High Egg Prices Hit Miami Chefs and Home Cooks - Miami New Times
He's not alone. Many chefs, home cooks, and folks who appreciate food feel that an egg, cooked to personal specifications, is one of life's purest pleasures.
Lately, however, that pleasure is quickly becoming a luxury.
As they're known in the industry, shell eggs have been skyrocketing in cost. The USDA's National Shell Egg Index Price Report shows that prices have doubled in almost all classes (jumbo, extra-large, large, medium, and small) this past year.
According to a letter that Farm Action, a food and agriculture advocacy group, sent to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), "egg prices more than doubled for consumers last year — going from $1.78 in December 2021 to $4.25 in December 2022 for a dozen large Grade A eggs. Industry-aligned consultants and leading egg producers have blamed this dramatic increase on 'supply disruption, 'act of God' type stuff." The group is urging the FTC to investigate egg price gouging and industry greed instead.
The USDA's Egg Markets Overview for January 2023 reported that overall inventory is 20-23 percent lower than last year. This is possibly due to the bird flu epidemic that's been ravaging flocks across the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 58.1 million commercial, wild, and backyard birds have been infected with H5N1. When avian influenza hits an egg factory, the farmers usually slaughter an entire flock in a barn to prevent the spread.
But Farm Action is crying foul on those blaming the bird flu for low inventory. The real culprit, the organization claims, is "a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40 percent." Egg producers have withheld production and increased profits fivefold, it contends. The leading distributor, Cal-Maine, who holds 20 percent of the egg market share, enjoyed a tenfold profit increase, going from $50 to $535 million in 2022, according to Vice.
Regardless of the reasons, egg prices have increased dramatically, and almost nowhere more than in Florida, where the cost of a dozen eggs is the highest in the U.S., second only to Hawaii, where they average an astonishing $9.73. According to data from the grocery app Instacart, the average cost for eggs in Florida is $6.36. That's a 57 percent increase from last year.
Chef Akino West says he won't replace the shell eggs in his cacio e pepe omelet with a cheaper liquid egg product.
Rosie's: the Backyard photo
Miami home cooks have taken to social media to boast about where they've found the cheapest cartons. Walmart is a popular choice; large white eggs currently go for $3.96, and organic, cage-free brown eggs are $5.14. But if you don't live near the big-box store, you'll spend the difference in cost on gas or delivery.
You likely see some changes at your favorite restaurants as well. Chefs use eggs not just as a whole item for breakfast and brunch dishes but also to leaven baked goods. They're added to ground meat to bind. They're used as a wash before coating proteins and vegetables with breadcrumbs. They're added to everything from batters to cocktails. (That frothy part of your drink is often egg white.)
Surely wholesale eggs that restaurants buy are less expensive?
According to Akino West, chef and co-owner of Rosie's: the Backyard, that's not necessarily the case. West, who was recently named a semifinalist for a James Beard Award, only serves cage-free eggs on his all-day brunch plates, which are so popular he orders at least a half dozen cases of large eggs per week. Last year, he says, he was paying $30-$40 per case for them.
This year? They're $101 per case.
As a small business owner, West can't simply absorb the costs in a trade-off for customer loyalty. He also won't replace shell eggs with liquid egg products, which can be less expensive, or use other shortcuts. Nor is he planning on changing his dishes. "If a chef is willing to slack on ingredients or not take them seriously, then he's doing an injustice to his guests," he says. "I stand by my product and my menu." He cites his mentors, Niven Patel and Michael Schwartz — both recently nominated for James Beard Awards — for teaching him this methodology.
Chef Akino West buys six to seven cases of cage-free eggs weekly at $101 per case.
Rosie's: the Backyard photo
"The availability of eggs is fine as long as you are willing to pay," Mike Herchuck, director of operations at American Social Bar & Kitchen, says. "Thankfully, we have worked with our produce provider to ensure there is no compromise in quality, even if it costs more."
Jim Pastor, the corporate executive chef at Rusty Pelican, echoes this, saying that he can still purchase eggs with no issues. But he emphasizes that most restaurants will get allotted a certain amount based on their purchase history and that prices are currently double to triple what they have been in the past.
That inflation is currently budgeted into the daily running of the restaurant. "We haven't raised our prices since we only use eggs twice a week for brunch, and it's on a select few dishes," he says. "We just absorb the cost and keep our guests happy." He also hasn't considered changing the menu — yet. Instead, he looks for other ways to save. "As a team, we know we have to make it up somewhere else." Pastor won't consider egg substitutes. "Liquid eggs are something we just can't use, based on our recipes and the quality we want to maintain," he says.
American Social is equally as willing to soak up those extras. "Our position is to absorb the cost of the eggs to do what is right by the guest and not sacrifice the guest experience over a temporary profit loss. We feel the brand loyalty that comes from that approach will more than offset any financial loss," Herchuck says.
Herchuck has entertained the idea of using liquid egg, which runs $99.99 for a pasteurized 30-pound pail. (One pail contains about 225 eggs.) But he could only use it for battered items or as a wash. "Most of our egg presentation is done over easy or sunny-side up," he says. "But even with omelets and scrambled, we will stick with the shelled eggs. We consider them the hero of the dish."
At the same time, however, the egg crisis is allowing American Social to do some repositioning and creative marketing, especially when it comes to highlighting brunch items. Non-egg items are being featured on social media and in other materials. And while nothing has changed on the menu, an upcoming reprint might list non-egg items first.
"If a chef is willing to slack on ingredients, then he's doing an injustice to his guests," says chef Akino West.
Rosie's: the Backyard photo
"That's the biggest issue," LoSasso says. "We have to uphold the price, so we have to eat the cost. It decreases the margins, but we have to honor the commitment. We can't change the prices like if we were a restaurant."
That's something to think about if you're about to start planning an event. The catering prices now will reflect the current supply chain issues, general inflation, and this controversial eggflation — even if they were to reduce in the immediate or near future.
Pastor waxes philosophically about this. "In the food-and-beverage business, there's always some variable that we can't control," he says.
West is a little wrier. "I'm curious when this is going to end," he says, "especially when I see the price of chickens themselves actually going down."
LoSasso, on the other hand, notes that costs are increasing exponentially on yet another unlikely ingredient: romaine. "It's through the roof," he says.
So while egg prices might start dropping any day, especially as the FTC could begin looking into it, you might want to prepare yourself for the salad-mageddon.
Correction published 1/31/23: As originally published, this story incorrectly named one of chef Akino West's mentors. West mentioned Michael Schwartz, not Michael Beltran. The above version reflects the corrected text.
Comments
Post a Comment