By David Lessin, Culinary Consultant

 

As technology advances all around us, it raises many questions regarding our future resources in the hospitality industry. So, we look for new and innovative equipment and technology that can help us mitigate using natural resources and give us more precision and consistency in our cooking and service at restaurants.

 

Many equipment manufacturers that we have come to know and rely upon throughout the industry are looking to add innovative new technology to kitchen appliances that operators are familiar with. The commercial induction range has become a rising star in that category. The induction range, which uses precision heat, has become an ideal commodity for many operators looking to scale down their kitchen footprint or prefer not to rely on natural gas. Induction ranges can be much easier to clean as well, which can reduce labor for some.

 

Also, as hiring becomes an increasing struggle for operators, many look to robotics. Companies like Richtech Robotics and Keenon Robotics have created a fleet of runner and busser bots to alleviate the strain restaurant owners are encountering in our country at this time. Do you think your business would benefit from the latest technology? Reach out to Synergy to learn more about options that would fit your business model.

By Clyde Gilfillan – Consultant

The best sports team not only keeps score, but they continue to measure themselves and their performance with data – after all, it is an “analytics” era in professional sports of all kinds. In the restaurant industry, having financial data to assist you in making good decisions is sound business acumen. Without this financial data, you are “flying blind,” so to speak. Consequently, assembling and using the proper financial reports and data are imperatives in today’s business environment.

 

 

Here at Synergy Restaurant Consultants, we are consistently advising our clients to create, analyze, and implement data from the following three most important financial documents:

1. Cash Flow Projection – it is one thing to know how much cash on hand you have every day in the bank, but it is much more vital for you to understand where that cash position will be 4 to 6 weeks out from the present week. Understanding how cash flows in and out of a business and seeing where that cash position might be in the future will assist the operator/owner in “firewalling” his bank account position.  Predominantly, it is understanding how much cash you will have on hand a month from now which will assist you in planning any capital expense and/or pumping the brakes on operational expenses.  Either way, projecting out your cash flow is the only true way to understand what the future might hold for your business.
2. Income Statement – as an indicator of performance, the Income Statement lets you know how you did in any given previous period. It measures past performance and is not an indicator of where you are going.  As such, it is essential to obtain an Income Statement from your accountant within seven days of the close of any period; otherwise, the information becomes obsolete for analytics.  Additionally, an operator/owner should use Income Statements for what they are – past data points. It is also important to put together an industry-standard P&L using daily sales reports, taking physical inventories, costing out all hourly labor schedules, and using the declining checkbook method for operational expenses.  In this way, you have accurate information to perform timely corrective measures and actions.
3. Budgets – it is important to put budgets in their proper place as subordinate data to the above. Not to be confused with a Cash Flow Projection, the budget is used mainly for boards, ownership groups, banks, and other institutions to get a sense of where your business might be heading in the next 6-12 months.  Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, they are a good way to set up goals, metrics, KPIs and other performance measurables, albeit in reasonable time measurements.  Budgets in and of themselves do not give much information beyond a reasonable guess of future performance, but they can be very useful for incentivizing management and setting objectives.  One smart way for operators to use the budget system is to set weekly labor costs and food/beverage purchase targets for management to achieve.

The active use of financial reports, resources, and data are highly correlated to successful restaurant businesses. Accurate, timely, and cogent, financial information can pave the way for better decision-making.  Better decisions = Better profits.

By Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

 

Ginger, pumpkin spice, and the sounds of holiday songs fill the air. It’s that time again, so here are some simple holiday recipes to help you get into the spirit of the season…

Easy-Peasy Gingerbread Ice Cream

This easy recipe for smooth gingerbread ice cream is done in the food processor and placed in the freezer overnight. Be sure to leave a little headspace for expansion when packing into your containers.

2 cups heavy whipping cream

7 oz. marshmallow crème

3 tbsp. molasses

2 tbsp. brown sugar, dark

½ tsp. ground clove

½ tsp. ground Allspice

¼ tsp. ground ginger

Preparation:

1. In a food processor, combine heavy cream and marshmallow crème, process for 10 seconds.
2. Add remaining ingredients and process until thickened 30-45 seconds.
3. Place in containers and freezer 8 hours or just until frozen firm.

 

Granita Style Punch Bowl, Because Sharing is Caring

This icy holiday punch bowl takes a total of 10 minutes of prep. Keep it nonalcoholic and let the masses choose how to get loose.

6 oz gelatin, cherry flavor

¾ cup sugar, granulated

2 cups boiling water

46 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice

6 cups cold water

2 liters ginger ale, chilled

Preparation:

1. Dissolve gelatin and sugar in boiling water. Pour dissolved gelatin mixture into a container and add pineapple juice and cold water.
2. Stir well, cover, and freeze overnight.
3. Remove gelatin mixture 2 hours before serving.
4. Place frozen gelatin into a punch bowl and cover with ginger ale.
5. Make substitutions to juice and gelatin flavor for your own jazzy touch.

Need fresh ideas to develop creative and on-trend or seasonal recipes? Our team of culinary experts is here to help! Contact Synergy today!

By Monica Challingsworth – Off-Premise & Catering Consultant

After what has seemed like an eternity, we are all ready to celebrate being back together! Thankfully we have the next few months to plan a safe and memorable holiday party. Early planning will be the key to a successful 2021 event. To make your holiday planning safe, manageable, and fun, we have compiled our favorite list of ideas for in-person and virtual gatherings:

In-Person

Consider Smaller Events or Breakout Groups

Each of your attendees likely has a different feeling about gathering in person. Consider hosting smaller events to make everyone feel as comfortable and safe as possible. You can offer smaller events per department or create breakout groups in a larger group setting.

You could also gauge your group’s comfort level by sending out a survey before you begin planning. This will allow your attendees to feel heard and better enable you to determine the optimum size and possible breakout groups. Who says you can’t offer an in-person event for those who want it and a virtual one for those who prefer to stay at home or cannot travel?

Think Open, Airy, and Well Ventilated

Who doesn’t love al fresco dining? Even if you are in an area with not-so-perfect weather, you can utilize heaters, large fire pits, and blankets for each guest. However, make sure to communicate before the event so your attendees can properly dress.

 

Make sure to kick it up a notch with festive décor. We always recommend a nontraditional route to be considerate of all attendees. A winter wonderland of blues, silver, and white sounds like a cozy and festive way to celebrate each other in 2021!

Skip the Buffet or Family-Style Meals

2021 is the year to experiment with new ways of dining and serving your guests. Consider hors d’oeuvres bento boxes, picnic baskets for 2, opt-in for food and beverage pairings, or individual tapas. Consider smaller bistro tables for four rather than large communal tables. Don’t forget parting gifts of individually wrapped desserts or cookies. A great local LA favorite is Bronte Bakes

Go Green

Sustainability and being environmentally conscious is a social issue that is on the minds of many people. Efforts to go green can easily go hand in hand with precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID. Opting in for linen napkins and reusable dishware will not only minimize the spread of COVID but will also provide an elevated and green experience to your guests (and limit food waste from the buffet!)

Virtual

Having in-person events may not be for everyone this year. We understand attendees may not want to sit on another Zoom call, so consider ways to get them out of their home office (or off their couch) and into the kitchen or up and moving around.

Cooking Events

We all love to connect over food, and this year doesn’t have to be any different. With the many available food delivery services – there is a meal and experience for every budget. Calling all amateur food network chefs! Perhaps you send a key ingredient to each attendee and offer a prize for the most unique dish created from that ingredient.

We also understand families have spent a lot more time together these past 19 months, so why not send a meal for 2-4? Our favorite is Lawry’s Prime Rib feasts. These feasts can be an interactive cooking experience with their chef or a do-it-yourself evening. Either way, your guests are sure to love it and have an exceptional meal! You can find more at Lawry’s Prime Rib At Home.

Self-Care

Everyone needs a little more self-care in their life! Give your team an opportunity to learn how to recharge their batteries and reset. Keep in mind, self-care looks different for everyone, so consider offering an assortment of options like a virtual yoga class, candle-making kit, or live meditation session complete with essential oils and an eye mask.

With the amount of time spent on camera, helping your team discover a new skincare regimen is a great way to show your appreciation. Have your team take their custom skin quiz at V10 Plus and send them their custom skincare products to help them feel their best on Zoom!

Dinner and a Movie

Send each one of your team members a code for $40 in DoorDash delivery (or, even better, partner directly with a local restaurant) and include a credit for an at-home movie rental.

 

Gift Exchange

Gift exchange is always a welcomed and fun holiday event! We recommend utilizing the free services of an online secret Santa generator such as Elfster. You could do a pre wine tasting or simply tell everyone to grab their favorite beverage and settle in for a night of opening fun and thoughtful gifts from their coworkers. Elfster has the ability for attendees to load in gift ideas, so no more guessing games!

Whatever you decide to plan this year for your team, whether in person or virtual, it will be welcomed with open arms from your team. We are all ready to be back together and appreciate the ones around us. Need help with your in-house holiday party planning options? Need ideas for hosting safe and festive gatherings or ways to show appreciation to your team and guests? Reach out to Synergy today!

 

By Shane O’Brien – Culinary Consultant

 

During this threshold of a month, we begin the transition from supple Sungold tomatoes and chilled spicy “Aguachile” ceviches to warm and comforting “Tur-duck-ens” and confit tubers. We are now headed full-steam ahead toward dishes that belong in the “stretchy pants” season.

While many a waistline will undoubtedly fall victim to the decadence to come during the holiday season, operators would be wise to take note of the changing landscape and the many delicious trends and seasonal ingredients on the holiday horizon.

Ubiquitous as it may be, sweet potatoes can be dangerously delicious in the right hands. Originating in South America, between the Yucatan Peninsula and Venezuela, the sweet potato is actually a distant cousin to the common potato.

We’ve found success with exploiting the earthy sweetness by adding roasted banana to your favorite sweet potato puree recipe.

Additionally, salty and briny flavors compliment sweet potato well.

 

Try this “Mediterranean Empanada” as an example.

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs sweet potatoes, washed, cut in half, wrapped in foil

6 oz Queso Oaxaca, (stringy Mexican Cheese), cut in ½” cubes

3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

2 sprigs dill, diced finely

2 pinches pried mint

1 tsp Za’atar

Salt and pepper to taste

6-8” circular empanada shells, raw

1 egg beaten

Splash of water

Oil for frying

 

Preparation Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350f.
2. Bake wrapped sweet potato for about 1 hour or until fork-tender. Remove from foil and take out potato skin, reserving only cooked flesh. Allow it to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine dill, mint, feta, mint, and Za’atar, fold together to mix evenly.
4. Fold the cooked potato into herb and cheese mixture, stirring to combine evenly. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
5. Whisk together eggs and a splash of water.
6. Layout empanada shells and brush the outer edge with egg wash.
7. Scoop 2 tbsp of potato and cheese mixture into the middle of the empanada shell, making sure not to overfill.
8. Fold over the shell to close, crimp edges with the back of a fork to seal.
9. Preheat oil in a large Rondeau or deep fryer to 350F. Fry empanadas for 4-5 mins or until golden brown. Drain well, and enjoy with pickled turnips or spicy cilantro puree.

 

Need to refresh your menu with on-trend or seasonal ingredients or need to expand or enhance your recipe development? Contact Synergy today!

Loved this post? Check our Fall Flavors article for more.

By Natasha Reta – Culinary Consultant

Reducing waste should be at the forefront of our minds as we see limited stock and the shelves far from being replenished, not to mention the increased commodities costs.  This holiday might find us without the usual luxuries we once expected this time of year.  But fear not, you can still enjoy the holidays while sparing your pocket.  Below are some of our favorite “waste-reducing” recipes that not only increase your savings but enhance your holidays.

Pickle Everything

Pickling has always been a great process of preservation of vegetables, but we’ve stepped that up a notch and have taken to pickling fruits, roots, and rinds. So grab some extra jars and make a large batch of pickle brine and save that produce and you’re prepared for a last-minute cocktail party!  Dress your next holiday crudités plate with pickled fennel and apple chips, or garnish those Bloody Marys with pickled asparagus and beets.

 

Hold onto your Pits!

It’s stone fruit season, so keep those pits! Stone fruit pits make great infusions and impart a delightful flavor when used. Try this easy pit recipe to enhance your holiday meals.

 

Stone Fruit Glaze Recipe

6 pounds (stone fruit pits)

1 cup red wine

1 cup sugar

3g tarragon or basil

 

Preparation Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients except herbs into a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat.
3. Add herbs if desired and allow to cool.
4. Strain and save in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
5. Use as a glaze or reduction on meats and veggies.

 

Got Grease?

Save all that bacon grease from your brunch buffet. You can store that fat in a jar in the refrigerator for up to a month. Use it when needed for that delightfully fat and smoky addition. Try it in vinaigrettes, biscuits, and even in caramel. Make this bacon aioli and slather it all over your turkey sandwiches.

 

Baconnaise Recipe

2 egg yolks

3 tsp lemon juice

1 cup bacon fat (melted but not hot)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

 

Preparation Instructions:

1. Place the yolks in a small food processor with 1 tsp lemon juice and mix well until combined.
2. Turn the food processor to low and slowly drizzle the bacon fat into the yolk mixture, drop by drop to start. DO NOT ADD TOO FAST; this will break the emulsification and cause the mayo to separate.
3. Add mustard and the rest of the lemon juice once all the bacon fat has been added.
4. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

 

Need fresh ideas to develop creative and on-trend recipes while reducing waste by reusing normally discarded items? Our team of culinary experts are here to help! Contact Synergy today!

By Gregg Luther – Business Development Consultant

The driving force behind everything we do is to help you and your team understand your business, your position, how to teach, empower, follow up, exceed expectations, and why you need to engage in the things we teach.

Our mission is to help independent restaurant owners and their businesses reach their full potential.

How do we live our mission? We provide a catalog of services, based on decades of experience, both online and in-person, designed to let you choose the level of service and support you need to achieve your goals and work on your business instead of in it.

Restaurant Online Training and Operating Systems

Our online training programs provide digital video training and skills assessments and can be purchased separately or as a complete package and work across any smartphone, PC, or tablet. Available in English and Spanish.

Synergy SYNC: A comprehensive online training for all hourly positions, systems, procedures, and best practices. SYNC is more than a loaded training platform; it’s a complete restaurant management system.

• Improve communication with your team – You’ll have the power to send instant notifications to individuals, groups, locations, and regions.
• Deliver comprehensive team training – Quickly deliver training courses, videos, and announcements to your team. Then, track your staff’s progress, measure their success, and help them improve.
• Add your own training modules – Make it your own or edit the existing materials. Select a template, add an image, and upload supporting documents and videos.
• Transparency tools – No more grading skills assessments; you’ll always be up to date on everyone’s progress, knowing who’s doing what and how well they’re doing it.
• Digital checklists – Customizable checklists for managers and hourly positions, line checks, HACCP temperature control, audits, anything you keep on a clipboard can now be stored digitally and quickly accessed.
• Resource library – SYNC is packed with job descriptions, hiring guides, and standard operating procedures.
• HR toolbox – Professional classes on sexual harassment, workplace bullying, and Food Safety certifications and documentation.

 

 

 

Synergy University Restaurant Manager Certification:  The individual SynergyU certification is a masterclass certification created by subject-matter experts in restaurant management principles that leverages 33+ years of best practices via online, video-based training and skills assessments.

From understanding your P&L, designing a profitable menu to resolving guest issues, and crafting great interviews, it would take you years of working with multiple managers with differing skill sets to learn and understand these universal best practices and industry insights.

Hands-on Implementation and Executive Coaching

SYNC Live: An objective concept assessment can discover potential efficiencies, cost savings, and operations and procedures improvements. We send in our training experts to develop and implement the turnaround plan with your team and teach you how to execute best practices. We’ll provide all the tools and systems needed to be successful and give strategies to organize better and simplify your business, reduce turnover, improve customer service, drive sales and profitability.

The on-site evaluation of all aspects of your business; operating systems, training, review of menu offerings, and food and beverage delivers detailed recommendations for improvement with a short-and long-term action plan to achieve results.

We develop the turnaround plan with your team and teach your team how to execute best practices. We’ll provide all the tools and systems needed to be successful and give strategies to organize better and simplify your business, reduce turnover, improve customer service, drive sales and profitability.

Executive Coaching: Synergy’s highly specialized restaurant professionals have proven track records, with each one of our extraordinary team boasting decades of experience in their field. Synergy has experts in every corner of the restaurant industry. Whatever the cause, Synergy has your executive coach.

Our Purpose

Synergy Restaurant Consultants can help you systematize, standardize, and optimize your business. Sync programs deliver the right level of support for your business needs and the proper steps for every function and every position in your restaurant.

All this for one purpose: to create great work and life experiences for our clients and their teams to create great experiences for their guests. Comprehensive and quality training is the key to addressing your staffing issues.

Reach out to Synergy today for a demo or to learn more!

 

Talk of mass resignations has caused quite a stir in the restaurant and hotel industries, which are already suffering a labor shortage amid the COVID 19 pandemic. A recent study found that 58% of restaurant and hotel employees were planning to quit their jobs before the close of the year. Which raises the question—how should restaurants prepare for this mass exodus?

 

Find Out What Your Workers Want

A little research goes a long way. How will restaurant owners keep their employees happy if they don’t know what they want? That’s like serving customers without first taking their orders. The labor market is undoubtedly leaning toward employees. To be competitive in this market, owners and managers need to understand and respond to workers’ demands, within reason, of course.

 

A simple survey among employees can give great insight into what employees are looking for in a job. Owners may find that a bit of respect goes a long way. If employees feel their voice is being heard, they may feel more valued and boost morale. Moreover, this approach doesn’t have any cost, so it can easily provide insight into attracting new hires.

 

Value Your Workers

 

Recent efforts of restaurant owners to retain workers and hire new ones has involved increasing pay. It should come as no surprise that employees want to earn a livable wage. However, increasing pay is not enough. A recent study conducted by Black Box (check link – I got a 404 file error) found that successfully navigating the labor shortage and reducing the turnover rate requires a multifaceted approach.

Beyond paying employees what they’re worth, workers need to feel valued. General psychology tells us that feeling valued increases connection and bond. Workers want to know that they matter and their work matters. After all, who doesn’t? How should employees make their workers feel valued? Apply the golden rule—treat others, or in this case your employees, how you want to be treated. Simple actions like listening to employees, authentic praise or recognition for a job well done, and constructive feedback can really change the overall atmosphere of the work environment.

 

Streamline Your Business

Simplifying is key to solving any problem. Business owners should take a close and thorough look at all areas of their business, only asking—how can this be improved to make things simpler? Take notes, but be sure to be thorough and honest. Determine which areas need improvement, looking specifically at:

• Time management
• Unnecessary work
• Training
• Communication

Get Creative

New problems require innovative solutions. The restaurant industry of the past is gone beyond retrieval. However, this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. By nature, problems are the way we grow and improve. If we have learned anything through the economic and COVID struggle, it is to embrace creativity. To streamline business practices and retain workers, restaurant owners and managers will have to think outside the norm. Doing so will not only provide forward-thinking solutions to the mass exodus problem, but it can also help the restaurant industry as a whole.

Perhaps the best news is that business leaders don’t have to hire anyone to implement creative strategies. Do some brainstorming and research. After all, in this age of technology, everyone has unlimited information at their fingertips.

 

Invest in Restaurant Training

Many restaurant employees do not feel valued or properly trained to do what is expected of them and often leave their jobs out of frustration. Moreover, when there is a lack of systems and standards, employees feel like they are working in chaos. If you want to keep your team and have them deliver an extraordinary guest experience, you have to train them to understand what the expectations are. Synergy Sync is your go-to, all-in-one training solution. Simple, yet robust and built from industry experts! Learn more: restauranttrainingprogram.com

 

One thing the pandemic has made certain; we’re not sure what to expect with the new normal. Adapting to new rules and regulations has fostered creative solutions and recent trends. The restaurant industry, in particular, has suffered many blows.

However, one portion of the restaurant industry that has continued to grow is pizza. While the number of diners who ate in restaurants went down, pizza shops have seen increased orders. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a fresh, hot pizza? Even low-cost pizzas are good; they are delicious hot or cold, easy to clean up, and you can savor any topping you like.

 

 

It remains to be seen if local pizzerias will be able to compete against well-known giant chains like Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, or Domino’s Pizza. Restaurants like Papa John’s saw a 28 percent rise in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same time the year before. To keep up with this demand, they have 20,000 additional staff with plans to hire 10,000 more.

Pizza Hut has seen some of its best sales during the same time. In fact, they saw their most significant delivery and carry-out sales than in the previous eight years. This is an incredible increase, considering the fact that they have been underperforming for a few years.

However, few pizza chains have been as successful as Domino’s Pizza. According to Bloomberg, Domino’s is up at least 33 percent in 2021, a number that surpassed Wall Street estimates.

 

How Domino’s Kept Growing

The pandemic triggered many things, including changing daily habits and behaviors. One such behavior includes staying home and ordering contact-less delivery. In many ways, Domino’s took stock of the situation and made the best of it.

Unlike other pizza chains, Domino’s never partnered with third-party delivery services like Uber Eats, Door Dash, or Grubhub. In addition, Domino’s created convenient, customer-friendly ordering apps, so customers could easily customize their toppings and even be notified when their pizza was out for delivery.

Convenience and comfort are crucial elements to customer satisfaction—and business survival.

 

 

Other pizza shops may be interested in noting these business models. After all, third-party delivery apps are known to tack on hefty fees, making it hard for restaurants to retain revenue. By investing in your own, company-owned delivery infrastructure, you get more control—and more profits.

If food delivery services continue to grow, customers will be interested in value as much as quality. Delivery services often include hefty delivery and service fees to the customer, making ordering dinner for a large family regularly cost-prohibitive.

By eliminating these unnecessary and costly fees, you and your pizza shop stand a good chance of surviving the rise and fall of industry trends.

 

 

The pandemic forced many restaurants and hotels to adhere to changing rules and regulations creatively. Some allowed for drive-through drinks along with meals. Others started serving bottled ready-to-drink cocktails (think gin and tonics or margaritas,) while others started delivering alcohol with boxed meals.

 

Recently, reports indicate there may be supply and demand issues regarding alcohol. A few states, including Ohio, New Jersey and Vermont, are currently experiencing liquor shortages  related to the pandemic. In some states like Pennsylvania, customers will be limited to two bottles of specific alcoholic beverages per day in liquor stores.

 

North Carolina liquor stores are putting up more and more “Out of Stock” warnings as the alcohol shortage spreads.

 

What Is the Reason for Alcohol Shortages?

 

If you remember the great toilet paper shortage during the start of the pandemic, you might remember how some items were in short supply in our local stores. Apart from toilet paper, commodities like flour, hand sanitizer, furniture, lumber, and even homes were getting harder to find in stock.

Like these impacted goods throughout the pandemic, we are experiencing a shortage of liquor due to supply chain issues.

These supply chain issues include a shortage in truck drivers, warehouse workers, raw materials, and reduced manufacturing. Even finding staff for bars and restaurants can be challenging. If multiple kinks develop in the chain, it will eventually directly impact consumers and businesses. In addition, alcohol requires time to ferment and age, so it may take some time to see an increase in supply.

 

How This Affects Restaurants and Taverns

Many restaurants and bars are in the same boat as consumers. They simply cannot get the level of alcohol supply that they are used to receiving.

The current strain on the alcohol supply chain may take some time to be resolved, so businesses need

Some restaurants are stocking up on ready-to-drink canned cocktails or ordering alternatives to specific flavors and brands.

 

The pandemic has highlighted how the restaurant and hospitality industry has learned to adapt to changing tides, even now. New experimental cocktail menus will likely emerge that work with available and sourced alcohol. Other restaurants may choose to focus on handcrafted cocktails with local ingredients, which could kickstart a new economic trend of supporting local businesses and vendors.

It’s unclear how long this shortage will last as we head into the holidays, but you may want to enjoy your favorite drink now (while you still can!)