Restaurant Owners Learn to Navigate the City’s Transfat Ban

See a gallery of photos from a trans fat training

A restaurant owner talks about the ban (Video; 1:04)

A city health coordinator speaks (1:03)

Three steps to compliance (1:24)

When the New York City Board of Health voted to ban trans fats from city restaurants in December 2006, many small business owners had no idea what the transition would entail, or why the ban was even necessary. And because small and family owned eateries lack the corporate infrastructure to oversee a major changeover, one of the biggest concerns was how it would impact these businesses.

Now that the ban is in motion, the city is sponsoring a series of free workshops for restaurant professionals intended to ease the burden of figuring out how to comply and cook without partially hydrogenated fats.

The workshops, conducted in English, Spanish and Chinese, teach the basics of cooking, baking and frying without artificial trans fat. They also give a detailed explanation of the ban, including a rundown of how it will be enforced and general tips on healthy nutrition.

On October 2, 2007, 30 food professionals gathered in the Bronx, all with the same goal; to learn how to make their restaurants trans fat free.