Starboard Value, the activist investor group hoping to wrest control of Olive Garden from parent Darden Restaurants, released a soup-to-nuts prescription last week on how to "fix" the 800-unit family-style Italian chain. Apparently, much of it starts in the kitchen.Starboard’s nearly 300-page slide presentation lays out the changes it would make if it won control…

In case you missed the news last week, Foodservice Equipment Reports magazine has announced the recipients of its 2015 Industry Excellence Awards. Seventeen awards are given: six to organizations for Management Excellence; six to individuals near or under the age of 40 selected as Young Lions; and five to Industry Service Award winners. The honors…

It doesn’t get any more 24/7 than this. Heritage Foodservice Group has launched heritageparts.com, offering its customers online tools and technology to research and buy parts, backed by integrated help from the company’s customer-service representatives. “Expanding our online reach is critical to the future success of Heritage,” said Heritage Pres./CEO John McDonough. “Heritageparts.com was created…

The home of the Grand Slam breakfast has settled into its first Manhattan location. Denny’s Corp.’s new diner, across the street from City Hall and just north of Wall Street, opened for business Aug. 28. It features a full bar (found in only a handful of other Denny’s units) and offers a $300 “grand slam…

Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods is planning to roll out up to 500 quick-service Thai restaurants in Australia. The foodservice division of Thailand’s largest agribusiness company also plans to expand into the ready-to-eat meals segment during the next five years, with 300-500 stores offering a modern Thai quick-serve menu. The concept, 1000Wat, recently debuted in Melbourne;…

Three Taiwanese chains are branching out. OCOCO Int’l. Co. Ltd., which operates more than 1,800 Coco Fresh Tea & Juice outlets worldwide, will make its debut in the U.K. in the first quarter next year. The store will mark the bubble-tea chain’s first step into the European market; the company already has operations in Asia,…

Three U.S. investment firms are bidding for a Kuwaiti quick-serve holding company worth around $4 billion. The firms—TPG Capital, CVC Capital Partners and KKR & Co.—are seeking to acquire Kuwait Food Co., which operates about 1,500 KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa, according to reports by Bloomberg. TPG also…

Prezzo remains a family affair. One of Britain’s most successful restaurant dynasties, the Kaye family, is cooking up a deal to reunite three of the country’s best-known Italian restaurant chains in a £500m deal. The Kayes have held talks with private equity firms Advent and TPG Capital to bid for Prezzo as well as Ask…

Singapore Exhibition Services, which runs shows including Food&Hotel Vietnam 2015 and FHA 2016, relocated last month to 10 Kallang Avenue, #09-16, Aperia Tower 2, Singapore 339510. The telephone numbers are unchanged: phone: (65) 6233 6638 and fax: (65) 6233 6633. Email: events@sesallworld.com The World Food Travel Association and the United Association of Food & Beverage…

British-based hospitality tableware manufacturer Dudson opened a new showcase facility in London in September. The new site, known as the Stoke-on-Trent company’s “London Hub,” is located in Shoreditch. It features conceptual product areas based on catering styles, such as buffet presentation and street food. On an appointment-only basis, the center offers visitors new-product showcases and…