Open the book on overcoming the crisis: Chef Somsak Rarongkam, President of the Thai Chefs Association

Despite going through many hot and rainy situations, this chef who has been in the chef industry for more than 40 years tells us that this time, COVID-19 is "A new experience that I've never had before" We must find a way to keep ourselves alive, which is an important test...

'Chef Somsak Rarongkham' The current President of the Thailand Chefs Association and Executive Chef of The Grand Fourwings Convention Hotel is one person who has gone through thick and thin, from wars abroad, the Tom Yum Kung economic crisis, curfew, the great flood of 2011, including the spread of viruses such as SARS, anthrax, bird flu, and now this latest COVID-19. Of course, the question on many people's minds is: So what can we do to survive and get through this crisis?

From talking to people in the chef, restaurant and food industry, what do you think of the overall situation right now? Since the new year, we have had meetings in the association. The changes due to COVID-19 have caused anxiety. The hotel business has known all along that it is a difficult situation, so they have been preparing all along. Many hotels

There have been changes to the food menu, reducing various production costs. Bring together staff, from the original 6-7 kitchens, to support the delivery menu. Which is quite a good answer. Restaurants are able to adapt better, with significantly reduced costs. Medium and large restaurants are using food delivery services to survive, at least to earn some income for a while.

How do chefs adapt to working in this situation? I am more concerned about the staff. Most kitchen staff do not earn a high income, but I also understand the business owner. Part of it is to support the staff, while I myself have to deal with various expenses. I try to be a mediator between the staff and the business owner. I tell my employees about various expenses, how to take care of their health, and not to be afraid of future events. We have to be able to adapt. We have already experienced and seen various events. I talked to the hotel owner and said that I know the economy is not good.

I have been taking a 50% pay cut since December. If the business improves, can we return the 50% that was deducted? We accepted. The boss replied with one word: Thank you to everyone who has fought until today. He will remember that if we survive, he will repay everyone very well. Because he has been with us for 10 years and has always taken good care of us. Even during the Tom Yum Kung crisis, he never touched this part. This is the first time that 50% has been paid.

This is not the first time that chefs have faced situations that have affected the food business. Can you share your past experiences, such as bird flu, anthrax, SARS, or even the floods in 2011, and how did you cope? Many measures have already been implemented, such as Leave Without Pay, which pays 50%. We have always survived, but this time it is very severe. We did not expect it to be this severe.

No matter how fast or slow the situation passes, don't be afraid of the future because whatever is going to happen will happen. Just take care of your health. Health is very important.

Are there any lessons learned from the Covid-19 situation or any solutions for chefs, hotels, restaurants, both standalone and chains, that you would like to recommend? Standalone businesses like roadside restaurants are still viable. They can still find ingredients and the prices aren’t too high. I go out and look regularly. I go to buy some food. Rice with curry and side dishes, 40 baht per bag, are still available. People still need them. But after the curfew, we have to adjust ourselves. We might have to start selling at 7 am, open until 2 pm, and then hurry home to prepare things at home. This is a new experience, but it will be more difficult for large restaurants. In the past, some of them made 200,000-300,000 baht per day. When this situation happened, they had promotions like buy 1 get 1 free or buy 700 baht but charge only 400 baht. But now that there’s a curfew, and this lock is added, opening at 7 am and closing at 2 pm, it should be quite difficult.

   

As mentioned, Covid-19 is a new experience, which is a great challenge. Because before the outbreak, there was no curfew. How do business owners cope with this to manage their shops or manage their work? It's a good question. We talk about it all the time. We have a group chat with chefs who are our members. Everyone asks what to do with the curfew, how to buy and prepare. I told the team in the group chat not to worry about food shortages. I can assure you that Thailand is a country that produces food, so everything has both good and bad points. They might force us to work, but they have a solution: during this time, if there's a supermarket or market open, go buy things to cook and sell for the next meal. But don't stock up so much that you can't sell it at the market. I go to various supermarkets and they still have everything.

So between thinking about menus, promotions, or cutting costs, what is necessary to keep the business going? Cost reduction is the most important issue. Promotions are a good thing to attract customers, but I think promotions are more suitable for restaurants or large food shops.

Standalone shops, roadside shops, cannot sell a hundred baht worth of food. They cannot do a buy 1 get 1 free promotion. So, they just want to get the raw material cost back and make a profit of 20% so that they don’t have to just stay at home.

Have you seen many chefs who had to temporarily stop working and are selling home cooking on social media to survive in this Covid-19 crisis? I agree because my subordinates are making it and they sent me a Line message asking if I could sell the drunken spaghetti for 70 baht. I suggested that the price could not be higher than that. Look at the ingredients. If you are using shrimp, choose a smaller size. There are also many sizes of squid.

But you have to choose good quality ingredients, cleanliness is a must, and the price must not be too expensive. He sells the lowest menu price of 40 baht within a radius of no more than 5 kilometers. On Line and Facebook, there are many people doing home cooking, trying to come up with different ideas, tweeting the food to be Thai flavors that customers like, so people will come to buy from us. Better than just staying at home

What are the key factors that will help the food business recover as quickly as possible when things return to normal? People need to eat, so the food business will survive no matter what, but we need to know how to develop. I am speaking from my hotel's perspective.

We build confidence for our customers at all times. In particular, production costs: salaries for all employees in the company remain fixed at 10 million baht, while water and electricity costs are another 2 million baht. Therefore, the variable is food expenses, which account for 37% of the cost. Therefore, production costs must be controlled to be reduced, but the quality of the ingredients cannot be reduced. It is the chef's duty to negotiate with suppliers : We are in a situation where we have just recovered. Is there anything that can support us at a cheaper price? Can I buy it in 6 months with the same quality? After we have improved, we will move according to the market. Suppliers are important. They have helped us in the past, but the chef must know how to call them to talk. Otherwise, we will not survive.

When things get back to normal, what's the first thing you want to do? I have to find a new way to present it. Like my hotel, we planned it all along. We don't have to worry about cleanliness because we have ISO and control. When this incident happened,

Even the spoons are sterilized after use to ensure they are safe. If they can stand again, the chefs will have to develop them further. For example, what should be done with the buffet line? Do they leave the lid open? Are there germs in the air? Should the staff dress more tightly, wear masks, and put sealing equipment in bags? We have to re-manage it to make customers feel confident. This is an interesting and good question, because otherwise people will still be concerned. Click here to read more articles. 5 ways to reduce food costs without reducing quality! Selling food delivery, don't forget about hidden costs Selling through a Food Delivery App or delivering by motorbike, which is better? Expand your Food Delivery business and get rich!