Sponsored by Lamb Weston
There is an established trend in today’s restaurant world called “Farm to Table” and it’s here to stay. But you run a “real” restaurant, not one of these hoity toity joints that tells you the chicken’s diet, weight, birthday and even its name. So, why do you care where your food comes from?
The answer is simple, because your guests do! And equally important is your competitors are doing the same thing. Why should the Silver Diner, 5 Guys Burgers and Houston’s have anything on you? These operators don’t actually have more resources than the rest of you, they have just valued this information because they are responding to their guest’s interest.
Think about it, Beer and Wine producers have thrived on the perceived value of provenance. Micro Brewers like DesChutes tout their location’s water quality and provenance of their grains and hops. Who doesn’t list the name of the vineyard and its location on their wine list? You wouldn’t think of not leveraging location for your beverages, why not do it for your food as well?
While you can’t always determine where your food products are coming from, some purveyors are so confident in their quality that they are making this type of information easily accessible and you should take note. Most recently, the folks at Lamb Weston launched Trace My Fries, a portal where you can source your potatoes back to one of five growing regions simply by entering the product code found on Lamb Weston branded French fries. The site sources information on the farmers, climate, soil and growing attributes unique to that area.
So, Ask! Hold your food purveyors accountable to delivering you more than just the order you place. Employ them in adding value to your menu by simply confirming from where and how the food you serve arrives to your kitchen. Your Guests will trust you more and will order far more of a product they feel confident about.
Image by Martin Jordan.