A Menu For All Seasons
What can operators do to mitigate rising costs?
It’s fair to say that 2017 was a particularly challenging year for many operators. The rate of expansion that has been occurring across the sector in previous years definitely slowed down. In some instances plans to increase estate sizes have been put on hold whilst in other cases we have even seen well-known brands close sites. Whilst the circumstances behind each of these decisions needs to be viewed on its own merits it is fair to say that rising costs have played a significant part in most if not all of these situations.
Increases in business rates and wages aside one of the most notable factors which contributed to rising cost in 2017 came from the escalation in food inflation. Figures from Lynx Purchasing and CGA in the Autumn last year suggested that this was running at just under 10%. All the indications are that as the pound continues to remains weak versus other currencies this state of affairs is likely to continue through 2018.
So what can operators do to mitigate against this?
365 days a year
It doesn’t matter whether you are an independent restaurant or a high street household name everyone will tell you that the key to driving repeat footfall is consistency. That said there is a big difference between consistency and always being the same. One of the traps that some operators fall into is becoming wedded to the same menu week in week out. Their argument is that this is what their regular customers expect and if they change it this will somehow upset their ‘loyal’ guests.
A parallel to this can be seen in our supermarkets where the increase in globalisation means that stores now stock a similar range of fruit and vegetables all year round. Once upon a time you would only expect to see strawberries on sale between May and September, at the very latest. Now they are as likely to be available in January as they are in June.
On the surface this may seem like progress however as a business if you try and follow suit you will become a hostage to the fluctuations in the price of many of your staple ingredients. What it can then mean is that your cost base will vary considerably on a month by month basis as you try and deliver the same menu whilst having to source products from different parts of the world as they are not in season and therefore not available in the UK.
Plan around the seasons
Hardly rocket science but one of the simplest ways to address this is by planning your menu more sympathetically around what is in season. Poor harvests notwithstanding it should also mean that these seasonal products should also be cheaper thereby helping to keep down your costs.
In some cases this may require a simple change to some of the items on your menu. Let’s be honest using different seasonal vegetables over the course of a year to accompany a traditional piece British meat is hardly going to raise an eyebrow. For example as February approaches, should you serve them, you should be looking for alternatives to the likes of cabbage, cauliflower, leeks and parsnips as they all begin to go out of season.
In other situations when looking at your menu it may be necessary to show a bit more creativity as you may need to replace one key ingredient with another. In these circumstances it can often be worth turning this change into a benefit rather than trying to slip it through un-noticed.
The other important thing to remember is that it is not just fruit and vegetables which go in and out of season. Fish, meat as well as herbs all have times of the year when their abundance can significantly reduce their price. Around January and February game such as pheasant, wild duck and goose are going out of season and fish such as hake, plaice and mackerel will be very expensive. If these or similar items remain on your menu then you margins will be significantly impacted.
Sweet success
A key area not to neglect when it comes to seasonality is your sweets or desert offering. Often an afterthought for operators and customers alike this is often a part of the menu where costs can creep up almost unnoticed. Although in isolation the quantities you are buying in may seem small compared to other ingredients, increased costs in this area can all add up. As with vegetables it may be possible to switch almost seamlessly between one type of fruit and another for some dishes, whereas with others a complete re-think might be necessary.
The key as with all your dishes is to keep on top of your costings and to make sure that the margins you set out to achieve when you designed your menus are being maintained as the seasons come and go. Regularly checking on what each dish is actually costing may sound over the top but it is vitally important. Only by doing this can you and your team be in a position to be able to make any necessary changes to ensure that the margins you have planned for are actually being delivered.
Finally
When it comes to your drinks offer the same variations in seasonality don’t usually apply. That said it’s still worth keeping an eye on costs especially when it comes to wine. The majority of wine drunk in this country comes from overseas and as such changes in exchange rates can and will have an impact.
Just because the cost of the South American or South African merlot or shiraz on your current wine list was particularly good this time last year doesn’t mean that it will always be the case.