Successful Food Service

Around our house, one of our most heated discussions is what cut of beef to purchase (our cattle aren’t ready for slaughter yet).

My roommates are all from Ohio, with me being the lone “Westerner”.

When I want steak, my favorite is the New York Strip, followed by Boneless Rib-eye, and then the Tenderloin.

They like Sirloins and Top Rounds, so you can bet we have some serious differences.

After all, to me, steak comes from the muscles that do the least work. The rear end of the steer is for slow cooked roasts, stir-fry, chicken-fried steak, etc.

Mom has been begging for a chuck roast, not the big thick ones with the grain going every which way. She wants a Blade Roast, or “7-Bone” roast. You know, the one that is cut about 2 inches thick but is bigger around than your favorite turkey platter.

I love that cut, especially when you wrap it in foil, cover it with Lipton’s Onion soup, a little red wine (water if that’s all you have), cover it tightly and cook at 250 degrees for hours on end. I always know when it’s done just by the wonderful aroma.

To help my “Eastern” roomies figure out the proper cuts of beef, I found this really neat chart. You should grab it, too. That way, you’ll always know what cut of beef is right for dinner tonight.

We didn’t even get to bid on the Food Service Contract. That’s ok… I’ll be maintaining this site and finding you really good things.

Whether you’re working professionally or simply entertaining, or looking for ways to serve excellent, nutritious meals on a strict budget, I will be scouring the web for information for you.

I’ve found some brand new books that I’m currently reviewing before choosing whether or not they’re worth recommending. I can promise you that if I don’t think the product is worth the money, I won’t recommend it.

In time, I’ll most likely include some product reviews, too as I’m a sucker for new kitchen gadgets.

I’ve added a couple of new pages today. These are references I use to adjust recipes on the fly as well as when I’m analyzing recipes. Since I’m in Utah, and I will be cooking for people with “health risks” including sensitivity to alcohol, I must substitute non-alcoholic ingredients whenever a recipe calls for beer, wine, or spirits.

Also, Enterprise, Utah is located at just over 5000 feet altitude. That has quite an effect (as far as I’m concerned) on the cooking processes. I was trained at sea-level and am still referring to tables to help me make the proper adjustments.

Be sure to check these resources…

Successful Substitutions
High Altitude Recipe Adjustments

Quite some time ago, I instituted an “Advertiser Loyalty Program” for folks who belong to Entrecard, an advertising community for bloggers.

Here’s the deal on my “Advertiser Loyalty Program”.

Every time you purchase a 24-hr ad spot from me, I enter you into a pool of that month’s advertiser. That means, at least, you have a 1 in 31 chance of winning at least 60 EC from me. I have five blogs, so you are welcome to advertise across all five and compete for each of the pools.

I also keep track of how many times you advertise with me. See that “Most Loyal Advertisers” in my Blogroll? Each of those bloggers have advertised at least 10 times with me. They may have advertised two times on each blog, or 10 times in just one blog. Either way, they all earned a permanent link for their efforts.

I also have a “big pool” made up of all the advertisers. I set aside 25% of the credits I receive from advertising, and when that totals 500, I go to a random number generator and select a winner, awarding them all 500 EC.

Who’s been winning? That’s where the link love comes in… Be sure to check out these folks. They each received at least 60 EC from this blog.

May Winner: Internet Marketing

June Winner: Tiffany In NYC

July Winner:  Harvesting Dollars

August Winner:  In Moon GoddessLae’s Pocket

If you’d like to get in on the action, join me at Entrecard It’s where bloggers really have come together to create a program that works.

I’ve been able to input at least three months of recipes/menus to their proprietary software.

This has enabled me to do portion costing, nutritional analysis, and also look at trending. With all the upheaval in costs, this software is priceless.

So, the word to the wise…

When you are formulating your business plan, be sure to research your supply line early in your planning process. Don’t be afraid to go to them and ask for assistance. The really good and honest purveyors will partner with you. After all, their success is dependent upon your success as a customer.

Because I’ve been using  a software program called “Now You’re Cooking”, I’ve had access to hundreds of thousands of recipes. All I’ve had to do is choose the one’s that work best for our situation. In all honesty, that’s easier said than done, as not every recipe has been “tested”, let alone proof-read.

Once I’ve selected a recipe, my own background has allowed me to pretty much make adjustments “on-the-fly”. The fun has been translating those recipes into the professional software of our purveyor.

A word about our purveyor…

We’re in an isolated area. While I’m accustomed to working with competitors, and even putting them one against the other a bit, that’s not the case here. In our area, we’re thankful when someone agrees to deliver without surcharges.

Our purveyor has been nothing short of awesome. Just as soon as contacted them to tell them of my intentions, they invited us to their annual Food Show (all expenses paid, except for fuel), and have patiently answered all our questions. They even sent the district supervisor out to install the software.

They did all this, knowing it could be months before we even get to compete for this contract.

I’d find the background legislation that tells me all about the “Older Americans Act Nutrition Program”.  I found references to the fact that rural meals programs may be less than 5 days a week upon an admin ruling by an Assistant Secretary. What it didn’t say is how few meals can be provided per week… something I’ll be keeping a close eye on, as we’re very rural.

I also found the directive that sets out the nutrition standards. Each meal provided must contain 1/3 of the Daily Nutrition Requirements as set forth in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. It looks like we’re well iside the regulations as we’re allowed 600 to 700 calories per meal. We’ll need to provide 2/3 cup of fruit, 2/3 cup vegetable, 2.6 oz from the Grain Group (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta), 2 oz meat (with at least 1 or 2 meals containing nuts, seeds or beans), 1 cup milk product (could be a cheese instead of milk). Additionally, they’d prefer we stay fairly low fat, and only provide a little additional sugary items.

This Dietary Guide is up for review and revision in 2010. Beyond the insistence of five servings daily of fruits and vegetables, I’ve been able to find precious little real direction.

My own intuition tells me that our meals should be free of trans-fats, and that the type of fats we use should be monosaturated (olive oil) or poly-unsaturated (canola, safflower), and that butter is better than margarine where we use it in cooking. We’ll be serving “Promise” as the preferred table spread.

One thing I’ve been unable to find is a direct requirement for a beverage. I find references to juices in place of fruits, and cheese in place of milk. We may very well take advantage of those changes, as many older people are “lactose intolerant”.  The cost/ease of serving an alternative lactose-free product makes it quite a challenge, and I’m not real sure of the acceptance level by our seniors.

According to all I’ve found out from as many sources as possible, here’s the basic makeup of the meals we’ll serve.

Protein is to be at least 3 oz (we’ll do 4 oz whenever possible).

We have to provide about 3/4 cup starch (typically potato, pasta, or rice). The bread/biscuit counts for about 1/4 cup.

The seniors get 1/2 cup each of a vegetable, and a fruit/dessert.

Generally we also will provide about 1/2 cup of salad.

When it comes to condiments, typically we’ll provide 1/2 tbsp margarine (Promise), and 1 oz of salad dressing if required.

Seniors also get their choice of 1/2 pt 2% milk or juice.

I don’t worry too much about calories, as senior citizens often make these meals last for a couple of meals.

Our biggest challenge is to prepare a meal that looks good (has awesome eye appeal), and that stands up to being transported by the Meals On Wheels truck. For us, that means it can be as long as two hours after cooking/plating until the meal is delivered.

Why on earth would I even consider going back to work, even for just 3 days a week?

Well, first there’s the opportunity to serve a growing population who needs the services offered by the Senior Center. That fits with my “Life Purpose”. God put me on this earth to serve others.

Secondly, the income is relatively stable and with three of us sharing the duties (and the profits) both Bev and I won’t earn more than we’re allowed by either SS or Medicare.

With that in mind, here are the particulars that are so intriguing.

This Senior Center serves parts of two counties. Because we are pretty remote, in terms of where the major poulations are in Utah, we’re kind of left to serve ourselves as best we can. I live in Iron County, and the Senior Center is in Enterprise (Washington County).

Located about 55 miles from Cedar City and 40 miles from St. George, this area has been growing up for the past several years. With gas well over $4.00 a gallon, things could all change rapidly as there is little employment in this valley. I seriously expect retirees to remain here, though, rather than relocating or even travelling.

At this time, this particular Senior Center provides Meals-On-Wheels as about 80% of the total meals provided. The remaining 20% are consumed by senior citizens, who come to the center on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

There is a local senior “dial a ride” service that picks up and returns senior citizens who would rather not drive. That is a very nice service during the winter, as we often have snow and ice on the roads.

My friends (via the Internet) asked me a simple question. Could a good lunch be served to senior citizens for less than $2.50 per meal?

Of course, knowing these two friends, my answer was… and just what ARE you two thinking? They had recently moved to Utah (in the middle of nowhere), and neither had a TON of food service experience. I’m talking about the overall experience needed to get the job done day in and day out. In retrospect, I think it was a test. A test to see if maybe, just maybe, I’d be interested in joining them in the middle of nowhere.

That was in late 2005. Barely a year later, I made a mad dash between snow storms from Oregon to Utah and have been here ever since. The contract never came open, however, we have become the “relief cooks” for the contract holder. That gets our foot in the door.

This past year, there have been a number of indicators leading us to believe the contract will become available at some point between now and the end of the year. Fuel prices are putting a SERIOUS bite on the current contract holder. Along with increased food costs, they are struggling to maintain a decent profit margin.

Additionally, the primary contract holder is now 65 and has gained full eligibility for his SS and Medicare. Ever since his Dad passed away this spring, he’s been looking forward to retirement, and travel, while he’s still young enough and in good enough physical health to enjoy life.

Now, the process for obtaining this contract has been somewhat convoluted as it’s not your standard “put it out to bid” type thing. Rather, the “position” is posted by the county H&R department, and you literally apply, as if you were applying for a JOB.

According to the local director, with whom we have a good relationship, there is an “interview” process. The current contract holder was not quizzed on food service experience at all… go figure!

I’ve been putting a business plan together to present to the county when the contract comes open. I firmly believe that if they are presented with a professional plan, that will give them the confidence to award us the contract.

So, what’s the point?

The point of this blog is to share my experiences as I develop a food service business plan, which leads to obtaining a contract for a Senior Center, where my team will provide both “in house” and “Meals on Wheels” food service.

The challenges are budgetary, logistical, philosophical, nutritional, and physical. In time, I’ll discuss each challenge in detail.

Why would you want to read this blog?

Well, I have a “certain style” that may keep you entertained. If you’re a food service professional, you may find new tips, tricks, and techniques that you can then apply to your own situation. You may even become compelled to comment on certain posts.

If you’re the “average reader” who isn’t a food service professional, I’ll be including things you can do in your home kitchen, too. If you’re a recipe collector, you’re gonna love this site as I will be including a number of recipes. I’ll also be advocating for some “standardized” ways of putting your recipe on line.

So, stay tuned while I get content and goodies loaded up!

Shari Thomas