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WooFood

WooFood Certification

WooFood CertificationWorcester is home to some of the most amazing restaurants and some of the area’s best-known chefs practice their trade right in our back yard…but sometimes all that gastronomical genius makes it difficult to make healthy choices when dining out.

WooFood Founders
WooFood founders Adam Chin, Mitch Li, and Matthew DeWolf with Flying Rhino owner Paul Barber (third from left).

It is a well-known fact that making healthier eating choices are imperative to preventing or treating diseases like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease…but when presented the all-you-can-eat buffet, double chocolate red velvet cupcakes or the 24 oz rare prime rib, most of us simply cannot resist. Luckily for us, a newly formed organization promises to make it easier for us all to make better decisions when dining or ordering out in the city.

WooFood launched by UMass Medical Schools students Matthew DeWolf, Adam Chin and Mitch Li, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is working with area restaurants to develop and offer healthier menu items and to make sure they are clearly stated on menus and by servers.

WooFood’s goal is to empower and promote restaurants that encourage more healthy choices to their customers by making simple changes. The WooFood philosophy does not restrict choice, instead it is set up to make the healthier choice easier for diners. Customers eating at a WooFood certified restaurant can expect to find at least three dishes that are not only WooFood certified, but also chef certified—there is no lack of flavor, creativity, or effort. Two of the three options typically are crafted for vegetarians, complete with proteins, and wholesome options for growing children. As WooFood doesn’t require restaurants to remove any ingredients, you can rest assured that each certified meal is nutritious and delicious.

In order to become “WooFood Certified” a restaurant must first meet a series of prerequisites including:

  • At least three WooFood certified dishes are available and easy to identify
  • Two or more vegetarian dishes meeting WooFood standards are available
  • One or more WooFood Approved Desserts is available (featuring fresh or frozen fruit)
  • Whole grain options are available for the vast majority of grain based items
  • No trans fats are used and instead healthful oils such as Canola or Olive oil are used with no more than 2 pats of butter per dish if butter is used for cooking
  • Unsweetened and low sugar beverages are available on the menu
  • Low or Nonfat Dairy are available and the default choice
  • Must have at least one WooFood Certified kids meal following the same standards

Once a restaurant meets these basic criteria, they can become “WooFood Certified” and begin to work toward “WooFood Silver” and “WooFood Gold” certifications. The WooFood program does not stop with a restaurant’s menu, the team offers training for wait staff members and advertising and networking opportunities for the owners.

The menu for the Flying Rhino is constantly reinventing itself for each season, those items WooFood certified are displayed with the Certification icon.

In addition to encouraging healthy eating, WooFood has developed a concept called “Dinner for Now, Tomorrow’s Chow” where wait staff offer a customer to “wrap up” half their meal before they begin eating so as to encourage the overall intake of less food.

Three local restaurants have become WooFood Certified including Flying Rhino, Nancy Chang and Wooberry Frozen Yogurt and more will be coming on-line in the very near future. Paul Barber, owner of Flying Rhino on Shrewsbury Street recently said, “Not only are we trying to do the right thing for our customer, we definitely see the value a WooFood certification brings our restaurant and will continue to work and grow with the organization.”

So look for the bright leaf logo indicating a restaurant is “WooFood Certified”…you’ll feel better about the choices you make when eating out.

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Worcester’s Best Chef 2011

Worcester's Best Chef 2011

Worcester's Best Chef 2011Food. Most everyone loves it, not everybody can prepare it well. In Worcester county, those restaurants that both prepare arguably the best dishes and care about promoting the art of food preparation can be found at the annual Worcester’s Best Chef competition.

This year’s competition was held at historic Mechanics Hall to an enthused crowd of both casual and serious foodies. Nearly thirty restaurants claimed their territory over two floors allowing for their chefs to prepare their signature dish to be shared to all in attendance. This year’s event was paced perfectly—especially with an exclusive VIP-hour allowing the personal attention between the chefs and attendees.

Whether supporting your favorite restaurant or looking to see what other restaurants are out there, the event provided the perfect opportunity to sample until you were uncomfortably full. While every restaurant was effective in wooing votes from the attendees, a couple restaurants stood out from their peers: voted by the judges, the Worcester’s Best Chef award was presented to Wilson Wang of BABA Sushi (runners up: Jared Calderone of Feng Asian Bistro & Hibachi and Tim Quinn of Old Sturbridge Village’s Oliver Wight Tavern). The People’s Choice Award was awarded to Mark Hawley of Flying Rhino (runners up: Wilson Wang of BABA Sushi and Brian Treitman of BT’s Smokehouse). The WXLO People’s Choice Winner was Chef Christina Ernst from Via Alto. The winner of the Iron Chef competition—where selected chefs had 20-minutes to prepare a dish with pre-selected secret ingredients—went to Tim Quinn of Old Sturbridge Village’s Oliver Wight Tavern.

WorcesterScene would like to call attention to some restaurants that presented some amazing flavors and perspective. Niche Hospitality’s The People’s Kitchen and Bocado lived up to their reputation of exemplar detail to flavors and presentation. Perfect Game seemingly came out of nowhere with an incredible version of the Slider style burger. Kai Sushi Bar and Grille‘s combination of flavors and textures to their sushi rolls left many coming for seconds and thirds. And EVO wowed everyone with their creative choice of flavors, textures, and overall preparation of their dish.

If you were unable to attend this year’s competition, be certain that next year you plan to be part of the area’s most influential event on food culture.