Describe your establishment… The Machine Shed restaurant is dedicated to the American farmer. That dedication meant that we worked hard to have a restaurant that wasn’t just “farm themed” but would be something that could make farmers proud. We use only the best poultry, beef and pork, we cook from scratch using fresh ingredients and we still peel our potatoes. The Machine Shed is decorated with farm tools and implements from the turn of the century. Folks look around and become aware or reminisce of just a part of the rich heritage left today’s generation by its grandparents and great grandparents. How does turkey fit in with the scheme of your operation? Turkey is part of the “home-style” cooking our guests come to expect from the Machine Shed. Turkey is a traditional meat, and at the Machine Shed we value traditions and feel it is part of our menu – not a specialty or feature, but part of everyday cooking. Turkey has been a part of our menu since the very beginning of our restaurant – over 26 years ago – it’s a part our tradition. How do you currently menu turkey? Turkey entrées are available in several categories on our menu, served at lunch and dinner. On our dinner menu under “Farm Style Favorites,” we offer a Roast Turkey and Dressing and a Grilled Turkey Filet Mignon. We also offer a Hot Roasted Turkey Sandwich in our “Light Chore Dinners” and we have a Smoked Turkey Reuben Sandwich. The Roast Turkey Sandwich and the Smoked Turkey Reuben, along with the Hot Turkey and Dressing entrée are also served at lunch. We also menu a Turkey Hot Brown – which is an open-faced turkey sandwich with melted cheddar and Swiss cheese. From a business standpoint, why do you include turkey on your menu? Turkey is the most cost-effective protein when looking at food costs. Our chefs realize how versatile turkey entrées can be – it can be baked, broiled, grilled, fried and smoked - it lends itself to be used for multiple applications and the meat holds up well. Turkey meat also marinates well and can be infused with flavor – another plus on why chefs like to work with it. Finally, offering turkey at our restaurants is part of our dedication to our farmers. We support all things that farmers do and offer. When thinking about other proteins you serve why did you choose turkey for this menu item as opposed to chicken, beef or pork? Turkey is a staple on our menu, it is part of all the proteins and meats available to consumers. An advantage of turkey and why we offer it in sandwiches and offer a Turkey Reuben is that the meat shaves well. Chicken does not shave well, so the versatility of turkey allows us to offer shaved turkey sandwiches to our guests. Our guests are more familiar with turkey slices and, it’s a farming group that we highlight. Our menu has a good array of all meat products, but turkey is very cost efficient, leaner than other products and it’s unique - not many restaurants have turkey on their menu! With the recent push in the industry for healthy menu options, how does turkey help you meet this growing consumer demand? Turkey gives our customers another option in meat products. It’s the home-style cooking they want and know that it’s going to be good and there won’t be any surprises. This common way of preparing food is why our guests are coming. They don’t want to prepare it at home, and it’s a healthy option when dining out. How does including turkey on your menu fit in with the revised Government Food Guidelines? Most of our turkey is oven roasted, which is one of the healthiest ways to prepare turkey because there is no breading, and we are cooking the fat off of it. The guidelines still allow protein and our guests can choose a variety of protein/meat options from our menu. Guests can also choose which way they would like it prepared – we have healthy lean options like a Sliced Turkey Sandwich or the Grilled Turkey Filet Mignon. What made you decide to use turkey on your kid’s menu? Parents want more choices than the standard chicken nuggets or pizza. Our kid’s menu is large – we have made available many of our regular entrées available in a kids-size portion. This allows parents to choose healthier items for their child, or cater to their child’s taste – which is what they are used to at home, and turkey is one of those food items that children eat at home. What are the compelling points that make turkey adaptable for lunch and dinner dishes? Turkey is a comfort food and well liked by our guests – most of our lunch items are also available at dinner because of their popularity. Turkey is so flavorful and moist that it adapts well as a hot or cold sandwich or as hot entrées with traditional sides. Having the entrées available on both of our menus allows our guests the flexibility to enjoy their favorites at anytime of the day. Why do you think your patrons order these turkey items? Turkey is very well liked, but we take turkey a step further and show a variety of ways to fix turkey. Our customers enjoy different ways to prepare turkey and we have stuck with our recipes for so many years, they are used to coming back for it – plus you know it’s good if it’s been on the menu for over 26 years! Have you noticed consumers ordering more healthfully now than two years ago? If so how have you adapted your menu to meet these demands? We have not seen a dramatic change to consumers ordering more healthfully. When consumers go out to eat, they want the food to be good. They can make their own decisions on what or how they eat, but when dining at a restaurant, we offer them our very best products in the way we believe is best for the taste of the food. Consumers may change how much of the portion they eat, or what sides they get. We have done a low-carb menu or features that we adapt some of our menu selections to the current trends, and typically, turkey always makes it on these menu’s. How do you use the web as a tool in your work? We use the web in many different ways. We use it for marketing to consumers on upcoming events at our restaurants, or highlighting menu items. Our web site is updated monthly with recipes, news and specials. We use the web to search out new recipes, or to check on trends in our industry so we can adapt to changes. The web is a powerful tool that we use daily. Do you use the NTF web site as a resource? Just like we use the web as a tool, we use the NTF as a resource for research on recipe ideas and feature ideas to apply to our Heartland cuisine. Back to top of page