Case Study
Bottega Louie Restaurant Case Study
Downtown Los Angeles California
About the Project
The Gilkey Restaurant Consulting Group enjoyed a four-year consulting engagement with Bottega Louie in downtown Los Angeles California. During that time the Gilkey team worked on multiple projects for the Bottega Louie owners and executive team.
The Challenge
Our first challenge included upgrading the restaurant’s food offerings. Secondly, our team assisted the Bottega Louie team relocate their pastry and market foods production from their existing restaurant kitchen, which they had outgrown, to a separate commissary. Next our team worked side-by-side the Bottega Louie Chef team to standardize and memorialize all recipes, creating a recipe costing data base to assist the owners and executive in monitoring and managing their food costs. This third challenge included the finalization of a master recipe manual, recipe costing database and a culinary operation’s manual. Our team assisted Bottega Louie in expanding their gourmet market menu and finally we designed a second commissary to handle the incredible increase Bottega Louie experienced in their gourmet market and California online business.
Our Solution
During the first nine months working with Bottega Louie owners and executive team our team scheduled monthly food tastings whereby the teams sampled the menu items created by the Gilkey Restaurant Group. Our team developed their pizza dough, pasta sauces and dishes, salads, seafood, and dessert items. As items were approved during our tastings, the Gilkey team trained the Bottega Louie Chefs and hourly cooks how to prepare the new items.
Next the Bottega Louie team asked us how we could assist their team in meeting the overwhelming demand created from their gourmet market. We suggested they open a commissary. The creation of a commissary enabled Bottega Louie to meet demand in the market and allow the restaurant Chefs to focus on higher-level restaurant execution. The Gilkey team selected a commissary location, assisted with lease negotiation, designed the new commissary kitchen, coordinated a midnight move, which did not impact market business, and trained fulfillment and delivery to the staff. Three years later as the market program continued to grow, the Gilkey team designed a second Bottega Louie commissary which they currently operate allowing them to triple their business.
The Gilkey Consulting Group worked side-by-side with the Bottega Louie Chefs standardizing and memorializing all their recipe procedures. This resulted in the finalization of a master recipe manual, recipe costing database and ultimately a culinary operation’s manual.
Next we developed gourmet salads, sandwiches and specialty items for the Bottega Louie gourmet market. In addition, The Gilkey Group also assisted in creating a line of proprietary bottled pasta sauces, proprietary extra virgin olive oils, and pastas sold in their gourmet market as well as online business in California.
Services Provided
- First assignment included recipe development for the brunch, lunch, and dinner programs in the main dining room as well as to-go foods available in the Bottega Louie gourmet market.
- Our second and third assignments included launching a commissary to support the massive pastry and gourmet foods growth in the gourmet market. As business grew and ultimately tripled, our team designed a second larger commissary for their gourmet market and online business.
- Our fourth assignment was to document Bottega Louie’s master recipe manual and implement theoretical food cost reporting to enable the their executive team to manage on-going food and beverage costs.
- Lastly, our team developed new gourmet market foods, proprietary pasta sauce, flavored oils and pastas for online sales.