Archive for April, 2007

Who are the MyRecipes suppliers anyway?

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

I would like to thank the following suppliers for making MenuCoster the number one recipe costing application. Especially the ones who joined early on in the early days. We’ve come a long way and couldn’t have done it without your support.

A. Verkerk Ltd

Active Marketing

Akaroa Salmon (NZ) Ltd

Allied Liquor Auckland

Anathoth Marketing Ltd

Annatto Incorporated Ltd

Anton’s Seafood Ltd

Aoraki Smokehouse

Aria Farm Limited

Avalon Organic

Bakels Edible Oils (NZ) Ltd

Boutique Beverage Distributors Ltd

Brezelmania

Brooklyn Bread & Bagels

Burkhart Fisheries Ltd

Chefs Compliments

Cook Strait Seafoods Ltd

Coq Au Vin

Cotterill & Rouse

Country Cuisine Ltd

Crean Foodservice Ltd

Crombie & Price Ltd

Cross Bros Butchery

Cuba Fruit Mart Ltd

Cucina Foods Limited

Cuisine Scene New Zealand

Dads Pies

Delmaine Fine Foods Ltd

Eurodell Ltd

Ex-Quiz-Eat Foods Ltd

Farm Glade Foods Ltd

Farrah Breads Limited

Festive Foods Ltd

Fiordland Lobster Company Ltd

Flightless Bird Beverages

Food By Chefs

Food Management NZ Ltd

Food Productions Limited

FoodRunner

French Maid Foods Ltd

Fresh Connection Limited

Frucor Beverages Group Ltd

Fruit Direct 2U

Genoese Foods Ltd

Gilmours

Goodman Fielder Baking NZ Ltd

Great Taste NZ

Greg Flutey Bread Builder

Guardian Foods Limited

Heinz Watties

Heller Tasty Ltd

Hukarere Station

Ideal Fruit Supplies

Kaan’s Catering Supplies Ltd

Kapiti Fine Foods

Kato

Kingsmeade Cheese

La Ronde Orchard

Lettuce Deliver

Little Karoo Ltd Great Taste NZ

Lovat Venison

Mainland Products Ltd

Manna Wholesalers

Manor House Cuisine

McCain Foods (NZ) Ltd

Meadow Mushrooms Ltd

Meat Cuisine

Meat Direct

Medallion Foods

Mediterranean Group

Meyer Gouda Cheese

Molesworth Fruit Supply

Moore Wilsons

Natural Field Enterprise (Epac)

New Zealand Dairy Foods Ltd

New Zealand Supreme Ltd

New Zealand Wholesale Seafoods

NZ Fine Foods

Old Fashioned Foods Ltd

Old Fashioned Smallgoods Ltd

On Trays Ltd

Pandoro Panetteria

Pasta Vera Ltd

Penguin Wholesalers

Pernod Ricard NZ

Poultry Distributors

Prenzel Distillery Limited

Puff’n Billy Foods Ltd

Randwick Meats Ltd

Richmond Foods ltd

Rosco’s Meat Company

Rush Munro’s

Salumeria Fontana Limited

Sealord NZ Marketing Ltd

Service Foods

Skellon Foods

South Island Gourmet

Speedibake New Zealand Co

Star Food Service

Sun Sprout Limited

Tea Total Limited

The Bell Tea Company

The Gluten Free Goodies Company

The Natural Egg Company

The Neat Meat Company Ltd

The Pastryhouse

Toops Wholesale Limited

Total Food Services

Totally Food

Trents Wholesale Ltd

United Fisheries Ltd

Vanilla Direct

Waikanae Crab

Wattie’s

Weston Milling

Willow Tree Produce Ltd

Wine Trade Online Ltd

Yarrows Bakery

Yarrows The Bakers Ltd

Zeagold

Zealfresh Limited

Zilzie Wines

All menu items subject to availability

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

In my opinion, this is one of the worst things you can state on a menu. It’s like saying “I’ve prepared this menu a long time ago and I’m sorry but you can only order some of the things we’re offering”. Does thismean that you have written the menu but aren’t too sure how long every item will be available? Or perhaps it depends more on the chef and if they have had time to prepare every item listed? I believe the bottom line is that if an item is truly so seasonal that it is not always available it should not be listed on a menu. Instead offer it as a special.

Specials, if sold well, can be your most popular items. From our studies diners spend 2 – 3 minutes reading a menu. A good server can sell an item in a fraction of this time. Even better, if your specials are made from produce you have bought at an amazing price in the heart of their season, chances are you can offer at a good markup.

While it is always nice to be as specific on a menu, it is also possible to allow some flexibility to cope with daily changing produce quality. Some of the best value produce from Fresh Connection at this moment includes:

Broccoli 98c each, basil 25.50/ kg, fancy lettuce 1.55/ each, red capsicum (tag two) 3.90/ kg, braeburn apples 1.80/ kg, courgettes 2.95/ kg, cauliflower 1.90/ each, button mushrooms (grade two) 5.35/ kg, jumbo red kumara 2.70/ kg, jumbo rua potatoes 80c/ kg, tomatos (tag two) 3.45/ kg, corn 55c each, green pears 2.50/ kg. Please note, these are north island prices. MenuCoster uses prices based on your local region.

Upselling from add-ons

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Sometimes it can just be terminology which costs you money. I am always amazed with the number of menus I see listing ‘extras’ or ‘add-ons’. Extras and add-ons aren’t necessary and if they dont look important on a menu they are quickly overlooked.Wouldn’t you rather order a side dish or accompainment recommended by your server to compliment your main course than an un-necessary ‘add-on’?

Season change market trends

Monday, April 16th, 2007

It definately feels like summer has drawn to a close with the end of day light savings and the snow down south. Just to confirm this, cherries, apricots, mandarins, nectarines, peaches are now out of season and no longer available.

Local rock and honeydew melons are now finished for the season. Pricing has increased significantly as these are now being imported from Australia. Rockmelons are now 6.95 each, up from 3.25 (over 50%) only a few weeks ago.

With the end of summer comes plenty of new season produce to give your menu that point of difference. Fresh figs, feijoas, tamarillos, cranberries, feijoas, tamarillos, persimmons, pattaya, kiwano, quince, chestnuts, eurenika/ moi moi (Maori) potatos are all now available.