Click here to check out Garrett Oliver’s Grub Street Diet from Friday. It is a great read from a great writer and gives insight into an NYC industry professional’s day-to-day work lifestyle and the food that goes along with it. Of particular not is the special collaboration dinner he hosted with Thomas Keller at The Four Horsemen on Grand St. in Brooklyn this past Wednesday. The Four Horsemen host these special dinners semi-frequently and they are always a great experience with a unique point of view.

When it comes to climate change, we often think of the cars we drive and the energy we use in our homes and offices. They are, after all, some of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. But what about the toast you ate for breakfast this morning?

A new study published Monday in Nature Plants breaks down the environmental cost of producing a loaf of bread, from wheat field to bakery. It finds that the bulk of the associated greenhouse gas emissions come from just one of the many steps that go into making that loaf: farming.

Continue read NPR’s the Salt article here

Lets face it, when it comes to running a business one inventively finds themselves staring at two crucial number- Labor and Food cost. In part 2 we touched on labor (click here for the full article) so now we shift focus on food cost.

Both if managed properly can be kept at bay but more times than not expenses can slip away and before we know it you’re looking at over 40% food cost and everything seems to feel out of reach. Luckily, you know better than that! Right? After all, you are here reading this article. Check out a few points a few pointers below to help address this ever changes market:

• Remember the 80/20 rule. As a general rule, about 80 percent of your food costs come from 20 percent of your items, says Reinstein. Negotiate good deals on these core items, he advises, but don’t overlook the other items. “I’ve seen restaurants that grossly overpay on the other 20 percent.”

• Feature affordable quality. Track food prices; on the individual commodity level, the USDA expects declines in beef and eggs this year after sharp increases in recent years, according to the NRA’s 2016 Forecast. Meanwhile, beef prices are expected to continue their rise. Review your menu and recipes for affordable alternatives. For example, use pollock or swai rather than the more costly Atlantic cod, recommends Bruce Reinstein, chief operating officer for Consolidated Concepts, a purchasing partner that focuses on supporting multi-unit restaurants with leveraged buying and consulting. For meats and poultry, consider less expensive cuts, like chickens thighs, which pump up your profits while going easy on customers’ wallets.

• Compare apples to apples. When bidding out items, be careful that you’re making a true comparison between items. For example, if you’re comparing the prices for a case of tomatoes, factor in any differences in yield, urges Reinstein. Just because one vendor offers a case for less, doesn’t automatically make it a better deal.

• Root out hidden costs. Beware of hidden costs like freight charges, says Reinstein. Be sure to negotiate these upfront. Audit your invoices to ensure that you pay for only what you receive and that no extra charges are tacked on.

Full list can be found here

Balthazar opened in SoHo in the spring of 1997. The bustling, romantic brasserie serves traditional French fare from breakfast through supper every day, with brunch served on weekends. How to describe this restaurant, the only thing I can tell is this place you can feel like a foreigner on your city. And the food is really good, both are outlooking and taste. The most popular dishes are Eggs Benedict, Le Panier, Onion Soup Gratine, Steak Frites and so on. The average check between the 30-45, but you will feel every penny you spend is worth. This place and their food are masterpieces in New York city. Just make sure you don’t go without a reservation and be sure to wear your fur boots if you want to fit in.

Is running your business that far off from managing your own finances? The key to success is having a plan. Whether that is creating a budget in order to monitor expenses or creating a retirement plan (investor payback), setting benchmarks for 5 or 10 years down the road will lead you towards a path of success. Click here to see how Kerry Hannon of the NY Times maps out a retirement plan that encourages you to think into the future. While reading this think about how a plan like this can apply to your business. Do you have goals for 5, 10, 20 years down the road? Once your business start turing a profit how will you allocate those earnings?

In part 1 of this series we linked you to a quick video, provided by Bon Appetite, that went behind the scenes of a Chick-Fil-A. Now this may not touch home with everyones operation but hopefully if made you start to think about all of the moving parts to your business and how everything is interconnected.  In todays column, we highlight one of the most critical elements to any business- Labor.

According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2016 Restaurant Operations Report, labor costs make up a third of sales in a typical restaurant. This means that any increases in labor costs can have a significant impact on your bottom line.

To cut down on unnecessary spend, make data-driven staffing decisions. Excellent customer service and staff retention are always top priorities, and your staff are on the front lines of the customer experience. Equip your employees with information they need to perform well, and strategically place them in roles where they are needed and feel passionate.

• Compile data. Get granular with it. Dive deeper than simply identifying your restaurant’s peak service periods. Look for any overtime trends in your restaurant, and then determine how to get those numbers down without negatively affecting your operations.
• Avoid over- or under-staffing. Too many staff standing around the dining space can be off-putting to guests, and not enough staff in front- or back-of-the house can lead to bottlenecks and frustrated customers. Analyze your data, and make adjustments accordingly.
• Stagger departures and arrivals. Instead of setting block schedules that have singular arrival and departure times per shift, consider spreading out scheduled clock-ins and -outs by about 15 minutes for select positions. This can help eliminate the chance of not having enough employees on the floor.

This article was adapted from the Nation Restaurant Association and can be found here

America’s fast-food value meal is so popular for so many years. Like McDonald’s 20-piece pack of Chicken McNuggets goes for $5; Taco Bell’s Beefy Fritos Burrito for $1;KFC’s Fill-Ups menu promises lots of food for little dough for $5 and so on. However according to Andrew F. Smith, who is author of Fast Food: The Good, the Bad and the Hungry, pointed out there’s a dark side to a good these deals. Smith said “research has shown that bundled meals encourage customers to purchase more than they might if they just selected individual items, and this imperative to overbuy has impacted consumers’ wallets and waistlines for decades.” I think this is good reason why these fast-food restaurant can be successful so many years, and can still earn big profit on it.

If you want to know more informations about it, please click here.

All summer, Eleven Madison Park will be closed for renovations. While this is not ideal from a business perspective, it’s even less promising for the employees who would have been out of work for an entire season. Luckily, EMP Summer House will be debuting in June in the Hamptons and the EMP staff will be working on Long Island all summer long. The restaurant will be collaborating on a “number of unique experiences. American Express members will have first crack at getting a seating during the pop-up, but you could possibly get lucky with a walk-in spot if you are willing to pay cash.

You can read more about he event here.