The hospitality industry - restaurants, cafes and the very people that operate these establishments - have received considerable customer backlash of late as they seek to receive advance payment for future table bookings. Venues are requiring pre-payment as a strategy to reduce the costs of no-shows which slow their financial recovery caused by the pandemic. By establishing a degree of commitment from their future customers, restaurateurs can eliminate the considerable financial harm caused by the unconscionable conduct of some customers.

In part one of this article, I spoke about the customer’s timeless desire and appreciation of quality food and service and how this is the platform from which to drive food and hospitality sales.

Let us be clear from the outset, it is all about sales. Why? because Food+Design+Service =Sales=Rent=Profit=Asset Growth.

In a post-corona world, (at least in Australia and New Zealand,) we have new expectations of our cafes, restaurants, pubs, roof-top bars and food halls, as we all strive to regain daily routine and a comfort-level in the next-normal.

Will Guidara, one of the owners of Eleven Madison Avenue in New York, has been quoted as saying that it’s “compassion and passion [that] gives a fantastic dining experience.”

As every successful restaurateur will tell you, passion is the reason that they started their venture in the first place. It’s what continues to drive their activities. But passion alone can only take you so far.

Jay Rayner, the UK food critic, has recently written that he, “does not regard the table primarily as a place of nutrition. That’s just something which, happily, comes with the territory. It’s a place of joy.”

We, at Future Food, are employed to deliver best practice food and beverage service standards and to ensure that all businesses we work with are striving to push the bar higher.

However, we also understand the challenges that small businesses are facing in the current landscape and we take a lot of this into consideration when setting realistic expectations and goals for our clients. Our aim with this blog post is to provide an insider’s view of the realities of ‘living the hospitality dream’.

Have you ever looked at a menu, or a wine list, and wondered who in their right mind would order that? Who orders the $300 steak? How many bottles of $750 champagne do they sell? You must have to be on an expense account to order that.

Future Food working in partnership with Westfield delivers New Zealand’s newest dining and socialising destination.... The Rooftop on Broadway - Auckland

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Future Food Working in partnership with Westfield delivers New Zealand’s newest smart casual dining destination.... The Eatery - Auckland

From your children’s tuck-shop to the executive offices of Australia’s top corporate companies, from the footy ground (finals fever! whichever code you support) to the most remote places in Australia there is only one thing in common – the commercial caterer.

Do we have too many F&B outlets in our communities, our shopping centres, our lives?

Let’s put the answer right up front: No.

Food may be on every street corner, but that does not mean it is successful. The essence of the Hospitality industry is that it is not about the volume of food around, but the quality and consistency to drive sales and bring customers back time and time again.

Now before you think we are taking a shot at our American friends, I assure you we are not. We talk a lot about Hospitality here at Future Food, so it is interesting to note that what we think it means is not a universal definition.

Today’s world of eating out and retail food is changing fast. An ever-increasing growth in vegetarian and vegan food choices reflects how we as a global-community feel about the future of food and saving our planet one meal at a time.

Single-use food & beverage packaging has always been a concern for the environment and with recent high profile campaigns seeking to ban single use plastics, governments are now looking to legislate in line with community expectations.