HOTELS continues its conversation with coffee expert Andrew Hetzel
-- Hotels, 4/1/2007
OTELS: What are the most important components in a successful high-end cof-fee program?
Hetzel:
The single largest obstacle that must be overcome on the track to building a successful high-end coffee program is management's perception of what coffee "is." Most people never stop to think that coffee is a prepared food! With that simple realization, I find that hotel and restaurant operators immediately recog-nize some of the deficiencies in their own coffee programs. The proof of success for any high-end coffee program is always in the taste of the beverages; conven-iently, the area that is most easily improved upon in nearly all circumstances. Consider what is needed to make a property's restaurants great: 1) a well-trained kitchen staff, 2) fresh, flavorful ingredients and 3) the right tools to make their creations. Add to these a creative approach to the menu and the beautiful presentation of beverages in an environment that embodies a customer's ideal life-style and sales will be on their way up.
HOTELS: What are some ways operators in middle market hotels can improve his/her coffee service without investing in expensive equipment?
Hetzel:
Even before considering adding espresso beverages to a menu, there are a number of ways to inexpensively improve any hotel brewed (filter) coffee: First, stop the free refills. If a business does not offer free refills on food, it should not be offering free coffee refills. Coffee is not a soda fountain drink; a little good coffee will be appreciated much more by customers than a lot of bad coffee. Sec-ond, throw away glass carafes (the ones with the brown or orange plastic accents), then run to the window and yell "this coffee is a burnt, and we're not going to drink it anymore!" Old fashioned '50's diner-style coffee burners do just that - burn coffee, often making a bad situation even worse. Don't think this means that a business must make huge capital investments in new technology; the investment may be far less than one would expect. [As I said] Switch to modern insulated airpots or thermal dispensers and consider your ingredients. Then, train your staff. Since the process of brewing coffee appears very simple-grind coffee, add water-it receives little or no attention in formal hospitality training programs; the details that are overlooked, such as handling procedures, cleaning procedures and ingredient proportions, can have a dramatic impact on what is served in your cup. We find that when servers are provided with job aides to help them remember procedures, critical times, temperatures and volumes and then trained to reinforce the importance of their actions, including, tasting the consequences of procedures overlooked, hoteliers will see dramatic improvements in both quality and consistency of the beverages served.
HOTELS: How can restaurant operators drive higher profits from coffee sales?
Hetzel:
Coffee is one of the most profitable items on any restaurant menu; yet, it often receives the same care and treatment as an after dinner mint. Furthermore, we find that some restaurateurs intentionally sabotage their coffee programs with the false belief that doing so will somehow improve profitability by hastening the dining process. To that group, we suggest that they serve spoiled food to "turn-over" those tables even faster. By implementing quality control steps, such as those I've mentioned, coffee beverages become more valuable and command higher prices and become a fla-vorful complement to savory and sweet menu items. Coffee offers all of the com-plexity of fine wines; with endless combinations of flavors-including notes of citrus, chocolate and berries-levels of acidity, sweetness and body. Coffee is not simply an after dinner drink. Look for opportunities to pair specialty coffees with your entrees and desserts-just like wine-and you will find a entirely new stream of revenue from your existing menu that will delight guests and have them coming back for more.
Andrew Hetzel is president and founder of Cafemakers, a specialty coffee busi-ness consultancy based in Hawaii. He will be speaking at this year's National Restaurant Association's annual restaurant and hotel show in Chicago in May, in a session entitled "Achieve Grande Profits from your Coffee Service." More in-formation on Cafemakers is available online at www.cafemakers.com.
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