1. Assign not the job of the hostess to the unworthy.
2. Prepare for guests a pleasant table.
3. Honor thy regulars.
4. Work well the service fundamentals.
5. Hearken to thy feedback.
6. Rethink thy wine list.
7. Retainest thou thy trained employees.
8. Expand thy horizons beyond the dining room.
9. Make flexibility thy watchword.
10. Work today with an eye on tomorrow.

“The immediate response has to be, rip it off the menu,” said Johnny Iuzzini, pastry chef at Jean Georges, who checked the Food and Drug Administration’s Web site daily until the restaurant’s Bronx-based nut supplier, Bazzini, was completely cleared.

Hundreds of products containing peanut butter have been recalled, all of them involving the products of the Peanut Corporation of America. All the major supermarket brands of peanut butter have been cleared of any contamination.

Records show peanut plant president complained about delays caused by contamination reports.

WASHINGTON — As salmonella illness began spreading across the country in the fall, the owner of a Georgia peanut company that was causing the outbreak railed against the cost and delays that the contamination was causing his businesses, according to internal company documents obtained by Congress.

Stewart Parnell, president of the Peanut Corporation of America, also pressed federal regulators to allow him to continue using peanuts from the tainted plant and shipped products to customers with a homemade certificate that falsely attested to their purity

Economic weakness and food inflation are hurting casual dining restaurant chains as families shun moderately-priced restaurants for cheaper alternatives.

Restaurants claimed a big casualty Tuesday, when S&A Restaurant Corp., owner of chains including Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern and Steak & Ale, said it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The private company, which owns hundreds of restaurants, said it was shutting its doors.

The National Restaurant Association said it took into account the current economic conditions when preparing the 2008 Restaurant Industry Forecast and continues to project moderate growth, though less than in previous years.

“The absolute sales are up for the restaurant industry; that’s because new units are opening,” said Lynne Collier, restaurant analyst for Keybanc Capital Markets. “But when you look at same-store-sales, that has been negative for the industry for quite a while now.”

Collier said that same-store-sales, a measure of locations that have been open for at least one year, were flat in 2006, down 1.1% in 2007, and down 1.1% year-to-date. This is in spite of a slight uptick in May, which she attributed to the government’s stimulus checks.

The biggest declines, according to Collier, are occurring in states hard-hit by the subprime-related real estate fallout, such as California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.

“That tells me that subprime in the real estate market is the number one factor that is dragging down sales for the restaurant business,” she said.

Rising gasoline and food prices have also taken a toll, said Bryan Elliott, restaurant analyst for Raymond James. Elliott said consumers’ purchasing power began to “slow noticeably” when gas prices shot up in the spring of 2006. Later in 2006 and into 2007, he said the “ethanol-derived jump in food prices” cut into the industry’s bottom line.

But low-cost fast-food chains like McDonald’s are thriving, analysts say.

Collier said “quick service” restaurants like McDonald’s are attractive to families because they tend to cost less than sit-down casual dining restaurants like Bennigan’s. Quick service restaurants also have added salads and chicken meals that have increased their “price value perception,” according to the analysts.

This perception of “value” is also why Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants, is doing well, said Elliott, even though they are part of the hard-hit casual dining segment.

“[Olive Garden] appears to be gaining share through a strong value message,” he said, who praised the company for its effective advertising and marketing. “All-you-can-eat bread sticks and salad creates a perception of lots of value for the money.”

California became the first state to require restaurants to cook without artery-clogging trans fats, such as those in many oils and margarine, under restrictions signed into law Friday by the health-conscious governor. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a physical-fitness advocate and crusader against obesity, sided with legislators who said the measure would help get the fat out of Californians who are too dependent on fast food.

“California is a leader in promoting health and nutrition, and I am pleased to continue that tradition by being the first state in the nation to phase out trans fats,” Schwarzenegger said. “Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California.”

New York City has a similar ban, which began July 1 with a three-month grace period. Those who violate the California law could face fines of $25 to $1,000.

The legislation was vigorously opposed by the California Restaurant Assn., which argued that it would not substantially affect public health because people eat 75% of their meals at home.

The decision on what restaurants use in cooking should be based on the desires of customers, not government officials, said association spokesman Daniel Conway.

Even so, he said, “given the fact that our industry is already phasing out trans fat in response to customers and that there is a delayed time line for implementation, we are confident our members will be able to meet the mandate of the law.”

Indeed, the law follows steps already taken by such institutions as McDonald’s and Spago Beverly Hills to meet customer demand.

The fats can be found in vegetable shortenings, margarines, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, baked goods and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Carl’s Jr. chain plans to stop cooking with trans fats by the beginning of the year, said company spokeswoman Beth Mansfield. “We saw where the industry was going,” she said.

Other chains that have fully or partly eliminated trans fat or had previously committed to doing so include Wendy’s, El Pollo Loco, Mimis Cafe, KFC, Burger King, IHOP, Applebee’s, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, Denny’s, Panera Bread, Red Lobster and the Olive Garden, according to the restaurant association.

The group said ethnic restaurants and bakeries would be hardest hit by the ban, because many ethnic dishes are more difficult to prepare with trans fat-free substitutes.

Rod White, the owner of Bertha’s Soul Food in Los Angeles, estimated that it would cost him $30 more a week to buy cooking oil without trans fat, and he was angry.

“The government is infringing too much on the rights of people to even eat what they want,” he said. “Are they going to outlaw salt next because it causes hypertension?”

Compliance will be checked by state health inspectors on their periodic restaurant visits.

Scientific studies have established that trans fats increase so-called bad cholesterol in the body and decrease good cholesterol, contributing to the buildup of plaque in arteries, according to Dr. P.K. Shah, director of cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.

“This law will address the health issue of cardiovascular disease, which is the No. 1 killer in the nation and the state of California,” Shah said.

Eliminating artificial trans fats from the food supply could prevent 6% to 19% of heart attacks and related deaths each year, according to an estimate published by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The new regulations could mean real savings, not only in lives but also in health costs, according to Mendoza.