Restaurant Divided—Cutting Costs with Chef James Briscione

The episode, which first aired on November 14^th, was titled “Against Da Grill”. It followed a struggling Staten Island restaurant of the same name and its philanthropic management team. Chef Rocco learned one reason the restaurant wasn’t profitable was that food costs were too high. So he sent co-owner Kurron Mangin to the Institute of Culinary Education for help.

Director of Culinary Development, James Briscione, met with Kurron to share a few money saving tips and tricks. In particular, Kurron had been buying pre-cut chicken wings for the restaurant's fried chicken, so Chef James taught him how breaking down a whole chicken was much more cost efficient. A native Southerner, Chef James also helped Kurron up his fried chicken game, crafting a new version of the dish that Kurron is now serving on his menu.  

If you missed the episode, we won't ruin the outcome for you—but we will say that we're rooting for Kurron to succeed in the future!