Week Four
Yes, a bit late with this one... Wednesday is normally the day I turn in my essays to Chef Aaron, but this week he let me take part in produce ordering on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so I wanted that experience before writing the essay about -- you guessed it -- ordering and purchasing. Away we go.
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Canlis spends between ten and fourteen thousand dollars per month on produce alone and between five hundred thousand and three-quarters of a million dollars per year on meat and seafood, so to say purchasing and ordering are a big deal at the restaurant would be an understatement. Because there is so much to order from so many vendors—at least 20 are ordered from regularly, in addition to smaller specialty sources—and the restaurant does not employ a purchaser, Chef Aaron has implemented a system in which ordering and purchasing duties are split between different people. Sous Chef Norman inventories and orders produce (from no fewer than three vendors each night), Chef Jeff handles all meat and seafood, lead pastry cook Liz takes care of dry goods, and Chef Aaron is responsible for specialty items such as fois gras, caviar, and escargot.
I had the unique opportunity to take part in the produce ordering for three nights last week, allowing me to get a better handle on how things work. Working with Chef Aaron the first night on the produce order—Norman worked the line that night, so Chef Aaron was doing him a favor by taking care of ordering—I gained the most background information, while the next two nights with Norman were more practical and hands-on.
Three factors drive ordering and purveyor selection at Canlis: price, quality, and loyalty. Price is the ultimate dictator, though quality is certainly important—is this case of lettuce ten dollars cheaper because the company has a good buyer, or because it’s a bad product? Loyalty is least important on the list, though Canlis won’t generally cut off a vendor they’ve been using for years unless the replacement vendor has both superior price and quality. Ultimately, the restaurant is a business and ordering reflects that.
Because of Canlis’ reputation, companies often approach them with statements such as, “We want your fois gras business,” to which Chef Aaron will say, “Make me an offer.” Recently, the restaurant was able to secure a much more favorable price on truffle oil after just such a call. Most items are not ordered from a single source, however. Chef Aaron says, ideally, you should have three purveyors for each item you purchase, in order to force competition and lower the price you’re paying (though it’s worth noting that for some items, such as escargot, Canlis uses a single supplier because that supplier is the only one capable of giving the restaurant the quality of item they’re looking for). The best example of this at Canlis is in produce purchasing, where three main companies are used. Norman updates his prices each week, so he might have ordered carrots from Rosella’s one week but Charlie’s the next if prices change.
A typical night of ordering for Norman begins with checking the next night’s reservation sheet (Canlis does essentially no walk-in business, so reservation numbers can be adhered very strictly). He then checks the parties for the next two days—if there’s a party for 50 tomorrow having the Canlis Salad, that will require a different type of lettuce (romaine) than if the same party is having the Pear and Hazelnut Salad (bibb). Next, he checks in with the pantry and pastry stations on any special needs before completing a visual inventory. After doing this so many nights in a row, he says, he’s developed a very good sense of how much should be on hand, what he calls his “mental par.” While completing his inventory, he marks down on an order sheet how much of each item to order. Finally, he compares these needs to that week’s prices and decides which of the three vendors to order each item from. He doesn’t always decide on price, however, as he’s found certain products which are consistently of higher quality from one purveyor than another, and he’s willing to pay a few extra dollars for quality.
Orders are received and signed for by whoever happens to be in the kitchen, then put away (and cleaned as necessary, as with lettuces) by a prep or pantry cook. Norm has been working with the same three purveyors long enough that quality is generally not an issue, but he also doesn’t hesitate to return an item and request a credit if something is sub-standard. One day while checking in produce I had ordered the night before, I noticed a single eggplant that was mushy at the top; when I placing the next day’s order later that night, Norm had me request a replacement eggplant.
Invoices go in to a single invoice box and are later categorized by the person who placed the order—produce, proteins, dry goods, and so on. This makes it easier for expenditures to later be categorized by accounting, who might not know where to place an item such as ‘kohlrabi.’ After being paid, invoices are filed in the office until the end of the year, when they’re moved to storage.
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Canlis spends between ten and fourteen thousand dollars per month on produce alone and between five hundred thousand and three-quarters of a million dollars per year on meat and seafood, so to say purchasing and ordering are a big deal at the restaurant would be an understatement. Because there is so much to order from so many vendors—at least 20 are ordered from regularly, in addition to smaller specialty sources—and the restaurant does not employ a purchaser, Chef Aaron has implemented a system in which ordering and purchasing duties are split between different people. Sous Chef Norman inventories and orders produce (from no fewer than three vendors each night), Chef Jeff handles all meat and seafood, lead pastry cook Liz takes care of dry goods, and Chef Aaron is responsible for specialty items such as fois gras, caviar, and escargot.
I had the unique opportunity to take part in the produce ordering for three nights last week, allowing me to get a better handle on how things work. Working with Chef Aaron the first night on the produce order—Norman worked the line that night, so Chef Aaron was doing him a favor by taking care of ordering—I gained the most background information, while the next two nights with Norman were more practical and hands-on.
Three factors drive ordering and purveyor selection at Canlis: price, quality, and loyalty. Price is the ultimate dictator, though quality is certainly important—is this case of lettuce ten dollars cheaper because the company has a good buyer, or because it’s a bad product? Loyalty is least important on the list, though Canlis won’t generally cut off a vendor they’ve been using for years unless the replacement vendor has both superior price and quality. Ultimately, the restaurant is a business and ordering reflects that.
Because of Canlis’ reputation, companies often approach them with statements such as, “We want your fois gras business,” to which Chef Aaron will say, “Make me an offer.” Recently, the restaurant was able to secure a much more favorable price on truffle oil after just such a call. Most items are not ordered from a single source, however. Chef Aaron says, ideally, you should have three purveyors for each item you purchase, in order to force competition and lower the price you’re paying (though it’s worth noting that for some items, such as escargot, Canlis uses a single supplier because that supplier is the only one capable of giving the restaurant the quality of item they’re looking for). The best example of this at Canlis is in produce purchasing, where three main companies are used. Norman updates his prices each week, so he might have ordered carrots from Rosella’s one week but Charlie’s the next if prices change.
A typical night of ordering for Norman begins with checking the next night’s reservation sheet (Canlis does essentially no walk-in business, so reservation numbers can be adhered very strictly). He then checks the parties for the next two days—if there’s a party for 50 tomorrow having the Canlis Salad, that will require a different type of lettuce (romaine) than if the same party is having the Pear and Hazelnut Salad (bibb). Next, he checks in with the pantry and pastry stations on any special needs before completing a visual inventory. After doing this so many nights in a row, he says, he’s developed a very good sense of how much should be on hand, what he calls his “mental par.” While completing his inventory, he marks down on an order sheet how much of each item to order. Finally, he compares these needs to that week’s prices and decides which of the three vendors to order each item from. He doesn’t always decide on price, however, as he’s found certain products which are consistently of higher quality from one purveyor than another, and he’s willing to pay a few extra dollars for quality.
Orders are received and signed for by whoever happens to be in the kitchen, then put away (and cleaned as necessary, as with lettuces) by a prep or pantry cook. Norm has been working with the same three purveyors long enough that quality is generally not an issue, but he also doesn’t hesitate to return an item and request a credit if something is sub-standard. One day while checking in produce I had ordered the night before, I noticed a single eggplant that was mushy at the top; when I placing the next day’s order later that night, Norm had me request a replacement eggplant.
Invoices go in to a single invoice box and are later categorized by the person who placed the order—produce, proteins, dry goods, and so on. This makes it easier for expenditures to later be categorized by accounting, who might not know where to place an item such as ‘kohlrabi.’ After being paid, invoices are filed in the office until the end of the year, when they’re moved to storage.
posted by JMB at
10:23 PM
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