What is a Brand’s Culinary Core and how is it important?

Seems like a simple question is this day and age, especially now in a climate of industry shifting and change. Some restaurant chains are starting to figure it out, most recently Chili’s. They clearly returned to their Culinary Core to revamp their business. So far no one else has said it so bluntly as they did when they said “We can’t be everything to everybody” instead they will focus on improving quality and size of the menu items that are the foundation of the brand. In essence they are returning to their Culinary Core of burgers, fajitas and ribs. Is it a big gamble? I don’t think so, having been in to recently check out the changes. Chili’s is back in a game changing way that will over the long term drive new traffic. Why because now they can deliver a better experience on the “fantastic few” menu items instead of the “mediocre many”.

In this competitive landscape getting back to a Culinary Core is key to turning the business around and growing again. The Culinary Core of any brand is there within its DNA it just needs to be uncovered after years of layer upon layer of LTO, menu additions, cost enhancements all done in the name of staying relevant with the changing consumer landscape. Invite us into the conversation and help provide you with the support to re-find your brand’s Culinary Core.  We have helped many of our clients unlock their menus to drive simplification, improve satisfaction and build sales and profits. Let us be your Strategic Culinary Consultant reach us at www.jwd-consultancy.com

A case for scratch cooking in chain restaurants?

I have been fortunate over the last year to have had a successful group of clients in the restaurant industry. One constant I continue to notice when working on brands with great longevity is that they have been and are still all about the food they produce. One client has three locations that have been in their family for 70 years, and they still scratch cook everyday. Could they take short cuts, sure but their multiple generations of guests would notice.  At three locations it is much easier to scratch cook than at three hundred but it can be done. What is the key to executing consistently? One thing is straight forward recipes that are easy to make and deliver amazing quality and taste. The other secret ingredient is the long tenure of the employees. When you have kitchen managers that have been there 22 years it makes a huge difference in the ability to deliver great food. People and the culture of hospitality and “real” cooking continue to be the most important difference I see between brands that are winning right now and those that are struggling to survive. I have another client with over 100 locations and their brand again is over 50 years old. They scratch cook both in restaurant as well as at their own central kitchen. They have the ability to deliver consistent quality food from both points but the people are still the key. In the central kitchen they have employees that have been there for over 20 years making the soups and dressings day-in and day-out. These folks take great pride in knowing they are delivering amazing food to the restaurants and ultimately the guests. The in restaurant team continues to cook, really cook at least 80% of the menu from scratch. These same people also are long tenured in the brand’s back of the house. I think one formula for success in this current economic environment is the following

Culture + skills + desire = A quality experience that creates an emotional connect with the consumer

Anyone that is able to consistently execute against this formula will win in the long run. There has to be some magic in this formula based on what I continue to see and experience in our industry. It is less about scratch cooking and more about creating a caring culture that embraces teaching a group of employees that will continue to attract the right talent in a tightening labor market. When people are cared for and provided the chance to grow and gain skills we all benefit.  People are the magic and I think this is how we shift and evolve the restaurant industry for the future.

www.jwd-consultancy.com

Patterns - they are ever where and will lead you to what is next!

Pattern emergence - seeing the future now

Published on September 25, 2015
The views, thoughts and ideas expressed in this blog post are solely my personal opinion and thoughts, no way reflects any connection to past or current employers. These thoughts are for discussion purposes with industry peers as an open forum for sharing ideas that are non-proprietary in nature.

I am often asked, " How do you know what is next, the simple answer is you look for it. Seems easy right - you just read the tealeaves and they tell you what will be the next emerging trend. I know I sound glib but it is a skill that you can teach yourself. While there are trend spotters out there, I am referring to a strategic approach that will provide a steady flow of possible paths for you to grow your business. I will share how to find these next opportunities; I will not be sharing which exact resources I use to determine what is next for my business.

"Seeing the future now" is a mantra we use in our industry to identifying the next segments, products, concepts and process for our business. The key to success is to see patterns emerging in any give topic, subject or genre that you have determined to look for in the great wide world. Which is much easier now with the Internet, you can visit the world on a virtual basis within an hour and spot possible emerging channels, paths or new ideas that you can use in your business.

How do you see what is next before it has gone mainstream, look for a pattern of emerging ideas. Observation is the single most important skill to develop for you to be successful. You have to travel, either virtually or physically to make these observations. Watch for clues and common themes that are all around us. To truly be able to see the future now you have to look everyday and watch for the subtle changes in the ether. I spend one to two hours everyday observing and cataloging what I am watching or seeing in the global market place.
Where do you observe? Everywhere, the broader you cast your net for observations the more likely you will see patterns forming and emerging. Developing this skill will allow you to become very good at identifying new opportunities for your business. Identifying early adopters is an important key to where a new idea/ product is in the market place cycle. The harder part is getting others to believe or buy-in to what you have identified. Unfortunately the only way to do that is to build a solid track record by providing examples of your predictions becoming reality. Once you have built credibility it is much easier to get buy off on the new ideas you have uncovered. Sometimes you have to track these observations and note what you see to even proven it to yourself. Most times it can take three to six months to identify an emerging idea, maybe longer. The final determining factor of whether you should pursue the new idea is the level of risk/ reward your organization embraces. This is the decision point of whether you are an innovator or someone that simply talks about innovation. In most cases in the restaurant industry, innovation is talked about not embraced as part of the culture. We tend to be very risk averse since we work with very narrow margins. To truly be an innovative company you have to live the mindset each and everyday. Pattern emergence is one of the tools of a successful innovator that creates new channels or disruption that creates growth.
So here are the steps to seeing the future
Define goals or strategies
Observe
Catalog observations
Look for patterns – they are there
Define patterns you see
Track patterns
Decide the tipping point for the idea
Prototype the emerging idea in the context of your business
Present to team for buy in
Rapid test the idea to fail fast and forward (learn and adjust)
Risk/ reward analysis
Implement
Measure impact/ success