When reading this article I did not realize that this was going on. Clearly the economy has affected everyone and has led to restaurants being closed, but it is pretty smart to have these people come in and help. These chefs have been around for a long time and have the best palates around. With one of the restaurants, the chef will taste everything off of their menu and analyze each food, then see how it can be improved. This is a brilliant idea and it showed with one restaurant showing a 10 percent increase. With tough times like this, this is one of the many ways to stay in business and keep improving. Having chefs come into your business who have seen everything can offer you a different outlook on how to approach different foods. With the restaurant group I work with, we don't bring chefs in from out of our group, but we do shift executive chefs from our different restaurants and have them offer new ideas.
This is very interesting to me, 15 years ago a recognized fine dining chef will never be found doing consulting for dinners or other quick service operations, but times are tough and fine dining chefs are noticing that what people want is good food, flavorful food but they do not want to pay a fine dining price for it. Chefs are now consulting for diners and other casual dining establishments with an effort to make comfort food with flare, comfort food that is interesting and not mashed potatoes with meat loaf (which there is nothing wrong with its just been served for the last 50 years). Now we see more asian fusions in restaurants, more heat and intensity in dishes all with the purpose of making this new, fresh and interesting, that way people dont feel pressured into thinking that in order to have a good memorable meal one has to spends a significant amount of money. We all deserve great food for a bargain, its been done for many years and now it seems that its making a comeback with more creativity and force than ever.
I found this article really interesting. It just goes to show that during a time of crises, people come together. Fine dining, and casual restaurants are all struggling during this time, but they have come together to try and overcome this economic downfall. With fine dining chefs going into diner establishments, they are helping keeping those places running. Like you guys have said, people want quality food, but not always at a fine dining price. With help from these chefs, they are creating unique, delectable, menu items, at a low cost. People will always want comfort food, but why not spice it up a bit rather then the same old meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
In these tough times it’s hard to maintain the competitive edge. I am no surprised to find that some of the most talented and respected chefs in the country are outsourcing them selves and consulting for middle of the road restaurants. The independent, hotel and chain restaurants have all seen business suffer over the past few years and fine dining chefs have had it happen to them too. People are looking for good food at a lower price. This new idea of fine dining chef consultants is a smart idea, it helps the restaurants improve their menu items and in turn increase their profits, and chefs are finding it lucrative as well. By hiring a professional fine dining chef, you’re getting a walking talking research and development center. These chefs are working directly with the restaurants owners to create and improve all menu items. It’s amazing to think that they can sit together come up with a great recipe try it out, improve on the flavors and then in no time have it be the number one seller on the menu. It is a win, win situation for the both the restaurants and the chefs, it helps keep the restaurants competitive and meeting the consumer need, while at the same time helping chefs stay on top of their game, and inspire more dishes than just those at their restaurants. This seems like something that will be here for a while, restaurants are always looking to improve and as long as there is money to be made, chefs will always be willing to help out. Daniel Morton
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ReplyDeleteWhen reading this article I did not realize that this was going on. Clearly the economy has affected everyone and has led to restaurants being closed, but it is pretty smart to have these people come in and help. These chefs have been around for a long time and have the best palates around. With one of the restaurants, the chef will taste everything off of their menu and analyze each food, then see how it can be improved. This is a brilliant idea and it showed with one restaurant showing a 10 percent increase. With tough times like this, this is one of the many ways to stay in business and keep improving. Having chefs come into your business who have seen everything can offer you a different outlook on how to approach different foods. With the restaurant group I work with, we don't bring chefs in from out of our group, but we do shift executive chefs from our different restaurants and have them offer new ideas.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting to me, 15 years ago a recognized fine dining chef will never be found doing consulting for dinners or other quick service operations, but times are tough and fine dining chefs are noticing that what people want is good food, flavorful food but they do not want to pay a fine dining price for it. Chefs are now consulting for diners and other casual dining establishments with an effort to make comfort food with flare, comfort food that is interesting and not mashed potatoes with meat loaf (which there is nothing wrong with its just been served for the last 50 years). Now we see more asian fusions in restaurants, more heat and intensity in dishes all with the purpose of making this new, fresh and interesting, that way people dont feel pressured into thinking that in order to have a good memorable meal one has to spends a significant amount of money. We all deserve great food for a bargain, its been done for many years and now it seems that its making a comeback with more creativity and force than ever.
ReplyDeleteI found this article really interesting. It just goes to show that during a time of crises, people come together. Fine dining, and casual restaurants are all struggling during this time, but they have come together to try and overcome this economic downfall. With fine dining chefs going into diner establishments, they are helping keeping those places running. Like you guys have said, people want quality food, but not always at a fine dining price. With help from these chefs, they are creating unique, delectable, menu items, at a low cost. People will always want comfort food, but why not spice it up a bit rather then the same old meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
ReplyDeleteIn these tough times it’s hard to maintain the competitive edge. I am no surprised to find that some of the most talented and respected chefs in the country are outsourcing them selves and consulting for middle of the road restaurants. The independent, hotel and chain restaurants have all seen business suffer over the past few years and fine dining chefs have had it happen to them too. People are looking for good food at a lower price. This new idea of fine dining chef consultants is a smart idea, it helps the restaurants improve their menu items and in turn increase their profits, and chefs are finding it lucrative as well. By hiring a professional fine dining chef, you’re getting a walking talking research and development center. These chefs are working directly with the restaurants owners to create and improve all menu items. It’s amazing to think that they can sit together come up with a great recipe try it out, improve on the flavors and then in no time have it be the number one seller on the menu. It is a win, win situation for the both the restaurants and the chefs, it helps keep the restaurants competitive and meeting the consumer need, while at the same time helping chefs stay on top of their game, and inspire more dishes than just those at their restaurants. This seems like something that will be here for a while, restaurants are always looking to improve and as long as there is money to be made, chefs will always be willing to help out.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Morton