Tantalising the tastebuds!
and ingredients, faster response time for changes, flexibility to change menus as needed quickly, shared labour with other areas, high morale of employees so better guest service and control over the selection of vendors. And he adds that he doesn’t believe guests expect to find branded F&B outlets in the park. “I don’t think it is an expectation either way. I believe
that the uniqueness of the theming of Universal Studios as well as the quality product offered creates an atmosphere when the guests are not looking for the ‘same old thing’ or something ‘well-known.’ In the US, at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, where
again the F&B operation is 100 per cent in house, director of food and beverage Jason Martin picks out more advantages of this way of operating. “By operating the F&B outlets in house we have more
control on costs and profits. Keeping the operation in house gives staff and management ownership of the results. Those results are more directly tied with the overall success of the organisation as a whole. Also, running the operation in- house eliminates the ‘middle man’ and improves efficiency. We are well-known in the industry for having high quality food at very reasonable prices and we would not be able to do this by having franchises run the business for us.” And he continued: “Having control of the price definitely
is an advantage. Our guests rave about our food prices. They can eat in our parks for the same or even less than eating at restaurant chains outside of the park. We would lose the ability to have this competitive edge if we outsourced our operation. “We do not have any franchises or outsourcing and have not received one complaint about it. If we offer the guests
good quality product and at a reasonable price, they are going to be happy.” F&B operations have also always been carried out in house
at Germany’s Europa-Park, where Werner Ganser, director of park F&B, comments: “One of the biggest advantages is definitely the control you have over your own F&B outlets. At Europa-Park, the theming of the whole park plays a major role. F&B is not an exception here and we pay a lot of attention to the food and drinks we sell in our outlets in the different European areas throughout the park. Our visitors find Tapas in Spain or fish and chips in England, just to mention a few of our offers. Experiencing typical dishes from the respective countries is part of their ‘round trip through Europe.’ Big food brands would not fit in this concept. “Further, by operating F&B in-house we have control
over the quality of the food and beverages. We can also hire our own employees and make sure that the overall quality standard in all our F&B outlets is always as high as we expect it to be.” And does he think park visitors expect to see well-known
F&B brands in parks? “At Europa-Park we actually think the opposite is the
case. Here, visitors expect the F&B outlets to be themed according to the area they are in. A wide range of dishes and drinks is what the majority of our visitors want.” Clearly then, for the major parks we have talked to here,
the way to go with F&B operation is in house, no matter where you are in the world. Well-known, ‘high street’ brands have their place in some venues depending on the market being catered for, but in the main it’s clear that if it’s done right, in house is the way to go.
The Food Loop at
Europa-Park offers a fun, innovative
restaurant experience (Image courtesy Europa-Park)
www.InterPark.co.uk 45
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