Vivian Howard on Noma, Chef & the Farmer, restaurants in general, and the future

[rotuts]

@Anna N 

 

very interesting analysis .

 

consider this :

 

( Im not trying to be personal )

 

--  price only tied to the occasion and results on the plate  --

 

The Lunch Ladies face a decision :

 

1 )   all , even the bad , take-out places are closed

 

2 )  there is a brand new VivFrig right around the corner 

 

what to do :    A ) postpone  LL Lunch  or B ) give VivF a polite , but critical try .

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

I also find myself questioning the quality and rotation of frozen meals. I worked in a small store where we also had a catering kitchen. It was on Hunt's Point which is where Bill Gates had his huge mansion so you know the type of our clientele. We made high end cooked meals to take out and whatever meals that were left at the end of the day went into a freezer case for people to buy later. We had to constantly rotate the meals and discard meals that had been in the case too long. I worry about the freezer burn and the constant opening of the cases. It sounds good on paper but there are just too many things that can go wrong from kitchen to table that can affect the quality of final meal.

 

[blue_dolphin]

14 minutes ago, rotuts said:

 maybe you pt your card in

 

its validated , the door unlocks 

 

and the honor system is you swipe the bare codes  , and you are done.

 

Almost, though there is no bar code swiping, they are using RFID.  From the Byte Technology website:

Quote

Byte kiosks use RFID technology to identify and track inventory. This works by tagging each product with a unique sticker provided by Byte that is “read” by sensors on the shelves. These sensors track what is on the shelves, what is purchased and when, which items are added or removed during a restock, and even how long an item has been sitting on the shelf.

 

Quote

Swipe. Grab. Go. 

With the swipe or tap of a card, the kiosk unlocks – and the customer is able to touch a product before buying. Once the door is closed, the kiosk automatically knows what was taken. Customers enter their email to receive a receipt, where they are able to provide feedback and rate their purchase.

 

[rotuts]

@Tropicalsenior 

 

good points 

 

Id bet  those ' quality ' factors are the sort of things

 

a VivF Cabal pays very close attention to .

 

thats a feature that hopefully makes this ' better '

 

of course , if they don't asses their clientele well 

 

and make too many meals , they pay for that 

 

and , if there aren't that many meals in the F.

 

is that because they sold a lot just a while ago 

 

or , nobody is buying , and they have trimmed their offering.

[Anna N]

17 minutes ago, rotuts said:

consider this :

Oh, I would not mind trying it. I just don't see it as a routine. It just misses all the marks as to what I consider a reason for spending that kind of money. (Without going off topic the ladies who lunch would much prefer to be doing it in a restaurant.)

[rotuts]

@Anna N 

 

'''  Ladies who lunch would much prefer to be doing it in a restaurant. '''

 

absolutely 

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Teeth]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:35 PM, Midlife said:

I don’t know. It seems like Viv’s Fridge is an upscale version of what most chain supermarkets here in SoCal offer in the way of pick and go meals. Pavillions, Whole Foods, and Sprouts do them. Also, sous vide entrees are available in most markets (Costco has a wide variety) and are pretty acceptable, especially if you add your own touches. The one entree I just found on her site was $75. Assuming it serves 2, that’s still a price point I’d want to receive properly plated and at the right temp. 
 

I’ve enjoyed her shows and her cooking but always thought her recipes were very complex and required uber prep. That’s likely what made her restaurant successful but also made it hard to be profitable. 
 

Serving similar food cafeteria style would seem to be very challenging except maybe in an area of affluent, busy people who appreciate the quality but don’t need the whole nine yards of service. I’d think price would make or break the concept, assuming the quality was there. 
 

Just my 2¢.

This.   I think both Redzepi and Vivian Howard live in very rare air in the restaurant world.   Just as he is revered enough that young folks flock to work at what she calls his “work camp,” for free, she is in the position to open a meat and threes and call it an evolution in fine dining.

 

Trying not to be a cynic, but this isn’t a route available to most restaurants.   She’s at a point where she famous and she can sell branded frozen food.   Didn’t Rachel Ray already blaze this trail?
 

I am a big Viv Howard fan, but glass houses.

[blue_dolphin]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Teeth said:

She’s at a point where she famous and she can sell branded frozen food

I don't disagree but gotta point out that she hasn't started selling frozen food....yet!

[Dr. Teeth]

1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

I don't disagree but gotta point out that she hasn't started selling frozen food....yet!

I will confess I may not fully understand what Viv’s Fridge is.   Perhaps my idea would be Viv’s Freezer 

[rotuts]

And jared tomato sauce.

 

I don't think this is going to happen

 

which makes her project so interesting 

 

and a bit  unusual  .

[Smithy]

I fall more into the cook-at-home-and-save-money camp, with the occasional restaurant splurge. That said, I could see myself using Viv's Fridge or something like it in the case mentioned above: arrive late on a vacation, grab some things for the morning. The other way I could see myself using it would be to try something new that's too complex or requires too many new ingredients for me to make easily. Vivian mentioned a blueberry barbecue something in her clip. I'm aware of her blueberry barbecue sauce but have never made it. Would I prefer to make a batch, or try it first as it's "supposed" be cooked and used? Sometimes, the latter. I did this with meal kits from a favorite restaurant, The New Scenic Cafe near Duluth, when they were selling such kits during the pandemic. I found the kits to be a decent way to try something new without having to buy a bunch of new ingredients.

[heidih]

Aside from the price and ambiance/whole experince issues noted I can see it as an infrequent treat. Like Hello Fresh which is decidedly not her higher level,  it is an opportunitt to have right there a variety of ingredients you would not source yourself for a single dish and skillfully execute - pretty much what @Smithy said. But the price would be the sticky factor. In terms of marketing herself I' buy ready made Little Green Dressing and similar adds/condiments. -  

[kayb]

20 hours ago, Smithy said:

Vivian mentioned a blueberry barbecue something in her clip. I'm aware of her blueberry barbecue sauce but have never made it. Would I prefer to make a batch, or try it first as it's "supposed" be cooked and used? Sometimes, the latter. 

FWIW, I made a big batch of blueberry barbecue sauce last summer. Got three or four small containers of it in the freezer now. That stuff rocks on chicken. Don’t skip the step of glazing with warmed sauce after the meat comes off the grill.

[ElsieD]

5 hours ago, kayb said:

FWIW, I made a big batch of blueberry barbecue sauce last summer. Got three or four small containers of it in the freezer now. That stuff rocks on chicken. Don’t skip the step of glazing with warmed sauce after the meat comes off the grill.

ls that the recipe for Blue Q Sauce?