Sponsored by Ventura Foods
A simple equation describes the recovering restaurant industry—squeeze out more work with fewer hands. That is the reality operators face as they rebuild their businesses, restore a semblance of normality for customers and rehire staff idled during the darkest days of the pandemic.
Bottom-line concerns loom large for operators in this era. For starters, restrictions on the number of seats permitted for inside dining hamper traffic and sales. At the same time, labor demands must factor in such additional tasks as cleaning and sanitizing customer-contact surfaces, taking phone and website orders, packaging food to-go and directing traffic in curbside pickup programs.
Streamlining for Success
In this environment, reducing cost is critical. Two key ways are simplifying the menu and relying on prepared food products that can be used in multiple items for new flavor applications. These enable operators to innovate their menus without incurring the high costs of a full menu overhaul requiring new dishes to be ideated, tested and reviewed.
Food products with versatile or time-saving features appeal to operators facing today's challenges, according to the One Table Operator report conducted by Datassential. A third (33%) of operators surveyed in the report said they were more likely to offer versatile products that can be used in multiple ways because of COVID-19 restrictions. That was the second-highest response in the survey behind ordering more sanitation-focused products (57%).
In the same Datassential report, 38% of operators said that after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, they will need more convenience-focused products to simplify prep or accommodate reduced labor requirements.
Here are some practices operators can follow:
- Remove menu items that require many ingredients and replace them with simpler ones that are quicker and easier to prepare.
- Cross-utilize ingredients in multiple menu items for greater efficiency in purchasing, inventory and operations.
- Offer menu items that hold and reheat well for curbside pickup and delivery.
- Explore prepared food products, such as sauces, dressings and condiments, in versatile and creative plus-one menu applications.
Redesigning the Menu
Sauces, dressings and condiments put a creative and cost-efficient spin on the straightforward fare that consumers are craving during the pandemic, such as pizza, chicken wings, salads, burgers, classic comfort foods and family meal bundles.
In an interview with Nation’s Restaurant News, Owen Klein, vice president of global culinary innovation at CKE Restaurants, parent of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains, said he is working on new dipping sauces for chicken tenders that are operationally easy yet still generate buzz. They bring “a little bit of flavor news” to an already popular offering, he said.
Menu development at the fast-casual Modern Market Eatery and Lemonade restaurant brands is guided by “getting back to basics” and seeking ways “to save on either cost or complexity,” said Nate Weir, vice president of culinary at parent company Modern Restaurant Concepts, speaking in a webinar on RestaurantsRise.com. He noted that Modern Market’s new Summer Cobb salad was intentionally designed with ingredients already in inventory.
“We were able to create something really beautiful, really comforting and familiar, but it in such a way that our team didn't necessarily have to learn any new items, just that different build for this salad,” said Weir.
Doing the Math on Plus One
A smaller inventory makes it imperative that ingredients perform multiple roles. In addition to providing sauces, dressings and condiments in portion-control cups and pouches for off-premise orders, they can function across the menu as plus-one ingredients to combine with other products to create new flavor applications with little additional labor and food cost.
ReRestaurant with Ventura Foods suggests creating on-trend flavor combos with products such as Sauce Craft Sauces, Smokehouse 220 Sauces and Hidden Valley Dressings. Products like those with cleaner labels and made-from-scratch taste create new flavor dimensions in a wide array of foods, including hummus, pesto, pasta sauce, burger and sandwich condiments, and dipping sauces for wings.
Consider these easy ideas for expanding flavor variety:
- Ginger Lime Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce, made by combining freshly squeezed lime juice and fresh pureed ginger with Smokehouse 220 Honey Bourbon BBQ Sauce.
- Buffalo BBQ Sauce, made by mixing Sauce Craft Buffalo Sauce with Smokehouse 220 Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce.
- Buffalo Shrimp and Blue Cheese Pizza, sauced with a combination of Hidden Valley Blue Cheese Dressing and Sauce Craft Buffalo Sauce.
Yet another way for operators to streamline costs is to switch to products that combine better cost stability with high quality. An example is SunGlow European Style Butter Blend. It has a more consistent, predictable cost compared to butter, which often fluctuates.
Even after the pandemic recedes, innovating the menu simply and cost effectively will likely remain vital for restaurant operators. For more details, including product information, technology tips, training videos, cost sheets and recipes, visit www.ReRestaurantwithVenturaFoods.com/.
In addition, Ventura Foods is partnering with Nation’s Restaurant News in October on #ReRestaurant Goes Social, sharing dynamic content and operator solutions for industry challenges. Visit the links below and don’t miss a thing:
https://www.facebook.com/RestaurantNews
