[HCGC]

I'm working with a client building a 24 room beach resort. His friends have said a pizza oven by the pool 'would be nice'. I agree it would be nice but have a few concerns:

• Service staff will have to collect from kitchen and pizza oven area
  
• Orders will have to go to the pizza oven area (as well as kitchen)
  
• Chef/cook at pizza oven will have to coordinate meal readiness with kitchen

Considering the size of the resort I advise 'no' to the oven by the pool (30 metres away from the kitchen. I think having someone operate it full time isn't economical. But I'd like to hear what others think...maybe I'm being too practical or could be looking at this differently.

[AinV]

Mixed bag-
Are you 5 star?
Do you have a POS?
You can buy mini 7 tier electric ovens which I used in HK.
Fast and economical!
However do you have the permits-or need them?
Anything that will make the guests experience better is an asset!
Upshot yes!
If you have the coins you may want to create MORE!

[expat]

Hi
you are talking about what,40 guests max with full occ?
and all are eating inside the resort or are free to go like in thailand?
dont forget two things...a pizza oven needs to be on all the service time and one or two hours before to be usable(cost of fuel/gas)
and IF you implement it,you need in the pool area an extra staff to attend each order,best would be a trained one
this one cannot help in the kitchen area with other a la carte,if you seperate it in terms of location
a 24 rooms place would most propable have 3-4 chefs max,if it works economicly,if i am wrong,correct me please
best regards
expat

HCGC, on 16 July 2012 - 02:19 AM, said:

I'm working with a client building a 24 room beach resort. His friends have said a pizza oven by the pool 'would be nice'. I agree it would be nice but have a few concerns:

• Service staff will have to collect from kitchen and pizza oven area
  
• Orders will have to go to the pizza oven area (as well as kitchen)
  
• Chef/cook at pizza oven will have to coordinate meal readiness with kitchen

Considering the size of the resort I advise 'no' to the oven by the pool (30 metres away from the kitchen. I think having someone operate it full time isn't economical. But I'd like to hear what others think...maybe I'm being too practical or could be looking at this differently.

[AinV]

The pizza oven I used in Kong Kong was table top VERY hot with a turn around of 8-10 minutes. Multi shelf 6-12-24 or so. Took very LITTLE space and no maintainance! Not too much money. Check with your suppliers. Took 10 minutes to heat up.
Put that in the oven and focus on DRINKS and SNACKS (alcohol or not).
Buy the pizza oven push the drinks...
Don't re-invent something you don't have money for!!!!!
Otherwise you will end up like the pool outlet at The Hotel Indonesia (years ago)-and you do NOT want that...
Stay within the budget
Offer something new (to your resort)
Focus on drinks
Offer a freebie sometimes...

[ChristopherHartley]

If you get a good pizza oven fuelled by wood (if wood available in your area), can also be adapted to LPG, it becomes a good focal point for people wanting to purchase a pizza. Who can walk by without smelling and buying them.
Of course it depends on your swimming pool and size, is it in a warm/tropical country etc. Do you allow outsiders to use the pool. Many people by the pool side would prefer to stay by the pool and have pizza there.
What kind of upmarket restaurant would you have inside the hotel that serves pizza?
Why not have buffets and pizza around the pool for lunch?
I had a wood burner one in Failaka Island which was fantastic.
My 10 cents is place it by the pool and use as a focal point.
If at the end of the day you want to serve pizzas in your restaurant then purchase a cheap oven for it.

Best regards

Christopher Hartley

expat, on 16 July 2012 - 04:42 PM, said:

Hi
you are talking about what,40 guests max with full occ?
and all are eating inside the resort or are free to go like in thailand?
dont forget two things...a pizza oven needs to be on all the service time and one or two hours before to be usable(cost of fuel/gas)
and IF you implement it,you need in the pool area an extra staff to attend each order,best would be a trained one
this one cannot help in the kitchen area with other a la carte,if you seperate it in terms of location
a 24 rooms place would most propable have 3-4 chefs max,if it works economicly,if i am wrong,correct me please
best regards
expat

This post has been edited by ChristopherHartley: 16 July 2012 - 06:02 PM

[expat]

Hi AinV
good advise
dont forget,we are talking about 24 rooms,how often they are all full?
best regards
expat

AinV, on 16 July 2012 - 05:40 PM, said:

The pizza oven I used in Kong Kong was table top VERY hot with a turn around of 8-10 minutes. Multi shelf 6-12-24 or so. Took very LITTLE space and no maintainance! Not too much money. Check with your suppliers. Took 10 minutes to heat up.
Put that in the oven and focus on DRINKS and SNACKS (alcohol or not).
Buy the pizza oven push the drinks...
Don't re-invent something you don't have money for!!!!!
Otherwise you will end up like the pool outlet at The Hotel Indonesia (years ago)-and you do NOT want that...
Stay within the budget
Offer something new (to your resort)
Focus on drinks
Offer a freebie sometimes...

[ManagingDirector]

This is definitely amazing!Make a small financial proj. to your owner to cover personnel, cost of food, energy and waste vs expected sales and you have your answer!

[AinV]

jeez MD we were all standing on line in our Speedos waiting for a pizza! And you had to spoil the fun with logic!

[chef123]

Location, globally??

Also think outside the box, you can use the oven for other things when not to busy for pizzas. When guests see it they will buy! and the food cost for a pizza should be peanuts, OK you have the labour and the fuel - but if you buy a decint oven once its hot it will retain heat for a good while so you can cycle the power on and off.

I would agree with C Hartley, make a point to make it an issue

[ManagingDirector]

Kindly inform us of your final decision as we are all excited about the outcome!
Thks!

[chefudo]

don't forget that you can make also other things in a pizza oven
lasagna baking,moussakas,garlic bread .....................
second make it also interactive,imagine the fun a guest making his own pizza
and so on
have fun

[HCGC]

Hey everyone - thank you so much for the feedback, much more than I expected!

The oven planned is an earth oven. One international chef training 2-3 pacific island locals. F&B staff will be mostly new to the industry (apart form a supervisor on each shift). Hence my concern about (manual) orders going in and meals coming out in a coordinated way i.e. pizzas arriving the same time as other orders for a particular table.

I'm all for adding a service and making a focal point. Replies have helped me be more logical:

• Aim to bring a better service to the guest
  
• Ensure it is done in a cost efficient way
  
• train, train, train the staff to get it right (and I mean understand the reasons - not just copy what I teach them)

The comments from everyone have helped remind me of why I am on this little Island - to help the Industry compete with the real world through quality of product and service...so thanks again!

[MYJiko]

Top it off with "home delivery" to neighborhood.
Unless of course the resort is "exclusive" to in-house guest only.
This is a tough call. Make sense of it all.
Owners do have their "dream" outlet.
Just like any of us for that matter.
Have to crunch the numbers though. Cheers.
PS Two cents worth from a fast food "afficiando"