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STREAMLINING THE SUPPLY CHAIN
By David Russell, founder and chairman of the Russell Partnership
Increasing customer demand for food, contributing more to the botom line whilst improving the efficiency of stock turnover and reducing
wastage… It sounds like a restaurateur's dream. The reality is that assuming the foundations of any catering function are present – reasonable location, good health and safety, reliable food quality – optimizing the profitability can more often than not be enhanced through the process of menu engineering, a marketing approach to the pricing, positioning and promotion of food. Competitive advantage is created by
designing menu items that customers are most likely to be drawn to because of the uniqueness of an item or deal, for example a locally sourced rack of pork hoisin sticky ribs with two sides, and a pint of local beer for £9.99. By focusing efforts on high
contributing, high demand products, menus can be reduced in size. This allows back of house production to be simplified and efficiency improved. Also, with fewer menu items comes the benefit of reduced stock holdings, reducing waste food that once again would historically have deducted from the botom line. A simplified menu also brings about the opportunity to streamline supply chain and where possible use local suppliers. Forming relationships with local
producers gives more control over product quality, is advantageous for marketing purposes and helps reduce carbon footprint within the supply chain. So is it worth doing the math and investing time in menu engineering and sustainable supply chains. We know for short-term budget improvements, medium-term profit improvements and long-term social and environmental benefits it is worth it. A final thought to leave you with...
The next time you choose an item from a menu it may be worth questioning whether your choice is really your choice or whether the menu has been engineered to help you decide more easily through item placement on the menu, a signature dish and price. If it has you will most likely be helping the botom line and maybe also the environment!
Costa launches next generation of s
Costa has tipped its new self-service coffee machine, Marlow, to ‘revolutionise the self-serve experience’. As well as freshly-ground Costa Mocha
Italia beans and fresh milk in every cup, Marlow also provides a range of over 250 drink selections. Costa has said that Marlow’s multi-
sensory coffee shop experience has the ability to captivate all five senses. Consumers will be able to hear, see, touch, smell and taste all the different elements found in Costa coffee shops. To imitate the sounds of a bustling
Costa coffee shop, Costa worked with the experts in online mixing and mastering, eMixpro, whose usual work involves artists like U2, Rolling Stones and Coldplay. Fragrance diffusion experts created
the coffee shop aroma including Costa Mocha Italia blend coffee, freshly baked goods and hot chocolate, and a team of interactive specialists used their expertise to mirror the coffee shop ordering process on a 27’’ HD touchscreen.
Bristol Uni helps launch Food Connections festival
investigate whether drinking alcohol changes people's perceptions of atractiveness – a phenomenon more commonly known as ‘the beer-goggles effect’. Professor Peter
Bristol Food Connections, which will run from 1–11 May, aims to bring together food communities from across Bristol in a celebration of taste and culture. Local suppliers,
sustainable initiatives and cuting-edge research will be showcased alongside market stalls, demonstrations from celebrity chefs and the festival’s very own BBC
Learning Zone. Bristol is the first UK
city to have a Food Policy Council and Good Food Plan, and Bristol Food Connections aims to build on this pioneering atitude towards the produce we consume. The University of
Bristol’s Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group will set up shop at three Dawkins Ales pubs across Bristol to
Barham, from the School of Physics, will give a talk entitled ‘Molecular cuisine: what is it and should we encourage the use of science in the kitchen?’ where he will discuss various innovations, including how vacuum distillation can extract flavour from foods and how liquid nitrogen can be used to cool products and create dramatic effects. Professor Barham
introduced chef Heston Blumenthal to many of the scientific techniques he famously combines with gastronomy and the talk will discuss how these innovations have been used and adapted.
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