Breakfast meal opportunities - is your business set to take advantage of changing out of home dining habits?

As dining habits continue to evolve, more and more Australians are expected to return to eating out at breakfast and brunch when the opportunity allows – especially in our urban centres.

Many business meetings have already moved from lunch to brunch/breakfast, because it takes less time out of the business day, and is also usually a cheaper option for the participants because it usually doesn’t involve alcohol.

Those foodservice businesses reaping the benefits of these changing customer preferences are those cafes, takeaways, restaurants and even some restaurants who are differentiating their breakfast/brunch menu offerings by giving customers foods that they like to eat for breakfast but are too involved to prepare at home.

From attractively presented waffles with eye-catchingly colourful fruit, cream and ice cream, to juices and smoothies, customers are looking for a breakfast treat which is somewhat indulgent but still fits within the ‘better for you’ category.

And with many people pressed for time – especially those in the city centres where the breakfast market was booming pre-Covid – you also need to be able to offer ‘grab and go’ takeaway treats. These customers often don’t have the chance to eat breakfast at home and are looking to grab something they can hold and eat on the way to work. 

For this group, the smart foodservice operators are taking well-known meals and giving them an upmarket twist: like replacing regular bacon and egg rolls with a gourmet breakfast burger served in a stylish brioche bun, complete with egg, bacon, tomato and a tasty chutney or relish. Or a stack of buttermilk pancakes topped with fruit and maple syrup and a light dusting of icing sugar.

In this respect, fruit is an ideal choice on the breakfast menu – from poached pears doused in brown sugar to peaches and plums with Bircher muesli, or fruit drizzled with honey or golden syrup atop a toasted crumpet, just to name a few popular choices. SPC has an extensive range of quality fruit products, from apricots, peaches and pears to pineapple and fruit salad, conveniently packaged for maximum unopened storage life.

Breakfast muffins, one of the mainstays of the morning café trade, are a quick and cost-effective addition to the menu and taste fabulous with the addition of apple, mixed berry, mango, banana, strawberry, blueberry or peach.

You can also easily prepare and serve breakfast pizza or pide (Turkish style pizza bread) using SPC tomatoes to enhance your sauce, then add other popular choices like garlic, cheese, onion, pulled meat or even plant-based protein.

The key is to ensure that your meals tick all the boxes for presentation, flavour and serving size, while also fulfilling customer expectations in terms of what constitutes a breakfast style meal – even when it’s a fresh spin on an old favourite.

LEADING EDGE

From the family farm to seven restaurants – Scott Pickett’s road to success

Scott Pickett grew up on a family farm in a little town in South Australia where he discovered his love of cooking. After a successful career culminating in his role as Executive Chef at The Point, named Victoria’s best steakhouse and awarded Two Hats in The Age Good Food Guide, in 2011 Scott took the plunge and opened his own restaurant, The Estelle in Northcote which went on to build an enviable reputation.

In the ten years since then, his restaurant group has grown to encompass seven venues across Melbourne. Scott shares with us the story of how he made it happen.

“Once I finished my apprenticeship I came to Melbourne which is where I was born and where my father’s from, and I went to work at Hotel Windsor in the grand dining room for two and a half years, then to Paul Bocuse Restaurant where I worked with Philippe Mouchel for a year and a half before going on to his new restaurant Langton’s where I stayed 18 months. Then I went to London, initially for 12 months but I ended up staying almost three years. Probably the two biggest influences in my career would be Philippe Mouchel in Melbourne, and working under Phil Howard at the Square in Mayfair - they both became great mentors and great friends.

“I think it’s every chef’s dream to have their own restaurant, and when Paul Bocuse restaurant closed I was given a redundancy package of around $50,000, which was a reasonable amount of money back then, so I was able to buy an investment property in Kensington, Melbourne which I rented out while I was in London. It was always supposed to be my nest egg which would enable me to start my first restaurant one day. I sat on it for 15 years and after I finished up at The Point restaurant and was ready to do my own thing I borrowed everything the bank would give me, mortgaged myself to the hilt and opened Estelle to have a crack.

“I really did put myself on the line - looking back, I think fear is one of the greatest motivators you'll ever have. When your life is literally on the line it makes you work harder than ever before and gives you an understanding of how important every single dollar is. So that’s a great motivator to running your own business. Also I learnt a lot along the way - in the early days of Estelle I was heavily involved doing the wages, the payroll, the reservations, the ordering, the cooking - there was only a small team of 5 staff when we started so it’s a long way from there to where it is today.”

Estelle received great reviews early on, and Scott says that while that was personally rewarding, it didn’t come as a surprise. “The one thing I knew we could do really well was cook - that was the easy part. The business side, like understanding what BAS is, what PAYG is, putting money aside, cashflows and forecasts and the like – that was all stuff I had to learn. In fact when we opened I had a very simple business model, which was just open the restaurant and start cooking, then pay everyone at the end of the week and if there was any money left over that was great!”

Two years after establishing Estelle Scott was ready to open his second venture. “The timing was just right – we found a great location and I felt by that stage Estelle was doing really well and I could share my time between it and another venue. So I opened Saint Crispin, followed by ESP which was my fine dining restaurant next to Estelle and which has now been made into part of Estelle.

“Today we have seven restaurants in the group: Estelle, Matilda, Pastore at Hotel Chadstone, Pickett’s Deli and Rotisserie, Smith St Bistrot in the Saint Crispin side on Smith St, Chancery Lane in the CBD that I opened in December last year during Covid, and last year I also bought Longrain as well at the top of Bourke St which is a Thai restaurant that’s been around for 15 years. I've inherited a great business and name - it's been there for a long time and was going to close due to Covid but I stepped in to save it.

“Now I probably cook 50 percent of the time and run the business 50 per cent. I'll work on the business side of things each day until 4 o’clock, and then do dinner service in whichever restaurant needs my attention the most. As a chef I’m now working in more of a mentoring role  - I have seven head chefs and a group executive chef now, so it’s very different to what it was 10 years ago.”

Scott remains fully involved in the menus of each business: “I'll sit down with my head chef and group executive chef and talk and brainstorm for a few hours and two weeks later we'll have our first menu tastings. We’ve got some great people in the business and I want to direct them and guide them and give them feedback, share with them my experience of 30 years in the kitchen – and I naturally also encourage them to explore their own creativity and bring their ideas for the menu. As long as it fits the brief, the brand pillars and the core focus of the restaurant, we take it from there. We're really honest with ourselves – sometimes a dish may be great, other times it may just be good, or it may be too spicy, too hot or needs more seasoning - we just work thru what we need to do to get the best end result.” 

His approach to cooking is the same as ever: “We try to keep things as simple as we can, we try to do things really well. I always say we have to remember that we're in hospitality - our job is to look after the clients, to be friendly, to be nice, to cook a beautiful plate of food at the right price point. We're in a people business, and those people aren't only our guests but also our suppliers, our staff - everybody that supports us. And that’s the case every time someone walks thru the doors: I'm over the moon because they're coming to share in our product and our lives.”

SMART BUSINESS

Why tamper-proof packaging is a must-have in the post-COVID environment

The return of lockdowns in recent months have refocused attention on the importance of the takeout/home delivery market, as foodservice businesses in affected areas have had to pivot once again and rely exclusively on this channel for income.

But while it’s easy enough to take advantage of the multiple online options to get your food delivered to the customer – Menulog, Door Dash, Uber Eats and more – whether it arrives late, cold or safely is another matter. Even prior to Covid, reports of tampering with meal deliveries were not uncommon – and on the other side of the pandemic, customers are more focused than ever on food safety, hygiene and contactless delivery.

All this means that ensuring your delivery and takeout meals are in tamper-proof packaging has become an imperative.

The last thing you want is for your customers to be worrying about whether your food is safe to eat or whether it’s been touched or worse, tampered with by third party delivery drivers.

The good news is that with the right tamper proof packaging you can reassure your customers that your meals are safe to consume and have reached their premises in pristine condition. 

There is quite a range of tamper-proof options available on the market today, so it’s wise to do your research to find the best choices for your business. As a guide, you should be considering options like the following:

• Tamper resistant/tamper evident containers and bottles: these typically have a secure seal which can’t be disturbed without leaving evidence of tampering. Some also come with built-in tamper protection such as hinges that will tear.

• Tamper evident labels: these seal food packaging containers shut and can’t be removed without leaving traces to show that the container has been tampered with.

• Heat-sealable bags: these are an easy solution as once you seal them they can’t be unsealed without it being very obvious that they have been tampered with. You can package the food, condiments, napkins and plastic cutlery inside, then seal them and rest assured that the package will arrive safely to your customer.

• Tamper evident tape: once the tape is removed there’s a hard to remove residue left behind which often states “OPENED”, alerting the customer that the package has been tampered with. 

It’s also worth bearing in mind that although customers are seeking reassurance that their food hasn’t been tampered with, they also want to be able to open the packaging easily – so be sure to choose packaging which fulfils both goals!

Investing in this kind of packaging shows your customers you take their safety seriously, which helps to build consumer loyalty. You can let customers know that you’re using tamper proof packaging via your social media platforms/website and even include a note with the packaging to ask them to check for evidence of any tampering – again, this serves to show them you have their interests in mind!