Gulfood

Yesterday, I paid a visit to the ongoing Gulfood exhibition at the Trade centre halls. It was a first for me, and no doubt for many others visiting. The trade show had participants in almost all the stages of the fast food/restaurant supply chain. They ranged from basic food, fast food machinery, complete kitchen equipment to packaged food and menu design templetes.

What stuck me most interesting was the number of decision factors involved in setting up a restaurant or a fast food centre. I will try to list all the stages involved. Please comment if i missed some intermediate step.

1. Chef: The most important decision in setting up a restaurant is the chef. Restaurants make or break due to this. With chef, the decision on type of food that will be served is also decided. (Based on the chef's speciality)

2. Location: This goes hand in hand with step number one. Location is important because location determines most often the demand and supply of everything including customers and ingredent availablity. Location also determines to some extent the final price to be charged, since fixed costs are determined at this level.

3. Kitchen Equipment: Basic utilities for cooking and any other specialised equipment.

4. Interior decoration/furniture/crokery: This ranges from Basic tables and chairs to utilimate customization of interior experience.

5. Staffing: You need to staff both your kitchen as well as your restaurant.

6. Suppliers: Food suppliers.

7. Other stuff: Menus, Point of Sale Machines, etc

In addition to preparing food, a large section of the trade show was dedicated to the packaged food, both fozen and ready to eat. The trade show was divided into various geographical locations, that is, various countries and each section showcased their own food and other specialized equipment.