The Kitchen Think

Own the table

Emily Dyer-Schiefer

Feel guilty every time you raise your menu prices?

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At least once I week I meet a food business owner who isn’t making enough money. Somewhere in the chat, we’ll talk about their costs and prices. And I’ll suggest they raise their prices.

That always triggers at least one of these responses

  • “Don’t you think people would get pissed off with me?”
  • “I just don’t know if I could get away with that”
  • “I feel bad. Like, things are already so tough out there and now we are raising our prices too”
  • “We’re already an expensive option, and I don’t want to drive away the few customers that we have”
  • “I want customers to feel like they’re getting great value”

Hmm. These are reflex responses and I know that they feel like the truth, because everyone in the food industry says them. But they’re not.

I need to be honest with you:

Being the cheapest is doing nothing for your business.

You’re underselling yourself because you’re too scared to deal with slight discomfort. So it’s easier to fly under the radar, never quite making money and making things difficult for yourself. You’d rather do that than show up as the most expensive option.

You can’t continue as the low-budget option.

So here are a few quick thoughts on why being the bargain isn’t good for your business. In fact, it’s harming it.

If you’re the cheapest, no one thinks you’re the best. If you’re the best, no one expects you to be the cheapest.

How many times have you glossed over the cheaper dish soap when grocery shopping and picked up the more expensive? Because the more expensive one must be better, right?

I rest my case.

Competing to be the cheapest is literally a race to the bottom.

You’re pricing yourself compared to your competitors. But what if they’re desperate? What if their business is failing? What if they’re pricing based on you?

You don’t know. You’ll keep undercutting each other until neither of you is making money. Have the confidence to charge what you’re worth.

Your goal shouldn’t be to offer the lowest possible price. It should be to provide the greatest value.

If you’ve got the best quality and promise, you’re definitely offering amazing value.

Pick two: good, fast or cheap.

There’s a reason this is called The Golden Triangle.

Good and fast both need people, equipment. Cheap means you’re sacrificing quality in raw ingredients, and you have fewer people on hand so you’re not fast.

The person offering the cheapest is usually cutting a corner somewhere.

It’s better to explain your price and value once than have to apologise forever for a poor quality experience.

I’ll take one uncomfortable conversation and learning over years of shame anytime.

When people STOP buying completely you might be too expensive.

If you’re selling ANY you have proof that people can afford it. Your job is to find more of those people.

Not many people are price shopping to that extent. They’re not going to your competitor because of a fraction in price. They’re going because the value was better communicated.

I know you think that is why they went there. But people are going to your more expensive competitors too. Being a tiny bit cheaper won’t influence someone’s decision. Do you know what will?

  • When they can see it will be worth it
  • When it’s presented as the only option
  • When other people have told them how good it is.

None of these has anything to do with price.

Stop making price your excuse.

Is your costing on track? Pick up my Intro to Costing Workbook below and find out.

My Content Creation Workflows for busy Food Biz Owners

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You know you should create content. But, it’s a pain. This is exactly why it’s the first thing to fall to the side in the face of all your other pressing concerns. You know like, running your business, serving food to people and dealing with your staff.

If you don’t plan for it and make time, it doesn’t get done. So here is the plan I introduce to all busy food business owners.

It’s a simple set of workflows and tips to help you fit it in. All it needs from you is a little bit of time to plan each week, and then a commitment to stay on top of it.

Tip 1: Set yourself up

Step 1

Find a scheduling app you like and can work with. Working with a scheduler will change your life.

The most recommended are

  • Using Facebook & Instagram’s internal schedulers
  • Planoly
  • Later

Using a scheduler means you pre-schedule content to post, and remove it from your brain. You can now create content ahead of time, instead of on the fly (which, let’s be honest, will always be the last thing you do.)

You’ll also now be able to plan your content, which means better quality posts.

(Don’t like planning content? Feel like it ruins your creativity? That’s ok! But then you shouldn’t be reading this article. This article is all about helping you manage the time you have, to do what you need to do.)

Step 2

Find a place to store all your pictures and videos. I upload pictures to Dropbox so I can access them from both my phone and my laptop. You can also use your Google Drive.

Saving your pictures centrally saves you from having to scroll through your phone to find the picture you want. They’ll all be in one place. And you’re less likely to lose them, so you can re-use pictures. It’s great!

Step 3

Set up a spot in your kitchen or restaurant where you can take pictures. Make sure you have good light, and it’s a spot that can sit undisturbed.

Tip 2: Organize

Mark out in your calendar when you will be planning and creating content. Plot out your sessions for the month. Book times when you are able to concentrate and won’t be pulled in 100 directions.

Tip 3: Plan

Once a month, take 2 hours and plot out your posts and reels in your calendar, like the example below.

Decide what types of content you will need: images, graphics and videos.

Use this session to start drafting captions, and gathering your images.

In another 2 hour session get the rest done:

  • Design carousels if you’re posting any
  • Design reels cover images
  • Finish captions
  • Schedule your photographs and videos for the month

Use a final session to do your filming and editing.

Schedule your content as you go and post it automatically. Set reminders to manually post non-scheduled content, like reels and videos.

Tip 3: Build a content bank

At the start of each week

  • Decide which orders you want to photograph/film
  • Write them up in your kitchen or near your desk

When those orders come up

  • Photograph or film
  • Upload to your Dropbox or Google Drive

You can edit when you have an hour to spare.

The great thing about content is that it doesn’t have to be real-time. You can post items that were taken months ago. No one will know the difference.

Tip 4: Outsource what you can

  1. If you use graphics, it helps hugely to have a designer set up some Canva templates. You can quickly edit them, and they’ll have your branding already.
  2. If you battle to take pictures book a shoot with a photographer. The benefit of having 2 months of pre-shot content far outweighs the cost.

How to start email marketing your food biz?

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Ever wondered where to begin with email marketing? Not many food businesses do it well – there isn’t a wealth of inspiration.

Grab this free guide. In it I cover

  • Where to start,
  • How to get subscribers, and
  • What to talk about.

It’s packed with information. Download and start emailing like a pro right away.

Steal my Recipe Development Process

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  • Are you confident that your team can cook perfectly without you?
  • Do you know precisely how each dish will turn out?
  • Can you easily calculate order quantities ahead of time, because you know what each recipe produces?

If not, you need this guide.

If your business sells food, you need reliable recipes.

This is the process I’ve used in over 40 food businesses to create reliable, consistent recipes.

How to make checklists that your team will actually use

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What do you actually have to do to get people to use checklists? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You put all that work in, nobody follows them, and things still get forgotten and not done.

It’s no secret that I love checklists. So much so, that they make my top tools for kitchens – twice. They’re great because when you use them you don’t have to rely on memory. If you’re like me, distraction is a real problem. Even the best knowledge needs a backup. 

But when I suggest checklists, most of my clients say “We tried them. They didn’t work.” Well, they’re right. Some checklists don’t work. Those are what I call bad checklists. (Sorry.)

Bad checklists have 3 things in common

  • They’re all over the place
  • They’re vague
  • There is no reason to follow them

These 3 reasons are why your team isn’t using your checklists and why you’re frustrated every day. 

If you really want people to actually use your checklists, here’s how.

1. Make them simple

As I’ve mentioned, brains are terrible for remembering things. Brains look for patterns, and when there aren’t any, or they aren’t intuitive, we discard the information.

If checklists don’t have a sequence, tasks seem randomly scattered, and difficult to follow. You need to follow the order tasks will be done in. 

A checklist laid out like this:

won’t be followed. Do you see how the tasks are scattered? You’re expecting someone to go from wrapping food, to the windows, then to the back of the kitchen, and finally to the fridge. This means that either they’ll have to remember where they were, and what they did or they have to search through the checklist to check off what they just did. That leads to tasks being checked off without actually having been completed. It’s confusing and muddled.

Avoid this chaos by batching areas and tasks together. The idea is to separate sections so that one task flows on to the next.  For example

This way, it’s a helpful list. The person using it doesn’t have to rely on their brain to remember the flow. Instead, it’s a walk through a series of tasks, building muscle memory.

2. Get very specific

A good checklist never leaves much up to interpretation. Rather than vague, ambiguous tasks

good checklists have clear, direct instructions.

Vagueness is the enemy of direction. If you suspect this is the reason your checklists aren’t followed, ask

  • Is it clear what done looks like?
  • Will the tasks be completed to the same quality if I am not around?
  • Does this need any further explanation?

If you answer No to any of these, reword the direction.

3. Give a reason to use them

What is your plan if checklists aren’t followed? If there is no follow-up and action from management, then the kitchen team has no cause to use them. All people eliminate tasks to make things easier. Your kitchen team is no different. Provide a reason for checklists to be used.

For this reason, checklists should always have a double-checking feature, most likely a space for a manager or team lead to sign off.

You’ll have to get comfortable with following up when they aren’t applied. If a task is marked as completed but is incorrect, schedule extra training on that task. 

Training is teaching systems. If things aren’t done to your standards, don’t let it slide. Show what to do, have your staff do it, and coach and correct while watching them. It might be frustrating, and you’ll wonder why you have to keep doing it, but eventually, it will become natural to your team and you’ll be grateful that you put in the effort.

If you need kitchen checklists, have a look here. I’ve put together a bunch that you can print and use immediately in your business.

How can I get my kitchen to be more consistent?

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“What do I do about a cook who gets so much right but over-seasons dishes?” “How do I get my team to clean without chasing them?”

Every time I’ve worked in a food business, someone has had these issues. These problems are very common. So much so, that I’ve got a list of tools I always introduce in kitchens now. Whenever I work with a new team, this list is where I start.

Recipe Cards

Recipe cards are a visual recipe manual. They’re essentially a plug and play tool to standardize presentation and flavour. 

Cards should ideally have 

  • A list of ingredients and weights
  • a method. how to make the dish or batch
  • a picture of the finished dish 

If you want to get really specific you can also add equipment needed and plate type. 

Display your cards prominently in the kitchen or in an easily accessible recipe file. If you want them followed, they must be visible.

Opening & closing checklists

Smooth running kitchens have a structure in place and a good set of habits. Open and close checklists walk through the tasks and over time build those habits. When you’re groggy in the morning, and wanting to leave at night It helps to have a list of all tasks so everything is covered.

The open and close checklists are the first and last items seen every day. I keep them close to the door, and in sight!

Cleaning Checklists

Cleaning isn’t optional in a kitchen – it is part of the job. Keep checklists of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Review and mark off everything on the checklist at the end of every shift. I find it helps to break down all the tasks by section or job description and have separate ones for those. 

Prep lists

Disorganization in a kitchen is nightmare fuel. Prep lists are lists of what to prepare for the day or before the start of the shift.

Your prep lists should have columns for

  • Stock on hand,
  • Par stock and
  • How much to make.

If you’re working alone, a prep list helps you track where you are and what you still must do.

Stock Sheets

Proper stock management will save you lots of money in the long run. Over-ordering leads to waste, while under ordering causes runs to the shop and buying at a higher price. 

You need a stock sheet for everything you keep, from fresh produce to cleaning supplies. How often you count will depend on how often you order. Just like your prep sheets, good stock sheets will record your par level, stock on hand, and the quantity to order. 

Operations Manual

As you grow and bring on more team members you will be so happy that you did this! It’s basically a manual on how the kitchen does their job, so your Ops Manual will document everything from what they wear to how to pack the fridges. When new staff members start, you’ll have an excellent foundation to launch training.

Hygiene Manual

A companion to your Ops manual, a hygiene guide details all the actions for cleaning and food safety. Write down how to clean everything, including details like how to pack the fridges and freezers. You’ll want to also note any particular chemicals you use, and safety procedures.  

Below is the cheat sheet for this article. Enter your email address to receive it and start collecting your kitchen documents.