Fish where the fish are

It will come as no surprise to everyone that the burger is typically the most popular item ordered in most casual dining outlets. From cafés to pool-side menus to in-room dining menus, the burger rules! 

So if it’s your most popular item, it should be amazing and you should ensure you are making a handsome profit from it. Furthermore, you should have different versions of it that are more expensive that your guests can “buy up” to. 

While this all makes perfect sense, it continues to surprise me how few hotels follow this line of thinking. In the past few weeks, I experienced the good and the bad on this subject. Let’s start with the bad. 

The Bad

In the bar of a hotel in the U.S., I was served an 8-oz. burger that cost US$11. It represents 43% of the bar’s entrée sales. There are no additional burgers on the menu. No great effort was made with the presentation. 

The Good

At my local pub here in Toronto, I typically choose the “Local Burger.” It’s a 7oz. patty with half as many fries. It's a lot better-looking and a lot better-tasting than the “hotel” burger above. As the burger is by far the most popular item at the pub, there are six different versions ranging from C$8.25 to C$16.25 (see the menu below).

The Conclusion

There’s no question in my mind which of the two burgers is more profitable. And shouldn’t apply only to burgers. If the margarita is the No. 1 seller at your pool bar, offer three or four versions, including one with premium tequila. 

As they say, fish where the fish are!

9/7/2017

Ducks don’t get drunk… Or do they?

While visiting the English Lake District last January, I came across a pub whose name alone made me want to visit. It’s called The Drunken Duck Inn, and I thought anyone who calls a pub by that name must have a sense of humour and by association must run a great pub. The logic of course is ridiculous but still I went, and on this occasion the pub was amazing in every sense: design, atmosphere, food and yes, so was the beer!   

You can read the story of where the name comes from on the website, but it got me thinking about the impact of a great name. 

Naming a restaurant or bar is one of the most difficult and contentious things to do. Everyone has a pre-conceived idea about a word or words. The worst thing you can do is to let your ego get ahead of you and take ownership of a name expecting everyone to applaud your sense of style and creativity. Quite the opposite, in fact, as people dig their heels in insisting THEIR name is the best.

So my advice is to always use a professional creative firm to do this for you. They will research all the different meanings of the word(s) you choose. They will connect the names they propose with a relevant story so that there’s a reason for the name. They will conduct the all-important title search to ensure that no one else has registered the name and protect you from copyright infringement. They will propose a logo to accompany the name. And because they are experts at this, their suggestions will carry more weight than yours.

As GM of Four Seasons Vancouver, I oversaw the creation of a new restaurant and bar in the hotel called YEW. Up until a day before the printer’s deadline, the restaurant was supposed to be called Cedar due to the popularity of this tree in the area and the use of the wood in the design. However, we made a huge mistake and forgot to do a title search. At the last minute, our director of finance rushed into my office to tell me we could not use this name as it had been registered recently by another company.

I had no time to engage a creative company. That night, I spent hours searching for a new name and eventually landed on the name YEW. It was another tree that was indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. I loved how edgy it was and how easy it was to remember. But I also knew that if I tried to take credit for the name it would be shot down immediately. So the following morning I called Jennifer Johanson, CEO of the design firm who had created the magnificent interiors, and asked her to take ownership of the name. It worked, and everyone embraced the name YEW, not wishing to contradict a great designer!

But I don’t recommend this as a course of action. Hire a great creative company!

Fun Dining vs Fine Dining

It’s 2017, and it continues to amaze me that there are still formal fine dining restaurants in hotels. It’s such a contradiction.

Every hotel wants to project itself as forward-thinking and relevant. Yet by holding on to a fine dining restaurant and using it as your principle focus for PR and marketing, it immediately projects an image of formality and stuffiness no matter how good the food is.

I came across one last week. It averages about 45 covers a day. The food was very good – but not food you “crave.” It has a wine inventory in excess of $200K yet annual wine revenue is less than $200K. A series of wine maker dinners, some of which attract barely 20 guests, is the focus of their annual PR and marketing. And no surprise, it loses money!

Contrast that with a new concept recently launched by Toronto restaurateur Yannick Bigourdan called Union Chicken. They serve – you guessed it – chicken. But this isn’t just chicken. This is delicious chicken you can taste! They use free range organic chickens from family-run farms in Ontario.

People LOVE chicken. So if people LOVE something, build a restaurant concept around it. It’s not rocket science.

Union Chicken has 75 seats plus 30 on the patio. The investment was CAD $1.8 million, which was high as this was their first of five locations signed to open in the next 14 to 18 months. Anticipated annual revenues are $3.5M with an ROI of under 2.6 years.

Union Chicken’s chef partner, Michael Angeloni, who has a giant rooster wielding a kitchen knife tattooed on his arm, previously worked under renowned Toronto chef David Lee at Splendido, another Bigourdan success story.

Ironically, back in those days, Splendido was a bastion of fine dining. Both Angeloni and Bigourdan saw the light and have moved on. It’s time others followed suit. 

'Taking a good piece of meat and making it more delicious’

These were the prophetic words of Chef David Gunawan, owner of Farmer’s Apprentice Restaurant in Vancouver. David cooked a private dinner for a group of friends in Vancouver recently. The main course was described as “Thirty Days Dried Aged Pork, Blackcurrant Jus.” It was one of the most delicious pieces of meat I’ve eaten in a long time.

The pork was from a farm in Kamloops, a town in south central British Columbia, called North Thompson. David has worked with owner Jon Klop for five years. This particular breed was a cross between Duroc and Berkshire.

Chef David explained, “Through trial and error we figure out a combination of the breed, how long till we wean them, how much whey, grains, etc.

The last time I ate pork this good was from Cumbrae's butcher in Toronto. It was called Niagara Gold, and the young pigs were reared on the whey from Niagara Gold cheese. Cumbrae’s owner, Stephen Alexander, said, “Keep in mind, I strongly believe that genetics is only half the equation. To get great results, you need a good feed program and living environment.” 

At a time when so many restaurants are trying to figure out how to be successful, it’s encouraging to know that obsessive dedication to growing and sourcing the very best meat is still practiced and is one of the key differences between a great restaurant and a good restaurant. 

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It's THAT time of year.....

“Order - 1 Fillet Mignon Au Poivre, MR. Gluten allergy, celiac, corn, all nuts, potato, coconut, strawberry, bananas, honey. All severe. Egg allergy is tolerated when incorporated in recipe. Also severe pork and turkey allergy.” 

It’s that time of year, as the expression would have it, “when it rains, it pours.” The photo below was posted on Facebook by a friend who works at a resort. The hotel is running at 100% occupancy and every restaurant is jammed. When I saw it, it reminded me of the dedication of hotel and restaurant employees all around the world who give up their own Christmas holidays to take care of others.   

Some of us are lucky enough to take time off over the holidays. To those who are working – we salute you and thank you for everything you do for your guests. Happy Hanukah and Merry Christmas. 

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Canadians are funny. Really funny.

"In fact, most everybody funny in America actually came from Canada” -- Anthony Bourdain. 

If I’m ever asked who I’d like to sit next to at dinner, my immediate answer is Anthony Bourdain. I covet his life. I love his sense of humor and I totally share his passion for food. I recently saw him speak in Toronto. No visual effects. No music. Just him and a bottle of beer. I was enthralled.

Asked if he could only make one more show of "Parts Unknown," what it would be, he said with Keith Richards at his home in the south of France. "We’d cook bangers and mash together and take a boat over to Italy for lunch." 

Asked which of his chef friends he most likes to travel with, he said Eric Ripert. "I love to torture him with super spicy Sichuan cuisine."

Asked what his cure for a hangover is, he said a Coke, Advil, a joint and a bowl of mapo tofu noodles.

Few people have done more to expose North Americans to the fascinating and diverse cuisines beyond our shores. And few have inspired us more to eat outside our comfort zone.

Keep doing what you do, Mr. Bourdain.

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