Archive for 2007

November Food Price Changes

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

Shitake Mushrooms – quality and supply issues from Asia at present

Beans – There are shortages in Australia pushing the price up in NZ. Asparagus is a cheaper alternative.Problems are also being compounded due to quality issues which has seen product rejected before it hits the market floor.

Kumara – Supply now shortening up. Prices moving up quickly on Red Kumara in particular.

Broccoli – Prices have begun to ease as supply improves.

Cauliflower – Prices have begun to ease as supply improves.

Berryfruit – New season Berries are here, with fresh Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries

and Raspberries all featuring. Prices will ease as volumes become established

Stonefruit – Start of the NZ Stone fruit season with Nectarines and Cherries now available.

Apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches will be here next week. They are available now but quality is not high enough for most.

Petrol prices increased again this week – expect price increases across the board

Chefs as Chemists

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

I recently read a very frightening article in the New York Times. Apparently ‘Star’ chefs over there are using chemicals in their food to make things like fried mayonnaise and foie gras which can be tied in a knot. Is this really the way to create new inspiring menu items? Surely being a chef involves placing boundaries around what is food and what isn’t? Or are we approaching a new generation where with all of the additives and preservatives being used we have forgotten what food really is?I hope not.

What is MyRecipes?

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

I speak to people all the time who tell me how much they appreciate these updates each month however something concerned me the other day when speaking to someone who had been receiving them for the last two years – they didn’t know what MenuCoster was! It’s easy to get so involved in keeping everyone informed about what’s in season and what price changes we’ve seen lately. But at the end of the day, if you haven’t got an easy way to manage this in your establishment there’s really no point knowing about it.

So what is MenuCoster?

MenuCoster is an online application which makes costing a menu simple.

What makes MenuCoster different from other applications?

Ingredients are maintained by us, meaning you always know the cost of your recipes! Each week we receive pricelists from nation-wide suppliers which our dedicated price updaters then enter into MenuCoster.Your pricing is based on the retail pricing from suppliers in your region.

All you need to do is enter your recipes. Costs and nutrition are automatically calculated giving you the latest information. You can print scaled easy to read recipe cards to be used by kitchen or front-of-house staff.

Is it really that simple?

I guarantee you won’t find an easier and faster way to cost a menu. MenuCoster is used by NZ’s leading hotels, restaurants, caterers and cafes. If you would like to speak to someone in your region using it, please let me know. There’s a fre’e trial available at www.myrecipes.co.nz and our support team would love to give you a demo.Here’s some comments received recently.

“MenuCoster is an invaluable source for menu costing and pricing. I have used it for over 2 years now and can’t imagine doing food costing without it!” – David Catchpole, Degree Gastrobar.

“I have spent 35 years in the hospitality industry and have seen a lot of action. I can confidently say that MenuCoster is the best recipe costing application I have come across yet. It is quick, easy and is a great way to keep food costs down, whilst keeping up with market trends.” – Peter Buch, Imbibe Bar and Restaurant

“I have found MenuCoster really easy to use and great for costing out my recipes. It’s so easy for me and other staff members to use!” – Huw Thomas, Spencer on Byron Hotel

“Just a quick note to let the MenuCoster team know that “KPR Catering” use MenuCoster on a regular basis and have done so for many years.The system is very user-friendly and we have found it to be a great tool to monitoring our food costs and assist menu planning.We recommend MenuCoster to many colleagues and enjoy the regular price change alert emails”. – Keri Retimanu, KPR Catering

Dairy prices increase significantly

Monday, December 3rd, 2007

Dairy prices have increased significantly however we have yet to see these changes. Last month Statistics NZ reported that butter had increased by 23% (4.02 to 4.94/ kg) and cheese by 11%.This has been caused by in increase in international dairy prices and I am sure we will see some effects of this in due course.At present it appears these have not been passed on by our major dairy suppliers.

Vegetable prices continue to rise

Friday, September 21st, 2007

Ingredient price changes (last week – this week)

Asparagus 30.14 to 27.40

Cabbage 1.51 to 3.01

Capsicum Red 8.22 to 13.70

NZ Garlic 13.02 to 15.41

Rockmelon7.74 to 5.69

Honeydew melons 5.82 to 4.80

Watermelons – unavailable for 2 to 3 weeks

New season produce now available

Asparagus – prices will fall weekly

Blueberries

Tangelos

Raspberries – NZ Glasshouse now available

40% of our food is imported

Thursday, September 20th, 2007

I’m really amazed how dependant we are on other countries for our ingredients. I recently learnt that 40 percent of our total food is imported and that 70% of our processed food is imported. This is very concerning and for a country so dependant on everyone else. I am told that the local garlic industry is just about dead, and it is easy to see why. Chinese garlic is a fraction of the price and while the flavour is nowhere near as nice as the NZ, it seems price is more important in our industry. Chinese garlic is constantly 2.50 a kilo whereas NZ is around 12.00.

Culinary fare 2007

Thursday, September 13th, 2007

Congratulations to Stefan, Ofir, and the team from Partingtons at the Langham, Auckland on winning New Zealand Restaurant of the Year 2007.

Also to Okurukuru Winery Restaurant, New Plymouth, on winning the Smart / Casual category.

Congratulations also to the following winners.

Joint Winners formal dining category – Partingtons at the Langham, Auckland and Bisque on Bolton, Wellington

New Zealand Chef of the Year 2007 – Francky Godinho Heritage Hotel & Spa Du Vin, Pokeno

NZ Sommelier of the Year 2007 – Joint Winners: Matt Judd Terroir Restaurant at Craggy Range, Hawke’s Bay and Josselin de Gesincourt Bracu Restaurant, Auckland

New Zealand Service Professional of the Year 2007 – Josh Comerford NZ Army – Trentham

New Zealand Pastry Chef of the Year 2007 – Emi Echizenya SKYCITY Auckland

New Zealand Commis Chef of the Year 2007 – Joseph Clarke Blanket Bay Lodge, Glenorchy

New Zealand Junior Food & Beverage Person of the Year 2007 – Hunter Qu North Shore International Academy, Auckland

Hot Kitchen Excellence Award 2007 – Sara Fung Bracu Restaurant, Auckland

Training Excellence Award 2007 – North Shore International Academy, Auckland

Secondary Schools Excellence Award 2007 – Southern Cross Campus, Auckland

Toque d’Or – CPIT, Christchurch

Junior Team Skills – AUT, Auckland

Young Butcher of the Year 2007 – 1st Scott Reid, New World Gate Pa. Tauranga

Under 20 Award: Cess Groot, New World Pioneer. Palmerston North

Increase Your Gross Profit and Average Check Workshop

Thursday, July 12th, 2007

I will be giving a two-hour seminar on how to increase
your gross profit and average check through your menu. The seminar
will be held at Taste in Mt Eden on Tuesday 31 July at 10am.
Learn how to accurately cost a recipe in minutes, evaluating
and pricing menu items, the tricks to designing a menu layout
to increase sales of profitable items, and much more. This is
the one seminar your competition does not want you to attend.
Book your seat at www.tastenz.co.nz/enrolment.php

July food price increases

Thursday, July 12th, 2007

Wow! Over the last six months we have seen one increase after the other in the cost of running a profitable hospitality business in NZ. Factors like the drought in Australia, our government’s generosity giving workers an additional weeks annual holiday and now the introduction of the Kiwi Saver. This added pressure on businesses to absorb these costs is huge and will have a drastic effect on an industry with such slim margins to begin with.

Knowing your true recipe costs is more important than ever and any business operating today without knowing or being able to monitor and control their raw material costs is ready for a shock.

In the month from March to April 2007, Statistics New Zealand reported a staggering 36% increase in lettuce prices. At the same time egg prices increased by 12 – 20% and a predicted shortage in grains for this year may see another increase.

Lamb prices have also seen a slight but steady increase over the last few months. Both beef and lamb prices are expected to rise going into winter with the shortage of feed.In March I reported that chicken had increased by 8%, however we continue to see these rise as other factors like the cost of diesel increase forcing freight costs up.Also the unfortunate damage caused to the Tegel processing plant in Christchurch and loss of production time while the factory was rebuilt.

Extreme weather in Australia has affected all imports and supply is short and expensive for capsicums, beans, courgettes, rockmelons and tomatoes. April to May saw a 54% rise in the price of tomatoes (average prices up from 5.54 to 8.46 per KG).

Overall fruit and veg prices have increased 16% from this time last year, meat, poultry and fish 16%, dry good 38% and non-alcoholic beverages 9%.

Herbs have also increased significantly with the cold weather. We’ve seen most herbs rise 10.00 a kilo from many suppliers. Tarragon is now out of season and you will need to rely on frozen if you choose to use it.

It’s a good time to review your pricing of chicken items. If you’re still copying the restaurant down the road’s pricing look out!Evaluate items and if they’re not performing find a way to make them. An item can easily be turned into a signature item and is something people can only get from you and is something you can charge more for.

Now available: New season yams, oranges, Thai yams, Maori potatoes and earth gems.

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