Author: nefoundry

Bacon is Trending: Do you know Which Type is Best For Your Operation?

Bringing home the bacon for your restaurant could be as simple as adding a comprehensive and exciting breakfast menu to your operation. According to the NPD restaurant group, breakfast consumption is forecasted to increase by 5% by 2019 and global trends in dining are continuing to make waves in the breakfast category. As a restaurant operator, it’s important for your kitchen staff to find ways to save time while still appeasing and delighting diners during the morning rush.

One breakfast favorite that makes any menu item, from Breakfast Poutine to Huevos Rancheros, stand out is bacon. In the United States, bacon is still listed as one of the top menu items in breakfast foods and easily fits into your grab and go menus, from bowls to sandwiches. However, as any good chef knows, no two kinds of bacon are the same. So when reaching out in your supply chain, it’s important to make the best decision for your menu needs. One easy solution is to look towards ready to cook bacon options which help chefs minimize labor costs while making preparation convenient for your morning rush.

Do you know the different categories of bacon and which is the right fit for your menu applications? From center of plate applications to quick serve BLT’s, there are three tiers you should know. Gold, silver and bronze bacon types are not only differentiated in price, but in menu applications. Knowing which type makes the most sense for your menu can aid in cost and labor savings that over time will impact your bottom line. Consider the below when purchasing supplies for your kitchen.

GOLD

Gold bacon is considered such if the lean protein present extends to 60% or more of slice length. The slices come from the center of the belly and are often sold refrigerated and gas flushed. The typical use of this grade bacon would be for center of plate applications. In order to technically qualify as a “gold” bacon, the slice must be at least 9 inches long, have a 6-inch minimum secondary lean, and the primary lean must be 75% visible.

SILVER

Silver bacon is considered such if the lean protein present extends 40% or more of the slice length. It can be refrigerated or frozen and is most commonly used for center of plate and sandwich applications. Typically, the length of these slices is a little longer than gold averaging between 9” to 9.75”.

BRONZE

Bronze bacon is the cheapest and also the most frequently seen application for high turn-over restaurants. These slices are almost always sold frozen and most commonly used for sandwich and buffet applications. Typically, these pieces vary in length from 8.5” to 11” and there’s a standard of a 1” secondary lean that must be at least 25% visible.

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From Smithfield: The Smithfield family of brands offers operators a full range of ready-to-cook bacon choices to meet your back-of-house needs. Our ready-to-cook sliced bacon options include single slices on parchment paper to make preparation convenient and quick, our shingled slices allow for convenient separation, and our sliced slabs are economical. Available in honey-cured, applewood-smoked and hickory-smoked flavors. Consolidated Concepts works directly with Smithfield to bring you cost savings.

This article was originally published on Modern Restaurant Management

Opening new locations means your brand is growing. It’s an exciting time, but there is a tremendous amount of planning required from a supply chain standpoint to support the growth. The location of a restaurant isn’t just important from a customer count and sales standpoint; it’s also critical to make sure products can be delivered efficiently from the appropriate distributors. This means supplies get delivered at the right time and at cost-effective prices.

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This year at the National Restaurant Association show, we had the chance to meet with existing clients, growing restaurant chains, and industry enthusiasts. While attendees tasted innovative new spices, plant-based proteins, globally infused desserts, and a plethora of chickpea-based butters and snacks, we had the chance to converse with them about their contracts, growth plans and cost-savings opportunities.

Several of the topics top of mind for them were similar to the discussions being held at the expos and demos throughout the halls. What will all this new technology mean for their business? How will they be affected by new tipping laws, the GDPR, or new labeling requirements? But beyond the trendy panel topics, we heard a consensus that is true for every entrepreneur and owner—how do I balance a growing business with thin margins and rising costs?

At Consolidated Concepts, these worries are familiar. We work regularly with restaurants and operations that are seeking new opportunities to reduce costs and scale operations while franchising out locations, balancing various distributors across states, and ensuring they’re getting the best prices for their procurement budget. Overall, we found three areas of concern from show attendees and ways to ease concern.

Cost of Labor

A top concern was the rising cost of labor. With new tax regulations, the minimum-wage hike, and the changing landscape for hires, it’s understandable that operations are struggling to hire top talent and keep them. 36% of restaurant operators name staffing as their biggest challenge to success (source) and with over 16.3 million restaurant jobs available across the country and a much smaller talent pool, it’s no wonder so many struggles to hire and keep top talent.
At Consolidated Concepts, we offer a variety of tools to help reduce labor costs and increase productivity and product savings. Our Supply Chain Assessments allow our staff to look closely at our clients’ purchasing, storage, and handling practices to find a specific time and labor savings opportunities. Furthermore, our CC101 library offers more insight and information about the products that restaurants are currently purchasing. We look at current ordering tendencies and uses of current products. CC101 then offers alternatives that better fit the specific purpose of the product as well as offer better pricing on these items.

Avoiding Recalls

We all saw the recent seismic effect of the romaine recall on Panera Bread, other restaurants, and even grocery stores. Food-borne illness outbreaks cost restaurants around $15.6 billion annually. A recall at your operation can cost you in lost sales, profit margins, PR, and marketing costs and the ramifications can last long after the recall.

We partner with Fresh Concepts to ensure you’re always in the know on produce recalls within three hours of their announcement. Fresh Concepts focuses on ever-changing food safety standards including SQF, GFSI, GAP, and GMP, and holds their growers, shippers and distributors to the highest standards of financial stability, inventory turnover practices, and pricing agreements.

Contract Coverage

Many of the multi-unit operators with whom we spoke acknowledged that while they may have direct contracts on their top-volume items, they were less sure of their pricing on the remainder of the items they purchase. Custom contracts take time and expertise to negotiate, plus they restrict operators to certain terms to which they may not wish to be bound.

This is why so many operators find Consolidated Concepts’ volume-based blanket contracts to be so valuable. Our clients have access to over 100,000 line item contracts with more than 300 manufacturers available at their fingertips to cover all of the items they purchase, including food products, non-food items and indirect spend programs. These contracts allow operators to save money instantly by accessing deviated prices and rebates on items where they wouldn’t necessarily have enough volume to warrant investing time in securing a direct manufacturer contract. Additionally, our partnership with spend management specialists, Buyers Edge allows us to manage and audit all of those contracts to make sure that every single line item is appropriately priced. Clients who leverage Consolidated Concepts’ contracts as part of their existing supply chain team’s operations are able to uncover significant savings on products they already buy or to upgrade to products that might enhance their customer offerings, without sacrificing margins.

With all the concern about romaine lettuce, what are best practices for a restaurateur who has romaine as a base of menu items? How do you turnaround if you have to stop serving it?… [READ MORE] via Modern Restaurant Management

The Evening Networking

Beyond the lineup during the day of exhibits, on-floor education sessions, bar star and world culinary demos, the evenings during the National Restaurant Association show are filled with networking and social activities. Rock out for the night on Saturday with Keith Urban or dine and mingle with industry buffs at an exhibitor planned after party. Had enough networking for the day? Explore all the culinary expertise Chicago has to offer with the travel tips and insights from the show hosts.

Booze Exploration

Last year, frosé slushies were the talk of the aisles. With new innovations in liqueur and a continued interest in hand-crafted brews, we’re interested to see what other boozy beverages become front and center.  In recent news, we’ve seen trends of brewers’ experimenting with dairy and a continued interest in rosé. What will this year bring?

Kitchen Robotics

From robots taking up a spot behind the grill (Hi Flippy) to sushi rolling machines (Suzomo Sushi Maker), robotics seems to be making their way into the kitchen. The KI awards already acknowledge award recipients like Peel-a-ton that “automates labor-intensive fruit and vegetable peeling” but the rest of the tech seems to step away from heavily programmable tech. Is there a push back to enhancing the tech we already know? Or will we see more robotics front and center at the show?

Best Supplemental Lunch Booth

Where’s the aisle to be? That’s what we’re excited to find out at this year’s show. From smoked salmon samples (Duck TrapRiver) to full pints of beer mapping out who’s who and what they’re bringing is always fun during the show. Last year, we loved the focus global snacks like Chaat and Think Jerky, and the meatless bites from Beyond meat and Upton Naturale. Will the trend of meatless snacks and entrees continue to take center stage? At a show this large, exhibitors, manufacturers, products, and more will be utilizing the full breadth of their marketing teams to get people to stop at their booth. Follow the weekends hashtag #NRAShow18 and #FiredUp to see all the booths that are hot and get a taste of what’s new.

Pizza Aisle

As QSR recently noted, we are in the middle of a pizza-boom! And beyond the ingredients, we all know what makes a good pizza great is the cooking method. We’re looking forward to seeing some of the electric brick ovens and spinning brick ovens featured in this year’s KI awards in action as well as other exhibitors showing their best stuff. The big question is, will we see an influx of cauliflower and alternative crusts as options?

Chobani Booth

Serving up some of the freshest and quickly rotating snacks and beverages throughout the day, Chobani had a large presence that extended beyond their booth last year. As restaurants continue to trend towards healthier dining, we’re curious to see how they will continue to innovate this year.

Meeting with Clients

Are you headed to NRAShow18? We’re #FiredUp to connect!

With NRA Show 18 quickly approaching, we’re taking the time to reflect on the memories and experiences we had last year at the National Restaurant Association Show 2017. From a sophisticated booth showcasing our customization expertise to building stronger relationships with our clients in one-on-one meetings onsite, the show was a great way to show our place in the foodservice industry and support our clients and manufacturer partners.

Exhibitors and attendees saw plenty of innovative and trend-setting products and culinary trends for the first time or had the opportunity to learn about hot topics. Main takeaways included informational sessions on sustainable seafood, tastings of vegetarian substitutes to meat products like Impossible Foods plant-based burger or “tuna” derived from tomatoes at Ahimi.

Beyond the surplus of small bites and products showcased, we also enjoyed introducing our supply chain expertise to non-members and engaging with those who hadn’t heard of Consolidated Concepts. As a supply chain solution specialist in the restaurant industry, we were excited to connect with so many people who could easily benefit from our cost-saving options, supply chain assessments, and other purchasing insights.

Interested in attending NRAShow18? Register here.

Topic: Lean & Mean: Run your restaurant for explosive growth

Details: Join successful growth leader Jason Morgan (Zoe’s Kitchen, Original ChopShop) to hear how he has strategically slimmed down his restaurants’ organizational structures in order to maximize profitability.  Jason is joined by JJ Pledger of Twisted Root, Michael Haith of Teriyaki Madness, and JB Edwards of Abacus for a conversation about what the strategies that successful multi-unit operators are using to minimize costs and maximize revenue.  You’ll leave this session with a  list of 3 crucial technology tools that every winning operator must use and a whole new perspective on organizational structure.

Time: Tuesday 4/17/18 @ 12:30 pm

Location: Grand Sonoran E

Speakers:

• Discussion Leader: John Davie, CEO of Consolidated Concepts
• Panelists:
  • Jason Morgan, CEO of Original ChopShop
  • Michael Haith, CEO of Teriyaki Madness
  • JB Edwards, President of Abacus
  • JJ Pledger, Chief Bean Counter of Twisted Root Burger Co.

Attend the session to qualify for a Supply Chain Assessment ($5,000 value)

Learn more about the conference here

This article was originally published on FSR Magazine. 

According to the EPA, water used in restaurants/foodservice account for about 15 percent of the total water used in all commercial and institutional facilities in the U.S.  Here is a breakdown of the usage by area:

• 52 percent: Kitchen/dishwashing
• 31 percent: Domestic/Restroom
• 12 percent: Other
• 4 percent: Landscaping
• 4 percent: Other

And, according to Powerhouse Dynamics, “a typical sit-down restaurant uses an average of about 5,800 gallons of water per day. Quick-serve restaurants use about a third the total on average, although the usage per seat tends to be much higher; 5,800 gallons per day translates into over 2 million gallons of water per year.”

Water is often under the radar in terms of costs for restaurants. Food costs and labor costs usually get all the attention. However, there are many simple steps that can be taken to minimize water use, therefore reducing cost, and creating a sustainable culture for the organization. Here are a few suggestions to help lower that water bill.

1. Do not run water to thaw out frozen food

Frozen food should be pulled out at the appropriate time to give it time to thaw in the cooler. Running frozen food underwater leads to the wasting of water, and food quality is being jeopardized using this method. By using a thaw rack, you will correctly thaw food without wasting any water.

2. Older pan/pot-sprayers waste water (5–7 gallons per minute) and use more energy due to the heat necessary to provide hot water

Most equipment suppliers stock a “low-flow” pre-rinse spray valve, which reduce both energy and water consumption. These low-flow valves can cost as little as $10 and reduce water usage by 50 percent. The secret to the low-flow valve’s success is its ability to save in three ways at once. By lowering your water consumption, the sprayer simultaneously slashes your water, wastewater-disposal and energy bills.

3. Use ENERGY STAR equipment in the kitchen and WaterSense toilets, faucets, and urinals in the bathrooms. 

Most models will reduce water and energy use by 10–20 percent. Automatic faucets that turn off/on can be a huge savings versus faucets that allow the water to run constantly. Ideal for handwashing in kitchens and restrooms, sensor devices also provide a cleaner hands-free environment.

4. If you have a dishwasher, wash full racks only

Instruct your dish team “Full” racks of dishes only, each cycle the dish machine runs uses water, energy and chemicals.  During slow times, allow the dishes to neatly stack up. Also consider composting. Scraping food into a waste bucket will save water versus spraying food particles off plates.  A compost program has the added benefit of giving additional “Green” credentials to the business.

5. Wash all fruits & vegetables at the same time to be effcient and limit water use

6. Inspect and repair bathroom sinks/faucets and running toilets

Turn off all water faucets when not in use and fix all leaks. Running a water faucet for five minutes uses nearly as much energy as running a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours. According to the FSTC design guide, a small leak of 0.2 gallons per minute can waste 100,000 gallons and $1,840 a year in water, sewer and gas costs.

7. Fill buckets and sinks to appropriate levels

Use the 3-sink washing method. Don’t wash dishes with water running. As an added note, use cold water for the sanitizer and not hot water. Hot water minimizes the effectiveness of the sanitizer. The approximate annual savings is $3,200 in energy and $1,300 in water.

8. Use a thermometer to make sure your water heater isn’t working any harder than it must

Hot water should be around 140 degrees at the faucet. The approximate savings by managing the water temperature is $100 per year.

9. Consider only serving water upon request  

California has already made it illegal for restaurants to serve you water—unless you ask. This is also an opportunity to upsell and suggest a bottled water.

10. Show your staff the monthly water bill, and the number of gallons and money spent for the prior month

Discuss the above topics and seek their feedback on how they feel water can be saved. Write down suggestions on a board and keep posted for all to see. Reward those that follow proper water conservation. It is good for the business and for our environment.

While some of these recommendations are related to more efficient equipment, most of them are simple behavioral changes. Educating your team to implement and follow these water saving tips can lead to great savings.

Water is often under the radar in terms of costs for restaurants. Food costs and labor costs usually get all the attention. However, there are many simple steps that can be taken to minimize water use, therefore reducing cost, and creating a sustainable culture for the organization.