9fbtechreview.comMARCH - 2023Nakagawa produces. Chef has designed the concept to perfectly translate the original New Year's dining tradition in Japan, an experience that many Canadians now have access to right in the comfort of their home. From the kitchen side, our team was able to maximize labor, control demand with pre-orders, and up-sell select premium sake options.On the other end of the order frequency chart, we are looking at industry titans who have digitized their kitchens. Months before the industry-breaking news about Noma's René Redzepi discontinuing operation to focus on e-commerce, NYC's Eleven Madison Park introduced their direct-to-consumer all-vegan HOME collection in April 2022. The launch, even though seemingly obvious following the pandemic, signaled a fundamental shift in fine-dining operations--that the traditional model is collapsing. Coming into last year,s holiday season, Momofuku Toronto announced it closing of the physical landmark location on 190 University Ave after ten years. The celebrity chef and owner David Chang introduced his successful Momofuku Goods e-commerce venture just a couple of weeks before the closure, which remains accessible in Canada today.For The Case of Low Brand AwarenessWhat about other fine-dining restaurants and Chefs who were starting to establish their reputations? While dealing with low brand recognition and availability, implementing meaningful PR strategies and ingredient solutions might be a good starting point.Canada often sees creative collaborations between fine-dining chefs that go beyond its city's borders through partners such as VISA's Infinite Dining series and American Express's By Invitation Only dining events. This past year's highly raved collaborations included Rafael Covarrubias of Hexagon (Oakville, ON) and Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson of Published On Main (Vancouver, BC), as well as Emma Cardarelli of Joe Beef & Le Vin Papillon (Montreal, QC), Atticus Garant of Fairmont Banff Springs, and Justin Leboe of Lupo (Banff, Alberta.) While the option might be less obvious, some chefs have found success through competitions such as the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition and the Garland Canada Culinary Competition. At ABURI, we partner with the Japanese Iwate Prefecture to promote one of the world's best beef - the A5 Iwate Wagyu - through creative take-out and dine-in options. Our strategy is to minimize food wastage by utilizing the entire cow for different take-out options, from steak and BBQ cuts to curry sauces and delicious onigiri.We are constantly reminded that our solutions will only be sustainable with the necessary investment into digital in the ecosystem. From off-premise order aggregation software (UEAT, Cuboh to name a few), and marketplace platforms (such as The Third Place), to AI-powered inventory solutions, our group is looking to dive head-on into this change of consumer habit when enjoying food off-premise, especially with fine dining. While dealing with low brand recognition and availability, implementing meaningful PR strategies and ingredient solutions might be a good starting point
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