Lakshmi Palecanda speaks to executive chefs Giuseppe, Ricardo and Diane about their new show, 'Mission Menu' , premiering on TLC today.
Do you ever dream of owning your own restaurant? Or do you already own a restaurant and want to see it doing better? Or are you interested in exploring the frontiers of the world of food on television? In any of these cases, you will want to watch TLC's new show, Mission Menu, which is premiering today.
Mission Menu is a real-life documentary series that follows three accomplished executive chefs — Chef Giuseppe (affectionately called G), Ricardo and Diane — as they combine their skills to make-over menus for restaurants in and around New York City.
Their mission is to take restaurants that are flagging and remake them into attractive money-making businesses by reworking their most important aspect: the menu. Talking to them revealed several aspects of the restaurant business that are normally not visible to laypeople.
As we all know, the number one draw of any restaurant is the nature of its food. It is rare to see specialised restaurants in India, but in Ricardo's opinion, for a restaurant to succeed in a place like New York City, it should have an identity and clarity on what it is.
"Authenticity is so important to him that he went to the Dominican Republic to research its food for a restaurant in Queens that had its whole décor centred around that country," says G. In deciding a menu, the chefs concentrate on a cuisine that is authentic to the owner's concept of what he wants to showcase.
G also talks about a little Indian take-out spot that they worked with and tried to keep as authentic as possible. "When we don't know a lot about the cuisine, the owner gives us a lot of feedback and we try to make it happen," he says, adding that they have immense respect for Indian food, Indian culture, its spices and cuisine.
While speaking of their criteria in deciding what changes to make in a menu to make it successful, Diane says that it's mostly the demographics of the place. The chefs see whether there are other similar restaurants in the neighbourhood, the age, the range and the economics of the customer base, and even the type of kitchen and equipment they have. And of course, they look at the size of the restaurant's budget.
While suggesting changes in the menus, there are problems sometimes. The chefs admit that some restaurant owners are eccentric, and since they own the property and the business, they also want to tailor the menu to what they want. G mentions an episode in Brazil, where the individual had a Brazilian Steakhouse and wanted to use the personal dietary restrictions that he had to shape the menu they were planning.
Menu meddling
However, changes in the menu can totally transform a restaurant's income profile. Ricardo mentions a restaurant called Rancho in Queens, New York. It had the largest menu, with 200 items in it. He personally went to the Dominican Republic to research the food, and together with the chefs, brought the number of dishes down to about 50.
As a result, the restaurant's sales soared to $150,000 — $175,000 a week, according to the ecstatic owner. In fact, Diane feels that their revamping of menus will go a long way in making New York City the Mecca of foodies the world over. "We've only serviced or hit a very small portion of restaurants," she says optimistically, "and we've got about 30,000 or more to go."
However, making the menu changes easy for an owner to implement is not an easy task, especially when the problem is money, which is usually the number one issue. The reason why restaurants fail is that they don't have enough money to start with, or they spend it the wrong way, concur the chefs.
Owners think that it is all about the magic to create food, but they forget the logistics, such as the need to buy quality ingredients. Therefore, the chefs try to keep within the owner's budget by making compromises, having debates and discussions, and constantly editing themselves to make their menu changes more targeted towards the budget that they are given for a particular job.
The major element in running a successful restaurant, according to G, is knowledge of the business. "You have to respect it (the business)," he says, "because a restaurant could be a 1,000-pound gorilla very quickly.
As soon as you get started, invest the proper amount of money, place it strategically, do your research and give a restaurant the respect of any other Fortune 500 business, because otherwise it might just become a nightmare very quickly." His message is especially for small restaurant owners who always dreamt of opening a restaurant, and it is emphatic: "Dreams are made to be kept in the bed when you're sleeping. A restaurant is supposed to be a business, first and foremost."
Speaking of the aspect of Mission Menu that he enjoys the most, Ricardo talks of how travelling to a different country and learning its cuisine was like going to someone's house and learning how they cook and eat.
To G, TLC's Mission Menu is an exciting showcase for the different aspects of the business of restauranteering, such as the location, choice of dishes, and the influences of various menu items. Diane is amazed by the thought that this show can touch lives and restaurants throughout the world, and maybe help restaurants all over from disaster.
Together, the three bring fun, learning and food together in an enjoyable way.
TLC's Mission Menu is professionals looking at food from a new and different angle, and is a programme that is sure to leave us asking for more.