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tmdillon

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    http://www.surlyque.com
  1. I used to work for a bbq concept owned by two of the partners who own The Steak Escape chain of cheese steak and fry restaurants. We went through literally tons of fresh cut fries a week. 1. Yes you can blanch fries days ahead. In fact it's better that way as you don't want to try to start the final fry with product that is still warm/hot from the blanch stage. The quicker you get your blanched fries down to refrigerator temp the better. Not unlike blanching any vegetable. 2. If I remember we blanched at 310 degrees and fried at 350-375. The blanch time was around 1 minute 10 seconds but I may not be remembering that step 100% correct. 3. Cut and blanch as early morning prep so you don't have your fryers tied up later when they should be making you money. 4. We used a peanut oil in our fryers. Makes great fried food of all sorts but you need to post it clearly due to food allergies. We also could get it a lot cheaper from Sam's than from distributors. 5. The kind of potatoes is rather important. They only dig potatoes once a year and then store them for sale for the remainder. If they aren't stored properly the starch will start to convert to sugar and that will brown too early in the blanching process. Also the water content is important. Too low and you get mealy fries, too high and the fries will battle your oil for temperature control. Get a very good relationship with a local produce company that knows their stuff. 6. The thermostat on your fryer is your friend if it's working correctly. Yes it "reacts" but that's its job. You cannot be standing there frying, selling, cooking, and manually controlling the temp. It kicks off when it comes back to it's set temp. Just don't overload your baskets and you'll be fine. 7. When you change and clean your fryers save a cup or so of the old fat provided it isn't rancid or burned. Brand new oil needs a little help to get started on the flavor profile. That said I have no idea how that works with beef tallow. Hope this helps.
  2. I am a manager at one of the Pigs competitors and I have to say they do a great job. I've eaten there many times and have never had a bad or average meal. They really go for the unusual and pull it off well. One caveat. The service can be average so eat at the bar or request Adam or Matt for table service. If you are in town on a Saturday check ahead to see if they are having a pig roast. They do it once a month and it's really, really good. One last plug...they make their own sausage and salumi so go for that if its your thing you will be very very happy.
  3. Word of mouth is marketing. ← I agree.
  4. I would say that a genius in the sense of the food world is a person designated that by their peers. Any of us who've spent a lifetime in the business can remember times we've met or worked with people who rise above the rest. Some of them go far and some of them are "mad" geniuses who burn themselves out and end up on the industry trash heap. Most every profession defines it's best by the opinions of it's best. If you combine the opinions of other chefs combined with business success I think that's what would separate a very good chef making top dollar from the few superstars of the business. One might define genius as the ability to get people to wait two months for a reservation during a worldwide recession. Hello Keller, Blanc, Boulud, Ferrer, etc.
  5. I think marketing always matters more. ← If he's from a 10K town in Texas how much marketing can there be?! ← Not only was healthy tourist trade mentioned, competition was too. C'mon, if nobody knows the place is there it doesn't matter about quality. You're not in retail are you. ← Nope I'm not in retail. Completely different animal from what little I know. I admire retailers during the holidays. Unbelievable patience with the unwashed hoards. I worked in a small town that had a big seasonal tourist business and we found word of mouth was king in a town of 7K to 11K. The tourists aren't going to have a lot of Fodor's info on a tiny but seasonally busy destination. If the locals love it they will tell everyone who stops by.
  6. I think marketing always matters more. ← If he's from a 10K town in Texas how much marketing can there be?!
  7. A lot of good posts to build on but I'd make a few suggestions of my own. 1. VALUE! If you offer 110% of what you are charging then you've achieved value. Quality is important but the reason people go to Subway is the fact that they blow away other fast food at the same price. Whether it's fine dining or a shack your customers have to feel that the money is well spent. 2. Employees. One of the other forum members mentioned restaurant experience. If you don't have any then get some fast. If you do have experience I would hire for character and then train the skills. If you, as the owner, know what you are doing then you need to be able to teach those hands on skills to your workers. Hire good people who may or may not have the prerequisite skills rather than pay top dollar for help that may be fast but is a headache. Your customers will thank you if have a friendly staff that really cares. Quality people care. 3. Bank/CPA/Accounting. Numbers don't lie. Don't loose your home or ruin you life over a business. If it isn't working then jump off and think of what to do next. Also, if your second best seller is something you hate then swallow you're pride and keep selling it. Your dream is a restaurant not a perfect world where everyone likes the same foods as you. 4 Food. Fresh is always better. Nuff said.
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