The Recipe for Protecting the Recipe

Original and secret recipes are among the most important ingredients in a restaurant’s recipe-for-success, ranking at least as high as a AAA location, an excellent staff, a comfortable décor, and a catchy name. But unlike those factors whose value is actually enhanced by their visibility and accessibility to consumers and competitors, recipes are most valuable when they remain both proprietary and confidential. When determining how best to protect their recipes against disclosure and misuse, restaurant owners must first determine the likely sources of those threats, both internally (staff) and externally (vendors and competitors). The assessment should factor in the restaurant’s specific operating processes, focusing on what is observable to the general public and on those who will or are likely – with or without permission - to have access to the recipes.

Restaurant ConfidentialThe easiest way to destroy the confidentiality of a recipe or a process is to let customers and…