What are the Benefits of a Coffee Franchise?

Building a business from the ground up can be an intimidating, back breaking, and bankrupting process for many would be business owners. Most businesses fail miserably after the first year and even those that hang on often fail to do much more than break even (if that) during their first three years in existence. For this reason we are seeing a growing trend among those who are interested in owning a businesses in franchise purchases and ownerships.

If you know very little about what it means to own a franchise businesses such as a franchise coffee establishment you might not realize how many benefits ownership of a business such as this really has. Name recognition is often one of, if not, the greatest challenges that most businesses face. It is difficult to get people to try something they’ve never heard of before, especially if it has something to do with food or drink. It is much easier for most to go to the same big chain stores that line malls and shopping centers across the nation rather than taking a chance on the new kid in town that offers something unexpected.

While name recognition goes a long way to making ownership of a coffee franchise, or other franchise establishment, there are plenty more wonderful reasons to consider a franchise business rather than going it alone. In fact one of those reasons is that in a franchise you aren’t going it alone. You will have training and education that allows you to build your business on the experience of others without making many of the costly mistakes they have made in the process. Build on the positive and avoid the negative to make more immediate profits than if you were to build your own business from the ground up.

Another great benefit of joining a coffee franchise is that they have the ability to do extensive marketing research that most small business owners cannot afford. This means that the advertisement campaigns are much more likely to appeal to your target audience and get results than if you were creating the ads yourself. You will also find that most larger franchises run national advertisements that you are not likely to be able to afford until you have a few franchises under your belt and would have even more difficulty affording if you were building your own business. Professional advertising is a huge benefit to small business owners and a coffee franchise will receive a big bump in business due to a successful ad campaign.

Training is yet another big benefit to choosing a coffee franchise rather than going it alone with your business. Most franchises offer comprehensive training programs for everything from paper work, closing sales, perfect water temperatures for brewing coffee, and how a uniform should look on staff. Extensive training in these methods means less mistakes which turns into great profits. A coffee franchise may not be the perfect business but going with a franchise is often a much quicker path to profits than stepping outside the franchise umbrella could ever be.

Barbequing: An American Tradition

No matter if it is the 4th of July, or just another day in the summer, chances are someone in your area is barbequing. Barbequing has become a standard American tradition for families. The reason as clear as to why, not only does the food that comes from barbequing have a taste that is unmatched by other cooking methods, but barbequing presents a reason for families to gather together. Some on my most memorial experiences happened outdoors at one of my families many get-togethers.

Planning A Barbeque

First, no barbeque would be complete without guests and proper outdoors weather. Plan ahead of time, checking with your potential guests for scheduling conflicts and issues. Finding a date and time that is suitable for everyone should not be to hard as long as you everyone enough advanced notice. Alternatively, be sure to check the weather for that type of year. If you live in a climate that cannot be predicted, then you may want to have a backup plan just incase unusual weather comes. You cannot predict things like rain and thunderstorms ahead of time, but you can make sure that you hold you barbeque during the time of year that will be pleasant to your guests. A barbeque in cold weather may hold more negative memories of trying to keep warm rather then good memories of family and friends.

Barbequing has been around since early cavemen figured out that food tasted great after being cooked on an open fire. Perhaps one of the main memories attached to a family barbeque is what was on the menu that day. Barbequing opens a whole array of types of foods available. The type of foods you serve should largely depend on your crowd and the event in which you are celebrating. With the wide range of possibilities, you are sure to find at least a few items that will please your crowd.

Make sure that you prepare ahead for your barbeque. 12 to 24 hours before you plan on beginning the party, make sure to thaw, prepare, and marinate the meat you will be cooking. Once you have the meat stored away, soaking up the marinate, then you must start thinking about what types of side dishes you will be having. If you want a completely tradition barbeque, you may want to stick with traditional sizes. Traditional barbeque sides include potatoes and potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw. Your traditional condiment bar should include pickles, relish, and onions. These foods are typically severed at barbeques because they are easy to prepare and store until the event happens. You may want to cook other items, but any barbeque is complete with just the items listed above.

A themed barbeque may present more opportunities to hold a festive event. With a themed event, you can splurge on the atmosphere and decorations. Matching tablecloths, napkins, and plates can be found at any local store. You can also match your dcor to the party. For example, a luau could simply be creative colored utensils, leis, and Tiki torches, all of which are extremely cheap. You can even reuse the Tiki torches later!

Your party area should be set up before guest arrive. It only takes a few minutes to get everything ready, but the reaction you get from your arriving guests may make you feel like you were preparing and decorating all day. Depending on the situation, you may or may not want to have the food already cooking on the grill. The smell will surely be inviting if you start cooking ahead!

Pure Belgian Chocolate: Providing You with the Highest Quality Chocolates

Pure Belgian Chocolate: Providing You with the Highest Quality Chocolates

It is a fact that chocolates are well-loved by people. In fact, since Columbus’ discovery of chocolate in the Americas, it was used by the ancient Aztecs as a sacred drink. Chocolate was held so valuable that it was used by the Aztecs to trade it for their gold. It was even part of the Aztecs’ monetary system.

Up until today, chocolates are still considered as the best candy in the world. In scientific forms, chocolates have been found to be a natural high blood pressure medicine. Research has found that it decreases the risk of high blood pressure and it also keeps your heart healthy by keeping the normal flow of blood going.

Some people even claimed that chocolates are a great antidepressant food. People have claimed that after a bite of chocolate, depressed people instantly smiled. This is why chocolate is also regarded as the “happy food”. Indeed, chocolates are very irresistible to eat. Diet fanatics even confessed that they cheated on their strict diet by eating chocolates during the duration of their dieting. They even said that chocolates were their number one enemy and that they always lost. They said that they would sneak to the kitchen in the middle of the night just to have a bite of chocolate.

This is why chocolates were also nicknamed as the guilty pleasure food.

First of all, after its discovery and introduction to civilization, people just became hooked into chocolates. In fact, many aristocrats and royalties all over the world cherish chocolates and some monarchy has been found that they kept stashes of chocolates in palaces. You also need to consider that chocolates were held so valuable that many countries have perfected the recipe and kept it a secret for a very long time.

One country that perfected the craft in chocolate manufacturing is Belgium. If you are a chocolate lover, there is a great chance that you have eaten Belgian chocolate before. If Godiva and Callebaut sound familiar, then you know your Belgian chocolates. If you have tasted pure Belgian chocolates before, you know how delicious it can be and you know that you can never get enough of Belgian chocolates.

There are pure Belgian chocolates available in the market today. You have to consider that these chocolates are made of premium quality cocoa beans from the south. Belgians have been making chocolates for centuries and because of this experience and expertise, they have perfected the recipe for having the best tasting chocolates in the world.

You can order pure Belgian chocolates. Although it may be priced expensively, you have to consider that once you have tasted one, you will surely ask for more and say that it’s worth every penny. Some people who have tasted pure Belgian chocolates said that they felt like floating after tasting the chocolate. You have to consider that this is because of the chemical property that chocolates have. It will make you feel euphoric and as mentioned before, it is described as the “happy food”. Combined with the Belgian secret recipe for manufacturing chocolates, you can definitely be sure that you will taste a one-of-a-kind chocolate that will make you ask for more.

Whether you want to make chocolate delicacies, or you simply want to eat pure chocolate, pure Belgian chocolate should be your choice. It will make any chocolate delicacies taste far greater than ever before.

Spaghetti Etiquette in Italian Food

The most popular and widely recognized Italian food today is spaghetti. However, it seems that no other Italian food has caused such consternation in figuring out the polite way to eat it. It has become so bad that when taking a date to eat Italian food, both parties will avoid the spaghetti in order avoid making a mess or looking less than attractive while eating it. Spaghetti is a delicious Italian food and there doesn’t need to be all this stress associated with eating it in public. Forget what you’ve been told what follows is how you eat spaghetti.

First off, if you are fortunate to be eating at an Italian food restaurant or Italian home that is actually in Italy, then you need to keep your hands on the table. Now when I say hands, I mean hands, still no elbows. Also, be sure to wait until everyone is served before you start to eat. The most often repeated Italian food advice given is to use a spoon to aid in eating spaghetti. Unfortunately this is also the most widely spread Italian food myth. Whatever you do, don’t use a spoon. It is considered very bad form. Just use your fork, I’ll explain how to do it and keep your Italian food on your fork and not on the table or your shirt. Another oft repeated word of advice is to simply cut the spaghetti noodles shorter. Again, this is erroneous. Spaghetti is about ten inches long and is the right length, you should never cut it. It’s also important not to slurp the spaghetti.

Any sounds you make while eating are considered rude. Italian food is known for its wonderful sauces, be careful not to splatter them all over the table and your clothes. On this note, don’t ever wear a napkin like a bib; it is very tacky and inappropriate. While spaghetti might be your favorite Italian food, it is not a dish that should be served for large or formal parties, largely because of the issues that cause an article of this nature to be written. Choose instead to serve an Italian food comprised of short pasta that is easier to serve and eat.

Now it is time to teach you the proper technique to use when eating that ever popular Italian food, spaghetti. Spaghetti is served in a bowl with a rim. You want to push the spaghetti to the center of the bowl, making room at the front. Now take a little bit of the spaghetti with your fork and push it to the front of the bowl. Now hold your fork vertically with the prongs against the rim and turn the fork clockwise in order to wrap the noodles around the fork. Then lift your fork and examine the length of the noodles hanging to see if it’s a good idea to proceed with putting it in your mouth. It is always best to err on the side of caution and put too little rather than too much spaghetti on your fork.

If you need to, lower the fork back down and take a smaller bunch of noodles and twirl them again. Better to take a little time than to end up with Italian food all over the place. Following these tips will ensure that you impress your friends at an Italian food restaurant and get invited back to eat Italian food at a family’s home.

Belgian Chocolate Pralines: The Successful Story of Jean Neuhaus

From the 18th century, the Belgian chocolate has risen in fame. In 1912, a chocolate genius Jean Neuhaus created a new procedure and increased its popularity ten-fold. He used a “couverteur” which is a specialized chocolate version. It is also the pralines cold shell. But it is different from the American sugary treats found in most candy shops. Chocolate pralines from Belgium are filled with varieties of flavored creams or nougats, such as hazelnut, fruit, more chocolate, or coffee. Some of the chocolatiers in the time of Neuhaus could duplicate his pralines complex flavors.

Jean Neuhaus successful years were after the end of the First World War And this time, Louise Agostini, his wife made another breakthrough by creating the ballotin or praline box, significant type of pralines preciously made by hand. It has a very practical green and gold packaging embossed with letter “N”. Because Jean never patented this ballotin, it became the design favored by all chocolate manufacturers in Belgium since its creation.

The creativity of Jean Neuhaus led to the development of new methods for applying a precise standard quality to all praline productions. They ensured that the finest ingredients are selected to produce chocolates of high quality. He became the unfaltering source of ideas for creating new pralines. Even the Royal Family of Belgium is one of his satisfied customers. In 1918, The Prince of Wales and Prince Leopold have visited the Neuhaus shop to try what everybody is talking about in town.
In 1923, the son-in-law of Jean Neuhaus Adelson de Grave was initiated in praline manufacturing and was taught the secret of the family’s business. His creations also brought additional distinction to the Neuhaus Company. His son Pierre also contributed his genius by helping his father create Tentation and Caprice and opened other Neuhaus shops outside Brussels.

In 1978, the Neuhaus Chocolate Company was put under the management of Claude Poncelet and Jean-Jacques. Their goal of making Neuhaus the world’s most famous brand was clear to capture the foreign markets. Thus, more Neuhaus outlets were opened in Japan, Canada, Guadeloupe, Colombia, United States, and other capital cities in Europe.

In 1991, Neuhaus became the leader in the luxurious praline sector industry in Belgium as well as in Luxemburg. Their well-defined strategies for marketing and international networks kept Neuhaus in maintaining an enviable position in the market. Modern technology investment also contributed to the success of Neuhaus, but one-third of praline productions remained handmade. In 2000, King Albert accredited Neuhaus as their chocolate supplier.

Neuhaus Company has remained in the chocolate industry until today. The legacy of Jean Neuhaus continues to make the best Belgian chocolate pralines. Their technical advantage among other chocolate manufacturers is the couverteur storage before use. In the process of making chocolates, the fine grinding of cocoa beans is first done. Afterwards, it is mixed with cocoa butter and sugar and then smoothened through tempering. Adding heat during the process must be carefully done. Many chocolate companies received the chocolates in solid forms. It means they have to reheat it to become usable. But Belgian chocolate companies often received the chocolates in a heated tanker after the tempering process. Chocolates that are not cooled retain most of its aroma.

Belgian chocolates can be expensive. However, those people who have tasted it revealed that nothing can compare with its true quality. And this is what Belgian chocolates are known for throughout history.