The way to go... Part Three

Another opportunity to do Mobil Food in NYC is street fairs.  There are hundreds of street fairs in and around NYC and its Boroughs each year.  You can purchase a spot at many of these for between $195 and $400 but some get sold out.  You do have to jump through a lot of hoops to do these- “Food Vendors: FOOD VENDORS MUST Register in Person and present their VALID, FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATE and NYS SALES TAX ID. We will document your FOOD HANLDERS CERTIFICATE and SALES TAX ID and once your SPACE is booked you will receive an EVENT PERMIT. With your EVENT PERMIT you will need to go to the Department of Health to get a TEMP FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT PERMIT to participate in the EVENT and you MUST present this PERMIT”

In the early 90’s I spent a summer doing these as “Bubba’s Baby Back Ribs”,  in between other off premises catering events.  The street fair was a 14 hour day and two days prep at my commissary and another day dealing with the show sponsor(no internet sales back then) and yet another day getting the NYC HD permit.  You have to do the NYC HD permit dance for each event and you have to go to their HQ It was a lot of work and fun but not profitable.  The biggest problem was and is that spaces are assigned by seniority.  Booths that have been clients for decades get the good spots and newbie’s get sent into the Siberia of the fair.

Another alternative to do Mobil Food in NYC is to find a privately owned commercial location to place your truck there (IMHO this is the way to go) You will still need ‘The Restricted Area MFV unit permit” from the NYC HD but this opens you to a much less regulated opportunity to seek your fortune.  With the state of the economy there are many locations with great traffic that are available because the previous occupant has gone out of business.  Other possibilities are gas stations with extra space, business with parking lots that will be closed when you will be operating (think across from that busy night spot) or just about any other commercial location that has the traffic and fits your profile. Just find a location that fits your niche and contact the owner of the lot and make them an offer. 

This concludes a brief overview of doing mobil food vending in NYC.  In my next blogs I’ll go over my progress with getting my Mobil Food Truck started in Nassau County NY.

Cheers,

G

Comment (0) Read More...

Part Two-  “Mobile Food Vendors with Deep Pockets”

First in my opinion don’t even consider doing a Food Truck in NYC as a “Street  Vendor”, defined as someone vending on the public streets of NYC.  There are just too many issues- no permits legally available, a vicious bureaucracy looking to fine you and a myriad of other obstacles.

However I’m not saying not to do a Food Truck in NYC.  There are several other ways to do it without going to the public streets.  To do this you need what is called ‘The Restricted Area MFV unit permit”

This type of permit “authorizes vending on private property in a commercially zoned area or on property under the jurisdiction of the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation; it does not authorize street vending. This permit does not require a waiting list.”

The NYC P&D Department permits are sold by auction and give you a two year permit to use a specific location.  The price and value of these locations vary widely, and yes there are locations currently available. Perhaps the current most famous one is in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art where- “Cake & Shake will pay the city $108,000 a year for the museum spot, going up 10% each year.”  That’s a LOT of Cupcakes.  Locations that are cheep or are available are probably in locations that might jeopardize you health just walking around let alone sell anything, that’s an exaggeration, NYC is safer now than it has been in 40 years but you get the gist.

In the next edition I will give a couple of other possible alternative and what I really think is the best opportunity!

Cheers,

G

Comment (0) Read More...

Comment (0) Read More...

Being a Street Vendor in NYC is easy and fun- NOT

Last night I went into NYC for the “Street Vending 101” course given by the “Street Vendor Project” www.streetvendor.org .  It was presented by Sean Basinski one of the founder of the project.  The SVP was started to help out the 10,000 people with Street Vendor Licenses in NYC, over 1000 are members.  After listening to Sean describe the way the city treats street vendors it is obvious that they desperately need this representation.  99% of it’s members are hot dog cart, nut cart, fruit cart, books cd’s and hat and glove type vendors and most are recent immigrants.  The most prominent ethnicity is Bangladeshi.  Only 10 of the members have “Gourmet Food Trucks”

The city does everything it can do to make life miserable for these vendors.  The most onerous one is the Health Department fine structure and what a fine can be given for.  The fine structure is $50  for the first ticket. $100 for the second, $250 for the third. $500 for the fourth and $1000 for the fifth.  As is that isn’t bad enough the nature of the violations are ridiculous.  If a vendor is setting up their booth (not even selling food yet) and they don’t have their license in plain sight it’s a ticket.  Too close to a  entrance to a building a ticket. Too far or too close from the curb a ticket. And the list goes on.  The time period for the tickets to escalate is 2 years.

What even is more absurd is in order to get a Mobil Food Vendor license you have to take a mickey mouse course that takes a week and pass a test that is all pictures, along the lines of a picture of a gloved hand and one without a glove picking up food, you have to select the correct one.  I’m fine with requiring food safety instruction and wish it went a little further, but there is one additional requirement-  each vendor has to get their own NY State Tax number,  in their name.  If you are working for an employer why do you need a tax number?  In NYS you have file quarterly reports with the tax office, even if you had no sales. Every employee on a truck has to have a license, even a driver or gofer. If every one on the vehicle doesn’t have their license of if it not visible guess what- ticket.  This makes no sense at all.

Oh well have to go, will continue with the dificulties involved with being a street vendor in NYC in the next entry

Cheers,

G

Comment (0) Read More...

Moving Forward!

Well I must say my first impressions of dealing with the NC Health Department were way off the mark.  I talked to the gentleman who is in charge of regulating Mobile Food and he was very friendly and helpful. 

He asked me what I was planning on selling and went over the requirements.  It’s all pretty much the same as a brick and mortar place but his biggest concern seemed to be the water supply.  They have several different volume requirements depending on what type of truck you are doing. The lowest for a truck dong packages products, then more progressively for a hot dog truck, full serve and finally more if you are be a dipping (that’s what they call the thing with the slow stream of water the you dip ice cream scoops into, live and learn).  I’d have to have 70 gallons of potable water and a waste water storage container that is 15% bigger.  No big deal.

IN NYC you have to have your truck garaged and work out of a commissary, restaurant of some type of licensed foodservice establishment.  NOT IN NASSAU COUNTY !  The only requirements are that I have to tell then where I am parking the truck, have a waste water disposal point and buy my food from a licensed purveyor.  The beauty is that purveyor can be BJ’s, Costco or my local favorite Restaurant Depot.  Just to keep everything running right I’m going to have to rent space in a licensed facility of some sort to do prep and storage but that shouldn’t be an issue.

Good news all around.

I’m excited because tonight I’m going into NYC for “Street Food Vending 101”, a seminar being given by the “Street Vendor Project”, the organization that represents about 1000 of NYC’s street vendors.  I have no immediate plans to work in the big city but I’m sure the information will be enlightening.  I also plan to buy tickets to the Vendy’s- “Called “the Oscars of food for the real New York” by Chef Mario Batali, the Vendy Awards are New York City’s annual competition for the title of Best Street Food Vendor”  http://streetvendor.org/vendys/  which are beheld on September 25th on Governors Island, and incredibly cool venue that is a short ferry ride from lower Manhattan.

Cheers,

G

Comment (0) Read More...

George Starts a Food Truck

I’ve decided to get back into the trenches.  I really don’t want to work for someone and want my own food business.  I don’t have the capital to open a brick and mortar business like a restaurant or deli but I still want to do food.  I’ve decided to start a “Mobile Food Truck”.

This whole segment has been going nuts for years on the left coast and is really starting to get legs here on the right coast, especially in NYC.  I’m in Nassau County just outside of the Apple and the only thing you see out here are hot dog wagons.  I don’t want a hot dog wagon.  I have nothing against them, in fact when I was weighing my options after I decided to leave EMS in NYC a dog wagon was one of my top three choices.  I am so happy I chose to go to the CIA in Hyde Park instead, best 2 year vacation I have ever had.

 

I have a lot of experience doing catering, on and off premises, have been a Chef/Manager for an off premises catering business and even done street fairs in NYC.  I also have a large local following from when I did weekly BBQ’s at a local marina.  We did 120 to 160 covers under a tent with a grill, coolers and some chafers and the town loved it.

The food is the easy part.  The royal PITA is dealing with the system here in NC NY.  You have to get a permit to brush your teeth around here and if you try to do anything on the slide you will get caught if you are lucky, and sued and loose your house if your not.  I’m doing this thing by the book, period.

My first step is to write a business plan and do a lot of research to flush it out.   So far I have touched base with the local town and the County Health Department.  Getting the permits from the town will be pretty easy (at least it appears that way, we’ll see) but the real hurdle is getting legal through the Health Department.  I have a name and number to call this morning to get the scoop on what they require.  Should be interesting.  (note: called and left a message and they have not called back yet.)

That’s about it for this installment.  I’ll update later on the call to the HD.

Have you done and mobile food or a food truck or are you considering it?  Post a comment and let me know your experiences.

Cheers,

G

Comment (1) Read More...

Do you fancy yourself as a culinary whizz? A brand-new exciting cookery show is looking for YOU to take part in a pilot! 

Comment (0) Read More...

 

I have been lucky enough to be temporally assigned to a new property (within my company) in Napa Valley, CA. at the Silverado Resort.  If you have ever been part of transition team at a large property you know how demanding it can be. Long days for multiple weeks combined with living out of a hotel room can be a rough and sometimes an overwhelming experience. Being away from loved ones and breaking your normal routine can take its toll if you don’t have a little fun.

 

 That being said I have pushed myself to have a little adventure whenever the opportunity arises. Last Sunday I rode a bike 11 miles up and down winding roads to Yountville in search of the French Laundry. My friend Bill talked me into this and I followed with the thought that you only live once. After an hour or so of peddling in 90 degree heat, past miles and miles of wineries and endless vineyards we came upon route 29, the road to Yountville. When we finally arrived both Bill and I were pretty sweaty and quite disheveled. I was wearing gym shorts and Bill a YMCA shirt that looked like he had just finished cleaning his garage. I am not sure what we were thinking, but in the front door we went.

The maitre de was puzzled; he was either thinking that we were pan handlers or a pair of Tommy tourist that lacked any class or good sense. Bill having the gift of gab explained we were actually F&B people and that we had just made the before mentioned journey. He seemed amused but was still not clear what we wanted. Bill then went on to say that we were Chefs and would it be possible to look at the kitchen. To our surprise he said yes and began to lead us through the DR until his good sense kicked in. After a brief pause he said maybe we should go around the back, so we entered through the rear door and into a small service hall, walls adorned with menus, awards, wine lists and assorted celebrity signed posters and memorabilia, I could not get a real good look as service was actively being executed and I tried as hard as I could to be thin and stay clear of the organized frenzy. Square footage is at a premium in this very small, heavily equipped and heavily staffed kitchen. As servers moved quickly in and out of the kitchen, efficiently relaying instructions on the progress of courses within their stations all I could do was offer my apologies for being in their way. During the 15 or 20 minutes that we intruded on their space, not one person appeared to be anything but polite, professional and patient with us.  I have to say that I wouldn’t have let me in my kitchen looking like we did never mind during service at one of America’s top restaurants. As I stared, eyes wide open like a kid in a candy store, the sous vide butter poached lobster circulator, the plates silently moving down one of the four prep lines staffed by a team of about 25 cooks and chefs, I had to remind myself this was lunch.  The Chef de Cuisine, Tim Hollingsworth a nine year veteran of the restaurant did not say much, but was very polite and cordial.  As we watched multiple courses slid forward in each station waiting for Chef Tim’s final approval, complete with almost surgical like placement of the final garnish and a wipe of the plate we began to salivate. We dropped a few hints about being open to tasting a thing or two. Chef smiled and went back to his work, it wasn’t going to happen, we counted our blessing for what we experienced, shook a few hands, thanked all concerned and politely excused ourselves. We vowed to return, but unfortunately did not have the opportunity.

Uva Downtown Napa-A Local Place



A great place with live music, awesome service and pretty good food. We shared several appetizers that were pretty standard fare, but good quality and cooked properly. 


Brunch at Ad Hoc

It was OK, nothing to write home about, I was somewhat disappointed. We were told the menu was geared towards the Holiday weekend tourist. At about $40 a head I expected more.

Course One: Potato pancake, duck trap smoked salmon, crème fresh and a nice fennel-greens salad.

Course Two: Sliced Omelet, 2 Slices Each of Braised Nuske Bacon and a Snap Pea Salad

Course Three: An Oreo Cookie and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich that was off the charts!


 Waiting For A Table                                 Chef David                                                   Course One

Course Two

Chefs Market Napa

Every Thursday from 6 - 9 pm a Chefs Market a.ka. Street festival takes place.  I didn’t see any Chefs, but I did enjoy the offerings of many stalls. Roasted Oysters with the choice of 4 sauces at $2 a piece were really good. The local favorite called Malfatti was pretty good.
http://vitisenoteca.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/san_fran_chronicle_08-13-04.pdf




Dinner at Whitehall Lane Winery

The Chefs from the Silverado Resort catered this amazing meal. The food, the ambiance, the wine and the company were the best.

 
Zuzu Tapas- Great place, great food with big flavors.
http://www.zuzunapa.com/

Comment (3) Read More...

The Total Package Chef

I haven’t written a blog in awhile. I have been pretty busy; I lost some staff, and had to tackle multiple projects at both work and home. We all go through times like this, periods of overwhelming challenges, deadlines, personnel commitments and sometimes health related issues. Thirty days ago I wondered if I would fail or could I rise to the occasion and execute at the expected level? I was reading one of my older blogs and thought it may help to motivate others toward both personal and professional success. I have seen many chefs and cooks with top notch skills and good intentions never reach their potential. An ongoing pattern of self destructive behavior and poor decision making has sidelined them from the fast track. We all need to take a look in the mirror from time to time and give ourselves an attitude adjustment. If you can change your thinking you can change your habits, that’s all it is, bad habits. If you want to be successful in today's no excuses, just get it done world you need to be a Total Package Chef, no ones going to pay you for half of the package.

• Attitude is everything! You are going to do whatever is asked of you, like it or not. I choose to like it. I can't tell you how many times I grunted and groaned over last minute seemingly impossible requests only to execute with excellent results. If I had approached those situations with a positive attitude from the beginning I would have set a better example for others and added points to my reputation bank.

• Lead by example. You should get out of the office and on the line as much as possible, a few extra hours of work won't kill you and the payback is huge. Don’t curse, tell offensive jokes or talk politics, religion or baseball. I have my own thoughts and ideas; I just choose to keep them to myself. Keep smoke breaks and personal phone calls to a minimum if you want the staff to do the same.

• Hold People Accountable. No one likes to be the heavy. Honest and straightforward ongoing dialogue is necessary and most people actually appreciate it. If you are like an Ostrich its time to take your head out of the sand, it gets easier the more you do it. You can't afford to have non productive and problematic associates in the ranks.

• Train! Train! Train! I hear it over and over, "I can't afford to stop and train, it eats into production, I am to busy blah! Blah! Blah!" Without training you will never realize the level of success that you are capable of, you can't do it all yourself and you can't afford not to train.

• Keep Developing Yourself. Our industry is constantly changing, trends come and go quickly, new products are constantly introduced, techniques and methodology are refined and new technologies applied. There are many Chefs in my age bracket who no longer cook, study food, attend industry events, seminars or engage in any activity that will better them. Even the best and brightest in the industry realize the need to constantly move forward and evolve. Join the ACF, attend trade shows, read Escoffier, Plate magazine or Martha Stewart it doesn’t matter, knowledge is everywhere.

Comment (0) Read More...

NRA Show 2010 Report

This years NRA show in Chicago was a great event. According to the NRA- “The NRA Show attracted more than 58,000 registrants – a six percent increase over 2009 – from 120 countries, up from 107 countries in 2009. Approximately 1,700 exhibitors, covering more than 480,000-square-feet, showcased the most innovative new products and services on the market today.”  The educational seminars were numerous and very informative.  There were many new and exciting products and great cooking demos.

I attended several of the seminars including- Show Me the Money! Which discussed the realities of getting financing for your restaurant start up or expansion, Plant a Garden and Harvest Profits a very informative discussion on the costs, issues and benefits of  adding an organic roof top garden to your restaurant and  Mobile Restaurants - Restaurants Get Rolling: Chefs Take It to the Streets, an overview of  one of the hottest trends- Mobile “Gourmet” Food Trucks.  Over the next few weeks will be recounting them here in my blog. 

The biggest problem with the seminars was that there were so many excellent ones, and unlike the the Javits IHMRS last November there was no repetition, so I had to make hard choices on which to attend. 

One big change in products lines was the amount and variety of different types of induction cooking equipment being offered.  At the Javits Show in November I was only able to find a couple of vendors offering anything at all, and when I asked the big boys about stove tops etc they looked at me like I had two heads, and then if they had anything  it was on the back shelf.  At this show you couldn’t swing a dead  cat (no I would never do that) without hitting some new type of  equipment with induction as it’s heat source.  From large stock pots to pizza delivery bags, from gigantic woks to 5 star buffet counters the variety was incredible, more on this later.

Possibly my favorite new innovation- Vegawatt, an innovative new cogeneration system for restaurants and food service facilities, that uses  waste cooking oil as the fuel to generate on-site electricity and hot water.

Well that’s it for now.  Have a healthy safe and profitable Memorial Day Weekend. If you see a Service Member or a Veteran be sure to thank then for their service, that is what this weekend is really about!

Cheers,

G

Comment (0) Read More...