National Culinary Review

Rockit Bar & Grill

use of broccoli stems and vegetable stock, and to thicken, he sometimes uses leftover mashed potatoes rather than cornstarch.

The vegetarian patty developed by James Gottwald goes over well at Rockit Bar & Grill, selling as many as 300 a week.

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Gottwald believes soup is the most economical item to include on a menu. “Some will say salads are the least expensive, but the greens I buy are expensive,” he says. Each day, the restaurants feature a different soup. Turkey chili, French onion, potato cheese and butternut squash are among the most popular.

Waste not. Find a dish, sauce or method to incorporate bits and pieces you’d otherwise toss. For Goss, vegetable purées or mashes are a great way to use carrots, potatoes, rutabagas or cauliflower. “Don’t throw away stems. Use them as part of the purée. Then fold in some chunks of something else, like mushrooms, but use the whole vegetable,” she says.

money off it because of the presentation with the puff pastry,” she says.

Jazz up classics. If you’re making macaroni and cheese, stay with the low-cost theme and don’t add truffles and lobster, Kelty says. Instead, think of different cheeses you could use or unique presentations.

Goss can plan meals for four days, beginning with an inexpensive whole roasted pork shoulder. The first day, it stands on its own, perhaps with a dry rub or marinated with rosemary, roasted garlic, mustard, salt and pepper, roasted until tender and then sliced and served with mashed potatoes. The next night could focus on a tasty choucroute mixed with bits and pieces of the pork shoulder. Night three could feature curried lentil or cauliflower soup with shredded pork shoulder. And the last night could star empanadas with goat cheese, pork shoulder pieces combined with raisins for sweetness, and some fresh thyme, rolled in a phyllo pastry and baked.

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In her beef pot pie, McBride uses beef
scraps along with such vegetables as
cipollini, squash and kale. She adds
a puff pastry “lid” to it. “The amount
of meat is only 3-4 oz., so it’s not
expensive, and you can make some
The Magic Kingdom has gone the distance
with hot dogs. “They are such a food-cost
winner,” says Deardorff. He looked for
ways to increase the value and came up
with the idea of topping them with other
favorite items, such as Philly cheese steak,
Reuben ingredients, taco fixings and
barbeque pork. “It didn’t increase our cost
much, but the perceived value to the guest
was great, and we can get a higher check
average for that item,” he adds.

Plan with leftovers. “Provided they
are handled safely and refrigerated, we
look at leftovers as product to use,” says
Babbage. Cream of broccoli soup makes
With risotto, Goss might form leftovers
into patties, make a hole in the center
and fill it with goat cheese, then coat the
patties with flour and breadcrumbs, and
sauté. She might serve them with a small
arugula salad with toasted hazelnuts or
orange sections.

With a little imagination and skill, low-cost cooking can become second nature.

Jody Shee, an Olathe, Kan.-based freelance writer and editor, previously was editor of a foodservice magazine. She has 20 years of food-writing experience and writes the blog www.sheefood.com.