Pursing a Culinary Career
My best friend from elementary school through high school had some trouble finding his niche in college-to put it lightly. After attending six different universities, most of which he flunked out of, he decided to pursue a career as a chef. After completing an 18-month program at a culinary school, he was able to land a job as a sous chef in San Diego.
While he loves working in the food industry, he said that it took some time for him to adapt to the fast paced atmosphere and large scale cooking duties. One of the most daunting tasks, he told me, was entering the restaurant’s large food storage cabinet and having to locate product. Now that he has had time to adjust, he is thriving in the highly competitive restaurant world.
Down-Home Cookin’
When my wife and I opened a diner off of I-5 last summer, we certainly didn’t have any grand aspirations. We had always been the ones hosting large family get-togethers and cooking meals for friends, and we figured that the diner would simply be home cooking on a slightly larger scale. To our surprise, within a few months we were forced to add a new dining area to the small space we had bought a mile off of the freeway.
At first we had basic cooking equipment, like ovens and several stove top burners, but with the influx of customers, we recognized the need to upgrade. We began investing in commercial grade equipment that greatly reduced our prep time. It also made it easier to churn out better tasting cuisine.
Restaurant Owners Make Hard Work look Easy
While the prospect of owning a restaurant might seem easy and carefree on paper, the reality is very different. From a customer’s perspective, the owner seems to be a good-natured man or woman who’s always around the joint to welcome the diners and occasionally lend a helping hand in the kitchen. In fact, the managerial duties and logistics alone are quite formidable.
One of the toughest tasks an owner faces is deciding how to budget for new cooking equipment. Commercial ovens are absolutely essential for any functioning kitchen, but what aspects of the oven make a difference? Be sure to factor in the size of your kitchen when browsing for ovens, and look for quality brands that you trust. Depending on the types of food you specialize in cooking, a convection oven might be the best option.
Overhauling the Old Greasy Spoon Diner
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been helping to run my family’s diner in downtown Pittsburgh. The local steelworkers and other blue-collar types are fond of calling it their “favorite greasy spoon” in the whole city. Now that I’ve worked my way up in the restaurant from bus boy to host to short-order cook and beyond, I’ve started thinking about ways to make the place even more profitable.
Just glancing around the kitchen a few months ago would have given most restaurateurs nausea. The refrigerator was leaking, the griddle was layered with what seemed like years of dried debris, and a rat or cockroach wouldn’t have seemed out of place. I decided to use some of our profits to upgrade the restaurant equipment, but first it was necessary to declare war on unsanitary conditions. I scrubbed down every inch of the kitchen and tried to instill a new set of standards as well.
Competing in a Busy Restaurant Market
When I decided to open a diner in the downtown area of my small city, there was no shortage of breakfast and lunch joints. The main difference was that most of those greasy spoon joints used prepackaged ingredients and paid their employees a pittance. You can’t expect to put out an admirable product and bring customers back by the hundreds if you don’t put your heart and soul into the endeavor.
With little more than a commercial griddle and a dream, I approached local farmers and butcher shops about the idea of cooking and serving local ingredients. I figured this plan would set me apart from the competition. It proved to be the right choice as word quickly spread throughout the city. Most restaurants lose money in their first year of operation, but I’ve been lucky so far. As long as I continue to exercise my passion for food, I’m confident things will work out.
Nothing Beats Great Fried Food-Energy Efficient Commercial Fryers
All too often, getting fabulous tasting, crisp golden fried food can be as chancy as a game of roulette. Old inefficient fryers can be a major factor of poor quality products and output in addition to an indifferent attitude by operators and other factors that affect quality food products and ineffective “green” environment solutions.
Today, conscientious manufacturers like Frymaster and Dean not only produce energy efficient commercial fryers that are environmentally friendly, offering green benefits that range from reduced oil use to using less energy to operate, they also help operators meet customer demands for great-tasting, healthier foods by generating cost savings that offset the higher cost of trans fat-free oils.
By utilizing efficient commercial kitchen equipment along with an on-going, effective operator training/maintenance program, your chances of producing quality food and a “greener” environment improve measurably.
So You Want to Open a Restaurant?
From renting a building with kitchen space to writing the menu, entrepreneurs have their work cut out for them when they enter the restaurant industry. On the one hand, food service is one of the few industries that isn’t going belly-up thanks to the economic recession. On the other hand, competition can be fierce and running a restaurant isn’t always a fun and glamorous proposition.
After securing a rental space, putting up appropriate decorations and hiring a knowledgeable, competent staff, your first priority should be to install some high-quality food service equipment. While it might be possible to get by using old, secondhand equipment, there’s no guaranteeing how long it will last without going on the fritz. When preparing food is your primary business, there’s no sense taking unnecessary risks.
Energy Efficient Cooking Equipment-In The Eye Of The Beholder
No matter what type of new commercial refrigerator or perhaps a shiny new toaster oven you may purchase, it doesn’t automatically guarantee you the full benefits of energy cost savings and increased profits.
Today, there are hundreds of models and styles of qualified energy efficient commercial convection ovens, refrigerators, steamers, fryers etc. There are indeed savings associated by the sheer nature of these new pieces of equipment, but the real environmental contribution and energy cost reduction comes from a commitment by the owners and their personnel to handle and operate the equipment correctly with respect and care.
All too often in a commercial environment, cooks, servers and other foodservice employees have an indifferent attitude toward operating and handling equipment correctly. Think about it, how often are both electrical and gas equipment turned on, sometimes hours before it is needed or used; or refrigerator doors propped open for extended periods of time or are not shut closed completely?
If you answer “too often” then quick action is required. If you want to reap the true benefits of energy efficient commercial cooking equipment you yourself must be committed to handle and operate the equipment correctly with respect and care and explain and train your personnel to do the same. The energy savings are then indeed in the eye of the beholder.
Changes in the Restaurant Industry
I really envy the people who are entering today’s restaurant industry. They have so many advantages that were unavailable to me when I was starting out decades ago. For starters, they have entire television channels devoted to culinary competitions. What did I have besides a dusty old cookbook and a dream? Not only that, but now it’s possible to track down recipes for obscure, exotic foods online in a matter of seconds.
From a labor standpoint, restaurant newbies basically have it made these days. Sure, they’re still put through the demanding and humiliating trial of bussing tables, but washing dishes is now far from a terrible task. Commercial dishwashers take most of the elbow grease out of the process. Human dishwashers don’t need to do much more than loosen the food and let the machine do the rest.
Commercial Refrigerators Can Never Be Too Cool
I guess it’s like any technology; just when you think a product has been fine tuned with the latest and greatest, redesigns with even more improvements appear! Such is the case with today’s greener energy efficient reach-in refrigeration systems.
Some manufacturers today are environmentally responsible and are committed to lead the way to a greener more energy efficient foodservice environment. These manufacturers are now building commercial refrigerators using environmentally friendly refrigerants and foams, using recycled materials where suitable and building with energy efficient construction in an effort to help conserve natural resources.
Kudos to those manufacturers of energy efficient commercial refrigerators for their ongoing efforts in bringing us systems that are cooler than cool!