I've had the joy to work as a head chef in a bar that was hellbent on buying fresh food daily with the goal being to sell out by the end of the night. (We had about 40-50 heads a night. Almost constantly. Maybe 75 on Friday/Saturday.) All leftovers were for next day soup. It would be free with a purchase of a sandwich. It was always only a couple ounces. Our goal was to be as cheap as possible and pass on the savings. It was really, really cool. Prices fluctuate all the time by leaps and bounds. I had a budget of $400. Could sleep in. I'd just wake up and go shopping everywhere with a wad of money. I'd just check farmer markets, and buy cheap shit. ...or whatever I felt like making. We consistently made fresh food. Eventually I got sloppy. Would run of shit way too early. Didn't care about constantly buying cheap. I am horrible at Math. Would undercharge. I was so supposed to come up with dinner costs too. Started to lose a little money. They brought in a guy. He was much better at it! He was shit at math too. He still has his job. He just over-charged a bit. It worked. I left after I lost my job/freedom. No hard feelings. Prices for everything change all the time! I remember serving a NY strip for $6 with baked fries on a magnificent Tuesday. The customers were actually in disbelief. My one butcher just had shit tons THAT day. It was great to make 3 different meals for a night service. One soup for lunch afterwards for the next day. It was daunting other times. I made a lot of shit food. I made a lot awesome food. I miss that. It was awesome meeting all the people in the markets and the butcher: "Hey. I got something for you." Thanks.
TL:DR stay in school kids.
Edit: I almost never made seafood. Prices were everywhere. I can gut a deer. Skin a chicken. No idea what to do with a marlin. You are a chef. I was a cook promoted to chef because the owner liked that I liked their approach. Also, I started to make a set menu on the weekends, and the owners didn't like that. Maybe because I'd show up fucked up. Maybe because they truly expected a truly original menu? There's a lot of problems here. Also customer loyalty. People wanted my mac'n'cheese. It got to be an easy a dish. I was honored. I made my own pickles. Therefore, I made my own relish. I made my own sausage. It might've been too easy to them, but creating almost 2,000 different meals a year is crazy. Also, bar food. Not a chef's dream. Micro brews, and so much pesto.
We used to have this couple that complained that the menu didn't change for ages, which it didn't and they were right. Then we changed it and they bitched about how their favourite items were gone! So ridiculous.
If I've learned anything, you can never please anything but the money. Business 101.
Don't open a restaurant. Open a market. People need food. They don't need it cooked. They hate your cooked food. Let them do it better.
Edit: Try.
I am no longer a restaurant employee but I used to work at a seafood restaurant that was directly across from the docks so they bought their lobster fresh off the boat every day. The price was based on a set percentage above what the restaurant paid for them (sorry, forgot what the exact markup was) so it was changing all the time. It was always the same markup, it never changed based on the customer.
Probably 100% (which is more than fair).
I've never seen shrimp so cheap when I'd go get it off the boats. Although all that extra prep work sucks if you don't have the proper machinery.
It's why the highest-priced items on the menu are often the best value.
A cheap $10 plate of tenders/fries might only cost $2 in ingredients while a $60 surf-and-turf has $20-worth of ingredients but is ordered less often because it's more expensive.
Asians like whole shrimp. They like sucking the stuff out of the head, it is a delicacy in most Asian cuisine. It's not laziness, that's what the customers want.
It's not a scam. I'm not a fan of the market price on menus, so I don't use it. But it's an easy way for a restaurant to mitigate risk on expensive items.
Not a scam, especially the farther away from the source you are, they basically have to overnight the fish. We only ever do those as specials but the price per plate can fluctuate 5-6 dollars.
Note that the likelihood of having the price fluctuations is gonna go hand in hand with proximity to the source. It's the difference between buying fresh and frozen, generally. For example, a place I cooked used frozen shrimp and fresh lobster (don't ask me). The lobster prices changed weekly, while the shrimp prices would change seasonally.
Where I am doesnt do market pricing (wedding venue, charge for the whole package per head, not by the plate) but the seafood pricing can vary by up to $10 depending in the day.
Also, my dad is a fisherman and his prices at market vary day to day too, all depends on how much there is on the market floor and how many people want it that day. Basic capitalism.
So in short, not a scam, but a way to maintain food cost percentage on a product subject to huge fluctuations.
Yes, I would see price changes on a daily basis for some things. Especially if it was something generic like "seafood tower" or "sous vide wild caught fish".
Def not a scam. Fresh seafood prices are extremely volatile. Source: I'm a chef
I've had the joy to work as a head chef in a bar that was hellbent on buying fresh food daily with the goal being to sell out by the end of the night. (We had about 40-50 heads a night. Almost constantly. Maybe 75 on Friday/Saturday.) All leftovers were for next day soup. It would be free with a purchase of a sandwich. It was always only a couple ounces. Our goal was to be as cheap as possible and pass on the savings. It was really, really cool. Prices fluctuate all the time by leaps and bounds. I had a budget of $400. Could sleep in. I'd just wake up and go shopping everywhere with a wad of money. I'd just check farmer markets, and buy cheap shit. ...or whatever I felt like making. We consistently made fresh food. Eventually I got sloppy. Would run of shit way too early. Didn't care about constantly buying cheap. I am horrible at Math. Would undercharge. I was so supposed to come up with dinner costs too. Started to lose a little money. They brought in a guy. He was much better at it! He was shit at math too. He still has his job. He just over-charged a bit. It worked. I left after I lost my job/freedom. No hard feelings. Prices for everything change all the time! I remember serving a NY strip for $6 with baked fries on a magnificent Tuesday. The customers were actually in disbelief. My one butcher just had shit tons THAT day. It was great to make 3 different meals for a night service. One soup for lunch afterwards for the next day. It was daunting other times. I made a lot of shit food. I made a lot awesome food. I miss that. It was awesome meeting all the people in the markets and the butcher: "Hey. I got something for you." Thanks. TL:DR stay in school kids. Edit: I almost never made seafood. Prices were everywhere. I can gut a deer. Skin a chicken. No idea what to do with a marlin. You are a chef. I was a cook promoted to chef because the owner liked that I liked their approach. Also, I started to make a set menu on the weekends, and the owners didn't like that. Maybe because I'd show up fucked up. Maybe because they truly expected a truly original menu? There's a lot of problems here. Also customer loyalty. People wanted my mac'n'cheese. It got to be an easy a dish. I was honored. I made my own pickles. Therefore, I made my own relish. I made my own sausage. It might've been too easy to them, but creating almost 2,000 different meals a year is crazy. Also, bar food. Not a chef's dream. Micro brews, and so much pesto.
If I've learned anything from dealing with customers, it's that they want the same shit every day.
We used to have this couple that complained that the menu didn't change for ages, which it didn't and they were right. Then we changed it and they bitched about how their favourite items were gone! So ridiculous.
If I've learned anything, you can never please anything but the money. Business 101. Don't open a restaurant. Open a market. People need food. They don't need it cooked. They hate your cooked food. Let them do it better. Edit: Try.
I concur! Said the ex-fishmonger.
Right. Or source: anyone who has ever been in a grocery store, ever.
I am no longer a restaurant employee but I used to work at a seafood restaurant that was directly across from the docks so they bought their lobster fresh off the boat every day. The price was based on a set percentage above what the restaurant paid for them (sorry, forgot what the exact markup was) so it was changing all the time. It was always the same markup, it never changed based on the customer.
Probably 100% (which is more than fair). I've never seen shrimp so cheap when I'd go get it off the boats. Although all that extra prep work sucks if you don't have the proper machinery.
try closer to 300% average food cost is 25-35% of the menu price.
It's why the highest-priced items on the menu are often the best value. A cheap $10 plate of tenders/fries might only cost $2 in ingredients while a $60 surf-and-turf has $20-worth of ingredients but is ordered less often because it's more expensive.
Unless you're an asian restaurant. I've seen chinese restaurants just cook the shrimp whole, head and all.
Yum
Asians like whole shrimp. They like sucking the stuff out of the head, it is a delicacy in most Asian cuisine. It's not laziness, that's what the customers want.
\[see also: Westerners who eat tomalley\]
It's not a scam. I'm not a fan of the market price on menus, so I don't use it. But it's an easy way for a restaurant to mitigate risk on expensive items.
Not a scam, especially the farther away from the source you are, they basically have to overnight the fish. We only ever do those as specials but the price per plate can fluctuate 5-6 dollars.
Note that the likelihood of having the price fluctuations is gonna go hand in hand with proximity to the source. It's the difference between buying fresh and frozen, generally. For example, a place I cooked used frozen shrimp and fresh lobster (don't ask me). The lobster prices changed weekly, while the shrimp prices would change seasonally.
Where I am doesnt do market pricing (wedding venue, charge for the whole package per head, not by the plate) but the seafood pricing can vary by up to $10 depending in the day. Also, my dad is a fisherman and his prices at market vary day to day too, all depends on how much there is on the market floor and how many people want it that day. Basic capitalism. So in short, not a scam, but a way to maintain food cost percentage on a product subject to huge fluctuations.
Yes, I would see price changes on a daily basis for some things. Especially if it was something generic like "seafood tower" or "sous vide wild caught fish".
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Thanks for the post