TORONTO — Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese and now a clever nutrition calculator for the Apple iPhone. McDonald's Canada has developed a one-of-a-kind nutrition calculating application available free from iTunes.

“We're thrilled to expand the accessibility of nutrition information to a new platform, one that makes it easier than ever for people to check nutrient values and customize their order before they make a purchase” said Richard Ellis, senior vice-president, Communications and Public Affairs, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Limited.

TORONTO — Pizza Pizza recently received a Webby Award for its iPhone ordering app.

The Webby’s — international awards that honour cyber-based tools — recognized the Canadian brand’s app, developed by Plastic Mobile, for being the best shopping tool for a handheld device. The chain beat out major U.S. retail giants such as Walgreens and Target.

“We’ve really made a push to enter the online world through our web-ordering system and now our mobile app,” said Pat Finelli, chief marketing officer for Pizza Pizza. “This is a big win for us. It proves we’ve delivered when it comes to reliability and convenience, which are characteristics of ours that customers have really come to expect and value.”

Six suppliers and operators sound off on the value of hardware, software and social networking.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Whether they need it or not, chefs now have an excuse to purchase an iPad, with news that the California-based BirchStreet Systems, Inc., has created Recipe Pad, a management application for the iPad and other tablets.

"Unlike anything on the market, Recipe Pad couples our recipe management application with touch-pad technology to produce a range of high-powered capabilities and added convenience for recipe and food cost management," explains Doug Sanborn, president of BirchStreet Systems, of the application that can be used with or without the company’s e-Procurement and Inventory Control apps.

Touted as the first recipe-management solution made specifically for the iPad, Recipe Pad uses a simple interface that allows for browsing, searching, viewing photographs, preparation instructions as well as recipe editing. It includes a “what if tool” that allows chefs to see how different variables will affect food costs for different recipes, an ingredient library, multi-lingual and multi-currency support and more.