Restaurant Cater Bay Area Consult Grow Sales Profits New Business

Contents

- Focus Areas

- Menu Costing

- New Meal Periods

- Location / Expansion

- Banquet Sales

- Catering / Delivery

- Off-site Cooking

- Carryout Sales

- Private Chef

- Retail Non-food

Restaurant, Bar & Catering New Revenue Source Consulting - Okay, I’ve organized my place, We’ve gotten much tighter on expenses, My Website is doing better…but unless I can Duplicate myself…where’s all the new money coming from? I can’t pull money out of thin air? What do I do, operate two businesses out of the same location? I don’t have the time to figure that out or the money for new employees to run it!

With Consult The Chef, You won’t have to!

We will show you how to add New Revenue Sources to what you already do that will minimize outlay and absolutely bring new Sales and Profits in your door. Yes, you will have some investment in new equipment and some labor. But if we could show you how to conservatively increase your sales about $15K over the next 3 months with less than $2K total outlay, would that kind of cost vs. benefit ratio interest you?

Funny you should mention “Duplicating Yourself.” You have a finite sized Building, You cook a Great Menu, Any more Employees and you’d probably be tripping over one another, You’re open Lunch and Dinner – 12 Hours per Day, 7 days per week…Where can you possibly expand to get more revenue out of this existing Location?

The Idea here is to Maximize your Revenue per Square Foot, an old Retail Store Business axiom. Cram as much product into as small of a space as possible while still keeping it Organized, Attractive and Service-able. But just because you bring new products and services in, you still have to train your Sales staff, Advertise the new ideas and get your Customers aware of the new stuff you have via great Displays and Demonstrations.

Therefore, if you like any of the ideas we put forth in this section, none of it will be effective without Partner Marketing. NOTHING ON EARTH WILL SELL IF YOU DON”T TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT!

If Your Bar wants to add light Hors d’oeuvres, if Your Deli wants to add full Breakfast, if Your Casual Dining Restaurant wants to add a line of Bakery Items, Your Gourmet Coffee Counter wants to start Catering Off-Site Events, Your Fine Dining Dinner House wants to add a Banquet Room, Your Small Plate Tapas & Wine Bar wants to start offering Live Chef Cooking Classes on slow nights or your Cafeteria/ Commissary wants to offer partially cooked meals for Retail Take-out Sales, you must understand there is a TIME, FINANCIAL & MARKETING commitment that goes along with any expansion to make it work. However, it’s not as expensive as you think!

Consult the Chef will help you identify the New Revenue Program that is appropriate for your Venue, control the high COST outlay, properly position the PROMOTIONAL MARKETING you must have to succeed and keep your employee’s TIME commitment as low as possible to effectively employ any New Revenue stream you choose for your Food & Beverage or Hospitality Business.

Maybe your Business can handle 2 or 3 of these New Revenue streams. It truly is the only way to Make More Money from the same operation while continuing to do what you’re already good at, thus Duplicating Yourself!

Below we’ll show you the Potential Financial Benefit to adding these New Revenue Sources at merely an introductory level; Twelve Months of Operation can produce far greater results. For the sake of our argument, our model will be:

A Neighborhood Sports Pub (No Liquor) that Seats 40 people open Lunch & Dinner

Revenue Source                                  $’s/ Day     $’s/ Week     $’s/ MO.          $’s/YR.

Add Catered/Delivered 20 Person Lunches
2 per week @ $15.00 per person             -          600.00         2400.00         28,800.00

Add In-House 10 Person Business Meeting
   1 per week @ $20.00 per person                -          200.00        800.00           9600.00

Add Ready-to-Cook Take Home Food
            & Special 2 – 3 sales per day                 25.00       175.00          700.00           8400.00

Add Wine Based Cocktails ($5 x 5) &
        Gourmet Dinner Special ($12.50 x2)          50.00        350.00         1400.00        16,800.00

New Added Revenue Source Totals                           -           1325.00        5300.00*      63,600.00*

Current Average In-House Sales                           1000.00     7000.00    30,0000.00 360,000.00

Gross increase of Added Revenues      _               -             +18.9%        +17.6%*    +17.6%*

*Monthly Revenue determined by 4-week Month, not full 30 day month; Yearly is 12 x 4-week Months

By not really changing anything this Food & Beverage Business already does (e.g. No New Licenses, Build-outs or substantial Equipment additions,) this Sports Bar can conservatively add $63,000.00 to its yearly Revenues by adding our suggestions. The beauty here is, that there’s also not much added Labor or Power usage to execute these changes either. Basically, only the Product’s Wholesale Per Plate/Glass Cost is added to produce these New Revenues. That cuts approximately 35% from the $63,000.00 leaving a Gross Profit of about $41,000.00!

Now, if you go “Top Shelf” to produce Professional Marketing Materials to create and support that $41,000.00 profit, you’ll print up New Menus for about $1900.00 and some new Exterior and Interior Signage for about $1200.00 (remember, we can also go the opposite direction and develop adequate Collateral for about $300.00 total.) You’ll Engage us to Train you to execute our Business Community Marketing Consulting Plan for about $4800.00 (an estimate of a Project based Consultation – each Business Consultation will differ.) Your total expense to produce the support Marketing, Scheduling and Training would be $7900.00…subtract that $7900.00 from the $41,000 gross profit and Your NET PROFIT from the New Revenue additions would be approximately $33,100.00…

Could your Business Use $33,000.00 in NET PROFIT over the next year?

Plus, the Conservatively Estimated Outlay above could be FAR LESS depending on your individual Cost Tolerance and Marketing Choices!

As we have stated throughout this Website, our goal is to pay for our Consulting Fees within the First Quarter of any project we contract, if not sooner! Realistically, the theoretical Sample Project we reference above would probably take 30 to 45 days for the Collateral Material Production, several days of Staff Training prior to Roll-out and you would probably reach the Sales & Revenue Goals suggested within 4 - 6 weeks of Roll-out. This puts us within 30 - 45 days of Roll out to cover our Project Costs. You can view more information about our Individual Issue Consulting Sessions, Multi-Issue Projects, Comprehensive Packages and Full Business Reviews in our Consulting Packages Heading Section.

If while you're reading about these New Revenue Options you realize you don't have ALL the COMMITTED EMPLOYEES, the EQUIPMENT, the MONEY or most critically, the TIME to learn about or enact these BUSINESS GROWTH SOLUTIONS, then you need to call Consult the Chef to have us discuss a Business Review or Consulting Solution for your Business.

Having all the Answers, Knowledge, Staff and Systems to effectively Manage and Grow your Bar & Restaurant, Catering & Banquet business or Cafeteria style Kitchen, really is simple once you know how! That's why we're here, to EMPOWER you, give you KNOWLEDGE and help you be a more PROFITABLE Franchisee or Food & Beverage Business Owner Operator!

Focus Areas of Restaurant, Bar & Catering New Revenue Source Development – I’m not making any money now and I’ll bet you want me to invest big bucks that I don’t have that will “supposedly” make me money long in the future…you’ll have to show me some ideas that will convert into profit RIGHT AWAY! I need help NOW! I won’t make it through another Season like this!

We understand you might be contacting us under some pretty rough situations, perhaps close to closing your doors. If that’s the case, you’ll need an “Immediate Needs Review.” Go to our “Immediate Needs Review sub section Heading” to read more about what we can do immediately to help you.

If you have a little more time, pending your approval, we’ll start any New Revenue Development Consultation by first Reviewing your expenses and operating costs, then determine your cost tolerance for new projects. You can read below in our Focus Areas for all of our tried and true “market relevant” New Revenue Source Ideas. But please understand, the Fastest way to reverse a $100K net loss or even a 10k net loss, is to cut all non essential Expenses while simultaneously growing Sales, that’s the best and fastest way to turn a loss into a profit!

You can learn more about our Cost Control focus areas for Management by reading our Restaurant, Bar & Catering Management Heading Section.

If we decide after reviewing your expenses that you are Ready for New Revenue Growth Projects, or you’re doing fine financially and you just like these concepts for being even more profitable, you must understand and agree to the Marketing Support it requires to be successful. NEW REVENUE DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING SUPPORT ARE FULL PARTNERS IN THIS PROCESS.

This does not mean we are going to spend you into oblivion with Collateral Material. While some signage, printed materials and website re-design might be required after we mutually agree on the plan, the main focus of all of our New Revenue projects will be in Management & Employee training for program awareness, new product knowledge and Customer interaction featuring our “Sweet Sales” techniques. This way, we don’t design something, get you to pay for it and then leave you to figure out how to implement the program on your own, unless that's your Choice. We will have you sign off prior to leaving any Consultation project and follow up Support is included with every Project & Package. We know you have a Full Plate as it is and our Consulting will not put a further strain on your time; in fact it will maximize the effort you’re already giving, nothing more.

Go to our Consulting Pricing Heading Section to get more Pricing information on individual Consulting Issues & Sessions, Specific Consulting Projects or Full Business Review Packages.

While several of these New Revenue Development concepts involve Proprietary specifics, the overall view of these programs aren’t rocket science, they simply require the experience and time organization to implement a quick successful format that Franchisees, Owner Operators of Bars, Restaurants, Banquet and Catering Companies, Quick-serve Deli’s & Coffee Counters, Pizza & Delivery Shops, Casual & Family Dining Restaurants and Fine Dining or Elite Gourmet Restaurants can use immediately. Here are some examples:

Complete Menu Costing Review

The first thing we should accomplish is a Full Menu Cost Review to identify where you can simply be more efficient with what you are already doing. Where is your Food and/or Beverage Cost? Do you have areas of your Menu where your Profit Percentages are way too low? What is your Competition charging for the same dishes? Are your Cooks Prepping, Portioning and Serving required amounts? Can you cut food cost
AND increase quality by switching Vendors? Can you increase overall profitability by making more items from scratch? Or buying more ready-made items? Are you discounting Specials too deeply so your Food Cost vs. Sales Price Formula is compromised? Are you driving away Business from being over-priced? Are you losing Revenue because everyone in the Community is selling the same thing for $1.50 per plate more? Can you make more pure dollars in profit from Packaging Drinks, Appetizers, Entrees, Sides & Desserts together or adding New Menu items?

We will thoroughly breakdown your Food & Beverage Menu from top to bottom to Maximize your existing Profitability so we can then recommend an appropriate cost tolerant expansion into New Revenue Sources for Your Bar, Restaurant, Deli or Coffee Counter, Cafeteria or Buffet style Kitchen. Call us now to set up your Consultation with “The Chef.”

New Meal Periods

We start with the MOST CHALLENGING of all New Revenue Stream concepts. It’s challenging because it’s virtually like starting a completely new Restaurant. Usually, you need new (or existing) FOH & BOH staff trained on Menu, Sales, Preparation, Line Cooking and Presentation. You’ll need new Marketing and Collateral support Materials and New Advertising. This also means new Money Expenditures for the implementation process through to Roll-out, plus successful Revenue capture can be anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on each Owner Operator’s time, execution & investment availability.

It does however offer the MOST PROBABLE RETURN ON INVESTMENT of any New Revenue opportunity.

We’ll Review your local competition, help develop a prospective Menu with Recipe recommendations, Train FOH & BOH staff, review your POS system programming,
Review your Electronic & Print Menus, Marketing, Advertising and Sales Collateral and Signage. Finally we’ll review your potential Energy, Maintenance; Labor & Management Cost increases and help with Vendor Recommendations to purchase your food more economically. We’ll then work up a Budget & Timeline Schedule for Implementation, Roll-out and Follow-up Support, both on-site and via satellite communication.

Every Consultation will take into consideration every different Franchisee or Owner Operator’s goals and financial situations prior to Engagement or Investment of any kind. We aren’t successful if you are not.

Ask us about the newest form of New Meal Period Revenue Sources - The Pop-Up Restaurant! Top Chef's nationwide are looking for temporary locations to do Alternative Menus using your facility!

Location Expansion – Building Growth & Search

So you want to expand the Dining Room, add a Banquet/Meeting Room, maybe the people next door are moving out and you want to move into (or add) their Space. Maybe you want to add a Whole New Location and need Scouting & Population Potential & Market Research help?

The key here is in having correct in-depth local Rooftop & Business Population Figures to appraise Immediate Customer potential and Future Growth, then, help with the negotiations with the Landlord, Food & Beverage Regulatory agencies, City Building Inspectors and of course, finding the right Building Contractors who will follow through in a timely and professional manner that meets your design and budgetary parameters.

Consult the Chef can help Interview, Recommend and Monitor some of the nation’s top Bar, Restaurant & Industrial Kitchen & Hospitality Architects & Builders. Then, we can help you Design Operational Flow, Layout and Acquire any Bar and Restaurant Equipment add-ons necessary to complete the workspace efficiency. Our extensive network of the nation’s greatest Professionals will be at your disposal. Our contacts can get you Financing and/or Lease Options from traditional and creative sources that understand that a “small” Bar & Restaurant Construction Job is a Job done for someone else! Every Job is critical to the Operators who are contracting it.

This can also be a “very large” Consulting Job that takes time, especially in a difficult Economic environment. We will put you in touch with just the right Professionals for your particular job, regardless of size. We will be there to assist you in every step of the way. This, perhaps more than any other Consultation we do, is a specific Case by Case, Job by job, Project-by-Project Consultation. This is absolutely a CALL TO DISCUSS consultation.

Group Sales – Banquets

Banquets are a great Business that Large Restaurants, Hotels and Resorts have known about for generations. The biggest challenge facing smaller Franchisees or Owner Operators is the SPACE needed to sequester groups of 20 or more from the rest of your Bar & Restaurant customers. Otherwise you can get by with simply calling it “Group Sales.”

Either way, it’s a great way to add additional Sales, but it does take the addition of some fairly inexpensive Restaurant Serving Equipment and some Marketing and Promotional expense in the form of Collateral Menus and Signage. These expenses are usually far outweighed by the revenue growth potential. After all, if you can create a Dinner for 25 at a about $40.00 per person cost, including Appetizer, Entrée, Desert, Beverage Tax & Tip, you’ve cleared $1000.00 in one Meal that it may normally take a full Day or More to achieve. GOOD DEAL THAT!

If you’re a smaller Venue that only seats 40 to 50 in the first place, we’ll look at Group & Banquet Floor Seating Layouts and/or simple Interior Design solutions that create some separation or maybe you have indoor/outdoor seating where one area can be shut off and committed to the Meeting/Party Group. Perhaps as stated in Location Expansion Section above, you’re committed to a Group or Banquet area build-out. There are specific elements you should add to accommodate these style meals. Of course, if you’re a larger Bar, Restaurant or Institutional or Cafeteria style Kitchen, your Dining Room(s) design may already lend itself to creating a more Private Area feel.

As far as Group and Banquet Food & Beverage Service, Parties & Meetings are usually far easier to serve as Menu Choices are usually pre-decided or limited. This is also a good way to get Servers extra hours that perhaps aren’t the best floor servers who can’t handle 30 customers all with individual orders. There are however, unique speed and preparation requirements, that do make Party, Meeting and Event Banquet service unique and we can help you set-up your service areas and train your staff.

The Kitchen’s Banquet Preparation and time requirements are different from the FOH needs. The good news is, unless you’re opening with 2 Banquet meals of 40 every day, you shouldn’t need to hire or schedule Special (or even extra) Banquet Chefs/Cooks. You should be able to operate your regular Lunch or Dinner Line and cook for groups under 40 at the same time. We can show you how to focus on Early Preparation to make on time delivery of hot food easy for your Kitchen Staff.

Then, as we featured in our New Revenue Development Focus Areas, you cannot add the concept of a New Revenue Source without partnering a comprehensive (not necessarily expensive) Marketing Program to Advertise your New Banquet & Group Sales service to your customers. Collateral Materials like Party, Meeting, Wedding, Rehearsal and Re-Union specific Menus are absolutely necessary. Website updates and interior Signage would be part of the Program as well. Then, you want to get these Advertising tools into the hands of Party, Wedding & Meeting Planners, Local Organizations, Businesses, etc. so you have targeted groups to market your new Banquet services to in addition to your existing customer base.

Consult the Chef will help you Layout, Design, Organize, Prepare, Staff, Train, Market & Advertise and Deliver your wish to start or add Group and Banquet Revenues to your Food & Beverage Venue. Even though it seems like there is a lot to do to make this a success, actually the time element of Collateral Design and BOH & FOH training is the biggest issue. The beauty of Planning for Parties, Meetings, Wedding Groups & Banquet meal service is that 4 OR 5 MEALS OF 30 OR 40 PEOPLE CAN COMPLETELY PAY FOR YOU’RE YOUR FINANCIAL START-UP INVESTMENT!

Call us to help you start a Group Sales or Banquet Revenue Program for your Bakery & Coffee Shop, Taco Shop or Sandwich Deli Counter, Pizza or Delivery Business, Family Dining, Casual Dining or Fine Dining Restaurant, Sports Bar or Nightclub. We’ll help you build an absolutely killer Group & Banquet Sales Program.

Delivery & Catering

If you want to get into Catering and/or Delivery as either a New Business or a New Revenue source, you have to totally understand everything about Group & Banquet Meal Preparation & Service and add the knowledge of Food Transportation, Food temperature holding environments, On-Site Cooking, Preparation and Service procedures as well. You also need more Staff, much more Equipment and extra licensing to successfully complete cooking at off-site venues. Therefore, please read the Group & Banquet Sales Sub-Section above before reading this Catering section further.

Now, that being said, there are alternatives to Full Service “Live” Catering (explained a few paragraphs lower) that aren’t quite so intensive and will allow the average Bar, Restaurant or Cafeteria Style Kitchen to add a Catering/Delivery Revenue Source to their existing Business without as large of a time & financial start-up investment.

The Chef pioneered Full Service “Live Chef” Catering & Private Chef Events in the Phoenix/Scottsdale Arizona area with his company “Your Personal Chef” and made “Live Chef” on-site cooking the Arizona Industry Standard for Weddings, Parties, Galas, Fundraisers, Re-Unions and Corporate Parties & Business Meetings. Licensing for Full Service Caterers in the Phoenix/Scottsdale are is far different than licensing on the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento, Fresno Los Angeles or San Diego counties. A “full service ” Catering style Business needs Transportation Vehicles & Equipment, Temperature holding Equipment and if they are going to do true “Live Chef” cooking, they need all the equipment to virtually start a Restaurant that they can “take on the road.” While much of this equipment can be rented or purchased on an “as needed” basis, a Caterer can easily accrue $15,000.00 in service equipment expense, not including delivery or cooking equipment loaded vehicles (possibly $50,000.00 amortized value) over the first year in business.

This can be done FAR, FAR LESS EXPENSIVE if you already own a light truck, station wagon or delivery style vehicle, have lots of cooking equipment, buy used larger equipment off the Internet and have a cousin with a Graphic Design or Website Business. Consult the Chef can help any Full Service Caterer Build, Market & Develop their Business plus add recipes and train Chef’s to cook “Live” for guests that add a Style and Flair unmatched by traditional Catering Companies. Again, the beauty of this business is that it takes about 3 - 100 person Weddings, Corporate Dinners or Fundraising Galas to pay for your initial investment.

To have Consult the Chef help you develop a “Full Service” style Catering Business or train your cooks to perform “Live Chef Cooking” go to our Training Heading Section for training Sessions and Consultations and to our Consulting Pricing Section for pricing of comprehensive Consulting Programs that save lots of money over individual session consultations.

“Set-Up and Go” Catering and Delivery is kind of like “Catering Light!” Not nearly the start-up investment in Service & Cooking Equipment and you typically only need to commit one (sometimes two) employees for a few minutes per Location to create a very effective New Revenue Source.

Set up and Go Catering requires the purchase of some durable permanent Service Equipment but mostly price appropriate Plastic and or Paper Packaging that is a constant expense that you build into your product or Delivery Charge. Depending on your Market niche and/or Bar & Restaurant style, cost appropriate Service Ware are also key items you’ll need to operate effective Catering for your Foodservice or Hospitality Business. Remember, a Bakery & Gourmet Coffee Counter will deliver a different class of service than a Fine Dining Restaurant might, and so on.

Since the level of Service is unique to each Business, the Labor Cost will differ as well. That Bakery & Coffee Shop might send One Person with a cart in his or her own car to simply drop everything off wrapped in disposable Paper or Plastic. A Deli or Casual Dining Restaurant might send someone in a cook outfit to set up light aluminum serving ware and beverage service, then return later in the afternoon to pick everything up. The Dinner House might send Two People in uniform, in a Company Painted Van with all stainless serving items, linens, plates and glassware and stay to serve and clean-up. Each style restaurant will have its own Service & Labor appropriate format in which to execute “Set up and Go” Catering.

Because of this, the Menus and Marketing Collateral materials will differ as well. Not only from a cost vs. benefit basis, but because the Menu Item costs typically absorb some of the service costs (in addition to traditional Plus, Plus Pricing,) the look and format which the materials take will differ too. We may decide to take some companies into a direct Mail program, others into a personal introduction format and still others into a mainly Web based promotional stance. Either way you MUST PARTNER NEW REVENUE SOURCES WITH TARGETED MARKETING or it will certainly fail.

There are some Insurance and Contractual issues that need to be tackled as well, in either “Full Service” or “Set Up & Go” Catering. But, as you can probably tell from the size of these sections, The Chef has extensive experience in Banquet Production and Catering of Business Meetings, Corporate Parties, Weddings, Re-Unions, Fundraisers and Galas. We can help you from Recipe & Menu Creation to Sales and Marketing and ultimately to Cooking and Execution in these fields. CALL US NOW to help you build New Revenue Sources in your Foodservice Business through profitable Banquet, Catering and Delivery Programs.

Off-Site Cooking - Shows Fairs and Events

-This is a New Revenue Opportunity that takes as many different formats as it requires cost outlays to get going. Off-site Revenues can be anything from offering to place menus in Bars or Office Buildings that don’t offer Food, that are within walking distance from your Restaurant, Cafeteria or Catering Business, to landing a Contract with a Community Center that often hosts local Events and Meetings, to regularly attending Swap Meets, Shows and Fairs to kind of create a secondary Restaurant in addition to your existing Location.

The critical element here is what they each cost to get started as a Secondary Revenue Source. Do you need to buy a Portable Kitchen & Trailer? Can you get away with “Set Up & Go” Style Delivery or does the site need to be manned by a paid employee? Is it just a matter of Printing up new weekly Menus on a Computer and walking them around the immediate area? How much investment can your Bar or Restaurant afford? Is it mainly a New Revenue Source or is it more of a personal hobby and/or Marketing & Advertising tool for Public Relations?

As we referenced in our Website Design Subsection of our Bar, Restaurant & Catering Marketing Heading Section, “The Perfect Food” search is a big Revenue producer for “Foodies” and people who love Culinary Recreation and Vacations. It’s become its own viable "sub-Industry" (not to be confused with the Sandwich) within the Foodservice Industry. Cook-offs, Competitions and Themed Food & Drink Festivals not only give you the Opportunity to sell your Specialty like Barbecued Meats, Salsas, Hot Dogs, Chilies, Dressings and Sauces, Hamburgers & Sandwiches, Pies, Pastries & Preserves, Cocktails, Wine, Beer & Ale but also provide excellent opportunities for Local, Regional & National Marketing exposure. There are many Show and Fair Cooking Businesses that exist purely for these events. They are the Food & Beverage Industry’s version of the traveling “Weekend Warrior.”

It’s not unusual for Food Vendors to Clear $1000.00 per day in Sales and or Profits. However, it’s also not unusual to not clear more than $500.00 in a Weekend if the wrong Booth site is selected, the Event is poorly attended or it Rains!

We can help you Identify local Venues, Promotions and Off-Site Opportunities that will regularly make you money. It’s important with this version of New Revenue Source that we do a lot of Local and Industry Research to first discover the Off-site opportunities, then decide which are viable specifically for your Food & Beverage service Business. We will cost out any potential Event or Venue in your area and make recommendations as to whether this (or any) style of New Revenue Development is appropriate for your Bar, Restaurant, Cafeteria or Catering Business.

Prepared Foods & To Go Sales

This is probably the easiest form of New Revenue Development and virtually every Foodservice Business offers some level of Prepared Foods and To-Go items. However, the biggest mistake most Restaurants make, is that they don’t commit hard enough to the concept to really develop a solid, consistent Revenue driver.

Even a Fine Dining Dinner House should have a Printed To-Go Menu that is given to every Customer with their Check so they know they can call to get their favorite food for nights they aren’t available to dine in. With today’s economy, this is the absolute Minimum that should be done. Heck, we’d recommend you engage the Valet service in the program so the Customer doesn’t even have to get out of his or her Mercedes to go inside…simply delivered right to the Car Window under the Porte Cashere...in style!

Bakeries and New York Style Deli’s do a great job with this stuff because they usually have Beautiful Refrigerated Display Cases and someone dedicated to selling from them.

Many Bars, Restaurants and Cafeteria Style kitchens don’t do anything in this area even though they have many items on their Menu that could be sold as an effective To-Go item or as part of a To-Go packaged Family Meal. Even the Ready to Cook meal business is thriving and has its own Franchises. We know we can probably Identify 3 or 4 Entrees and 3 or 4 Sides on every Bar, Restaurant, Taco & Sandwich Shop, Order Counter & Cafeteria or Buffet Style Kitchen Menu that could be packaged as To-Go Meal Combos, Packaged Specialties of the House, or Pre-Assembled, Ready to Cook Dinners.

As part of our Full Business Review or as an independent Consulting Issue, we will come on-site; review your Cuisine for To-Go and Ready to Cook Revenue Ideas to help you maximize the profitability on your Menu. Sometimes it might be as simple as moving some furniture, creating some Signage or buying a used Display Case on Craig’s List or Ebay. Others might want to do some remodeling and get USFDA Packaging Licenses and Machinery. Either way, we will again review your individual situation for the New Revenue Consulting Solution that perfectly and cost effectively fits your Foodservice Business.

Cooking Events & Private Cheffing

Oprah and Our Friends at Food TV have created a completely new niche in the Foodservice and Hospitality Industry. The Private Chef and the Food TV style Cooking Show.

The Private or Personal Chef came into prominence during the Financial excess of the Post 9/11 era when seemingly everyone making over $50,000.00 per year had some version of a private cooking professional at their disposal. Oprah lauded the benefits of her Chef and every daytime television viewer in America wanted one. Simultaneously, every Culinary School Graduate wanted to become a Personal Chef with virtually no practical Cooking experience. Poor food was produced at grossly low prices and the Value of the Market was diluted. However, some career Chefs like our own Chef Steven Howard and other Industry Professionals were able to elevate themselves to the heights of Culinary excellence and achieved notable success. Yet, when the Economic Collapse of 2007 started Nationwide, this niche industry dissolved like a house of cards. The leveraged wealth that fueled the trend also destroyed it when the all money ran out. It now thrives in only some unique Old-Money regions throughout the U.S and Canada where the wherewithall to afford such a luxury hasn't really been affected too greatly.

Even though economic trends have changed, the public image of the Private Chef is still a Powerful Marketing Concept and New Revenue Source for virtually any level of Restaurant. This is because regardless of style, all Restaurants (and some Caterers) have affluent regulars who love what they serve. So it isn’t unreasonable to make available to those Customers, private Catered Parties or Delivered Meals by their Cooks and Chefs at Premium Prices. This makes this concept a New Revenue Source that is potentially very lucrative and viable to every Food & Beverage Business from the Bakery and Coffee Counter to the Elite Gourmet & Fine Dining Haute Cuisine Restaurant.

Food TV style Cooking Events are fun and exciting additions to traditional Catered Corporate Meetings or Family Parties. How-to instructional Shows, Cooking Demonstration Parties or “Iron Chef” Style Cook-offs are now imaged and viewed as such recreational style Fun that any market niche Bar, Restaurant or Caterer can produce these Events as Corporate Team Building or Family Fun style Party or Meeting Themes. The Chef has produced so many of these over the past 5 years to Large Companies, that he has been able to also down size the concept so even Mom & Pop micro Businesses can produce their own versions at very high profit.

Plus, there is relatively little start-up investment required, only the Collateral Partner Marketing Material Costs required for the success of any New Revenue Program. This is however, a very Organizationally heavy concept to operate. Do it wrong once and you'll never do it again!

Consult the Chef has extensive Experience & Success in these Concepts. We’ll Review your Business’ readiness and then Train your Manager, Chef & Service talent to execute these unbelievably Profitable and High Customer Satisfaction yet Labor Intensive Events and Cooking Concepts. “Contact us” now to schedule a Consulting Session, Project or Full Business Review so we can help bring these exciting New Revenue Sources to your Food & Beverage Hospitality Business.

Retail Non-Food Products

Many Bar & Restaurant Chains like selling Shirts, Hats, Mugs and Key Chains. An idea that kind of started as a fun Neighborhood Identity Marketing idea for local Bars & Restaurants has now become a huge Revenue Producer for Large Chains.

Sort of like Pro Sports Franchises have dominated the Clothing Industry with everything from T-Shirts, Hats, Sweats, Jackets, Scarves, Belts and all kinds of apparel – if you can wear it, it has a Team Logo on it.

If you have any kind of Theme to your Night Club, Bar, Restaurant, Deli, Taco Shop, Casual or Fine Dining Restaurant you need to consider Apparel & Gift Sales as not only Marketing and Advertising but if you have a solid client base or are in a Tourist Area, you can make an extra $50.00 to $200.00 per day in Revenue. Even $25.00 per Day (i.e. One Sweatshirt) equals $9125.00 a year in extra Revenue. Won’t make you a millionaire but may make the difference between a Profit and Loss or maybe pay for an extra 3-week Vacation for you.

The difference with this style of Revenue development is that there is a fair amount of outlay and investment involved in each product you decide to carry. If something Sells for $20.00, it’s going to cost you at least $10.00 and you probably want to get 100 of them. Now, if you really want to commit to this Revenue Concept, you need to have adequate floor space, You can probably get your Profit Margins up to 65%, but that’s a lot of initial investment unless you’re also committing adequate Labor as well.

If this is an avenue you’d like to investigate or we think your Bar or Restaurant are a natural to really make a splash in this arena, we’ll recommend Product Lines, help you set aside adequate Space and Labor and help Create or Re-Image your Brand to include a full line of Retail & Promotional Premium Gifts and Apparel that match your entire Marketing and Revenue development Program. Call Consult the Chef and we’ll help you with an isolated Consulting Issue, a targeted Consulting Project or a Full Scope Consulting Package or Business Revue.
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If while you're reading about these New Revenue Options you realize you don't have ALL the COMMITTED EMPLOYEES, the EQUIPMENT, the LARGE BUDGET or most critically, the TIME to learn about or enact these BUSINESS GROWTH SOLUTIONS, then you need to call Consult the Chef to have us discuss a Business Review or Consulting Solution for your Business. Contact Us and we'll create a Consulting Solution just for your Business.

Or Take our Management Effectiveness Survey consisting of 15 Yes/No Questions to guage and Score your effectiveness and Control of your Restaurant, Bar or Food Service Hospitality Business.