We have a decent dine in crowd (we can seat about 50 not including the bar) and a good portion of the customers we get are families with children who order our child size cheese or pepp. pizza.
I’ve been toying with the idea of offering the kids a chance to “make their own” pizza at their table. Essentially we would bring out a preformed skin on a screen and supply the kids with the cheese, pepperoni and maybe sauce (all cupped) for them to do it themselves.
I don’t think it’ll go over too well for small kids (<2 years?) but kids up to maybe 10 or so may enjoy it enough to want to go back (repeat business…if the kids wanna go cause it was fun…you get the idea)
I’m sure not all parents will want their kids to do this so I might give the option on the menu as well.
Anyway…just thought I’d put this out there to see what you thought about it or if anyone has tried this please offer your advise.
Re: Idea I’ve been tossing around, your feedback is apprecia
I think it’s a great idea, but I know our health department wouldn’t allow it. You have to check with your local health department to see what they say.
We’re not allowed to have food prepared anywhere other than designated food preparation areas. You don’t know if the kid is sick, if he washed his hands properly, if the area is properly sanitized. I think that can all spell potential trouble. For instance, the kid has a virus, makes a pizza and then Mom and Dad have a bite of it. You could be potentially spreading foodborne illness. As a worst case scenario, what if somebody has Norovirus? Now that pizza that he made could very well contaminate your entire kitchen. I know that seems unlikely, but that’s the first thing that came to my mind.
Like I said, I think it’s a great idea; but I wouldn’t let the preparation of food leave my closely protected control.
Re: Idea I’ve been tossing around, your feedback is apprecia
good idea…
I have found that when people have the liberty to pick and choose something they know little about, it usually turns out unfavorably…
I’ve been to one of those…“down the line cafeteria style choose your own toppings pizza places”, great idea, bad process,
Otis
Re: Idea I’ve been tossing around, your feedback is apprecia
If you want to do something like this, it has to be done in a controlled enviorment.
We have Girl Scouts come in throughout the year. I give them a tour of the place. Then they make their own pizzas to take home at the end.
They all wear aprons. They all wash their hands as I talk about the importance of washing their hands. The pizzas are already stretched and the toppings are pre-measured. They get to place their pizza in the bottom oven and watch it go through and cook. Once it comes out, we cut it put their name on the box with a coupons and a menu for mom and dad.
I wouldn’t put something like that on the daily menu. But maybe if you do it on a certain night, or invite groups like Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts or kids like that to come. You’d still get the desired response of kids wanting to eat at your place but it’ll be a much more controlled enviorment for them and for you.
Re: Idea I’ve been tossing around, your feedback is apprecia
We have done similar things with school and church groups. We hahve also done a few birthday parties on off hours. I would not want to mess with it for regalar operations for all the reasons listed above.
Re: Idea I’ve been tossing around, your feedback is apprecia
I agree…BUT…
As a customer, I think I would take offense to the thought of seeing people create their pizzas at their table, especially children, without being completely clean and in appropriate attire (to include long hair back in a ponytail), and knowing their pie was going into the same oven as mine.
Yes, you can bake out some germs…BUT…you can’t bake out loose hairs and other things.
I used to work at a casino.
In that environment, I’d wager 70% did not wash their hands after coming from the bathroom. At Wal-Mart, in the ladies room, women without children hardly ever wash their hands…the ones with children usually do because they’re trying to show their children how to do the same.
The chances of food borne illness and things like fecal bacteria that are invisible to the eye that can get onto or into the food itself is a good argument to at least consider.
I like the “planned” activity one of the posters mentioned…a pizza party…but as a regular menu staple (being able to create your pie), as a customer, I wouldn’t eat there for the concerns above.
I’m not sure I’d risk my store getting closed to get a few more customers, otherwise, all is lost. If it wasn’t such a huge risk, I don’t think the health department would have such regulations…but that’s just my .02
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Why don’t you just give the kid a small dough ball, like 3 or 4 oz., and they can play with it. If they want to “make their own pizza”, they can, but it would be known that you don’t actually cook that particular pizza. When they are finished, you throw their pizza away and remake a correct one in your kitchen.
I think Big Dave has talked about this before, and I know UNO Chicago Grill does this as well.
