The great debate for me—and probably all chefs struggling with labor shortages—is deciding where and when to use premade products as opposed to creating scratch house-made products.
L’Hirondelle Club of Ruxton is a small club. We average about $2.3 million in food and beverage a year. The kitchen carries the majority of that weight. For 8 months out of the year we run with a staff of 7 that includes three hot line cooks for the grill, one garde manger cook, one a la carte sous chef, one banquet sous chef, and me. During the summer months, we increase our staff by another two cooks for prep. Even with the increase in size of the team, we sometimes struggle to keep up with the daily demands of the operation. That said, we make about 90 percent of our products in-house. This includes things like our signature salad dressing, pasta and pastry.
When thinking about buying premade I ask myself a few questions: First, what are the benefits of buying a premade product? What are the cost savings? Is the product going to be consistent every time? Will the flavor be good? One other question I ask is whether ornot can I sell the product to the membership by promoting a local business? (It’s one thing to buy a premade product from a broadliner and quite another to buy it from a local artisan shop which is then perceived as an upsell to membership.)
I believe there are some great pre-made products on the market that can greatly reduce the L’hirondelle staff’s workload. Things like premade hors d’oeuvres save us some payroll hours. The products we buy, like bread, for example, require an artisanal approach and specialty equipment. We do not have the staff nor the proper equipment to do it ourselves, therefore I use a local bakery that provides us with everything including bread for bread baskets for the dining room to our burger buns. This product is high quality and the supplier takes great pride in making it. It also relieves a lot of stress on the culinary team and it shows the membership that we are committed to the community.
I also buy chicken tenders and fries premade due to the sheer volume of products we go through on a weekly basis. Could we make fries and/or chicken tenders? Of course. But what would the impact be on the kitchen if we did? We would likely have to hire an employee dedicated to making only chicken tenders and fries. Is it worth it to some clubs? Maybe. But it’s not justifiable for our payroll here.
I believe that buying premade must be done so in a thoughtful way that complement’s the goals of the culinary team and the operation as a whole. I think it’s important to find the right product that meets your expectations and will please your membership.
That said, I am a chef and I pride myself on the knowledge and execution of our craft. I also pride myself on providing the kitchen staff with opportunities to grow and learn throughout their careers. In my view, there is more to learn when we focus our efforts on scratch-made products, whether that’s learning how to do a certain technique or learning how to cross utilize products to reduce waste.
Does the effort to produce scratch-made products cost us a little in labor at times? Yes, but for the most part, the staff is in the kitchen ready to work and learn. So we must find ways to tactically achieve that balance.
Ultimately, each chef must choose what to make and what to buy at his or her club. What makes sense to you? What is possible and what is not? How does that decision affect food or labor costs? Will the membership appreciate the effort or do they like the premade product more?
There are dozens of reasons to rely on premade products. There are just as many if not more reasons to rely on scratch products. It’s up to the chef to decide what is most beneficial to the club and to constantly reevaluate those choices as the industry changes, supply chains shift and labor challenges ebb and flow.