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Some smaller restaurants have been staying afloat by
adjusting their menu to match with available ingredients and
occasionally removing items that have become cost-prohibitive.
“Our concept has a static menu so we can’t adjust as well as
some smaller restaurants that are printing menus in-house,”
says Scott. “We have had to be very forward thinking in
procurement and really understand the market in regard to
availability and pricing forecasts, as well as logistics from point
A to point B.”
The importance of staying within a budget is something that
nearly everyone can relate to, but it shouldn’t necessarily mean
having to subsist
off a diet of chicken
tenders, spaghetti,
hot dogs and ramen
noodles.
Thankfully,
stretching a budget
does not have to
come at the expense
of eating quality
food.
“One of the main
techniques I talk
about is focusing on meat as a seasoning ingredient, instead of a
center of the plate item,” Howard says. “You can still have really
flavorful, satisfying meals if you use things like sausage and
smoked meats instead of big pieces of unseasoned meat. Using
meat as a condiment is how we cook in the South.”
Boiling smoked ham hocks with collards or any other type of
greens is a great example of this type of cooking.
“There’s not a whole lot of meat but it is flavorful, and
you stretch that meat across the plate,” Howard says. “I take
collards, pot liquor and the ham hock and create a cream collard
mixture that I stuff into baked potatoes.”
Howard pointed out that almost any recipe with bacon as an
element is an example of this kind of cooking, and who could
ever argue with bacon?
Similarly, Scott said being creative and using less expensive
ingredients and proteins can be an effective strategy for keeping
costs at a minimum without sacrificing flavor.
“With prices skyrocketing and availability sketchy you could
benefit from trying different proteins that are more budget-minded,”
he says. “I recommend chicken thighs when people
ask about a cheaper protein alternative. They are the cut of
chicken preferred by chefs in a lot of traditional recipes. They
have much better flavor than breast meat and stay moist, tender
and are more versatile in preparation.”
Coq au Vin, one of Scott’s favorite go-to recipes, features
chicken thighs.
Lisa Salines-Mondello, J.D., LL.M in Taxation, CELA*
*Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation
and NC Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law.
“Using meat
as a condiment
is how we cook
in the South.”
—Vivian Howard