Culinary Cues

APRIL 15, 2023

My town leaders, bless their hearts, try to figure out ways to strum up cash flow for small businesses. Here’s the kicker: It cost each restaurant $900 to participate in the week (I guess to cover town wide promotion expenses) and every restaurant must agree to deep discount pricing for guests. We would love that.

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Seasonal Menu Café Point of Sale Social Media 447

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 11, 2020

While customers might initially be delighted by the array of choices they have, the prices will leave them shocked and disappointed. In fact, for nine out of every ten of these newly added restaurants, customers are paying higher prices and having lower quality experiences. Even these couriers suffer, he notes.

Pricing 158

Pricing Online Ordering Customer Experience Social Media 158

Restaurant365

JANUARY 4, 2022

Restaurant inventory management plays a key role in overcoming rising food prices. Logistics challenges and labor shortages have fueled rising food prices at the wholesale level. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the November Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale prices, up 9.6% from a year ago.

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Inventory Pricing Management Management 148

Culinary Cues

MAY 3, 2023

They are out there. Your customers will rave, and you can raise your prices to cover the difference. 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.

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Food Truck Customer Experience Food Supply Take-out 467

Xtra Chef

FEBRUARY 5, 2020

Menu pricing can seem daunting. To start, it’s a numbers game that involves calculating plate cost and a target menu price. But successful menu pricing is so much more than this. In this post, you’ll learn how to price a menu by considering all factors that determine your position on a price continuum.

Pricing 102

Pricing Menu Point of Sale Customer Service 102

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Changing how we view our concepts, menus, pricing structure, our staff, marketing, and the list goes on has never been more critical. The property should invest, and the employee should seek out the opportunities to learn. Yes, I have been preaching the need for change in restaurants.

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Training Uniforms Leadership Customer Service 351

Culinary Cues

MAY 20, 2024

He would not have been opposed to raising prices if the experience had proven value and wowed the guest. He would not have been opposed to raising prices if the experience had proven value and wowed the guest. He would spend endless hours trying to figure out how to re-create the experience of in-house dining through home delivery.

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Hotels Fine Dining Front of House Back of House 272

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 4, 2022

The greatest threat is not the labor shortage or supply chain issues, it’s not the pandemic or the price of real estate – yes, all those concerns are troubling and must be dealt with, but they are not what will bring the restaurant industry to its knees. Well then – what will? Try apathy on for size. Toynbee (author and historian).

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Front of House Coaching Uniforms Back of House 328

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

Prices of raw materials and labor, of course, have gone through the roof and there is no end in sight. Without a clear understanding of where ingredient costs are going tomorrow and next month restaurants cannot afford to be shackled to a menu that is out of control. Smaller menus with changing content are the way to go.

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2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 495

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2021

Sometimes the change curve can be mapped out allowing ample time to gear up with new skills, new products, new methods of production, and a laser focused marketing strategy, while on occasion, something environmental takes place that forces a more immediate response. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. Such is the case in 2021.

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2021 Social Media Kitchen Safety Restaurant Law 462

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Is it worth it” (not necessarily price) seemed to rise as a real factor in determining the long-term success of a restaurant. There is a lesson here for cooks, chefs, and restaurateurs – a simple message that stands out from every other “road to success” Prophet: Whatever you do, do it well. Their fish tacos are to die for.”

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Fine Dining Front of House Dine-in 2016 353

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2022

We can’t find any employees, people don’t want to work anymore, restaurants treat employees like crap, the pay sucks and the benefits don’t exist, prices are too high, supplies are impossible to find, and profit is so small that it isn’t worth the sweat and tears. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. Yet, all we hear is negativity.

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Food Supply Training Supplies Café 392

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. Value goes way beyond price, it must include memories, excitement, personal attention, hospitality, education, and a generous dose of WOW!

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Food Truck Back of House Education Training 319

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.

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Food Seasonal Menu Waste Point of Sale 381

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. You know it, when you see it, feel it, smell it, or taste it.

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Coaching Fine Dining Café Training 368

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.

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Guest Recovery Uniforms Point of Sale Customer Experience 448

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. Instead of thirty-gallon trash cans spread out through the kitchen, there were two much smaller cans, a recycling bin, and tubs for compost.

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Seating Front of House Back of House Cash Management 442

Culinary Cues

JULY 23, 2023

This does not excuse chefs who lash out, who wear their strong emotions on their sleeve and point the finger at those who do not follow their intended steps towards greatness. Chef, one of your most important jobs will be to train the next outstanding person to take your position if you ever move on.”

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Guest Recovery Seasonal Menu Presentation Customer Experience 404

Culinary Cues

MAY 4, 2021

Our customers need to trust that the restaurant they patronize will be safe and that the operation will take all of the necessary steps to ensure their health and wellbeing. This is the chance that is offered to restaurants as we ease out of shutdown and re-open businesses. This is a time to start fresh. The ball is in our court.

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Customer Service Customer Experience Training Pricing 487

Bingage

JANUARY 23, 2023

You and your wife sit down to think of affordable options for a birthday treat, and suddenly on TV, the daily soap serial on Starplus breaks into ads, the very first ad you see was the Happy price menu from McDonald’s Ads. McDonald’s released a variety of creative ads over a decade ago, announcing its “Happy Price Menu”.

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Pricing Menu 2014 Presentation 52

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.

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Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 388

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.

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Seasonal Menu Food Supply Training Presentation 353

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 23, 2021

The baseline formula for determining selling price using an acceptable food cost percent of 30% would be: SELLING PRICE SP) = PLATE COST (PC)/FOOD COST %(FC%). If we use the same baseline formula for determining selling price: SP = $13.00 /.30. SP = $26.00 (A price that guests would be more willing to swallow).

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Point of Sale Front of House Back of House Fine Dining 450

Culinary Cues

MAY 24, 2022

Your blood pressure is way up, you occasionally break out in cold sweats, and when you look in a mirror you see a mix of the weight of the world and a perpetual smile. First and foremost, you need to build a checklist, a very well thought out checklist of everything that must be done before you open your doors.

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Café Take-out License Small Business 383

Culinary Cues

MAY 13, 2023

Those who are serious about holding the chef title some day; the ones who are “in it, to win it”, are always wondering what’s the best path to take. Remember that being “the chef” will take you away from much of the day-to-day cooking, the adrenaline rush, and the team excitement that drew you to the kitchen in the first place.

Hotels 426

Hotels Point of Sale Cash Management Training 426

Social Hospitality

AUGUST 8, 2021

Make your restaurant stand out online by using social proof as the foundation of your digital marketing strategy. Nearly 90% of people research restaurants online before dining out. The more positive reviews your restaurant has, the more it will stand out online. Proactively collect ratings and reviews.

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Social Media SEO Influencer Magazine 244

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

APRIL 1, 2020

After three weeks of our current state of uncertainty it is time to take a deep breath and do what Americans have done in the past: develop a plan moving forward. Worldwide – when countries, cities, and communities transition out of difficult times it is the restaurant and hotel industry that leads the way back to prosperity.

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Waste Cash Management Entertainment Take-out 498

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 15, 2022

It is the ability and desire to strive for this potential that allows us to jump out of bed in the morning and face the day knowing that we can and will contribute in some way. Figure it out! Re-evaluate your restaurant pricing for menu items to provide greater profitability and more room for higher wages. Bill Bradley.

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Uniforms Front of House Food Safety Healthcare 413

Culinary Cues

MARCH 15, 2021

Volunteer for a stage at a great local restaurant, take an occasional sabbatical to re-enter the industry, attend conferences and workshops, take a class on a new method of preparation, and belong to professional organizations. Every product that a student handles in class should carry a price tag. LACK OF DISCIPLINE.

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Education Food Supply Training Communication 539

Culinary Cues

JULY 8, 2021

With a real need to try and make-up for a lost year and an overnight demand for dining out – restaurants are faced with a new pressing issue: where do we find the staff and how do we keep them? When demand exceeds supply in any situation – businesses know that prices inevitably go up. The strong survive and the weak shall perish.

Sports 473

Sports Take-out Café Training 473

Culinary Cues

MAY 15, 2021

If the stakeholders in this important industry do not take the opportunity to learn from the lessons encountered, then a return to those exciting decades of growth and media glory will be difficult to envision. In recent years landlords have leveraged their lease power to eventually drive restaurants out of business.

Customer Experience 387

Customer Experience Cash Management Customer Service Front of House 387

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. Stay on it.

Fine Dining 392

Fine Dining Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 392

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 3, 2022

I shout while frantically rubbing my calf trying to work out that Charlie horse pain. I turn on the news as background noise (there’s never any good news) and I faintly catch the key points about another mass shooting, climate anomalies, political battles, the lingering pandemic, and the rising price of goods. Will do, chef.”.

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Back of House Hotels Front of House Book 337

7 Shifts

AUGUST 12, 2020

So far, 2020 has thrown marketing plans, advertising budgets, and restaurant growth out of the window. While these local favorites are great at attracting their neighbors to visit again and again, to out-of-towners, they’re just another restaurant that looks like it could do with some renovations. So, where do you start? Need a napkin?

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Marketing 2020 SEO Loyalty Program 420

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

Mediocre sucks the lifeblood out of an individual or an organization – it is the dark side of the moon, the harbinger of discomfort and pain, and the salt in the wound that saps your energy and leaves you hardened and embarrassed. Take a simple hamburger – the second most popular item on American menus (a close second to pizza).

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Uniforms Fine Dining Small Business Customer Service 449

7 Shifts

APRIL 3, 2020

That is what we are going to answer in this blog—providing you with steps you can take right now to reduce your costs and boost your revenue to keep your restaurant profitable during COVID-19. Your prices – Last, but surely not least, are your prices.

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BOH POS Influencer Point of Sale 368