Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Think back in personal time. What about that moment when the training wheels came off and you were able to balance and ride your bike independently? Do you remember when you first discovered how to snap your fingers or whistle? Whether a public display of pride was evident – you were beaming inside. Talk with them and dig deeper.

Training 367

Training Seasonal Menu Back of House Leadership 367

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 20, 2024

It is important to always keep in mind that dining out is still a luxury, even though more and more families have built it into their lifestyle. Whether a quick service restaurant, family dining, food truck, or white tablecloth fine dining operation – there will always be some level of price sensitivity. Not necessary!

Fine Dining 389

Fine Dining Food Truck Back of House Pricing 389

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 5, 2023

In all cases I would encourage you to take a step back, breathe deep, put down your knife, and check your enthusiasm for right now. Patience, knowing that you probably don’t know what you don’t know, and fall back on perfecting what you do know first, and realize that when you are ready, you will be ready. You want more!

Kitchen Safety 366

Kitchen Safety Food Safety Back of House Front of House 366

Culinary Cues

MARCH 10, 2022

Why do we sometimes treat dish washers as commodities – interchangeable and easily replaceable parts, when their role is so critical to the success of the restaurant (front and back of the house)? March 9 was National Dish Washer Day. If the chef doesn’t show up for some reason, there are those who might even cheer.

Front of House 447

Front of House Back of House Uniforms Hiring 447

Culinary Cues

MAY 1, 2023

And, I have witnessed the apologies and hugs between front and back of the house that said: “Sorry I may have been abrupt, it was the heat of the moment, and you know I truly care about you.” There are many reasons why I am so grateful for the decades I spent in front of a range. In all cases – I have learned something from them.

Front of House 427

Front of House Back of House Food Order Seasonal Menu 427

Culinary Cues

JULY 16, 2022

I want people to say this about me some day: “He always worked hard, strove for excellence, expected nothing less of others, was willing to give back, and treated those with whom he associated, with kindness.” Dick Cattani was a monumental figure in the business of food hospitality.

Front of House 366

Front of House Back of House Education Leadership 366

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 22, 2022

This restaurant was their house, and they had a handle on how the house was doing. Bigger is less predictable and much more difficult to control and bigger takes cooks and chefs away from what they love to do, what attracted them to the trade in the beginning – to cook from the heart. That was it!

Seating 442

Seating Front of House Back of House Cash Management 442

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Health, Allergen, and Food Safety Training and Certifications. Cooks and back-of-house employees tend to work with inventory management software and kitchen display technology. Cooks and back-of-house employees tend to work with inventory management software and kitchen display technology. Table of Contents.

Front of House 370

Front of House Back of House Kitchen Safety Food Safety 370

Culinary Cues

MARCH 21, 2022

From first-in, first-out in the walk-in cooler to how you fold side towels and where your knives are placed – it is organization that allows a kitchen to run efficiently and keeps the mood and pace of the restaurant in sync. To some, it may seem less significant, but to seasoned professionals – this is the truth of the kitchen.

Front of House 353

Front of House Back of House Point of Sale Uniforms 353

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2023

It’s the fire in the belly waiting to take charge, the anxiety being held in check, cold sweat running down your back even though it’s 120 degrees where you stand, and the nervous chatter of tongs clicking to the beat of a cook’s rhythm. To many cooks, it is the rush of adrenaline that calls them back every day.

Fine Dining 460

Fine Dining Back of House Front of House Food Order 460

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 21, 2023

Culinary School Bonanza – Becoming a Chef is Cool: Not too long ago – cooks learned their trade and aspired to become a chef through in-house apprenticeship and the school of hard knocks. PART TWO: The Era of the Chef: Ah, now things really changed. The once restaurateur-centric restaurant was about to become chef-centric.

Back of House 390

Back of House Food Supply Government Dine-in 390

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2023

Covid pulled the drapes back to reveal OZ as just an average guy trying to hide his inadequacies with smoke and mirrors. Plan, equip, train, evaluate, educate, and celebrate each and every employee. Everything is different since the pandemic, yet so many things are no different than they were 5 0 years ago.

Food Truck 319

Food Truck Back of House Education Training 319

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 28, 2023

If I had found myself in a toxic environment, then I would have quickly moved on to another house or my staff would have done the same with me. If I had found myself in a toxic environment, then I would have quickly moved on to another house or my staff would have done the same with me. The same is true in restaurants.

Entertainment 363

Entertainment Back of House Consumer Goods Recruiting 363

Culinary Cues

MAY 27, 2023

Dedicate the effort to make it special, make the time to allow everyone to sit down TOGETHER and break bread, talk, relax, and laugh together (front and back of the house). We need to embrace the good and understand the bad and the ugly. But we need to be cognizant of a primary reason for “being connected”. Try “FOOD” on for size.

Technology 347

Technology Front of House Social Media Back of House 347

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

This may seem like a strange topic for a blog focused on the restaurant industry and the world of food but hear me out. It was strange at first, but then we gradually dressed up a room in our house, set up our computers, turned on the Keurig Coffee Maker and spent our days flipping from one virtual meeting to another. So why not?

Social Media 348

Social Media Food Safety Retail Back of House 348

Culinary Cues

MARCH 26, 2022

Once established – do not sacrifice what you have invested the time in developing. [] FAILING TO INVEST IN TRAINING. Training ALWAYS pays back in dividends. Train to your standards and be very clear. Every employee needs to be trained and most relish the opportunity to learn and get better at what they do.

Cash Management 366

Cash Management Social Media Restaurant Law Communication 366

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 24, 2023

Everything has a place, and everything is in its place, is a mantra that becomes an obsession with cooks and chefs. It is the very act that allows cooks to push through the chaos of a restaurant kitchen day with military precision and awareness of looming uncertainty. Cooks seem to willingly drink the Kool-Aid”.

Back of House 407

Back of House Front of House Food Order Uniforms 407

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

The chef will likely be the most experienced culinarian with responsibility for the financial operation of the kitchen, menu planning, ordering and inventory control, training, and quality control. This includes back waiters, bus personnel, and bartenders. TEN THINGS YOU DIDN”T KNOW ABOUT A RESTAURANT.

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Seasonal Menu Back of House Customer Service Front of House 517

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 18, 2023

Whenever we (chefs) look back on our time in the kitchen, we’re able to categorize experiences in one of three silos: a learning experience, mission accomplished, or inspiration. The rhythm between front and back of the house is seamless, tempers are in check, and the night ends with everyone sharing fist bumps and high fives.

Back of House 379

Back of House Front of House Education Café 379

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 9, 2021

The goal of every restaurant and every chef is to create memorable experiences for the guest. Somewhere in our internal job description is a desire, and even a need to build an environment of WOW! Wow visuals on the plate and in the dining room, wow views from every seat, wow service, and of course – wow flavors on the plate.

Front of House 473

Front of House Customer Experience Workshop Dine-in 473

Culinary Cues

MAY 28, 2022

The most important room in a home is the kitchen. This is the hub of activity, the space that portrays unity, defines tradition, nourishes the body and mind, and sets the tone for communication. This is where we celebrate and reflect – the place where a cook offers the most important expression of love through the creative preparation of food.

Front of House 319

Front of House Back of House Employee Relations Small Business 319

Restaurant365

AUGUST 21, 2020

Cultivating a library of tools for your new hires, such as company handbooks, checklists, and training manuals, can help you start off on the right foot. Teaching your policies, training your managers, and educating your employees about your code of conduct can help you respond quickly and transparently to any complaints that arise.

Blog 78

Blog Restaurant Law Recruiting Employee Relations 78

7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

It's up to the restaurant manager to maintain a warm, welcoming atmosphere and train staff to do the same. Managing a restaurant is a delicate routine—if we can even call it a routine. A better description might be a balancing act that presents new and unique challenges every day. This part of the job is arguably the most multi-faceted.

Management 398

Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 398

Restaurant365

DECEMBER 6, 2019

A mobile POS can help any restaurant looking to improve server productivity, increase revenue, and overall streamline their front of house operations. With a mobile POS, the server doesn’t need to scribble down orders or memorize them as they walk back to a POS station to input the order. What is a Mobile POS?

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POS Blog Mobile Ordering Front of House 117

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 28, 2021

From the moment you walk through that back entrance you are captivated by the dynamics of the environment, the structure of the operation, and the sensation of being enveloped by its alluring magic. You know exactly what to do, how to keep the rhythm, when to pull back or push forward, and how to keep the cooks, your cooks, calm and focused.

Kitchen Safety 423

Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Seasonal Menu 423

Culinary Cues

JUNE 16, 2023

Next week he would graduate from high school and James the cook at his diner invited him back for dinner and a chat. It was great, but my back didn’t agree, and I eventually had to step out of that role. Last summer he had a job as a dishwasher in a local diner. Too many of his friends took the wrong fork in the road.

Kitchen Safety 327

Kitchen Safety Back of House Hotels Food Safety 327

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Does that story take people back in time and allow them to think about the impact the place, building, people, and food had on who they are today? Yes, life – since those who find that higher purpose will likely invest a significant amount of time in a restaurant kitchen, not because they must, but rather because they want to.

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Back of House Transportation Café Food Order 383

Culinary Cues

JULY 2, 2023

A Le Bernardin experience will set you back a few hundred dollars per person and as such may not be for everyone, but the simple approach need not be reserved for those who can charge and can afford to pay what is charged. Easy may seem simple, but simple, as defined here, is never easy.

Back of House 353

Back of House Seasonal Menu Café Sourcing 353

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 15, 2024

She stares me down and proclaims: “You’ve entered the neutral zone chef – step back before I throw a flag.” She stares me down and proclaims: “You’ve entered the neutral zone chef – step back before I throw a flag.” It’s January in the Northeast – a time when the demands of the kitchen and the excitement of football converge.

Front of House 248

Front of House Food Order Back of House Café 248

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 8, 2022

The anxiety building up to a full house in the hotel packed with a series of food events has made it impossible to relax. Well, here we go. I haven’t slept much at all over the past few days and certainly won’t until the weekend is over. The preparation has been mind boggling, now we just have to execute. Things looked good.

Front of House 397

Front of House Back of House Seating Food Truck 397

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2023

A few years back, I posted an article about the UNWRITTEN RULES of the kitchen. It was an attempt to outline those universal guidelines for success in a kitchen, those attributes, and expectations of anyone who ties on an apron. My hope is that these are worthy enough of a space on your kitchen bulletin board or the chef’s office door.

Kitchen Safety 324

Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Food Safety 324

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 4, 2022

Thinking that the way to recover from the financial pains of a once in a century pandemic is to cut back on quality product and service and push the ceiling on pricing is short-sighted and ill-conceived as a strategy. Well then – what will? Try apathy on for size. It infects others who are easily convinced that it is the way it needs to be.

Front of House 328

Front of House Coaching Uniforms Back of House 328

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2020

Far too many times the menu takes a back seat to all other planning that will lead to serious miscalculations along the way. Consider this – the menu is the most important component of a successful restaurant and once designed it can, and should, impact every other aspect of the business. YES – the menu is that important!

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Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 388

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 20, 2021

These are the people who worked their way up, failed countless times along the way, stumbled and picked themselves back up, were humble and grateful, and realized that contrary to the organization of the dictionary – work does come before success. Make sure the mop head is clean and changed frequently. Clean floors are happy floors.

Front of House 421

Front of House Uniforms Back of House Kitchen Safety 421

Culinary Cues

MAY 21, 2023

I just listened to a podcast from Dr. Sanjay Gupta, whom I think we all know of, as he wrestled with the impact that technology has on his own three daughters and society as a whole. It was enlightening even though much of what he pointed to is well-known. In all cases, we remain in control of the technology that serves as an effective tool.

Technology 335

Technology Social Media Back of House Front of House 335

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

WHAT THEY KNOW: [] Your employees know that the essential challenge is TRUST. [] Your employees know that preparing and serving food is only a part of what has kept customers coming back on a regular basis. We all know the challenges facing restaurants right now – there is little benefit in reiterating the problems.

Kitchen Safety 331

Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Customer Experience 331

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 3, 2022

I can feel the knot in that muscle move slowly from the top of my ankle to the back of my knee. By 7am I am walking through the back door of the kitchen. I polish off breakfast in record time, kick back another coffee, tie on an apron, and walk through the kitchen with clipboard in hand. I nod and give him a thumbs up.

Back of House 337

Back of House Hotels Front of House Book 337