[Cover Story] A Steady Supply

With crabmeat composing 65 percent of the menu at Phillips Seafood Restaurants, it is critical that the chefs know that they will have a consistent, reliable supply of quality product from a supplier who understands the restaurant’s needs. Being associated with Phillips Foods gives these restaurants just this assurance.

“The greatest thing is not having to go day to day trying to find crab meat,” said Phillips Harborplace Executive Chef John Degges. Without this assurance, restaurants often have to go to the extent of changing the menu to avoid the use of crab. “The steady supply is the best lifesaver.”

And it’s not only the steady supply of crab meat that Degges appreciates, it is the steady supply of safe, quality crab meat from a trusted supplier. “I know how they run their business. I know it’s top-notch; it’s safe; it’s held right,” he said.

“You want (your supplier) to understand your business because they are the best for you when they understand,” said Phillips Harborplace General Manager Ali Sadagehi. Particularly, he said, when they are willing to adapt to your needs, such as Phillips Foods’ flexibility in allowing the restaurant a say in package sizes.

There are other distinct advantages to the restaurant in having a Foods Division and being able to cross-develop new items, such as development of new buffet dishes at Phillips’ Research & Development facility in Asia, Sadagehi said.

“It’s so much easier because the blueprint is there. When you don’t have that, it becomes very difficult to run a restaurant.”

And having Phillips Foods just across the city alleviates storage issues for the Harborplace restaurant as well, Degges said. Not only does he not have to worry about having enough cooler space for all the crab meat served in the restaurant, he knows that if he ever gets in a bind, his crab connection is just a short drive away.

But the benefits of the connection don’t work just one way. For example, new items introduced in the restaurant often are considered for adaptation to the production line. “The restaurant develops a lot of product,” said Vice President of Marketing Honey Konicoff. “It’s not just Foods production that Restaurant uses, it works both ways.”

Such a relationship provides innate product testing for the company. With eight full-service restaurants and four buffet restaurants, Phillips chefs regularly create new crab recipes to keep the menu and buffet line innovative and interesting. If a new dish is well-received by guests, consideration often is given to development of the recipe for Phillips Foods distribution.

And, Konicoff said, it was the restaurant side of the business that built the original Philips brand recognition, which paved the way for the continued growth of Phillips Foods products in both retail and foodservice sales.