Chef Christ Kimura from Lee Kum Kee (Hong Kong-based company specializing in Chinese and Asian sauces) says, “. . . innovation is one part creative, one part operational,” To sustain your restaurant, the dishes have to have interest or connect with the customers, AND it has to be executed consistently. The solution? Rethink pantry staples. Finding simple ways where one ingredient can be added to create a signature sauce or dish solves many challenges. First, it reduces the ingredients a chef needs to order. In addition it simplifies prep and streamlines the cooking process. Implementing this simple solution goes along with the already shrinking menus and the financial need to purchase fewer ingredients.
Food costs are continuing to rise. Whether it be supply chain challenges or inflation, everyone is feeling the effects. As an individual, this affects your wallet and as a restaurant, you feel those effects with less foot traffic. People are having to stretch their budgets, and often that means decreasing restaurant visits each month. Mix this with the continual struggle to find hourly staff and the weight to keep the doors open is almost unbearable.
Today’s chefs are constantly interrupted and their time is split in the kitchen and other day-to-day tasks. Focusing on both innovation and execution is a challenge. However, a huge part of being a chef is creativity. Being able to play in the kitchen and create new recipes is a vital part of the job. And equally important, it keeps patrons returning. So, how is a chef to innovate new recipes that attract customers while protecting the bottom line?
Take a look at your menu and find areas where you are using ingredients for only one dish. Remove or tweak those recipes so that the ingredients are used all over the menu. The fun part? If done well, your patrons will never know that the star of your appetizer is also used in your signature dressing.
Maybe innovation is just one ingredient away?!
