A recipe for connection

The crispy onion tilapia, chicken-asparagus risotto, and Dr Pepper flank steak are popular items in the "Grab n' Go Freezer" at Super Suppers, a do-it-yourself meal-assembly franchise in Westborough. But until recently, the presentation - entrees stacked on shelves in aluminum pans and plastic bags - didn't do much to whet appetites.

That was before the store's owners watched a live online video conference in which the company's founder demonstrated how the foods could be more attractively displayed. So they arranged the freezer differently and posted enticing photos of cooked meals on its doors.

"It's an overused phrase, but a picture's worth a thousand words," said Kelly Smythe, one of the Westborough franchise's three co-owners. Adopting the tips on the video, she added, "makes the food more appetizing to look at, helps people understand what's in there, and also helps sell it better."

Web conferencing isn't just for the corporate boardroom anymore. For years, many large companies have saved time and money by using the Internet to conduct live meetings and presentations, enabling participants to watch from their own computers rather than travel from far-flung places to attend. But as Web conferencing has proliferated, a new breed of companies - often including those whose products depend heavily on visual appeal - are relying on the online technology, too.

Uno Chicago Grill, previously Pizzeria Uno, has embraced Web conferencing at its restaurants na tionwide for new menu rollouts and bartending demonstrations. And although some Web conference services require the purchase of costly equipment, others can be used with only a basic Internet connection, making them affordable even for small businesses and other organizations.

In Charlestown, for example, the Teamsters Local 25 uses webcasts for monthly meetings and training to union members, which includes truck drivers, plumbers, and office clerks. The National Association of Government Employees, headquartered in Quincy, uses Web conferences to train shop stewards.

Super Suppers, based in Fort Worth, Texas, began using Web conferences about four months ago. Typically no more than 20 minutes long, they are taped in a kitchen at Super Suppers' parent company, the Culinary School of Forth Worth, and can be watched live online by the more than 200 independently owned franchisees nationwide. Franchisees can also opt to watch the Web conferences later, at a more convenient time, by watching them on a designated website or by downloading them to a computer.

One recent Web conference featured company founder Judie Byrd, clad in a white apron in front of a large freezer, explaining how foods should be labeled and displayed so they look more alluring. So far, the Web conferences have been broadcast about once a month, and the company plans eventually to air one every other week, said Super Suppers spokeswoman Lisa Devine.

"We want to make sure we're delivering exactly the same message from our corporate office to our individual stores," Devine said, "and we can do that so much more effectively with a video conference showing our store owners how to stock their Grab n' Go Freezer and what it should look like."

Uno Chicago Grill, founded in Chicago and headquartered in West Roxbury, broadcasts online video conferences to employees at its 200-plus restaurants once a month. The company's executive chef might demonstrate how to prepare new menu items or its beverage director might explain how to mix new drinks.

Employees can also ask live questions and get live answers. The demonstrations are broadcast from the company's test kitchen in Norwood.

"We have a standard way of doing all of our cooking and all of our procedures," said Alan LaBatte, a spokesman for Uno, which began using video conferencing about eight months ago, "and this allows us to make sure that every restaurant is following the standards and that the product is uniform."

Online conferencing is "better than actually flying somebody to a location to make sure everything is being properly done," said Rob Anderson of AccuConference, a private, 13-employee company in Fort Worth that provides Web conferencing services to Super Suppers and Uno.

No software or hardware is required to use AccuConference's technology. Customers use a basic camera to film a meeting or demonstration. They then watch the video by logging in to AccuConference's website, by posting it on their company website, or by downloading it onto a personal computer. Depending on how they use the technology, customers pay AccuConference a monthly fee or a per-minute rate for the service.

"You don't have to have a $200,000 purchase of equipment at each location to have a video conference these days," Anderson said.

When a customer's conference is being viewed at multiple locations, AccuConference can assign a unique code to each location so that managers can tell who watched the conference and who didn't. A variety of security measures allow customers to control access. Some businesses use the online technology to do preliminary video screenings of potential hires.

At Super Suppers in Westborough, the owners say Web conferencing has helped them design a more visually inviting store.

Some business matters - such as how to assemble eye-catching displays - aren't as easily explained on paper as are recipes or food-assembly tips.

"This helps us know how to give our customers the visual images," said Meg Garvey, a co-owner of the Westborough franchise, "because when you look at a finished food it makes your mouth water, but that won't necessarily happen if you just read the menu descriptions."

Sacha Pfeiffer can be reached at pfeiffer@globe.com.

Correction: Because of incorrect information provided by Super Suppers, this story misstated the frequency with which the Texas-based company has been using Web conferencing technology. The company had broadcast only one test of the service before the story was published.