Labor challenges are one part of restaurant management that doesn’t seem to let up. From perpetual wage increases to sometimes unreliable staff, it can be difficult to balance the cost of having a fully trained, efficient workforce with the cost of having a delicious, craveable menu, all while turning a profit. Often, one aspect of the equation suffers—too few staff and customers can create a less-than-ideal experience, but too dull of a menu and they may not come back.
One way that operators can battle labor challenges while still menuing unique dishes is by working with versatile ingredients that can be used across day and menu parts. Versatile ingredients help stretch a restaurant’s food budget while still allowing for chef creativity and innovation.
Versatile ingredients for simplified menus
Some of the most popular chain restaurants have found unique and efficient ways to use ingredients already on the menu to create trending signature items and enticing LTOs. For instance, consider Taco Bell’s success—by combining their core ingredients, such as beans, tortillas, cheese, ground beef or chicken, with unique sauces and toppings, the chain can save on food costs while creating whole new menu items. The result? Customers continue to come back again and again.
Carrying this idea to your restaurant can help save money on labor and prep, while still allowing for menu innovation and tasty eats to be served.
Appealing to all generations helps a restaurant’s success, too. By menuing familiar ingredients that can be used across the menu, kitchens can create unique, globally-influenced dishes for younger diners, while also offering classic preparations for older diners. Noon Mediterranean, a fast-casual eatery with 19 locations across the country, lists turkey-mushroom meatballs as one of the protein options for its grain bowls, pitas or salads. With optional sauces including hot harissa, charred baba ghanoush, green pea hummus, roasted red pepper and spicy cilantro, this dish is perfect for younger diners looking to step outside of their comfort zone a bit as well as consumers who seek out a familiar flavor adventure.
Versatile ingredients also make it easier to limit the number of SKUs in a restaurant—by utilizing fewer products, operators can simplify their inventorying process.
Menu items featuring versatile proteins such as turkey can also appeal to health-conscious diners, too. Eighty-nine percent of consumers say they think turkey is healthier than beef or pork, while 68% say they think it’s healthier than chicken, according to Technomic’s 2017 Center of the Plate: Poultry report. Including turkey in dishes that span the menu, such as all-day breakfast options, can be a way to cater to a variety of consumers.
Cross-utilization across the menu
Focusing on versatile ingredients means there’s more opportunity to use them across dayparts and menu parts. For instance, turkey bacon can be used both during the morning at breakfast as a side, as well as during lunchtime to lighten up a BLT or club sandwich. It can also be added to appetizer menus as a topping for potato skins or loaded fries or as a better-for-you take on bacon-wrapped dates for an upscale twist.
This approach helps to keep food costs down, which is a growing challenge for restaurant operators. Eighty-seven percent of operators report their food costs have increased in the last five years, with 66% saying the reason for the increase is due to commodity cost increases, according to Technomic's January 2017 Operator Economic Realities webinar. What’s more, cross-utilizing ingredients can also help control labor training costs by simplifying the number of items on a menu, since there are fewer ingredients and dishes for new staff to become familiar with.
For operators looking to control food and labor costs, menuing versatile ingredients is a great way to do both—the menus can still be creative and delicious, but staff will have a smaller list of ingredients to learn how to prepare.
This post is sponsored by Butterball Foodservice