How to P.R. Your Restaurant

 

As a colleague once told me, “Publicity plants the seed, promotion fertilizes the seed, advertising ripens the crops and personal selling harvests the crop.”

Like most restaurant owners, you likely have developed a marketing plan involving promotion, advertising, and selling. Yet you shouldn’t leave out planting the all-important seed of publicity.

Publicity, or the act of capturing the interest of the public through media channels, can keep Your operation on the minds of customers and industry leaders. It can create a new brand, build on past branding efforts, or boost sales. If your goal is to develop a restaurant chain or to sell your small chain to a large corporation, publicity can help you gain the attention of potential franchisees or buyers.

If you are too busy to undertake an extensive media relations program, the answer might be to hire a public relations firm that specializes in publicity. But hiring a PR agency can be uncharted territory for many executives and entrepreneurs. How do you find the right firm? As many of your colleagues probably can tell you, working with a publicist or public relations firm can be a dream come true or a nightmare.

FoodBrats.com only publsihes Cookbooks. We help you look good. We will take your words and ideals and create a cookbook you will be proud to say you wrote.

The success of your media relations program hinges on finding an agency you trust, feel comfortable working with, and will get you results. Here how to get the best PR experience.

Be clear about how publicity works and how it differs from other marketing strategies. The messages you communicate through advertising and promotions tend to be direct and simple, in order to reach consumers quickly and effectively.

Publicity, on the other hand, is a more subtle approach. You want to gain the attention of the media, so you have to tailor your messages to their needs. The reward is that a mention in the press legitimizes your business far more than advertising. After all, in the eyes of the consumer, anyone can buy ad space, but not every business is so successful that it is newsworthy.

Stories about your restaurant or franchise operation will center on angles that make you different from your competitors, not your basic marketing messages. If you expect articles to simply praise your business or tout the ingredients in your food, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Nothing turns off reporters and editors more than a hard sell. A publicist should be able to help you identify story angles that will hook the media.

With publicity, you’re building public awareness and credibility, and that takes time. You might want that Wall Street Journal feature story right now, but it can be years in the making. Just because your operation is doing well doesn’t mean you’ll be splashed on the cover of Business Week; many entrepreneurs are doing well and have interesting stories to tell. To gain credibility nationally, you first have to build a foundation of stories locally, regionally, and in the trades.

For instance, one client of ours, a large regional pizza restaurant franchise, wanted a higher profile on a national level. We landed a Wall Street Journal feature after two years of hard work. That sounds like a long time, but in the interim, we placed powerful stories in major newspapers and in the trades, which helped the client gain experience in media relations and get comfortable with interviews. When the WSJ reporter called, the client was ready.

Realistically, you can expect local coverage within six weeks, in the trades within four to six months, and in national publications in about 16 to 32 months. Remember, PR is an investment, not a guarantee.

Interview the candidates. You have to know what you want the firm to accomplish -—and telling them that you want them “to get us some ink” isn’t enough. You have to know who you want to reach, which means you must know your audience. If its industry leaders, then ask the firm how it stories in trade publications or about its track record with national business magazines. If it’s local publicity you’re after, talk with the firm about its relationships with either the city’s restaurant reporters or business editors. Tell them which regional publications your customers read, and gauge their reaction to see if they’re comfortable working with those publications.

As a restaurateur, you may be interested in promoting either yourself or one of your chefs as a television personality. But on-air cooking is not necessarily a natural talent; it’s more like singing, dancing, and selling, all at the same time while paying attention camera placement.

If you have such aspirations, ask firm if they have experience in spokesperson training. You may even want see a tape of performances they have coached. Like other kinds of publicity, becoming a celebrity chef takes time. Before you start swapping jokes and trading recipes with Katie Couric and Al Roker, you’ll have to develop a reel of performances on local television programs. Find out if the agency can help you.

Let’s see some proof. You’ll want to see the firm’s successes for past and current clients in the way of newspapers clips and printed feature articles from trade publications. Also, don’t hesitate to ask to review samples of press releases, fact sheets, and other written materials. Remember to check for clear writing and creative approaches that were used to generate press coverage.

And here’s a secret to be sure the firm really has those wonderful relationships with the media that it brags about. Request a list of reporters and producers the firm works with on a regular basis. Call them and ask what they think about the firm.

“Who will be working on my account?” Many larger agencies will bring in senior staff—the “big guns” — with years of impressive experience to close the business, and then turn your work over to a struggling junior associate.

An inexperienced account executive might be a real go-getter and a quick study, and you could be launching an impressive career. On the other hand, some neophytes are intimidated by making cold calls to producers, editors, and reporters. The campaign could be compromised, and you may find yourself doing your own media relations work.

Look for an agency that promises senior-level involvement at the beginning and throughout the life of your working relationship. At the very least, make sure the junior associates have a safety net, and that the firm’s principals are always there to guide them if difficulties and problems arise.

Find out how many accounts your account executive is responsible for and how long he or she has been with the firm. From the response, you often can gauge how important your business will be to the agency.

Be sure the chemistry is good between you and your contact. If you’re going to be irritating each other, it will be a painful experience for both. Depending upon the intensity of the publicity campaign, you may have frequent contact with the account executive, and you’ll talk to him or her at least once a week.

And after you hire the firm, keep in mind the following.

FoodBrats.com only publsihes Cookbooks. We help you look good. We will take your words and ideals and create a cookbook you will be proud to say you wrote.

It’s a partnership. Working with a PR firm or publicist is not like working with other consulting firms or consultants, because you’re a participant in the activities, not just an observer. You will need to be available to provide interviews to reporters that your publicist has arranged, as well as be accessible to your publicist when the media is on deadline.

It will be your responsibility to keep the process from coming to a screeching halt by giving approval press materials in a timely manner, and well within the firm’s deadline for getting them distributed. Take a more active interest in the media and news organizations, and think about what will spur their interest and what’s important to them. You will be able to give ideas to the PR firm, who will turn them into publicity.

How do you know they’re doing a good job? The simplest way is to count the clips. Are you getting more news stories and TV appearances than you were getting before you hired the agency? Are you getting more hits on your Web site than before campaign? Are reporters and producers calling? If so, the firm is doing its job.

At this stage, you may be looking for return on your investment, but putting a dollar amount on it will be difficult. To gauge how publicity has affected your business, you can compare sales from last year, but you can judge success only if you have changed nothing else during that time. In other words, promotions, advertising, menu changes, and the like all have an effect on sales. If you’ve kept everything else consistent, you’ll be able to track the efficacy of your publicity campaign.

 

How to pump up your PR

There was a time when a good reputation and word of mouth alone were sufficient to create and maintain a successful restaurant. But those days are long gone. More than ever, positive public awareness is vital to a restaurant’s success. The best way to achieve that awareness is through a public relations campaign.

Effective restaurant public relations efforts that generate favorable exposure through newspapers, magazines, TV stations, radio stations and the Internet promise a wider reach than word of mouth alone. And the public often puts more stock in articles about your restaurant than in advertisements. A carefully crafted restaurant public relations campaign will raise both media and consumer awareness of your business. Simply put, working with the media can help start and sustain a buzz about your restaurant.

So what exactly is restaurant public relations, and why is it the best route for to create positive awareness? People often confuse PR with advertising, but two are dramatically different. Simply put, advertising involves ads while involves news. Both are designed elevate interest in a product or service. Both use the same media: print, radio, television, billboards and the Internet. You may have heard the saying, “Advertising you pay for, but public relations you pray for.” Though the adage is old, the sentiment is especially true today.

 

FoodBrats.com only publsihes Cookbooks. We help you look good. We will take your words and ideals and create a cookbook you will be proud to say you wrote.

 

 

PR Builds Credibility

Public relations helps form a favorable public opinion through the implied endorsement of unbiased industry authorities (namely print and broadcast media outlets). Which holds more weight: an advertisement about a new restaurant opening or a positive article about the hottest new eatery in town?

The late entertainer Will Rogers once said, “All I know is just what I read in the papers.” PR generates news coverage, and news coverage builds credibility. People believe what they read in newspapers and magazines, what they hear on the radio and what they see on television. But people often are skeptical of what they see in an advertisement, because everyone knows it’s easy to toot your own horn.

Because they are so costly, advertisements also do not give you ample room to personalize the story of your restaurant. A public relations campaign does. By generating multiple story angles designed to reach different media outlets—such as business journals, foodservice and hospitality trade publications, daily and weekly newspapers, city and regional magazines, regional dining and entertainment publications and major national magazines—you increase the chances of having stories about your restaurant published and aired. Each of these stories tells the public what your restaurant is all about.

Take, for example, a high-end Middle Eastern restaurant, Leila, that was opening in West Palm Beach, FL. To encourage a broad base of media coverage, Leila’s public relations firm wrote and distributed a series of press releases focusing on such story angles as the integral role the restaurant is playing in the revitalization of the surrounding historic district, the health benefits of Mediterranean cuisine and a profile of Leila’s owner.

The PR firm also created story angles detailing the cultural elements of the restaurant, including the true and often-misunderstood art of belly dancing, the Arabic tradition of smoking the arguileh (water pipe) and the Middle Eastern custom of mezze (which involves sharing generous portions of appetizers among family and friends).

The press releases helped generate stories in local and regional newspapers and magazines, creating a buzz leading up to the grand opening and beyond. In fact, a month before the restaurant even opened, it was booked solid with private parties because meeting planners had read about it.

 

Cost-Effective Marketing

While advertising is an important part of any marketing program, a strategic PR plan has the potential to make a subtle yet profound impact. A positive mention in a prominent publication, for example, builds credibility, positions the company as an industry leader and generates awareness. Furthermore, a well-placed story can reap benefits for an extended period using a fundamental PR strategy: placing a story in one publication and moving it up the ladder to another magazine or newspaper, or transferring it to another medium such as radio or television.

Consumers often clip articles they read about a restaurant they would like to try or a destination they would like to visit. Also, a copy of the publication containing your article can be distributed to customers and other contacts. This is another way to “touch” customers and prospects and keep them informed about special accomplishments and up-to-date on both you and your company.

If a newspaper or magazine in your area is noteworthy, you can cite “as seen in” on all printed advertising, e-mail signatures and point-of-purchase marketing when an article mentions your restaurant. “As seen in the Boston Globe” can give you tremendous credibility and set you apart from your competition in a significant way.

Of course, one PR opportunity often leads to another. For example, assignment editors and reporters at TV and radio stations read the local and regional newspapers and magazines and sometimes get story ideas from published articles they read. Similarly, editors and reporters at newspapers and magazines sometimes get ideas from stories they hear on the radio or see on TV. The ultimate goal of a restaurant public relations campaign is to get you noticed and to attract guests into your location. A flattering article in the local newspaper or regional magazine creates a celebrity status for the person or place profiled. This truely seperates you from your competition.

 

FoodBrats.com only publsihes Cookbooks. We help you look good. We will take your words and ideals and create a cookbook you will be proud to say you wrote.

 

Why Hire an Expert?

Some people think they can write a press release, send it to the media and watch the publicity from published and broadcast stories pour in. If that were true, then public relations firms wouldn’t exist. Effective PR is an art that involves writing well-crafted press releases with story angles that interest the media, not self-serving marketing verbiage. There is nothing more irritating to reporters than receiving poorly written press releases with no newsworthy angles.

A restaurant public relations firm, you by creating targeted publicity materials and allowing you to focus on your core business.

When choosing a public relations firm, you should seek an agency that understands your business well and is connected with the media that are important to you. To find such a firm, you can conduct an Internet search, ask for referrals and loof for companies that are generating favorable press for their clients. Chances are great that the restaurant companies that you read about in trade publications are represented by an effective restaurant public relations firm.

It’s also extremely important to make sure any firm has a genuine interest in your background and future potential. they can’t get excited about you do, it will be harder for them to get the media excited enough to write about you.

Remember, the goal of a restaurant public relations campaign is to create and maintain a buzz about your restaurant, build your credibility, position you in the marketplace and stretch your marketing dollars. Lots of media outlets are within your reach if you have a well-crafted plan and the right restaurant public relations partner to execute it.

Are your web pages designed to look good on a smart phone or tablet?

New visitors land on your home page in a variety of ways, such as a Google search, or through your Yelp profile. Perhaps a friend mentioned your restaurant on Facebook or your Groupon promotion included a link to your website. No matter where they come from, the bottom line is this: Visitors who land at your website are qualified prospects, ready to decide whether they will try your restaurant.

FoodBrats.com only publsihes Cookbooks. We help you look good. We will take your words and ideals and create a cookbook you will be proud to say you wrote.

 

Is your restaurant website ready to convert visitors to customers? The following are four ways to improve your chances.

1. Optimize your website for mobile users.

We’ve officially entered the era of smart phones and tablets. These mobile devices are being used for browsing the web more than ever before.

Restaurant owners should pay particularly close attention to their mobile website because it’s more likely than ever that potential guests are out and about and checking their smart phones for places to eat. Your restaurant website needs to be ready to catch them.

Start by ensuring your website doesn’t depend on Flash, since it isn’t supported on the most popular devices like iPhones and iPads. HTML is the standard for web design and it’s accessible on all mobile devices.

Ideally, your website design will scale and adapt to fit any mobile device. All of the information should be easily accessible in the smaller touch-screen format. The goal is to ensure that all of your pages, online menus and even photos can be easily viewed on a smart phone or tablet. Web designers use techniques like “Responsive Web Design” to achieve this.

2. Provide online food menus, not PDFs.

A lot of restaurant websites provide menus that are only available as a PDF download. This is a mistake for several reasons.

First, your menu should be the core element of your restaurant website. Asking visitors to download a file to their computers only serves as a roadblock, not an easy pathway to what they want (a quick glance at your menu).

PDF files can be bulky and slow to download. This can be especially problematic for any mobile users who are on slow connections.

Showcase your online menu as part of your restaurant website itself. Visitors should be able to click and instantly browse your menu just as they would any other page on your website.

Like your print menus, your online menus should include short descriptions and pricing. But you can take your online menus to the next level by adding photos and social sharing buttons, which would allow visitors to share links to their favorite items on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

3. Don’t forget to include contact info.

This sounds pretty basic, but you’d be surprised how many restaurant websites fail to do this. Display your contact information prominently on your restaurant website.

No matter which page your visitor is reading, your contact info should be waiting for them when they’re ready to make that call to book a reservation. So make sure your contact info is visible near the top of all pages on your website.

It’s also a good idea to include your operating hours and an embedded Google map of your location. Both make it that much easier for new visitors to find you.

Bonus tip: Be sure to include your phone number and street address in plain text—in other words, not as part of an image. Most mobile devices will automatically convert your phone number to a link, allowing visitors on smart phones to instantly call you. They’ll do the same for maps, linking them to the maps app on the mobile device. Pretty cool, huh?

4. Curate your best reviews.

Reviews from Yelp, Citysearch, Zagat and Urbanspoon can make or break a restaurant. Luckily, you have a tool to help you capitalize on good reviews: your website!

Clip the best quotes from the positive comments you receive on those sites and showcase them. Remember, visitors to your website are qualified prospects to become customers. A little positive social proof could provide the push they need to get them into your restaurant.

You can devote a special section of your website to your reviews. This might include quotes from positive writeups in newspapers and magazines as well.

Another idea is to include a blog on your website. This is your “voice” as the restaurant owner, where you can express your own opinions (be nice!), stories, inspiration and more. Your blog serves as another place new visitors can get to know you and establish a connection on a personal level, which adds even more incentive for them to become your customers.

The web is yours to win. Your next customers are already online and searching for new places to eat out. By optimizing your website design to attract customers, your restaurant can thrive both online and off.

 

FoodBrats.com only publsihes Cookbooks. We help you look good. We will take your words and ideals and create a cookbook you will be proud to say you wrote.

 

How to Get Great PR

Garnering great press for your business is a powerful marketing strategy and as such, journalists should be on your radar as a target market. Now, instead of abusing them with buy (press releases) messages, how about starting by building some know, like and trust before you ever ask for the order – that’s just good marketing.

The absolute best way to do this is to become a resource to a select group of journalists that report on your industry or businesses in your community. As a resource your primary job is to help them do their job better by sending along industry information, adding to stories they write and commenting on potential resources and angles they might consider – nothing to do with selling your business or story.

If you do this I can almost guarantee you will start getting calls to provide quotes in stories as a reliable source.

Here’s how to make the job of journalist relationship building easier.

Use Google Alerts and Google Reader to track every story, blog post and mention your target list of journalists create and scan them in five minutes from one location (or, even have them sent to your email inbox as they happen in real time.)

Then you can visit your Reader page, see if anything from one of your journalists pops up and go make a relevant comment on their blog, drop an industry study in mail or suggest a follow-up angle to their story through a hand-written note. This entire process should take just minutes a day and can even be delegated once it’s up and running.

Some tech notes:

* Google AlertsUse quotes around full names to get best results – “bill smith”
* Check the RSS version to have it sent to Google Reader

* Google ReaderCreate a folder in Google Reader just for your PR efforts so that you can store the results of your RSS alerts in one handy place
* Get in the habit of checking and responding at least several times a week.

 

Press Links

See the link for more Press examples:
http://pressroom.prlog.org/foodbrats/?hosted

Where Am I ??

Where in the world am I ???

Marketing and Public Relations for You

The Professional Image, Inc.
Marketing and Public Relations for You

The Marketing and Public Relations for You helps create and maintains a high level of awareness for the company, both on a regional and national level.

Costing per month for services

The Professional Image, Inc. will be accomplished for you:

“
The Professional Image’s role is to work directly with restaurant management to seek revenue goals. We will help you create additional sales by developing marketing programs and packages designed to achieve budgeted revenue objectives.
“

The Professional Image, Inc. will oversee the creation and execution of marketing strategies to encompass all advertising, promotion development, electronic and e-commerce, direct marketing and collateral.

Development and implementation of database management for consolidation, classification and customization to be used in direct marketing programs. Oversee and strengthen your email database to build long term relationships with customers and owners while strengthening brand equity by increasing visibility and awareness.

Formulate sales and marketing yearly operating budget.
Guide and help you manage the company’s overall branding and image development through various media channels.

The costs of this plan are monthly, average 3-6 month contract is usual.

Your Plan in detail:

1. The Professional Image, will create and maintain company press kit and distribute on going positive information to the media.

2. The Professional Image will establish on going media relations with various outlets to promote specific social media promotions and story ideas for publication – for current and future relevant exposure opportunities.

3. The Professional Image will solicit and host on going individual media visits and press trips including advertising agencies, media agencies, and communication managers to further the company’s exposure to the press and coordinate projects.

4. The Professional Image develops and expands exclusive promotional partnerships with area F&B companies and special events to maximize company exposure and revenue opportunities.

5. The Professional Image develops and plans an electronic Customer Relation Management (eCRM) initiatives including implementation of database management for consolidation, classification and customization to be used in direct marketing programs. The Professional Image may oversee and strengthen property database management to build long term relationships with customers while strengthening brand equity by increasing visibility and awareness to guests. Extra option package (one year contract)

6. Ensures all related websites (company and all related strategic partners) are continually updated with all the latest information, pictures and group and leisure offers. Extra option package (one year contract)

7. The Professional Image may publish and distribute 3 to 5 individually specialized press releases monthly, to potentially interested media with telephone follow-up.
Extra options

8. The Professional Image, will issue wire service releases when necessary to Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines. Extra cost option

9. The Professional Image, will maintain up to date Public Relations photo file for inclusion in appropriate releases.

10. The Professional Image attends needed conferences with all general managers and various departmental heads to establish story ideas for press releases.

11. The Professional Image assists with the direction and implementation of internal marketing campaigns that integrate employee knowledge and support for property marketing activities. Assist with strategy for staff education and approaches useful in sales/up selling, promoting seasonal specials and general resort knowledge.

12. Develops media tools using power point, e-mail/direct mail, electronic proposals, newsletters, etc…. to help the catering sales team solicit and secure group meetings.

13. The Professional Image will use the most advanced graphic design software a.k.a. photoshop, illustrator, quark, indesign, etc…to properly execute your publishing needs.

14. The Professional Image, will review campaign effectiveness and report media response/impact to restaurant Management.

15. The Professional Image monitors expenses as they relate to the marketing and public relations budget.

16. Negotiate, manage and support the advertising trade program, advance the existing relationships.

17. Provide strategic processes to capture market and guest data, and provide detailed analysis and recommendations to capitalize on both existing and new opportunities for revenue growth.

18. Develop and expand exclusive promotional partnerships with area companies and special events to maximize restaurant exposure and revenue opportunities.

19. Coordinate projects with external vendors as required.

20. Develop, maintain and continue to strengthen promotional relationships with area companies in order to increase restaurant exposure and drive new B2B revenue streams.

21. Assist with the direction and implementation of external marketing campaigns that integrate background, knowledge and support for restaurant’s marketing activities.

22. Assist with the development of community relations initiatives as it pertains to the company. Oversee PR program in coordination with overall marketing efforts, designed to maximize property exposure and positioning in the community.

23. Formulate ideas, pitch stories and manage appropriate media to assure coverage for hotel events, generate ideas for column items, feature stories, and community involvement.

24. Develop and present weekly and monthly PR reports with updates on activity.

Contact us at: the_professional_image@yahoo.com

Chef Michael Bennett writes for other chefs and restaurants.

Reblogged from Chef Michael Bennett - the Foodbrat's Blog:

Planning the future with chef Michael Bennett

In the times when you never seem to be able to get the word out about you and your food, the FOODBRAT comes through… here is an article that Chef Michael Bennett (the FoodBrat) wrote about Chef Scott Andres.

Examiner.com Article:

Hometown Celebs:

Part one of three

Ex – Publix GreenWise…

Read more… 3,472 more words

Tampa Bay Chefs making waves.

Chef Michael Bennett writes for other chefs and restaurants.

Chef Michael Bennett writes for other chefs and restaurants..

Chef Michael Bennett writes for other chefs and restaurants.

Planning the future with chef Michael Bennett

In the times when you never seem to be able to get the word out about you and your food, the FOODBRAT comes through… here is an article that Chef Michael Bennett (the FoodBrat) wrote about Chef Scott Andres.

Examiner.com Article:

Hometown Celebs:

Part one of three

Ex – Publix GreenWise Chef -

Scott Andres is Florida‘s Food Liaison.

      When you go about your daily responsibilities, shopping for dinner is something everyone does eventually. Chef Scott Andres has awakened all of us in the Southern United States with his culinary propensities.

Chef Scott’s Culinary Soul.

If you lived in Florida any time between the years 2006 to the present, Chef Scott Andre’s ideas about food and his ideals about cooking have cultivated a relationship with you through tonight’s family dinner.

The chef defines his approach and translations of his cookery through his reflections of dining in Las Vegas at Aureole, when he was a culinary student team member where he played a key part in the annual American Culinary Federation’s Robert G. Galand Knowledge Bowl.

Here is the link to Aureole in Las Vegas, where Chef Andres affirms that, “this is where I ate the best meal of my life”.
http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/Aureole/LasVegas/Menu/
Chef Scott Andres describes his culinary approach of his cooking views through his reflections of his culinary tour of Las Vegas restaurants as a fledgling Foodie.

“My favorite dining memory is dining at Charlie Palmer‘s – Aureole – in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay hotel. While dining at Aureole, I discovered that their neo-classic cuisine was formulated by assembling layer upon layer of complex, yet harmonizing flavors. Till this day I can’t eat an elegant meal without relating it to the dazzling cookery styling of Chef Charlie Palmer”.

“At Aureole, Chef Palmer demonstrated that there are no food-pairing boundaries under one creative roof. He showed me that you can use savory ingredients in desserts and sweet ingredients in savory. These principles have led me to my latest creative venture”, say Chef Andres.

“I combine all of my culinary experience with my gift of creativity to create food that is new, exciting and makes people feel happy when they eat it”, says Chef Andres.

This is key to Chef Andres as he prepares a delectably genteel new gourmet dining standard. He says: “I want my cooking to spawn a feeling of happiness from the inside out”. While traveling to Las Vegas he encountered a new culinary ideal. One that draws a diner into solely focusing on what they are eating.

He describes it as: “being able to bring the diner into a singular realm of concentrating on what they are relishing and blocking out everything else they have going on in their lives for that isolated moment.”

Walking a Day in a Chef’s Shoes…

Chef Andres has been the developmental chef in charge of producing a business program so important to Publix Corporation that they gave it their most critical and important “Tier 1” designation. The importance of this new business idea and the NEW profits that were generated by Chef Scott Andre’s ideas have made the largest impact on the grocery business this decade.

Working with all the top level executives in the Publix Corporation, Chef Andres developed the ground breaking gourmet grocer based individual business units that feature a diverse and  individual carte du jour – Action Stations (as he calls them) enterprises and distinct personality for their new corporate strategy across the United States. This new business unit was baptised GreenWise prepared foods. Anyone buying dinner across Florida can see his fingerprints on what you have bought for tonight’s dinner.

“It is important that my at-the-moment cooking a.k.a. Action Stations and, Publix’s “Aprons” cooking school recipes, tell a story about the culture they characterize. The dishes that are prepared at the (moment they are requested) action stations must be colorful and visually captivating, combining textures and shapes to create a visual work of art that you are eager to devour”, says Chef Andres.

As Chef Andres developed these new dishes, he insisted that Publix use the freshest ingredients to prepare dishes and, they must be in their optimum appearance and of the highest premium quality. Ingredients must be prepared with the utmost in culinary professionalism as these innovative recipes have been shaped with an extreme respect to maintaining their distinct cultural integrities. Their ingredient pantries have been deployed in a perfect balance to create a dish that delivers the best culturally-based representation that you could experience anywhere and, one that you remember forever and, compare all others for the rest of your life.

“I want that person to be completely drawn into focusing on every aspect of their food as they block out everything else they have going on in their lives for that moment. It is important that the new dish they are experiencing tells a story about the culture it represents. The dish must be colorful and visually captivating, combining textures and shapes to create a visual work of art to get you excited to eat it”.

“This is what I am thinking about when I fashion a new dish. I strive to achieve these strategies every time my hands create food. These guidelines of thought are the obligations that I am asking myself, am I creating a recipe that will accomplish this? And, can these recipes be prepared by another chef”, continues Chef Andres.

 

Part Two:

Scott Andres- Florida’s latest Food Truck Chef to enter Tampa Bay’s Foodie scene.

      As a creative; I want to create. Whether it is written words or complex delicacies that build an edgy spark for your tastebuds. These words are screaming in my mind while listening to Chef Scott Andres talk.

      The pearl that one discovers while writing about cooking with a Fusion cuisine head is that there are no limits to your subsequent footing. (the foodbrat)

As a Florida culinary creative, you always strive to produce new compositions and new-fangled twists on cookery classics. That is where Food Trucks and Fusion Cuisine have made a big impact with seriously experimental chefs. Doing it with style is what any chef tries to accomplish to gratify his characteristic Top Chef’s golden-era head, as he works to build a treasure trove of ingredients spiked with bold and sassy flavors of cultures from around the World.

    A chef’s responsibility is to keep true to his own culinary foundations while building upon BLUNT bedrock to his culinary esteem. We as creatives have found these descriptors are our lineage and our future. Tomorrow’s cuisine necessitates the establishment of an innovative cuisine based upon culinary classics that are newly  fused with innovative cookery philosophies. This is how Fusion Cuisine and Food Trucks are going to blossom.

Throughout the centuries, change arose this way. Every innovative culinary break through began by first using the current culinary wisdom and augmenting it with a new hook.

Back to our interview with Chef Scott Andres.

  Throughout America, today’s hottest culinary trend is operating a Food Truck. The entirety of what Food Trucks are doing is different business-wise yet, is based upon what has come before it.

Before it all Started….

As we left off in our first part of this interview, Chef Scott Andres was describing his experiences developing new menus and a gourmet culinary concept for the prolific grocery store chain – Publix | Greenwise market. (the FoodBrat)

Years before the first Publix GreenWise concept was constructed in 2007, Chef Scott Andres worked on defining this project with top Publix Executives. Due to his life-long culinary experience and Fusion Food philosophies he would define their new globally-inspired Fusion menu strategies used at all new GreenWise markets.  That is when the ball started rolling and Chef Andres ideas were implemented at multiple high-trafficked Publix markets.

Lake Mary (Florida) Publix was the first regular Publix to be retro-fitted with the new gourmet-market menu marquee and it became his recipe testing ground for all other Greenwise market concepts to follow. This beta situation helped with framing new GreenWise menu strategies and hundreds of recipes which developed an abundant following.

Fusion Food Chef Scott Andres harkens back to the time when he was a young foodie, all the way back to when his mother taught him about the classic American home-style “comfort foods”. He maintains, “everyone I know loves recipes such as: beef Stroganoff, Shepherd’s pie and Brown gravy, simmered pork chops with buttery White rice and, they still hold a special spot in my heart. To this day I use them to evaluate any of the new, yet wonderfully intricate recipe that I create”, he continues.

A Journey that starts now….

“My life’s journey has afforded me what I consider to be my biggest challenge and greatest opportunity yet. It seems as though I am going to finally create and cultivate what I set out to do when I began attending culinary school many years ago”, Chef Andres admits.

“I am discovering my aloof dream by fashioning a mobile bistro from the ground up. My vision will be on wheels, not your usual brick and mortar restaurant, that young chefs dream about. I am creating my culinary legacy for myself and my forthcoming family ”, say chef Andres.

“It will be a full-on kitchen Food Truck concept.  My dream is to create a professional mobile kitchen based inside an edgy logo-wrapped truck with a boisterous menu that has a funky name for funky-little menus that vaunt plenty of personality and of course a brilliantly executed dishes. The concept will center around smoked meats offered with a variety of traditional barbecue sides. The smoked meats will be served in non-traditional ways by incorporating many boldly flavored personalities from formable cuisines such as: Southwest, Indian and Asian influences”, states the chef.

From the Chef:

      “The goal is to incorporate as many fresh components as possible as a way to accent the smoked meats and set them off with complementary and assertive hand prepared sauces”. 

“In some dishes the smoked meat may stand alone and others will BE FASHIONED as hand held, dashboard cuisine-style dishes. The smoked meat may be served on a warm flatbread or tortilla then garnished with additional fresh ingredients that add color, textures and flavors to enhance the presentation and the overall eating experience. We will also provide daily changing chef inspired creations to keep the menu options new and exciting”, says chef Scott Andres.

“I wish I could tell you the name of the food truck at this time but, you’ll have to stay tuned for that information at a later date”.

The truth is, I have not been able to land on the definitive name. Trust me this will be an exciting time for everyone pursuing the same goal. During the phase of recipe development and menu targeting, I will be merging emphasis on building in a streamlined linear menu execution plan that can be replicated for additional trucks or a brick and mortar location. My ultimate goal would be to create a food brand with such a committed customer following that franchising will be a possibility down the road.

Any thoughts about the growing trend – of chefs putting their own name on packaged foods?

“When I was a young cook I remember having a few buddies that went into construction and were making much better money than me; they were usually done working by 3 pm; holidays and weekends were always taken off.  I did not care because I had found harmony in my life and money did not matter (Ok, I was a little confused). Then, I worked for a chef who was pretty famous, had multiple restaurants and was making loads of money”. He asked, “why did I cook for a living?” “I said because it is my passion”, he looked me in the eye and said, “passion does not pay the bills, money does”. “You should do whatever it takes to make as much money as possible because there are very few old chefs that are still successful cooking on the line at 60 years old”.

So, I am good with chefs that put their names on packaged foods”.

 

Part Three~

Scott Andres

It all comes down to this.

Questioning the Food Truck Myths…

 

“Everything comes to you as they are supposed to be”, a wise man said to me once in the Caribbean. And, so goes the Food Truck business. These articles are finishing with a recap of Chef Scott Andres Business plan.  I have been learning about the Food Truck business for the past few months as he told me of how he plans to develop his business. He is now under the gun of his own self-imposed timeline.  A timeline that is constantly being replaced with another unfolding opening date.

Now that gas prices have increased so dramatically, his bottom line has shrunk without serving even the first hand-held morsel. Here are a few things that have come up to keep the wheels spinning in his head but, not on the pavement.

What is the Name of your food truck concept?

Chef Andres is waiting for that A-ha moment. A spark that will generate the right name, one that encompasses and represents the entire concept and defines his menu accurately.

“I actually have multiple pages of names written down but, I want to fall in love with the name of my food truck concept” say Chef Scott.

“Right now, none of the names really excite me. I don’t like cliff-hanger endings, I’m more of a closure kind of guy. So believe me, when I know, you’ll know. Sorry, you’ll have to patiently stay tuned for now”.

What will Core Menu and Specialties be:

“Smoked meats that are served both hot and cold will be the mainstays additionally, the entire menu will be established around using the liveliest of ingredients with key notes prepared using whole foods”, says the Chef.

Why did you decide to start a food truck concept?

“I began my quest in culinary school at Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. My idea was that one day I would take everything that I learned, and apply it in my own business, leaving a legacy for my children”, says Chef Andres.

“Well, here I am, I have finally arrived at that very important place in creating my gourmet food truck concept and, I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity” opines Chef Scott Andres.

Troubles and Challenges?

“Relying upon others to help make needed modifications”. Chef Andres relies upon many different people to get his business going. Just finding someone to work on the step-van truck was another problem. When he has to repair his mobile kitchen, he has a hard time getting the proper parts.

His truck is a converted food delivery truck. He found that the person who owned the truck before used parts from other varieties of step-vans.  Step-vans are also on the road for decades. The companies that build these vans built themselves out of business.  So getting parts can be hard because some of these step-van builders are gone.  Custom repairs seem to be the only answer.

Work Flow and Placement…

Fitting your equipment into your new Food Truck could be as difficult as using a shoe horn to get an elephant’s foot into a stiletto. The equipment has to be set up to be removable if the menu changes and placed into the van so your steps to accomplish a dish are streamlined. The equipment has to be convertible. Meaning that a flat-top refrigerator should always be bought because they need to be used for a working surfaces.

Truck Approved for Full-on Production.

The Health Department can be your best friend or, cost you more than you planned. They lay down the rules about where and how you plan to prepare food. The Health Department watchdogs can examine your food preparation kitchen (that is usually in your home) and approve it or, insist that you have to conduct your business through in an approved commercial kitchen.

Increase Customer Flow….

To increase customer turnover and get them through the ordering and cashing-out process has to be streamlined as well. “No one wants to wait, but they will if they see the lines are moving at a steady pace, they will wait to order”, says chef Scott.

Meats…

For me meats such as beef, pork, turkey are going to be the culinary stars. The Accompaniments are going to be the supporting Cast members.  My sauces and condiments will be paired with the main ingredients to create an interactive culinary experience for the customer. The scope of accompaniments will give people the opportunity to play with their food while mixing and matching to their preference.

The Chef Highlights:

Smoked rare roast beef piled high on a soft roll, with a fresh grated horseradish sauce and my own special home-made ketchup will be the sauce that might be my main forte. Then the sides of a SouthWestern slaw and crisp chili-dusted potatoes will the side available to add to the hand-held masterpiece.

Simple Things…

“Cross-utilization is not only going to be a money savings process for my business, because I will offer so many alternative choices it is also going to be a time saving device for me while providing variety for the customer. If am going to serve something with cabbage, this condiment will also have alternative uses”, says Chef Andres.  The cabbage will of course be offered as an old fashion slaw but, it will also be the ingredients in a dispenser so the customer can add a South-Western soiree slaw.  This slaw will be available for a Bajan Fish Taco as an alternative to the Asian-style slaw that I created for the taco.

Twists that were Not Expected?

Propane gas instead of natural? As the Chef details all these little things, some questions come up such as how are you going to cook the food? The gas available to fuel the equipment is commonly overlooked. “Natural gas of course burns hotter and heats more efficiently, but the availability and ease of attaining propane gas is a no-brainer.”

How did you Work through the Down Times?

“We always have small events being booked. I started this business with a small smoker trailer. The smoker trailer gives me the availability to do smaller events that are peppered throughout the year to sustain us during down time where we have been waiting for business approvals and custom truck renovations”.

Staffing…

“My staff is only on-call right now. We still have no full time commitments except for family members. It is just extra money for my on-call staff.  For now, my calls to work are just a little unexpected something extra”.

What Food Truck Groups did You Hook-up with?

Tampa Bay Food Trucks. It is a small group of about ten Food Trucks. Small groups make it better for everyone involved right now during the first year of these Food Truck rallies. The customer base is  relatively plentiful so there are sufficient business to be divided among vendors.

Another cost that Food Truck Vendors do not realize ahead of time is the Pay for Play – to be involved with these rallies. A surcharge is levied upon the Vendors to pay for city permits and lot rentals that the organizers have to pay the city. Sometimes, this a pre-event cost, other times an Event Managers might just take a cut of your sales. So plan for both, yet remember this is just one more thing you have to build into the cost of selling your products.

Is it Important to be Involved with the other Vendors at these Rallies?

The learning early on from another vendor might be the most important thing you can obtain ahead of time. “Go to some local Rallies and ask questions. I find, the more trucks involved in a rally, the better. It makes the event more popular, drawing more customers. They will likely have extra customer-friendly activities to draw even more customers”, says Chef Andres.

Sales Forecast…

$100,000 estimated sales for my first year, providing me a small gross profit and the out-right purchasing of my used Step-van Truck was better to free up operational cash reserves for the long run. The way we built this from the ground up, I save at least $100K in cost of buying a pre-Fab Food Truck. It was a decision of time vs. the amount of start-up money. I had a lot more time than money to get this business going.

In Five Years…

I will have my second or third truck on the road so, I can cover more events.

Your Traveling Range and Days Off…

I plan on doing rallies from Orlando to Sarasota.  “My weekend events are going to be my most important. Thursdays through Sundays are going to be my bread and butter. Monday through Wednesday will be my days for preparing for these events”.

Article published 4-1-12

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Why does anyone go to live in the Caribbean?

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It is the weather right?  Not this guy. I grew up in South Florida and have spent most of my life in tropical climes.  I was there to learn more about the food of the Caribbean.

What lures so many is the stunning beauty of the Caribbean Sea.  For centuries these islands have been attracting sailors from all over the globe.  The bygone era’s of pirates and even modern day swashbucklers make use of these waters and the islands that lie in and around these oceans as a refuge from persecution and shelter.

It was a tricky play for me to convince my family to agree to leave the conveniences of the modern world.  Eventually Miami’s gleaming towers of glass and steel were soon replaced by never ending horizons of blue.  The aquatic surrounding our new residence on the Island of Tortola made for glorious panoramas.  Daily scenes of mountainous isles jutting out of an azure sea so vivid you would might think this scene from my porch is an oversize post card.  We have lived our entire lives in the metropolitan landscapes of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and this new Virgin Island seascape was to me implausible. 

In my most recent daydreams of our Tortolan bliss, the seascape of blue was replaced by landscapes of green, yellow, orange and the crimson red of mango, papayas, pineapple and bananas. They line every road, trail and path multiplying copiously on every corner of our island. These small outcroppings were only dwarfed by my encounters with numerous wild groves.  As I pursued my uncovering more on foot, the high altitudes can really affect you. Did I remember to tell you that these islands are mountainous?

Imagine a Caribbean island filled with tropical foods.  A chef’s dream right?  I thought so at first, but found out what a chore it was to harvest these wild groves after climbing a combination of summits.  The altitude unsettled my self confidence.  Being someone that lived his entire life at sea level, this altitude made me confront and rethink my physical stamina.  Just about to give up this week’s attempt at finding another unusual food for dinner, I stumble across a man and his donkey. 

It seems that just a decade before the new millennium, this island had no automobiles and modern roads and donkeys were the best means of transportation.  The sun weathered old man with limited dentistry encounters, (wearing what might be graciously said as) sporting a tattered assembly of cloths and no shoes – told me that he climbs these hills daily to harvest provisions and later ensues that others have been doing this for years.  They gather on Saturday and Sunday at an aged (to put it in a good way) open-air market to sell these wild foods and I should go.  

It is not the amount of people that have crossed your path

But, how the path was accomplished.

Being at the market only a few minutes, I can see that this is the meeting place for “Belongers” to flock.  Not so much to sell their harvest but to be apart of a community.  Belonger’s are people that have lived on the island for a very longtime if not their entire lives.  This island’s populace is all about community. It seems as though everyone knows each other here.  It is unusual for you to walk any street and not be said hello. It is exceedingly strange to me, coming from Miami where nobody knows each other and most people are from someplace else.  The feeling of community is strongest on the island at the marketplace.  All the gathers sell their provisions but it really isn’t as important to make a sale as it is to be with friends.  Our time on this world can be assessed by how many people have crossed your path and affected your life.  In the Caribbean it is different.  It is not the amount of people that have crossed your path but, how the path was accomplished. 

Most Caribbean peoples share the same common history.  Discovering a social backdrop like the marketplace is just the tip of a very large iceberg. This entire social unification of islands and its cultures are different but the same in so many ways.  As a rule Islanders, are overflowing with the same atypical allegiance to its own peoples and their own individualistic cultures.  Each Caribbean island has a potpourri of divergent residents and not everyone originally comes from the same island which they now live.  Jamaicans and the people from “Down Island” (those people coming from the lower islands of the Lesser Antilles) make up Tortola’s diverse, yet the same populace.  It is awe-inspiring to be apart of a community where everyone has commonalities and feels as though they belong to something greater. 

The peoples of these islands not only have a different spirit of life that isn’t seen in America, it is poles apart.

Tortola is the “melting pot” of the Caribbean just as the United States.  Being a financial center, second busiest in the Caribbean, people from every where come here to work.  Commonalities bring people here but it is their uncommon allegiance to their home island that keeps them independently uplifted.  People from “down island” always chatter on about the natural beauty of their home island.  Dominique for example, is always said to be the most beautiful place in the world, with their rainforest and crystal clear rivers leading out to the Oceans where fishing is exceptionally popular.  While other down-islanders brag about their homeland, the Trini’s are always yakking on about Carnival. If anyone knows anything about Carnival in Trinadad, they don’t try to compare their island’s festival to a Trinadad’s.  The people of Jamaica are always talking about how beautifully rich their homeland is in natural attractions and culture. You can’t go anywhere in the Caribbean without running into a “Jerk-Shak”.  Jamaican jerk-shaks are so popular, you would think every Island has the same food.

Food is the separating and a bonding aspect to many cultures.

Being wrong once again Dad didn’t figure in the lack of everyday urban conveniences as a major dilemma for my girls.  They were to use to the modern amenities of Miami.  After one year of being un-accommodate of everyday requirements on this remote island, we returned to the good old US of A and a hip-hip- hooray’s ensued daily by my girls.

excerpt taken from my first cookbook 

“In the Land of Misfits, Pirates and Cooks“

copyright 2009, 2011

 

18th ANNUAL BALI HA’I AT THE KAMPONG

SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2012

The 18th annual Bali Ha’i Party – will take place Sunday, April 1, 2012, from 5 to 8 p.m. South Florida’s favorite garden party/food & wine fundraiser is held at its annual location “The Kampong” garden. South Florida’s exotic botanical oasis in Coconut Grove that offers the perfect setting such an event. South Florida’s favourite chefs and restaurants offer visitors exquisite wines, champagnes and exotic libations along with the uber-tempting culinary samplings from over 30 top South Florida restaurants.

In addition, a cornucopia of luxurious auction items will be available for bidding by event.

The event, a collaborative effort between The Kampong and the South Florida Chapter of The American Institute of Wine & Food. Bali Ha’i also raises funds to further the goals of the American Institute of Wine & Food. Regarded as one of the most important food and wine events on the Miami social calendar, Bali Ha’i at The Kampong has sold out each of its previous seventeen years.

Last year’s “People’s Choice” award winners Hakkasan at Fontainebleau Miami Beach will be joined by South Florida’s top chefs from: River Seafood & Oyster Bar, The Dutch at W South Beach, J&G Grill (Jean-Georges Vongerichten) at the St Regis Bal Harbour, 1500° at The Eden Roc, 3030 Ocean (chef and cookbook author – Dean Max), Altamare, Azul at The Mandarin Oriental, Mango Café, Ortanique on the Mile (Cindy Hutson), Sawa Restaurant & Lounge, Essensia at The Palms Hotel and the Wynwood Kitchen & Bar.

For more information you can contact:
Email: spikeanddan@aol.com
Telephone: (305) 899-5847 or (305)-542-8762.