MEAT MATTERS

Focus, says Alan Pick of BBQ Skewers, is the secret to success. Susan Reynard looks at what goes into making steak a star in his new and more casual Sandton restaurant.

Alan Pick is known for his firm views about running a restaurant. For starters, the customer is not always right. Pick says many restaurants end up in trouble by trying to please everyone all the time and lose sight of their core competencies.

He sees his obligation to customers as offering the best possible food and the best possible service. Customers do not, however, have the right to adjust the menu or request special favours. "Flexibility does not exist in this kitchen," Pick maintains. "I am a professional restaurateur and will not tolerate customers who think they can change my establishment."

However, Pick is not insensitive to customers' needs; he is, and says the menu has been fine-tuned with customer feedback. For example, whole steaks have been added. Nevertheless, he believes there are enough customers who will choose his restaurants without his having to alter the offering to suit the odd complaint.

He is equally determined never to erode margins or cheapen the image of the establishment in any way. This means that all extras are paid for, including water (he does not serve tap water), sauces and sides. There is a minimum charge of R60 per head.

An interesting Pick policy is that all goods are paid for COD by cheque. He does not run accounts and believes in doing as much in-house as possible. They break down carcasses, bake their own bread, and even do their own laundry on site. This ensures better cost control.

The laundry consists of three washing machines, three driers, a roller iron and three regular irons. "You save so much doing it yourself, that our laundry paid for itself within six months and we always have clean linen," notes manager Karl-Heinz Franke.

Best utilisation of staff includes cross training in front of house and back of house duties, and Franke rotates staff on a regular basis to ensure they maintain their skills. Not only does this ensure all areas are covered when a staff member is off, it keeps jobs interesting and helps staff to fend off the feeling that they may be stuck in a rut.

The fact that some of Pick's staff have been with him for 25 years, indicates an environment that fosters job satisfaction. Managers and staff are well paid by industry standards and the result is a proficient, efficient business, says Pick.

With the amount of stock on hand, security is tight. In addition to random searches, all refuse is sifted before being thrown away and laundry bins are searched.

The searching of refuse has a two-fold benefit: it is firstly a security measure but also allows management to see what comes back on the plates. This gives them a good idea which items sell better than others. If, for example, a lot of potatoes come through the refuse, management can deduce that either the dish is not popular or the format is incorrect. After asking customers the right questions, the necessary adjustments can be made.

Efficiency is evident in the back of house layout. The logistics of staff and food flow have been planned to prevent accidents. Supplies are delivered through the single receiving door at the back and allocated to either restaurant, both having separate cold and ambient storage facilities.

Separate grills cook the various meat types at BBQ Skewers, with one each for meat, fish, vegetables and game. There are also separate washing-up areas for pots (next to the grills), dishes (directly inside the swing door) and glasses (next to the soda fountain), ensuring no cross-contamination of smells or foodstuffs.

The soda fountain and glass wash lead directly to the rear-loading beverage fridges, where freshly washed glasses are chilled.

An organised back of house leads to an exciting front of house. Customers walk past two refrigerated displays of menu items - including starters, main courses and desserts - before they are seated. They "shop with their eyes" first, then follow it up with a reference to the menu when seated.

The displays change daily to keep the experience interesting. Meat is displayed raw on skewers and portioned into steaks. Salads and starters are plated indicating exactly what the customer can expect, and the dessert menu, also plated, changes according to the chef's speciality and seasons. What you see is what you get.

As the displays are refrigerated, nothing is wasted. At the end of the day, the unsold meat is processed to make hamburger patties and the sausages served with dips as hors d'oeuvres.
Appetising visual displays lead to increased sales on the day and even on subsequent visits. Franke maintains that even if the sale of a particular item is not made today, it will be made in the future as customers plan what to order on their next visit. When it comes to desserts, he says that if you do not display them, they do not sell.

Off-site consumption is another revenue source and everything seen on the menu can be bought to take home. From raw meat and skewers to the freshly baked onion and rosemary bread, customers can recreate the meal in their own homes.

As Pick says, nothing is left to chance and every opportunity to maximise a sale is taken. The result is a busy restaurant that everyone has heard of.

Planned progress

Alan Pick added BBQ Skewers Beef House & Game in Sandton Square to his portfolio of outlets in April, taking over premises previously occupied by Nando's Tasca. His other businesses include The Butcher Shop & Grill (next door) and Vintages Wine Sellar (no mistake in the name: "We sell wine, not store it," says Pick), and A Taste of Africa at Johannesburg International Airport.

Between BBQ Skewers, Vintages and The Butcher Shop & Grill, Pick has some 1150m2 of prime real estate in Sandton Square. The two restaurants are supported back of house by a butchery with four qualified blockmen, moving about seven tons of meat a week through the two restaurants.

There are 61 staff in total at BBQ Skewers: 37 in the kitchen, 20 waiting staff and four managers.

Each restaurant has its own kitchen, store rooms and prep areas, with only a central receiving area shared. This is controlled by strict security, consisting of a series of gates and CCTV cameras. Nothing comes in or goes out of the receiving area without being thoroughly checked by management. As a result, shrinkage runs at less than 1%.

The sale of accessories is another aspect of the business. Customers can buy the branded skewers, heavy-duty steak knives and aprons seen in the restaurant as well as cooler bags for take-home meat. At R50 each, around 100 steak knives are sold every day. In the five years since the Butcher Shop & Grill opened, they have sold 8 000 cooler bags.