R&C December 2011

Restaurant

Casually

<The best way to handle customer complaints, page 19 <Selling a price rise, page 29 <The best wines of summer, page 40<The power of packaging (to

change the world), page 37 <The latest and greatest products, page 34

John Kanis, Julie Manfredi-Hughes and others on the new informality in fine dining. By John Newton.

Wisdom from Alessandro Pavoni:

“In Italy you learn Italian cuisine. Here chefs learn a

little bit of 10 or 15 different cuisines, and sometimes they

get a bit confused. You need a whole life to learn a cuisine.”

Official Journal of

Restaurant & Catering

Catering december 2011/january 2012 $6.95 GST incl.

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In this issue ...Upfront

6 From the Association John Hart on ideas from our industry for boosting the tourist trade, and Brien Trippas on the roller coaster of Christmas trade

8 News and events The I Love Food Awards are back; three strikes legislation; and more...

Wisdom19 Talkback

Can a complaint really be spun into a win for both the customer and the restaurant owner?

29 The price is rightPutting up prices doesn’t have to mean customer complaints if you do it wisely

32 What I’ve learnt

The owner of Ormeggio At the Spit and Spiedo Restaurant & Bar explains why you should have too many cooks, but only one cuisinewisely

Stuff21 2012 Product Guide

Restaurant & Catering magazine’s first annual product guide, featuring everything you need for the new year

34 New productsThe latest and greatest stuff

37 The whole packageEnvironmentally friendly packaging is increasingly expected of businesses, and continual technological innovations are making more options available

40 Summer lovin’What the best dressed wine lists are wearing this summer

42 Mad Cow Interior designer Paul Hecker embraced the Palm Springs modernist aesthetic when conceptualising Mad Cow, the signature restaurant of Sydney’s Ivy complex

Contents

December 2011/January 2012 $6.95 GST incl.

Lo-starch serviceHow does restaurant service at the upper end tread the fine line between formal and friendly, relax without laying back so far it falls over?

Cover Story14

RESTAURANT & CATERING 5

6 RESTAURANT & CATERING

Restaurant & Catering magazine is published under licence on behalf of Restaurant & Catering by Engage Custom Media, Suite 4.08, The Cooperage, 56 Bowman Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009 www.engagemedia.com.au

Editorial Director: Rob Johnson Creative Director: Tim Donnellan Sub-editor:KerrynRamsayContributors: Sharon Aris, Nicole Azzopardi, John Burfitt, Ben Canaider, Kellie Morle, Kerryn Ramsey, Danielle Veldre

Commercial Director: Mark Brown Sales Director: Andrew Gray Direct: (02) 9660 6995 ext 502Fax: (02) 9518 5600Mobile: 0423 762 358Email: [email protected] all editorial, subscription and advertising enquiries, ph: 1300 722 878Print Post approved PP: 2255003/06505, ISSN 1442-9942

©2011 Engage Custom Media. Views expressed in Restaurant & Catering magazine are not necessarily those of Restaurant & Catering or that of the publisher, editor or Engage Custom Media.

Printed by Bright Print Group

It is amazing how freely the ideas flow when our industry is given the chance to open up about what can be done to improve our lot. An opportunity to do so was created recently when the NSW Government invited input from the food, wine and hospitality sectors on how visitor

expenditure could be doubled by 2020. The response from the industry was that there is a combination of demand and supply factors. On the supply side the industry was keen to spread the additional visitation into places and times where there is unmet demand (lunches, mid-week, and regional locations).

To stimulate additional spend the industry is asking that the tourism authorities actively promote food and wine offering to visitors. On the supply side, the industry has been a great pains to point out that IR pressures are placing stresses on the cost of doing business. There is upward pressure on costs to a point where many businesses are marginal.

Whilst not a State Government issue, the reinforcement of penalty rates on Sundays and Public Holidays is causing many businesses to close on these days. This change in trading is causing significant challenges for visitors over weekend and during holiday periods as they find it increasingly harder to find somewhere to eat. We can now only hope that some of the thinking leads to change.

John Hart CEO, Restaurant & Catering

Restaurant & Catering Restaurant & Catering’s mission: To lead and represent the Australian restaurant and catering industry.

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Having our sayThe NSW Government recently invited our input on doubling visitor expenditure by 2020

from the Association

7,661 - CAB Audited as at May 23, 2011


Restaurant & Catering AustraliaSuite 17, 401 Pacific Highway, Artarmon NSW 20641300 RCAuST (722 878) Ph: (02) 9966 0055. Fax: 1300 722 396,Web: www.restaurantcater.asn.auRestaurant Guide: www.restaurant.org.auCaterers Guide: www.caterer.org.auEmail: [email protected]

President: Brien Trippas (NSW)Senior Vice President: Kevin Gulliver (QlD)Junior Vice President: Terry Soukoulis (SA)Treasurer: Richard Harper (VIC)Chief Executive Officer: John HartR&C is a federation of the following associations, working together on national issues on behalf of their members.

Restaurant & Catering NSWPh: 1300 722 878. Fax: (02) 1300 722 396Email: [email protected]: Ian Martin

Restaurant & Catering QLDPh: 1300 722 878. Fax: (07) 3252 7554Email: [email protected]: Peter Summers

Restaurant & Catering ACTPh: 1300 722 878. . Fax: (02) 9211 3800Email: [email protected]: Fiona Wright

Restaurant & Catering SAPh: 8351 7837. Fax: (08) 8351 7839Email: [email protected]: Cath KerryChief Executive Officer: Sally Neville

Restaurant & Catering TasPh: 1300 722 878. . Fax: (03) 6224 7988Email: [email protected]: Phil CaponGeneral Manager: Steve Old

Restaurant & Catering VicPh: 1300 722 878. Fax: (03) 9654 5286Email: [email protected]: Matteo Pignatelli

Restaurant & Catering WAPh: 1300 722 878. Fax: (08) 9328 7366Email: [email protected]: Warwick lavis


The Christmas roller coasterBusiness boomed in October, but peak business times are lining up with greater penalty rates

As usual the run up to the holiday season presents real challenges for our businesses. I am sure you all grapple with these same issues each year—hoping that bookings come in and that business holds up whilst trying the recruit enough staff to meet the demands that

this very busy period presents. In general, levels of trade are hitting higher peaks and lower troughs. The statistics suggest that this is because more of our revenues are coming from the householders and less from tourists and corporates. As householders have a narrower window in which to spend, the weekends, evenings and holiday periods are becoming busier and the down-time more difficult to fill. October ABS data shows that this trend is continuing strongly with 2011 results eclipsing 2010 by a whopping 7.3 per cent—over 10 per cent in New South Wales. One of the challenges is that the stronger peak times are coming at a higher cost as penalty rates harden. This means we must be more vigilant to manage our staffing levels so that our busy periods don’t cost us more than we earn. It is becoming harder to operate a hospitality business. It is a positive sign that our business operators are more experienced today that they were five years ago. let’s hope that means we will have more businesses in business in the longer term. Happy holidays!

Brien TrippasPresident, Restaurant & Catering


Foundation Associate Members, and Associate Members: ALSCO • AON • APRA • Australian Mangoes • Bartercard • Coca-Cola Amatil • H&L Australia • Luigi Bormioli • Vittoria Coffee

Platinum Associate Members: American Express International • Bidvest • Westpac Banking Corporation

Gold Associate Members: Fine Wine Partners • Goodman Fielder Food Services • Lion Nathan • Meat & Livestock Australia • Treasury Wine Estates

Diamond Associate Member:

HOSTPLUS

olmesglen graduate apprentice Colin Wilson has won best apprentice in Australia at the 2011 Australian Training Awards. The Austra-lian Training Awards held on 25 November in Brisbane are the peak national awards for

the vocational education and training (VET) sector, recognising and rewarding organisations and individuals for their outstand-ing contribution to skilling Australia.

Colin worked in various jobs and industries for 20 years before deciding to return to study as an apprentice chef. Not an easy decision considering he has a wife and child. He com-pleted his Certificate III in Commercial Cookery in November 2010 whilst also working as an apprentice chef at the well known Chateau Yering. Executive chef Mathew Macartney says Colin “is an outstanding apprentice—he has a natural flair for food and a passion to succeed”. This is proven by his long list of awards and achievements. In 2011 he was a finalist at the Holmesglen Awards Festival for the Outstanding Apprentice Award category and then went on to win the Victorian State Training Award.

“The fact that Colin won both the Victoria State Training Award and the Australian Training Award is breathtaking. Colin has maximised the outcome of his course and achieved a great deal from his efforts,” said Greg O’Shea, hospitality teaching centre manger at Holmesglen.

Colin has had the opportunity to cook with top chefs includ-ing Gordon Ramsay, Neil Perry, Tobie Puttock, Inaki Aizitarte, Sat Bains and Matt Moran. In addition, in 2010 he was one of four winning apprentice chefs announced in the Restaurant & Catering Victoria 2010 Thierry Marx Career Development

Award. As such he travelled to France to realise his dream of working with Michelin Star Chef Thierry Marx at his 18th Cen-tury Chateau Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux.

“I have always had a passion and interest in food and along with the support of my wife and family I made a significant career change and have dedicated myself to cooking—it is my first love and my goal is to one day run my own restaurant,” said Colin. His achievements whilst studying have put him in good stead for a very successful career as a chef.

The Thierry Marx winner has been named as the country’s top apprentice at the Australian training Awards

Future talent

News&events

Three strikes and you’re outRestaurant & Catering Australia has applauded the NSW Government’s Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Hospitality and Racing for passing the key legislation, the Three Strikes & You’re Out scheme.

The Association believes this legislation will help reduce licensed premises that are associated with alcohol-related harm in some of the late-night venues in Sydney.

Mr John Hart, chief executive officer of Restaurant & Catering says, “In general, restaurants and cafes are deemed to be low risk and the solution to reducing alcohol-related harms rather than being the problem.”

He went on to say, “The predominant activity for restaurants and cafes is to serve food to consumers and therefore urges the NSW Government to promote restaurants and cafes in high-risk precincts to help reduce the alcohol-related harm, by offering patrons an opportunity to eat something before going into a pub or club for a night out.”


Colin Wilson has added an Australian Training Award to his Thierry Marx award and his state Training Award.

News


&eventsChef JamThe Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has announced a series of industry-only events to run during the festival in March 2012. One of the events, Chef Jam, involves an opportunity for industry to hear from some of the globe’s hottest chefs on the future of food.

During an afternoon of dynamic presenta-tions from: René Redzepi, Noma, Copenha-gen; David Chang, Momofuku, NY; Massimo Bottura, Osteria Francescana, Modena, Italy (recently awarded third Michelin star); and Sydney’s Neil Perry and Peter Gilmore, attend-ees will hear talks on topics such as ‘Secrets to success and longevity in the Australian restaurant industry’ (Neil Perry), ‘Eating with your eyes’ (Peter Gilmore) and ‘Conceptual Food: From inspiration to execution’ (Mas-simo Bottura). The sessions will be followed by networking drinks—an opportunity to rub shoulders with these culinary greats.

Chef Jam takes place on Monday 12 March, Melbourne Convention Centre; tickets only $45. Tickets on sale 2 December.

Mentor MelbourneReturning to the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Mentor Melbourne gives hospital-ity students the chance to get up close and personal with some of Melbourne’s top chefs, restaurants and food businesses. It’s limited to 12 per session, and students/apprentices can join the likes of Philippe Mouchel at PM24, Gail Donovan at Donovan’s and Greg Malouf at MoMo, to find out all the inside info and tips to succeeding in the hospitality industry. Top-ics include managing a restaurant, building a long-term career and kitchen operations. This exclusive event for industry is only $35 and includes lunch with the chefs/restaurateurs. Bookings available from the Melbourne Food Festival from 2 December.

David Chang from Momofuku will join Chef Jam at the Melbourne Food Festival.

1-3 February 2012

register to visit aiff.net.au

For restaurants, motels, hotels & clubs

source new Furniture +Furnishings

A special feature of

sydney exhibition centre

MLA beefs up its appsJust in time for the summer barbecue season, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has partnered with award-winning digital agency Reactive to take the guesswork out of cooking beef, creating the free Beef Essentials app.

Beef Essentials offers hundreds of ways to prepare different cuts of beef and quashes the age-old debate of “just how do you cook the perfect steak!?’

Acting as the perfect kitchen-hand, all the help you need is right at your fingertips. Extensive research was carried out by Sensory Solutions to come up with the key information consum-ers want to know about cooking their beef. Notable features of the Beef Essentials app include: Cooking methods for a range of different beef cuts (e.g. barbecue, roast, stir fry, casserole etc) How to cook the perfect steak – when to turn, how long to rest the meat before serving Diagram of a beef carcass that pinpoints where different cuts are located Ability to save and name your favourite selections

“We are excited by the launch of MLA’s new iPhone app,” said MLA general marketing manager Glen Feist. “Our aim is to make sure Australians have access to the best possible red meat produce and we see this app as a great complementary tool to ensure your meat is cooked to perfection.”

Reactive general manager in Sydney, Jason Ross, said, “With summer already upon us, we believe that the Beef Essentials is a must have app for any kitchen”.

The Beef Essentials app is available from the iTunes store.


OzHarvest delivers 10 million mealsTo celebrate having delivered over 10 million meals to those in need, OzHarvest is marking this amazing milestone by calling out for Australia’s favourite leftover recipes for its inaugural cookbook, Ten Million Meals.

Ten Millions Meals will be encouraging everyday Auss-ies to send in their favourite recipes for using leftovers and will also feature recipes created by friends of OzHar-vest such as the Barossa’s own Maggie Beer, Matt Moran and Neil Perry.

Maggie Beer, a staunch supporter of OzHarvest, and a lover of recreating leftover meals, says a recipe book like this not only en-courages more Australians to cook at home, but also helps to save thousands of tonnes of leftover food from ending up as landfill.

Maggie says: “There’s so much that can be done with leftover ingredients from your fridge! A leftover chook can be used to make wonderful tasty sandwiches and don’t waste the carcase; add some vegetables and make a chicken stock for a soup or to stir through your next risotto. Take up the leftover challenge and send your recipes into OzHarvest today.”

Ten Million Meals is due to be released in mid-2012.All recipes can be sent to [email protected], but

please do so by 19 December.

Maggie Beer will be celebrating leftovers for OzHarvest.

Feel the loveXYZnetworks’ LifeStyle FOOD Channel has announced that its biennial I Love FOOD Awards will return with exciting develop-ments in February 2012. Australia’s largest people’s choice restaurant awards, the I Love FOOD Awards allow everyday Aussies to support their favourite burger joint, cafe, treasured cheap eat or ethnic restaurant.

Last year the industry requested the Awards launch earlier in the year to promote and drive consumer traffic. LifeStyle FOOD has delivered with the Awards moving to a new launch date of February 2012. Establishments could be awarded $5000 cash and a LifeStyle FOOD media campaign valued at over $20,000 just by getting involved. Customers could also be in a draw to win $10,000 cash just by voting.

LifeStyle FOOD is creating a free marketing kit to help establishments promote themselves. Plus in 2012 customers can vote with a dedicated mobile application and streamlined online voting. To stay updated with all our Award and industry news, go online to lifestyle.com.au/trade.

If your customers love you, you could win cash and prizes

from LifeStyle FOOD.

Dec 2011—Jan 2012

Don’t throw out day-old bread, pastries or cakes. Donate them to the Gold Coast’s Food Aid for the

needy. See foodaid.org.au

what’s on

17January issue of SBS Feast

magazine goes on sale this week. sbs.com.au/food/feast

16Dessert chefs can take part

in the French Entremets course by Paul Kennedy on Dec 14-15

at Melbourne’s Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School.

savourschool.com.au

Dec15

Perfect time to promote your wares—gift cards, hampers,

and products will be snapped up in the pre-Christmas rush.

23Get an art-and-wine fix by visiting

Sculpture in the Vineyards at Hunter Valley wineries until Jan

26. winecountry.com.au

22Tetsuya’s vinaigrette and Mangan’s extra virgin olive oil adorn the Chef

Delights gift box, $169.95, from Charity Hampers. charityhampers.

com.au/chef-delights

21Hospitality operators and

designers can apply for London’s International Restaurant

& Bar Design Awards. restaurantandbardesignawards.

com

To produce a personalised restaurant calendar for 2012, check out the design-savvy

options at Blurb. Go to blurb.com and click on ‘food’ to see examples.

18

Staff are smiling—it’s another busy public holiday.

27Encourage staff and friends to cut down on Christmas waste

by reusing and correctly storing leftover fare. For tips, visit National Leftovers Day at foodwise.com.au

26For the seventh Christmas Day, Mecca Bah Melbourne runs its Salvation Army Christmas Day

Brunch. meccabah.com.au/charity.html

25Keep calm and carry on—

encourage waitstaff to be attentive and courteous all day and night,

no matter how cranky the customers!

24

Cheer up diners by offering the ultimate hangover cure—coffee. Go to newscientist.com and key in ‘Michael Oshinsky’ (of Thomas

Jefferson University, Philadelphia) for his startling results.

Jan1Get ready for the biggest Saturday

night of the year, with plenty of bubblies and taste treats on offer

for revellers. Happy New Year, RCA members!

31Get in quick to book your stand

at the Brisbane’s Hospitality & Gaming Expo on March

28-29, with its debut Tastes precinct for food providores. Visit

hospitalityexpo.com.au

29Providores and restaurateurs show their finest fare during The Taste Festival at Hobart’s waterfront on Dec 28-Jan 3.

hobartsummerfestival.com.au

28

Local and regional produce—from quails to cakes—are on offer at the Shoalhaven Food & Wine Show in NSW.

shoalhavenfoodandwine.com.au

7Book early—discount rates are

available for the World Association of Chefs Society congress in South

Korea on May 1-5. Go to wacs2000.org

6Applications for the Australian

International Beer Awards are now open until Feb 10, with winners

announced on May 17. Go to beerawards.com. for more.

5Time to shine, Australian

winemakers. Applications for the 2012 Decanter World Wine Awards

competition is open this month. decanter.com/dwwa

3Ker-ching—yet another public

holiday.

2

Improve your preparation, plating and palate development by joining the Master of Italian

Cuisine program in Calabria, Italy, on Jan 8-April 7. italianculinary.it

Neil Perry produces a seven-course menu at the New York Premium

Food and Wine Dinner during G’Day USA Australia Week on Jan

11-29. australia-week.com

10

11

Sydney Festival boasts spectacular free events in parks, streets and

laneways, while restaurants, cafes and bars reap the benefits. On Jan

7-29. sydneyfestival.org.au

9Bon Appétit’s former editor

Barbara Fairchild talks at the Chef’s Holidays festival in California’s

Yosemite on Jan 8-Feb 2. yosemitepark.com

8

Festivals continue this month with the Gold Coast Food &

Wine Expo on Jan 20-22, Crush in the Adelaide Hills on Jan 29, and Spain’s Madrid Fusion on

Jan 24-26.

15Book now for the numerous

events of SA’s biennial Tasting Australia, which runs from April

26-May 3. tasting-australia.com.au

14Odes to the King will fill the air at the Elvis Poet’s Breakfast during the Parkes Elvis Festival on Jan

11-15 in Central West NSW. parkeselvisfestival.com.au

Bend you elbow at the Strong Arm Beer Stein Lifting Competition

during Schützenfest at Adelaide’s Ellis Park. On Jan 13-14;

schutzenfest.com.au

12 13


20

The stunning Art Deco Roxy Cafe in Bingara (Gwydir Shire) is now ready for lease. Having been extensively renovated, the Cafe with full commercial kitchen offers the flexibility of opportunities including catering to support functions in the adjacent Roxy Art Deco Theatre and function rooms, establishing a leading regional cafe-restaurant operation with indoor – outdoor dining and potentially as a commercial cookery training facility. The Roxy offers many possibilities including flexibility of operating hours.

Gwydir Shire Council is prepared to offer a highly attractive lease arrangement in order to engage the right operator who has the vision and experience to put the Roxy Cafe on the map.

Extensively renovated with brand new unused full commercial kitchen

Adjacent Roxy Art Deco Theatre and function rooms

Indoor and outdoor dining

Potentially as a commercial cookery training facility.

Flexibility of operating hours.

Exciting Restaurant – Cafe and Catering lease

Expressions of interest are now open

Expressions of interest close on Thursday 17th February 2012.

Interested parties should contact the General Manager at Gwydir Shire Council on 02 6724 2000 or email to [email protected] for further information.

cover story

How does restaurant service at the upper end tread the line between formal and friendly? John Newton finds out

t was Julie Manfredi-Hughes, front of house mover and shaper of Manfredi restaurants since The Restaurant in 1983, who first alerted me to something I’d noticed without defining for some time: there had been a subtle shift of service style in the noughties.

Today she is casting a critical eye over the floors at both Bells at Killcare and Balla in The Star. We were talking generally about the Balla start-up and the talk turned to service. Julie told me of the style of service she wants to see on the floor there. “I want service with the starch taken out,” she says. “We have to learn to be up-market without being uptight.”

And as I thought about this, it occurred to me that this really is a difficult juggling act, one in which the word ‘friendly’ has shaped up as pivotal. In the new relaxed service, do we really want the waiter to be our friend?

“Friendly: It’s a big word,” says Tom Sykes of Sydney’s Rock-pool Bar & Grill, Gourmet Traveller’s Maitre d’ of the year for 2010. “You want to be friendly, comforting and nurturing without being their buddy. It’s a very fine line between being relaxed and casual, and getting sloppy if you’re not careful.”

John Kanis, currently juggling the two-hatted Pearl in Mel-bourne’s Richmond and the hot new kid on the block, Chin Chin in Flinders Lane, learned his service chops in America, particularly with the legendary Jeremiah Tower, founder—along with Alice Waters—of Californian Cuisine. Tower’s lesson to his managers

was that in a choice between food and service, service is king.

“He said, ‘here I am, I’ve got James Beard awards for my food, but it’s not about me, it’s about service, making sure that every little detail front of house adds up to a subliminal message that people are getting about how we take care of them so they will come back’,” Kanis recalls.

In America, working with Tower and later in various restaurants with the Kings Seafood company, he found one of the key lessons was the value of training. And in coming back to Australia, and opening Chin Chin, he has applied those lessons. “We have a two-week training program for servers here (at Chin Chin),” he says. “We empower crew members to be decision makers, not robots. It’s a long expensive process, but we’re trying to give them the tools to be successful and to hold them ac-countable for their performance.”

And it works. After a visit to Chin Chin, Melbourne critic John Lethlean pulled Kanis aside and said “for a relaxed environment, this is the most professional ser-vice crew I’ve seen.”

service


Lo-starch

“We have a two-week training program for servers here (at Chin Chin). We empower crew members to be decision makers, not robots. It’s a long expensive process, but we’re trying to give them the tools to be successful.”John Kanis, Pearl Restaurant

+ Bar, Chin Chin PHo

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was that in a choice between food and service, service is king.

“He said, ‘here I am, I’ve got James Beard awards for my food, but it’s not about me, it’s about service, making sure that every little detail front of house adds up to a subliminal message that people are getting about how we take care of them so they will come back’,” Kanis recalls.

In America, working with Tower and later in various restaurants with the Kings Seafood company, he found one of the key lessons was the value of training. And in coming back to Australia, and opening Chin Chin, he has applied those lessons. “We have a two-week training program for servers here (at Chin Chin),” he says. “We empower crew members to be decision makers, not robots. It’s a long expensive process, but we’re trying to give them the tools to be successful and to hold them ac-countable for their performance.”

And it works. After a visit to Chin Chin, Melbourne critic John Lethlean pulled Kanis aside and said “for a relaxed environment, this is the most professional ser-vice crew I’ve seen.”

Lo-starch

John Kanis of Pearl and Chin Chin says

in a choice between food and service,

service is king.

Relaxed and professional? How can you be both? “We made some decisions about what we wanted to do in Chin Chin,” John

says.“It was a conscious decision that while we wanted to retain the service standards, the professionalism, the focus on hospitality, we didn’t want to do it in a stitched-up environment. We allow them to wear their own clothes, we allow them to make suggestions around the menu. By training them, we provide them with the tools to tailor the dining experience in a frenetic environment—Chin Chin can be packed with the bar four deep but everyone’s walking around smiling. They’re happy to come to work. Most restaurants expect 25 per cent drop off in the first couple of months; we’ve had virtually no movement.”

If anyone understands the new casual formality, it’s Maurice Terzini. You could argue that the style had its nascence 20 years ago at Terzini’s Caffé e Cucina in Melbourne’s South Yarra. “That was the success of Caffé e Cucina,” Terzini says today. “At one point there we competed with the Flower Drum and The Latin with service—and we did it in a relaxed envi-ronment. It comes from your product, and the design is important to create that casual formality. We did manage to deliver far beyond the value of the product: value

for money doesn’t always have to be in the food.”Moving to the present, Maurice asserts that,

“For me, the best service in the country happens at Flower Drum. You’re not having dinner with the waiters, but they’re always there—and at the same time, they’re not there.”

The operations manager at Flower Drum is Jason Lui, the winner of The Age Good Food Guide Service excellence Award. When asked about his secrets, he also looked to the past, deferring to the great Gilbert Lau, the original owner of Flower Drum: “I absorbed him like a sponge and did whatever he was doing. Basi-cally he taught me to have my eyes open. To see what’s in front of you. I took that to heart.”

At Flower Drum, Jason says, “We study people—see how they react and interact with each other, whether they’re left handed or right handed, drink quickly or slowly. You take notice of these things.

“And when I train my guys, it’s pretty much the same thing. I tell them to keep their eyes open and pay attention. That said, you have to be careful you’re not over-bearing. There’s a fine line between watching too much and not watching enough.”

And the friendly question? “You play on their field. You let them lead you—if they’re casual, be casual. If they’re formal, you be formal.” Generally, Jason says, “I like to think it’s a bit looser without compromising on service. I’m not into that formal starchy manner. That said, I love to make sure everyone’s being looked after without standing over their shoulders.”

Just as Jason Lui and John Kanis look back to early mentors as influences in shaping their modern service styles, so does Julie Manfredi-Hughes.

“The first time I really fell in love with service was a visit to Berowra Waters Inn when Greg Frazer was run-ning the dining room,” she says. “everything happened in a seamless way and everybody had a different role. And I really enjoyed seeing the food service separated from the wine. Gay (Bilson, co-owner of Berowra Waters Inn) was the first in Australia to relax the French style of fine dining.

“Then I had the good fortune that when Greg left Berowra Waters Inn, he came to work with us for eight months. He said, ‘I’ll teach you everything I know’.”

As for the ‘friendly’ word: “We had a lot of discus-sions about friendly when we were setting up Balla. We talked about things being fun and friendly and fresh—but you have to re-define those terms. It’s to do with roles. With the line staff, what they have to do is to be the liaison between the kitchen and the diner, to impart to the diner what the chef wants them to know about the food they’ve ordered and take the order. When it comes to friendly and accessible, that’s for the


Left: The relaxed formality of Chin Chin is a conscious creation. Opposite page: Julie Manfredi-Hughes and Stefano Manfredi wanted Balla to be upmarket without being uptight.

“The first time I really fell in love with service was a visit to Berowra Waters Inn when Greg Frazer was running the dining room. Everything happened in a seamless way and everybody had a different role.”Julie-Manfredi Hughes, Bells at Killcare

and Balla in The Star

maitre d’ or manager to set the mood for the customers.”But Manfredi-Hughes goes to the Italian, as might be expect-

ed, to find the word that could have been invented to describe this new style of service. “We used the word sprezzatura to sum up the idea of being relaxed and fun and easy,” she says. The word comes from a book published in 1528: The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione. It says that the ideal courtier (read waiter/maitre d’) displays sprezzatura, a quality which, “conceals art and presents what is done and said as if it was done without effort and virtually without thought”.

“It’s the art of being nonchalant,” says Manfredi-Hughes, “but there’s a lot of work and serious focus behind that noncha-lance. That’s what we’re working on.” That would be the quality that many floor managers would be working on. And it takes into account another aspect of service that the very best restau-rateurs are acutely aware of: a restaurant is a theatre, and noth-ing comes by chance. The best waiters, those who can display that quality of sprezzatura, are the best actors.

In a chapter that delves deeply into the entire waiter/waited on phenomenon in his book Dishing it Out (Reaktion Books 2011), Robert Appelbaum concludes, “In order to be happy in your job (in service) you have to do a good job and in order to do a good job, you have to embrace what you are doing… you have to be amused at your own performance.” Work hard, hide the effort. A formula for the new service.

cover story


The other part of the theatre of Balla: grilled veal tongue and salsa verde.

the

roomprivate

Knowledge is like sugar. A little goes a long way. Here at The Private Room, we’re all for spreading more. As a member, you’ll discover fresh insights to help your business bloom. Detailed customer profi les show when and how they spend. We share real-life research on the hot topics affecting hospitality. And your peers reveal how they are using these insights to produce greater returns.See for yourself how sweet business can be. Register today. amexprivateroom.com.au/rca

Bread and butter. The icing on the cake.

merican hospitality training guru Ruby Newell-Legner makes the claim that when it comes to dissatisfied customers, a typi-cal business will only hear from about four per cent of them. The other 96 per cent just go away and 91 per cent never come back. Australians, however, are notorious for avoiding confrontation and not wanting to create a fuss when it comes to customer service. Lisa Murray of Revive Business Coaching in Brisbane wonders if a local figure might therefore reveal an

even lower pattern of feedback than the US example.“All kinds of figures are bandied about regarding how many customers do complain, but

one thing I do know that’s wrong is to assume those people who walk away don’t say any-thing, because they do,” Murray says.

“They will tell their friends about their experience. They will tell their workmates about their experience. And these days, they will very often go online to a restaurant review web-site and tell the whole world about their unhappy experience.

“So for the one person who walks away silently, their bad experience may have just cost your business 100 other customers—and I can’t think of any business that can afford that kind of damage.”

How to deal with dissatisfied customers is an issue that fills many hours of training

seminars every year, with opinions varying from ‘the customer is always right’ through to the other end of the spectrum—defending the good reputation of your business, no mat-ter what it takes.

Expert opinions also range from inviting in as much feedback as possible and being prepared to wear it when it is more brickbats than bouquets, to avoiding customer complaints unless they are directly voiced. Industry consultant Ken Bur-gin of Profitable Hospitality believes feedback needs to be encouraged—in all its forms.

“I tell my clients they should be encouraging feedback all the time, like having a feedback form you


Management

TalkbackThe toughest customer criticism can offer the best lessons. But can a complaint really be spun into a win for both the customer and the restaurant owner? John Burfitt reports

We don’t like confrontation, but dealing with negative

customer feedback can benefit your business.

hand over with the bill,” he says. “I did that once with my own business, and 25 per cent of people did fill it out, and most of the time it was nice. And when it wasn’t, we paid even closer attention to what was stated.

“There should also be a feedback tab on your business website, as you want to keep all of that in-house, rather than on a mainstream website. It is something you want to handle between you and the customer. And the secret is to respond as soon as you can. Do not let it become one of those things you mean to get around to.”

Burgin adds that the restaurant owner must be smart in how the complaint is interpreted and responded to, with a clear staff policy in place for dealing with such matters.

“Restaurants have to understand that the purpose of business is to get the customers to come back, and if you don’t handle it well, there will be no return business,” he says.

“When it comes to dealing with complaints, there are two schools of thought I hear from owners. One is they want to know about it and they will handle it. The other is they have trained their staff well and have a clear system set up so they trust the staff to handle it in an appropriate way.

“Often, if the staff member is not well-trained, they can be tougher on the customer than the owner ever would be. They think they are protecting the business, but they may be doing major damage. It can be confronting to deal with a table of unhappy people, so it comes down to how well-equipped your staff are in how to handle that.”

Just as fast table service makes for a happy customers, so does fast resolution of any issues that emerge, says Brad Leahy of Perth’s Blue Water Grill.

“The first thing I teach my staff is with any disgrun-tled customers, I am to be made aware of it straight

away,” Leahy says. “I tell staff never to take sides, but find out what the problem is and then report it to me. It has to be handled head on.

“The longer it is left, the more disgrun-tled the person becomes. Once the person is to the point of being angry, it is very hard to get them back.

“Move on it in the best way you can. You may offer another choice, or ask if they want the meal done again, or possibly a free glass of wine or a dessert. If they don’t want that, then nine times out of 10, I will deduct that meal from the bill. I don’t make them pay for something they are obviously unhappy enough with to com-plain about it.”

The best lesson Leahy says he has learnt about keeping an eye on the customer satisfaction is to pay as much attention to what is coming back into the kitchen as what goes out in the first place. “It is our job to read the customers and see if they are happy,” he says. “If I see a meal comes back only half eaten, then I know they have not been happy with what has been served, and I want to address that right away. If the customer feels you are paying attention to their experience, you are most of the way there to keeping them happy. Once

upon a time, I would have tried to analyse it, see who was right and wrong, and then rationalised that with the customer—and that backfired on me. If you want to bark, don’t! It just makes no sense to get that angry over a plate of food.”

So is the customer always right? “That has been outdated for a long time,” says Nick Dempster of Brisbane’s Delizioso on Oxford. “It is up not up to us to tell them they are wrong—that only gets people’s backs up. Rather, offer them another way.

“Sometimes, they just want to be heard. If people feel they are being heard, that takes away about 90 per cent of the prob-

lem. Then if you ask them what we can do, they feel like they are being looked after—and that is the business

we are in.”Alessandro Pavoni of Sydney’s Ormeggio At The

Spit makes the point, “An important part of han-dling complaints is to take all of them seriously; although the answer is no, the customer is not always right. However, if you can explain why not, that is often the key to a successful outcome.”

Pavoni cites the example of his trademark risotto, cooked in a particular, authentic Italian style, yet

customers have complained it is not cooked properly. The chef then visits the table to explain the cooking process.

Common sense must prevail in all cases, adds Lisa Murray. “Look at whether you are taking care of your brand and your customer base, or whether you just want people in and out quickly. The answers to those questions will determine a great deal about how you deal with feedback.

“Then there are the cases when that person is just having a bad day, and it has nothing to do with what your restaurant is doing. So that means you need to do something to make them feel good about whatever has happened. And that, we need to remember in this service industry, is the job.”


Management

Although it may be tempting to argue things out with a customer, what you’re fighting over is just a plate of food.

“If I see a meal comes back only half eaten, then I know they have not been

happy with what has been served, and I

want to address that right away.”

Brad Leahy, Blue Water Grill, Perth

Restaurant

Official Journal of Restaurant & Catering

Catering

2012 Product Guide



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Blowing hot and cold

Finally there is a company that puts you in control of your alfresco dining and entertainment areas as well as those areas that cannot be cooled by air-conditioning. Climate Australia Pty Limited

specialises in heating and cooling these areas.The new world-leading and award-winning Firestick is

the ultimate in outdoor heating. The style, appearance and the ambience and atmosphere they create is unique. The Firestick have been designed and manufactured for the hospitality industry, specifically to create a magical setting. It can be used all year round, as a heater in winter and as a lantern in summer.

Radiating from waist height 40,000BTU this is no mean heater as well as being the main attraction. The Firestick is fully Australian and New Zealand Standards Certified and Climate Australia is planning to release the natural gas Fire-fountain soon.

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The heat is on

First Pack is No.1 in pizza boxes in Australia for good reasons, service, quality, innovation and price. First Pack also supply a fantastic range of accessories including plastic pizza stands which stop box lids

from falling onto pizza toppings, pizza box insert liners which absorb moisture from wet pizzas like Marinara, a full range of pizza delivery and caterers delivery bags which are unbeatable for quality and price, the chrome 18 tier pizza tray rack and the pizza rack safety cover.

A star performer is the fabulous Heat Pad, which is an in-novation in the delivery of hot fresh pizzas to the customer’s door. Heat Pad is exclusive to First Pack and is so easy, so effective and so inexpensive compared to any other heat retention system on the market.

Having conquered the world of pizza packaging, First Pack has launched into the world of snack packaging with the same commitment to service, quality, innovation and price. Fea-turing three ranges of snack and takeaway packaging which includes, the Premium Snack range with its funky old world USA style print, the Enviro Snack range made from recycled

materials featuring a young and hip recycle print and the Fresh Seafood Snack range with its clean ocean fresh print. Every possible type and size for every possible snack or takeaway food is covered within these fantastic ranges. Have a look at www.firstpack.com.au or call toll free on 1300 665 554. There’s also a great range of coffee cups and lids and don’t forget, First Pack will custom print any of their packaging lines, just ask them about it. Contact First Pack for all your pack-aging needs.


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HOSTPLUS is currently taking expressions of interest for people interested in participating in the 2012 Cook For Your Career competition. So if you are passionate about cooking and what a career in the

industry, read on to find out more.In January this year, HOSTPLUS launched a national cooking

competition, Cook For Your Career (C4YC), aimed at address-ing the skills shortage in the restaurant industry and develop-ing new talent to help meet the growing demand for skilled committed apprentices. The competition launched on 17 January 2011 and concluded with a Grand Finale Cook-off at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival HOSTPLUS Foodie Films at Federation Square on 11 March 2011. HOSTPLUS’ Cook For Your Career is a national competition providing people of work-ing age (15 years and nine months and over) from any back-ground with the opportunity to realise their dream of becoming a professional chef. No hospitality experience is necessary – just a passion for food and a desire to create great tasting food.

Cook For Your Career offers one talented person the oppor-

tunity to follow their dream of becoming a top chef by winning a full training apprenticeship in one of Australia’s leading res-taurants, learning from a renowned chef. The ultimate winner of this year’s competition, Monty Eilola, received a full training apprenticeship with David Pugh from Restaurant Two in Bris-bane. The 2011 competition ran in three rounds: a call for entry, public voting round and the Grand Finale cook-off.

2012 C4YC line upHOSTPLUS is happy to announce that entries into our 2012 Cook For Your Career competition will open up later this year. And while we are currently ironing out the finer details such as how many phases to the competition and who will be joining us in 2012 please email us at [email protected] to regis-ter your interest or if you know anyone who might like to enter pass on their details to us. We will be posting more details on our website - cookforyourcareer.com.au or visit www.facebook.com/cookforyourcareer to be updated on what’s going on and when.

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HOSTPLUS is not only recognised as a quality super fund. For 24 years, we’ve also been recognised as an innovative

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Find out more at choosehostplus.com.au or call 1300 HOSTPLUS (1300 467 875).

The information in this document is general in nature and does not consider any of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, you should consider obtaining advice from a licensed, financial product adviser and consider the appropriateness of this information, having regard to your particular investment needs, objectives and financial situation. You should obtain a copy of the HOSTPLUS Product Disclosure Statement and consider the information contained in the Statement before making any decision about whether to acquire an interest in HOSTPLUS. Issued by Host-Plus Pty Limited ABN 79 008 634 704, AFSL No. 244392, RSEL No. L0000093, HOSTPLUS Superannuation Fund ABN 68 657 495 890, RSE No. R1000054. For further information on Chant West ratings visit http://www.hostplus.com.au/members/calculators/chant-west-disclaimer INH_0382_12/11_01

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Sun screens

Yarra Shade provides quality protection from the harsh sun with weather resistance and anti-corrosion outdoor shade sails and aw-nings for your commercial property or local

community buildings. Shade sails offer the ideal protec-tion against UV rays, providing sustainable support against the sun’s damage and ample shelter.

With a life expectancy of up to 15 years, the best out-door awnings are from Yarra Shade. Custom designed and built to suit your needs, you are sure to find the right awnings for your property.

The Street Smart UmbrellaProvide shade and weather protection for your custom-ers and guests without having umbrella poles in the way or the worry of them blowing into traffic. Perfect for Cafés, Bars, Restaurants, clubs and other footpath applications, the Street Smart Umbrella is a stylish and light weight option for your front footpath.

We ensure our shade fabrics: have a rating of circa 90 per cent or more for UV protection,; are renowned for weather resistance and durability; and are Australian made whenever possible.

To certify our commitment to quality we incorporate one year warranties on all our commercial work. These warranties cover any installation failures and as you’ll see throughout our products there are 5 year manufac-ture warranties on some of our fabrics and 10 years on most of the fabrics we use.

Beware of shade sail companies who state they incor-porate 5 year + warranties as it may only include fabric deterioration and not installation failures.

The law dictates that a shade sail company must have a Registered Builder as a director and commercial instal-lations require a Registered Commercial Builder. This is something to check for when researching shade sail providers and make sure you ask for their registration number and to see their card.

Quality shade products can require significant technical thought, planning and skill when it comes to installation, as you deal with many different surfaces and locations. At Yarra Shade Co, we believe it is essential all our employees are trained and qualified in dealing with every installation surface or location we assign them to. A strong emphasis is placed on training and operating in a safe work environment, for our customers but also for our team.

You should ensure your shade company is registered for shade structures by calling the Building Commission on 1300 360 320. To find out more, call us on 1300 4 SHADE (1300 4 74233), or visit us online at www.yar-rashade.com.au.


Waterproof canopy PVC or acrylic canvas Huge range of fabric colours Ready for your branding Light-weight post, slots into ground sleeve Frame powder coated in Black or Silver (or custom colour at additional cost) Canopy simply clips onto post—it’s that easy Side post to maximise your table area Can’t spin out of place or over the road No impact on the footpath traffic or your tables Easy for 1, small person to use. Designed for a 50kg waitress to be able to do it herself in 1 minute. 2.5m x 1.8m to fit shop front width Easy Install

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Climate control

“These are fantastic, I did not know that they existed!”

OnSolution often hears this when owners of restaurants and cafés first see their temperature loggers. Chances are you also are unaware of what a tem-perature logger is, let alone how it can save you time, money and your reputation.

Temperature loggers automatically record the date, time and tempera-ture for you. Relieve your staff from the grind of manually recording temperatures. All that needs to happen is to download the results every week giving you a permanent, accurate record of the temperatures of your fridges, freezers, cool rooms,

Bain Maries, washers and dryers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even when you are not around, the temperature is being recorded automatically.

OnSolution is the specialist tem-perature monitoring and logging company for Restaurant and Catering members. OnSolution has a range of temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide monitoring and logging equipment that will make your com-pliance with food safety regulations quick, easy and affordable.

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Rice made simple

Cooking perfectly fluffy rice takes time. Many busy chefs don’t have the time to watch the pot of cooking rice. Aus-

crown’s all new rice cookers will do all of the work for you. At the flick of a switch you will be guaranteed perfect rice every time. Auscrown’s Rice Cookers are easy to use, they will compute the output and tim-ing and control the heat. You just add rice and water and the cooking is done for you. Once the rice is cooked, the cooker will au-tomatically switch to keep warm mode and the rice will maintain a perfect temperature for the whole night’s service. Auscrown’s Rice cookers are specifically designed for high volume use in commercial kitchens. For ease of use a measuring cup and rice spatula is included in the deal.

Auscrown have two models to choose

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The larger ERC9L 9 litre 50 cup rice cooker is Auscrown’s heavy duty rice cooker and features a sturdy aluminium cooking bowl with handles for long lasting performance. The ERC9L is made in Taiwan and is also exceptional quality.

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Stability within your each

You have just sat down at a favourite café or restaurant table, only to find that it rocks like crazy, leaving you

no option but to stuff napkins or coast-ers under a leg to stabalize it…sound like a familiar story? Whether you are the owner, or the patron, surely this is one of the main annoyances of any din-ing experience, and something that has long requested a successful solution.

The Queensland duo behind the EASYJUST have recently invented a new style of table base that allows you to sta-blise the table from the colulm or table top through a simple, internal mecha-nism. This means no more wobbly tables, no more bending over or distrup-tion, and no more at ground systems

that just don’t ever seem to work. In operation for a little over a month,

Scott from EASYJUST said, “We have seen a great response, especially from a Health and Safety perspective. This is becoming a very important part of the hospitality industry, and the fact there is no longer a need to touch the floor or feet of a table means a much more hygienic process of stabilising a table, despite the other obvious benefits.”

EASYJUST is a functional, stylish and robust table base that does the job, time and time again. Consider this a way to treat your staff, and give you customers the chance to get back at the infamous wobbly table. For more information, please contact us via our www.easyjust.com.au. Easyjust helps you keep a stable table.

By combining two powerful yet simple ideas, the screw and lever, EASYJUST gives your custom-ers and staff a no fuss and reliable method of stabilising wobbly tables. You will find the easily accessible thumb-wheel located in the column just under the table top. Turning this raises or lowers the foot located in one leg taking up any

variation often found in restaurant floors. Using the EASYJUST system will minimise the risk of injury and the threat of food contamination caused by having to fuss about on the ground to make awkward adjustments. Go to www.easyjust.com.au now for more information and to watch a video of this versatile product.

Easy to use easy to adjust while sitting or standing no crouching or bendingHygienic the adjusting mechanism is enclosed and located well above the ground. This means no chance of hands being contaminated by foreign matter as is the case with the “outdated ground level” adjusters so common todaySafe ensures a stable surface, preventing spillages of hot food and beverages nothing protruding to trip over or inflict injuriesStrong & durable the moving parts are enclosed and high up in the column. This gives the advantage of being protected from mechanical damage by feet, chairs and dirt engineered in Australia to last best quality materials hours of rigorous testing to ensure the durability and functionality of the basesVersatile EASYJUST bases can be fitted to most existing table tops.

Imagine, a cafe table without the wobbles!!!without

Maximum recommended table top size: 800 square or 900 dia. roundMaximum recommended table top weight: 30kg.

Table Top Adjuster

Thumb-Wheel

Integrated Adjusting Foot

Contact Trevor Watson 0409 574 038 or visit www.easyjust.com.au

3 YEAR

WARRANTY*

*Please refer to uor trading terms for full terms and conditions. Table top shown for illustration purposes only

®

2011 Episode Winner of

ABC TV’s

The New Inventors

Cranky customers and a drop in trade. They’re among the biggest fears restaurant and cafe owners have when it comes to putting up prices on their menu. But raising prices is an essential part of business. While it might make you uncom-fortable and generate the odd complaint, price rises don’t have to cause problems if you manage them well. The secret is knowing your market and your custom-

ers and looking at innovative ways to add to the sense of value and hospitality you’re offering in your business, while putting up prices. Think smart about how and when you put up prices to minimise the impact the price rise has on your customers’ habits.

First up, face the fact that price rises are something every business has to manage on a regular basis.

“Increased cost of operating, whether that is produce, wages or rent, means you will probably have to increase your margin at some point,” says marketing expert Robert Steer of Creative Develop-ment. “There’s no point operating if you can only sell at a loss, so the key is to find products you can sell with a healthy margin.”

Study your profit margins to see what menu items are profitable and which ones aren’t.

“Consider your overall prod-uct mix, get the balance

right and understand what the cost of goods

and gross profit is on every item,” says An-gie Bradbury of Dig Marketing Group.

And keep a close eye on your com-

petitors to see how they’re pricing similar

items. “Understand the bench-

marks around your area and trading zone,” says Bradbury. “What’s the guy over the road


Marketing

is rightThe price

“Consider your overall product mix, get the balance right and understand what

the cost of goods and gross profit is on

every item.”Angie Bradbury, Dig Marketing Group

Putting up prices doesn’t have to mean customer complaints if you do it wisely, writes Jodie Thomson

Think smart about how and when you put up prices to

minimise the impact the price rise has on your

customers’ habits.

charging for a coffee? Comparison is a big thing when custom-ers are working out a perception of value.”

Where possible, avoid rising the price of core or favourite items and look for other ways to raise profit margins across the menu. Often, you can disguise price rises by changing the menu, introducing new ingredients.

“The easiest way to maintain margins is to change the menu item to include a less expensive ingredient or replace the item completely,” says Robert Steer. “People will complain if their favourite ‘Beef in Beer Pie’ goes up in price by 50c, but prob-ably won’t notice if it’s replaced with ‘Steak in Ale Crock Pot’.”

Or if you’re forced to up the price on a core menu item, like bacon and eggs on a breakfast menu, introduce a more exotic ingredient to make the whole lot seem more special.

“It might be a specialty bacon, or free-range eggs,” says Angie Bradbury.

An ever-changing specials board is a good way to cleverly absorb price rises and boost profits without changing regular or favourite items.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand the power of specials,” says Bradbury. “People look at specials differently and don’t treat them in the same way as other menu items in terms of price comparison. It can be a good way to bring some high-margin products into the offer.”

Another good price-rise strategy is bundling items together

to sell. “That can be a good way to hide a price rise, like packaging together menu items like a coffee, salad and drink,” Bradbury says.

Once you’ve put prices up, keep a close track on how the items are selling and overall profits are going.

“If you change the menu and suddenly find you are losing business, you need to look at what your competitors are doing and see if you are missing something,” says Robert Steer.

And how should you deal with any customer complaints about price rises? The same way you deal with any com-plaints, and often this can be used as a great opportunity to engage with customers and show off your great people skills and service.

“Some customers will always find something to complain about, and that should just be managed as part of normal operations,” says Robert Steer.

All about serviceDon’t look at price rises in isolation, but always consider them in light of your overall business and the service offered. Customers don’t always shop on price alone.

“Don’t be afraid of charging more for things,” says Angie Bradbury of Dig Marketing Group. “Value is such a subjective thing and everybody has a different perception of value. Price is just one of the things that make up value.”


Marketing

A new way to connect with your customersRegistration Coupons Store Locator Ordering Barcode Loyalty

To find out how you can take advantage of RedCat’s Mobile Applications, call 1300 4 REDCAT or visit www.redcat.com.au

RedCat’s mobile applications can provide you with a loyalty system, send out coupons and special offers, allow your customers to order remotely and much more.

For example, a restaurant might keep menu prices stable but might go for a cheaper napkin, or let their menus get scruffy rather than print new ones.

“All those things are a false economy,” says Angie Bradbury. “If you can’t afford to provide a great level of service, people won’t feel they’re getting value, whatever the price.”

Offering excellent service and hospitality will take the custom-ers’ focus away from price.

“Coffee at one cafe might be 20c cheaper, but customers have to wait longer,” Bradbury says.

“I might be prepared to pay a slightly higher price for a coffee that’s delivered quickly, with a smile and by someone who remembers my name and what I have. All those things add to somebody’s perception of value.”

If you do want to price yourself above your competitors, make sure you’ve got a better value offer.

“Maybe you’re offering a specialist coffee like Fair Trade,” Bradbury says.

Loud and proudIf you’ve got no choice but to raise prices on core items, like

coffee in a cafe or an integral dish, then it’s best to be upfront about it. Don’t keep it quiet in the hope that

customers won’t notice or mind. Instead, see the price rise as a marketing opportunity to communi-

cate with customers. Don’t raise prices suddenly, but rather, give

customers some warning. For example, a cafe might warn customers that coffee prices will rise from a certain date, and put a notice up on the counter where they can see it.

Then, link the price rise to a special offer or deal of some sort. For example, a restaurant might

introduce a special two-course lunch deal that offers great value, while deflecting attention from the price rises on their regular menu.

“Or a cafe might introduce a new loyalty card at the same time prices rise, giving customers their next 10 coffees at the old price,” Bradbury says. What’s essential is giving customers a true sense of service and experience along with the price rise. “It’s about giving a sense of hospitality,” she says. “The value of the complimentary bread with a meal, the value of remembering someone’s name, that’s absolute gold and that’s what buys you the right to move prices.”


“Some customers will always find something to

complain about, and that should just be managed as part of normal operations.”

Robert Steer, of Creative Development.

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The owner of Ormeggio At The Spit and Spiedo Restaurant & Bar in Sydney on why you should have too many cooks, but only one cuisine

In Italy the weekend meal is a process of cooking with the whole family. Every Sunday I would spend the whole morning with my grandmother helping prepare. She would have got up at 6.30am to start preparations and have 12 or 16 people, including children, to lunch. That’s Italian culture.

When I was 14, I went to chef school. I was also an apprentice at weekends and in the summer holidays. Since then I’ve never stopped. I’ve been in the business 24 years.

The main difference in between Australia and Italy is while chef school here is very good, in Italy I learnt Italian cuisine for five years. In Australia they learn a little bit of 10 or 15 different cuisines. Sometimes chefs are a bit confused. You need a whole life to learn a cuisine. But you can be interested in other cuisines.

Italy has 20 regions. Each region has a completely different cuisine—that’s the point. Why learn Chinese cuisine if I have all of those? The dialects, culture and cuisine completely change, even between villages.

I was very systematic in the beginning. For the first 10 years I worked systematically in Michelin restaurants in Italy and France to learn. Then one day I said, “Why am I doing this?” I wanted to learn English, so I left to go backpacking and I came to Australia. I worked here in Italian restaurants for 19 months. Then I went back to Europe. Then I came back to Australia for good.

The Hyatt [Sydney] was fantastic for me. I was executive chef. I really learned how to administer. I used to work very closely with the financial controller, analysing everything, forecasting the revenue, building a team for the season—because it was very seasonal—and letting people go when it was quiet. You have to know control of food

costs, control of labour costs, and how to keep money in the bank. I use the same system they use, and it works.

It’s a continual war for me since I came to Australia, to educate people what really good Italian food is. I’m very involved with the Council of Italian Restaurants in Australia because of this. There are maybe three or four really good Italian restaurants in Sydney. I have to teach people, if you want risotto, you have to wait 20 minutes while I cook it. If it comes out after three minutes it’s been reheated. Lots of guests walk out. A lot say, ‘It’s raw’. I say, ‘You have been eating mushy risotto for years. It’s meant to have bite.’

In my new restaurant, Spiedo, in Level 6, Westfield Sydney, the cuisine is from regional Lombardy. I had to go back and travel my region and explore it. Then I replicated. The name of the restaurant is the name of a dish of my

hometown. It’s a typical spit roast with four types of meat cooked slowly for five hours. It’s had a fantastic

reception. People love it.

Both Ormeggio and Spiedo are run the same back of house, with all the basics I learnt at the Hyatt. But at Ormeggio I have a head chef who is very Italian, very creative, who continually tries new dishes. At Spiedo it’s more researching old dishes from the regions

and adapting these with Australian ingredients or new techniques. At Ormeggio there is a reason

for every item on a dish—bitter herbs for cleansing for instance. At Spiedo, an accompaniment is there because

it’s the traditional accompaniment, like polenta.

Right now the restaurant business is the hardest business on the planet to make money. Every single dollar you spend, you have to be conscious of it. I’m not making a huge profit. In fine dining it’s a very low margin: 50 per cent is labour costs, 30 per cent the cost of goods, 10 per cent the rent, then after is electricity, utilities everything else. If you manage well you have three per cent. If you’re not doing fine dining you can make five per cent or with a big, casual diner with high turnover, 10-to-15 per cent. It’s all because of the labour costs. I need a big number of chefs to do what I do.

PavoniAlessandro


What I’ve learnt

“The name of the restaurant is the name of a dish of my hometown. It’s a typical spit roast with four types of

meat cooked slowly for five hours. It’s

had a fantastic reception. People

love it.”

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Because packaging often ends up in land-fill, and because hot and oily food can taint packaging, thereby taking away the option of recycling, the focus for the hos-pitality sector is moving towards sustain-able use of resources and materials that are biodegradable and compostable. Not only does sustainable packaging appeal

to many consumers, but it is increasingly demanded by large organisations such as local councils—with many new cafes and stores having to provide environmental impact statements showing how they meet environmental standards.

Major suppliers increasingly offer environmentally friendly options and at leading retail food packaging distributer PremierNorthpak, such is the interest that they have been de-veloping a website to explain the various options and qualities, which at the time of writing was due to go live by year’s end.

Gus Christou, managing director of PremierNorthpak, ex-plains that it’s important to look at how environmentally friendly the packaging is, from cradle to grave, rather than consider sustainable elements in isolation—and how disposable food packaging is disposed of is an important part of that. “The important question to ask is, in what way is the packaging environ-mentally friendly?” Christou says. For example, there is not much use sourcing a salad bowl that is “compostable” if it is likely to end up in the bin rather than the correct waste facility.

PremierNorthpak, which imports products for dis-tribution as well as providing their own range, recently started supplying an innovative coffee cup lid by Rema, which is environmentally friendly and has been designed so that it should even biodegrade in biologically active landfill. PremierNorthpak also supplies bagasse disposable plates made from sugar cane by-product, PLA clear cups and lids and CPLA cutlery made from the annually renewable resource—corn— and PET plastic cups and food containers that are recyclable.

Marisa Jones, group brand manager for global converter of renewable and compostable paper- and board-based products

Detpak, says sustainable packaging is moving from a niche premium product to some-

thing that is expected by customers. Jones, who is also the group’s

sustainability contact for Austra-lia and New Zealand, explains that Detpak not only focuses on higher-end, lower environ-mental impact paper-based products but also specialises in custom printing packaging so-

lutions. Detpak works with high quality food grade materials and

uses recycled paper grades where appropriate, but for wet and oily

foods this is not always possible because of food safety requirements, she says.

Detpak ensures its paper and board products are sourced from sustainable and ethical sources that are audited regularly by certifying bodies such as the FSC or PEFC. As well, many of the products use either water, soy or UV inks. These inks are


Special report

The whole

“More and more, customers are

expecting suppliers to offer a range of packaging options that help them to

do their bit for the environment.”

Marisa Jones, Detpak

Environmentally friendly packaging is increasingly expected of businesses. And continual technological innovations are making more options available.By Vivienne Reiner

Sugar cane by-product is used to create packaging products that will biodegrade even in landfill.

package

considered more environmentally friendly than solvent based inks because they use less non-renewable resources and have low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Detpak Rebbit™ environmental range, launched some 18 months ago, has been a great success for the company in terms of sales and also in generating new interest in their broader product range. The Rebbit range replaces traditional plastic linings and films with a compostable bio-film and includes hot cups, sandwich wedges and bakery bags, which all use raw materials that are compostable under European Union standard EN13432. This standard specifies that the product will break down within 90 days in a commercial composting facility.

Where the compostable packaging is taken off premises, Jones recommends customers check with their local council as to whether they can place these products in their green organics bin. Alternatively they can rip the packaging into small pieces and put it into their home composts, but the compost-ing process will take longer, taking perhaps two to four months or longer depending on the individual conditions of the compost heap. On the premises, to ensure packaging does not end up in landfill, store owners can set up separate bins for all waste and arrange for a waste collection provider to collect it and take it to a composting facility. Education of store employ-ees, as well as consumers, is required in this case because if the waste materials are not correctly separated, the waste collection

provider may issue an additional fee for sorting the waste into the right bins. Some companies also supply composting machines for in-store use, ranging from the size of a small bin to the size of a truck. Detpak can give advice to businesses on which packaging options will suit their environmental objec-tives, and how each packaging item can be disposed of to ensure it has minimal environmental impact.

Among other environmental initiatives, Detpak is also a signatory of the Australian Packaging Covenant which has the mantra “reduce, reuse and recycle”. In addition to gaining access to useful resources, being involved in the Covenant is undoubtedly good for business—the Covenant, at www.packagingcovenant.org.au, lists numerous signatories, with participating organisations having to meet specific criteria. Jones says sustainable packaging is “definitely” a growing area. “We are getting more and more requests for sustainable and compostable packaging,” she says.

Even in the quick service restaurant sector, which aims to keep costs down, environmentally friendly packaging is starting to be brought in. Hungry Jack’s has shown it is particularly conscious of public perception, introducing takeaway bags that are recyclable and biodegradable back in October. As well, the Keep Australia Beautiful participant has re-introduced the card-board Whopper box in a bid to cut down on paper packaging lined with plastic that will sit in landfill and not biodegrade.

Special report


Chrismont La Zona Prosecco NV ($17.50; www.bacchuswinemerchant.com.au) hits the right lemon-apple-Pezz flavours, and has good balance at palate’s end. The name La Zona might appeal to customers, too…

Pinot grigio, grüner veltliner, and lean chardonnays will also

be big. The pinot grigio style does for white

wine what prosecco does for sparkler—it is sort of colour-less, odourless, and flavourless; this makes it good background wine to your

customers bar-side Tweeting. Grüner

veltliner is an incredibly chic Austrian white wine

variety that can make leaner riesling/pinot grigio sort of wines, and

The coming summer for many liquor licence holders is go-ing to mean one thing—and it is not necessarily wine. It is cider. On the back of the boutique beer bonanza, cider has ridden into town and become the self-identifying beverage of choice for younger adults—and some older ones, too. Importantly, however, this is good news for your wine list.

While cannibalising beer sales, cider also helps stratify the beverage selection across the board. This means you can focus on a leaner and meaner range of wines. Cider’s fresher, lighter flavour profile might also bring a similar such flavour expectation to wine. And this plays right into summer’s wine list hands. As long as you get the wine styles correct. Here’s what’s in and out—according to my air-conditioned crystal ball.

Prosecco is the ‘it’ sparkler of the summer, and for two reasons. It’s fresh and lightly flavoured—and it’s Italianesque, so it brings some Euro chic to the table, I mean observation deck. Prices are also good for both you and the customer, although an increased retail presence of this spar-kler style will see that happy equation degrade over the next 12 months.

What the best dressed wine lists are wearing this summer, according to Ben Canaider


Drinks

lovin’Summer

Cider’s fresher, lighter flavour profile

might also bring a similar such flavour expectation to wine. And this plays right into summer’s wine

list hands

also fuller, richer, more tropical white wine. The former style is probably the way to go over summer, but the key is to just get some of the stuff on your list, so the trendoid wine sniffers will have something to drink. Speaking of which, they—and anyone else who knows that white wine is more than just the two words ‘sauvignon’ and ‘blanc’—will also be in desperate need of clean, tight modern Australian chardonnays, which continue to impress both wine judges and their primitive sub-species, wine drinkers, alike.

Zonte’s Footstep Dotressa di Lago Pinot Grigio 2011 ($11; www.jhlwine.com ) is a dry yet incredibly refreshing light white wine. Handorf Hill Grüner Veltliner 2011 ($19.50; www.zenithwineagencies.com.au) runs the GV gamut of steely acidity and ripe pears. And for chardy go to Phillip Shaw The Architect Chardonnay 2010 ($14; www.finewinepartners.com.au); it is from the most celebrated of new regions—Orange, in NSW—and combines flavour with some acid austerity.

Dry rosé and local pinot noir. You need these styles be-cause: a) men are drinking more rosé thanks to the fact they are now no longer men; and b) because more women are drinking pinot noir because they’ve worked out that shiraz stains their teeth and makes them look like a smiling Orc at about 11.59pm. The more savoury rosé wines are the ones that will be more ver-satile with food; these are often the more bronze, paler coloured wines. Hot pink rosé tends on the whole to be more fruit-bombish. They serve a need, however, particularly with spicy, chilli-infused foods. In the land of pinot noir, look for more Yarra Valley and Tasmanian examples—particularly the latter, as these wines are emerging in both number and quality, but yet don’t have any retail price contagion.

Innocent Bystander Rosé 2011 ($14; www.finewinepart-ners.com.au) has the right name and the right flavour: keen, pinot noir-ish, hints of strawberries and raspberry, but in the savoury spectrum. And for pinot proper go to Stoney Rise Pinot Noir 2009 ($20; [email protected]). This is from Northern Tasmania, and made by the best small producer going around. I defy anyone not to like this wine.

Oh, and one last general rumination: should we keep order-ing NZ sauvignon blanc by the shipping container?

No. But you should keep stocking and selling both by the glass and by the bottle—because sauvignon blanc (a little like shudder-nay) is not going to go away for a while yet. Also, two good things are happening to the market. Firstly, the quality producers of New Zealand sauvignon blanc are nowadays even more reliable and of higher quality. It is true that there’s been an explosion of Kiwi SB in the bottom, more affordable end of the wholesale market, but the majority of it is too broad and too out of balance. So stick to St Clair Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($14; www.negociantsau-stralia.com). There’s intensity here, but approachability too.

Second point of good news: Australian sauvignon blanc is now really delivering. Better acid structures and cleaner, longer, more ethereal white wines are now being made. These wines offer less of the tropical fruit flab of our SB style of yore, and more citrus and steel. Try Alta Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($13; [email protected] )—a pure and very clean wine that absolutely sings.


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“We spent three years putting together the design phase of the Ivy before the construction started in 2003. It took about two years to complete. The team was made up of Nik Karalis, the archi-tect and director of Woods Bagot; Steve Corn-well, director of Cornwell who worked on the graphics and branding; and my firm—myself,

Hamish [Guthrie] and former co-director Kerry Phelan. Since we’re based in Melbourne, I was up there every week during the construction period.

“Then there was the client, Justin Hemmes from Merivale. We had worked with him previously on the Establishment [Hotel]. One of his desires for Mad Cow was to create the feeling of an oasis in the middle of the city. He wanted to get away from grey drab and make it a place that’s fresh and light and bright. We spoke to Justin about influences and the ‘Palm Springs Modern’ style was a strong inspiration. It seemed appropriate for the climate—the shutters, the dappled light, the big windows and screens that open to let in the air.

“On top of this, we introduced the garden element. We worked closely with Daniel Baff-sky [of 360° Landscape Architects, www.360.net.au]. Despite the name of the complex, ivy is probably the most difficult thing to grow. So we chose ferns of various intensities; they’re friendly and soft to touch.

“Throughout the Ivy, there is a recurring theme of concrete with a colour palette of black, white and either yellow or turquoise accents in different rooms. In Mad Cow, the white pendants with the yellow and green flowers were specifically designed.

“The yellow banquettes and most of the furniture are bespoke, with a garden furniture aesthetic. We also introduced some items of the period, such as the ‘Bertoia’ bar stools [for Knoll, available at dedece.com], as well as Gebrüder Thonet chairs [www.thonet.com.au] at some of the tables. These are a really beautiful yet slightly different version of the classic Thonet chairs—the most organic and fluid of all its range.

“There’s a separate bar in Calacatta marble that services the main dining room. The kitchen is located very close to the restaurant so the waitstaff can move from table to

Interior designer Paul Hecker embraced the Palm Springs modernist aesthetic when conceptualising Mad Cow, the signature restaurant of Sydney’s Ivy complex

Mad Cow


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kitchen easily. That was essential since the restaurant can seat 100 patrons.

“When a client is planning a restau-rant, I ask them what they want to feel in the space. I think so many restau-rants spend a fortune on fit-out without really asking the question about how they want patrons to feel. We need to work that out before even talking about aesthetics. While I believe that interiors are incredibly important, when you go to a restaurant it’s food and service that are priorities. It’s the experience at the table that really counts.”

Mad Cow330 George StreetSydney NSW 2000Tel: (02) 9240 3000W: www.merivale.com/#/ivy/madcow

Hecker Guthrie1 Balmain StreetRichmond VIC 3121Tel: (03) 9421 1644W: www.heckerguthrie.com

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R&C December 2011

Documents

behalf of restaurant

restaurant owner

restaurant service

spiedo restaurant bar

mark brown sales director

rob johnson creative

john burfitt

new year