How easy is it to source ingredients?
Colin: If you order it, you have to take it; if it runs out too bad. If you have too much, you still have to take it.
Edi: The online ordering system is a big challenge for us. If you want to order broccoli for example there will be five types and when you place the order it automatically goes to the cheapest product, and you can’t do anything about it.
Colin: I do the same at Qbara as I did at Zuma; there’s no middle man involved, the chefs take everything out of the boxes and put it all in the fridge. It takes a long time to get the quality you want, but if you’re the person that orders, you should be the one to accept it.
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Edi: This is another problem in the company. The receiver isn’t allowed to take anything if the chef isn’t there to supervise. I went to the vegetable supplier to say what I wanted and then they followed up with me, so they are also playing with us.
Colin: At the start, if you let anything through the door that’s not 100% the quality starts to go down, so just say no. I take stuff off the menu because I don’t have the ingredients, because I’ve sent them back, and the next time it gets better.
Francisco: As soon as you send it back they will realise and they will not play with you.
Ben: I ordered caviar truffles seven days before I needed them. When they didn’t come I phoned up the supplier and said that I had to take three things off the menu that night so I wouldn’t be using them again. Then they showed up at 9pm that night with caviar truffles. Why do they have to push you that hard?
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