A client since 2005, a fresh start and a roadmap to increased F&B profitability
The Crowne Plaza Lake Placid is located adjacent to the Olympic Village in upstate New York. Spanning 1,000 acres, the area has a range of amenities including a 45 hole championship golf course, cross country ski center, and a private beach.
Ian Swirsky, Director of Technology, Training & Development, has been with the Crowne Plaza Lake Placid for 13 years. In that time he has seen the resort's use of FOOD-TRAK decrease in recent years due to a variety of circumstances including employee turnover, COVID and limited funds. After a short stint with a POS-based limited F&B inventory system, they realized what they were missing and decided to return to the robust reporting capabilities of their FOOD-TRAK System.
The resort is now managed by Essex Hotel Management and with their endorsement, the hotel has begun reinventing their use of the system. There is new energy and appreciable support for FOOD-TRAK as a valuable asset. The management team at Essex is looking for variance reporting in foods and beverages along with more in-depth reports.
According to Ian, "One of our best steps was to migrate from our on-premise FOOD-TRAK System to the hosted cloud version. Now even Essex can monitor more effectively from their corporate office and get reports as needed."
Catie Fuller came aboard as the Accounting Specialist in December 2023 with the added responsibility to oversee inventory tracking. One of her first steps was to attend the FOOD-TRAK FUNdamentals 4-day course in Scottsdale, AZ. Rather than attend online, she wanted an in-person learning experience. Catie said, "I found the class highly beneficial and appreciated the added bonus of meeting the FOOD-TRAK team." As a result, she has become a proficient user and plans to train others on the Lake Placid team.
Her lightbulb moment was learning about Master Items and the ability to assign multiple like items to a single master item. After all, did they really need four additional separate entries of flatbread when those various pack sizes and vendors could be associated with a single item? Since then, Catie has embarked on database cleanup, reduced their item list by combining like items and inactivated a multitude of obsolete or incorrect items, thereby streamlining their database and reducing errors from misidentification. One of her favorite tasks is using the Price History Report to verify they are paying the right price.
Spearheading the project, Ian states, "The current objectives for the Crowne Plaza team are to add housekeeping supplies to inventory and implement the M3 accounts payable interface. Next steps are to add recipes and the POS interface to identify usage variances and increase bottom line profitability. The final objective is to add scanning tablets to save labor, increase accuracy and improve turnaround time for end of month reports." Undoubtedly, with the new leadership and dedication from Ian and Catie, it will be a great success!
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 Development News
With the release of version 6.1.4 in July, we introduced a new table we will be utilizing to significantly speed up the system. The new table keeps track of Last Cost for every item in every profit center as opposed to calculating that each time. As transactions are entered, these costs are instantly updated. Selection screens and reports that need to determine which items to show can now use the table to speed up the process. We are currently using the new table for the Item Selection screen and for recipe costing. We will be increasing the use of this table with each version update.
With the upcoming release of version 6.1.5 in October, we are introducing a new platform for our four analytic functions. While we don't have the 3D effect with this new platform, we have a number of other features that improve the overall value of these deep-dive tools for inventory, sales, transfers and spend analysis. Numerous export options and much faster performance, along with improved scoping ability are some of the advantages of this new BI platform. We are also using the new table mentioned in 6.1.4 for much faster recipe costing, inventory extensions and management summary reporting. More table utilization will be showing up in subsequent version releases.
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 New Team Member: Welcome Matt!
 We want to welcome Matt Tucker as the newest member of the FOOD-TRAK Account Management Team! Matt’s background includes almost 20 years in the information technology industry as well as experience in hospitality at resorts and restaurants. That experience, combined with his degree in Restaurant and Hotel Management, makes him an ideal fit for our team. Matt enjoys all things outdoors including golf, paddleboarding and snow skiing. He values spending time with family, often at his kids’ sporting events. You will also find him caring for the family pets – Kona the dog, Michelle the bearded dragon and the ever-increasing brood of guppies in their aquarium.
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 FOOD-TRAK University
Training Packages & Schedule
FUNdamentals Package: Our most popular course! Train from virtually anywhere. Offered in-person in Scottsdale or online, the 4-day FUNdamentals training course is designed for convenient distance learning and is led by a live instructor with complete training guides. Working on your own computer workstation and the latest version of FOOD-TRAK, your instructor will take you through a series of lectures explaining the "how to" functionality of each process, followed by practice exercises outlined in the comprehensive training manual. This "real world" foodservice operation approach prepares you to return to your place of business with a clear path and the knowledge to meet your goals, control costs and maximize cash flow using your FOOD-TRAK System.
The Fundamentals course was created to teach clients how to operate and maintain an effective food and beverage database while practicing inventory techniques and methods, forecasting, ordering and procurement approaches that help drive cost savings to your bottom line.
 Crash Course Package: This 7.5-hour online course is provided over 2 half-days. It provides a jump-start on system utilization and is ideal for both new and existing staff that doesn't require as much time as the FUNdamentals class. Topics covered include inventory and purchasing as well as their correlating standard reports. The curriculum is designed to give students the essential knowledge of the basic functions needed to use the system effectively for routine tasks. The Crash Course includes one hour of customized Advisory Services training to cover or supplement any additional FOOD-TRAK topics of interest or follow-up.
Comprehensive Recipe Construction Package: Offered online, this 1.5-day course focuses on clients who want to build recipes that can be used for costing, production and menu plans, catering and ideal use calculations. Ideal for culinary staff, this package provides much more depth in recipe construction for costing and ideal use purposes than the 2-hour recipe course offered through FOOD-TRAK University. Learn how to include choices (sides, salad dressing, etc.), substitutions and even condiments or complimentary bread in recipe construction. Create accurate buffet recipes, production and menu plans, catering menu recipes and even recipes structured for integration to your POS system if desired. If you need accurate recipe costs and margins, are interested in determining your ideal food cost and finding inventory variances by item, automating production scheduling or even running perpetual inventories, this course is for you!
Mark your calendars!
October 16-17, 2024 Comprehensive Recipe Construction
October 22-25, 2024 FUNdamentals - Welcome to Scottsdale for an in-person experience! Also available remotely
November 6-7, 2024 Crash Course
November 13-14, 2024 Comprehensive Recipe Construction
November 18-21, 2024 FUNdamentals
December 5-6, 2024 Crash Course
December 9-12, 2024 FUNdamentals
December 16-17, 2024 Comprehensive Recipe Construction
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 Trainer's Tip
Click Saver Tip:
Most of us are tired of trying to cut back on calories, but how about cutting back on clicks? Keep reading to find out how to cut some clicks from your FOOD-TRAK life!
FOOD-TRAK has a Favorites feature designed specifically to save clicks by placing your frequently used icons front and center on the Main Menu. These icons are organized by tile category, and each tile category (excluding the Admin tile) can hold up to 10 icons. Looking at the image below, this user has 3 Data Entry, 1 Database and 2 Report icons designated. Every user can set up their own Favorites which means your Main Menu may look different than others.
Here's how to set up a Favorite. Navigate to the chosen icon and right-click on it. An Add to Favorites message will be displayed. Click to add it, and it will automatically appear under the correct tile category on the Main Menu. Just click that icon from now on - no more extra clicks navigating through the tiles.
Should you wish to remove a Favorite icon, right-click it on the Main Menu, and a Remove from Favorites message will be displayed. Click to remove it.
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