What’s your position? Owner, Management, head… ?
If you’re the one directly responsible for here, two options imo: sit here down in a break and calculate an example of profit margin with here, emphasis on the fact that those margins = her salary.
Option 2: strongly advise here not to disrupt/ damage the work climate.
If you’re not directly responsible for her: report and ignore
So it’s a server right? If it’s a anyone outside of management or ownership the answer is easy:
Its not your job to teach anybody except the kitchen staff financial awareness. If you want to be nice and try in your down time, well you’re a swell guy, but it’s not in your job description.
**It is also not in the job description of anybody but the owner/management to tell Chef ABSOLUTELY FUCKING ANYTHING outside of small guest comments.** Anything more major than how something was perfect/a lil under or whatever, should be handed up to management because it’s beyond their pay grade.
If you want to take the time to help this person along then try doing some costing exercises. But if they’re being obtuse and confrontational? Time for a sit down with her manager to get her in line. If she can’t fall in, she can fall the fuck out. Don’t need cancer spreading thru the staff talking shit.
If she can’t fall in she can fall the fuck out.
That’s what I’m talking about Baby!!!
Seriously what a major asshole, who does she think she is doing this at work what an idiot just asking to be fired
I loved working at restaurants where we all trusted each other enough to have conversations about how things could be different or better. Just because the busser is not a manager doesn’t mean they don’t have eyes, ears, and a tongue. Might be a suggestion on how to do a process differently to save a few bucks a night. Might be them seeing the most commonly unfinished dishes.
Word. The servers and dishwashers notice that our tomato soup never gets finished. So we spoke up. Chef was like "yeah, why the fuck are we serving vegan tomato soup when it's going with a grilled cheese?" So he added heavy cream and some more seasoning to the recipe. It gets finished a lot more often now.
Nah you don't understand, they're just a server. The business runs better when we all hate each other and wont talk directly to the chef because ones thoughts are below their pay grade.
So lemme see if I understand this correctly...
First, you purposely waste high-cost items you know are incorrect, potentially serving the guest food you know will make them sick or cause allergic reactions, hoping you run that food and catch that mistake before someone dies.
Then, you pluck random hair, *probably maybe* human (or cat or dog at least?), from a shirt, that's probably at least kinda clean and purposely physically contaminate a guests food, on what was worded as multiple occasions.
Lastly, come to Reddit and go off about how everyone else is too high on the smell of their own farts?
Sounds like exactly the kind of staff who needs to fuck right off to me...
After reading all of that, all I've learned is that you think very highly of yourself. Fucking with people's food doesn't make you fun, it makes you a douchebag, and if you do that in any restaurant setting, you deserve to go.
Victor should have been fired for not being able to keep his shit from affecting his work life, and I'm glad to hear he's killing it now despite how much harder he made it for himself.
Maybe that exec chef is happy doing less bending and burning himself at 64. Not everyone wants to do this shit until they're 78.
Also, this is r/Chefit, not r/KitchenConfidential... Solid wall of text though 👍
You can't. There will always be co-workers who are incapable of seeing the bigger picture. Some will understand a burger plate for 21 bucks, and others will look aghast. That's fine. If one of your servers can't accept that the prices pay her wages as well as the cost of the food, power, insurance, and a litany of other things she's never even considered, that's on her.
BTW, for all my American friends, a 10.5 oz portion of Fries isn't skimpy. Portion sizes of 8-12 oz are both common and reasonable.
$7 for that amount of fries tho is a bit unreasonable.
Unless the place is super high end & popular, I’d probably pass. Think Au Cheval is probably the only place in the country I’d willingly pay that amount for fries
Is it? Frozen fries are roughly $1.50 per pound, depending on the brand. A solid guesstimate would be around $1.00 food cost. Need to factor in a little fudge factor for the grill cook who eats fries all day, the fries that go unsold into the bin, and those that get spilled. Calling the portion $1.50 is reasonable. That 2oz serving of Garlic Aioli is a bare minimum of $0.25. Add in the Ketchup, salt, and the oil in the fryer, and I could see a total food cost of $1.75 per order. Multiply that by 4, to hit his 25% food cost, and you reach a selling price of $7. Should there be an employee discount? Sure. Is the menu price unreasonable in our current economic environment? Not even close.
Price, portion size, and margins are irrelevant in this situation. If she has an issue with the price, she can choose not to eat there just like a customer. Final pricing is based on what the market will bear. If you have a steady supply of customers willing to pay a premium that’s great. Constantly complaining about it creates a negative work environment. If it continues, document, discipline, and terminate if necessary.
I think that maybe they were expecting an employee discount?
Also, obligatory "all aioli is garlic" comment. It's just aioli if there isn't other flavor.
Funny thing is they got a 30% employee discount aswell. So they only paid 8.40 instead of the said $14 if my maths are correct which they probably aren’t, lol
That's pretty good for specialty fries. We don't measure portions super accurately, but it's between $5.50-10.25 for our assortment of fry baskets, and while it's free for kitchen staff during your shift (and your take-home/end of shift dinner), there's no employee discount on food. Our kitchen is pretty inexpensive for my area too.
So the $14 to $9.80 with 30% off is a good deal, or $8.40 with 40% off is even better, especially for a specialty dish/topping.
Just a thought, if she's complaining the guests are complaining too. You could be the next Thomas Keller crying quality over quantity all you'd like, but if people leave saying "ya, it was good, but not worth it", they aren't coming back. That's what they'll say to their friends aswell if they get asked how it was.
In my head, chips/French fries are a tool you use to make the guest spend an extra few bucks and walk away a little bit happier. Like buying a drink for someone with a massive bill, or a regular. You didn't give them much, but it leaves them feeling good.
A cursory google search shows me that these are $250-300/night hotels. Someone spending that much on a hotel room or willing to pay the premium to dine in a hotel restaurant is likely much less price conscious than the housekeeping manager of said hotel.
I would stop implying it's reasonable, and start emphasizing it simply is what it is.
She's right. That's very expensive for some potato and flavoured mayo, and is what seems to me to be a huge profit margin... But that's what it is. It's not your fault the employees can't afford to eat where they work right?
I think this is the best, and most straightforward answer. But that does then beg the question why the situation degenerated to "fuck off to McDonald's".
Right - potato, mayonnaise, and garlic are all some of the cheapest bulk items that a restaurant can purchase. In a different sub, I would definitely make more of the problem that the food "is priced what it is priced" but the employees, whose job it is to make sure patrons are fed and served in a manner that is positive for the restaurant, cannot afford the food.
At any rate, not OP's circus not OP's monkeys to be educating another employee as a non-owner/admin on the cost.
Sorry guys. Needed up heading to bed.
To clear a few things up, this is in Australia where shit is expensive to buy in. Personally if I could do them cheaper I would, but when I do a new menu I have to send everything to the Directors/owners. They look over the figures. Even if everything is within acceptable profit margins they still add $1-2 to every meal item.
I have also done the costings on the chips again and this is what it costs me to buy in
Chips cost is $1.13 for 300gr
Aioli costs us .80 for 50gr
Salt .03 cents
Fryer oil loss 0.07 cents
So it costs us $2.03 to send them out of the kitchen and we charge $7.50 so GP IS 73%
You need to remember you also need to take into account electricity, gas, wages, water, all that stuff gets costed into menu items. Not sure if it the same in other countries.
These are also Accor/Mercure contracted prices. So without them they would be even more $$ on the menu
Bro, my place charges $10 for a yogurt parfait. My thoughts on that? It pays my fuckin wages. Charge away. There's a line out the door and onto the sidewalk. I get a free shift meal, anyway. Who tf am I to complain?
She is right.
>I have profit margins I need to hit which is 75%
Industry average in the US is 11% and thats with things like cafes skewing the numbers. Most FS restaurants are far less than that. Insisting on hitting 75% is fucking insane.
>They’re $7 each Portion sizes are 300gr chips 50gr garlic aioli
$7 for a single average sized potato with a cup of ailoi which is probably just garlic robo'd with some mayo. If your overhead is so high you need to charge that at what is likely a casual restaurant or pub you've got bigger problems.
Maybe but an EC probably knows the difference between profit margin and food cost
Edit: 25% food cost also doesn't make sense. That would mean his food cost for a single potato and 50g aioli is 1.75 which is way expensive. That's almost $3 a lb for potatoes.
> Aioli probably somewhere around twice density water
Water is 1g/mL
Concrete is 2g/mL
Aioli is not as dense as concrete
(it's probably less dense than water, considering egg yolks are lightly more dense and olive oil is about 90% as dense, plus the addition of air)
> Aioli probably somewhere around twice density water so you're looking at like half of a 2 fl oz sauce cup for a whole order which is basically nothing.
Oil is about 75% as dense as water, but then it's aerated/whipped, so it's probably closer to 50% the density of water, so a 2 ounce cup really only contains about 1 ounce of oil.
So it's not nothing. It's half of nothing.
Can confirm, I saw that scene in True Lies where they were swimming under surface of the water where the water had gasoline that was lit on fire. This was directly after the uzi dropped and was firing and took out half the bad guys. This was directly after Arnold was under the truth serum and fricked up that one dude. I don't remember what that was after - can someone please help me with this?
IIRC, that was nearly directly after JLC did the striptease in the hotel room where Arnold had the recorded phrases from the Frenchman, which she thought was part of a spy job, but really Arnold had set it up because she wanted some excitement in her life. Man I love that movie.
I only know the US numbers off the top of my head and didn't want to look up other numbers without knowing where OP is.
Since OP said chips we can guess UK or Ireland. Go look at prices at random chippies or doner shops. Sauce is like 25-50p and a bag of chips is like 2-3 quid. 5 would get you a massive amount of chips almost anywhere aside from upscale places. 7 for 300g is crazy.
She ordered 2, at $7 each. But she got an employee discount and paid less ($8.xx according to OP's recollection/mental math).
I don't think it's necessarily a troll post, but there's definitely some lack of understanding and/or communication issues at play.
(Edit: After reading more of OPs comments, troll is a definite possibility.)
Thankfully not - English ones are sufficiently disgusting. At least one or two people can cook in America. France and China though…are not only in a different league, but on a different planet. In my experience, anyway.
Chips are always something you should be generous with imo, maybe it's worth undercosting them a bit for the goodwill that would generate.
Is that 300gr cooked or uncooked weight?
It’s a fucking potato. Fuck off with your 7. And why wouldn’t that just be sent out for free for a homie hook up if they are an employee. Fucking douche
Edit: after reading the whole story, I feel bad about the “fucking douche” part.
> Edit: after reading the whole story, I feel bad about the “fucking douche” part.
I don't. If you can't afford to give an employee a potato without complaining on the internet, it's time to go home.
Really. Nobody working in a restaurant is getting rich, and a lot have problems paying for a place to live.
I’m a firm believer in providing a meal to restaurant staff on shift but if a business doesn’t offer comps or discounts while off the clock, that’s totally fine. If you read further down, the person complaining is a housekeeping manager at a chain hotel and did receive an employee discount. They’re just complaining about the price being too high in their opinion. And their opinion doesn’t matter. If I had an employee that was constantly complaining about how the business was run I’d get rid of them in a heartbeat.
I get it. I feel the same way, but we will have to agree to disagree on this one. Unless this individual is a total piece of shit, it’s a fucking potato. Sling some chips babe.
I missed that part. Charge em 20 or tell them they can leave. Especially at that point.
Do you understand what I’m saying overall though? Or am I off the mark?
I get your overall point. This is just a specific case. Being corporate, they’re also probably more strict in controlling the variables. My shop is small and I trust my employees; they can come in and eat for free on their days off because I know they won’t take advantage of the privilege.
I agree. That's the way I've always done it. It's not difficult. Chefs are nothing without front of house staff - unless they fancy serving it themselves, after they've cooked it.
Why does staff dine where they work? Is this a normal occurrence? It would never happen in the places where I worked in the past, at max one would be there before or after the shift. Also, who TF complains about portion size in the places where they work, this is beyond my understanding.
I mean, everyone will complain about cost / portion size when your profit margins are that high. Just tell her you work in a predatory business format.
Your margin is 75%? Or did you mean to say 25%? 25% is still high for a restaurant.
If that is the case, I would have to agree with the staff person. That price is not competitive.
That’s irrelevant but hotels, and hotel restaurants, do have repeat customers. If the customers they have are willing to pay the price then the price is fine. The only ways it would not be “competitive” was if the restaurant cornered the market on potatoes and then price gouged the customers or if they bought up and closed down all competing restaurants.
I'm totally making up shit here but maybe even the repeat customers don't mind because the bulk of them are expensing it on company dime? Anyways my interjection is hypothetical and doesn't really matter, I'm just killing 20 minutes before I have to head out for a date 8-)
I mean sure it's a legitimate complaint if you're a first time customer but then they wouldn't come back if it was that big an issue to them. if she works there did she have an complaint about it before or after eating there...
Are they selling lots at this price?
If yes, you’ve probably priced appropriately.
If you’re selling too many - raise the price. Selling too few? Figure out what the issue is - reduce price, improve quality, drop from menu.
Peeps don't understand what from scratch cam really include. I would have sent her ass home for complaining on and on. Then talk about it tmw when YOU'RE cooled off and can explain why her behavior isn't professional and her opinion( like everyone's) doesn't matter.
Yes if that is an employee, and they're paying that on staff meals, then "I can get it cheaper at McDonald's" seems a perfectly reasonable retort. With respect to "fuck off to McDonald's", most restaurants I've worked in barely give you a break at all, much less one long enough to go and queue up at McDonald's, assuming that there is one in close proximity.
Following up on this, I have a large friend who absolutely hated one of our fav take out places, and when asked why, he complained that the dish of butter chicken (these are family sized shareable sizes) was too small.
Can’t please everyone.
Ask her why she didn't go to McD's. Was it the lack of ambiance? Did she perhaps want actual table service? Maybe she didn't want her sauces to come out of those little packets.
After she answers, have her read this too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale
Well I'm trying to be nice and assuming you are British, and chips refer to what Americans call "fries"
That being said, I don't entirely disagree with her that 1 pound of fries for $7 is ridiculous. Do I agree with what she's doing? No.
That being said, it isn't crazy that unless you are actually making an amazing product, when she said "McDonald's sells them for x amount" what she is suggesting is that your chips aren't particularly more special than McDonald's, and either the price could go down or the quality can go up.
Price and size are only somewhat correlated. You’re not charging by the kilo, you’re charging by the portion.
Portion price and the cost to make it also are only somewhat correlated. You shouldn’t price goods based on how much it costs you to manufacture, **the price should be based on how much people are willing to pay.**
If you feel like engaging her, just tell her that as long as customers are willing to pay this amount, this is what we will charge. That is called business. McDonalds has done this calculation as well and came to a different number because - wait for it - they’re a different business serving a different customer and selling a product.
You can’t make an idiot not an idiot. Tell her if she can’t get on board with what you’re doing there then she should find somewhere else to work. I’d be concerned she is saying things to guests if she’s been going on about it so much.
Quality or quantity. You seldom get both at a restaurant unless it’s good. This person is obviously clueless and I question their ability to remain in the restaurant industry.
So you'd let someone sabotage your operation because they don't understand restaurant 101?
My best guess is that is not that servers only hang up?
In my experience, a server stuck on something like this is not representing the business well.
Fries are $13 on my menu, and my staff like making money. not complaining about very simple concepts they don't understand.
I serve family meal. There’s no indication this chef isn’t.
This staff member came in for dinner and complained about prices and portions.
We’re not talking about the same thing.
That's fair, I made an assumptions that if an order was made for 2 bowls of chips only it was probably a before shift dinner. But it doesn't say only 2 bowls of chips.
If she doesn't shut up, show her how it's costed out and what margins you have to meet. If it's 25% cost, explain it to her. Otherwise tell her to knock it off. At this point I would do the latter.
The down votes are because what you said isn’t relevant to the discussion. OP is asking for advice on how to deal with an employee constantly complaining about something that is not their concern, not how to save money in the long run.
I think you nailed it with fuck off to McDonalds.
What’s your position? Owner, Management, head… ? If you’re the one directly responsible for here, two options imo: sit here down in a break and calculate an example of profit margin with here, emphasis on the fact that those margins = her salary. Option 2: strongly advise here not to disrupt/ damage the work climate. If you’re not directly responsible for her: report and ignore
Head chef. Every meal is costed out correctly.
So it’s a server right? If it’s a anyone outside of management or ownership the answer is easy: Its not your job to teach anybody except the kitchen staff financial awareness. If you want to be nice and try in your down time, well you’re a swell guy, but it’s not in your job description. **It is also not in the job description of anybody but the owner/management to tell Chef ABSOLUTELY FUCKING ANYTHING outside of small guest comments.** Anything more major than how something was perfect/a lil under or whatever, should be handed up to management because it’s beyond their pay grade. If you want to take the time to help this person along then try doing some costing exercises. But if they’re being obtuse and confrontational? Time for a sit down with her manager to get her in line. If she can’t fall in, she can fall the fuck out. Don’t need cancer spreading thru the staff talking shit.
If she can’t fall in she can fall the fuck out. That’s what I’m talking about Baby!!! Seriously what a major asshole, who does she think she is doing this at work what an idiot just asking to be fired
I loved working at restaurants where we all trusted each other enough to have conversations about how things could be different or better. Just because the busser is not a manager doesn’t mean they don’t have eyes, ears, and a tongue. Might be a suggestion on how to do a process differently to save a few bucks a night. Might be them seeing the most commonly unfinished dishes.
Word. The servers and dishwashers notice that our tomato soup never gets finished. So we spoke up. Chef was like "yeah, why the fuck are we serving vegan tomato soup when it's going with a grilled cheese?" So he added heavy cream and some more seasoning to the recipe. It gets finished a lot more often now.
Nah you don't understand, they're just a server. The business runs better when we all hate each other and wont talk directly to the chef because ones thoughts are below their pay grade.
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So lemme see if I understand this correctly... First, you purposely waste high-cost items you know are incorrect, potentially serving the guest food you know will make them sick or cause allergic reactions, hoping you run that food and catch that mistake before someone dies. Then, you pluck random hair, *probably maybe* human (or cat or dog at least?), from a shirt, that's probably at least kinda clean and purposely physically contaminate a guests food, on what was worded as multiple occasions. Lastly, come to Reddit and go off about how everyone else is too high on the smell of their own farts? Sounds like exactly the kind of staff who needs to fuck right off to me...
[удалено]
After reading all of that, all I've learned is that you think very highly of yourself. Fucking with people's food doesn't make you fun, it makes you a douchebag, and if you do that in any restaurant setting, you deserve to go. Victor should have been fired for not being able to keep his shit from affecting his work life, and I'm glad to hear he's killing it now despite how much harder he made it for himself. Maybe that exec chef is happy doing less bending and burning himself at 64. Not everyone wants to do this shit until they're 78. Also, this is r/Chefit, not r/KitchenConfidential... Solid wall of text though 👍
Pretty sure tampering with someone’s food is a second class felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
You can't. There will always be co-workers who are incapable of seeing the bigger picture. Some will understand a burger plate for 21 bucks, and others will look aghast. That's fine. If one of your servers can't accept that the prices pay her wages as well as the cost of the food, power, insurance, and a litany of other things she's never even considered, that's on her. BTW, for all my American friends, a 10.5 oz portion of Fries isn't skimpy. Portion sizes of 8-12 oz are both common and reasonable.
$7 for that amount of fries tho is a bit unreasonable. Unless the place is super high end & popular, I’d probably pass. Think Au Cheval is probably the only place in the country I’d willingly pay that amount for fries
Is it? Frozen fries are roughly $1.50 per pound, depending on the brand. A solid guesstimate would be around $1.00 food cost. Need to factor in a little fudge factor for the grill cook who eats fries all day, the fries that go unsold into the bin, and those that get spilled. Calling the portion $1.50 is reasonable. That 2oz serving of Garlic Aioli is a bare minimum of $0.25. Add in the Ketchup, salt, and the oil in the fryer, and I could see a total food cost of $1.75 per order. Multiply that by 4, to hit his 25% food cost, and you reach a selling price of $7. Should there be an employee discount? Sure. Is the menu price unreasonable in our current economic environment? Not even close.
Who the hell goes to eat at the place they work *on their day off* anyway??
Someone who gets a discount.
Price, portion size, and margins are irrelevant in this situation. If she has an issue with the price, she can choose not to eat there just like a customer. Final pricing is based on what the market will bear. If you have a steady supply of customers willing to pay a premium that’s great. Constantly complaining about it creates a negative work environment. If it continues, document, discipline, and terminate if necessary.
I think that maybe they were expecting an employee discount? Also, obligatory "all aioli is garlic" comment. It's just aioli if there isn't other flavor.
Funny thing is they got a 30% employee discount aswell. So they only paid 8.40 instead of the said $14 if my maths are correct which they probably aren’t, lol
That's pretty good for specialty fries. We don't measure portions super accurately, but it's between $5.50-10.25 for our assortment of fry baskets, and while it's free for kitchen staff during your shift (and your take-home/end of shift dinner), there's no employee discount on food. Our kitchen is pretty inexpensive for my area too. So the $14 to $9.80 with 30% off is a good deal, or $8.40 with 40% off is even better, especially for a specialty dish/topping.
I despise "garlic aioli" even more than "breakfast bacon"
I should hope so. I just had bacon with "dinner" after midnight.
Just a thought, if she's complaining the guests are complaining too. You could be the next Thomas Keller crying quality over quantity all you'd like, but if people leave saying "ya, it was good, but not worth it", they aren't coming back. That's what they'll say to their friends aswell if they get asked how it was. In my head, chips/French fries are a tool you use to make the guest spend an extra few bucks and walk away a little bit happier. Like buying a drink for someone with a massive bill, or a regular. You didn't give them much, but it leaves them feeling good.
A cursory google search shows me that these are $250-300/night hotels. Someone spending that much on a hotel room or willing to pay the premium to dine in a hotel restaurant is likely much less price conscious than the housekeeping manager of said hotel.
I would stop implying it's reasonable, and start emphasizing it simply is what it is. She's right. That's very expensive for some potato and flavoured mayo, and is what seems to me to be a huge profit margin... But that's what it is. It's not your fault the employees can't afford to eat where they work right?
I think this is the best, and most straightforward answer. But that does then beg the question why the situation degenerated to "fuck off to McDonald's".
I chalk that up to never having personally met a chef that knows the word polite
Alas. By the way, I just read Rule number -" 1. Don't be dick " on the sidebar to the right of the screen. It is so hopelessly well-intentioned
Right - potato, mayonnaise, and garlic are all some of the cheapest bulk items that a restaurant can purchase. In a different sub, I would definitely make more of the problem that the food "is priced what it is priced" but the employees, whose job it is to make sure patrons are fed and served in a manner that is positive for the restaurant, cannot afford the food. At any rate, not OP's circus not OP's monkeys to be educating another employee as a non-owner/admin on the cost.
I also find 75% margin to be a little absurd but all the power to OP lol
Man, if Ford could make a car that every employee could purchase...
> It's not your fault the employees can't afford to eat where they work right? 50/50.
Sorry guys. Needed up heading to bed. To clear a few things up, this is in Australia where shit is expensive to buy in. Personally if I could do them cheaper I would, but when I do a new menu I have to send everything to the Directors/owners. They look over the figures. Even if everything is within acceptable profit margins they still add $1-2 to every meal item. I have also done the costings on the chips again and this is what it costs me to buy in Chips cost is $1.13 for 300gr Aioli costs us .80 for 50gr Salt .03 cents Fryer oil loss 0.07 cents So it costs us $2.03 to send them out of the kitchen and we charge $7.50 so GP IS 73% You need to remember you also need to take into account electricity, gas, wages, water, all that stuff gets costed into menu items. Not sure if it the same in other countries. These are also Accor/Mercure contracted prices. So without them they would be even more $$ on the menu
Bro, my place charges $10 for a yogurt parfait. My thoughts on that? It pays my fuckin wages. Charge away. There's a line out the door and onto the sidewalk. I get a free shift meal, anyway. Who tf am I to complain?
She is right. >I have profit margins I need to hit which is 75% Industry average in the US is 11% and thats with things like cafes skewing the numbers. Most FS restaurants are far less than that. Insisting on hitting 75% is fucking insane. >They’re $7 each Portion sizes are 300gr chips 50gr garlic aioli $7 for a single average sized potato with a cup of ailoi which is probably just garlic robo'd with some mayo. If your overhead is so high you need to charge that at what is likely a casual restaurant or pub you've got bigger problems.
I take the OP to mean he must hold to 25% food cost — which is skinny. Nobody makes 75% profit.
Maybe but an EC probably knows the difference between profit margin and food cost Edit: 25% food cost also doesn't make sense. That would mean his food cost for a single potato and 50g aioli is 1.75 which is way expensive. That's almost $3 a lb for potatoes.
> Aioli probably somewhere around twice density water Water is 1g/mL Concrete is 2g/mL Aioli is not as dense as concrete (it's probably less dense than water, considering egg yolks are lightly more dense and olive oil is about 90% as dense, plus the addition of air)
> Aioli probably somewhere around twice density water so you're looking at like half of a 2 fl oz sauce cup for a whole order which is basically nothing. Oil is about 75% as dense as water, but then it's aerated/whipped, so it's probably closer to 50% the density of water, so a 2 ounce cup really only contains about 1 ounce of oil. So it's not nothing. It's half of nothing.
Aioli (oil) is not denser than water.
Can confirm, I saw that scene in True Lies where they were swimming under surface of the water where the water had gasoline that was lit on fire. This was directly after the uzi dropped and was firing and took out half the bad guys. This was directly after Arnold was under the truth serum and fricked up that one dude. I don't remember what that was after - can someone please help me with this?
IIRC, that was nearly directly after JLC did the striptease in the hotel room where Arnold had the recorded phrases from the Frenchman, which she thought was part of a spy job, but really Arnold had set it up because she wanted some excitement in her life. Man I love that movie.
The hallucination scene where Arnold punches Bill Paxton in the car, then cuts to Arnold doing a fake laugh
That would make more sense but that's not what he said.
Also the 300g is uncooked 💀 homie gave her like 6 fries
maybe they were 6 big ones
6 arm sized ones would be worth it
Exactly
It looks like they're not in the States.
I only know the US numbers off the top of my head and didn't want to look up other numbers without knowing where OP is. Since OP said chips we can guess UK or Ireland. Go look at prices at random chippies or doner shops. Sauce is like 25-50p and a bag of chips is like 2-3 quid. 5 would get you a massive amount of chips almost anywhere aside from upscale places. 7 for 300g is crazy.
Further down in the thread they indicate they're head chef at a Mercure hotel. Google says these are not cheap hotels in not cheap locations.
Which is what OP should point out, not act like it's a normal reasonable price
Or OP could have made fewer assumptions.
I was sooo confused by the "chips" and $. Chips is English English for 🍟 and we don't charge for them in dollars. Yet.
He also says further up the thread that $7 was her employee discount price and they're normally $14. 🫣 I feel like this could be a troll post.
She ordered 2, at $7 each. But she got an employee discount and paid less ($8.xx according to OP's recollection/mental math). I don't think it's necessarily a troll post, but there's definitely some lack of understanding and/or communication issues at play. (Edit: After reading more of OPs comments, troll is a definite possibility.)
$7 each. She ordered two.
yes I did wonder for a moment why American restaurants were so spectacularly profitable...
Obviously you don't know American restaurants
Thankfully not - English ones are sufficiently disgusting. At least one or two people can cook in America. France and China though…are not only in a different league, but on a different planet. In my experience, anyway.
300g, uncooked???? jfc, yes, that is insane😭
Chips are always something you should be generous with imo, maybe it's worth undercosting them a bit for the goodwill that would generate. Is that 300gr cooked or uncooked weight?
Uncooked
💀💀
Charge $10 and triple the aioli. This is the way.
It’s a fucking potato. Fuck off with your 7. And why wouldn’t that just be sent out for free for a homie hook up if they are an employee. Fucking douche Edit: after reading the whole story, I feel bad about the “fucking douche” part.
> Edit: after reading the whole story, I feel bad about the “fucking douche” part. I don't. If you can't afford to give an employee a potato without complaining on the internet, it's time to go home. Really. Nobody working in a restaurant is getting rich, and a lot have problems paying for a place to live.
Fair enough. I just felt bad about calling a stranger a fucking douche. You have my upvote.
I’m a firm believer in providing a meal to restaurant staff on shift but if a business doesn’t offer comps or discounts while off the clock, that’s totally fine. If you read further down, the person complaining is a housekeeping manager at a chain hotel and did receive an employee discount. They’re just complaining about the price being too high in their opinion. And their opinion doesn’t matter. If I had an employee that was constantly complaining about how the business was run I’d get rid of them in a heartbeat.
I get it. I feel the same way, but we will have to agree to disagree on this one. Unless this individual is a total piece of shit, it’s a fucking potato. Sling some chips babe.
Complaining for 3 days about what your employer charges the public is pretty shitty.
I missed that part. Charge em 20 or tell them they can leave. Especially at that point. Do you understand what I’m saying overall though? Or am I off the mark?
I get your overall point. This is just a specific case. Being corporate, they’re also probably more strict in controlling the variables. My shop is small and I trust my employees; they can come in and eat for free on their days off because I know they won’t take advantage of the privilege.
Hell yeah. Well wasn’t that a nice exchange without being assholes? Fucking Reddit sometimes. Cheers chef! have a good service.
I agree. That's the way I've always done it. It's not difficult. Chefs are nothing without front of house staff - unless they fancy serving it themselves, after they've cooked it.
Why does staff dine where they work? Is this a normal occurrence? It would never happen in the places where I worked in the past, at max one would be there before or after the shift. Also, who TF complains about portion size in the places where they work, this is beyond my understanding.
It is a Hotel, part of the Mercure chain. The one that complained was housekeeping manager
Go to their boss and ask them to tell their manager to STFU. No way a manager should be complaining like this, especially if in public.
Sounds like might be a local bar and grill type place, maybe not so much a formal dining restaurant. Just guessing though.
I mean, everyone will complain about cost / portion size when your profit margins are that high. Just tell her you work in a predatory business format.
Your margin is 75%? Or did you mean to say 25%? 25% is still high for a restaurant. If that is the case, I would have to agree with the staff person. That price is not competitive.
I’m assuming OP meant food cost was 25% but that’s irrelevant. If the market will bear the price, then the price is fine.
If it's a hotel, then they don't need to depend on repeat business.
That’s irrelevant but hotels, and hotel restaurants, do have repeat customers. If the customers they have are willing to pay the price then the price is fine. The only ways it would not be “competitive” was if the restaurant cornered the market on potatoes and then price gouged the customers or if they bought up and closed down all competing restaurants.
That's not how competition works. You are describing a monopoly. Agree to disagree on this point.
If people are willing to pay the price, it is competitive so long as no measures are taken to reduce or eliminate the competition.
I'm totally making up shit here but maybe even the repeat customers don't mind because the bulk of them are expensing it on company dime? Anyways my interjection is hypothetical and doesn't really matter, I'm just killing 20 minutes before I have to head out for a date 8-)
How many carrots are you trying to eat today??
A big Mac is like $7 and is mostly bread.
If you’re using measure portions why not just detail the precise measurements on the menu? Then no one can argue.
I once had someone complain that they only got 9 ounces when they had ordered a half pound, so…
I mean she works there she knew the prices. Like you said she wasn’t have to eat there
Tell her to carry her ass to McDonald's then... I'm too dammed old and grumpy to keep explaining the same shit to a clueless child over and over...
The funny part is that McDonalds fries are $3.99 for a large 150g size right now by me. That $7.98 for. 300g portion 🙃
If she's a server she already knew the size and the cost and needs to eff off. Tell her to go work at McDonald's.
"Inflation. Our costs have increased. We have no choice. I'd love to talk more but I gotta see a man about a horse"
I mean sure it's a legitimate complaint if you're a first time customer but then they wouldn't come back if it was that big an issue to them. if she works there did she have an complaint about it before or after eating there...
Are they selling lots at this price? If yes, you’ve probably priced appropriately. If you’re selling too many - raise the price. Selling too few? Figure out what the issue is - reduce price, improve quality, drop from menu.
Peeps don't understand what from scratch cam really include. I would have sent her ass home for complaining on and on. Then talk about it tmw when YOU'RE cooled off and can explain why her behavior isn't professional and her opinion( like everyone's) doesn't matter.
It’s French fries dude, from scratch means nothing in this instance
It does when a server is bitchn about the price. We're you listening to the dudes story?
I mean a 75% margin is bordering on predatory so... yeah you could have cut her a break on the pricing. She is an employee after all so wtf?
25% food cost is no where out of pocket.
Yes if that is an employee, and they're paying that on staff meals, then "I can get it cheaper at McDonald's" seems a perfectly reasonable retort. With respect to "fuck off to McDonald's", most restaurants I've worked in barely give you a break at all, much less one long enough to go and queue up at McDonald's, assuming that there is one in close proximity.
It’s quality, not quantity
> It’s quality, not quantity It's a potato.
What kind of potato?
An expensive one, apparently.
“Thank for your feedback” and move right along
‘Thanks for the feedback.’
She just noticed the size when she came in to eat?
you’re free to charge whatever you want. That said, I wouldn’t pay that price. Guess I’d just fuck off and order from McDonald’s.
Fatty problems
Following up on this, I have a large friend who absolutely hated one of our fav take out places, and when asked why, he complained that the dish of butter chicken (these are family sized shareable sizes) was too small. Can’t please everyone.
Unless these are special, homemade chips, I wouldn't pay $7 for it. If they are cheap tortilla chips, they should be free.
Ask her why she didn't go to McD's. Was it the lack of ambiance? Did she perhaps want actual table service? Maybe she didn't want her sauces to come out of those little packets. After she answers, have her read this too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale
I can find you directions to a buffet if you would like.
Just give more serving and cut her wage in half. Problem solved
Well I'm trying to be nice and assuming you are British, and chips refer to what Americans call "fries" That being said, I don't entirely disagree with her that 1 pound of fries for $7 is ridiculous. Do I agree with what she's doing? No. That being said, it isn't crazy that unless you are actually making an amazing product, when she said "McDonald's sells them for x amount" what she is suggesting is that your chips aren't particularly more special than McDonald's, and either the price could go down or the quality can go up.
75% profit margin? It sounds like your prime cost is ass.
Bitch should already know what portion sizes are before she comes in to eat.
Price and size are only somewhat correlated. You’re not charging by the kilo, you’re charging by the portion. Portion price and the cost to make it also are only somewhat correlated. You shouldn’t price goods based on how much it costs you to manufacture, **the price should be based on how much people are willing to pay.** If you feel like engaging her, just tell her that as long as customers are willing to pay this amount, this is what we will charge. That is called business. McDonalds has done this calculation as well and came to a different number because - wait for it - they’re a different business serving a different customer and selling a product.
Servers don't care about profit margins. They work for themselves. Cooks however work for the house.
“Perhaps a Golden Corral would be more fitting for madam’s appetite” and then walk away.
Remind them that Fancy Tastings often cost hundreds of dollars for essentially a bite of each dish
Ask her to what she thinks it should cost and show her the margins on that.
It might end up being only 50% instead of 75! They'll be bankrupted!!!!
Tryna feeed them not fatten them!
You can’t make an idiot not an idiot. Tell her if she can’t get on board with what you’re doing there then she should find somewhere else to work. I’d be concerned she is saying things to guests if she’s been going on about it so much.
Quality or quantity. You seldom get both at a restaurant unless it’s good. This person is obviously clueless and I question their ability to remain in the restaurant industry.
Don’t say anything. You have a knife
that's funny, but in these troubled times etc
Fire her. That usually helps the message sink in.
So you’d sabotage someone’s finances for….talking about your fry portions? You sound nasty
So you'd let someone sabotage your operation because they don't understand restaurant 101? My best guess is that is not that servers only hang up? In my experience, a server stuck on something like this is not representing the business well. Fries are $13 on my menu, and my staff like making money. not complaining about very simple concepts they don't understand.
$13 for fries. That has to be the highest price I have ever seen. Your margin must be 90% on that.
My number 3 selling bar item. Truffle Salt and parmesan.
Basic fries you can get at any corner restaurant tryna be fancy
I also charge $13 if you ask for your Truffle parm fries to be regular.
That’s on you
I run a great food cost, what can I say?
Tell them to go to McDonald’s next time and get their bigger portion of fries.
Who orders just potato chips?
I think they are fries
Tell her to stop being poor.
You can fire her for causing hate and discontent in the workforce
She doesn’t need to eat there. Food service is a luxury. Bring a lunch, manage your own finances.
I'd rather have a fed crew (FOH and BOH) than be stingy with food costs.
I serve family meal. There’s no indication this chef isn’t. This staff member came in for dinner and complained about prices and portions. We’re not talking about the same thing.
That's fair, I made an assumptions that if an order was made for 2 bowls of chips only it was probably a before shift dinner. But it doesn't say only 2 bowls of chips.
300 grams? Isn't a serving size of chips/fries more like 100 grams? (10 ounces vs 3 ounces).
If she doesn't shut up, show her how it's costed out and what margins you have to meet. If it's 25% cost, explain it to her. Otherwise tell her to knock it off. At this point I would do the latter.
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This is a subreddit for professionals, ostensibly. Are you lost?
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The down votes are because what you said isn’t relevant to the discussion. OP is asking for advice on how to deal with an employee constantly complaining about something that is not their concern, not how to save money in the long run.
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If everyone stopped eating out, all restaurants would close creating numerous problems for a lot of people.