Culinary Cues

APRIL 22, 2024

It only takes a few seconds to move from being a “go along for the ride” consumer to feeling screwed. Grocery stores try to eliminate cashier positions (yes, I know how hard it is to find help) and opt for self-check-out but do so without lowering prices. Bread has always been a given. Hardly worth the $8-$12 that restaurants charge.

Consumer Goods 284

Consumer Goods Pricing Customer Experience Hospitality 284

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. The dining room opens in 15 minutes and the adrenaline is starting to churn. Everything looks good.

Fine Dining 460

Fine Dining Back of House Front of House Food Order 460

Culinary Cues

MAY 3, 2023

They are out there. People will pay for quality – are you willing to invest the time to find out? It takes time, effort, knowledge, passion, hard work, great raw materials, and total commitment to make outstanding bread – respect this. What will it take to get the message across? Bread is the same way.

Food Truck 467

Food Truck Customer Experience Food Supply Take-out 467

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 9, 2021

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. We may complain about the guest who is taking loads of pictures of their food and posting them on Instagram, but deep inside we get a bit of a rush when it happens. It is, and must be, a team effort.

Front of House 473

Front of House Customer Experience Workshop Dine-in 473

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The stores were empty, and restaurant service staff were staring out windows from the vantage of unfilled seats. The look of the service staff, cooks on the back loading docks grabbing a smoke break, salesclerks with arms folded, starring out shop windows, and nervous shop owners checking their bank accounts on cellphones was disconcerting.

Customer Experience 362

Customer Experience Customer Service Food Safety Retail 362

Culinary Cues

APRIL 29, 2024

At a time when the desire and need for dining out has returned to 2019 levels, this seems like a counter-productive formula. While all of this “reaction” is taking place, the root cause continues to be ignored. I’m sure it’s true in many industries, but let’s just focus on the business of restaurants.

Front of House 240

Front of House Back of House Training Customer Service 240

Culinary Cues

APRIL 1, 2024

Outside people went about their day, never giving mind to the effort, dichotomy of characters, hustle, stress, and complexity of what takes place in the “back of the house” at a twelve hundred room hotel. As I tied on my apron and pulled out my knife kit ready to dive in, the executive chef called me into his office.

Back of House 318

Back of House Kitchen Safety Hotels Front of House 318

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 28, 2021

You take time to sanitize your area, firmly place a cutting board on a damp towel to keep it from slipping, draw your knives across a wet stone while honing their edge, and quickly jotting down a prep list for the next hour. You take a deep breath and smile knowing that this is where you belong, this will be a magical day.

Kitchen Safety 423

Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Seasonal Menu 423

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

Chefs and cooks may avoid walking through those swinging doors into the dining room because they fear that vulnerability. TARDINESS OR NO SHOW: If dependability issues slip out of control and an employee is constantly late and has a record of not showing up when expected or scheduled, then it’s time to pay attention.

Employee Relations 382

Employee Relations Training Fine Dining Take-out 382

Culinary Cues

JULY 22, 2021

Restaurants are open, and customers who have been prisoners of the pandemic are anxiously coming out of their shells and flooding to restaurants that are ill equipped to deal with the surge. As challenged as restaurants are right now, there must be an all-out effort to demonstrate value and to provide a positive experience.

Guest Recovery 448

Guest Recovery Uniforms Point of Sale Customer Experience 448

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 5, 2023

In other words – patience and persistence – it takes time to build the skills and knowledge necessary to get to your destination. 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. This is where real cooking CAN take place. You want more!

Kitchen Safety 366

Kitchen Safety Food Safety Back of House Front of House 366

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 25, 2023

There are ample opportunities to cut corners for the sake of the bottom line, there are loads of ways to take advantage of your employees, there is always a temptation to overcharge to control food cost, and avoiding change because it is disruptive is always whispering in your ear. This is one of the reasons why they choose to dine out.

Seasonal Menu 353

Seasonal Menu Food Supply Training Presentation 353

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

I relish great restaurant experiences, take pride in the operations where I have worked, feel connected to nearly anyone who works in professional kitchens and restaurants, and admire restaurant folks who find comfort in being the best that they can be. Find out everything you can about your guests and potential guests.

Fine Dining 392

Fine Dining Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 392

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 11, 2022

We can always find things to disagree with and people who frustrate us, but very little good ever comes out of this approach. Don’t wait for someone else to build your skills and knowledge – take charge of your own growth. So, here are some golden rules that will help you to move in the right direction.

Leadership 381

Leadership Fine Dining Workshop Training 381

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

How powerful is a complete dining experience and what exactly is it? An owner for whom I worked years ago referred to it as the Total Dining Experience and I have held on to this concept ever since. Is your ventilation system designed to push positive kitchen odors to the dining room or outside the entrance?

Fine Dining 315

Fine Dining Dine-in Front of House Design 315

Culinary Cues

MARCH 3, 2021

“Never again in our careers will we be able to take the boat out of water and put it in dry dock for a year to inspect every inch of its underbelly and make it seaworthy again,” “We want to make sure when we put the boat back in the water, it’s a sounder boat and does business in a better way.”

Dine-in 416

Dine-in Small Business Seasonal Menu Café 416

Culinary Cues

JUNE 14, 2022

There are many questions that people ask with regard to the restaurant industry, but two seem to really stand out in the post pandemic world: Why should I spend money in a restaurant? fell in the category of “fine dining”. There is a great deal of pent-up demand and restaurants are struggling to figure out how to gear up.

Fine Dining 468

Fine Dining Food Supply Customer Service Presentation 468

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 22, 2022

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. Bigger isn’t always better. I have very fond memories of walking the streets of St. I have very fond memories of walking the streets of St.

Seating 442

Seating Front of House Back of House Cash Management 442

Culinary Cues

MAY 19, 2022

Jake called out: “Ordering, three filets mid-rare, 2 strips rare, a sole Veronique, three etouffee, two feature apps.” By 7:00 the dining room was full, and the orders came in relentlessly. When he wiped the last rim, the server was there to take the order quickly to the guests at table 18. This was “order/fire” time.

Seating 374

Seating Dine-in Seasonal Menu Leadership 374

Culinary Cues

MARCH 22, 2023

When offered, it quickly sells out because people are always drawn to perfection. It is that carrot just a bit too far out of reach that it can’t be grabbed, but in the process of pursuit we push ourselves as far as possible with that goal in mind. Nancy Silverton is likely best known for introducing the country to La Brea breads.

Coaching 368

Coaching Fine Dining Café Training 368

Culinary Cues

APRIL 23, 2022

The cost of raw materials seems to always go up, most ingredients that restaurants use are highly perishable, customer volume is less predictable than we would like, seasonal differences in quality are quite significant, the supply chain is out of step with demand, and waste seems to be a real problem in many operations. First in, first out.

Food 381

Food Seasonal Menu Waste Point of Sale 381

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 18, 2022

Take the time to think about it: This is a profile of the restaurant business that gets lost in all the negative press. [] SECOND LARGEST EMPLOYER. In 2021, there were 14.5 million people employed in the restaurant industry 1. [] THE CLEAREST WINDOW TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP. 80%of single-unit restaurants in the U.S. In 2021, there were 14.5

Agriculture 368

Agriculture Tourism Transportation Café 368

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 26, 2020

So, as we close out on 2020 – here are some reflections and outcomes in the past that we might learn from. [] A DRAMATIC EVENT, BEYOND OUR CONTROL HAS SHUT THE DOOR ON RESTAURANT BUSINESS. The most challenging part of difficult times is living in the moment. Ah, but TODAY is the tough one.

Fine Dining 475

Fine Dining 2008 Kitchen Safety Customer Experience 475

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Push it out, how many covers, lock, and load, finish strong, over the hump, wrap it up: this the language of the kitchen during service, these are the timestamps like the number of quarters in a football game or innings in baseball. When all is said and done, we can wipe our brows and sigh in relief. We made it! Mission accomplished.

Customer Service 344

Customer Service Customer Experience Point of Sale Uniforms 344

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

So, take a deep breath, kick a few empty five-gallon buckets around the kitchen (make sure they are empty), release a string of expletives if it makes you feel better, and take a few ibuprofens to address that constant headache. We are all ready to own our lives again and enjoy the simple things – like going out for a meal.

Food Supply 416

Food Supply Employee Relations Kitchen Safety Social Media 416

Culinary Cues

JULY 12, 2020

Walking through the back door there is an uncomfortable feeling of emptiness, of fear and trepidation, and of caution that feels so foreign to anyone who remembers the instant connections that existed in the past. This is not the kitchen that any cook would recognize and embrace. This is the uncertainty that only a silent threat can unveil.

Front of House 403

Front of House Back of House Dine-in Food Truck 403

Culinary Cues

MAY 27, 2023

Encourage talk about food while on the job, take the time as a chef or manager to make “FOOD FACT” teaching moments throughout the day. TECHNOLOGY AND RESTAURANT CULTURE Learning to live with technology and stay in control is essential. We need to embrace the good and understand the bad and the ugly.

Technology 347

Technology Front of House Social Media Back of House 347

Culinary Cues

JULY 23, 2022

I had a call out of the blue from a former culinary student and co-worker at a four-diamond restaurant. We talk about clean plates coming back from the dining room – a sure sign that we did our job well. Something became even more apparent to me today, something that I have felt for decades, but suddenly it became vividly clear.

Employee Relations 373

Employee Relations Workshop Events Social Media 373

7 Shifts

APRIL 24, 2020

With most restaurants operating on dine-out only, and many having closed their doors, restaurant staff are left with hours reduced—or out of a job entirely. You can find a full list of financial relief programs at our blog: COVID-19 Restaurant Relief Programs.

Social Media 352

Social Media Insurance Website Management Government 352

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2023

Here are some thoughts. [] IT’S STILL ABOUT THE FOOD: People go out to eat for a variety of reasons – convenience, social interaction, a change of pace, business travel, vacations, celebration, or habit. ‘The times they are a changin’, proclaimed Bob Dylan in 1964. His words seem quite relevant today.

Food Truck 319

Food Truck Back of House Education Training 319

Culinary Cues

MAY 28, 2022

Those who spend their days in the kitchen, or the dining room do so sometimes out of necessity, but oftentimes because it is what they love to do – to create and bring a little joy to other’s lives. Some may be just starting out while others are seasoned veterans. The most important room in a home is the kitchen.

Front of House 319

Front of House Back of House Employee Relations Small Business 319

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

call from the restaurant stating that the breakfast cook called out or didn’t show. The thought of jumping out of bed and rushing to the restaurant, setting up an unfamiliar station and trying to function while behind the eight ball is un-nerving. This is constant, unrelenting as the dining room moves from a few guests at 6:30 a.m.

Back of House 518

Back of House Dine-in Restaurant Law Ordering 518

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 18, 2022

I still remember that day in downtown Buffalo. I was probably 10 or 11 years old on a shopping trip with my parents when we walked by a diner window with full view of their short order cooks. I was instantly mesmerized by their motions, their intensity, their speed, and their control. This was my first observation of controlled hustle.

Customer Experience 411

Customer Experience Food Order Hiring Café 411

7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

The best restaurant managers take customer service a step further, recognizing regulars and personalizing service for a more memorable guest experience. Accounting & finances Many owners—who take the initiative to fund and start the restaurant —expect you to keep the business open and profitable.

Management 398

Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 398

Culinary Cues

MAY 12, 2022

Of course, there is a handful of masterful chefs and restaurateurs who can charge crazy prices to sold out audiences. These are the restaurants where dining is much, much more than just consuming food. I get it, profit in restaurants is sometimes hard to come by. It’s so hard to make money on that 10 oz. Prime Filet or 14 oz.

Pricing 352

Pricing Training Consumer Goods Customer Experience 352

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 8, 2022

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 anxiety building up to a full house in the hotel packed with a series of food events has made it impossible to relax. The preparation has been mind boggling, now we just have to execute. It is the chef’s job to set the stage.

Front of House 397

Front of House Back of House Seating Food Truck 397

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2020

These aspects include: décor, skill level of staff, style of service, pricing, profit, type of vendors selected, kitchen layout, equipment selection, marketing and advertising, pay scales, dining room seating, type of china, glassware and flatware, even the location and color scheme for the exterior of the restaurant.

Menu 388

Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 388