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Top chefs share insight on tech, food trends, LTO strategies

Chefs are on the front line of restaurant chains, crafting recipes, handling supply chains and interacting with emerging technology. Four chefs shared their stories at the recent Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit.

Chris Duffy, Pizza Hut, Ciaran Duffy, Moe's, Matthew Harding, Piada Italian Street Food, Bernie Matz, Taqueria Y Tequila, Jason Moore, Schlotzsky's

April 25, 2019 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

Chefs are on the front line of restaurant chains — crafting recipes, deploying emerging technology and overseeing supply chains. Such experiences were the focus of a panel discussion at the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit, held from March 11-to-13 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chris Duffy, controller, customer team, at Pizza Hut moderated the panel with Ciaran Duffy, corporate executive chef for Moe's Southwest Grill. Sharing insight was Matthew Harding, director of culinary and corporate executive chef, Piada Italian Street Food; Bernie Matz, culinary director, Bodega Taqueria Y Tequila, and Jason Moore, corporate executive chef at Schlotzsky's. 

Tech 

When it comes to technology, the chefs agreed consistency is the key element.

"It's about integration with with legacy or new POS," Harding said. "Making sure they can talk to each other and you have to one record."

The chefs mentioned a variety of use cases for technology, such as thermalizers for food. Duffy said Moe's had experimented with thermalizers, which essentially is pre-cooked food stored in a pouch and then heated up to a consistent temperature.

Technology, however, isn't just happening with food prep or on the POS side, panelists said. It's also transforming employee training.

Harding talked about how employees can use iPads for training on how particular menu items are made via videos and images. Piada can update the training content remotely.

"When you have an update, you can upload it instantly and everyone gets it in real time," Harding said.

Moore mentioned how restaurants can integrate gamification into employee training technology so employees can have fun while learning the right cooking techniques.

Specials

For chefs, menu specials can be very exciting but also present a big challenge, especially among the bigger brands.

"I’m able to quickly create specials, which I wouldn't be able to do as a big restaurant chain," Matz said. "As long as my food costs are in line, I try to push the line on stuff that is special and gets attention."

Matz mentioned how he has occasionally made an $8 lobster taco as a daily special.Although the brand typically do not sell such items, specials help add prestige to the brand.

Duffy said Moe's would be unable to do such a on-the-fly option as it takes 52 weeks for the franchise, which has 890 locations, to roll out a new item.

For Schlotzsky's, Moore said the key to a successful special or LTO is to go directly to the manufacturer and ask, "Can I do this?"

Harding said the difference between a successful and failed LTO is in the process of planning and execution on every level of the supply chain.

"When it [the process] comes seamlessly that's the most exciting part," Harding said.

Trends

Each chef on the panel had a different perspective on how they ascertain trends.

For Moore, he interacts closely with the teams in the individual restaurants to get an idea of what's trending.

Matz said he likes to get on the street level in Miami and Mexico to get "where the flavor is."

"If I see a place where the truckers go in the streets of Mexico, I'm there," Matz said.

Duffy noted it is difficult to be on top of trends, as a bigger restaurant chain, since it takes a year to roll out a product. "You have to really know your customer base because it takes us a year to add stuff to the menu. It is hard to be an early adopter," Duffy said.

For this reason, Duffy said Moe's mainly aims at being a differentiator. The goal is to give customers a reason to visit its locations rather than a competitor.

The chefs also disagreed about the trend of plant-based alternatives to meats.

Matz claims meatless alternatives are definitely a hot trend, especially in an increasingly vegan/vegetarian environment like south Florida. Duffy, however, said he didn't see the meat replacement trend going anywhere soon.

Regardless of the trends or inspirations, Harding said chefs need to keep the ultimate goal in mind: satisfying the customer.

"The most important element is to give your guest best product you can on the menu," Harding said.

About Bradley Cooper

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Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

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