Projects

So it's getting close to winter and business is starting to slow down.  It's time to start collecting ideas and trying some new things for next season.  We have been looking at the possibility of making pizza at the restaurant and so we'll start playing around with some dough in the near future.  I've never tried making pizza dough but it seems fairly straight forward.
I would like to try some new techniques for making the classic Carne Adovada. I know that the current wisdom is to cut it into strips and cook it for quite a while but I would like to try a few techinques one includes the use of a pressure cooker.  In addition I need to start playing around with my chili recipes so I'm ready for the Chili Classic and can make a run at the top spot. I've never entered before so it will be a new experience.
I would love to be able to enter the Souper Bowl this year but I don't think that we'll be able to make it down to Albuquerque with that much product but we'll see.
With Christmas coming it would be nice to be able to put together some gingerbread house kits to sell and also do some tamales. I know that the tamale thing will be tough since so many people around here sell them during the holidays so I'm going to have to come up with some kind of twist. (insert evil laugh here)
So even though business will be slowing down I think I have enough projects to keep my plate full and my hands busy. Oh yeah....I forgot to mention that I will be making some tentative forays into the world of baking....yep you heard me...Baking.

Downtime

So yesterday was slow.  Not the slow steady dribble of guests that makes for a long yet still profitable day but the kind of mind numbing slow that makes you want to beat your head against the prep table because you swear it’s been an hour since you last checked the clock and in reality only 3 minutes has passed.

As usual, I tackled the kind of projects that inevitably bring people through the door, because as we all know once you start a project you get busy….or at least it seems that way.

15 minutes later we had the reach-ins cleaned out and organized, the floor swept and the counter tops cleared of debris and wiped down.

Now what?  Well, either we spend the afternoon staring at each other, wiping tables that have been wiped down already, texting or playing on the internet via the phone or we find something constructive to do.

I had noticed that the display case where we keep our breakfast pastries was starting to look a little bare and so I decided to make some donuts.  I had a fairly easy recipe for cake donuts and figured I’d play around with the flavorings a little.  So along with the standard ingredients I threw in some coffee and coco powder and ended up with a really aromatic dough that looked like this. 

I don’t have a donut cutter but by using a couple of dough cutters I was able to make a reasonable looking donut.

It was on like donkey kong! I made a quadruple batch since the recipe I had was only for a few donuts and so the afternoon was whiled away with kneading, rolling, cutting, and frying until I had 3 dozen doughnuts and the same in donut holes.

All I had to do was toss them in some powdered sugar and viola!

The lazy afternoon had been transformed into a productive one and the display case was replenished with warm mocha goodness. And wouldn’t you know it. Right as the donuts were hitting the case some customers, who had come in during the final stages of frying, noticed the aroma and insisted on being the first to try my donut experiment.

As for the donut holes….well I had considered putting them out with their big brothers, but in the end they wound up as “wait bait.”

Stutter Steps

Ah the twists and turns that life throws at you.  When I posted last I was extremely excited and optimistic about relocating and starting a new job in a new town.  What I walked into was not quite what I expected.  The property was really nowhere near being ready to open and there was not a lot that I could do since I don't have a background in construction or anything of the sort.  With that in mind I did what I could to help out. I worked on assembling various shelves for use in the kitchen, cleaned the hoods which were quite frankly atrocious and started on building an order guide so we could hit the ground running.  While that was taking place I did some cooking for the owners of various specials that I had proposed.  All seemed to be going well when one weekend after cooking for a small get together for their friends I was informed that things were not working out and I was let go.
Scrambling for options I called my former employer and he promptly put me back on the schedule. Whew.
So now I find my self back in Chama. I have decided that I'm not going to look around again for a while.  I"m making a commitment to my current restaurant and to this sleepy mountain town.  Since I do like cooking a variety of dishes I am going to look into the various catering possibilities in this area as well. Since I've been back I've been asking myself "what really went wrong and why did this happen?"  Suffice it to say, I may never know the answer to the first question and some interesting possibilities are opening up that may answer the latter.  While I love the kitchen and all the creativity it entails it may be that I return to my roots and exercise my creative chops in other avenues. Whatever happens I know that I'll always keep cooking and experimenting and I will definitely continue to chronicle the ride.

Quick blerb.  Today is the start of the final weekend before I relocate to Angel Fire and the onset of a new adventure. I'm both anxious and excited. There's a lot to do so I'll post more on this later.

The Slam

There comes a time in every establishment’s existence where you experience a volume of business you never thought would come.  Usually when you’re busy you tend to refer to it as being slammed. This is the big one however. This is THE SLAM. 

The day starts normally. The staff arrives, shift meetings occur, prep lists are made out and mise en place is begun.  The proper hour arrives and you flip the sign, turn on the light or whatever indication is used to indicate that you are now open for business.  For a while everything runs as it should.  Maybe the place fills up and a brisk pace is established, or maybe you get a few guests and then there is a lull for a while but for some reason at some point of the day all havoc breaks loose.  Sure you’ve been busy before. Hopefully busy is an environment that has been set as a benchmark and the staff is used to high levels of production and rapid but exemplary service.  For some reason however, this day is different. Perhaps some staff has called in and so you’re running a little short.  Or maybe the delivery truck is running late or you are expecting the delivery on the day after this one and so stock levels are a bit depleted. Who really knows how these things happen but one thing does. The place suddenly is packed with people and they keep coming.  The day flies by at first but then suddenly time goes into slow motion.  Who are all these people and where did they come from?  The kitchen is rocked and the dining room is packed.  Little by little things start to back up, the bussers can’t keep up with the tables turning, the dish room gets backed up and you start running low on plate ware, silverware, cups etc.  You run out of to-go containers, the prep staff can’t keep up and so the mise en place starts running out.  As the line sacrifices staff to help prep, the ticket times increase and so someone from management jumps onto the line to help out. Gamely you continue and for a bit the tide seems surf-able.

Then the unthinkable happens….you start to run out of product.  Maybe it’s something somewhat manageable and so you ’86 the item from the menu and go on or maybe it’s something integral to several items and so someone is dispatched to the store or will-call, again shorting the staff further.  Still the flood of hungry customers continues to pour through the door clamoring for food and a table.  With no break in sight you set your resolve and continue.  As the hours now creep by stress sets in.  The shortages of tables, plateware, and product add to the stress bearing down on the cooks, servers, bussers, and dishwashers.  Fatigue sets in and tempers wear thin.  In addition the customers who want only to get fed and get out but can’t due to increased ticket times and slow turnover start to get restless and snippy, again adding to the stress factor. As the pressure mounts some of the staff begin to break down. Tempers flare among the staff, cooks yelling at the dishwashers or prep staff for more product and plate ware. Wait staff arguing with the bussers or hosts about why their table is not cleaned or about table rotation. Patrons chastising wait staff about slow service and management chastising everyone including…yes…each other.

All hell is breaking loose. The head waiter is on the verge of slapping a busser. A bartender is yelling at the expediter…why in the hell isn’t food making it to the bar patrons.  The cute mild mannered hostess is fighting back tears after being berated by patrons who have been waiting for “an hour” (really only 30 min), and you have the gut feeling that all the cooks are on the verge of starting a knife fight with almost everyone.

Finally…mercifully the slam comes to an end and you step back and survey the carnage.  Both front and back of house looks like a bomb went off.  The lead server looks catatonic-ally at the dining room, the hostess whimpers as she straightens menus, the bartender looks longingly at the bottle of Jack he’s wiping and the cooks eye each other suspiciously as they clean their knives and tools.  Meanwhile the management look like deer in headlights slightly starting whenever someone talks to them.  It is the end however the building is still standing with the staff still intact. 

Is there any thing that could be done to have prevented this?  My belief is yes and no. These days happen and will happen again.  So in light of this I believe that the best thing to do is to set up a system of stress management techniques.  I’m not talking about going out to the back dock or walk-in and letting loose with a string of profanity but if that helps…well hey.  Instead I’m referring to taking the time to build in safeguards against this inevitable day.

Managers trying to find solutions to this constant cascade of voracious visitors will often do what seems like the best solution and jump in to help aid the staff, bussing tables, waiting tables, prepping and cooking.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Throwing bodies at the problem can definitely help if you’re understaffed or overwhelmed by customers.  The right bodies however.  I have no problem with a manager jumping in to help but if he/she ends up slowing things down then it only exacerbates the problem.  This is where effective cross-training is essential.  As a chef I need to identify who would be the best possible candidate for cross-training and for what.  Cross training in the kitchen is fairly easy given the hierarchal system that seems ingrained in most kitchens.  Many start their careers in the dish room and then graduate to the prep kitchen and then later rotate through the various line stations.  It makes sense then that most everyone in the kitchen could be shifted around to great effect.  It is similar in the front of house from busser to server to bartender.  The position of expeditor is where the problem often lies.  The “expo” needs to understand both sides of the window. 

In addition to cross the manager needs to be able to survey the situation and identify possible crises before they occur.  Is the hostess’s lip starting to quiver, maybe she needs to take five and regroup.  Has the line gone completely quiet? Talk to the cooks and find out what’s going on.  Kitchens should have a constant chatter. 

Effective management teams will often switch with each other if only for a few minutes allowing the other to take a breather and re-focus.  Throughout this beast of a day take a moment to remind yourself that:

1. It’s “Burgers and Fries” no matter how complex the menu you’re not curing cancer.
2. You are the leader.  The staff will take their cue from you on how to react. You panic they follow.
3. This too shall pass.

So when it’s over pitch in and help the staff reset and as you do so let them know they did well and thank them for their help.

So what are some other techniques that can be used to assist? An “on call” position?  What do you think?

PB&J

After spending so much time in the hospitality industry with a lot of people who have also had a decent amount of experience in the same it’s easy to assume that they know what you’re talking about.  Lingo and “common sense” in a kitchen doesn’t necessarily translate to the average Joe though.  I’ve had this demonstrated to me several times since I have moved to my town.  The terms I’ve used both in the back and front of house in various kitchens in the city have somehow escaped the cooks and restaurant employees here.  I was talking to a server the other day and explained that we were going to run a particular special that took a fair amount of prep time and could not be replenished on the fly. They asked me, “what do we do if we run out?” to which I casually responded, “Then we’ll just ‘86’ it.”

The affirmation of agreement that I was expecting never came.  Instead there was a pause and blank stare.  After a brief moment I explained that the term “86” meant we would discontinue the item.  Some terms I have become used to are more specific to the various restaurants where I have worked.  Terms like “rabbit” ( i.e. the lettuce tomato pickle and onion or “burger set”) and “reggae” (regular) remain in my kitchen vocabulary even they are not necessarily found industry wide.

Earlier today I had to re-learn a lesson passed on to me almost twenty years ago.  I was navigating my way through a busy breakfast while taking care of some deep prep at the same time.  As time passed I noticed that the dishwasher wasn’t too busy at the moment and had a little time on his hands. So I casually asked if he wouldn’t mind cutting a few potatoes and putting them in a “shoebox” a plastic container about the size and shape of a standard shoe box.

I happened to have one right next to where the cutting board was that was half full of already blanched potatoes.  A few minutes later I glanced over and noticed that he was putting the raw potatoes that he had cut in with the ones I already had.  I mentioned that he had to go through the box and separate them.  He mentioned that I just said put them in a shoe box and hadn’t specified which that they needed to be in a new container. I explained that they could not be mixed in with the already blanched potatoes since they had different cooking times and the reason he was cutting them was that we were going to be blanching them as a back-up to the ones we already had.  After things were situated properly I went back to the project I was doing muttering under my breath, “I didn’t know we were going to be making PB&J sandwiches.”

While this comment may seem totally random on the surface, it refers to an exercise I took part in during a class on training fellow employees.  The leader of the class had on the table a jar of jelly, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread and a knife and spoon.  We were then asked to write down instructions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  After a few minutes the instructors assistant stood by the items and a few of us were asked to read each instruction for making the sandwich.  The first one began, “take 2 slices of bread.”

The assistant stood there doing nothing but looking blankly at the loaf of bread.  The instructor mentioned that we had not explained how the 2 slices of bread were to be obtained which prompted us to amend our first instruction to, “open the bag and take 2 slices of bread.”  With great enthusiasm the assistant ripped open the package and spilled all the slices on the table and then retrieved 2 of them.

The instructions went on in this fashion for a while and then the exercise was ended.  The instructor explained that we in training others cannot assume that the employee understands what we are talking about and in our instructions we must be perfectly clear in order to achieve what we need to be done.

Likewise when an employee is given instructions and doesn’t totally understand them they may not ask for clarification because they think it may seem silly. Instead they plunge ahead into the task and instead receive correction for their actions resulting in frustration.  Why would they be corrected when they were only following the instructions as they were given to them?

So it follows that by not taking for granted that those around us know what we’re talking about and making sure our instructions are clear we not only save ourselves from exasperation but also aid those we are trying to teach by giving them a path to success and not frustration.

So what are some instances that you have had in demonstrating this point? I relish your comments.

Every once in a while an idea comes to me that I should probably write down.  Unfortunately in the daily bustle of life I forget to do that and then am left thinking down the road, "what was that thing I was thinking of?"  At one point I was going to carry a notebook and try to jot down the ideas but I ended up using the notebook for everyday prep lists and fire sheets. So I figure I'll jot some ideas down here and that way I have access to them from wherever I can find a connection.

• Kalbi glazed burger with kimchi and grilled pineapple
• Smoked trout tacos with jalapeno, lime aoli candied bacon and avocado
• Pulled pork empanada with peach confit, red chili yam gratin, Chinese long beans.
• Curried chicken wrap with cilantro scented rice, black bean puree and roasted red pepper remoulade

Just a few for now I'm sure I'll be adding some more later.

Inventory and Forecasting

I mentioned in my previous post that a monthly inventory is nice tool to keep track of costs and help an establishment know where they are in terms of profitability.  One question I keep running into is this: How much inventory do you need to keep on hand? Sure it’s nice to be able to tour the walk-ins and the pantry and rest easy knowing that you won’t be running out of product anytime soon, but as one of my mentors pointed out, you want to have your money in the bank and not on the shelves.

     It’s a struggle to find that perfect balance between too much on the shelves and not enough. It is easier to achieve that balance when you’re working in an establishment that has been around for a while.  At one restaurant I worked at the business forecast was arrived at by going back to the previous year and checking the amount of sales. It was reasoned that the previous years would give a fairly accurate count of the amount of business we could expect. 

At another place I worked the forecast could be obtained simply by checking the coming reservations for the weeks ahead and ordering accordingly. It was a fairly exclusive place and meals were for guests only and so there was really no need to factor in “walk-in” business. Sure the occasional surprise guest may show up but such instances were easily taken care of.

     What about the start up business though? If there are no prior statistics to go by and if the place is open to the public how do you forecast how much you’re going to need on hand? This is an issue that requires a lot of forethought and organization. Having never been through this challenge yet I find myself a little apprehensive in addressing it. Suffice it to say I am no authority on this subject and so what is written here are just some ideas that I’m mulling over on how to successfully negotiate this dilemma. 

     I’m thinking that the logical place to start is with the menu and portion size.  By accurately measuring how much raw product is required to achieve one finished plate you can begin to figure out how much raw product will need to be ordered.

A side note here: while you’re figuring this out it’s a good idea to jot down the pricing for all this. It will definitely help in tracking sales and your PNL down the road.

     The really tricky part is in forecasting what the amount of business will be.  What if you throw your doors open and nothing happens? Then you’re left with a ton of product and nothing to do with it. Hopefully the issue of publicity has already been taken care of and you as the chef just need to worry about making sure you have enough on hand to feed all those eager patrons.

     Setting up the initial revenue forecast should have been done as part of the overall business plan and with this initial forecast one can begin to put together a plan of attack for the uncertainties of opening a new kitchen. In planning for the opening several factors come into play. How many people can be served at one time, how many times do you intend to turn the restaurant in a day i.e. how many covers per day, and what percentage of each menu item will be ordered against the whole menu.

     As you consider these questions it is important to be objective about them.  Capacity seating is a solid statistic but anticipating the rate of turn is more difficult. Take into account your own experiences here. In all the places you’ve worked how many times do you turn tables and what kind of establishment was it?  There is a world of difference in the turn rate between a fine dining and a fast casual establishment.  So a little market research comes in to play here, after all you can’t expect a café here in my small mountain town to perform the same way as a similar establishment in larger towns like Santa Fe or Albuquerque although they may have almost identical menus.

     In planning this figure be optimistic but carefully so. It would be nice to pack the place in the first five minutes and have the restaurant function like a well oiled machine turning the tables every 40 minutes or so. After all isn’t the menu designed to run ten minute ticket times? Ah yes but remember that no matter how talented the staff is, this is a brand new venture and unforeseen items will undoubtedly show up.  What if you sell out of the crab fondue in the first 30 minutes and it takes 45 to prep?(No one wants to start 86’ing items when you have walk-ins full of product but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do just that until you can find some time to recover.) Seasoned managers find ways of communicating this kind of news so there are no glitches but invariably one gets through causing a slow down.  Take the opening of Sonny’s Café in Chama as an example. The menu is typical New Mexico faire and is extremely quick to prep and deliver. So one would think that the opening would go without a hitch and the turn rate would be reasonably quick.  Well the owners are well known in the community and there was solid local media coverage in the form of a live radio remote and also the special appearance of a professional boxer to help boost the hype.  Doors opened and with in minutes every table was sat with more people waiting to get in. Orders were taken and the result was a kitchen that was inundated with approximately 75 covers at once. The result was a ticket time that escalated to almost 40 minutes thus affecting the overall turn rate.

     As far as estimating how much of each item to prepare for the opening, that is going to take some educated guess work. Unless you are blindly opening a restaurant in a region you have never been to with a menu you constructed in a vacuum, you should have at least some idea regarding regional tastes. Is the town mostly Hispanic and comprised of blue collar workers? Then I wouldn’t expect to sell too many Blue Crab Po’Boys. However it’s a safe bet that a basic taco plate will make a strong showing. 

     So use your knowledge of the area and local market research in your initial percentage guestimation but be prepared for the inevitable wild card. Sometimes something we never thought would be a huge seller ends up being one of the quirky local favorites. One example is the Green Chili Chicken Alfredo at the local steak house down the road. Given the make up of the town and the overall direction of the menu I would not have picked it as one of the big sellers but apparently it is, and I am constantly told by others that when I go eat there I have to get that particular item.  Apparently it’s the bomb.

     So using these basic questions I can begin generating a forecast that will ensure a profitable enterprise.  It is important to keep track of the daily numbers and compile them in a meaningful way so that future forecasting can be used to accurately predict business needs. Without an accurate forecast, I run the risk of product shortages and skyrocketing labor costs.

Giving Away the Store

Throughout the past few months as I assisted in the opening of a new restaurant I've been thinking a lot about the importance of keeping track of costs.  The place I've been working is a small restaurant and we don't have a fancy POS system that tracks everything.  Oh to be so lucky. I've spoken to the managers/owners about tracking costs and they assure me that it's under control.  That's good to hear since I've been doing a little reading and realize that this is an issue that cannot be ignored for any length of time.
I've always heard that it is important to control food cost and have participated in many monthly and yearly inventories. At the end we run the numbers against sales and calculate weather we are in good standing or not.  If the numbers are too high than we discuss ways we can rectify the situation. Often it involves a little menu tweaking and greater thought on how we can limit waste and control purchasing. Monthly inventories are helpful in keeping track of where you are throughout the year but it wasn't until I read about daily costing that the idea really began to gel on ways to really understand where the costs are going and how to keep a firm grip on profit and loss.
Point of sale systems are amazing at gaining this information since you just pull up a report that indicates what was sold on a given day and reconciling it with the actual financials. But what it doesn't tell you is if an item had to be tossed and re-cooked or if the portions were correct or, heaven forbid, a case of pork loin "accidentally" walked out the back door.
Cost control is something that needs to be bought into by the entire staff.  It's easy to explain portion size but what if the cook decides that they're going to give their buddies the "hook-up" on a certain dish.  Sure one time is easily dismissed in their mind but what if the entire staff decided to do it one time or even, as is often the case, every once in a while. After a while the friends begin to get used to the "hook-up" and it is no longer a treat but becomes an expectation.
At one of the restaurants I worked at, one of the cooks used to own his own place and we got into a discussion about this problem. He frankly admitted that while his restaurant was popular he got into the habit of giving items away for friends and that it was one of the factors that hindered his profitability. We were discussing this while we watched with exasperation one of the owners give away almost half of a dessert that had been prepared earlier that afternoon. The explanation was that if the customers tried it they would tell other people how good it was and that would bring in more business. On another occasion a couple of side items were prepared for a special since it was New Years and it was a traditional plate where the owner was from.  Again we shook our heads in shock as the side items were given away with every plate that was sold throughout the day. "That's how we do it where I'm from" was the reasoning behind this atrocity. It was with no real surprise when we were called in a few days later and it was revealed that the establishment would be closing.
Sure it's nice to be able to comp a dish for a few friends once in a while but these extra expenditures need to be tracked and taken into account. Waste needs to be tracked and factored in as well. After all if you have to toss half a case of veggies because they went bad you just increased the case cost 100% and that becomes really pricey in the long run. There are a host of other factors that can increase food cost and I will try to touch on those in the next few posts but for now lets just make sure we're not giving away the store. 

A quick update

I realize that it’s been quite some time since my last posting so first a little update. 

Yes I am still in the hospitality industry but there are some changes.  It would take quite a while to go through them all and it involves a lot of personal drama that I don’t think I need to go into.  Suffice it to say that I’m still in the kitchen and that is still awesome.

The food I’m currently doing is less complicated than what I have done before but it gives me the chance to focus on other aspects of the business.

My current establishment is fairly new and it has been interesting to help the owners get up and running.  It has been a while since I participated in a restaurant opening and it has forced me to revisit and rethink some of the issues you don’t normally consider in an already established venue. I’m not going to outline all of them here since I’m set to move later this summer and open a new place in more of a managerial position and so I will probably address them in future posts.

I look forward to new and exciting things in the future and am also looking forward to some interesting dialogue from you as well. So feel free to comment and let me know what you think.  Even if you aren’t speaking with food industry experience I will relish your insight since I’m going to be touching on many other business related issues such as promotion and publicity, employee relations, purchasing and inventory, product sourcing and of course the food.