I was pleasantly surprised and had a huge smile on my face when French restaurant Le Jardin head chef and owner Jonas Ng used the term “PnL” during our midafternoon conversation sometime last week.
You see, it is not every day that I get to hear that term, especially coming from someone who is a chef. But then again, I realized that Jonas is not just your ordinary chef. He owns the restaurant in upscale Bonifacio Global City.
For those unfamiliar with PnL, it is an accounting term that means the profit and loss statement, and shows a company’s revenues and expenses at a particular time.
Now, if you will go further, the PnL goes beyond the cost of materials needed for a business. It is not as simple as earnings less expenses equal profit.
Its aim is to show how a business owner can maintain and improve a company’s margins and optimize its price point. At the same time, the PnL will give a clearer understanding of a company’s financial strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Along the way, when doing the PnL, the owner will encounter terms like consumer sales, gross sales, net sales, contribution margin, selling expenses and operating profit.
It is a complex process. But it is a very important tool for those who want to start their own businesses, be it in the food or in another industry.
Like Jonas told me, he is very much into analytics, data and metrics. And I totally agree with him. The numbers will tell you the story.
I mean, even in the National Basketball Association, those three terms are very much en vogue with all 30 teams, as they try to come out with the best possible team that could earn them the championship.
It is no longer about gut and feel. It goes beyond the eye test. It is about having a clear understanding of your company’s present situation and having all the information needed to come out with a plan moving forward.
And this is where having the right education and proper training comes, in which, according to Jonas, is not happening in the country right now, especially in the restaurant business where there is pressure for them to come out with something special.
He told me that colleges and universities in the country offering hotel and restaurant management (HRM) courses have been doing things the wrong way.
I again agree with him that these educational institutions have to fix their curriculum to make them relevant to the needs of the sector.
It seems that colleges and universities focus in the program is providing their students with people skills and not enough management skills. Mathematical understanding is also given low level of importance.
But just like Jonas told me, there are a lot of things that goes into every plate they serve to their customers. And please do not take that literally to mean as the food that you are about to place in your hungry stomach.
Jonas said that HRM and culinary courses should be treated as a business, and that there are a lot of paperworks and training that goes into it. He cited, among others, accounting, purchasing, cost control and inventory.
According to Jonas, running a restaurant should be treated as retail or manufacturing industry, as it is a full-service business that needs fast input and has to cut down spoilage.
Jonas then told me that for him to understand effects of everything that happens, he has gone the full route by doing every job inside the restaurant. To him, experience is a very good teacher.
Before opening Le Jardin, Jonas has assisted in opening several restaurants in Metro Manila, including their operations system setup, and trained people working in them.
As for opening a restaurant all your own, Jonas said that it has to be approached as a business plan. You also have to study the market and be very specific on the identity of the restaurant.
He added that those wanting to start a restaurant should also talk to people from other industries, listen to the market and understand that they will not be able to please everybody.
Jonas said there is no barrier of entry in the country for those who want to go into the business. Everyone can start a restaurant. Everyone believes they can be successful at it. He believes the local market has been spoiled by the growing choices available.
But the reality is that it is not necessarily the case, especially for French restaurants, which, according to Jonas, there are 10 of them, including Le Jardin, in Metro Manila.
He said they are all struggling to get an audience as there is not much frame of reference for French food and it is only now that there is a growing understanding for French cuisine in the country.
This pales in comparison to the fast-growing number of Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Filipino and even Italian restaurants in the country.
Jonas, who is a fan of homegrown concepts, told me that there is also the luck factor involved in starting a restaurant, while timing and market trends are also very important.
He said that once a restaurant makes it past its third year, it is already safe to assume that it will survive, but once it reaches its fifth year, there will be a need to tweak a bit on its concept.
Jonas, who graduated from college with a degree in philosophy, said his course has provided him with a deeper understanding of people. But he is also a chef, earning his culinary degree in Canada. Jonas also does not stay complacent, as he will go to France middle of the year to further improve his kitchen skills.
As for Le Jardin, it is currently doing really well. It is being frequented by celebrities and even President Aquino has dined there. Most of the time they are attending to a full house and suggesting that those who want to dine should book in advance.
The place has grown in popularity and stature. It has become a place where people celebrate happy and memorable times. It has become a place for wedding proposals, business meetings and product launches.
But here is what is truly impressive. The place is not snooty at all. You can come in wearing shorts and slippers.
For comments, suggestions and reactions, I can be reached at raalzona@yahoo.com.