Time for looking back and looking forward

It's usually the time of the year when most companies do their yearend review and planning for the next year. Whether you have a big or small operation, you should do the same too.

This would be the time to look at the year's financial statements, guest feedback summaries, business activities done from operations to marketing and try to plan for the year ahead.

It would be graet if your operations are automated to give you a annual report in a jiffy. But if you are not, it's still very possible to do your annual reviews with a little difficulty and work, of course.

What do you need to be looking at?

1. Your annual sales figures with monthly reports.
2. Your average guest check
3. Your food cost
4. Turnovers (dining room, employees, stocks)
5. Number of functions, if any, and percentage of functions' contribution to your income,
6. Success rate of marketing and promotions activities

The next year would probably pose to be a difficult year for business in general. But don't worry too much yet. In the first place, people may stop shopping, but they may not stop eating. That they will still eat in restaurants will be the problem. Get your restaurant ready for the hard times. Make your plan. Anticipate your hurdles and know exactly what to do now while you are still thinking clearly.

New years are refreshing in a way in my opinion. So here's hoping you could get the refreshing you need as well. Happy planning!

Setting the Holiday Mood

It's about 30 days before Christmas and if you haven't put up christmas decorations in the restaurant, you should do it now! A lot of restaurants seem at a loss as to how to set the mood for the holidays. Take note, setting the mood does not only mean putting up christmas decorations but making guests feel, taste and smell Christmas when they enter your restaurant.

Aside from decorations, your menu should have the Christmas "feel". Nope, you don't have to redo your menu or replace it temporarily with a Christmas-inspired menu. This is one of those times that the adage, the simpler, the better, really makes sense. The key is putting in a little effort yet seemingly simple to do.

One of my favorite simple Christmas treats for dining guests is giving them free Christmas cookies. Guests would love it! Serve the cookies, about one to two pieces per guest, once the guests are seated and voila!, you are setting the mood. Just make sure that the cookies have Christmas'y taste or look to them and that the waitstaff explains that they are special free Christmas cookeis for guests. Don't have Christmas cookie recipes? Don't worry. The world wide web makes it easier now to search for recipes. Just give it a little twise and make it your own version.

Another would be music. How simple could it get! Choose Christmas songs that are suited to the theme or ambience of your restaurant. Note that not just any song will do. If you have a fine dining restaurant, go for instrumentals or piano Christmas classic. If the place is upbeat, go for pop versions.

Insert one or two special dishes exclusively for the Holidays. You may have a main dish and a dessert or two main dishes or two desserts. Sometimes, just playing around with colors of food does the trick. Of course, keep in mind healthy cooking for the Holidays.

Christmas is around the corner. Surely other restaurants are cooking up their gimmicks. So should you!

Basics your waitstaff should review

Sometimes, in a restaurant's desire to advance things or upgrade service, the basics are the ones mostoverlooked or forgotten. Most successful restaurants have great waiter tableside manners aside from great food.

I personally believe that while it is good to up the level of service in your restaurant, the basics should be adhered by all means.

UTMOST COURTESY. I love restaurants whose waitstaff make you feel special. There are restaurants wherein you feel like you owe them for coming to dine. Waiters should be courteous, friendly and sincere. THey should know how, when and what to communicate to guests. They should be on-hand to wait on guests but not to near as to suffocate guests.

EXCELLENT KNOWLEDGE. ABOUT MENU AND RESTAURANT. Every waiter, whether regularly employed or on-call, should be adept with everything there is to know about the restaurant and the menu. No waiter should be let out into the dining room without great knowledge of how the food tastes, ingredients, house specialties and management. At the same time that they should know what to answer guests, they should also know what NOT to tell guests and how to dodge the question. (There are things that guests cannot know.)

BAISC TABLE SERVICE. Your waiter should know the kind of table service used in your restaurant,whether it be french, russian, buffet, etc. But train waiters as well in the different types of table service even if they are not used regularly in your restaurant. Teach waiters what to do on certain occasions and circumstances they might encounter during service.

Waiters are your major frontliners. What they say and do are representative of your restaurant even those they do unintentionally. Therefore, all measures have to be taken to ensure that they represent you well.

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Enhancing Family Style Dining

One of my faorite type of restaurant services is family dining. I guess because of my personal attachment to my family and because of the easy of how to set one up.

Family-style dining is a great idea for restaurants located near neighborhoods or villages and in malls. It's a good way to showcase your food since the quantity of the food gives your food a look of abundance and height if presented beautifully. It is also a good way to save on ingredients and other operating expenses. Why? Because the quantity of the food, which is around 3 to 5 persons per order, brings savings and uses ingredients more economically compared to single person servings. It brings the restaurant savings on fuel, labor, water, electricity and effort. There are also savings on ingredients that are packaged in bulk compared to single servings like what is needed for single person savings.

If you are planning or is currently running a family-style restaurant, here are some tips for you:

Think of the entire family when you plan your menu. Your guests range from very small children to senior citizen. The tendency is thinking only of food for chldren and adults. But most of the time, we forget menu or service suited for older people who might be on certain diet restrictions or motion difficulty. Put together a versatile menu but not one that tries to hit all. You may stick to your theme but vary the nutritional content and the ingredients.

Be consistent. If it's a family restaurant, make sure that the utensils, tables and chairs and the service match.

Maintain a family homey atmosphere. If you want to invite families to your restaurant, have an ambience akin to dining at home, that is, warm, homey, cozy and comfortable. Train your staff about dealing with fussy children, senior citizen and everything in between. Keep in mind that there are certain antiquities about eating at home and your staff should understand those.

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Have you planned for Christmas?

Christmas is probably one of the busiest, if not hte busiest, time of the year for restaurants. People have more extra money for eating out, Christmas parties, reunions, weddings and more parties abound. Have you planned as to what to do this Christmas?

Technically, you should have planned for it last year or at the start of this year. But if you haven't or would like to add to what you have laid out previously, October is the latest time to do it.

There are a lot of things you could do for the Holiday Season. One of the best things to do is have a Christmas menu. Something that is symbolic of the season like christmas-colored cakes and pies, roasted meats, desserts that make you think of Christmas or just anything that you do only during Christmas.

Be careful though about making promotions or discounts available. This is the time when people feel most generous so you don't have to entice them with any discounts. Take advantage of the time to increase your average guest check. Emphasize on your waitstaff how important it is to push your specials or just to suggest sell smartly.

One other thing you should do is make available a Christmas party menu or function package. Since people are into a lot of partying, it would be great to give them an easy way to organize their parties by delivering food packs or having a function area available in your restaurant.

Christmas food baskets, gift certificates or wines will also be a great profit center this Christmas. Give people fabulous gift ideas and they will be loyal to you for a long time.

As I said, October would be the latest month you could lay out these promotions.

Portion Size: the big and small of it

I have eaten in a lot of restaurants that seem to be confused about how big their portion size will be. Sometimes, aside from being too much for one person, the portions are inconsistent, meaning the size is not the same as the next time you order it.

Portion size is simply how much will be enough for one person. To some extent, how big or small the portion size will be is a a subjective decision. One size might not be enough for one and might be too much for another. The objective should be finding the average or the nearest size that will satisfy most customers.

First of all, it will be unwise to make your portions extra large. One, it will be charging your customers for something they cannot consume in one seating. Second, it might "teach" your customers to share one order the next time they visit, thus, lowering your average guest check. It will be also a disaster to make a portion too small for the average consumption. Guests might think they have been fooled and might not come back another time.

Most restaurants have set yields and portions they can make out of a kilo or a batch of a certain dish. For example, a pan of a certain size of cake or pudding would make a certain number of servings. Or a kilo of pork chops would make ten to twelve individual servings. Experienced restaurateurs or cooks would already know the yield. But beginners would need to test and find out the portion sizes from scratch.

Your portion size would be what you perceive to be a just serving for one person. Understandably, some restaurants have family style servings which would mean more than one serving in one order.

If you see guest's plates not empyting out their plates or always asking for a doggy bag, it might be a sign that the portion is too big or the food is not good. Take note of guests' comments about portions.

Finding it out your correct portion size is not hard but finding it out will be good for your business.

Forecasting: How hard it can be

Forecasting is not entirely rocket science but it could be complicated for some restaurants. Why is that? Because some areas where restaurants are located do not allow sane forecasting.

There are places where the flow of guests can be predictable. Low on weekdays, high on weekends, busy at lunch, slow on sundays and the like. Some restaurants get satisfied by subjective data, meaning no official figures to base their forecasts on. This can be very hard for restaurateurs if there will be any attempt to forecast.

Forecasting, if done properly, can save you and your staff a lot of effort, money and other resources.

A simple way to start collecting data for forecasting is to write down the number of guests who come everyday at particular times like lunch service or dinner service or whatever is applicable for your restaurant. Collect at least three months' worth of data to see the trend. Make sure to separate count for functions if you have any function service.

Now, while you are waiting for three months, monitor your number of guests on a daily basis and follow the trend every week taking into consideration holidays and special occasions during which you have to adjust your preparations.

Make also a daily menu tally to know the orders you have to prepare for each menu item on a daily basis. If you have a expansive menu, this will be a big job. A manual tally will do job but things will be faster if you automate it from your orderslip encoding.

Forecasting can save you money and effort in preparations. It also saves you space in your chillers, freezers and pantry as the data you get from forecasting will aid purchasing to order just in time.

Is forecasting hard? Yes and no. Yes, because it can make or break your business. No, because there are manual and technology-aided ways to do it easier.

Looking for kitchen staff?

Are you looking for employees for your kitchen?

One great place to start looking for chefs or cooks is through culinary schools or chef school. Schools usually have a directory of graduates from whom you can choose your future employees. It is usually good to hire from a culinary school, especially from a good one, since the education students get here is what you need for your restaurant. However, be mindful of other qualifications you might be looking for like proficiency on a certain cuisine or kitchen areas like cold kitchen, pastry or functions.

Another great place is by calling up your local restaurant or hotel association, if you have one. Other establishments might have a pool of applicants. It is also good to post an ad in your local newspaper or an industry-related publication.

How's your purchasing IQ?

Purchasing is one component or step in a restaurant's operations that is as essential as keeping your kitchen clean.

Purchasing is important in food cost control and control of other costs as well like manpower, transportation costs and communication. Right purchasing procedures will add to better inventory management, less spolage and maximization of your storage facilities.

Here aer simple purchasing tips that will bring you a lot of benefit:

* Search for institutional suppliers or those that can give you the best value for your money. There ae a lot of products that are produced and packaged for foodservice companies and restaurants. They come in bulk which costs you money compared to buying retail. This depends, of course, on your rate of consumption. Buy from distributors or wholesalers to get the best price. In addition, most distributors can give you credit terms for your purchases.

* Have a schedule. It will be a good habit to make and to teach your kitchen staff to request for things they will need in advance. Make a checklist of ALL the items they use in the kitchen and check against this list everytime you or they make a purchase request. This is to make sure that nothing is left out or forgotten. It is highly inconvenient, costly and irritating on the part of a purchaser to go back to the grocery fro one item the chef forgot to include in the market list.

* Take advantage of your being a restaurant. Ask for samples, good credit terms and good product return policies. Recipes, product use guides sometimes come with the products.

* Know your consumption rate. This will also require you to learn order rate and lead time for products.

Purchasing is one step, yes, but it is definitely an important one.

The need for a competent kitchen staff

Food is the a restaurant's main profit center or source of income. To expound on this, good food is necessary for a successful restaurant.

A restaurant's success, admittedly, will depend on other factors aside from the quality or quantity of the food served. However, for this article, I will zero in on the quality of the food.

What will be needed to create good food are good ingredients and skilled hands to cook the food. The capability of your cooking crew should be assessed and continuously monitored. What qualities should your cook have?

First, a cook should have good taste or the right taste your clients desire. A cook that does not have a good sense of taste will never, ever cook delicious food.

Second, it is necessary that your cook understands the logic behind standard recipes and good kitchen management. Standard recipes are the backbone of consistent food quality and quantity. Standard recipes also include sticking to the quality of ingredients needed for your recipe. Good kitchen management because standard portion sizes, yield and cost-efficient kitchen policies make for less spoilage and wastage.

Third, experience is necessary but not a must. However, be wary of hiring fresh graduates who might not have the guts when the customers pour in and are unable to focus.

When you hire kitchen staff, make sure to size them up in terms of culinary skills, kitchen management, hygiene and the desire to please guests.

The "Health" Bandwagon

If it hasn't hit your city or area, it just might very soon. Or maybe your restaurant can start it. I am talking about the drive to serve healthy foods in restaurants and all the ads about "zero trans fat".

No mater what kind of menu you have, it is very possible to modify it, even slightly or on a few menu items only, to make eating out healthier for your diners.

If you are lost as to your "score" on the health food scale, you may consult a nutritionist or a dietician to let you know caloric and nutritional content of the dishes you serve.

You will know your menu is not very healthy, if you have the following:
- deep-fried food in non-vegetable oils
- sweet dishes or desserts that contain a lot of calories
- foods rich in uric acid, cholesterol and carbohydrates
- alcoholic beverages

Let me tell you of course that most diners dine out to get all the 'calories' and the 'sinful' foods. But there is a way for you to slightly turn into a restaurant serving healthy food while not turning off guests.

First, use vegetable oils. This lessens the probability of illnesses brought about by using non-vegetable oils.

Second, try natural. Natural and fresh foods are healthier than processed or preservative-laden ingredients. Try adding two or three salads and soups into your menu that are great for people who are reducing weight. You never know!

Third, go easy on fatty, sweet and carbo-laden foods. Nutrition books can guide you on the proper or daily servings needed by a person. Base it on those figures and help your customers be healthy.

At the end of the day, if your customers get sick out of unhealthy eating , you might end up one customer less.

Selling Wine in your Restaurant

Restaurant owners should always be on the lookout for activities that will complement their current services. That is what is called business development. There are lots of other possible profit centers for your business aside from selling food.

One of those areas is in the wine section. Aside from including wine in your menu, there are other ways for you to earn income and that is by selling wine gifts. This is especially great if you make or concoct your own wine which will make it exclusively from your restaurant.

Wine gifts can be packaged in wine baskets, wine gift certificates or as a single wine bottle. Wine baskets would need a strong basket that won't fall apart when carrying couple of bottle wines. simple wrapper or basket lining would also be great. If you decide to sell wines, make sure that you are ready with wine gift cards, gift certificates, ribbons and wrappers.

Wine gifts make it easy for people ot give gifts. When you can't think of anything else to give as a gift, wines are defintely a great option.

Bone-building foods

Did you know that aside from dairy products, there are s so many other bone building foods out there?

You might be surprised to know that one of them is the alaskan king crab. Aside from being excellent in taste, they are just as superb on the nutrition side. Alaskan king crabs are high in protein and low in fat. It also has zinc which, aside from being an antioxidant, it helps support healthy bone mass which is just what you need for bone building.

Alaskan king crabs are also great for keeping or getting those fabuous abs and keeping your heart beating steady! When cooked, they provide 3 kinds of omega fatty acids which are just what you need for a healthy heart.

Organizing your pots and pans

Restaurants use a lot of these: pots and pans. Sometimes in a year's operation, a restaurant accumulates so many pots and pans of varying sizes and purposes that the old ones get stuck under the cupboard while the new ones are the more often used ones. Sometimes, pots and pans that are not used often get drowned by other pots and pans which are used regularly.

However, there is a good way to organize your kitchen. This is by using enclume pot racks to organize your wares. Enclume potracks were designed to make your kitchen look more organized and put your pots in a way that you see them all at a glance.

An enclume pot rack can be hanged or it can be set to stand on its own. It allows you to hang different sizes of pots without buying different pot racks for different sizes.

Keeping Cleanliness in Critical Areas

We will all agree that the dining room is probably one of the two most important places to keep spic and spac in a restaurant. But overall, there are other places in the restaurant that are just as critical to keep clean as the dining room area.

Basically, the whole restaurant should be kept clean and in order at all times. However, there are areas that should be zeroed in on extra cleanliness.

One of them is your kitchen. A clean kitchen would mean clean food. Kitchen sinks should be kept clean and free of food particles. Ideally, there should be different kitchen sinks for different purposes like dishwashing of plates and other guest dinnerware, for pots and pans and utility wares and for preparation. All sinks should be washed and scrubbed and wiped dry after every major washing.

Workstations and cooking stations should be maintained clean and in order even while cooking. Garbage and food trimmings should go straight to the trash bin. Kitchen floors, cupboards and walls should be cleaned and wiped dry on a daily basis but a end of shift major cleaning is highly recommended.

Another area where cleanliness is extra-expected by guests is your toilet. First of all, a toilet should smell clean. If bacteria thrive in your toilet, then it is not clean. The bathroom sink must be kept clean and dry as often as possible. (Expensive toilet fixtures like vessel sinks and fabulous faucets do not ensure a clean toilet!) Trash receptacles should be emptied at least 3 times a day and washed twice a week to keep off bad smell. The toilet should be cleaned and disinfected at least weekly.

Restaurants have a great pressure to be clean as the product served in this place is food. Therefore, restaurant owners have to keep a high standard of cleanliness or guests get turned off.

Uniform for your dining staff

Part of a restaurant's concept and image is the design of its dining room service staff or waiters. It is important as well to determine how the uniform is worn and the grooming you want your staff to maintain.

First on the design. A lot of conservative designers and restaurateurs go for the plain long sleeves with necktie or chef's uniform modifications for waiter's uniforms. Other restaurateurs prefer to go out-of-the-usual. This is specially true about themed restaurants and fastfood places. I personally like inculcating a restaurant's concept into the waiter's uniform but not in a way that the uniform looks weird. I like designs that bring out the personality of the restaurant. At the same time, I like simple designs that give waiters comfort and allow them to move around easily but with a simple touch or accessory here and there. Simple accessories or touches could range from color combinations, different cuff links or buttons, simple brooches or pins.

Fine dining restaurants would admittedly have to be more conservative. Materials would have to be exquisite.

On the other hand, I also would like to emphasize how waiters carry their uniform or groom themselves. I prohibit waiters from wearing strong perfumes and heavy makeups. I also allow only a few pieces of jewelry like a watch and a ring and stud earrings for ladies. No muliple or fine jewelry allowed! Why? You don't want your waiters to look more dressed up than your customers. I also emphasize good grooming, neat hairstyle and clean, pressed clothing. Try if you can to set as a policy that your waiters don't wear their uniforms on the way to work. If possible, uniforms should be washed inhouse care of the restaurant.

A waiter's uniform is part of your establishment's image. Therefore, it should be given attention to just like the other aspects of your restaurant's operations.

Curtains or blinds?

In the area of dressing up your windows, I would be torn on whether to use curtains or blinds. Blinds need to be utterly presentalbe. I would say the same for curtains but you basically have more pattern and design choices for curtains. If you could afford a Hunter Douglas, well and good! But if not, you have to go and get a presentable set of window blinds.

The reason I am writing about this is because windows are a part of most restaurant structures and dressing up your windows is part of your ambience.

You might even choose to use neither. However, this is an important decision specially in tropical countries. Curtains make a place look soft, comfortable and homey. Blinds on the other hand, make a place look spic and span, neat, modern, clean cut.

As to which is more practical, blinds give you one-set of a look. Curtains give you more flexibility. If you wash your curtains, you probably need another set of curtains while the other set is drying. With blinds, you clean them up, wipe them dry and they are done.

However, what would be the most important factor or question to answer is if a curtain or blinds are what you need for the ambience that you want to create.

Sprucing up your dining area

With the so many restaurant themes that have come up and the stiff competition among restaurants, the need to find an edge is now a must.

The edge or what makes you different from others or what your customers would keep coming back for should be clear and should be understand by your customers.

In this aspect, the focal point should be your dining room. There are definitely other guest areas that are just as important like your toilets, parking area and entrance.

One of the things that you is often overlooked over the design is how comfortable the area is. I particularly like restaurants where you can slouch and be comfortable in cozy chairs. Now that I am thinking about it, how about persian rugs and low tables? I think rugs will always embody an ambience of coziness.

Comfortable can also be accomplished by making your tables and chairs lower than the usual dinner table set where your knees are bent at basically 90 degrees. One of my favorite restaurants have low tables and chairs that allow you to slouch and lean over the table. Talk about table manners! What more if you have hand knotted rugs for that great feel on your feet when you take off your shoes.

Comfortable also means cleanliness and orderliness of your dining room. Make sure that your furnitures are not broken or wobbling.

When customers remember what lovely time they had in your restaurant, they just might be a candidate for repeat customers.

What's your Leftover policy for employees?

Leftovers are somewhat a signal of how well you manage your menu or the quantity of your servings.

For ala carte type of service, having lots of leftovers on guest's plates all the time means that you have overportioned and vice versa.

If it's a buffet or eat-all-you-can type of service, leftovers mean that you need to watch your forecasting and take a keen look at what you're missing. In some places, though, forecasting is not helpful because of the unpredictable trend of diners. This makes it very difficult for a restaurant operator to make forecasting work for them, if they do it at all.

Consequently, one thing that has to be answered is what do you do with leftovers? I hear fastfood chains do not give them away or recycle them or sell them at a cheaper rate to employees. They just throw them away. I guess for fear of getting a bad reputation when somebody eats a not so hot burger or soggy fries.

I know of restaurants who sell leftovers at a cheaper rate. A local bakery has a 30% off on breads at 10 minutes before closing time. I have honestly waited hear the bakeshop sometimes at 10 minutes before closing!

Some restaurants put them in the dog food or pig food bin (in the philippines, piggery owners actually buy leftovers and even those food that were cleaned from plates to feed their pigs) where they are collected and fed to the dogs or pigs.

Some throw them in the biodegradable bin. Some give them away to poor people. Noble act, I would say, but wouldn't the poor people get spoiled with eating restaurant food all the time? Anyway, the food is not spoiled at all!

If you decide to throw them away, make sure you throw them where they will not rot or be a nuisance to the neighbors or the environment.

If you decide to give them away to anybody including your employees, include it in your employe handbook and make your employees understand, or anybody for that matter, that you will not be held liable if they get sick as a result of eating your restaurant's leftovers. It sure is not a good publicity.

For me, when my clients ask me aboutwhat to do with leftovers, I recommend throwing them away or recycling and not to give them away free to be eaten by somebody. Why? Because you never know what happens to that dish after you give them away. It is safer to throw them away. However, with the worldwide food crisis, I think twice already. But I still recommend throwing them or recycling.

Whatever your policy will be, make sure it is clear to all employees and that your policies and procedures on disposing of your leftovers are concise.

How about a Midyear Review?

The month of July has started already. I hope that the year has been a great or at least not a bad one for you. Much as July is a little bit past midyear, this might be a good time to conduct a midyear review.

What's a midyear review? Simply put, it's an evaluation of how far you have come to realizing your goals for the year, that is, if you have set any. (I hope you did!)

You might have been accustomed to the annual review, which is good in the first place. A midyear review gives you a reminder of how much more you have to get working for. I personally do this not just for business but also for personal goals.; Sometimes, a year could be so long you tend to forget your goals along the way. This causes losing focus on your objectives.

If you did not set any goals for the year, then you could do a review based on how you have performed and use this for your annual review or next year's midyear review. Example of the data you should check are:
- monthly sales (have they increased? decreased? how much is your average sales so far?)
- average guest check
- food cost
- turnovers (table, employee, stocks, etc.)

There are more actually. There are also things you could check like guest satisfaction, cleanliness, employee satisfaction and more.

However, let me say now that all these reviews would be useless if you do not act on them as needed. If you have a low rating on a certain factor, make sure that your review has an action plan or solution coming right up.

How is your restaurant fairng with the food crisis?

The whole world is being troubled by the crisis in food supplies and consequently, prices. Is your sales figure being affected? I am sure that your expenses are increased and that is not good news for any restaurateur.

If your restaurant is stunned by the sudden increase in food prices, this is the time to be focused and practical.

DURING THIS CRISIS...

Do be mindful of your food costs. Your food cost comprises a big chunk of your operating expenses so if there is anything to starting putting your guards up on.

Don't bring your prices down. Don't do this in the hope of getting more sales or enticing more clients to dine. The consequences of such a move will be increasing your expenses but sadly, decreasing your income. If you lower your prices now, it will take much effort to increase them or bring them back to normal prices when times get better.

Do try to look more closely at your quantity and ingredients. I am not saying that the solution would be to reenginner your menu altogether. However, if you are in a totally hard situation, this just might be the move for you. In these hard times, people will not really be too responsive to a price reduction unless it is substantial. Therefore, keep your prices but look at the quantity. Will the dish look totally different if you shave off a few grams? Your ingredients might also be substituted for other items that will not sacrifice the taste of the dish. Example are cheese, oil and meat cuts.

Try other cost-cutting measures. Sometimes, you have optimized your recipes and have just no other way to reduce them. Or it could be that you opt to stick with your recipes. In this case, look at other expenses like utilities, restaurant supplies or manpower. We often overlook these expenses when times are good. However, be careful in cost-cutting so much that you sacrifice the comfort and satisfaction of your customers.

So when you feel you have to cut costs, do so wisely.

Making your restaurant kid-friendly

I'm a mother of two little girls. Ever since I had children, it matters to me already if a restaurant has facilities for children like highchairs and kid's menu when we dine out.

If you are operating a restaurant that aims to target families with children or children diners, it is time to check your operations on whether it is going to be an enjoyable dining experience for kids.

First to do some changes on is your menu. Being children, they need a smaller portion than what adults would have. Aside from the usual chicken lollipop and spaghetti, there are other choices on what kids would eat.Kids like noodles and pasta and bite-size desserts. However, get some vegetables and healthy sandwiches there as well. Make sure that slices will be easy for kids to eat. It would be great if you would have fresh juices and distilled water for those sensitive tummies. Since kids could get bored easily, make sure that these are served quickly.

For small children and infants, it would be good to have a high chair or booster seats. It is a MAJOR inconvenience for a family restaurant not to have a high chair. You know, parents want to enjoy their dinner or lunch as well.

As for entertainment, coloring placemat and crayons will be good enough to keep them amused while waiting for their food. A free toy for kid diners will be a great idea too. If you have the space in the dining area, why not put up a play area. Though I will not be too happy with a play area, some parents might appreciate it. When kids see a play area, they tend to lose interest in all other things including eating.

Your toilets and washrooms could also have a kid's cubicle and a changing table.

One thing to remember though. If you decide to be ultra-kid-friendly, make sure your staff understand the move and understand children as well.

Setting your restaurant apart

Being in the restaurant business for quite some while now, I have seen a lot of restaurants which open and close within a short period of time. Or if they don't close, they just continue operating because the owner has a lot of money.

The main reason for most restaurant failures is poor management prowess. That will include cost control breakdown, no promotions, fraud or a misguided staff.

In the area I am in now, one of the reasons I have also seen is the lack of conceptualization. With this I mean lack of a defined unique selling proposition which will spell the difference from other restaurants. If coffee is in and there are more than a handful other places for it, when you decide to put up one, there has got to be a distinctive quality about your establishment for people to turn their attention to you.

A unique selling proposition or USP is not entirely something unique, weird or unusual about your restaurant but something that sets you aprat from the others. One way to spell this out is having a unique dish that only you serve in the city or area or maybe a manner of cooking. You can also do it with a different location, dining area design, theme, serving dishes and the like. If you are jumping into a cuisine or theme that has been in the area, your USP should be solid.

So if you have not thought of a USP for your restaurant, better get in to it now. It just might be your recipe for success.

Starting from Home

Not all restaurateurs started with a full-service restaurant or a counter in the mall. Some restaurants started with simple steps. If you are one of those with yet inadequate resources but want to start right now, it just could be a possibility with a loan for a home-based business.

I am personally afraid of taking on a loan. However, right now, I realized that my initial plan of saving up for the business will take me really long.

If you are planning a home-based food business, you can start with a food delivery service or by-order cakes and pastries business. You can also do packed lunches which you can cater to office workers or schools. There are just so many possibilities.

First thing you have to do is determine what you want to cook and what you can do best. These might be two separate answers for you but to settle the question would be what will click. Second is setting your product list and prices. Next would be getting your equipment and manpower needs, testing your food.

If money is your problem, there are already accommodative financial solutions for you that lends you money without collaterals and without all the fuss for as long as you have good credit standings.

Your dream business need not be flashy all at once. Starting simple and staring small just might be the answer for you.

Utilizing Lean Hours

Your employees' whole 8 or 9 hours are not always involved in busy service. Exemptions would be staff on split shift. But even those shifts can get an 6 to 7 peak hours.

So how do you maximize their work hours?

There are a lot of things you can ask or instruct your staff to do while they are not busy with service. Kitchen staff can do semi-spring cleaning. Ask them to do thorough cleaning on a certain equipment or part of the kitchen at a time. It could also be a good opportunity to steam flatware or wash exhaust fans. It is also a good time to do surprise inventory or thorough checking of orderliness of stockrooms and equipment. One of the not so physical things that can be done is a review of food costs and ingredient prices. On a daily basis, sinks, stoves, refrigerators, freezers and lighting fixtures can be cleaned.

Restaurant service staff can also do thorough cleaning of dining utensils and dining area itself. Plates, spoons, forks, glasses and other dinnerware can be wiped to a gleam. Table napkins can be folded. Linen cabinets can be rearranged. Orderslips, receipts and requesition forms can be organized. Tables can be checked for dirt and chairs can be checked if they are wiggling or stable.

On the administrative side, it is also a fine time to conduct sales calls or fax campaigns. Creating and updating customer database is always put off so this is a great time to get it started. Computation of guest checks and beverage inventory, if this is assigned to waiters, can be done as well. Downtimes are also great for meetings and trainings.

Whatever the popularity of your restaurant, there will always be times when your staff are not preoccupied all the tme. Use these hours or minutes, no matter how few, for more worthwhile activities.

Merchandising Opportunities

Most season or occasion-based activities or promotions in restaurants have somewhat taken gone extremes. Some very much like everybody's promotions. Like mother's day would always include a special treat for mom or a gift certificate for salon services.

Some have gone extremes to crazy contests and entertainment which have not been thought of previously. Sadly some come out not matching the activity at all. It is one thing to be unique but it is definitely another thing to be weird especially in the food industry.

I have always believed in maximizing a restaurant's profit potential by offering services and promotions that will be complementary to your current offerings. A good idea is to sell merchandise items or gift baskets on special occasions to dining guests in the restaurant itself. You can also extend this some more by offering discounts for hese gift baskets at a specified minimum receipt in the restaurant. So this works both ways for you.

If your a fine dining restaurant, it might not be a good idea unless you're selling premium watches or perfume. Keep in mind though that selling merchandise and special gift baskets in the restaurant should be pushing your brand positively and not hurting your image. Try also to make sure that the items you sell are exclusively sold in your restaurant.

PR for your Restaurant

PR or public relations would be the more effective means to get media attention for your restaurant. i believe that sometimes print advertising, per se, tend to be blatant selling and customers are not buying it.

PR is tricky. Surprisingly, most of them can be obtained free Others you have to get at a certain fee. The hard part is the correct writing of your press release to convince editors to publish them.

So the first thing you have to do is to know what it is about the restaurant that makes it interesting like a specialty, your unique selling proposition or a promotion. Editors receive loads of press release so you have to try to stand out from all of them.

Second, write an article about the topic you choose. Write something that is printworthy ,not a term paper or opinion letter for the editor. Send them to the editors of the publications you choose. Check out the newspaper's instructions on how to write and send press releases AND FOLLOW IT! The worst you can do is to upset editors with not following instructions.

Functional and Elegant Kitchens

The kitchen is a restaurant's engine room. Therefore, if you are just designing your kitchen or has plans of redesigning it, there are a couple of factors you have to keep in mind.

SHOW KITCHEN OR NOT? If customers see your kitchen from the dining area, then it's high time to look for a good designer and an aesthetic and functional kitchen. The usual stainless steel would do but would not really be an aesthetic treat, would it? If it will be a visible kitchen (from the dining area), then you just might think of using lighting fixtures that enhance the kitchen and beautiful copper sinks and shining or colored pots and pans. Your staff's uniform should also be spruced up to something a little bit more savvy.

SPACE. Over the clients I have had, space allocated for the kitchen have been extremes. Mega-spacious to mega-crowded! Because most of the time, the kitchen is not thought of as much as dining room. The space you allocate depends on your menu (how many stations do you need, seating capacity, complexity of the menu).

MENU. As I just said, your kitchen would also depend on the requirements of your menu. Is it a specialty house that will only require one or two stations? Or a complex full-course menu with all the stations you can think of? Your menu would also dictate the equipment you need to have space or floor space allocated in the kitchen.

STAFFING. You don't really need a 90 square meter kitchen if you only have 2 or 3 people in the kitchen. Give each staff at least 4 square meters of space to work in including the work table or any equipment he or she has to operate.

FORM OR FUNCTION? Most kitchens now have the 'function'. However, since it has become a fad to let customers into the ktichen and see the action, it might be time to go for 'form'. Copper kitchen sinks give your kitchen a warm look. Colored walls and well-designed cupboards and stations give it the vibe.

OTHERS. Ventilation should be considered. Access to the back entrances, materials to use for table tops and walls would depend on your location.

Ready to redesign your kitchen? Go order that copper sink now!

should your restaurant go green?

Should your restaurant join the 'save-the-earth' campaign and go green? If you ask me, I would say yes. The earth is in dire need of every cooperative soul to save it from destruction. If safe , clean water run out, if the global warming gets unbearable and if we run of out of trees for paper, your restaurant just might be in trouble too.

The reason some people are not as cooperative in this campaign is because of convenience. Most of the things we have to give up to join the advocacy are those that are convenient for us like plastic bags, styro and plastic take outs and such. But really, I think that it is all laziness and disinterest.

So you ask: How do I pitch in in the drive? There are a few simple steps you can start with.

MINIMIZE USE OF PLASTIC BAGS. Purchasers should advise or use reusable containers when purchasing. Plastic bags should be minimized. Another is using paper bags for takeouts rather than plastic bags. Also, it might be time to shift to actual plates, spoons, forks and glasses instead of disposable ones. I have seen a lot of fastfood chains making these move. Of course, it is a balancing act for most of them.

RECYCLE. This just might be one of the easiest things to do. Restaurants accumulate a lot of canned and plastic containers from catsup, sauces, seasonings to soda and beer cans. Gather these up and sell them or recycle. Newspaper and magazines used in restaurants should also be sold instead of just being thrown away.

USE ELECTRICITY AND WATER-SAVING MEASURES. Use CFL lamps and designs for your restaurant that allow as much light into the place as much as possible. This is to minimize use of too many lighting fixtures. It is also important to defrost freezers and clean lightings to optimize electricity consumption. Schedule frozen goods stock release to avoid constant reopening of freezers. If your restaurant is a big area, make sure that the area is not open entirely to help you conserve on electricity on air-conditionng and light.

If before it is a standard to serve water once guests are seated, this has been revised due to water conservation measures.

Bottomline it will be management's will to help in these measures.

Desperate Marketing

Restaurants in very competitive situations are in for rough times. Restaurants in malls, tourist areas, shopping areas, school compounds and other busy places usually have a fierce contest in retaining guests and keeping the restaurant sound.

As a result, a restaurant owner or manager has to put his brains to work in matters of promotions. Aside of course from trying to keep the food and service in tiptop shape.

I have seen all kinds of tricks from eat-all-you-can's, loyalty cards, value meals, freebies, sexy servers, singing staff, discounts to, yes, even celebrity waiters.

However, I try to lean away from those promotional activities that cheapen a brand or a restaurant. These are the activities that give discounts, 2 plus one kind of gimmick and such. These are usually called desperate marketing moves.

Discounts are a total turn-off for me especially if obviously used improperly. When I say used improperly, either the discount is too small to even be inviting to diners or to big that the food is practically given away for free. Sometimes discounts are too strict. But let me point out that in general, discounts should not be used in good times like lunch or dinner service or busy days.

2 (or any number) with a plus one or any number kind of promo is another major desperate move. Usually done with items that are not fast-moving or items where the restaurant gets a good deal with the supplier.

Let me point out though that for most casual dining restaurants, the two said desperate marketing moves are a totally sad option to take. However, if your place is a canteen or eatery or fastfood it just might be beneficial IF used properly.

The problem with desperate marketing moves is that they lower your sales yet increase your expenses. It also makes it difficult for you to return to good prices for you when times get better. It is best to build your brand and keep the food and service quality up every time. There's no better marketing tool than a good reputation.

Designing Your Menu

I like Gordon Ramsay. However, in one of the episodes of Kitchen Nightmares, he said that if a restaurant has pictures on its menu, run out the door. I honestly don't know why!

Now I am saying this because I like putting photos in menu. That is depending on your restaurant type.

As a general rule, if it's a casual dining or family type restaurant, I put pictures. For fine dining ones, no pictures allowed. Why? For me, pictures, can put the "casual" impression. So if you have a fine dining restaurant, please don't put any pictures.

In the Philippines and most restaurants I have been to in Asia, most menu books have pictures. Just look at Friday's menu!

Now, please make sure that you think about the following when designing your menu.

One, if you decide to use photos, use them sparingly and make sure that the pictures do not drown out the items in your menu.

Two, use good photos. Make sure that the lighting and colors are great and that the pictures help sell the food, not make them look icky or something.

Three, if possible, please use descriptions. Works better than photos sometimes.

Four, arrange your menu list in a way that the dishes are given their own spotlight and your high profit margin dishes are highlighted. Start with appetizers, soup, main dishes and so forth.

Fifth, use your inside front cover to feature specials.

Lastly, a simple, picture-less menu should be clean-looking and arranged in a way that it gives a great impresson of the food to come.

Setting Corkage Policies

I will be discussing a series of restaurant policies that you should set, if possible, before you start operating. These are policies you should equip your frontliners with especially since there cannot be an owner or manager in the restaurant at all times. Also, these policies are all needed for proper guest interaction.

One of the policies you should set is corkage policies. Corkage fees are what you charge guests who bring in food from other sources to the restaurant. This means that the restaurant will not be benefiting in any way from the food since it's sale opportunity lost to the restaurant.

The first question you should answer is: Should you or should you not allow guests to bring in food from other sources to the restaurant? I would always suggest not to allow guests to bring in food. Why? There is the danger of the food not being good and other people might think that it came fromthe restaurant. It also deprives the restaurant more opportunities to sell some more menu items. It adds to the work of the waiters and some expenses too, without adding any profit for the restaurant. Guests who bring in food will request for extra plates, spoons and the like which you have to buss out and wash afterwards.

At the most, I allow food items to be brought in by guests during functions that the restaurant cannot serve like roasted pig or calf and party or birthday cakes.

The downside is being strict about this policy could be a turnoff for guests.

So what do you do if the guest gets in the restaurant and happens to have food with them? It might be a waste not to eat the food. You have two choices: to allow the guest to consume the food inside the restaurant or charge a corkage fee.

A corkage fee should be set at an amount that will almost pay for the revenue lost to the restaurant or a set amount for different food categories. Example, is a rate for certain mL of drinks, a meat dish, a dessert and such.

This is usually a touchy subject for restaurants who have operated without a policy and have somehow spoiled guests. It is definitely an owner's decision.

Staffing Needs

One of the more daunting tasks when setting up a new restaurant is looking for and hiring employees.

If you live in the city where the restaurant will be located, it might be easier. You can get help from friends or from people in the foodservice industry. The difficulty is hgher when you are not from that place.

This is where resourcefulness comes in.

You can opt to post it in public or community bulletin boards. Local government labor offices, churches, schools are just some of the places you can try to put up some announcements about your hirng.

You can also place an ad in your local newspaper or magazine.

It can also be an option for you to subscribe to job seach websites like Search. You can find work relatedt to food or foodservice in this website. The great thing about this job website is that they cover other fields and professions. Ideal for people who have diverse businesses.

But remember that looking for employees is a little bit like marketing. You have to match where you put up your announcements to the places most likely to be visited by your target market.

Also, be very clear on your requirements and instructions on how to apply.

When your food servers do not like your customers

It's a reality. Some waiters would not be as nice or friendly as we want to. Some of them would even put up a smirk on their face when guests become demanding.

What do you do about them? Specially when you have a waiter who is technically good at waiting. Good at rules but not in relationship with customers.

In my experience, this happens for a lot of reasons.

1) Inadequate hiring procedures
2) No clear and strict rules on how to deal with guests
3) Inadequate guidance and monitoring

If you have this kind of staff in your restaaurant, it is time to call their attention. Call them to a private meeting and lay down the problem in a calm manner.

If your restaurant does not have a schedule of disciplinary action, it is definitely time to have one. A restaurant should not exist with it. An employee handbook should tell employees how they are supposed to behave in the restaurant.

When a disciplinary action is called for, do it promptly and fairly. if there is more than one erring employee, then they should all be reprimanded.

On the other hand, it is also good to put in "control" points. Example would be a random guest comment survey or a reward for the most appreciated server. Encouragement still is my favored means, although, when it fails, a manager is left with no other choice but to implement stiff rules.

Letting your servers know EXACTLY how you want them to treat your guests is vital. Otherwise, employees will always find a way out or a reason since it has never been clear to them.

Things that will make life easier for a restaurateur

If you happen to be a restaurateur who is not really trained for the business, the best solution would be to get a good restaurant manager.

However, if this is not your option and you choose to run the restaurant yourself, here are a few worksheets that can help you.

DAILY SALES REPORT
If you don't have this, you probably don't care about your business. Sales should be known everyday with a monthly and a annual summary. Why? In a month, any drastic changes in your figures should be call for action especially if the sales is lesser than the previous month or the same month last year. Of course, exceptions would be reasons like Olympics happening in your city or terrorism or some economic contractions.

MENU MONITORING OR TALLY
You should be able to tell which items are selling and which are not. This can help you strategize your menu offerings.

AVERAGE GUEST CHECK
How do you get average guest check? First and foremost, your orderslips should indicate how people there are in that order or table. Divide your total sales by the total number of guests. That is your average check. Why do you need this figure? You need it in your next menu costing. For example, given a guest orders one soup and one main dish or main dish and a dessert, the total amount of these orders should be around yoru average guest check figure. Why again? Because that is what your usual guests usually order.

FOOD COST
Do keep an eye on ingredient prices or even restaurant supplies as this will mightily affect your net income. Review your food costs twice a year. This will also avoid excessive addition of buffer on your selling price since it increases the price unnecessarily.

Food Consistency

What makes McDonald's a great company and what they have been known for is consistency. The good food that they sell all over the world come out the same wherever it is in the world.

Now, I have not worked at McDonald's to tell you how they do it.

In the restaurants that I have worked with, food inconsistency is almost always a problem. Why?

• No standard recipes
• No solid kitchen leader or monitoring
• Supplier inconsistency
• Lack of cooking staff training

That a certain menu item comes out the same, tasting the same as the last time you ordered, looks the same is a sign of good kitchen management.

When you look at some guest complaints, some of them pertain to the food smaller or lesser than the last time we ordered or the food wasn't as good as the last time.

If your restaurant wants to make a name for itself, it is not just all about good dining area designs and explosive marketing campaigns, it is also about stabilizing your kitchen. Restaurants are all about food. Therefore, at least 60% of your effort should go to improving food.

Food consistency is achieved when your kitchen crew knows how each and every menu item should look and taste when they come out of the window. I have gone to the extent of takign photos and putting them in an album where the cooks can refer to.

I have seen restaurants do it without any documentation. That is fine for the time being. But what if one of them or even your kitchen head resigns, how do you teach to a new staff or get the info from the head?

Small or big, fancy or laid back, your restaurant should aim for consistently great food everytime.

Waiter's Secret Tool

Most restaurant owners would wonder why certain menu items wouldn't sell when they absolutely think it should be selling on its own and that it's a good dish.

One problem could be be that the way the menu is arranged does not optimize exposure of each menu item. Either you have so many menu items that guests don't really get to read all of them or some design flaw.

If you cannot afford a menu review and redesign yet, one sure way to give due promotion to your slow selling items is by suggestive selling. Definitely, this will be done by waiters or the anybody attending to the dining area. Another means is by just putting a featured menu item of the month on table tops or attached to menu books.

Suggestive selling will give your waiters the task of suggesting menu items which would be complementing a guest's meal or pushing a slow-selling item.

Be mindful of the following when doing suggestive selling:

1. Do not sugest more than twice. Suggesting more than two items might irritate guests already.
2. Suggest items that would complement or complete a guest's orders like soup if they have only ordered main dish and dessert if they are done with their main courses.
3. Let waiters know the taste of what they are selling. Nothing will be more embarassing than not to be able to describe a dish with conviction.
4. Sometimes, it's good to give guests an incentive for ordering your menu feature.

Again, good communication skills come to play here for the waiters. It is important to monitor your menu tally regularly to see which are selling and which are not. This would also help you control inventory.

Motivating Employees

Running a restaurant well needs waiters and kitchen staff who are happy about their work and challenged to please guests. Otherwise, it will be a pool of people who will be difficult to coach, rude to guests and who wouldn't mind if a guest is happy or not.

Aside from giving the salary due to your employees, minimum wage that is, what are the other things you can do to motivate your employees?

One major thing to do is talking to an employee and making clear what is needed of them in their jobs. When you have a new hire, make sure he or she is fully oriented about the house rules, what will be his or her benefits and his or her role in the restaurant. The concept and work precess should be explained to them so that they know what is their significance in the operations.

If your budget permits, give employee meals and uniforms for free. Employee meals because it's a restaurant. If he's serving food to people, his tummy should not be empty. At the least, give a discount for employee meals. Uniform because that is an owner's responsibility as part of the consistency and concept of the restaurant.

Service charge? I will suggest it if your pricing permits. You see, you have to add it to your price. At the most, if you do not have service charge, make sure that tips are collected and kept in a safe place and divided equally.

Communicate reminders through meetings and bulletin boards so that employees are up to date of new policies and restaurant promotions. The purpose is to make employees feel involved in the success of the restaurant.

Lastly, conduct employee performance review at least once a year to correct wrong doings and to praise good jobs.

How important is menu standardization?

I have written briefly about Recipe standards in my immediate previous post.

Most restaurants that I work with have kitchen staff who were not really educated for their jobs. Most of them found cooking to be a career after they finished school. Some did not even get to college. They are talented people who really have the taste and the capability to cook delicious meals.

So one of my big problems would always be discovering that the kitchen does not have standard recipes for the items in the menu. Now, you would say, well then make one for them or tell them to make one.

Believe me, it's not as easy as you think it would be.

In my recent consultancy, the kitchen head told me he has taught it to all the kitchen staff and that they are all agreed on how to cook the dishes. That if they do resign, they will make sure that they have taught all they ought to teach to their staff. Heaven help me.

I will always insist on standard recipes, including instructions and standard garnish/presentation guide. One major reason is cost control. Another would be consistency of the food as they come out of the kitchen.

The argument would stop when waiters would say that the food does not come out the same way or when the accountant complains of high food costs.

Ideally, standard recipes are the basis for any move in food cost control. If at any rate, the cost of goods increase dramatically, everybody goes back to the standard recipes. Can they tweak the portion? Is there an ingredient that can be replaced? Or is there a need to recompute the prices altogether? Whichever way, the standard recipes will be the tool. If you don't have a standard recipe, you have to re-list all your ingredients and recompute all over again.

Standard recipes are make inventory monitoring easier. If your system is automated, you still need standard recipes. If the restaurant sold 10 orders of beef steak which uses up 300 grams of beef tenderloin, then your inventory release should say 3 kilos of beef tenderloin. If the release says 3 kilos, 9 orders were sold and there is no more beef tenderloin left, you have to start looking for those missing 300 grams. Either the beef steaks were over-portioned or went to some kitchen staff's tummy.

In summary, standard recipes should be a reference for cost control and consistency. Before a restaurant opens, the recipes should have been standardized. As operation goes, they should be constantly reviewed.

Restaurant Behind-the-Scenes

Restaurants have a lot going on beyond the dining room and before and after operating hours. Purchasing, market list, sales reports, food preparations, repairs. What guests see is the end product of a lot of hardwork.

Whenever I am signed in to look at a restaurant's operations, I always look at the following:

INVENTORY MONITORING
Do they have stock cards? Do they conduct regular physical inventory?

STANDARD RECIPES
One of the most upsetting things I discover would be when a restaurant does not have documented standard recipes in an accessible place for kitchen cooking staff to review or refer to. Standard recipes would be the root of all good and bad whichever the restaurant is heading for. At the same time, it is also the source of solutions when things do go bad. Your standard recipe will always be needed when you adjust costs or quantities or if cost cutting measures are planned.

DAILY SALES REPORT AND MENU MONITORING
Aside from knowing how much you earned that day, it is important to know what menu items are moving and which are not being sold. Your order slips or order tickets would be where these data will come from. It is also good to note number of people to determine your average check.

HOUSE RULES
Restaurants which do not have houserules tend to have a lot of employee-employer contention as there are unclear answers to most issues or concerns ranging from how they will be penalized when they do this offense or policy on taking out food. A comprehensive and concise set of company policies and penalties for offenses is a must!

FOOD COST PERCENTAGE
Before any restaurant starts to operate, it should already have set a figure for break-even point, food cost range and target sales. Otherwise, it would be like a headless chicken running around. Every financial statement reporting should indicate your food cost.

Running a restaurant is both an art and an exact science. It cannot be all taste and PR and ambience. A lot of work has to go to maintaining your food costs are sane and your inventory intact. Aside of course, from keeping all operational procedures are followed.

Your Restaurant Online?

I believe so much in the power of the internet. From one of the newsletters I am subscribed to, it said that in the coming years, internet or online business will comprise 65% of your profit. Wouldn't it be great if your restaurant is online? When people travel to a certain destination, most of the time they check available information on the world wide web about it from hotels, restaurants, tours, places to see, museums and the like. The hotels and resorts have gotten ahead with travel websites that abound.

One of the websites I recently discovered is hotelreservations.com.

Before, if you have to book for a hotel or airline ticket, you or somebody has to go to the office of a travel agent or ticketing office or at least call to make your reservations. To get hotel discounts, you either have to know somebody connected to the hotel or travel with a group. Sometimes, it could get inconvenient having to brave through traffic or having to leave work.

Some of you might be still doing that, going to offices and booking. Some are already discovering the convenience of booking online through websites that provide for all your travelling needs and even better!

Hotelreservations.com has a wide range of destinations, a lot of hotels in key cities and grants competitive rates. The website is written in English and Spanish and soon to come, in languages and currency n your country. If you ask me, that's very customer-friendly. The rates can definitely compete with those of other travel websites. What's more, the layout of the website is not confusing, easy on the eyes and clean.

Other great things I found interesting:

• Up to $ 100 rebate when you put in a 12-flight booking

• Option to book online or call their toll-free number

• Up to 70% savings on your bookings

• Multilingual capable site

• Destination guide for key cities all over the world

• Wide range of travel arrangements from cruises, vacation packages, car rentals, airlines, discount clubs, condotels and more

• Special link for Group bookings

So the next time you travel, try the site. It just might be just what you are looking for!

Marketing Basics

Marketing has always been a concern for business owners. Some are lucky to have a know-how about it. But most are totally clueless as to how to promote their products or servies. Either that or their budget keeps them from comfortably promoting their products.

Marketing tells you how, when, where, at what price and to whom to sell your product. It is different from sales in that marketing is the guide to selling success.

Marketing can be a breeze if you follow these simple pieces of advice:

• Keep it simple.

If you have never done it before, start from simple flyers and streamers. In designing flyers, use two colors and two font styles so as not to make it look confusing. Two-color layouts also are cheaper when it comes to color separation and printing. Keep the layout simple and easy to ready. A reader's eyes usually travel from the upper left-hand to the lower right-hand of a page so put the things you want them to read at once by putting them in this direction.

• Have a USP.

In marketing, there is what is called a USP or unique selling proposition. This is a characteristic of your product that is not entirely unique but something that you want to put the spotlight on. If you are in the food business, are your products organic? Are they for health-conscious people? Are your prices the cheapest? Is it eat-all-you-can? When you create marketing materials,

• Use AIDA.

A- Attention. Choose a attention-getter headline or a contemplating question.

I- Interest. Create interest by stating the benefits, not features, of your products.

D- Desire. Motivate them to want to buy your product by giving them a 'feel' of how it will be when they buy.

A-Action. Always put an action item like Call Now! or 20% less if you sign up on or before April 10!

• Create tieups.

Forge partnership with companies who offer services or products complementary to yours. If you are a caterer, tieup with venues or party suppliers. Have an exchange deal or a referral tieup with them. They refer you to their clients, you do the same for them. This way no one dispenses cash and reaps the benefits of a talking and walking advertisement.

• Network.

Go out and meet as many people as you can. Attend socials. Join organizations pertaining to your business or organizations where your potential clients are.

• Have a plan.

You cannot do marketing just when you feel like it. A marketing plan is vital to your success. If you need help in making marketing plans, contact the writer of this article for more details.

Themed Restaurant: Italian

I live in a small city south of the Philippines. One of the things I miss after having lived in Metro Manila is the huge selection of restaurants. Thus, I have tried a lot and now that I am based here, I miss them!

This will be the first in a series of articles I will do on themed restaurants. Let me clear that I am in not a particular expert in several themes but I will do my best to give you the good information on themed restaurants.

I choose to write about Italian themed restaurants today. I choose Italian because I love pasta and natural tasting, fresh sauces. I particularly like pasta tossed in chopped tomatoes and olive oils.

One thing I have learned about Italian cooking is the use of simple recipes that spell fresh, vibrant, flavorful in every bite. It means using authentic ingredients, if possible, like olive oil, sea salt, coffee, pasta and the like. Of course, this is dependent on your possible sources for these products. I particularly like the use of fresh chopped herbs, tomatoes, pepper and cheeses. Italian cooking is always fresh and rustic so the ingredients have to be right.

If you do plan on having an Italian restaurant, like in any restaurant, a lot has go into recipe research, ingredient sourcing and testing these recipes so that they do taste Italian. The last thing you'd like to hear from your customers is that it does not taste Italian.

I particularly like Italian restaurants that does not all look green and red. Those are, of course, the colors of Italy, but it would be great to spruce them up with some complementing color.

It is important to be correct in spelling your menu titles. Your staff should also learn major greetings they can use in the restaurant. Don't forget to liven up the mood with some Italian music.

In-store Promotions

I talked about practical promotions in my previous post. As I promised, I'll let you in also on in-house promotions for your restaurant.

Given you have already gotten people to come and try your restaurant, there are still several ways you can do to drive their consumption up or to keep them returning. That is, of course, not forgetting to give utmost service and great food.

Let me make an important note not to forget to match your promotions with your target market. If it's a fine dining restaurant, you must be very discreet and very elegant. If it's casual to fast food, you could be a little loose or out-of-the-box.

calling cards as raffle entries
Place a bowl, preferably transparent, in a visible place in the restaurant. Put a signage that will ask guests to drop their calling cards to enter a raffle for a gift certificate or some freebies from the restaurant. These calling cards will come handy when doing promotions (please be mindful of email spamming). Great way to build your customer database.

freebies or discounts for minimum purchase
You probably see these in a lot of fast food chains. I have also seen this used by 5-star hotels to drive sales for a particular drink or food item. This will help you in increasing average guest check or moving and promoting items that are slow-selling or a new product.

coupons for the next visit
One thing to remember when using coupons is to make the offer irresistible and tangible. And not too desperate sounding. Design coupons in a way that they don't look too mass-produced. If you plan to give discounts, give at least 20%. Anything below that would be unappealing.

use your menu
Use the inner front page of your menu for promotions. Highlight your specialties and your menu items with the higher profit margins.

Make your promotions' duration for at least 3 months to really see the effect. Document results and be sure that your staff knows the promotions inside out.

Practical Promotions for Your Restaurant

Promoting your restaurant is necessary. Even if you have good food, great service and all those good things, if people don't know you even exist, your efforts will be futile.

Some restaurant owners are afraid of promoting their restaurants thinking it will take a lot of money to do that. There are indeed very sophisticated means to get the word out about your place, but luckily there are also ways that will not rip you off a substantial amount of money. That you will get it for free would be a great thing. It is possible though.

Before dishing out any tips on practical marketing there are two things you have to think about: Your target market and your budget.

If you don't know exactly who you want to cater to, your restaurant just might be in shambles right now. Identifying who you want to eat in the restaurant is one of the questions you have to answer even before you buy a single fork or test a single recipe. If you serve fine dining and promote your products in low-class radio stations, you are just wasting money.

Your budget because promotions don't come for free. I have encountered owners who don't care about the amount for as long as it's not horrendously expensive. Honestly, I have learned how to put that in figures. But in reality, it has to be composed of digits.

The reason I asked about your target market is to match your avenues of promotions to where they will most likely be encountered or seen by your potential customers. Example, if you have family dining restaurant for middle class and up, it would be best to make promotions in upscale subdivisions, spas, private schools, jazz or easy listening stations, boutiques you can partner with, high-end malls. Where your clients might usually be.

Now for the tips:

• Exchange deals

Strike a deal with an establishment who has the same target market as yours. Agree to display each other's promotional materials for free. Make sure both your materials are in good locations. Now you say but this is free, isn't it? No, it's not because you still have to be spending for those flyers and banners. An agreement will be best just so you know the duration of the promotion and other details.

• Free tasting

Just a standee in a popular location or a great food tasting event can really, really put the spotlight on your restaurant. Specially if you are the only one in town doing it. Invite potential clients, media and local personalities. One thing though, make it more like a cocktail party so guests get the idea that it's a tasting event and not an eat-all-you-can.

• Press release

Make a good article on your place, what's to look forward to, your location and specialties. Send this to your preferred newspaper in the format they need it, whether by email or mail.This should come free but of course, pray hard the editor chooses it. Therefore, it will be great if your article becomes newsworthy or print-worthy.

• Network! Socialize!
  

I strongly suggest being a member of organizations that will be beneficial to you. Sponsor events for organizations that your target market is most likely to be a member of.

Other things you can do, once you have convinced the people to come try your restaurant, are in-store promotions. More of that in the next article!

What Makes a Great Restaurant Experience?

It's one question restaurant owners what the answer badly to. If guests have a great dining experience, they would tend to come back and eat in the restaurant again and again.

I am going to write this article from the point of view of somebody who frequents restaurants, not as a foodservice consultant or marketing adviser. This is one person most owners fail to consult: the consumers themselves.

When I go to a restaurant, I expect a good time. I expect good food, prompt service. Other things would be clean surroundings, clean tableware, clean toilets, okay temperature, courteous waiters, temperature.

I would like that somebody is there to welcome us and sit us when we get in. It would seem like you're not welcome if nobody is there when you arrive right?

I like waiters who smile and are friendly, who know the proper greeting without overdoing it, who seem to be happy with being a waiter, who know what questions to ask.

I like restaurants with subtle music, clean smell and matching decors.

I don't like that food takes more than 20 minutes to be served. I appreciate restaurants where waiters stand on the side to anticipate guest's needs but not too near that they hear your conversation.

How the food tastes is definitely the star of the show. Guests expect no less than good food when dining out. Guests don't want too spicy, overcooked, undercooked (unless it's supposed to be served raw), too little serving for the price. Guests want everything just right. I personally like simple yet enticing presentation. I don't like plated dishes that seemed to have just been plopped into the plate and served. I like to have the proper condiments and flatware with my food.

I like restaurants that offer something the other restaurants don't have or something they could serve better.

Lastly, I like restaurants where the people working there truly like what they are doing. It will show, you see.

I like resstaurants that make you feel good after eating there.

Major Mistakes in Menu Writing and Design

One of the first things you will encounter in a restaurant aside from the waiter will be the menu. So it is important that it presents a good, if not outstanding, first impression. A menu's well-being speaks so much about the status of the restaurant.

So let me tell you a couple of things you should avoid when putting together your menu.

• Too many menu items.

A big number is not always a good thing. It does not always impress guests that you have a looooong list. Too many menu items can be a cause for: (1) too many items to stock, (2) overlook request for some menu items, (3) confusion, (4) non-saleability of menu items at the rear end of the menu.

• Uncoated or uncovered menu paper

When your menu is just plain paper, tendency is it will crumple easily and soil easily too. They could get ruined right away when somebody accidentally spills gravy or coffee on them. They will tend to look worn fast which will not give a good impression. They would think that this restaurant might be lousy since they have a soggy menu. It will also eat expense for menu production if you have to replace your menu often.

• Small fonts and design flaws

A menu should be readable by using big fonts around 14 or 15 pts. The font type should also be neat and easily readable. Using opposite colors for your paper and the font itself. do not use light-colored fonts on light-colored paper. Graphics should complement your design. Your menu book should withstand daily, and even harsh, handling and flipping of pages. So the binding should be strong enough.

• Unclear titles and No Descriptions

The assumption of anyone who writes a menu should be that not everyone who will eat in the restaurant knows your menu or the local dialect. It is best to have a short title and a simple description underneath the title. The description should have some of the main ingredients or the taste and the manner of cooking.

• Using lousy pictures
  

If you will use pictures, make sure that they are your original photos, nicely taken and can be worth putting in food magazines. Otherwise, don't use any at all.

Listening to your Customers

When you own or would like to put up a restaurant, you have an idea of how you want it look, what food to serve, color scheme and those things. By all means, you have the right to follow your heart because you are the owner.

Right or wrong?

I would say it depends on what the owner wants. If what the owner wants, is what future customers would like, that's the direction to follow. It is what your customer likes.

But what if what the owner likes is not what the customer wants? I would still say it is what your customer likes. Then the owner would say, "But it's how I like it!". Hmmm... maybe the owner has a lot of money and doesn't care whether the business profits or not. Or the restaurant is just an outlet for the realization of a dream. In those cases, then que sera sera.

If you mean for your restaurant to make money for you, then listening to your customers is your only choice. It is a business not a hobby or therapy.

This is the problem when some restaurant owner wants their business to turnaround from a slump but refuse to do what might click with their customers. Most of the time, it involves a major change of heart. What they have in mind did not work so what evidence are they still looking for?

As has been advised by a million business consultants, a survey or a market research will greatly help a business owner. Unfortunately, some self-avowed restaurateur just put it up and start on some concept, buy things and later on, see their money down the drain.

If you are yet to put up a restaurant, please spare a meager amount of your capital for research or a simple survey of the immediate 5 kilometer radius of your proposed location about the restaurant.

If you have a restaurant already and want to improve your profit, a guest comment card or satisfaction survey would be great. Assigning a staff to go around tables and ask how the guests find the food or their visit will unveil a wealth of information. Add to that, that these activities would not cost you a lot of money. Sometimes, guests will volunteer the information. Take note of that. Better yet, make a system to log these comments. Assign a logbook or notebook or a form which can be filled out either by your staff or the guests for their comments. It is noteworthy, of course, to say that comments should be filtered and reviewed.

When a guest sees that her or his comment was actually implemented, he or she would feel special or complimented. Example, if you modified the volume of the music after complaining that it's too loud or a dish she likes that has been added to the menu. Guests feel better in a restaurant that listens to what they say.

Kitchen Crew Safety and Hygiene

In practically every restaurant kitchen that I get to see, I would notice a couple of unfavorable practices. These practices, if left uncorrected, would be detrimental to the property and the people working there.

I have seen cooks not wearing closed toe shoes or even wearing short pants. In most kitchens, slippery floors and disorganized kitchen setup are common.

For a more detailed discussion, I will only talk about kitchen crew's safety and hygience in this article. More on the general kitchen safety and hygiene in coming articles.

BASIC CLOTHING
Kitchen crew from dishwashers to dispatchers to the people who actually cook should be wearing the following:

• Chef's hat/toque/hairnet
• Sleeved shirt
• Apron
• Closed toe shoes
• Long pants

A washcloth would be best together with getup. Jewelry and body piercing should be prohibited including the use of cellphones and other consumer electronic devices during hours of work.

HYGIENE
The most basic would be for kitchen staff to come to work clean and smelling clean. Basic things like a bath, toothbrush and fresh, clean, pressed clothes. I always advise cooks not to wear perfume to work as it gets in the way of tasting and smelling food clearly.

Aside from a staff's personal hygiene, the cleanliness of the kitchen should also be taken into consideration. The kitchen floor needs to be clean and dry at all times. Slippery floors are a magnet for accidents. When a cook is carrying hot food to another location and slips, it might result ot injuries and burns. And of course, food cost down the drain. Trash bins should also be covered and emptied out at least once a day to discourage pests into the kitchen.

Kitchen cabinets should be screeened and cleaned at least every other week. Freezers and refrigerators should be defrosted every week. It is also important to note that different compartments should be assigned to vegetables, fish and seafoods, poultry, beef, pork and other frozen items.

Every kitchen should have a handwash area at the entrance so that every person who comes into the kitchen sees it and is reminded to disinfect hands before doing anything in the kitchen.

KITCHEN SAFETY
Staff should have areas where they can sit and do paperworks and not near burners or on kitchen work tables. Knives should be sharpened as dull knives bring more accident and needs more effort from the user's part. When a knife is dull, more pressure is needed for it to cut through something. Knives should be stored with the blade down or away from the person.

Kitchen equipment should be assigned an area according to their purpose. More importantly, everybody should know how they are organized. It would be very inconvenient to show where a certain equipment is placed in the peak of operations.

Fire extinguishers should also be in accessible areas. All the people who work in the kitchen should be oriented properly on fire prevention and what to do during a fire. A medicine first aid kit should be put together with first aid remedies and burn ointments.

Hiring Waiters

I remember my practicum days at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. Of the ten departments I went through, I remember enjoying restaurant service the most. I thought it was fun but tiring. Standing up and walking the whole time is no joke. However, I thought that it was a task that was routinary and not too cerebral. It needs a lot of communication skills and a lot of love for guests.

While managing a hotel, I started to realize that not all waiters are born to be waiters. Some of them have to be trained and guided to the 'waiter' mold of your preference. I also realized that waiters who stay in their jobs for so many years become either a great waiter or one who has lost all affection for the job.

When hiring waiters, I consider mainly good working attitude and communication skills. Some restaurant owners tend to hire waiters for as long as they can take orders, carry a tray and buss tables. I think that above these skills, which can be easily taught, by the way, waiters have to be good communicators. They should know how to speak well and when to speak.

Why is that so? They're waiters, not guest relations officers. On the other hand, they are a restaurant' s main guest relations officers. Waiters should know the questions to ask in appropriate situations. They should be able to aid sales by knowing how to suggest-sell and know dishes that complement each other.

Of course, waitering skills are important. Guests who dine need waiters who can attend to their needs while dining. They need proper flatware and glassware and dinnerware and waiters should know which these are.

A waiter's customer service skills have to be in check as well. He or she should be sensitive to a guest's requests or complaints. Simply put, a waiter should be courteous and attentive to guests at all times. At the same time, ensuring that restaurant service policies are kept in mind and followed.

In summary, do consider the following before hiring anybody to be a waiter for even the simplest restaurant setup.

• Ability to communicate and express himself
• A natural friendliness and enjoyment to be serving people
• A desire to put their best foot forward for your restaurant

If your waiter turns out to be not the kind of waiter you want, you can either re-train them or let them go. A waiter is usually all that a guest sees of a restaurant's employee pool. So all means have to be taken to ensure that what a guest sees is all good.

Food Cost Control Simplified

One of the most problematic areas in a restaurant operation is operations are labor and material-intensive. Add to that the external factors that affect a restaurant's finan controlling costs. Restaurantcial status a lot like inflation rates, trade, supply of materials and others.

Cost control is a vital point of concern. In fact, in bigger establishments, there is a whole department or at least an employee allocated to cost control. Here are the reasons why it is important:

• Cost control is the backbone of menu pricing
• Cost control defines a restaurant's ability to compete and to pay suppliers

How do you control costs specially in a business where the risk of spoilage and breakage is always there?
1. Always look for the best suppliers
Don't rely on suppliers you find in the grocery. Even better, look for the suppliers who supply for grocery stores. These would be direct distributors for consumer and food items like Unilever Bestfoods or Nestle or Sysu. They can offer you concessions and credit arrangements. They also deliver to your place if the quantity is good. Since you would usually consume ingredients in large quantities, you would most probably be given good prices.

2. Determine your par stock, lead time for orders and shelf life of food items.
If you can project your consumption and lead time on certain items, you can order just enough and just in time. This avoids over stocking on items and hurting your credit or cashflow. This will also help you budget your expense allocation for cost of goods or food costs. Most importantly, this will minimize spoilage greatly.

3. Recipe test then cost.
Some restaurateurs take the lazy way to menu pricing by making estimates. Not a good idea at all! If there is one sure way to control your costs is to document your recipes, test them and document the testing. Pur each recipe in a file or an index card with separate columns for ingredients, quantity of ingredients needed and cost. Add the costs up to know the at-cost rate of this particular food item.

4. Review your costs regularly.
Recipe costing does not happen only when a restaurant is just about to operate. Costs should be reviewed at least twice a year or when there is a substantial increase in prices. It is also important to review costs and prices when competition dictates so. There is a tendency to be enthusiastic only at the beginnning and when things are doing well.

5. Support your cost control with control points.
Control points like different persons for purchasing and receiving, different persons for audit and stock disbursement. It is also good to conduct surprise inventory, although, a monthly inventory is most advisable. Use forms to define flow of stocks.

6. Make sure that all food items consumed are accounted for.
There is a possibility of pilferage, breakage and spoilage all the time. Make sure that you have a system to trace ingredients released to the kitchen to how much it was paid for by costumers. There are now softwares and inventory systems that can do just that with less difficulty. Spoilages should be reported and items duly released by person in authority. Same should be done with breakages.

7. Have a buffer.
Allow a 10-20% mark up on your selling price for any unfavorable eventualities. So that you have an allowance if competition pushes you to reduce prices. However, if this is not possible, especially in price-sensitive food categories, it would be best to make sure that costs are spent where they should be.

8. Be mindful of other costs.
Remember that there are other costs entailed in ruuning a restaurant. Among them restaurant supplies like napkin, condiments, toothpick, fuel, manpower, electricity, water, rent, repairs and equipment.

Cost control could be made easier by putting in systems and procedures. Aside from this, it is also a must that all the people involved in your business understand what cost control means for them and for the business. Point out clearly the things they could do that will be detrimental for the business and what they must do to help. In this way, it will be easier to impart procedures to them.