called Nicola's in<br />
the Dallas Galleria . The Dallaa-LtornirLlr<br />
Vewrs recently rated it <strong>on</strong>e of the<br />
cin's best new spots .<br />
C ;ncle Tobia would have expected<br />
nothing less. ~<br />
20466'7339,9 141<br />
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/agf97d00/pdf