Increase Food Sales and Profits with Sous Vide

Many things contribute to a successful food business. Location, atmosphere, menu development, pricing, branding, and service all play a role. Customers come to your establishment for a variety of reasons: convenience, necessity, curiosity, social gatherings, incentives, and loyalty.

With so many things influencing people’s experience and decision-making, it can be difficult to determine the best way to increase sales and profits. What exactly should you do to sell more brisket tacos, lamb chops, eggs benedicts, chicken wings or creme brulee?

When it comes to restaurants and food businesses, there are three fundamental ways to increase your profits:

• Increase your customer base
• Improve timing, speed, and table-turn ratios
• Change your profit margins by reducing costs

Decisions you make in the kitchen can have a dramatic impact on customer satisfaction, the number of people you can serve during a given period, and how much profit you can make. Specific cooking techniques, such as sous vide, can give you an advantage in all of these areas.

Increasing your customer base with sous vide 

Happy, satisfied customers are the best way to grow your business. Customers who have a good experience are more likely to return, refer others, and share the experience. Their positive word-of-mouth can be a boon for your business.

Customer satisfaction may seem complicated but deep-down most customers want the same thing — a great experience. Even if someone is famished after a day of sightseeing and stops at the first place they find, they’re still hopeful that their experience will be a good one.

Sous Vide’s & the Sensory Experience

How we perceive an experience is directly tied to our senses, and precise cooking techniques, including sous vide, can strengthen the sensory connection.

Timing and temperature play a prominent role in amplifying and preserving sensory properties. Lower temperatures and slower cooking heighten the sensory experience making food more memorable and enjoyable. Cooking quickly, with high heat can damage or destroy some of the subtle properties that make food enjoyable.

The Sensory Experience with Sous Vide:

• Foods retain their natural moisture, improving the feel and texture. Fats and connective tissues are slowly broken-down enhancing tenderness. Items are cooked to a precise temperature throughout eliminating dried-out, stringy, rubbery or tough bites.
• Colors are brighter, more vibrant and consistent. You don’t have to rely on fancy plating skills to create a visually appealing meal.
• Flavors are concentrated and infused — limiting the need for oils, salts, sugar, and other additives.
• Fresh herbs and aromatics maintain their essence and add subtle layers to the food, appealing to the sense of smell.
• You can create a consistent, sensory experience every time. Each guest will have an equally layered experience. And you can repeat the same experience again and again, which means your food stands a better chance of living up to someone’s memory and expectation.

Improve Timing, Speed & Table Turn Ratios with Sous Vide

One of the most significant benefits of sous vide cooking is that it helps you prepare in advance. Food can be cooked to a precise temperature, chilled and held until needed. When the food is ordered, it’s a simple matter of bringing it back up to temperature in the sous vide immersion circulator, finishing it and plating it. A dish that would traditionally take 15-20 minutes to prepare may take less than five minutes.

Time is money in any business, and the more people you can serve in a given period, the more revenue potential. Sous vide can also help you increase banquet and group business by providing a streamlined process for getting a lot of plates out at once and ensuring their consistency.

Change your Profit Margins by Reducing Costs with Sous Vide

There are numerous cost-saving advantages to sous vide, and an investment in sous vide equipment pays for itself quickly when you consider the following savings:

• Less food is wasted due to precise temperature control cooking and less over-cooking.
• You’ll experience reduced ingredient costs. Fewer ingredients are needed to maximize flavors, and average cuts of meat can be used instead of premium cuts with the same effect.
• Reduced labor and staff costs, especially for high paid positions. Chefs can focus on high-level tasks without worrying about consistency across the line.
• There’s less shrinkage or loss of ingredient.
• Staff stress is reduced, limiting turnover.

A successful food business depends on food, timing, service and healthy profits. Great food, executed consistently and in an enjoyable manner, can make a huge difference. Sous vide solves a lot of problems that impact your businesses’ popularity and profit margins.

At fusionchef, we work directly with chefs, restaurateurs, and food service providers to help them increase profits by incorporating sous vide cooking. If you’re interested in learning more about how sous vide can drive growth and improve profits for your business, call us at 610-231-0250, or request a quote.