Sponsored by Gills Onions
It’s difficult to find workers, but it’s easy to find ingredients that can streamline food prep. Faced with the challenge of labor shortages and rising wages, operators are relying on value-added ingredients that need no prep time. For them, fresh, pre-cut produce is one tactic that can make daily kitchen tasks easier, safer, and less costly.
Recruiting and training staff continues to be a challenge for foodservice professionals. According to the National Restaurant Association, 79% of operators say they currently have job openings that are tough to fill. In addition to the difficulty in finding kitchen crew members, it’s a challenge to train them to perform time-consuming tasks related to food prep. Operators are looking for innovative ways to make many of these jobs easier.
Here are some tips and tricks to ease back-of-house stress.
Switch to value-added produce
Value-added produce refers to fruits and vegetables that are sliced, diced, or slivered and ready to be added to a recipe. These cleaned, precut items offer a quick alternative to labor intensive processes. For example, peeling, slicing, and dicing onions can take hours, and the tasks must be performed correctly.
“There is an art and science to peeling and dicing onions fast and efficiently, as well as with consistency in every cut,” says Megan Jacobsen, vice president of sales and marketing for Gills Onions. “Having a uniform product is imperative for cook time and maintaining the integrity of the recipe.” Gills Onions offers a variety of prepared onions, including sliced, diced, and slivered.
Training is crucial. "Less-skilled labor in your kitchen means a task like peeling and chopping onions can be especially time consuming and provide an inconsistent product,” Jacobsen says.
Promote safety
In foodservice, value-added was once perceived as cost-added, but it is more expensive to have kitchen staff slice and dice. It takes an average of 90 minutes to whole peel and dice a 50-pound sack of onions. During that time there is a constant risk of inflicting knife injuries such as cuts and lacerations.
Buying onions that are already peeled, sliced, and diced can reduce the chances of employees injuring themselves. “When we talk about the ROI from our value-added products, there is more than one reason to consider,” Jacobsen says.
Analyze costs
Data is powerful, and it’s always a good idea to examine how much ingredients and labor really cost. Gills Onions offers a savings calculator on its website to help operators calculate their savings using value-added onions at https://gillsonions.com/calculator. “We understand the power of saving chefs time and money,” Jacobsen says. “Our onions are not only distinctly better when it comes to the taste, texture, and experience of cooking with and enjoying onions, but they also shine back-of-house as an efficiency star.”
This efficiency star is easy to use. “Open the 5-pound bag of slivered, diced, and sliced onions, take what you need out of the bag, seal the bag up with our Ziploc top, which is unique to Gills Onions, and place the remaining product back in the refrigerator for your next recipe,” Jacobsen says. The onions have an 18-day shelf life, which leads the industry.
Reconfigure the kitchen layout
Workflow is a big topic these days. Foodservice operators are moving into smaller spaces, or reconfiguring the spaces they currently occupy. As operators use more ready-to-cook ingredients, that could lead to smaller prep tables but more refrigeration. Proper storage is crucial for flavor and for avoiding food waste.
Bags of Gills Onions should be stored from 32 degrees F to 40 degrees F, and should be properly rotated and stacked. “Store your fresh-cut onions at the appropriate temperature,” Jacobsen says. “To take full advantage of the quality and keep time of value-added produce, it is incredibly important that you store onions appropriately. Your food-safety team will thank you too!”
Also related to food safety: bulk onions bring dirt and soil into the kitchen. Starting a recipe with ready-to-cook onions that are clean, peeled, and cut brings a more hygienic approach to food prep. It even makes kitchen cleanup easier. With less onion prep work, kitchen staff members are free to perform other important tasks. That could result not only in smoother operations but also in better employee morale.
Onions play a flavorful role in many cuisines, so having a pre-cut, ready-to-use version can help streamline kitchen operations and reduce labor costs. For more information, visit https://gillsonions.com.
