The future is now

I was having a conversation with my youngest son the other night when he pointed out to me something about how time grows shorter as we age. He wasn't speaking in the literal sense, of course, but he noted, for example, that kids often talk about how long their summer is while adults remark how fast time flies by. His theory: Time moves faster for us older folks because we have more time periods with which to compare.

Whether or not that holds water doesn’t matter. It’s enough for me to realize that I never seem to have enough hours in the day, or days in the production cycle, or time to prepare for one presentation or another.

It seems like only yesterday I was remarking to our publisher, Bill Anderson, that we were ahead of last year’s pace in planning our MenuDirections conference for 2012. And yesterday, it occurred to me that I was three weeks behind my self-imposed schedule of having our agenda put together.

But the agenda is nearly complete, and will be up on our website in the next few days. Following our theme, which is “Creating Flavor, Selling Health,” we have put together a series of workshops that will help guide operators in making their menus healthier, as well as tips for marketing that fact.

We’ll be revisiting our world cuisines, which chefs offering recipes and menu ideas. The planned cuisines are Mediterranean, Latino and Northern Asian. We also plan to examine ways of cooking healthier with workshops on Cooking With Herbs, Fish/Seafood on the Menu, and Making Gluten-Free Healthy. On the marketing side, we will examine The Local Movement, Stealth Health and Steal This Healthy Idea, which will be an open forum that will allow operators to share and discuss their own menuing and marketing ideas for making our theme come alive.

Add to that a return visit by Dr. James Painter, who wowed the audience last year with his presentation on Mindless Eating, and a taste of Low Country cuisine during our annual Dine Around, and we’re already looking at an agenda to rival last year’s information-packed conference.

Now comes the tough part: getting presenters and content to make these sessions come to life. We’ve already begun that part, because we know that fall will be on us before we even realize it. That’s how things happen for us older folks.

Speaking of time getting away from us, it’s not too early for you to pencil MenuDirections 2012 on your calendars, Feb. 26 to 28 in historic Charleston, S.C. Before you know it, you’ll be able to register and book your rooms at the Charleston Marriott.