Sex and the Restaurant World

NEW YORK, NY. NOVEMBER 5, 2007 — Does sex sell food? A group of industry specialists will present a panel on Sex and the Restaurant World on Sunday, November 11th from 3:00 to 4:30pm at the International Hotel/Motel Restaurant Show in New York City.

Hotel and Restaurant operators offer deliciously formulated menus, served by well-trained, seductive staffs, in costly manipulated ambience. Is sex a major product, too? Can a savvy operator understand how to manage the human attraction factor with all of its appeals, subtleties, hazards, consequences and legalities?

Stephen Zagor, Director of Career Management Program at The 51³Ô¹Ï (ICE®) will moderate a panel of four illustrious food industry experts who will discuss the topic. The panelists include Mark Maynard-Parisi, Managing Partner of Union Square Hospitality Group and lecturer at ICE® ; Dr. Neal Bermas, noted food industry consultant and faculty member of ICE®; Jason M. Apfelbaum, President and CEO of Chef & Company, LLC and ICE® alumnus; and Teresa M. Holland of Epstein Becker & Green.

Other aspects of sex in the food business that will be discussed include:

• Does direct sex appeal result in higher salaries and better tips?
• Do attractive people really bring in more business?
• Is front-of-the-house staff trained to be friendly? Can they be too friendly?
• Do the design, décor and uniforms of the servers engineer and influence sex appeal?
• Does advertising and marketing reflect a sexual positioning of the business?
• Are operators aware of the legalities and challenges associated with using sex as a direct and indirect tool?

Public Relations Contact: Lisa Pisano • Lisa@iceculinary.com • 212.847.0775