Falling food costs and a prolonged recession may tempt restaurant chains into a wave of discounts next year, leaving potential profits on the table.
With prices for many food items and fuel hitting record highs this summer, restaurants were forced to raise the prices of their dishes beyond historical norms, producing a bitter proposition for customers watching the values of their homes and investment portfolios shrink.
Now, with food inflation expected to ease next year and the price of oil already in freefall, analysts will be watching whether restaurants can hold onto …

Bargain hunting in the grocery store isn’t just for hard-core coupon pros anymore.
With food prices climbing at a rate not seen in nearly 20 years and an economy sliding to a low not seen in decades, experts said more grocery shoppers are adopting price-cutting strategies.
Traffic at Web sites devoted to coupon usage soared more than 30 percent over the year ending in October, according to ComScore Media Metrix. And the grocery gurus who run shopping sites say it isn’t just price-conscious moms looking for advice; single professionals and others are …

Shirley Mitchell, 55, picked up a few groceries this week to bake Christmas cookies as gifts. But rather than go to a traditional supermarket, she picked up some of the ingredients at Dollar General, a discount store with more “consumables” on its shelves.
“It’s horrible,” Mitchell said of the economy as she placed a $1.85 package of a dozen eggs into her cart. “I think it’s going to cause everyone to pull tight.”
Economic uncertainty has persuaded more consumers like Mitchell to leave behind traditional grocery stores in search of bargains on …

With so many processed foods on the shelf now, it’s hard to keep track of what ingredients are in what products. For example, both soy sauce and red licorice often contain wheat.
That’s can be a real problem for someone like Kathleen Reale. She has celiac disease and can’t eat anything with gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains.
“It’s very confusing. I mean when I first found out that I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I walked around the supermarket kind of in a fog, saying I can’t eat …

If the economic crunch is biting hard this year and this Christmas won’t see you winding down and welcoming in the New Year under a Caribbean sun, how about bringing a bit of alternative rum, spice and sunshine to your Christmas lunch courtesy of Hotel Mockingbird Hill, the Caribbean’s No.1 eco-friendly boutique hotel in Port Antonio Jamaica.
Anthony Reid, the hotel’s Jamaican Head Chef whose cooking style is fusion and who believes that you can’t beat ‘organic’ for taste has bought together the traditional flavours of a Jamaican Christmas: pimento, sorrel, …