S04.E05: Honest Foods

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Quote

A Chicago catering business struggles to make money, which is creating a hostile work environment because the owner's anxiety causes him to take his frustration out on his employees.

[Primetimer]

Or is the bellyaching of this catering company's owner more trouble than it's worth?

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[Josiah Bounderby]

AT&T push n talk... come on baby show me the AT&T push n talk...come on AT&T Push n talk come on comeoncomeoncomeon and then BOOM! There is was! AT&T Push N Talk. Woah! So good! Yea, baby.

[Josiah Bounderby]

I'm with Buntsy. While I certainly enjoyed this ep, I wanted a show about catering to be more about catering. And...

1. Didn't the Grilled Cheese moment happen about three years ago? I mean, Chicago is a good grilled cheese town, but still.

2. I can't be the only person who read Porno Wave.

3. I want to see what it takes to get that little kitchen functioning for eight more hours every day. Supplying, staffing, cleaning, delegating, the whole thing.

4. Marcus trying to sell the "chaos" of the first catering gig was unconvincing. When you take anything on the road things always get crazy during load-in.

5. I don't want things I associate with motor oil to be near my food. Ever.

[BusyOctober]

Sarah asked all my questions...I feel like a lot of what happened was left out in editing.  A few other things bugged me;

1) what happened to the existing "mobile kitchen"?  That seemed like a great asset for catering gigs...keep hot food churning out vs. letting it die in chaffing dishes. 

2) new food trucks had NO connection to the "brand" or their food.  Does their catering menu already include Hawaiian shaved ice and grilled cheese?  With a name like "Honest" I would think this company offered natural, local, organic food (or in the hipster language of Panera "Clean food").  And as Sarah mentioned those 2 trucks are going to add to expenses in a big way - maintenance, licenses & permits, inspections, staffing, purchasing, fuel...I don't get it.

3) I understand Marcus wanting to "oomph" up the presentation, but buying a lot of venue specific tchotchskes seems wasteful.  Plus that crap needs to be stored when not in use.  Someone needs to organize it and maintain inventory so the items don't get too shabby looking & shop for new ones.  More admin responsibilities and expense IMO.  Buy some multi purpose serving dishes/platters.  Some contemporary, some traditional white mix and match stuff will go a long way for most events.

4) Marcus dropping the bomb on the crew that to maximize business he added the trucks and expanded the "capacity", but don't worry about hiring any new employees...you all will now work in shifts!

Edited September 21, 2016 by BusyOctober

[ae2]

I'm still in the middle of the episode, but this irritated me so much I had to pause it to come here and rant.

Marcus and the onions.

Yes Marcus... we know you like to cook and fancy yourself a cook. But cooking at home is different than cooking in a commercial kitchen, and if they need onions cut a certain way than don't be a b%@$ch and whine when both the owner and the line cook responsible for the onions tell you to cut them a certain way.

It's not him being a control freak, you're just doing it wrong for what they need.

Couple that with his "You're not the only one who cooks. I cook too." remark to a professional chef a few weeks ago, and he really looks like a tool

/rant

[stormy]

The only positive thing in the show was when Marcus agreed to pinky swear with what's her name, but said only if you quit bitching.

[attica]

1 hour ago, BusyOctober said:

buying a lot of venue specific tchotchskes seems wasteful. 

I wondered how much of that auto store stuff was food-grade, and then I threw up a little. Because asparagus is so much tastier when it's been sitting in an auto tire serving dish!

[Gregg247]

I liked this episode and the company Marcus decided to invest in, but wasn't sure how Marcus was going to make his money back.  It seems like he may be in this one for the long haul, as his ideas will boost sales and profits somewhat, but not enough to give Marcus the gigantic return on investment he usually pushes for.

It seemed to me that Marcus' best asset as a partner in this business would be his contacts in landing more clients (like Camping World).  The food truck idea came out of left field, and didn't seem to really "fit" with the existing business.  Expanding to 90 hours a week makes sense, but that owner is going to go crazy trying to cover both shifts himself (you know he will).  Maybe Marcus' time would have been better spent losing the food trucks and helping the owner hire a shift manager (or two), training them, and then putting together those written policies and manuals for the company that matter so much to Marcus on some episodes.

I hope these guys succeed; I liked them.

[toodles]

An auto parts store for serving dishes?  This was an out loud WTH moment for me.

I think the grilled cheese and shaved ice trucks have been done to death. And who is going to buy shaved ice, in the winter, in Chicago?  There is a reason there are shaved ice trucks in Hawaii. I found it ironic that they bought the second truck from cupcake people, another done to death concept.

Fix the catering business before you look at expanding.  I'm no Marcus, but that seems like The Profit 101to me.

[JoannKB]

Quote

2) new food trucks had NO connection to the "brand" or their food.  Does their catering menu already include Hawaiian shaved ice and grilled cheese? 

Adding the food trucks wasn't about expanding the visibility of the brand. It was about adding income, pure and simple. Grilled cheese and Hawaiian shaved ice are two of the best candidates for that - very cheap food costs, broad audience, and a good percentage mark-up. These are the two easiest concepts to get off the ground quickly.

 

The Sugar Babies cupcake truck has been parked with a for sale sign on it in a parking lot near my house for months and months last year, in LA. Now I now why it finally went away. Interesting that they chose to buy that one and drive it all the way out to Chicago.

Edited September 21, 2016 by JoannKB
Edited to add a random fact -

[ae2]

Have we seen Sugar Babies cupcakes on another show like Restaurant Startup or Shark Tank? Or am I remembering a different cupcake food truck?

This was a better episode than the last few, but it felt like they were trying too hard to make the guy look like a bad boss. Not buying what the show is selling there.

I'm sure food trucks can pull in great margins, but it doesn't seem like the right way to battle the seasonal ebb and flow in Chicago. Maybe I'm wrong. Any Chicago natives here? Do food trucks run in the cold of winter there?

They also really undersold the difficulty involved with running a food truck business. Like, all you have to do is invest $60k in a truck and then you're magically making half a million a year. That's it? If you build it, they will come? There's no marketing? Licenses, regulations, competition, etc.

We should start a game with every episode where we try to predict what has happened in each business when the show revisits for a followup episode. 

[toodles]

I thought the Sugar Babies sounded familiar.  I don't remember where I've seen it before either.  I want to say Restaurant Startup.

[speac]

I believe they were on cupcake wars. 

[PBSLover]

Marcus clearly loves food and the food truck business is something he wants to do.  He believes they are money makers.  Time will tell.

[Peanutbuttercup]

I'm a librarian and I really don't want my catered food at an organization event served to me out of hollowed-out books or computer towers.

[Jesse]

The onion-cutting bit also made me crazy, @ae2!  Marcus was not actually cutting them the way the boss wanted them cut! That is a real thing!

 

And add me to the list of people unclear why  food truck(s!) are supposed to be the answer here.

[Lola16]

While Marcus was explaining to the owner about maximizing the kitchen, I too thought Food Truck.  Not that it would maximize the kitchen really as I believe food needs to be cooked on the truck (it probably varies by location) but it's a good way to bring your food to new locations.  Food Trucks for parties is huge right now and an established catering business --- that should be a home run.  And then... nope... no extension of the brand, no leveraging, no nothing.  2 completely disconnected ideas. #Fail

[phoenix780]

This was a weird episode. 

I don't fully get how working more hours in the kitchen leads to increased profits. Split the team into shifts, wouldn't you impact food quality, or their ability to produce the amount needed in the time available? 

More than that, as others have noted, how do those particular food trucks in that city bring stability to the business? I didn't even think about the costs of the truck, just the fact that Chicago has winter. Although that's an assumption on my part- do people still go for food trucks (and shaved ice) in the snow? 

And...I think it's wasteful to buy a bunch of crap for "presentation" that you'll only use once. You'd have to really raise prices to offset that. 

My partner thought he bought into them to get to the name. Given how big The Honest Company is there might be be value in the name itself. 

[attica]

As a person who works in a city with winter, yes, people go out for food trucks in the snow. Probably not shaved ice, but a fast (cheap-ish) hot lunch a few feet away from your office is a thing always in season. My office doesn't have a kitchen, my building doesn't have a caf; restaurants nearby are small and pricey; some delis deliver, but during the lunch hour good luck seeing your food anytime soon. So we go forth into the cold. And we are not alone.

Edited September 22, 2016 by attica

[Lola16]

5 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

 

And...I think it's wasteful to buy a bunch of crap for "presentation" that you'll only use once. You'd have to really raise prices to offset that. 

 

Agreed.  They could just print some themed menu item cards. Perhaps get different holders that are themed based on business.  The other seemed so Pintresty. And not in a good way.

[Amarsir]

21 hours ago, ae2 said:

This was a better episode than the last few, but it felt like they were trying too hard to make the guy look like a bad boss. Not buying what the show is selling there. 

Yeah. Based on the commercials (including "sneak peak" sections I happened to catch) I thought this was going to be an LA Dogworks type of horror show. Instead it's yet another slightly controlling boss and Marcus again walking into a situation where he doesn't know everything (and everyone) as well as he thinks he does.

I want a lot more math on the food truck. What's the license cost? Can they make back the overhead of a license if the truck only runs occasionally? The "90 hours" math seemed to indicate the kitchen is underutilized from 4pm-8pm. How is the truck going to help that?

[Lola16]

Just looked at their website - pretty decent.  Reading their menu has made me hungry:

http://honestfoodscatering.com/?page_id=66

Looks like the food trucks are for hire only. 

[woodscommaelle]

7 hours ago, attica said:

Probably not shaved ice, but a fast (cheap-ish) hot lunch a few feet away from your office is a thing always in season.

The Shaved Ice made me laugh bc I work for Camping World in their Denver call center.  And we had a bbq a few weeks ago and there was a Shaved Ice food truck there.  Never even heard of such a thing.

Loved that one of the employees was wearing a Jerry Garcia hat.

Edited September 22, 2016 by woodscommaelle

[PBSLover]

12 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

I don't fully get how working more hours in the kitchen leads to increased profits. Split the team into shifts, wouldn't you impact food quality, or their ability to produce the amount needed in the time available? 

Here you go....http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/21/how-marcus-lemonis-helped-this-business-transform-unused-hours-into-650000-per-year.html

[selhars]

Marcus needs to get over himself, just a little bit. He doesn't' know everything about everything. And just because someone tries to show you how to do something, doesn't mean they're a control freak. I dare say if someone came to Camping World and tried to tell you how to do things you'd back them up a bit as well.

One week he thinks that just because he eats soup, he cane come up with recipes for soup.

Another week, he's in a professional kitchen and just wants to start cutting onions. And when someone steps in just to show him how it's done in a professional deadline driven, food prep environment -- he says "back up dude, it's only chopping onions" (or whatever he was cutting. BUT, in a professional kitchen which is the BUSINESS he was looking to invest in, there IS a way to do that -- so that -- you're back, neck and shoulders don't hurt at the end of the day -- AND you can do it quickly -- AND keep your finger tips. There IS a way to dice and chop in a professional kitchen. ANd Marcus was absolutely wrong in that situation. But this is a pattern with him -- thinking he knows more about given aspect of the business than the people IN that business.

Edited September 23, 2016 by selhars

[TVbitch]

It was kind of tough watching that obviously decent hardworking boss guy have to force himself to perform the role of "Angry Dick" and then submit himself to the "Marcus Healing Talk" so he could have an on camera redemption arc. It was clear the staff really didn't have much of a problem with him to begin with and were also told to stage the "mutiny." I liked this show much better without the manufactured drama. 

Edited September 24, 2016 by TVbitch

[Kenz]

On September 23, 2016 at 6:08 PM, TVbitch said:

It was kind of tough watching that obviously decent hardworking boss guy have to force himself to perform the role of "Angry Dick" and then submit himself to the "Marcus Healing Talk" so he could have an on camera redemption arc. It was clear the staff really didn't have much of a problem with him to begin with and were also told to stage the "mutiny." I liked this show much better without the manufactured drama. 

This rings very true to me. I guess the powers that be in the show would be disappointed if there wasn't a melt down in each show. I felt like Tad (?), the boss, was probably coerced into swearing at Marcus, and that whole "mutiny" discussion seemed phony. 

[selhars]

I just wish Marcus would stop acting like he knows everything about everything.

We all get that he's got a certain expertise. Two weeks in a row he was unnecessarily arrogant.