I would vehemently argue that's not the case in my diner! I can only speak for my own kitchen, of course, but I would never hesitate to choose our special and here's why: We are such a small diner, with limited dining space but also limited freezer and fridge space. We operate on an on-demand supply system. We get stock 4-6 times a week. Yes, that's nearly every day. We operate with one head chef, and 2 sous chef. There is constant communication and we always know what's fresh, what's new and how we rotate stock. Fresh is our way of life. And our kitchen motto is "if you wouldn't serve it to your own Grandma, you don't serve it to our guests. Period."
The way we choose our daily special is based on stock availability. What do we have the MOST of. Keeping the right quantities on hand, so you never have to tell a guest "sorry, we're out of your favourite" can be a delicate balancing act. Therefore, in order NOT to run out of chicken fingers, we would discount and feature a burger instead. When something is discounted and marketed as a daily special guests tend to choose it, especially if they are in a rush or consider it in the top 3 items they would eat at your restaurant normally. So, it takes the "pressure" off chicken, if burgers are the popular choice that day.
Similarly, we can choose a special to counter-act a mistake in ordering. Whoops.... ordered all bottle cokes instead of cans? Then today's special is a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a bottle coke for take-out. It's a perfect set. Hard to sell a taco salad with a bottle coke.
There have been instances where a supplier will offer you a quantity discount on in-season produce. I like to jump at those opportunities and cook with what's fresh and delicious in the moment. Fresh peaches make amazing parfaits with hot caramel sauce. While it's not on our regular menu it sure sounds good, tastes good and sells well as a special.
That's how we roll at the Retro Diner.
No comments:
Post a Comment