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Culinary – It’s
Not Just a Middle Name
In 2004, Boston Concessions Group became Boston Culinary
Group (BCG). At the time, Founder and Chairman Joseph O’Donnell
said, “While our name has been recognizable as a quality
brand for many years, we felt that it limited our true identity. |
Our organization has evolved dramatically over
the course of the past 30 years and the scope of our services goes
beyond the realm of concessions. We want the rest of the industry
to know what our valued client base already knows, that we can compete
at every level of the premium market segment.”
What’s in a Word?
Although only one
word changed, the new name and logo has made an impact on how
the company’s more than 11,000 employees
feel about what they do everyday. “My people have always
taken great pride in their work,” says Dave Oberlander, Regional
Vice president and Group President of BCG’s John Harvard’s
Brew House Division, “As much as everyone knew that the old
name was well respected, they knew that it was not reflective of
what we do. When the name change happened, everyone agreed it was
a change for the better. Has anything changed besides
the name? Yes, I think we’ve set the bar even higher for
the type of quality and service we expect from our employees, and
they have risen to the challenge.” Mr. Oberlander should
know all about the evolution of Boston Culinary Group over the
years – he joined the company in 1967.
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“You know, it’s not like our managers
showed up at their facilities the day after the name change
went into effect and said, ‘alright, everyone start doing
culinary stuff.’ The culinary knowledge was there
long before it appeared on our shirts and business cards,” added
Oberlander. |
When Senior Vice President Sal Ferrulo wears
his company attire with the new logo around south Florida, he is
often asked about the Boston Culinary Group. Before, he says, not
a lot of people were curious. “While we have always thought of ourselves
as an organization that strives to exceed client and guest expectations,
the change in name really cast a spotlight on what we do on a daily
basis,” says Sal. “When more people ask about the name,
you get to talking and thinking about it more. That generates
more interest and awareness of what we are all about.”
Culinary + Arts
There are few words that appear together more than culinary and
arts. (A recent Google search yielded 4.5 million hits, compared
to 534,000 for peanut butter and jelly.) So is it too much to live
up to when your middle name is so often associated with a word
that demands creativity?
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“We welcome the association,” says
Corporate Executive Chef Orlando Morales, “We take great
care in creating top-quality food presentations. Every plate
is a canvas, whether that plate is bone china or black plastic.” The
quality assurance process starts in the chef’s office
as products are sourced. The company has purchasing agreements
with national suppliers but the unit chefs are given the autonomy
to venture outside these deals if the best quality product
is found elsewhere. |
Next comes storage and preparation. “Buying the best ingredients
is very important,” says Christopher Muscia, BCG’s
Executive Chef at Fort Lauderdale’s Broward County Convention
Center (BCC). “But over the years I have seen how that effort
gets circumvented by improper handling after receiving. You must
have rigorous systems in place from the dock to the dining room.”
Adherence to established recipes and preparation guidelines is
the result of intensive training of kitchen personnel. At BCC,
the kitchen staff undergoes extensive training, yet the most important
step is in the hiring process.
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“I only want to train people who want to
learn,” says Muscia. “To do otherwise is a waste
of time and I don’t have the time to waste. We look for
people with a good attitude as they walk in the door. Then
we give them all the tools they need to produce excellent work.
The most important tool we provide is training. It makes everyone
prepared. The staff knows exactly what’s expected of
them and management knows what they are going to get.” |
All that training pays off when the Army Show rolls into BCC every
February. The kitchen runs 24 hours a day that week as the staff
hosts receptions and serves meals to more than 4,000 attendees.
“It’s a huge show for us,” says Grover Moberley,
BCG’s General Manager. “They are in the building for
three days and the numbers are staggering. For me, this is the
type of show where we really get to show off. It’s one thing
to exhibit culinary flair in your everyday operations. It’s
an entirely different proposition to maintain that artistry and
creativity when you serve 4,000 meals three times per day. Chef
Chris and his staff do a magnificent job.”
Restaurant Business
In 2004, Boston Culinary Group
purchased the John Harvard’s
Brew House (JHBH) restaurant chain. The company operates ten locations
in seven states in the northeast. Each unit has their own brew
factory and features a menu with traditional “pub” fair,
home-style comfort foods and even some eclectic items.
The company appointed David Oberlander, BCG Regional VP, as Group
President of JHBH. “We’ve got some really talented
people at John Harvard’s,” said Oberlander. “We’re
starting to get the entertainment group chefs together with the
John Harvard’s chefs to share information. One thing both
sides try to do very well is to develop food dishes that go well
with beer.”
The company is using its national meeting in April as an opportunity
to bring both the managers and the chefs together for the first
time. A “Culinary Summit” of all company chefs is on
the agenda and will be led by Morales.
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BCG also operates an exciting restaurant concept
at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. Featuring the creations
of Todd English, one of America's top chefs, Figs overlooks
LaGuardia's airfield from the Terminal's central three-story
atrium. The Figs menu showcases an array of innovative and
adventurous pizza, pasta and entrées highlighting English's
signature, inventive Mediterranean cuisine. |
Todd English has mentioned that Figs is aimed
at customers who have enough time to relax before their flight
and offers "a
pretty hip look, as if the restaurant were in Manhattan." He
adds that it is "warm and inviting, more like a lounge."
“At the national meeting this year, we will be talking about
which Fig’s dishes we can feature on catering and suite menus
at our facilities,” says Pete Shoener who, as Regional VP,
oversees the LaGuardia operations. “I see a lot of opportunities
where we can offer our customers new and exciting dishes that have
proven their appeal in a vibrant market.”
BCG’s presence in the Boston restaurant community extends
to the ownership of two other popular dining locations—Tia’s
and Porcini’s.
For 23 years, Boston business professionals have frequented Tia's
Restaurant on Boston's waterfront, voted "Best of Boston" by
Boston Magazine. The outdoor patio has heated awnings for dining
and drinking under the stars. Tia's is famous for its lobster and
also serves delicious fried clams, steamers, steaks and lighter
fare.
Porcini’s features cuisine from Italy, Greece, Southern
France, and Morocco and is complimented with some of the finest
wines available in New England - all served in a cozy and intimate
setting with a fireplace blazing in the Winter months and a lovely
garden patio in Spring and Summer.
Coming Attractions
Boston Culinary Group’s
client list is impressive and keeps the management staff busy year-round.
The arenas, convention centers and ski areas peak in the winter
months and the stadiums, family entertainment areas and amphitheaters
are humming throughout the summer.
“We operate all over the USA and in several different segments
of the industry,” explains Joe Armstrong, President of BCG. “The
challenge is to bring it all together so that we all reap the benefits
of the alliances. It takes a concerted effort from everyone involved,
particularly our marketing and communications department.” Charged
with the duty of assembling and distributing the information is
Stave Cahoon, VP of Business Development. “There are a lot
of success stories in this organization,” says Cahoon. “We
need to do more to get these stories out there –to the field
and to the marketplace. If you don’t write it down it will
be forgotten. On our corporate intranet we have added a section
called the Kitchen. All of our chefs and GM’s will be able
to access this section and post recipes and share information about
what’s in season, what’s hot and what’s
not. Every month we will be posting some of this information in
the “Culinary Zone” of our new website. I look forward
to trumpeting the creativity of our talented culinary staff. It
is an exciting time for our company.”
Contact Information:
Joe Armstrong
Business Development Manager
55 Cambridge Parkway
Cambridge, MA 02142
617.499.2700 Ext. 153
www.bostonculinarygroup.com
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