Recession Proof your Kitchen
January 14, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Just a quick blog today.
Over at Hotel F&B Magzine, Potawatomi Bingo Casino Executive chef, Peter Gebauer has written a great blog about how to Recession Proof your Kitchen.
Peter lists 39 things you should do right now to make sure that you don’t go out of business. Some of Peter’s ideas to Recession Proof your Kitchen may seem obvious, others are not. Well done Peter !
Check it out here - http://www.hotelfandb.com/blog/?p=179
Food Costing Survey
January 8, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Food costing is such an important task when running a restaurant or food and beverage operation and that’s why it will be heavily featured in the upcoming book, Kitchen Profitability.
As part of the research for Kitchen Profitability, we started running a Food Costing survey in January 2008 on www.benjaminchristie.com and we’ve literally had over 1000 chefs throughout the world participate in the survey. There has been some great feedback so far, but we are hoping for much more.
The reason we are running the survey on food costing is to gain your feedback on topics like your average food costing rate each month, through to if you undertake menu engineering. We hope to be able to provide some real insight into food costing and some industry observations. I’m also interested in learning more about what’s happening in restaurants around the world. Are food costs the same in Sydney, New York and Moscow? How different are the food costs in cafes to buffets to fine dining restaurants.
There is no doubt that the feedback we’ve received has already helped shape Kitchen Profitability because one of the questions in the survey is about what would you like to see included in the book. So far we’ve added a whole chapter on food costing in relation to staff meals that just one chef suggested.
The food costing survey is just 1 page and has a dozen or so easy questions. The results will remain anonymous and I would appreciate any contribution you could make to my research.
Please feel free to send this link to as many chefs as you can.
Take the food costing survey here
An Average Restaurant Check
December 23, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
For Chefs and Restaurant owners, Kitchen Profitability will be one of the best books you’ll ever buy. It’ll take you through the ins and outs of your restaurant finances and help untap revenue streams you didn’t know existed.
From food costing to menu engineering, through to upselling, cost effective ordering and standardising recipes, Kitchen Profitability will become your new restaurant bible. After reading it, you’ll make more profitable decisions then you’ve ever made before and what’s more it only costs the same as an average check in your restaurant.
4 Reasons to buy Kitchen Profitability right now;
- Written for chefs and restaurateurs by a chef with real experience (not an academic)
- Over 100 effective strategies to get your restaurant profitable
- Takes a clinical and practical view of how to reduce restaurant costs.
- Self help book (no costly consultants)
So why hesitate? Pre Order Kitchen Profitability now.
Cutback Cuisine
December 22, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Recently, Wall St Journal writer, Juliet Chung wrote an article aptly named Cutback Cuisine. Chung’s article discusses how some restaurants in cities like New York City, Boston and San Francisco have been forced to reduce costs of dishes with the increase in food prices.
Some of the cost cutting strategies mentioned in the article include;
1.Using beef fillet trimmings to make a marinated beef maki roll
2.Serving a ½ confit of duck; as buying whole ducks is cheaper than buying duck breasts
3.Adding more pasta options to the menu
4.No caviar as garnish on dishes
5.Not using expensive ingredients like truffles
6.Using cheaper oils like vegetable oil instead of using extra virgin olive oil
7.Not using expensive vegetable ingredients like Asparagus but rather Brussels sprouts.
8.Avoiding imports like French cheese, Italian olive oil and European wines.
When times are tough chefs are forced to think about the ingredients they use and how they can reduce costs. But reducing food costs and evaluating ingredient prices shouldn’t be something that you do when you are in trouble. This should be a standard practise every time you put something on the menu, from something that’s going to be on the menu permanently right down to today’s daily special – every dish should be costed.
Many of ideas mentioned here are in my new book Kitchen Profitability.
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