He Said, She Said: Olympic Oatmeal

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry, working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. With such a wide range of experience between them, we decided to ask Julia Heyer and Vin McCann to take a closer look at the business of running a restaurant and sound off on some of the hottest topics in the restaurant world. Today they dive into the world of advertising and sponsorship by large food corporations.

Julia Heyer
I miss the Olympics. What I do not miss is the barrage of pathos-laden, crappy commercials we were subjected to every four to five minutes while watching the games. One in particular was hard to beat on the cringe-scale — the talking oatmeal cup, rejecting the Egg McMuffin and preferring the “tall and dark” coffee coming her way. Personified breakfast items? Ouf. McDonalds, showing your products that may be under 400 calories to position yourself as a healthy option befitting the amazing athletes was just, well, not medal-worthy. Why? The Olympics and McDonalds seem to have the natural brand fit of Dom Perignon and Twinkies (yes, Vin, we can’t seem to escape the Twinkie). Somehow, it feels like putting lipstick on a marketing cash cow.

Vin McCann
The Slow Food devotees, bloggers, and nanny nutritionists speak to thousands, but Mickey D, Subway and more speak to billions; and when did “good taste” ever matter as an advertisement aesthetic standard? You can’t blame the Olympic organizers for following the money. Somehow I can’t picture the aforementioned nutrition devotees ponying up the dough McDonalds and Subway did to enhance their images. Cheap, convenient food sells, whether “tall and dark” or stubby and stout. Sure they are packed with calories and imitate flavor with heavy doses of salt, fat, and sugar, but let’s not lose sight of their best attribute — they are inexpensive. Were the commercials in poor taste? I can’t say. This fortunate soul was out of earshot when the oatmeal was talking. More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Marché Restaurants



Julia Heyer
Is it possible to grow an old concept and still wow people with it? The Marche concept, a limited service market station concept, has been around since the 80s, but has not lost its appeal. They recently changed their location strategy and twenty plus years ago they were in hotels and downtown areas such as department stores and now they are transportation focused. I recently came across one in an airport and another at an Autobahn gas station rest stop.  Who expects lovely design and fresh food merchandising, tossed salad and sausage bars or a freshly made pizza in these locations?  The offering was fresh, delicious and well, rather expensive. Still, expectation exceeded; despite paying 29 Euros for a pizza, juice, two sodas and a latte.  One has to appreciate a good lunch in a space where you generally would be happy not to choke on a week-old, dried pretzel – especially when traveling with two toddlers.

Why can the Swiss pull this off with panache, while here in the good old USA I still get to pick between a nasty hotdog that’s been sitting on a roller for a day, or Twinkies with a half-life?

Vin McCann
If only I was as impermeable to decay as a Twinkie, I’d be a happy camper. Seriously, Jules, I think the strategy makes perfect sense when you stop to consider two significant facts. The Europeans are generally more respectful of their food than Americans, though we seem to be moving, or being pushed by the pundits, in that direction. Secondly, whether you are German, Latvian, or American, the desire for clean, fresh, un-sullied by the trio of processed food flavorants (sugar, salt, and fat) and the usual battery of unpronounceable ingredients is a powerful one. There is a nascent move in that direction in our travel spots, but it is more the product of marketing – sounds good, food styled and cosmetically appealing rather than a real shift towards quality.  As we both well know, you can buy a vast array of menu items, frozen, bagged, canned, freeze dried, vacuum packed, ready to assemble, to offer the public.  It’s all current, contemporary sounds nutritious, and looks delicious. But like the Twinkie, we just don’t know what exactly has gone into producing them.

Julia’s Response
Isn’t THAT the question: is there really a mass desire for ‘unsullied’ food products? Or is the “slow food, organic, farm-to-table” craving the buzz from a small segment of the population?  Disproportionate noise generated by marketeers and the legion of “we know what’s good for you” food writers. If you want my two cents, I think everyone LOVES the idea of healthy, flavorful food, but the realities of availability complicate the issue.  Creating a strong value perception – successfully pairing perceived quality and price is the game changer.  While it may be pricey, Marche managed to do that for me.

The average consumer is not always able to detect the differences between moderately processed versus freshly made food – no matter which continent he/she lives on. They do however see the difference in pricing. Highly processed foods, such as a KFC double-down tend to be more affordable at $2.99 than the gorgeous, unsullied, organic, hydroponic and hand-massaged lollo rosso lettuce for $8 per pound at the greenmarket (which may even promise to make you the impermeable human boasting  a twinkie half life!) . Not everyone can afford it OR sees value in it.  In a time where someone tried to sell me a $40 pound of coffee from the specialty roaster recently, I too see that point on occasion! It all comes back to the value equation, of balancing quality and price.  Are the Swiss really better at this balancing act?

Vin’s Last Word
Eight bucks for a pound of lettuce! What are you complaining about?  It’s loaded with antioxidants and probably hand harvested by enchanted nutritionists. Forty bucks for a pound of coffee! What’s to balk at when you’re saving an African country or delivering the woman who hand picks the beans from a life of drudgery? Open the wallet, woman! Seriously we may be loading a little too much import on food and that certainly clouds the value formulation. But doesn’t the real challenge lay in the fact that we are living in an age where the quality of food and its availability are not rising nearly as fast as its cost?  Success in creating the right value formulation calls for more than a calculator.  Restaurants need a story, a clear brand promise, solid marketing- both internal and external, and consistent performance to convince their customers they are paying fair value.  Still there are countless millions who are reduced to eating whatever is available for the money they have in their pockets, but that’s a much bigger issue.

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Business Planning

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry, working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. With such a wide range of experience between them, we decided to ask Julia Heyer and Vin McCann to take a closer look at the business of running a restaurant and sound off on some of the hottest topics in the restaurant world. Today, they tackle business planning.

Vin McCann
Having reviewed hundreds of restaurant business plans over the last 10 years, I remain flabbergasted, and somewhat saddened, by the number of them that underestimate the potency of existing competition and overestimate the contemplated business’s ability to generate sales. The discomfort the rose colored outlook prompts is exacerbated by the recollection of my favorite marketers’, Al Ries and Jack Trout, warning that better product and better people do not qualify as positioning statements, or unique selling propositions. Who goes into business promising the opposite?

Guests, customers, whatever the conventional wisdom is tagging them with today, don’t drop out of the heavens every time a new restaurant opens its doors. They must be lured, seduced, yes even weaseled away from existing competitors.  The elemental math is that there are 310 million people living in the U.S. and over 650,000 restaurants. Eliminate 20% of the population for being too young, too old, or too infirm to be regular customers and you have approximately 248 million potential customers, or  about 380 people per restaurant – not exactly the best foundation to build a business on.  The nagging, inescapable, question every restaurant entrepreneur must answer is why your place? Opening with the idea of better food and service and no other marketing strategy is like hoping your distant object of desire, barely visible in a crowd in the lobby at Grand Central is going to pick you because you are there. What are the chances of that happening?

More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Extreme Local and Seasonal Dining

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry, working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. With such a wide range of experience between them, we decided to ask Julia Heyer and Vin McCann to take a closer look at the business of running a restaurant and sound off on some of the hottest topics in the restaurant world. Today, they tackle if it is feasible for a restaurant to offer hyper-local and seasonal cuisine.

Julia Heyer
We all hear about seasonal, local and hyper-local cooking. (Hyper-local in NYC always makes me wonder why I would want this. Where did the vegetable come from? The small patch of grass between the sidewalk and Second Avenue? Why would that be something guests would covet?)

Be that as it may, hyper-local, seasonal and fresh is certainly a trend and this week Restaurant Management Magazine online wrote about taking it to the next level.

Now, Vin, we have given our share of opinions about proclaimed experts — be they mixologists, food writers or PR mavens. It is another “expert opinion” that renders parts of the article problematic and caused my eyebrows to approach my upper hairline. A proclaimed finance expert with restaurant experience claims that “true freshness” requires clearing out of all produce and vegetables at the end of each night. Every night! Say what? More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Shake Shack

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry, working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. With such a wide range of experience between them, we decided to ask Julia Heyer and Vin McCann to take a closer look at the business of running a restaurant and sound off on some of the hottest topics in the restaurant world. Today, they look at the recent New York Times review of the ever-popular Shake Shack and try to get to the bottom of what it is that has people lined up around the block for a burger and fries.

Vin McCann
Recently Pete Wells, the Times food critic, spanked Danny Meyers for Shake Shack’s, Meyer’s growing burger chain, operational inconsistency. The piece was both striking and instructive for a number of reasons. First, it raised the question of if Mr. Wells’ interest in a burger chain signals a new field on the Times’ radar screen.  Can we look forward to future reviews of Chipotle and Red Mango? Or was this a one-time scold of a high profile industry operator for not imparting the rigorous standards of his fine dining establishments to his lower priced concept?

In another vein, the piece raised a number of salient business points. The concept of having multiple units on the lower end of the industry’s price spectrum thrive on diligent brand development and sound operational systems, both of which are driven by an objective of consistency. From Wells’ perspective Shake Shack turned up wanting in both departments.

The criticism also raises the inevitable dilemma that all restaurant concepts, whether chains or otherwise, must resolve, namely the fusion of the expectations that are raised and the performance that is delivered. In Wells’ eyes, Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) brand seems to promise more than it delivers on the food portion of the experience, but manages even in his critical eye to provide the memorable signature of Meyer’s hospitality. This raises the question — can hospitality carry a burger chain? More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Restaurant Openings

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry, working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. With such a wide range of experience between them, we decided to ask Julia Heyer and Vin McCann to take a closer look at the business of running a restaurant. Today, they discuss just how difficult it is to open a restaurant.

Julia Heyer
I am writing in the midst of a new restaurant opening in the heart of Hamburg, Germany. The concept offers quick, fresh salads, soups, house-made yogurts and fruit salads. The good news is that the lessons we teach at ICE have once more proven relevant and true. The surrounding community has embraced the concept (which was two years in the planning) since the opening. We hired a positive front-of-house team, trained them well and gave them the tools to provide lovely service while cranking out fresh, beautiful salads in less than two minutes. The entire staff worked as smoothly as the purple curry dressing that is quickly turning into a top seller.

Now, the back-of-the-house was a different story. And here is the lesson: having a good palette and some theoretical skills is a start, but in this business you need more. If you want to run a kitchen, even a limited size one, you must have:

Competence: At the very least one must know the difference between internal temperatures for rare and medium roast beef. And one shouldn’t make that same mistake twice. Knife skills are also indispensable. My three-year-old nephew’s speed and accuracy should not be the performance standard

Planning & Organizational Skills: Yes, you need to plan your production! The term mise en place should not be a foreign language to you. What is purchased, produced and assembled, and when and in what quantity you do it should not be decided spur of the moment but ahead of time, taking into account your forecast, inventories, storage and team capacities. More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Nobody Asked Me, But…

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry and working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. Here on DICED, two of our Instructors, Julia Heyer and Vin McCann, have regularly been looking at topics and trends in the industry, shedding light on some complicated issues and sharing their in-depth expertise. This week, Julia and Vin are taking off the gloves and putting their own spin on things to watch for 2012 — without holding anything back.

Vin McCann
Julia, let’s kick the New Year off on the right foot, or at least the foot a good portion of the blogosphere kicks off on. Like every columnist, blogger and expert, let’s address trends for 2012… On second thought, forget that! How about a page out of the Jimmy Cannon book of tricks; “Nobody asked me, but…”

Nobody asked me, but the term “foodie’, descriptive of virtually everything and nothing needs to go the way of the pet rock.

N.A.M.B. can the cutting edge, self-appointed experts in the industry please stop trying so hard to create new trends. I don’t need flowers frozen into the ice cubes floating in my drink, or some arcane atomized substance posing as a cocktail.

N.A.M.B. trend identifiers ought to have to put their money where their mouths are when they prognosticate about the future, or, at the very least, publicly own up to their lifetime accuracy percentage. Roulette wheels have more predictable outcomes than restaurant “trend” predictions.

N.A.M.B. sooner or later there has to be an end to the discovery of new, exciting, hitherto unknown vegetables.

N.A.M.B. the endless expert pontificating about the nutritional value of foods is really sapping the fun from food and beverage. Let’s face it — none of us are going to live forever, and 50 is not, nor will it ever be, the new 30.

N.A.M.B. does anybody really believe that in a list of “101 best restaurants” that the author can objectively qualify the difference between number 68 and number 69, or even 89 for that matter?

Julia Heyer
Vin, wow. You seem to have missed my sunny disposition. Let me start by asking you, did your sense of humor drown over New Years? Perhaps eggnog prepared by a “foodie”? May I recommend a bottle of fancy champagne and maybe some scorzonera stew to brighten the mood? It’s a new year, a reset button, and you did ask me, so… More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Restaurant Wait Times

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry and working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. Two of our Instructors, Julia Heyer and Vin McCann, have been looking at topics and trends in the industry, shedding light on some complicated issues and sharing their in-depth expertise. This week, Julia and Vin dive head-first into how to deal with restaurant capacity, reservations, lists and wait times.

Julia Heyer
I went to a hopping place a few weeks ago. Seats at the bar were coveted. The wait time for a table was quoted at an hour and a half. And yet there were four-plus empty dining tables. And not just for five to 10 minutes. Fifteen empty seats on a Friday night at 7:15 pm. What was going on here?

After listening to my friend’s growling stomachs and rising discontent, I moseyed over to the host stand. Just to, you know, sweetly check in on the wait time — still over an hour. I cracked a joke to the hostess about how the empty tables were magically pulling me towards them. There was a smile (it was very faint) and a perfunctory, “Sorry. Those tables are reserved”.

Thought it was a fluke? Well it happened again this past Friday. Hungry guests packed into the bar, lots of empty tables with guests begrudgingly eyeing the open seats. Why can’t we sit down and give you our hard-earned $32 for a grilled branzino already?

It isn’t a problem that the restaurant takes reservations or that they wish to honor them. It’s a nice service and a good guarantee of business. What is a problem for both guests and the business is that the management apparently doesn’t have the foggiest idea as to how to manage their reservations and capacity. HINT: taking reservations for over 20 seats at 8pm when you clearly have demand for it in your restaurant at 7pm is NOT the way to go. Open seats, many of them for over an hour, at your peak business time are neither good service or sound business practice. It’s a bad decision. More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Service Basics

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry and working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. Two of our Instructors, Julia Heyer and Vin McCann, have been looking at topics and trends in the industry, shedding light on some complicated issues and sharing their in-depth expertise. This week, Julia and Vin riff on a simple question — what makes good service in a restaurant?

Julia Asks
What makes good service in a restaurant?

It all really is so simple: be nice. Make the guests feel welcome. Take care of them. Don’t spill on them. Smile. Take your time. Happily and willingly explain each menu item in detail. Know how to open a bottle of wine and polish a wine glass well. Sounds about right?

Well, good service would be quite another thing if all I wanted was a Big Mac and two Happy Meals, had the car engine running and had screaming kids in the backseat. In that case, I want, no need, my food, in a bag, in under two minutes flat, now. No, I don’t want to hear your up-sell spiel to the McRib, or that the Special Sauce is a delicious blend of sugar and cardboard and certainly might not be up for a chat over my favorite type of fries, while you polish my paper cup prior to filling it with soda! All I want here is Formula 1 speed. So as with everything else in life, what makes up good service depends on a multitude of factors, but mostly on what your guests wants. More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012

February 2012

January 2012

December 2011

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

August 2011

July 2011

June 2011

May 2011

April 2011

March 2011

February 2011

January 2011

December 2010

November 2010

October 2010

September 2010

August 2010

July 2010

June 2010

May 2010

April 2010

March 2010

February 2010

January 2010

December 2009

November 2009

October 2009

He Said, She Said: Social Media — Part II

ICE’s Culinary Management Instructors are seasoned industry professionals who are still active in the industry and working on their own projects while teaching classes at ICE. Julia Heyer and Vin McCann recently looked at social media’s effect on the restaurant and food world, and today they continue to dive into the complex world of online networks and social media. When we last left off, Vin questioned the long-term effect and at what point the messages turned from fascination to “self-promoting chatter.”

Julia Heyer
People are fascinated with our industry. While they couldn’t care less about what happens in the toothpaste factory at Proctor & Gamble, they are interested in restaurant kitchens. There is a sexiness factor.

For now, that results in a different reach for our biz. The new media allow restaurant businesses to connect with guests, both existing and potential, who want to hear from them.  Instead of using the old adage of “let’s throw a whole bunch of ads out there at that wall and see what sticks,” it allows targeted reach to and identification of your guests. Will it change? As we say in German, Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat Zwei — everything has an end, just the sausage has two. More…

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

November 2012

October 2012

September 2012

August 2012

July 2012

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

March 2012