Category Archives: food

November 21, 2014 · 12:41 pm

The Same Old Thing

It’s the last Foodie Friday post before Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and I thought this might be a good time to reflect upon that meal. I’ll start cooking this weekend by making turkey stock and I’ll be doing a little each day right up until mealtime on Thursday. Hopefully the 25 folks in attendance will all get fed at the same time and fall asleep watching football in a food coma.

English: Thanksgiving cheer distributed for me...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If the truth be told, I don’t love this meal although it’s one of my favorite holidays. It’s a favorite because the family gathers together, something that’s a precious occasion as we all get older and become more spread out. But I don’t love the meal because it’s always the same menu with the odd little variation – a different take on a vegetable or maybe a new pie.  It’s kind of boring as a cook but I know the people who are being fed love it.  Which got me thinking.

All of us in business seem to be under a constant imperative to innovate.  To make our products better.  To change things up because if you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you always get.  If you’ve spent any time here on the screed you know that I buy into looking at our businesses through new eyes as often as we can.  Then I think of the Thanksgiving meal.

The family likes the familiarity.  They look forward to some of the dishes that they only eat this one time each year.  They know what they’re going to get when they traipse over to Rancho Deluxe for the meal. Our customers are like that too, I think.  When you walk into most QSR chains you know what you’re going to get when you order a menu item. Whether you’re in New York or Los Angeles it will be the same.  For many people who are risk-averse, that’s comforting and critical.

The balance between innovation and stability is something we need to maintain as we go forward in our business thinking.  When I switched over to frying the turkey on Thanksgiving I still roasted one so the family could make the move in their own minds instead of me imposing my will.  We no longer roast a bird because everyone’s preferences changed.  There’s no need for any of us to repeat the “New Coke” disaster.

I’ll be serving the same old thing for Thanksgiving.  It makes my “customers” happy.  You?

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November 14, 2014 · 11:30 am

It’s The Tortilla, Stupid

Foodie Friday! For our fun this week, let’s consider the taco. Not the Taco Bell sort of dish but the real deal one can find everywhere from food trucks to bars to restaurants. They come in many varieties with different types of wrappers. I’m a fan, mostly because you can order a couple of one type, a couple of another type, and not be overly full. I’m also a fan of finger food and tacos meet that criterion as well.

English: Don Chow Tacos Ultimate LA Taco

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tacos de asador, tacos de cazo, tacos dorados (flautas to you!) – that’s just the start to a list of the dozens of varieties that exist. They all share one thing. They are some sort of filling encased in either a corn or flour tortilla. The meat may be marinated and grilled, fried, or boiled. Fish may be grilled or fried. The taco may be soft or hard, flat or puffy. There may or may not be guacamole or salsa or onions inside. But there is also a business point in there.

The proteins in the taco are the star of the show.  As you eat them you’re probably thinking about the flavor and texture of the meat or fish.  What you might not realize is that the tortilla is what makes the dish.  First, without the tortilla you’ve got a salad (or a very messy hand!).  But it’s the subtile flavor and crunch (or not) of the tortilla that brings the dish together.  That’s my business point.

We tend to focus on the “stars” in business.  The CEO, the productive salesperson, the marketing genius.  We forget sometimes that without the support staff – the tortillas – they would not be able to bring to the business what they do.  More importantly, just as the “wrong” tortilla (what the heck are puffy tacos anyway?) can run perfectly cooked and flavored filling, disgruntled staff can kill a star performer.  Try a taco with a fresh, homemade tortilla and you will understand the importance of the wrapper in making up for any flaws in the “star”.  Run your business with a happy, productive, supportive staff and you’ll find out how much better the “faces” of the company become.

Make sense?

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November 7, 2014 · 1:13 pm

Pumpkin Eggnog

Foodie Friday and suddenly, it’s late Fall. The leaves are mostly down, the weather seems worse (and a lot colder), and a trip to the supermarket reminds us that the holidays are nigh. One of the most in your face manifestations of this is the sudden, overwhelming appearance of eggnog. Taking it “one louder” is something out of a horror movie called Pumpkin Eggnog, which I suppose is a reason to put what is a traditional Christmas drink out on the shelves at Halloween.

This got me thinking about seasonal spices and flavors.  If you were to shut your eyes and think about the flavors of this time of year it’s all ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice with a handful of poultry seasoning thrown in.  Peppermint rears its head in December.  Those are not seasonings you’d think of for a Fourth Of July party.  Which is a good business thought on which to end the week.

Tastes change.  Consumer’s appetites for certain products is not a constant.  Something as simple as the weather or time of year can have a dramatic effect on sales.  Not much news there.  What is worth thinking about, however, is because those ebbs and flows take place over time it’s critical to compile years of data and look at the year over year pacing.  Yes, eggnog sales fall off when Spring rolls around.  But is the fall off any different from how it was the year prior or are we taking the easy path of saying”oh, it’s just a seasonal change.”  That can mask danger signs.

I won’t be drinking any pumpkin eggnog.  I will, however, be doing a lot of data analysis over the next couple of months as my clients and their businesses change seasons.  I think I’ll enjoy that more than a mug full of pumpkins and eggs.

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