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Where to start to open Uzbek cuisine. Tandoor flatbreads - a business with minimal investment

Unlike their nomadic neighbors, the Uzbeks led a sedentary lifestyle for many millennia in the fertile plains between the desert and the mountains. They cultivated grains, vegetables and fruits, raised livestock, and hunted small game and poultry.

Uzbeks are very hospitable and cheerful people. They are happy to treat their guests to dishes that were prepared by their distant ancestors. Uzbek cuisine is open to influences from other cultures, but every borrowed dish preparing in his own Uzbek way. In modern Uzbek cuisine, one can discern elements of Tatar, Kazakh, Mongolian, Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish, Caucasian, Uyghur, Tajik, Iranian and other national cuisines, although many dishes look as if they appeared many centuries ago in Samarkand or Bukhara.

The main source of proteins and fats in northern livestock-raising regions is lamb and sheep lard. Beef, horse meat, camel, goat and poultry are used in many dishes. Uzbeks don't eat pork, considering the pig an unclean animal. Uzbeks do not hold fish and fatty poultry in high esteem. Eggs are used primarily for holiday baking.

Uzbek cuisine is famous not only for its unique set of ingredients, but also food processing methods, brought to perfection over thousands of years. Uzbek cuisine knows many ways of preparing dishes. Pickles, marinades, dried and dried meats and fruits are prepared without the use of fire. In Uzbek cuisine, six methods of cooking food are used: open frying on a spit or on skewers, in a large or small amount of fat; cooking in water or milk or combined cooking in water and then in milk; steaming in a special two-tier pan (cascane); stewing; baking in a vertical or horizontal tandoor or in the oven; and a complex combined method of preparing dishes with frying in a cast iron cauldron (cauldron).

Many traditional Uzbek dishes combine several dozen ingredients and require a lot of experience and care when preparing. Their recipes are passed down from generation to generation. This is, for example, Uzbek pilaf, which in the simplest version consists of rice, carrots, onions and meat, and in complex versions includes quince, raisins, barberries, apricots, apples and numerous spices. It is said that there are 1,200 recipes for pilaf. Classic Samarkand pilaf is light in color, pilaf according to the Fergana recipe is much darker.

Uzbek pilaf will not work without a deep kagan, in which the products are heated evenly and do not burn. To prepare real pilaf, you need to find freshly harvested rice, chop and fry the vegetables in a special way, season the rice in salted water, mix and prepare several types of oil, and accurately determine the cooking and simmering time of the finished dish. In different parts of Uzbekistan, pilaf is prepared from different products, but using the same technology. In Uzbekistan pilaf is usually prepared by men, approaching the matter seriously and prayerfully.

The pilaf-cooking master has a proud name oshpaz. During weddings and other holidays, an experienced oshpaz can feed up to a thousand people with pilaf cooked in a single cauldron. His services are not cheap, but the results are worth it. Oshpaz controls the entire process, starting with the purchase of products. When an oshpaz buys food at the bazaar, he is accompanied by a crowd who wants to know which merchant he can trust.

Women traditionally cook sumalak- wheat bread for the Nowruz holiday. They gather at one of the women's houses and talk, sing and dance while the dish is prepared. Preparations begin 7-10 days before Navruz. Wheat is soaked in a special way, dried and kneaded into dough. The dough is cooked over low heat for 13-14 hours, stirring constantly. Seven stones at the bottom of the cauldron prevent the sumalak from burning. When Nowruz comes, everyone says a prayer and tries sumalak.

Everyday dishes of Uzbek cuisine are not as labor-intensive as sumalak, but most of them require experience and dexterity. An important place in Uzbek cuisine is occupied by hot soups (shurpa) in strong broth. As a rule, they are thick, spicy, with a lot of vegetables and herbs. Shurpa is made from fresh or fried meat. Vegetables are placed in large pieces to preserve their flavor.

In Uzbek traditions, it is customary to cook soups over low heat and add salt at the very end. Unique soups of Uzbek cuisine - mastava (made from meat, rice and vegetables, served with sour milk, pepper and spices); mashkhurda (bean soup with rice, potatoes, onions, herbs and sour milk); mash-atala (thick soup made from fried lard, onions, carrots, beans and flour); moshubirinch (lamb, tomatoes, beans and rice); cholop (cold soup with sour milk made from radishes, cucumbers and herbs). Uzbek noodles are almost always prepared with meat.

The most common second courses of Uzbek cuisine are meat dishes: cutlets, kebabs, manti, kebab, langman, samsa and all kinds of pies with meat, rice, pumpkin and other fillings. Vegetable salads are served with meat or meat is stewed with vegetables. For many dishes, the meat is not separated from the bone. Meat is usually fried in calcined oil or in a mixture of vegetable and animal oils, which improves its taste and smell. Many meat and vegetable dishes are steamed.

Fermented dairy products are the pride of Uzbek cuisine. Made from sour sheep's milk katyk(yogurt) and Suzma(strained curdled milk, similar to cottage cheese). These products with high nutritional value and unusual taste can be eaten as separate dishes, or they can be used to season salads and soups. Ayran- a cold invigorating drink made from suzma or sour milk diluted in cold water.

Uzbeks are very respectful of bread. The main Uzbek bread is unleavened flatbread. obi-non. On holidays they bake patyr - flat cakes with the addition of lamb fat. Bukhara flatbreads are sprinkled with sesame seeds. In the spring, dough for obi-non is prepared with an infusion of fresh shoots of mint, dandelion, spinach, quinoa and many other herbs. For the bride's viewing, cakes are prepared with butter and sour cream. In different regions of Uzbekistan, different additives are used in obi-non, but the technology has not changed for centuries.

Flatbreads prepared according to different recipes are called differently: lochire, shirmoy, chevat and katlama, but they are all cooked in the tandoor. The word “tandoor” has the same roots in many languages: Sanskrit, Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani. Tandoors were used in the Akkadian culture, before Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau were inhabited by Semitic tribes. In India and Iran, meat with spices is cooked in ovens resembling tandoors. Although you can also cook shish kebab in an Uzbek tandoor, its main purpose is baking obi-non flatbreads.

Flatbreads have a sacred meaning for Uzbeks. Their round shape symbolizes the sun. Patterns of holes and lines must be applied to the cakes. Uzbek flatbreads are simultaneously bread, plates for pilaf, meat and other fatty dishes, and works of art. Dry cakes are stored for a long time, so especially beautiful ones are even hung on walls for decoration. The traditions of making obi-non flatbreads date back to about 5,000 years. Today, adherents of Uzbek cuisine can cook obi-non in a horizontal tandoor.

To prepare traditional Uzbek obi-non, coal and firewood are placed in a tandoor and heated for several hours. The walls of the tandoor are sprinkled with salt water so that the finished flatbreads can be easily separated, and the dough is applied to them using a rapida (a round cotton pillow). The hot walls are generously sprinkled with water to steam the dough. Tandoor flatbreads have a unique aroma and taste due to the fact that they are cooked very quickly at high humidity and a temperature of 400-480 degrees. Avicenna wrote about Samarkand tandoor flatbreads: “Whoever eats obi-non with raisins, dried pears or peanuts in the morning will be full all day long.”

Almost half of the dishes of traditional Uzbek cuisine are flour products with various fillings. Baked goods and sweets are not served at the end of a meal, but repeatedly: before, during and after meals. The most popular are puff pastry pies with meat or sweet fillings.

Exotic oriental sweets are common in Uzbekistan. Almost 50 types of halva are cooked here, and sweets are prepared from nuts, fruits and juices. An abundance of fruits and berries is used in Uzbek cuisine to prepare sweet compotes, medicinal infusions, and refreshing sherbets. Melons and watermelons act as independent desserts. Uzbek cuisine is almost does not involve alcohol consumption, except for dry and vintage wines from local grapes. This is not surprising, because only a very healthy person can drink strong alcohol without consequences after fatty pilaf. If you have to choose - vodka or pilaf, a real Uzbek will choose pilaf.

Uzbek cuisine would be incomplete without tea. For centuries, serious issues were resolved and intimate conversations were held in a teahouse over a cup of aromatic tea. Teahouse gatherings are a traditional privilege for men. Green tea in the teahouse is served with pilaf and meat dishes. Tea helps to digest fatty meat foods, which the Uzbek table is rich in. A cup of green tea is a traditional symbol of hospitality. Black and green tea in Uzbekistan is drunk without milk and sugar, but with a lot of sweets. On cold days, brew black tea with lumps of sugar and steep for about 5 minutes.

Uzbek green tea turns out to be very tart and rich, because it is brewed for five minutes in the heat. Black tea with black pepper is used as a medicine for colds. Pain in the heart area can be relieved with green tea and saffron. If you have a heaviness in the stomach or drowsiness after a heavy meal, make tea with basil.

You can always try dishes of Uzbek cuisine in.


What is Uzbekistan? These are Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand... Ancient mosques with blue mosaic minarets, mysterious oriental beauties, endless bazaars replete with vegetables, fruits, colorful carpets. Juicy, aromatic kebabs are prepared right here, a mountain of unleavened flatbreads rises, tea is poured, which, by the way, perfectly quenches thirst in the summer heat... But this is at the market.

The Uzbeks themselves eat little during the day. They drink tea for breakfast, and during the day they only have a light snack: tea with bread, fruit, light salads. The main and most high-calorie dishes are served in the evening, when it is not so hot and the whole family, having returned from work, gathers at one table.

We gathered, made sure to wash our hands (for which everyone present is surrounded with water), the head of the family solemnly broke the flatbread (it is not customary to cut them), and now we can start eating.

People in Uzbekistan love to cook dishes based on flour and grain. Traditions. Among flour products, we should highlight noodles, which are included in many first and second courses. For example, soups kaskan-osh or suyuk-osh with seasoning made from melted butter and sour milk. Or the second - Naryn and Lagman. The dishes are very similar, but there are still differences. To prepare Naryn, noodles are cut from pieces of rolled dough boiled in broth or water, and then boiled meat with spices is added and poured with strong broth. Previously, Naryn was served when a respected person was visiting the house or only men gathered. But lagman is made from long noodles, seasoned with aromatic meat sauce and a large variety of vegetables.

Uzbek cuisine is also famous for various kinds of dumplings: small ones, with minced meat and onions (chuchvara), they are boiled in water; and large ones (manti), which are steamed in cascans.

In general, Uzbeks cook many dishes using steam. In Central Asia they even came up with special dishes for this. Kaskan is a saucepan with two compartments. Water is poured into the lower one, and the upper one has four tiers and is tightly closed with a lid. Well done! A convenient, compact steamer was invented when they didn’t even think about preserving vitamins! Another feature of preparing Uzbek cuisine is the strong overcooking of fats, in the classic version, of course, fat tail fat. Sometimes they would heat up the lard in a cauldron, throw in a pinch of salt - it would bounce off the walls, but the white smoke would already appear, which means you can start cooking. Be it kebab, or narhangi, or even pilaf.

Cooking Uzbek pilaf is a whole sacred act. Previously (and even now, probably) this sacrament was trusted only to men. More precisely, they trusted him to themselves. This is a whole science. Melt the lard, heat it, prepare the zirvak, add the rice exactly when it’s supposed to. And don’t be distracted for a minute. This is art, a ritual. Therefore, we warn men: if you decide to cook pilaf, do not do it while watching sports. Tune in, study the detailed recipe and go for it.

Teahouse owner

How it all began

“I am pure Uzbek by nationality, but my grandmother is Iranian. I ended up here like everyone else - I came for money. First he worked at a construction site, then in a taxi. I started earning normal money. Once my friends and I went to an Uzbek cafe on the 8th line, ordered shurpa and samsa - we didn’t like it. But what was most upsetting was that they poured vodka there. This cafe was famous - a man was stabbed to death in a drunken brawl. We left, let's move on. And suddenly on the 3rd line we see a “for rent” ad hanging. We called this number right at night.

The owner turned out to be a good person and offered a reasonable price. It turned out that this place used to belong to KUGI (Committee for State Property Management. - Editor's note), and there was a strip bar called "Hubba Baba". There was drinking every night, the neighbors complained. And this man somehow bought this place from the state and decided to open a normal cafe there. And then we turned up. A reliable landlord is a huge success. People are different, I know a lot of people. It happens that you collect everything, repair it, then two months will pass, and prices will rise, and you will have to quit this business. The owner made concessions - he gave us three months to repair everything. As it turned out later, he liked Uzbek cuisine, but I didn’t know his idea at that time. The three of us started working with our brothers, we removed the stripper pole and repaired everything. A restaurant nearby was closing, we bought these red sofas from them for 30 thousand.

There is no need for special equipment for Uzbek cuisine. We bought four cauldrons at the market for three thousand each, and that’s the whole kitchen. All Uzbek dishes without a recipe - everyone has their own secrets. For example, fig. It is always different - one raises water, the other does not. You need good meat, juicy meat. How do you explain this in the recipe? Therefore, you need to know the chef well in order to trust him. Now my relative from Samarkand works as a cook. We have a subsidiary farm near St. Petersburg. There are always 50-70 live lambs there. They are brought from Dagestan and Ingushetia. When the meat ran out, they cut it and brought it.

My favorite dish is pea soup. First, the chickpeas are cooked for a long time and then sit for another day. Then the meat and bones are cooked for 5-6 hours. We call it “Nukhat Shurpa”. It is tasty and very healthy - everything comes out of the bones, and the taste is special. Pilaf is a good thing, but it’s good when it’s cooked over a fire – the taste will be different. Why is there no good pilaf anywhere in the city? Because natural gas is not allowed. In order to carry out gas, we need to make agreements for six months, draw up paperwork - that’s 200 thousand, install everything - another 200. So we’re still cooking pilaf on the stove, and we don’t have a tandoor - we have to order flatbreads.


How to communicate with clients, neighbors and inspection authorities

From the very beginning, the neighbors didn’t like the fact that we opened a non-Russian cafe here. We all came to the opening with our families, some with beards, some without, all black people. Then they started writing to the prosecutor’s office, to the SES, to the Administration. A week later, checks began to come from the prosecutor's office. Every day. Well, we checked - everything is legal. Then the tax arrived, the cash register was installed. There was no longer any complaint. No one was paid, as far as I remember. What needs to be done for the fireman to give permission? A fire alarm was installed. And then the SES arrived - they said things are fine for now, they just asked you to put railings on the stairs. If we had bribed everyone, we wouldn’t have discovered anything. Sometimes they come from the Federal Migration Service, we tell them - let’s give you a 50% discount. They say: “No, it’s so cheap, why?” Usually they arrive at 6-7 o'clock. And there was never a time when visitors’ documents were checked.

And then the neighbors began to get used to it. They say they didn’t like it at first, they didn’t think it would turn out this way, sorry. And now we are friends with everyone. On Saturday and Sunday, families come to eat barbecue. People from the neighboring bank come in all the time for lunch, and from the hotel opposite. Neither among the police, nor among thieves, nor among the common people and authoritative people, I have never encountered aggression. And the traffic police never stops me. And on the subway. For these 5-6 years I never argued with anyone. I don’t know why - maybe I dress clean and behave correctly?

Halal

Everyone understands the word “halal” differently. For example, they bring meat from Brazil: no one knows where it was cut, how it was cleaned. I went into a meat processing plant here and saw how the people worked there. They walk around in rubber boots and kick meat like that. After this you don’t want meat - everything is dirty. Why don't we have alcohol? I was once in the Republic of Mari El, visiting the mountain Mari. They made moonshine there. Do you know how it is prepared? I might ruin my appetite. A concrete hole in the ground is five by five meters, there is yeast, sultanas, and right above the hole there is a toilet. So I went straight there and everything fell down. What is it? They say it will be moonshine, good one. How do people drink it?

Now the actor Depardieu has arrived in Russia and was given citizenship. His winery is shown on TV. Everything seems neat there, everything is beautiful. And there these raisins, grapes, are thrown into a hole and they dance on it. So what, am I going to drink off his feet? Religion has nothing to do with it. If a person actually drinks, no religion will save him - not a Russian, not an Uzbek, not an Arab, no one. You cannot re-educate people until the person himself finds nothing inside. Is it possible to treat drug addicts? It will still remain in his head. Here is a small bull terrier - you kick him as a child, but as an adult he will definitely remember this.

Today it is not at all necessary to go shopping, because everything you need can be ordered online. Moreover, there is no need to even spend time preparing food - it is much better to order food delivered to your home.

A business created in this service sector can become very profitable, and it has many prospects. Undoubtedly, there is competition, and even more, but with desire and hard work, you will find your niche, which will make you successful.

Food delivery: features and nuances of business

Food belongs to this type of goods that under no circumstances leave the market, because “everyone always wants to eat”, all the time, despite the crisis or other troubles. Food delivery services, although they appeared relatively recently, are quickly gaining popularity for many reasons:

  • busy people in big cities do not have time to buy groceries in the store or do not find time to prepare food;
  • some companies provide their employees with the delivery of ready-made meals, so-called business lunches (or office and corporate employees themselves order this type of service);
  • many establishments (pizzerias, sushi bars or restaurants, etc.) immediately have their own production and delivery (you can eat there or arrange courier services);
  • on a large scale, this business is already called catering and assumes that you can serve large events (banquets, various holidays, meetings or special events).

Of course, you can and should start small, because not everyone will be able to conquer the market right away. Before you start home delivery of food, you need to carefully prepare. It is best to create a business plan, because this way you can distribute all the points step by step and not miss anything.

  1. To make your business profitable and successful, conduct an analysis of this market segment by collecting all the relevant information on your city.
  2. Decide on the form of your business. There are several options:
    • use ready-made food from a restaurant (cafe), but sell it at a certain markup due to the delivery service;
    • cook yourself (this can be a completely family, home business, when you do everything at home, or in a specialized kitchen). In this case, you can also sell your services in different ways, that is, either involve other relatives in the business, or hire a courier with a car;
    • sell not only ready-made food, but also semi-finished products (you need to be able to prepare them), as well as independent products, doing business through online orders and delivery.
  3. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. To choose where to start, assess your financial capabilities and try to analyze all possible risks. After this, go prepare the material and legal base. Serious work awaits you.
  4. Already during the organizational process, you will have to look for a place suitable for preparing and storing food, suppliers of goods, decide on transport and other working issues.
  5. Next you will need to do advertising and find clients. This is a very important point, because it will be possible to talk about the payback or profit of a business only if there is an established client base and constant development.

As you can see, implementing this idea will require a lot of effort, time and money. But, having a clear action plan, you can begin to bring your idea to life.

Where to begin?

Before you open a food delivery business, you need to figure out how you can stand out from your competitors. To succeed, you need to constantly be on top, pleasantly surprise your clients and make them come to you again and again. It’s good if you can organize a full cycle of services, that is, from preparing food to delivering it.

If you already have your own restaurant or other establishment (cafeteria, canteen, pizzeria), then you can simply add a new service - food delivery by courier. Then you won’t have to search for premises, suppliers and personnel. The issue of obtaining permits and other documentation will also be removed, and the business concept will be clear.

However, owning a restaurant is not acceptable for everyone. Perhaps at the initial stage you do not have the required amount or experience to start such a business. Whereas opening a food delivery service as a small company or family business is quite possible. That is, you can start from the other side, and having developed and gained a foothold in the market, you can already invest in the establishment of your dreams.

We create our own website

You can order website development from scratch or buy a ready-made project. The second option will cost you less, and besides, you can start working with it right away.

The best option in terms of money and speed of creation is to use the services of freelancers. Also, feel free to entrust them with any tasks that you have as you create and grow your business - writing articles, creating a logo, finding clients, etc. It is best to use a specialized platform, for example, Ispolnu.ru, where the process of interaction with performers will be simple and safe.

Try to come up with an interesting design for the site and work out various marketing strategies so that it doesn’t just “hang” on the Internet as a dead weight, but actually works and attracts customers. Based on the fact of attendance and interest, it will be possible to judge in what other directions you need to move.

Everything is according to the law: the main points of legal preparation

The contents of the package of necessary documents will depend on whether you are already the owner of any catering enterprise. Some entrepreneurs do not want to initially bother with legal registration and begin to deal with it only after some time has passed or in the event of unexpected troubles. But you need to understand that you can’t just cook in your home kitchen and sell food to people: you could get into serious trouble with the law.

You should register your business correctly:

  • register with the tax office, choose a form of taxation and prepare a package of documents for registration;
  • pay the required state fees and submit an application for inclusion in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs;
  • if you plan to make non-cash payments, you need to open a bank account;
  • obtain the appropriate permits from the sanitary and epidemiological service for the premises you have chosen and the implementation of all planned services (food preparation, food storage, transportation, etc.). The SES checks both working conditions and food preparation conditions. Your employees must have valid medical records, which will contain data from medical examinations and confirmation of completed hygienic training / certification;
  • obtain permission from the fire department, whose employees will also inspect the premises and document that it complies with the necessary standards and requirements, and that your workers have passed the necessary certification and can work with food;
  • papers authorizing your activities must be signed by both the consumer market committee and Rospotrebnadzor;
  • register a cash register and purchase a stamp.

Remember that your business activity must be related to delivery services (you also need permission!), because you will have to enter into supply contracts, sign waybills and waybills for drivers.

Here's what you need to start a food delivery business from scratch. However, you will only need a complete package of documents if you are purchasing and equipping your own premises.

Important organizational issues

You need to decide how you will start working: can you get by on your own at first or will you hire a staff of workers? It is also worth considering the order of work, that is, how and where you will purchase, store and prepare food. There are several options.

  1. Products are purchased in advance and stored in cold storage rooms and other appropriate equipment. Of course, this means that the money has already been invested. However, there is a plus: you can post information on the website about the availability of a particular product, and the buyer will immediately become interested. A pre-menu is also made for customers based on their requests.
  2. The second option involves purchasing products and preparing food with subsequent delivery only after the order has been accepted. On the one hand, you have less risk of being at a loss, but on the other hand, you will not be able to quickly accept and fulfill customer orders, which will lead to them leaving in search of someone more efficient.

Equipment and raw materials

If you yourself equip your premises for a full production cycle, then you will need to spend a lot of money to purchase at least the most necessary things. The names and amount of investment will depend on the specifics of your food, how you will prepare it, what figure you are counting on, etc. Initially, you don’t have to buy imported and expensive equipment, because at a much reasonable price you can buy it used u.

However, you will definitely need:

  • all kinds of kitchen utensils (pans, pots, graters, knives, forks, spoons, cutting boards, etc.);
  • get at least one good multifunctional food processor that will replace your meat grinder, blender, mixer and other necessary appliances;
  • gas or electric stove;
  • microwave or pressure cooker (ideally both);
  • special refrigerators and freezers for storing food.

In addition, be sure to take care of the equipment for the food delivery (transportation) itself: purchase special containers, thermal bags, etc. You can order napkins or plastic dishes with your company logo (brand) on them. This should be done before opening food delivery.

What's on the menu?

The assortment depends on the specifics of your business: do you prepare a varied menu for every taste or only dishes of a certain cuisine? Here we can advise you not to focus on just pizza or sushi, since the competition with permanent establishments of this kind is very strong. It is better to focus on the variety of choice. This will help you attract more clients.

You can purchase products yourself (at wholesale centers and markets) or negotiate with suppliers. Remember that all products must be fresh and of high quality, be sure to check the documents.

Assemble a decent team

For your business to succeed, you will also need to find good employees. Give preference to people who have work experience and relevant recommendations, as you cannot risk your reputation.

With a full production cycle (from accepting an order to its preparation and delivery), you will need to employ:

  • operator (dispatcher) who will receive calls and place orders;
  • cooks (one or more - depending on the situation);
  • couriers (usually they hire employees with their own cars);
  • the rest can be hired as needed when your business begins to grow and expand (security guards, warehouse workers, cleaners, staff accountant, etc.).

Your employees must be honest, diligent and responsible.

In the future, it will be possible to purchase special vehicles that will be equipped with a thermal body. Transportation costs will need to be factored into the cost of food, but you should also calculate the real costs of car depreciation and fuel.

tell us about yourself

A competent pricing policy with various loyalty programs (discounts, bonuses and promotions) and a well-thought-out advertising concept can attract people's attention and bring you your first stable earnings.

Don’t forget to talk about yourself on the Internet. It’s good if the site has positive reviews from your customers, because word of mouth is the best advertising campaign.

Estimated Costs

Business profitability indicators are quite high (up to 60%), and it can pay for itself even in six months (maximum in a year and a half).

The figures are presented in rubles.

conclusions

Now you know how to start food delivery step by step. Despite the fact that at first you may even have to work yourself, performing all the functions and responsibilities, very soon your business will pay off and begin to generate a stable income, and over time you will be able to expand the business, gaining good momentum and replenishing your clientele. base of regular customers.

Today you need to show maximum courage and imagination to make a successful cafe or restaurant. “Since we are condemned to eat, we will eat well” is the clients’ slogan. And this “good” hides a dozen criteria that are important to consider.

Since humanity proclaimed: “Bread and circuses!” - we are endlessly looking for both. Is it any wonder that the restaurant business (from its inception to this day) remains thriving and is under the close attention of budding entrepreneurs.

Even non-professional investors are trying to open their own restaurant, cafe or small area in food courts. But how justified will it be to rely on a person’s need for food? It is clear that “bread opens any mouth”, but how to pay attention to your “bakery”.

The slogan of Confucius: “The word must be decisive, the action must be true” - perfectly reflects the essence of any entrepreneurial activity. But for those taking the first step into the restaurant business, the “right move” requires good preparation. In order not to “stumble,” it is better to turn to the experience of restaurant business professionals.

Today there are a sufficient number of consulting companies on the domestic market that are ready to provide any support: from an ordinary consultation to the purchase of a ready-made restaurant. In some cases, specialists of this kind are themselves active restaurateurs. Thus, the deputy head of the Capital Restaurants group, Alexey Travnitsky (Seven Fridays, Black Cat, Khoja Nasreddin in Khiva, Tsimes, Kinema), who is engaged in consultations of this nature, has worked in the restaurant business for 10 years Accordingly, a lot of experience and knowledge of the specifics have been accumulated, and all this, in turn, can help a novice entrepreneur who wants to open a cafe or restaurant.

So, where does a catering business start? As Alexey Travnitsky notes, the key to success can be a competent concept and a well-written business plan for a restaurant. Moreover, the latter must take into account not only the level of salaries and potential profits, but also a huge number of nuances: location, status of the establishment and clients, number of staff, choice of dishes and drinks, check amount, interior design and decorative details, etc. Thus, at the forefront corner the question about the concept of the restaurant was raised.

Some people dream of opening an expensive restaurant, while others are quite satisfied with the idea of ​​opening an affordable cafe. Of course, marketing research can be the starting point in developing a restaurant concept. But we should also remember the fact that successful restaurateurs and those who count on the further development of their restaurant business, as a rule, try to fill several niches.

If you look at the experience of the Capital Restaurants group, you will notice that the range of establishments is very wide. For example, the Kinema restaurant amazes with its luxury. The combination of several styles in the interior: classical and Stalinist Empire and Baroque - creates a pathetic atmosphere. Or the gastronomic restaurant “Seven Fridays”, which conveys the atmosphere of a cozy apartment building; genuine antiques were used in its interior. The average bill for such restaurants is 50-70 USD. But this restaurant chain also has establishments with more affordable prices. Thus, in the Uchkuduk teahouse you can enjoy dishes of Uzbek cuisine within 25 USD. And a similar establishment “Achuchuk” will even cost you 10 USD. So even a modest cafe can become the beginning of a large restaurant business.

In addition to deciding the level of the restaurant, its direction is also considered. Should I open a restaurant with national cuisine or give preference to traditional European cuisine? The question is quite complicated. Will exotic dishes appeal to domestic customers? But if we take into account real historical connections and traditional preferences, then it is still possible to make some forecast. Restaurants of Uzbek cuisine have already been mentioned (there are several of them in the Capital Restaurants network alone: ​​the Khoja Nasreddin restaurant in Khiva, the Khoja Nasreddin teahouse in Bukhara, Uchkuduk, Achuchuk).

In addition, the Tzimes restaurant, which offers traditional Jewish dishes, is a success. The long-standing passion of Russians for Caucasian cuisine is noticeable. Many experts note another trend that is currently fashionable - Japanese dishes (sushi, sashimi, rolls, etc.). In this case, it is important not to compare the concept of the restaurant with your own taste preferences, but to clearly define the circle of potential visitors.

In addition, the idea of ​​themed restaurants is very popular today. What it is? The given theme is a decisive factor in the choice of interior details, the appearance of the waiters and even the menu. For example, any resident of the post-Soviet space, when mentioning the name “Black Cat,” will definitely remember the wonderful film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed.” It is clear that a tavern with such a name will convey the atmosphere of post-war Moscow, and decorative finds will in every way remind of the series. It is not easy to bring such an idea to its logical conclusion, since it will require sufficient capital investments and a mandatory creative approach. It is impossible to finally decide on the specifics of your future establishment without a preliminary in-depth marketing analysis.

In addition, there are many determining factors (for example, the available amount or premises) that can dictate the terms. And in this case, consultation with a restaurant business professional will come in handy. After all, you will definitely be faced with questions, the answers to which are difficult to find without some work experience. How to choose premises for a restaurant or cafe? What area will be optimal? How to avoid making mistakes with rental rates and correctly draw up a lease agreement? Or, say, the question of determining the structure of the room. After all, in the restaurant business there are prescribed norms for the distribution of production and usable space. And finally, a diagram of the estimated costs. What terms need to be taken into account? Where to buy equipment for a restaurant and what to choose?

Experts will tell you how to build relationships with the SES, OGPS and other authorities. They will calculate what payback period for the restaurant you can count on. Whether a non-professional investor is able to cope with a number of problems on his own is up to you to decide. The process of preparing documentation for opening a restaurant is very complicated. Judge for yourself - after all, you need to obtain a number of permits:

1. Conclusion of the SES and OGPS;

2. Approval by the Council and permission of the Prefect;

3. License for retail sale of alcohol

In turn, a certain list of documents is provided to the Licensing Committee. Among them:

Application for a license (submitted in accordance with the established form);

A copy of the certificate of state registration as an individual entrepreneur (or a copy of the document on inclusion in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities);

Document from the tax authority on registration and a certificate of absence of tax arrears, conclusion of the SES and OGPS;

Paper confirming the registration of the cash register, a certificate from the police department confirming the presence of a security alarm.

A number of other requirements may arise (for example, legal entities selling alcoholic beverages provide information about the presence of safes), so often the stage of document preparation is entrusted to restaurant business professionals. By the way, there is a special service and even a price list - preparing a package of documents for opening a cafe or restaurant will require about $5,000. As for the SES standards for opening restaurants, it would be good to familiarize yourself with such requirements in advance. After all, SanPin rules do not always coincide with the wishes of your chef or staff. This document prescribes everything, including the recommended size of premises, lighting standards, humidity, etc. The entire structure of the restaurant’s working area must be built in accordance with SES standards. This service also imposes a number of requirements on personnel. It is clear that every employee must have a medical record and undergo regular medical examinations. But even an ordinary cut or a trivial wound can become a reason to prevent an employee from working.

In addition, there is another significant aspect. Even if you went through all the stages of forming your own restaurant business on your own: you made impeccable renovations, established the production process, invited the best specialists, you may encounter the problem of empty rooms. Even well-known restaurateurs are concerned about the issue of attracting and retaining customers. In institutions of this level, promotions are developed, the preparation of which is carried out exclusively by specialists. So, if you have made your choice, then taking the first step will not be difficult. You just have to remember that the modern visitor to cafes or restaurants is very picky. A certain consumption culture has already been formed, and it expects a certain level of quality, below which it is impossible to fall. “Since we are condemned to eat, we will eat well” is the clients’ slogan. And this “good” hides a lot: tasty, beautiful and interesting. And the task of the restaurant owner is to provide these conditions.