Specializing In Ready Meal Innovation, Culinary Operations, HACCP plans and Facility Design Advisory.
About Me
Christopher Graham
I sense that the essence of my own culinary and healthy eating journey is ingrained in our family heritage. My grandfather, Gustave Gramaticous came to this country in the early 1900’s from the island of Evia, Greece and was a successful business owner of several well known restaurants throughout the Midwest.
I was mentored by many well known individuals; among them the late Louis Szathmary during stints as a guest chef at Chicago’s “The Bakery”. Upon visiting Chef Louis’ extensive Culinary Archives, and listening to his vast experiences such as a food advisor for NASA’s Apollo missions, I became inspired to become a Research and Development Chef.
Product Development
Culinary Operations
We apply these skill sets to make your product successful.
Margin Analysis
This is an operations tool used to determine product viability. How? We utilize finished formulas and economize the cost to produce by optimizing the ratio of food cost per unit, packaging and end to end labor marketing.
Ingredient Sourcing
We will determine the best way to purchase specific ingredients, direct from the manufacturer, brokerage representation or through a local distributor.
Vendor Price Negotiations
There are instances where the operator does not have the facility or resources to carry massive amounts of inventory and in doing so is left in the hands of a local distributor. We negotiate the most equitable position by leveraging landed cost plus solutions.
Co-packing Relationships, RFQ (Request for Qualification) and RFP (Request for Pricing)
We will take the lead and help the operator to establish relationships with the right co-packers and provide auditing services to keep those relationships in check, by maintaining quality, consistency and safety standards for your product.
Recipe Software Implementation
Once vendors are established, we work with operators to accurately manage cost variances, inventory, and distribution. Then, assist in finding the right software tools to economize the purchasing function, perform initial data entry and articulation of ingredients to master formulas and sub-recipes.
Production Scaling and Product Launch
Once the right tools are in place, we establish a “prepare to produce” protocol to allow for proper production scaling, specification compliance, shopping lists, purchase orders, pre-production review of processing methods, hands-on support on the production floor, along with confirmation of yields and cost.
Facility Design Flow And Technical Advisory
Working hand in hand with architects, mechanical and structural engineers to
determine a HACCP driven design flow that works within the confines of an
existing building or in some cases new construction.