If you have experience working in the food and beverage industry, then you’ve surely eaten something called “staff meal”!
I think each restaurant puts effort into coming up with staff meal menus in order to reduce food waste, utilize ingredients that might otherwise be discarded, and to keep their staff happy with tasty meals.
When it comes to creating staff meals, the most important considerations are utilizing ingredients that might otherwise be wasted, and shortening cooking times. These two factors are paramount.
Of course, making something delicious is always the most important thing!
That goes without saying!
But we all want to make delicious meals, and with daily operations taking up so much time, it can be difficult.
I’m sure that chefs and kitchen staff at busy restaurants who love cooking often think about things like this.
Do you have any experience working in this type of establishment?
- The staff seems to be stuck in a rut, and their faces look tense. (Same as yesterday)
- Even when asked about today’s staff meal, the response is lackluster. (It’s the end)
- Staff often say, “We don’t need staff meal today.” (How sad)
With this situation, the staff’s motivation won’t improve.
- The staff is overly concerned about their staff meal (What’s for today?)
- They keep asking for staff meals that were previously made (It’s good to hear)
- The staff even come to eat staff meals on their days off (It’s a sign of a problem)
Just like us at the yakiniku restaurant, we have worked hard to come up with new ways to prepare and serve meat, which is always available at the restaurant, and have experienced countless successes and failures.
Let me introduce some popular staff meal menus from such a yakiniku restaurant!
Classic Beef Tendon Curry
- Beef tendons (leftover from the yakiniku restaurant)
- Onion
- Butter
- Worcestershire sauce
- Ketchup
- Korean chili pepper
- Curry roux
- Mango juice
(This is a must-try! It impresses everyone from high school staff to adults. The umami from the Japanese beef tendons is unbeatable! The onions should be finely chopped, sprinkled with a little salt, microwaved to remove excess moisture, and then sautéed with butter. The beef tendons should be cleaned to remove any excess oil and impurities before being added to the pan. Finally, add the seasoning and curry roux, and it’s ready!)
Japanese Beef Tendon Rice Bowl
- Beef tendon (WAGYU)
- Onion
- Bonito dashi
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
- Ginger
- Red pickled ginger (don’t forget this!)
(Add the beef tendon with no unnecessary fat and impurities to the bonito dashi, then add onions and seasoning. Finally, add thinly sliced ginger and it’s done. When serving, add a soft-boiled egg and red pickled ginger.)
Beef stroganoff with suji (using Japanese Wagyu)
- Beef suji (made from Wagyu beef)
- Onion
- Garlic
- Mushrooms (Shimeji, Enoki, Shiitake, Mushroom, or any other kind)
- Demi-glace sauce in a can
- Ketchup
- Soy sauce
- Red wine
- Heavy cream
- Yogurt
- Black pepper
(Slice the onion and microwave it, then sauté the mushrooms and onion in beef fat until softened and transfer to a pot. In a separate pan, remove excess fat and scum from the beef suji, sprinkle with wine and sauté until well-cooked, then add to the pot. Add the rest of the seasonings according to taste, then add heavy cream and yogurt to finish.)
Summary
This time, we introduced staff meals made with beef tendons.
As expected, it turned into a series of dishes that can be quickly made and eaten. (sweating)