By Chef Darren Chin, founder of DC by Darren Chin, Bref by DC and Café-Bistrot David. Interview by Theri Burhan. Edited by Lim Aileen. All images courtesy of Chef Darren Chin.
We cannot assume normality after MCO is lifted. It’s not business as usual. What we know now is that people will be very cautious when they go out to dine. After being locked down for the last one month or so, our businesses are basically handicapped. You can move at a minimal level but within boundaries. Be it from a chef’s point of view, an entrepreneur’s point of view, or a business owner’s point of view, we all share the same need to address: survival.
We have three different concept restaurants, each at different price points and this gives me the perfect setting to gauge the market. At the top end, DC by Darren Chin (2015) is the fine dining concept, our first venture into the high-end segment. Bref by DC (2018) is a semi-fine dining cafe where we wanted to make the environment less formal while still offering very high-quality food in an open kitchen concept so that diners can really watch how the cooks prepare the dishes. Café-Bistrot David (2020) is a new venture with my father, David, the founder of Dave’s Deli, with a tribute to classic favourites like David’s Roast Chicken, pies, and pastas.
Although the market sentiment is taking a hit, there is definitely a demand for restaurants, and this requires strategic planning. You can only gauge the market with feedback. What does the consumer want in the end? What is the direction of the food they are looking for now? That is the million-dollar question we are all trying to nail.
I have been operating from my house throughout this MCO selling takeaways. Like other operators, I am also taking this time to gauge the market. These are my observations in navigating through the uncertainty the best we can:
As you mentioned, the business will not be as usual after MCO is lifted. What will change?
Back to basics – don’t over complicate things
Before this pandemic, restaurants are positioned with a narrative – the chef is the craftsman, artist, and the thing that makes you unique. The personality of the business was key. But now, we need to first revisit the basic business model of what makes the product unique enough for the consumer to go out of their way and decide that this is worth spending their money and time on. We need to assess our business with more practicality and objectivity in terms of survival. At the end of it all, it is a business transaction.
What type of food are people looking for now?
At what price point will people pay for food post-MCO?
Do people just want simple quality comfort foods?
Prepare for social distancing dining after MCO is lifted
We know very well that our gross sales will never be like before because of social distancing. We need to take account of the expected hit, and work backwards on how to create more revenue. Because of social distancing, we cannot pack the house like we used to, we have to stagger down the tables and limit the amount of people that enter the restaurant at least for this year.
What avenues are there in your business to create more revenue post-MCO?
Takeaway as an integral part of business
Before MCO, we never offered takeaways at Bref by DC. After this, we are expecting takeaways to account for 30-40% of our business. This MCO is also a good time for trial and R&D. We are actively engaging with customers to gather feedback on what they think about our food and experience as a whole. I am trying to gauge price points because this will determine the margins, and that will be the answer to our survival later on.
It must be tempting to do whatever it takes to bring cash flow in during these few months. However, what measures are you taking to balance between survival mode and maintaining consistency?
Everyone is doing takeaways, and we need to as well. But we have to be cautious of our new menus because people might continue to expect these same items or lower price points in our restaurant post-MCO. I think maintaining brand focus is still key during this time so that customers’ expectations of quality and flavours are met.
For us, we decided to offer takeaway menus only at Bref by DC. As our one restaurant that is in-between fine dining and cafe dining, it would be a good platform to gauge market sentiment on price points and product. We decided to offer all new items in our takeaway menu because the one thing we aim to offer consistently is our quality standards, and this is no exception for our takeaways.
Be practical
We have been getting a lot of requests to have takeaways of our signature dishes like Cold Capellini and Cold Somen, but from a chef’s point of view, this is not viable as we cannot pre-cook the pasta because the pasta will start to become loose in texture. The quality will not be consistent. Also, these are our signature dishes and we are steadfast in keeping our brand focus intact. We are offering more on-the-go, less risky products such as DIY burgers with the same quality.
Pay attention to your menu price points
What I’m trying to work on now is finding the sweet spot. Once you get that sweet spot with the selling price and with our commitment to quality, these factors would move cohesively in the business rather than sticking to what you know worked before MCO.
The biggest question to me, is actually how much people would be willing to pay for a meal after MCO is lifted.
Your restaurant, DC by Darren Chin, is onto its fifth year now. For a restaurant business’s lifespan, this is not an easy feat. What are the key focus areas needed to thrive in this industry?
Listen to your customers
We always place the needs of the customer at utmost priority. This should not be seen as the customer is always right rather, we make sure that we listen to the customer’s feedback and try to carve out dishes that are relative to their expectations. In a way, it’s letting the consumer decide how they perceive value for the price they pay.
I am a fine-dining chef and I am now sending out DIY burger kits and pies. It takes a lot for a chef to set aside pride but the reality is that we have to do what it takes to survive.
It is not humility, it’s about adapting and surviving in this situation, where you really have no choice but to move fast.
Identify the community you are serving and understand their lifestyle
Speaking from our brands’ perspective, the first aspect is to identify which community you are serving. When you understand how this community works, it can be a self-sustaining model.
The key here is to observe their lifestyle. If you’re able to adapt to their lifestyle and meet that need seamlessly, you are in the right direction.
Customer feedback is how we know we are in the right direction and it keeps us in check.
During this survival mode period, it is now more than ever to maintain quality standards and customer relations. Customers will know (this is a given fact) if the quality is being compromised. We never underestimate this factor as this will bring great losses to the brand.
We continuously learn the provenance of the ingredients and keep the sourcing process efficient.
At the end of the day, it’s actually about the sourcing for great ingredients in the best way possible.
We are fortunate to have a cuisine that stands out but is not overly complicated. However, we are also making a lot of adjustments. Transitioning from fine dining to making burgers takes a lot from a chef. Some days I wonder, “Has it really come down to this?” But the reality is that we have to survive. MCO forces you to think on your feet, grappling with how to make things work, it just forces you to do anything. It is not humility, it’s about adapting and surviving in this situation, where you really have no choice but to move fast.