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Hospitality Magazine July Edition 2008.

The full content of this article is available here with thanks to the author and publishers of the Hospitality Magazine.

By Ken Burgin

Another group of enthusiastic Australian restaurateurs, hotel and club food and beverage managers, chefs and other hospitality professionals have returned home from this year’s National Restaurant Association Hotel Motel Show in Chicago. Five years on, repeat visits are common amongst those who have joined our annual Profitable Hospitality Trends Tour to the US. According to Tim Sanford, Purchasing Manager of The Prince Hospitality Group, and third time attendee, participation in the tour has provided an opportunity to source innovative products and equipment not available locally with significant savings. “There is the potential to save thousands of dollars on equipment and supplies if you do your homework, which far outweighs the cost of the tour. Traveling as part of this tour also offers a great opportunity to observe at close quarters the way restaurants operate, and speak with industry experts, which would not be possible on your own.”

The 2008 tour group was dynamic, motivated and on a mission. Some, such as the teams from Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) and The Prince Hospitality Group had a clear agenda long before they left Australia. Others came with a completely open mind on an exciting journey of discovery. One thing they had in common was a formidable energy and focus. Intent on making valuable contacts, discovering new equipment and technology, tapping into the wealth of information from seminars and meetings with industry leaders, they hit the ground running and did not stop!

Domenic Di Deo, National Food Operations Manager ALH - which operates more than 270 hotels and neighbourhood pubs, including Australia's largest steakhouse, the Breakfast Creek Hotel in Brisbane - a team of state food operations managers, and Geoff Atkinson from Beak a la Carte - a meat supplier to ALH in Queensland - were focussed on an experiential ‘taste’ of all things char-grill related.

Early in the booking process Domenic prepared a brief and communicated to the PH team the particular focus of the tour for the ALH team. The latest in kitchen equipment; discussions with exec chefs and managers at leading US steakhouses such as the Weber Grill Restaurant, and Smith and Wollensky; learning how they ‘do steak’ in the US. Profitable Hospitality responded with a number of customised hospitality and back of house events, specially designed to meet their needs.

Domenic said, “I thought the tour would be a great way to discover if there were any cutting edge innovations and trends that were being set, not only in the US, but other parts of the world that had representatives at the NRA show in Chicago. The back-of-house tours of large chain operations were very relevant to a company like ALH, which operates in a similar fashion. My team and I managed to make some valuable contacts at the NRA show, which we are already initiating to implement into our existing food business. I felt it was a truly worthwhile venture.”

Craig Penglase, Kitchen Manager from The Prince Hospitality Group also prepped the PH team ahead of time. His agenda was to meet with senior management of the Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. LEYE currently owns, licenses or manages more than 60 establishments in Illinois, Arizona, Maryland, Virginia, Minnesota, Georgia and Nevada, with each restaurant being run on an owner operator model, supported behind the scenes by LEYE.

Tim Sanford and Craig Penglase wasted no time upon their arrival at the show and deals were done on the first day. “Over the past years I have established an excellent network of suppliers to support our business into the future” said Tim Sanford. “An interesting upshot is that I now also have major spirits and wine importers asking me which local distributors /agencies would be the most effective vehicle with the right marketing synergies, to best represent their products in Australia?!”

Closer to home, and an unexpected bonus, Rob Morrison from Frankston RSL in Victoria discovered a supplier of premium Wagyu beef in Darling Downs, NSW, when he visited the Austrade Stand where Restaurant &Catering Australia was promoting the Savour Australia brand  - and he was delighted to find the Penfolds range as well!

Unique products and time saving technology was of interest to Tony and Pina Lembo from WA’s historic Caversham House reception centre, while Paul and Karen Jubb, brother Tony and his wife Jo came seeking the latest equipment, technology, and ideas for their three hotels in Tasmania, South Australia and Brisbane, as well as Iso Bar nightclub and new cafe in Tasmania. Michael Foulkes, from Cabravale Diggers Club and winner of the CMAA Bursary was keen to discover the latest trends and opportunities to introduce faster service, and use technology to reduce labour costs in high volume operations. Rob Morrison was looking for renovation ideas for his function centre, as well as wine merchandising and sales ideas. Geoff Domenech from Brisbane’s Baquette Restaurant, Donna Stevenson, from Sutherland Tradies Club and Stuart Walton from Sydney Turf Club looked to network, explore the show and soak up the seminars, covering topics from technology and marketing through to menu planning, 'The Kitchen of the Future', and staff retention issues. Finding creative ways of increasing profits immediately in their operations back home was exciting!

Donna Stevenson, who was offered this trip as a training incentive from Sutherlands Tradies Club, said shortly after her return,  “I have proved in the very first week back that the contacts, information and insights gathered were conducive to the profitability of our business. The Brasserie (the club’s main dining facility) is closing down for one month due to renovations. The Eureka Café, which I manage, will be the sole supplier of food during this period. Without being a part of the 2008 Profitable Hospitality Tour and the access it provided to ideas, resources and industry experts, I would have been reliant on the internal information available and have danced to a familiar tune. Instead, I have created opportunities for increased capacity, and up-selling our offerings, which have been applauded by the board.”

The Back of House visits this year were varied and offered something for everyone.

At the Weber Grill Restaurant, where char-grill cooking rules and the portions overwhelm, conversation between Exec. Chef Ben Moore and our group drew out the secrets of specialist cooking over live coals. More than 1400 covers and an average spend of $30 plus per person, with four to six seating rotations a night has this medium size restaurant humming. Huge steaks and ribs, paired with tempranillo, californian syrah and chardonnay were delicious.

A visit to asian concept Ben Pao was again voted a highlight. Ben Pao is a superb example of a unique asian concept: ‘unauthentic’ asian cuisine, developed from asian research and influence, and cooked by chefs with little or no asian cooking experience! The resulting gourmet delights were delicious - although three traditionalists questioned that even if the concept and implementation was hugely profitable, was it right to adapt a particular cultural cuisine? Most of us decided absolutely! It would be hard to knock back a multi-million turnover, for the sake of such a technicality.

Following a tour of the kitchen – right in the thick of things as it turned out, with the kitchen team firing up for dinner - Ed Culleeny, President of Ben Pao, and John Buchanan, Senior Vice President of the Lettuce Entertain You Group and President of Lettuce Entertain You Consulting, spoke with us for more than an hour. Both these highly skilled operators have extensive experience in restaurant management and shared their knowledge generously - discussing openly the issues we all share, such as employment difficulties and the challenge of creating a work culture that appeals to a more demanding (and scarce) workforce.

John’s advice was to become an Employer of Choice. He challenged our thinking, exploring ways in which, even in a smaller operation, we could implement measures to achieve that goal, leaving us with a final word of wisdom that resonated with the group. “You can’t change 40 things at once, but you can change 40 things once, to make a difference.”

For Craig Penglase, the opportunity to chat with the architects of such a great success story was invaluable. Following the group meeting, one on one dialogue with both John and Ed left Craig feeling motivated and confident that the challenges along the road to success are well worth the effort, and in a tough industry, he is heading in the right direction in his own career choices and decisions here in Australia. Ed Culleeny and John Buchanan were also impressed by what Craig and the Prince Group are doing at Circa and Longgrain down under!

Our farewell dinner in Chicago was at Osteria Via Stato. Delicious house made antipasti, pasta, vegetables, fish, chicken and meat dishes, cheese platters and dessert offered us a wonderful journey through the traditional ways of preparing Italian fare, highlighting the freshest ingredients of the day from local and artisanal producers and growers. We will see more and more restaurants embracing this concept, both in the US and in Australia as the cost of food production and transport become increasingly prohibitive.

Chef David DiGregorio offered great insight into the success of yet another brilliant concept, focusing on traditional, time honored practices. This was the best hospitality experience yet according to Domenic Di Deo, and, better still definitely authentic – he should know! Domenic, a true Italian at heart, instantly recognized authentic Italian food as the unmistakable garlic, olive oil and cured prosciutto aromas filled the dining room. Domenic’s conversation with David revealed that their families both originated from the region of Abruzzi in Italy and that their “passion” for food came from their mothers and grandmothers who passed on their simple yet flavorsome recipes. They spoke of how passion and authenticity can never be replaced by imitating the original.

It’s not just in restaurants such as Osteria Via Stato that fresh is beautiful! Things have changed dramatically in the US in the past twelve months - at least superficially - with fresher choices showing up everywhere. No matter which way you turn, fresh produce is in abundance, even prominently displayed at Starbucks competing with the sugary muffins, which were walking out the door with the coffee just one year earlier! This is unlikely to impact the mass market however as food costs soar in the US - junk food is always going to be a cheaper option!

As we enter our sixth year of planning and preparation for the 2009 tour, it is pleasing to reflect on the achievements of so many of our recent and past participants.  There are some inspiring success stories amongst our extended group of travelers, who never seem to lose the passion for the work they do and the desire to do it better.