“My mom makes the best [insert name of dish here]!”

“My restaurant makes the best version of [insert name of dish here]!”

Okay, okay– we know there’s no denying your mother’s or head chef’s skills are best in the kitchen (and to be frank, we’d probably be scared to argue with you). But it is true that beloved dishes are highly argued over regarding how they should be made to achieve that perfect taste. From the ingredients, to the preparation and cooking technique, nothing rings truer and closer to this argument than that of the falafel!

Those delectable hot crispy and crunchy fried balls of goodness are a traditional Middle Easter food but also highly popular in Jewish cuisine as well. Traditionally made of a mixture of fava beans or chickpeas, herbs and spices, shaped into a ball or round shape and deep fried to perfection. Due to the huge popularity of this dish and the large number of countries (Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Israel, for example), each area has its own special way of creating this dish. Heck, even McDonald’s has its own version of falafel and yes–you guessed it–they call it the McFalafel.

Some people prefer to use lots of corriander, some shape them into flatter patties, some into round balls. Some will insist on only using fava beans. We say, let the debate continue!

But in the meantime, check out this great recipe for falafel over at NPR’s blog, The Salt. And don’t forget, there’s no wrong way to eat a falafel; just make sure all those delicious contents go into the mouth!

You may have noticed from our blog and social media posts that as international restaurant consultants, we travel a ton and eat a ton! Some might find our jobs plenty desirable as we eat our way through every restaurant we can during our discovery, but even then, it’s still work to us and we constantly need to watch our weight. Just as chefs battle to not overeat, we do too!

This article notes that even renowned celebrity chef (and chef of our own client, LYFE Kitchen) has taken it upon himself to live and eat healthier; he has managed to lose over 120 lbs through smart eating and exercise.

And though we find ourselves extremely fortunate to work in such a delicious field, we recognize that it is even more important to maintain a healthy lifestyle in the midst of it all. So while we can only limit our portions of what we eat during work, we all do focus on exercise and eating healthy and wholesome meals! Luckily, like our involvement with LYFE Kitchen, we sometimes get to work with amazing healthy restaurants!

You know that  famous quote, “Never trust a skinny chef” (or in our case, “Never trust a skinny restaurant consultant)? Yeah, you may want to rethink that now!

The sizzling sounds of bacon and that smoky flavor wafting through the air is enough to make anyone perk up from a deep slumber. Maybe that’s why Americans regard bacon as such a huge staple in their breakfasts. And creative chefs and home cooks alike have incorporated the beloved pork belly into many other various non-breakfast dishes, further spreading the bacon love. But the price of bacon, or rather pork belly, has been on the rise primarily due to one of the worst droughts our nation has seen since 1956. The drought has even produced a pumpkin shortage in some areas, just in time for the fall season.

Since the drought,  there has been less corn per acre produced translating to higher corn prices. How does this relate to pigs? Livestock such as cows and pigs are typically fed a diet of corn; this results in a more costly animal to raise. Read more on how this so-called, “bacon shortage” affects prices for the short, medium and long term.

How does a restaurant cope in the face of rising meat prices? It’s important to develop a well balanced menu which doesn’t heavily focus on too much animal protein and price items accordingly. Some recent interesting articles even showcase how chefs are embracing seafood charcuterie in their restaurants.

If you need assistance with the development and management of your menu, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants for your complimentary consultation.

We are so very proud to have been chosen to work with D’Cost Seafood, a highly popular and beloved restaurant located in Indonesia, on the development and design of their new location and new concept, D’Stupid Baker. Why do we say we made mission impossible, possible? We built and opened D’Cost Quick in 10 days it would’ve taken 4 months in the USA. Stupid Baker will open on 11/11 and it will be built and opened in 30 days.

D’Cost is a truly special brand with a wonderful heart; they’ve delivered thousands of boxes of food to the homeless in the community and run unique promotions like their “Up to Your Price” where guests simply pay whatever they want for their meal.

Synergy Consultants: Making the Impossible Possible

1. Manufacturer quoted 6 weeks to make the grill – we had it made in one week

2. Shipper quoted 3-4 weeks to get it to Jakarta and clear customs – we had it shipped and installed in 10 Days

Please check out the photos of the building process below!

We have previously written about the relatively newer idea of being “flexitarian,” or one who is not 100% vegetarian but looks for meatless options wherever they can. In that article, we noted how veggie burgers were a great menu option for flexitarians and that huge restaurant names like Johnny Rockets and Red Robin were already offering them. A recent Orlando Biz Journals article notes that even Epcot is getting in on the movement by partnering with Gardein to provide meatless protein to the Food & Wine Fest. But there is a world more you can offer on your restaurant menu beyond veggie burgers, to cater toward the flexitarian crowd.

This Nation’s Restaurant News article describes how Chefs, consumers embrace seafood charcuterie using culinary practices such as smoking and curing; a great way to add a flavorful and unique dimension to vegetarian food as well as extending the life of the food. We wanted to bring some seafood and vegetarian inspiration to your menu; check out the list of dishes we found below from great restaurants that may get you experimenting in the kitchen and helping expand those menu choices for flexitarians, vegetarians or pescatarians (who choose to consume fish or seafood).

• Salmone Affumicato from Pesce Bar in San Francisco: House smoked Scottish salmon bruschetta with capers, red onion and horseradish cream.
• The Eggplant from Zia Gourmet Pizza in San Diego:  oven-roasted eggplant with scallions, tomatoes, and a variety of herbs, topped with cranberries, fresh garlic, mozzarella and drizzled with a savory yogurt sauce.
• Vegetarian Ravioli from Mana Food Bar in Chicago: Butternut squash filled ravioli with garlic, arugula, walnuts and asiago cheese.
• Quinoa Crunch wrap from Lyfe Kitchen in Palo Alto: whole-wheat tortilla, fresh veggies, avocado, edamame hummus, forbidden rice & adzuki beans with hot sauce on the side
• Calamares Con Tamarindo from Cuba restaurant in New York: crispy calamari, tamarind vinaigrette, sweet plantains, and cherry tomato.

We recently posted an article about getting ready for Fall flavors using in-season produce. Today, we want to explore delicious Fall drinks that will will spice up any dish or just great on their very own. Try the following recipes or let them inspire you to create your own unique Autumn drink.

• Pumpkin Divine: this alcoholic drink features vodka, pumpkin butter, cinnamon and other warm spices.
• Candy Corn Cocktail: bring out the kid in you with this adult beverage that uses real candy corn. Okay, okay, we know “candy corn” is specifically a seasonal fruit or vegetable but it’s perfect for Halloween time!
• Hot Cranberry Cider: if you’re a bit tired of drinking apple cider, here’s a recipe for an equally delicious and unique cranberry cider. Feel free to leave out the alcohol as you wish!
• The Kale Mary: a fun name for a very healthy and delicious drink inspired by–you guessed it–The Bloody Mary sans alcohol! The Kale Mary features kale, tomatoes, celery juice, lemon juice, horseradish and soy sauce.
• Fresh Fig and Rose Smoothie: a very interesting drink as it combines figs, orange juice and rose water.

As restaurant operators, you understand how important presentation is; from your restaurant decor to your food and how your staff presents themselves. Friendly and warm is how you direct your hosts and waiters to act in front of all guests and a smile sure goes a long way. As we already wrote previously, a restaurant operator must always keep customer service at the most optimal level– and we mean in every facet.

There are a countless number of restaurants where a large percentage of business is composed of take-out orders. How does your restaurant handle all the guests who call-in their orders? What about if someone wants to make a reservation? Just as your restaurant has rules in place for how to handle dine-in customers, you must have guidelines for phone etiquette! Poor customer service, whether it is in person or over the phone, can really put a damper on your restaurant’s reputation (calling all Yelpers!), so why take any chances? Customer is king!

Proper restaurant phone etiquette tips

• A proper introduction when an employee first answers the phone will consist of a enthusiastic voice saying  similar to “Thanks for choosing Tony’s Pizzeria, I’m Julia, how can I help you today?” for example. Simply answer the phone with, “Tony’s Pizzeria” is unacceptable.
• Make sure your employees know the menu and pricing inside and out in the even that a customer needs some assistance in choosing the right items for their meal.
• Sometimes, customers ask for some customization; ensure your staff understands how to properly respond when a request cannot be accommodated to their specifications.
• You never want to place a customer on hold for too long! Consider installing multiple phones and lines to handle high volume calls.
• Always end a call with an approximate time the food will be ready and of course a THANK YOU!
• If your restaurant is utilizing a POS system to enter orders, make sure all staff are fully trained on the system to minimize the amount of incorrect orders placed from phone orders.
•  Before any employee picks up the phone, they must be properly trained! You only have one chance to make a first impression.

Have you ever accidentally dropped your fountain drink only to have the lid and all the contents of the cup splatter everywhere? Perhaps not so common but annoying nonetheless! Imagine the frustration one of your guests would feel if this happened, not to mention the big mess.

If you serve a lot of cold beverages at your establishment, there is a great solution for this and you may have seen it around if you’ve ever frequented boba drink shops. Drinks at these shops aren’t usually served with your traditional plastic SOLO lids but rather with a plastic seal.

After it’s sealed using a special cup sealing machine, you can shake up your drink, drop it, really just do anything to it and it won’t spill! How do you drink out of it? Just quickly jab a special straw (straws that have a pointy tip) right through the seal and you’re done! An added perk to this is you can use the seal to brand your restaurant; add your logo, website and maybe even a QR code (imagine the branding possibilities!).

The concept of restaurant branding is just like any other business; the branding is what gets customers to remember you; it’s what defines your restaurant — in other words, your brand is who your restaurant is! The aspect of restaurant branding is not one to be downplayed or ignored.

So before you even begin to brand your restaurant, you have to sit down with your partners and really define what your restaurant is all about. Answer these questions: 1) Why would people come visit your restaurant? 2) What is your restaurant known for? 3) What do you (your restaurant) want to be known for? Or, what does your restaurant represent? 4) Who is your target audience?

Answering these questions with thoughtful consideration will help lead you to define your brand — the first step in restaurant branding.

What else comes along with restaurant branding? The common aspects of restaurant branding will include your restaurant logo, restaurant interior and exterior design, color scheme and design for your branding and marketing materials (aside from decor) such as your menu, wait staff attire, food containers, advertising and restaurant website just to name a few. If executed correctly, these items will accurately convey your restaurant brand to your guests and to your target audience as a whole.

If this seems all too overwhelming, or you’re not quite sure where to begin with branding (or entirely building a new brand) contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants — our restaurant branding experts have dealt with hundreds of independent and chain restaurants. Call us at 1-888-861-9212 to schedule your initial consultation.

No restaurant owner would ever knowingly allow the chefs in their restaurants to not wash their hands after using the restroom or to use the same cutting board for meats and vegetables. These are enormous health hazards and are against food safety laws! The fact of the matter is, food safety is put into place to protect people from getting sick from foodborne illnesses such as salmonella and e. coli poisoning.

But sometimes, the areas of the kitchen that are the most often overlooked are the ones that can be very deadly. Take for example the ice machine/ice maker. Did you know that there can be bacteria, yeast, fungus, salmonella or e. coli lurking inside the machine?  Your very own customers are consuming the ice coming from these machines!

When was the last time you properly cleaned your ice machine? Take the test; put on a white glove and rub your fingers near ice dispenser. If you see slimy off-colored (e.g. pink) film or residue, your ice machine is likely contaminated with some kind of harmful bacteria! Yes, dirty ice machines can make your guests sick!

So how do you make sure your ice machine is health-law compliant and safe for your customers? It’s easy– have your machine regularly cleaned by service professionals. Also, if your employees are serving ice to guests, make sure their bare hands are not in contact with the ice (never ever allow them to touch ice with their bare hands!).

How is the ice stored? Is it left in a bucket uncovered lying anywhere in the kitchen? This is a health hazard! Ice must be stored separately and contained properly!

If you have a soda fountain machine, you can purchase one that has a built-in ice machine which allows for contact-less ice making. Of course, there are also automatic cleaning systems that you can invest in which pair with specific ice machines.

If you want to learn more about how to keep your restaurant kitchen up to health code, contact Synergy Restaurant Consultants to learn more.