Fast-preparation snacks for guest-house - ideas?

[maidee]

tell them to go to the local 7/11

they can even warm it up for them

or is it to make a quick profit ?

[Suradit69]

How about some kind of customer profile - before we start suggesting meatballs for the veggies.

Would make a difference if your typical guests want to try Thai food or prefer European/American fare.

Things like hamburgers, sausages etc can be kept frozen and still be quickly prepared.

In addition to the things you already are making, use a chalk board and post two or three specials available on that day only. You'll just have fresh ingredients for that limited menu and can experiment to see if that results in too much wastage. You could also ask guests when they check in to give you an idea of what sort of things they'd prefer. With only 4 rooms in use you can't be expected to maintain an exhaustive menu 24/7.

If there's a small Thai restaurant nearby you could make an arrangement for them to deliver things that are too difficult for you to prepare ... in the same way beach chair operators at Jomtien serve food from nearby restaurants to their customers, presumably getting the meals at a slight discount and adding on a bit to what you charge your guests.

[krisb]

Outsource it - must have some other close restaurants/cooks nearby...

Smart idea.

Buy at their price and upsell it.

[krisb]

Don't sell to much frozen meals that are reheated.

You'll get complaints.

[Merlindxb]

Siomon

sous vide slow cook / boil in bag / freeze / micro wave serve....

Cook; check your chip fryer see if it will go down to 50c.

1 in 20 Guest is that crazey woman who will cook 2 gallons of Chicken Noddles and share her recipes.

bag them / frezze them / sell them.

Macro is now selling Chinese food, frozen /boil in bag / dehydrated...

Get a grip of this income stream / service...get on it..

PS..Thai staff Will break your microwave/ cooker /frezzer, in the first 3 months...

[NeverSure]

• Egg and bacon
• Egg, sausage and bacon
• Egg and Spam
• Egg, bacon and Spam
• Egg, bacon, sausage and Spam
• Spam, bacon, sausage and Spam
• Spam, egg, Spam, Spam, bacon and Spam
• Spam, Spam, Spam, egg and Spam
• Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, baked beans, Spam, Spam, Spam and Spam
• Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and Spam.

My spam filter won't let me read that.

[geisha]

Sandwiches, omelette, cheese plate with crackers ,instant noodles for Chinese people.

Salad sandwiches, spaghetti with a ready bought sauce, or home made tomatoe sauce / pesto individually frozen.

I was sitting in a restaurant on the bar one evening, watching a lady cook up green curry chicken and Thai basil chicken, putting them in individual plastic bags which she was going to put in her freezer when they cooled down. 20 odd portions didn't take an hour.

Salad Nicois. ( tinned tuna and veg)

[smotherb]

Another idea.. if you have some available land fronting the road. Rent it out to a Thai food vendor. Then you have fresh cooked food at your fingertips!

Since it appears neither you nor your worker are cooks, gather nearby food vendors, Thai or Western, and have them deliver to your guests--let your worker make toast, tea, and coffee in the mornings.

[Gecko123]

Carrot sticks, raw green beans, peeled and quartered cucumbers arrayed around a dipping sauce.

Dipping sauce could be anything from plaa raa suk to an Asian teriyaki barbeque sauce.

Very Thai...very easy...very cheap...very healthy.

[Rajhulmaheesh]

Samosas, always a winner, cheap to prep and can be frozen too

Bag of chips and ass"t Colas.

Cooking for 4 rooms is a waste of time.

[Rajhulmaheesh]

as said before-employ a consultant chef for a couple of weeks and let him create a simple,deliciuos and cost efficient menu and then train your staff accordingly...good invested money and i think it will cost not so much...

ps- i am not available...

So silly. 4 rooms? hahahahaha!

Maybe lay out a tray of eggs and bread. Guests would cook to their taste. Of course the cost of cleanup would make this highly expensive.

4 rooms? Is this some kind of JOKE?

[Boss]

Pies - different kinds with a fresk sallad or french fries.Lady Pies are made in Phuket.

[notmyself]

Toasted sandwiches from a sandwich making machine.

That is the way I would go as they can be assembled then frozen though it's better to form them first using the COLD sandwich toaster as a press.

Various mixtures of...

Ham

Cheese

Tomato

Bacon

Various TGM sausages sliced lengthwise

Pre-fried onions

Salami

Beans (and cheese)

Mushrooms (sliced tinned)

Sliced bell pepper

All served with or without fries.

All the above can be cooked from frozen but you may want to also offer a fresh side such as a simple slaw which uses long shelf life ingredients such as cabbage and carrot. Found this...

Says to leave it for 3 hours after making but you don't have to so long as you finely shred the cabbage and carrot. I suggest also using a little red cabbage for colour or even 3-4 sliced black olives which also have a long shelf life.

Someone mentioned that most of the guests are Chinese. Is that correct?

[Loptr]

Por Pia... Buy them in bulk and toss a few into hot oil for a couple minutes when a guest requests a snack... Cheap, easy and culturally neutral...

What's that then?

Spring rolls, and he's offering them already

Hey, that's what it says on the menu when I order them...

[simon43]

So many good suggestions - thanks.

To reconfirm, only 4 rooms, but fully booked every night. The idea of offering a better food menu is of course, to increase the profit - I'm not running a soup kitchen.

I currently gross (yearly averaged) about $1,000 USD per room per month. My challenge is to somehow increase that amount per room when the customer base are primarily Chinese. These guests do pay extra for a Western breakfast, but generally seem not keen to eat Thai food (I have to dumb it down, non-spicy).

Their interest does seem to be to try new dishes which are not necessarily Thai in origin. So maybe I need to experiment with some strange recipes....

[notmyself]

You are asking for a lot with 4 rooms and the desire to avoid fresh (short shelf life) ingredients. What sort of price per head for afternoon and evening? Does your single staff member know anything about non Thai food? How much advanced warning to eat? How much freezer space?

Just reread the thread. You said snacks right... You will make very little from snacks anyway.

Edited February 9, 2015 by notmyself

[simon43]

You will make very little from snacks anyway.

By improving the food menu etc, I'm looking to increase the gross profit per room by about 10%, say 150 baht per room per night. Since the rooms are typically booked by 2 pax, that means I need to persuade them to each buy a 75 baht snack.

That doesn't sound like an impossible task - they typically already pay out 100 - 150 baht per pax for breakfast

[casualbiker]

Ok.. talk to Lays (crisps) get a display stand. Another stand with various noodle pots.. etc

[smokie36]

You will make very little from snacks anyway.

By improving the food menu etc, I'm looking to increase the gross profit per room by about 10%, say 150 baht per room per night. Since the rooms are typically booked by 2 pax, that means I need to persuade them to each buy a 75 baht snack.

That doesn't sound like an impossible task - they typically already pay out 100 - 150 baht per pax for breakfast

I'll ship you over boxes of Scott's porridge oats when I get back to Scotland....add some fruit...nuts...and cream .....optional tot of whisky.

50/50 on the profits?

[casualbiker]

Tesco already do some nice Scottish oats!

[katana]

Houmous with toasted pita bread.

The houmous can be made in advance and kept in the fridge, so you just have to toast the pita bread.

[notmyself]

You will make very little from snacks anyway.

By improving the food menu etc, I'm looking to increase the gross profit per room by about 10%, say 150 baht per room per night. Since the rooms are typically booked by 2 pax, that means I need to persuade them to each buy a 75 baht snack.

That doesn't sound like an impossible task - they typically already pay out 100 - 150 baht per pax for breakfast

2*75=150 but that would not be profit obviously as you still have to pay for the ingredients. Margin on toasties would be around 50% depending of filling.

[notmyself]

Pork sliders would make a good margin and require little in the way of fresh ingredients.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slider_%28sandwich%29

[smokie36]

You mentioned Mexican....huevos rancheros would be an option for bfast.

Fairly easy to keep the chorizo...just need eggs and other stuff is long lasting... 300 Baht and you are home and dry.

[Scully]

Make a big pot of chilli or bolognese freeze into portions and when ordered nuke them in the microwave. Rice, dried pasta and small bags of Taco's to serve with.

[notmyself]

Papadams with a sweet chili sauce dip?

[notmyself]

Make a big pot of chilli or bolognese freeze into portions and when ordered nuke them in the microwave. Rice, dried pasta and small bags of Taco's to serve with.

Good idea but not really a snack.

[Scully]

Make a big pot of chilli or bolognese freeze into portions and when ordered nuke them in the microwave. Rice, dried pasta and small bags of Taco's to serve with.

Good idea but not really a snack.

Depends on the portion size

[notmyself]

Make a big pot of chilli or bolognese freeze into portions and when ordered nuke them in the microwave. Rice, dried pasta and small bags of Taco's to serve with.

Good idea but not really a snack.

Depends on the portion size

I think the member is looking more for finger food.

[notmyself]

Garlic bread would give a good margin.