Pricing it right.
By Tim H. – April 17, 2016

When I started feuille food lab, it was purely out of passion to cook, to share, and to bring about the different possibilities of the food we eat out of our daily lives. Somewhere along the way, I was quite privileged to have met some new friends with the same interests—whether it was directly related to the cuisine or some others that were necessary to help provide a great dining atmosphere. And to continuously share that passion, feuille provided a physical compound for the same minded to engage in anything that could be about food, from talking about a rudimentary idea to travelling experiences to noticing seasonal changes to admiring a piece of artwork. All of that seemingly unrelated ideas shape the very foundation of feuille’s cuisine. And the fact that feuille food lab was never a restaurant to start out with, I have limitless possibilities to shape the cuisines that other establishments may not have the privilege to. 
All the staff members are here on their own terms and are united by the same unspoken objective; they wish to learn and to contribute. And it is my responsibility to provide that nurturing environment and at the same time reward and thank them for their contributions. At feuille food lab, we have an open kitchen, which is readily available for all the diners to see. Unlike other establishments, many operations go on behind closed doors. Here at feuille food lab, I strive to be as transparent as possible to the diners and engage as many different disciplines as my cuisines would allow. 
As feuille’s cuisine spans several disciplines, and feuille’s menu changes and grows at every appointed service hour, and my desire to expose the diners to as many new ideas and dishes as possible, the research goes on behind each dish inevitably lengthens and operates out of a bigger budget. In order for diners to try up to a certain number of dishes as a whole and to my heart’s content, I would need more staff members to proportionally offset the growing number of kitchen tasks. When I start out each menu, I never look at the price tag as a limit and try to design dishes to meet that budget, but rather, I design it so that at least there would be enough budget as a priority to reward and thank the staff members. As feuille food lab is not a restaurant, and its mission is centered around providing as much as possible to the diners in a limited number of seating available without any compromise, we do fall short of our primary proceeds to cover the costs incurred. Nevertheless, feuille in my mind is meant as a non-profit establishment, if in the future, we do open up more seating reservations, any additional proceeds we managed would go to charity organizations. 
At first, perhaps a look at feuille’s dinner price may come as a surprise to some, and the fact that no menu is confirmed at the time of scheduling reservations, some potential diners may find themselves flinching and hesitant towards feuille’s cuisines. But it was never about making profit at feuille, the amount of proceeds the diners reward us with simply goes back into serving them. Again, I want to thank the diners who have booked a seating with us in the near future and giving us a chance to perform for you. We would be the most humbled to be of service to you, and thank you again, my dear patrons.