Experts Teach You to Open a Prosperous Business - 100 Small Tips for Restaurants

Author: Le Le
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features:
1. Modern standards for evaluating anything, from small matters to entire industries, cannot avoid the concept of "standards," and the catering industry is no exception. In the planned economy era, the criteria for judging the quality of catering were as simple as "skill," and the standards for skill were the methods passed down from ancestors. The logic is straightforward: under economic scarcity, people's consumption levels were limited, and it was already difficult to eat at restaurants. As long as chefs followed the techniques passed down by their masters and cooked the scarce chicken, duck, fish, and meat in a standardized manner, they could satisfy customers. Today, things are different. First, the catering industry has shifted from state-owned to private ownership; second, the industry has moved from insufficient competition to full competition; third, the catering market has transitioned from a seller's market to a buyer's market; fourth, catering consumers have become increasingly discerning. Therefore, the entire industry needs to update its concepts in line with the times, using new theories and standards that align with modern catering trends to guide and regulate the industry.
In modern catering, in addition to the traditional "technical standards," there should also exist a more important "market standard"—the market value of skills. Generally speaking, a product with high technical content is often more easily accepted by the market. However, not every such product is necessarily embraced by the market. Everyone knows there is a dish called "Dry-Fried Beef Strips" in Sichuan cuisine. It was once one of the representative dishes of Sichuan cuisine, with extremely high technical requirements from processing to preparation to plating, involving a complex and meticulous process. First, the knife skills required are very high; otherwise, the appearance will not be aesthetically pleasing, and it will also be difficult to fry the beef strips dry. Second, the control of heat is also crucial—too low heat will make the beef tough, while too high heat will burn it. In the past, it was always a highlight in Sichuan cuisine exams. However, today, when we observe the tables in Sichuan restaurants, its presence is rare. Has its technical content declined? Of course not. The issue lies in its market value: from the consumer's perspective, there are many ways to make beef tender and delicious, and "dry-frying" no longer aligns with the; from the operator's perspective, this "famous dish" is labor-intensive, requires high heat, and has high production costs, making it unprofitable. Similar situations are not uncommon. For example, various fancy cold platters, which were once highly regarded, are rarely seen today. The reasons are not hard to analyze: the placement of tablecloths before meals is becoming simpler because folding tablecloths into intricate designs, although a skill, may not be hygienic. Therefore, these "skills" have little market value and are declining. In contrast, dishes with relatively lower technical content, such as "Chongqing Hot Pot" and "Boiled Fish in Spicy Broth," have become extremely popular and profitable.
Thus, we should no longer rigidly cling to traditional "skills" as the sole standard for judging catering quality. We must also avoid imposing outdated "standards" recognized only by so-called "insiders" on consumers. Otherwise,