Chain Leader

I believe that one of the appeals of Five Guys Burgers is every burger looks different. Hand pattied burgers come out looking like snowflakes. Every one is unique

Great post, I agree with you! I only wish the indusrty insiders would begin to understand! Until then, let the independents gain share!

Integrity has much to do with expectations. I think restaurants should strive to be consistant once a menu item is offered. That doesn't mean it can't be skillfully hand crafted exactly, each time, with highest quality ingredients and attention to detail. The customer's high expectations that great dishes will be repeated over and over is what gets them coming back.

Agreed a slightly different look is certainly acceptable but...a significant difference in TASTE is something else. I think that this true in an independent or a chain.

Yes indeed. It is all about skillful handcrafting each time. That's a very useful insight. Thanks.

Agreed ... I'm no longer in the "industry" I went commercial (Hospital Food Service Mgnt.) Wendy's needs to read this if they are ever going to dig out of the hole THEY created. I read were Micky D make take them over .. I just shuttered at the thought.

I submit the idea of my favorite restaurant. Every time I end up in that town, I order the same thing (angel hair pasta with creamy gorganzola sauce with dry vermouth and black olives. I order it because I love the dish! I don't order it because I hope it tastes different from the other 25 times I have eaten it. While I applaud individuality in any workplace, I (and many people who come into my restaurant)don't focus on the negative of consistency. We applaud those who take our memory of a taste and reward us with another dose. Ask the dedicated breakfast customer (the one who has been ordering the same thing for 3 years if he/she minds if we freestyle his Eggs Benedict with Asparagus so we can fulfill our need to be creative. Whether bored with consistency or just plain bored, I always applaud the ability to make something wonderful. Even if it was wonderful last time too.

While your position on consistency probably makes a lot of chefs happy, I am in the business of pleasing my guests. Often I've observed that most CIA grads can't even grill a steak to temp so encouraging them to make food inconsistently is unnecessary. Challenging chefs to follow a recipe just once without “making it their own” as if it was an American Idol competition would be much more demanding of their skills. Customers that come to my restaurants do so because the food tastes GREAT every time, not DIFFERENT every time. Frankly, if a chef cannot replicate a fantastic dish, I’ll be happy to let them work for those restaurants that will be out of business next year because their guests grew frustrated at rolling the dice on dinner. If you don’t mind, I will continue my efforts to CONSISTENTLY please my guests.

I could not agree more with this column. When I look at the picture of an item at a fast food restaurant my mouth waters but my brain says "good luck"! And when I get it and open the wrapper, it looks like someone stepped on it. I much prefer customization that is why I rarely visit fast food places (other than Hardee's) and rarely am tempted to go to a restaurant that shows a picture of food as I know it will not look the same at presentation unless it is a "chef" driven restaurant...Every chain looks the same that is the real problem (except for the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday's) now that is great eating!

Consistency in recipes is everything in maintaining a successful business. Howard Johnson proved that theory years ago. Travelers, businessmen, and vacationers sought out that orange roof because it was a safe place to eat in a strange town. The food was mediocre at best, but you knew what you would get no matter where in the country you traveled.