Lessons from a car designer - Lesson 2 - "stay on story", "be brand led and customer driven"

Lessons from a car designer – Lesson 2: “Stay on story, be brand led and customer driven”

When J Mays talks about the interaction of the design team and the marketing team it reminded me of some of the same challenges we faced in menu development. He had two key points that are really easy to understand but tough to act upon consistently. First a notion about “staying on story”, or as we all know it avoid “scope creep”. Staying on story is one of the key elements to being able to be true to your brand. It requires a discipline that provides “guide rails” to focus the energy of creating something new that will be able to be true to brand, meaningful to the customer while still differentiating from the competition. This staying on story approach really can be used as a filter as you brainstorm new ideas for the business. Does it make sense to add an obscure new item say “shrimp burgers” when you are all about farm to table? But hey “shrimp burgers” are all the rage on the Florida Gulf coast, as they should be, but by staying on your brand story of farm to table, they have no place in your brand. I know this is a simplistic example but in most cases “scope creep” and staying on story are just that simple. We have a tendency to over complicate things just because we over think the solutions or new ideas because we want to be competitive, who are we really competing against. Sometimes “staying on story” helps us strengthen our brand instead of dilute it. Too many times I have sat in meetings and watched folks dilute the heck out of a brand to just compete in the short term instead of for long term growth of the brand.  So “staying on story” is a tool to focus us on being “brand led and customer driven”.  Again sounds so simple and it is, but really hard to live it with each and every decision. In the past we have treated being “true to the brand and driven by the customer” as mutually exclusive ideas but they are both intertwined in a successful brand life. Being “brand led” is making the first round of decisions based on filtering using brand standards to determine if the new ideas fit or are an evolution of the brand. If they don’t stand up to this test, it is best to discard them even if they are resonating in the greater competitive environment. This early filter supports a “fail fast/ fail forward” mindset which we will cover in later articles. Now if the new ideas are on brand or support the evolution of the brand, move on to the next step, are the new ideas customer driven or better yet do they meet a need that the customer is seeking from your brand. You have to have a clear picture of your core user or targeted user to really be “customer driven”. The best example I can give of this is the turn around of Arby’s led by Paul Brown and his team. He presented a case study of how they did this by embracing this “brand led and customer driven” mentality to achieve the success they have now. When Paul came on board he looked at the research to see what the core user wanted or thought of Arby’s. He found that Arby’s clearly owned the male millennial user group because of their love of meat based sandwiches. He focused everything around the brand target of owning this position with millennial males. And the next several months of revamping the menu and food all were customer (target) driven while being lead by the brand position of “we got the meats”. Ultimately Arby’s has continued to “stay on story” which is why they have sustained consistently positive same store sales since 2009. Also they have benefited because their relationship with the franchise community has become an asset to their system because franchises like staying on story.

So you see a car designer knows they have to create cars that build and evolve brands by being brand led but customer driven – literally. In the case of Arby’s, no difference other than staying on story has delivered more customers, sales and delicious food. There is one last lesson I learned from listening to J Mays, how to innovate by “playing to the edges”. We will cover off on that in the next time.

BOH - Back of the house series - Walking the kitchen – an active observers guide to better operations

Over the next few blog entries I will share back of the house tips for improving kitchen operation performance. Each of these lessons can be used in part or whole to make an impact in your restaurant. I hope you enjoy them and use them to teach the next generation of managers that may have not benefited from these experiences.

Walking the kitchen – an active observers guide

Have you every really thought about how to walk your kitchen. It seems silly but sometimes we get into a rut and have blinders on when it comes to walking our kitchen and restaurant. With a few simple changes to your daily routine you can re-teach yourself to see what is there and needs to be corrected. Remember when an  internal inspector or health department official drops by to tour your facility they have one advantage you don’t, “fresh eyes”. So if you follow this simple exercise over a few weeks it will start to help you change the way you see your kitchen and restaurant.

First I like to start with the idea that there are three distinct zones of view: floor level, eye level and ceiling level. You will find different things to look for in each of these zones.

We will start with floor level first, probably should do this walk at least 2 times a day – it is your safety walk.

Floor level – what to look for from the floor to about 12 inches up.

·      Standing water on the floor, is something leaking?

·      Cracked or broken tiles, is there a hazard on the line, in prep, coolers, dry storage?

·      Spills – oil, food, seasoning, etc, is there some reason something is on the floor and could be a hazard?

·      Splash up – is there soap, cleaning fluids or water splashed up from hosing down the kitchen on lower shelves, plateware, uncovered food items stored on the lowest shelf?

·      How do the floor drain/ sinks look, clean and clear?

·      Un-wanted friends – do you see signs of pests in your kitchen or restaurant?

·      Extend this walk to the front of the house – what do you see that the guest or your team sees?

Eye Level – maybe the most telling walk and one you should do about 4 to 6 times a day – it lets you know what is going on in the kitchen.

·      First and foremost – look at your kitchen team, greet them, make sure everyone is healthy to work and handle food

·      Take a look around is there any snacking or drinking going on in food production areas?

·      Are the hand washing sinks, stocked, functioning and useable?

·      Is the dish machine running at proper temperature, is the dirty dish table organized to facilitate easy clean as you go.

·      Walk down the line – proper utensil storage and handling being executed?

·      Right size portion devices in the right sauces, ingredients, any visible product issues or concerns?

·      Look at the equipment on the line, is it clean, working, and maintained? If not what can you correct immediately?

·      Temperatures on all refrigerated equipment look right? Anything not function at a safe food holding level?

·      Round the corner and move through your prep production area – what do you see – any cross contamination occurring during prep/ production?

·      Gloves being used properly? In prep, on line, no bare hand contact with ready to eat foods.

·      Handling of proteins your most expensive ingredient, is it being treated with care or compromised at prolonged room temperature?

·      Inbound produce or  food order is arriving – how do the cases look? What about temp, is everything with in your standard operating guidelines?

·      Lets move into your storage areas – dry goods, cooler and freezer – are the all organized?

·      Dry store – everything covered, labeled, dated – rotated? Stored in proper hierarchy?

·      Cooler – are items organized by prepared and raw goods, floor clear, -packages properly labeled? Pull thaw – everything in proper containers, dated? Is the food hierarchy of raw on bottom with cooked on top being followed? Covered, covered and covered - ?

·      What about the freezer? Organized? FIFO?

Ceiling level – do this at least once a day both in back of house and the front of house as well.

·      How do the tiles look, clean or dirty?

·      What about the air vents – are the clean or need a wipe down

·      And the number one thing – any burned out bulbs, uncovered fluorescent tubes or bad ceiling fans? And so on………..you will see something that may need attention.

So you get the idea of the impact and importance of really being engaged when walking your kitchen – you should see everything at some point in the day. Also focus on those things that have been your hot button issues in the past. Remember teach and coach so everyone sees what you see and you will elevate the level of care and performance of your restaurant.

BOH - Back of the house series - "Right tools lead, to "recipe right" leads to right food"

Over the next few blog entries I will share back of the house tips for improving kitchen operation performance. Each of these lessons can be used in part or whole to make an impact in your restaurant. I hope you enjoy them and use them to teach the next generation of managers that may have not benefited from these experiences.

Right tools lead, to "recipe right",  leads to right food

It is so important to make sure the kitchen team has the right tools to do the job. You don't want to give someone a hammer when what they really need is a saw to cut a broad in half. It is exactly the same in the kitchen, the right tool makes all the difference. In most cases the tools we use in the kitchen are inexpensive and need to be replaced on a regular interval. I am talking about, measuring spoons, cups, ladles, knives, cutting boards, scales and proper storage containers all of these are key to making kitchen work easier for your team.  Let's take a look at the importance of each tool.

Measuring Cups/ Pitchers - these are used for the bulk of the work we have in our kitchens. We use these to measure liquid ingredients all the time, they are graduated in fluid ounces. These do wear out after prolonged use - you need to be able to clearly read the measurement amounts on the side. It is so important to remind your team to pick up the pitcher/ cup and look at it at eye level to make sure the amount is properly measured.

Measuring Spoons - simple to use, should always be considered level fill unless the recipe says heaping. Controls smaller amounts that need to be measured. There is a difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon (3 tsp = 1 Tbsp.) Note: understanding common measures is a critical skill to getting our recipes right. These can be used to measure dry or liquid ingredients. 

Ladles/ scoops - really help us deliver consistency on the line when we sauce or serve items with sauce on the side. Also they are critical to proper portioning of soup, salad dressing and our flavor systems on crab. The right size ladle should always be used as specified in the recipe. Numbered scoops are key when portioning ingredients for items that require consistent size. The Number on a scoop is related to the number of level scoops in 32 ounces - so a #24 scoop is 24 / 1.33 ounce scoops in 32 ounces. Makes sure the scoops are in good working order since it makes it easier for your cooks to use.

Cutting boards - poly style cutting boards are a great tool, you have two kinds usually- the smaller portable ones and the fixed ones that mount to the front of cold stations.  These need consistent care and cleaning to be food safe. You should be scrapping these boards with a board scraper at least once a month as well as sanitized each shift. These type of cutting boards do and will wear out and not be able to be sanitized after some point. You have to plan and budget to have a replace and rotate program in place. One of the most important steps in the care of these is proper drying. Make sure you dry both sides of these boards and do not stack them when wet. Having enough cutting boards is critical to good productivity as well, it keeps the flow of prep work moving. 

Knives- there should be three common knives in your kitchen, chef knife, paring knife and a serrated knife. All should be in good working order, a sharp knife makes work easier and reduces cuts - especially when used with a sanitized cutting glove. You should budget to replace knives at least once a year, it is a simple way to keep you team happy and productive.

Scales - whether digital or spring style these must be maintained, sanitized and calibrated on a regular basis. Scales are key for larger batch recipes or portioning. They are also important for inventory and receiving of goods. When was the last time you spot checked in coming produce to make sure the weights were correct? Having the right number and size scales also supports good productivity, you don't want anyone waiting to use a scale while some else is using it or worse off not use one.

Storage Containers - that is what they are - even thought some have measurements on them - they are a not accurate measuring devices. When make liquid batches - always measure using measuring tools into the large storage containers. And make sure you have enough lids so you can properly seal the container to maximize the quality during the products shelf life.

And the single most important tool in the kitchen is a thermometer. You need the right one to do the right job, from refrigerator thermometers, oven thermometer, to griddle thermometer but the single most critical is a bio thermometer for taking food temps during a line check. It needs to be clean, sanitized and calibrated to make sure it does its job when you execute line checks through out the day which is the first line of defense to serving safe and wholesome food. 

So it is pretty easy to make sure your kitchen team is set up for success. You should have all of these tools and many others already in your kitchen. Make them accessible to your team, keep them clean and organized to facility execution. With the proper tools, recipes and coaching you should be able to ensure that your kitchen team is operating at a high level and delivering best in class food each and every day.