Food

Returning Customers and Labor Shortages Push QSRs Toward Versatile Fixes

QSRs are confronting a dramatic drop in hiring and employee retention, and streamlining ingredients to prep dishes more quickly, efficiently, and consistently is one way operations short on staff can drive profit.
Bunge Loders Croklaan

While restaurants are welcoming a surge in business, they’re simultaneously confronting a dramatic drop in hiring and retaining employees. According to the National Restaurant Association, 57 percent of restaurant operators rated recruitment and retention of employees as their top challenge. Owners and operators are doing everything they can to attract employees – including offering signing bonuses, perks, and flexible schedules – and finding ways to serve the influx of returning customers with a smaller workforce.

To address their current labor shortages, restaurants are optimizing their operations. In the front of house, operators are condensing hours, optimizing their offerings, and even limiting service with to-go and carryout only. Streamlining ingredients to prep dishes more quickly, efficiently, and consistently is one way QSRs short on staff can drive profit while meeting customer expectations. Liquid butter alternatives (LBAs) and pan sprays are extremely versatile products that perform multiple duties while reducing time spent on prep and clean-up, allowing kitchens to do more with less.

Bunge Loders Croklaan, a leading producer of oil and fats for foodservice operators, offers products in both the liquid butter alternative and pan spray categories. Golden Award® Buttery Flavored Oil, an LBA, can be used for various kitchen applications like sauteing and pan frying, grilling, and baking to add efficiencies in the kitchen. Using an LBA allows short-staffed kitchens to operate efficiently by eliminating preparation steps and simplifying recipe complexity. Golden Award’s rich buttery taste and authentic buttery appearance make it a great substitute for butter and is a versatile foundation for sauces and other menu items. EZ Coat®, a non-stick cooking spray, is ideal for sauteing and broiling, basting and browning, baking, stir frying, and even kitchen cleanup. Pan sprays offer QSRs the convenience of another multi-function product that is essential for any high paced kitchen environment. EZ Coat is available in three formats: Butter Flavored, All Purpose, and High Heat, providing solutions for a variety of applications. Chefs who want to try Golden Award or EZ Coat can save with $100 rebates for purchases in the final three months of 2021.

This post is sponsored by Bunge Loders Croklaan

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