nwyles

Ok , I have to be quick - I already posted this and lost it. scenario This happens once a week party size 10 your average cheque $40 your labour % - 20 % your food cost % - 30 % restaurant dessert mix - 25 % ( number of people out of 100 that order dessert ) Sales for parties who bring in own cake - $20800 Loss of potential sales of dessert - $780 loss of potentail profit - $390 on lost dessert sales Lets say you do not allow outside cakes or charge for them and it loses you 10 % of your parties. Sales - $18720 but on top of that, you get your dessert sales of $702 New sales are $19422 You are $1378.00 ahead in scenario #1

Perspective question How many times in a week does this happen where you work ? Do you own or manage or just work there ? What is the net affect to the gratuity if you are a server ? If you are the owner, how much does this affect sales ? Would have made the sale otherwise ? Who wants to go first ? I'll go third just to see where the responses lie. Neil

Now wait one gosh darned minute ! Them are fightin' words ! Neil supplys the hangar steak around these parts and don't you forget it ! I always have a laugh when people bring in crappy Safeway cakes and want to serve them to their friends. Yum. Edible oil product. Any leftovers and you can wax your car ! If you are going to go to the trouble of getting a cake, at least make it a good one. And here is an example of someone trying to screw the restaurant over on a sale. This is the type of thing that cause me to accept the futility of it and just give up because this was the person trying to cheap out. "Can I make a reservation for Sat. night for 11 people ? " "Sure, what time ?" "7:00. Can I have seperate bills and what is the maximun number of entertanment cards if we all have seperate bills ?" "No problem and three, no matter how the bill is divided !" "Thank you." Five minutes later,she calls back and asks what our policy is for cakes, and asked to clarify what I would not be charging them anything for cutting the cake. When I called to confirm the party on Sat. afternoon, again wanted clarification that there would be not cost for cutting the cake and to make sure they got the leftovers back. It is clear to me that they wanted to make sure I was not going to charge them etc. In my innermost self, I really get pissed at some people but have found that the rage is causing me to lose my hair so I try and let the anger go. It works sometimes. There is a large bare patch on the back of my head so it is not working all the time. I do believe that this party also had some hot water and lemon, but that is just another post !

What is going on - I heard a rumour today that Vikram is the new face of Tim Horton's ! If it is on egullet, it must be true. Seriously, my wife "saw" an ad about White Spot with Rob but could not remember anything about it. Perhaps with these heavyweights behind them, the Spot could do something about the brown crayon water coffee that they serve ! For a breakfast place, their coffee sucks.

Hey, I have posted many times that the little ones dictate our family dining time and off to White Spot we go. But I do not think I would be doing any commercials for them ! But what of John Bishop ? What is he doing there ?? That is more of a concern than the "dancing Feenie". Rob probably got the "chat" from some Food Network exec. about what a good advertiser White Spot was, be a team player Rob, "we can do this the easy way or the hard way", All those Vancouver Chefs who want their TV programs picked up again for next year please step forward" kind of speech. That is pressure ! But again, John Bishop ? I mean really , I don't think the White Spot has any food found in nature so John Bishop is a puzzler !

Very quickly - Chef Fowke and I had this very discussion the other night. When he was at Joe Fortes, he had a whole pastry dept that could make cakes for guests, not only providing a service, but also making a sale. At the HSG, I let people bring cakes and do not charge a plating cost etc. Quite often , we would just cut and put it on a plate, no fancy presentation etc. I do not wish to get into the cake baking business so I do not present that as an alternative - go ahead, bring it. I am assuming that most people are not thinking about screwing the restaurant over when they bring a cake, they are thinking of the occasion and the tradition of a cake that goes with it. Let them enjoy it and thank them for coming and thinking of your restaurant on this special occasion. If losing the sale is of that much of a concern, take that energy and seek out other cost cutting things you can do like making sure people only get one afterdinner mint or switching to single ply toiletpaper. It has become an acceptable practice in the industry, let it go. Not worth the debate.

I am paying $5.00 per kilo in Canada. I am paying a premium for little ones so I can serve two to a serving. The popularity has driven prices up 25 % over the last couple of years.

Arne, make sure you do not mention any "High Tea" things when you want to hang with the boys. Your tough guy image will be shattered. Into a million pieces !

We could already have this out there, perhaps mis-diagnosed as dementia or Alzheimers or others. Mad Cow Disease is not at the top of the checklist when looking at patients right now, but perhaps in a few years that might be different. Is that a little out there ? I do not know.

I know that Simply Thai has quite a list for such a small restaurant. They were recognized by Wine Spectator for their list last year. Is this what you are looking for ?

What is it that you are noticing ? Most diners in serious restaurants are older ? Or just older than you ? Diversity ? Ethnic groups are sticking to restaurants within their own ethnic group ? What does that mean? What are you saying ? Only a certain type of French person is going to Lumiere ? Is Lumiere not approachable to all types of French people, be it Europeon French or French Canadian ? Seriously, what are you looking for - representive portions of the restuarant's guests reflecting the cultural mix within our city? Depends what day and what restaurant in what area of town. Different ethnic groups have different forms of social interaction and how and where that takes place. And it does not always take place in a restaurant. Sometimes, in different groups, family is the foremost social group, and the "dining scene" involves the whole family. It is not really important for the group to be together in a restaurant, but just to be together. Large family gathering are always most comfortable at home. Is this what you are not seeing ? Large family gatherings in the back section of West ? Or are you wondering why some of your friends treat food as "fuel" and give it little attention, where you place a higher value on the surroundings and presentations of the food you eat.

I recall the article. Being a city dweller, you don't really get a clear picture of what this could possibly be like. It is not the picture you have of cattle in the fields that most of us want to believe. These are giant beef factories where the cattle wait to be processed in giant pens, not a blade of grass in sight and a river of munure running through it. Beside this giant beef factory are the massive railyards for moving this product. I wish I had the skill to find the Vanity Fair picture and paste it- It would blow your mind. Now, bear in mind, I own a small steakhouse, but still it gives you cause to reflect on what we are eating and how it is processed.

MacDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Arby's are larger advertisers than the "Organic Vegetable and Legume Growers Assoc. of America". Follow the money.....................................it will always show you the way.

As for equipment issues - Are these shows not all taped back to back in a flurry of sessions. It appears to be a TV studio and not a professional kitchen, and the equipment seems to be wired all over the place with people running around with cameras and knives etc. Stuff is bound to go wrong and not get repaired before the next session. I would not imagine the departing Chef telling the newcomer - "Oh, the left hand convection oven runs about 50 degrees hot and the blast freezer does not work ! Good Luck"

I don't really give a rat's ass who writes what ! I want to see / hear / touch / taste / experience for myself. If there is somewhere that I want to go, I will. Do I listen to what others are saying - sure, but in the end, who's opinion do you really value ? Your own ! There are places that come up that you really want to try no matter who is saying what. You read what is being said, filter it, and proceed. There are places that I just have no real interest in trying for whatever reason and they just fall off of my radar but the ones you want to try always seem to come up again and again and sometimes you can't remember why you have not been yet. Even when a place gets slammed in a review, your morbid curiosity still draws you to it thinking " it really can't be that bad ? ! ?" You just have to experience these things for yourself. Be your own judge, don't let your dining patterns be dictated by others. Weigh it all out and do what you want. It's not the "Last Supper", it's just dinner ! Don't over analyze ! Enjoy !

As I said before, I do not want to get into an us vs. them either. This is problem for everybody, both sides of the border. It is not about who raised the cattle and who slaughters them, it is about the industry in general. It is about the un-natural feeding regimes and un-natural processing of the food. No animal should be fed parts of it's own species if it was never naturally meant to do so. Cows do not eat other cows. This is a problem that we have known about for years but because of the big business and lobbyists involved, the wheels have moved slowly on this. Let's not be fooled by governments and media that these problems are isolated to countries and farms. This is a rampant problem that spans the whole continent. The whole industry is so interwoven that there is no seperating it now. It is one giant food supply without clear dividing lines. I am sure you do not believe that breeding stock have not crossed borders - sure they have. The borders are partially closed now but it is too late. The damage is done. The BSE is in the food supply. THe problem is now how to get it out. That is where the major overhaul is needed. The time has come to stop feeding our food animals "super heated chicken shit" and "rendered cow parts". Chicken should peck corn and cows should eat grass and grain. I know that sounds like an over simplification but until a few years ago, is that not what most of us really thought.

Well said. I certainly don't want this to turn into an us vs. them issue but it has to raise some issues on both sides of the border. A contamintated food supply with a possible government cover-up is worthy of a bit of discussion. By the number of visits this thread is getting, it would appear that only 4 or 5 of us are really taking the time to check back in.

I am really amazed at how quiet this has been. There must be huge pressure to suppress this or make it go away. Given what has happened in Canada over the " Mad Cow", incident and the economic trickle down that has happened, if this gets out in the U.S., the ramifications would be off the scale. If CNN picks this up and runs with it in their usual "War on........ Terror, Afganistan, Axis of Evil, Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, African Killer Bees, Drugs, Gangland Violence.......... you get the picture................ "War on Beef", it would bring the U.S. economy to it's knees. Well, maybe not to it's knees but it certainly would have a huge impact on the U.S. and the Global economy.

If I recall from a couple of years ago, the random sampling in the U.S. is one tenth than is done in Canada. I think the reason was the lack of trained manpower and also never having had a problem. I would like to see how this shakes out but I suspect that it will quietly fade away. If the American people lost faith in the practices of the USDA or called into question their findings, the whole food supply of the continent would be disrupted

I certainly would not know about the difficulties of skirts, stilletos and the like but congrats to Emad and his gang. They have had the staying power to remain hotter for longer than anyone I can recall. As for where to go after 11:00, man, those days are so far behind me, the list of suggestions I would make would make me out to be the old geezer I am ! Keith - As to the satays, it is the only thing I have ever eaten there and I have always found them good - esp. the short rib one. As to the price, I will trust you one that as quite often I don't pay ! Although I am subjected to scorn and ridicule when I am there - " Who is the loser in the cape and what is egullet ?" , the benefits outweigh the mean words. Tuesday is 2 for one satay day for anyone in a cape !

I just got off od the phone with my supplier. I was asking who was using farmed and why. Basically large hotels for banquets, golf courses ( same reason ) and smaller restaurants who just do really care about that kind of stuff ( no names named ). Also, retailers - I am assuming Safeway etc. Wild salmon is available for about five months of the year according to the supplier and the other seven months it is frozen at sea / refreshed. Perhaps Harry Kambolis or Leonard could add a bit more detail to that. The price difference is all over the board, depending on what you are getting but farmed is around 20 % less. Lots and lots of farmed salmon is being shipped to Alberta right now. As for Cubilularis , perhaps he has had too many portions of Bong Water Gravy with Sunday dinner lately. Get off the bong !!

Perhaps you would like to keep pushing forward until we are on a diet of Soylent Green alone. I might call it a delicate house of cards rather than a food chain. We have removed a few cards and some are in the process of being removed. It will come tumbling down soon enough if we do not do something about it. With very little effort, we can start to reverse some of these trends and put things back in balance. For those you know me, I am not part of the Birkenstock Brigade" or to I propose we all sit in a circle and sing "Kum By Ya " . The "inferior species" would be just fine if we were not trying to turn them in "Capt. Highliner Fishsticks". More to come later - I am braising a giant panda right now and I do not want to over cook it and have to start again.

That's great - nice to see Jamie get more action. Do what you can to support him. I would hate to see the day when we see Jamie on the street corner, still very well dressed, with a sign - "Will write for foie gras !" What would we do then ? Cross the street and pretend we don't see him or toss a white truffle in his stainless steel Starbucks coffee mug.

Holy Crap Batman ! I am so there the next time I am inWhistler. That only buys me 3 - 4 in town. N

Joe's Oysters are fantastic. I always have a good time there. With their volume, the oysters are always fresh. The thing at Rodney's that put me over the edge is the marinated mussels.