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By using ingredients already in your kitchen and some leftovers, you can produce low-cost appetizers that can be easy to prepare and add more money to your bottom line. Customers’ palates are becoming more adventurous and they are bored with the same old frozen mozzarella sticks, onion rings and cheese fries. I am not telling you to take these items off your menu, these are staples on many menus nationwide. It is your job as the owner of your restaurant to come up with innovative, low-cost alternatives. Many restaurant owners have told me, “That won’t work in my area...” or “That won’t sell…” or “That item’s too ethnic.” This is all false. You, the restaurant owner, are the pilot of your own restaurant plane. Your customers are coming on board with a blank boarding pass and you can take them where you want them to go. Be open, be a little creative and I will show you how to make money with low-cost appetizers.
From Leftovers to Profit
Being in the restaurant business since 1983, I have seen chefs take food leftovers from prep tables and make sellable appetizers…these chefs wasted nothing. They would take cucumber and tomato ends mix them with some purple onions, seasoning, olive oil and red wine vinegar. That salad would sell for $6.95. Someone else would have thrown those scraps away. We do it at home all the time. Have the ends of block mozzarella? Make Insalata Caprese; a salad of Capri Mozzarella, tomato and basil sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil. Have some roasted peppers hanging around? Sautee them with a few cans of corn, olive oil, butter, salt and pepper. Sell it as a cold corn salad for $4.95. Have some vegetable odds and ends? Dip them in seasoned flour, egg wash and deep fry them. You have fritto misto (translated fried mix) that you can sell for $7.95.
* Works great with broccoli, cauliflower, carrot strips and zucchini.
Day old bread is my favorite. You can toast slices and top them with tomato or black and green olive salad and you have bruschetta.(it can sell for $5.95) The same bread can be used to make mozzarella in carrozza, the original mozzarella stick (translated mozzarella in a carriage ). It is two slices of bread dipped in egg wash, mozzarella cheese is placed in the middle, then it’s covered in seasoned bread crumbs and deep fried. Served with marinara sauce this can sell for $4.95. Have a few potatoes? Make potato croquettes by adding ham or pepperoni and charge $3.95. Don’t forget to make the seasoned breadcrumbs from the old bread!
How to Market the Goods
- Give away free samples on slower nights to waiting customers. Not only will you get feedback you will be surprised at how many orders you will sell.
- Have a tasting with all employees, so they can upsell your new items.
- Print up low-cost flyers and place them on your counter, on pizza boxes and in all take-out bags
- Give them away for free with large orders and/or to regular customers. Place a note in the take-out bag saying, “This is one of my new appetizers…I would love to know what you think. Enjoy, Chef John 212-555-1212.” or call the next day for feedback.
- Make sure the price is right. Your price should not exceed 20% of the food cost and not exceed 50% of your average entrée.
- Have incentives with your staff
- Make up a business card. One side has your restaurant information on it and the other side can say “Collect six cards and get one free appetizer” give out one card per new appetizer sold.
Free Recipes and the Internet
RECIPES
Sweet Corn and
Roasted Pepper Salad
- One large can of sweet corn
- drain well (64 oz.)
- Eight ounces of roasted peppers
- or tomato (leftovers)
- Four tablespoons of olive oil
- Two tablespoon of butter
- Salt and fresh black pepper
In a large skillet sauté olive oil and butter on low heat. Add roasted peppers for one minute. Add corn and mix until warm. Add salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Let it cool and refrigerate overnight and serve cold with fresh chopped parsley.
- Mozzarella in Carrozza
- Homemade seasoned
- breadcrumbs
- Mozzarella cheese slices
- Egg wash
- Day old bread slices
Dip bread completely in egg wash. Put mozzarella cheese slices in the middle of the bread like a sandwich. Cover completely in seasoned breadcrumbs. Press sandwich together and deep fry to a golden brown. Serve with a marinara dipping sauce.
The Internet is flooded with free recipes. You can go to any search engine (Yahoo, Google etc. ) and type in an ingredient or specific recipe name and get 1,000s of results. Download the recipes of your choice, but make them your own by adding or deleting ingredients. You can also visit www.thegoodcook.com this is a great cookbook club that offers deep discounts and could be a nice business write off. Please consult an accountant for tax information.
These low cost appetizer ideas can be fun to produce and make you some extra money. Look in your kitchen, search the Internet and have fun. The restaurant business is all about creativity and innovation. In 1964, Theresa Bellisimo of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo New York invented the Buffalo wing from chicken scraps. Now, Buffalo wings are sold around the world. “Necessity is the mother of invention” - Plato