Wine designs cure for 'kitchen deprivation.'

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 5, 1987 by Paul Frumkin

Wine said stocks for both restaurants are also being prepared in the Casual kitchen. "At the Quilted Giraffe the cooks prepare stock on the stove, and it's a killer for people to pick up and lift the stock pots," he said. "Here we use a 40-gallon steam-jacketed stock pot, and a process of making stocks becomes much easier."

At the same time Wine is also in the process of building an upscale take-out business, whcih will also be supplied out of the Casual kitchen.

To help avoid all unnecessary traffic, the service personnel do not enter the kitchen. All fodo is picked up at one of four windows--one ofr deserts, one for cold appetizers and two for hot foods--positioned along the dining-room side of the kitchen.

Moreover, there is also a small room that adjoins the kitchen, used solely as a drop-off point for dirty dishes and glassware.

And to further streamline service, the Casual Quilted Giraffe utilizes a computerized point-of-sale cash register system. In it waiters do not input their orders directly, however. The order is taken on a paper dupe and then handed to the "kitchen casher," who is responsible for entering all of the information into the system.

Computerization notwithstanding, when it comes to incorporating currently fashionable pieces of equipment into Wine's cooking line, he is admittedly conservative. Wine chose to go mainly with standard ovens over convection ovens simply ovens over convection oven simply because "we're accustomed to them," and he claims he has no desire for a pizza oven-despite the fact that pizza is available on the menu.

"This kind of restaurant is not committed to a particular product for the life of the restaurant," he explained. "We're constantly evolving, so this kitchen heeds to remain as flexible as possible."