Culinary Cues

AUGUST 21, 2023

The once restaurateur-centric restaurant was about to become chef-centric. It was interesting, somewhat absurd, but life changing for those in the profession and for the way people viewed the restaurant experience. Suddenly the chef-owned restaurant not only made sense – it was the approach with the greatest traction.

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Back of House Food Supply Government Dine-in 390

Culinary Cues

MARCH 26, 2022

Are you thinking about owning a restaurant? You are not alone if the thought of putting your name on a restaurant awning has crossed your mind. One of the most tempting forays into entrepreneurship is the restaurant business. Instead, let’s look at some of the common reasons why restaurants fail (this is only a sampling).

Cash Management 366

Cash Management Social Media Restaurant Law Communication 366

Culinary Cues

APRIL 23, 2022

The margins are very tight, in fact they are so tight that most business savvy people would wonder why anyone would ever want to own a restaurant. From the dishwasher to the prep cook, line cook to sous chef, and server to restaurant manager – food cost percentages must be something that everyone takes on as a job requirement.

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Food Seasonal Menu Waste Point of Sale 381

Culinary Cues

MAY 15, 2021

The restaurant industry continues to be devastated – not just as a result of the pandemic but because the pandemic brought underlying issues to the surface. The glory days of the restaurant industry have been laid to rest and they may never return to any semblance of normalcy. What if……happens? How will we react?”

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Customer Experience Cash Management Customer Service Front of House 387

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2023

The restaurant business is sometimes like the canary in the coal mine and at other times like the father of teenage children – the last to know. Most of the problems in restaurants were there before but not so vivid, not so “in your face”. Plan, equip, train, evaluate, educate, and celebrate each and every employee.

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Food Truck Back of House Education Training 319

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

It is the team behind the chef that makes a successful restaurant; it is the team that executes the chef’s vision; and it is the team’s focus that allows the chef’s cost consciousness to result in a financially successful operation. Yes, I do mean a culture of retention. BUILD A TEAM – KEEP A TEAM. STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE.

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Loyalty Program Communication Training Coaching 582

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

On top of this – restaurants are offering wages that were unheard of pre-pandemic and still employees are not inclined to return to kitchens and dining rooms. CHANGE #1: The days of the fixed menu for restaurants should come to a halt. The quick fix may just be a dramatic change in how we plan and present our menus.

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2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 495

Culinary Cues

MARCH 3, 2021

The hope was that by doing more, working harder and longer, making more complicated menus, and pushing the envelope of creativity the restaurant industry would rise up to new levels of success. These small restaurant operators opened and closed their doors at an alarming rate simply because they couldn’t afford the space.

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Dine-in Small Business Seasonal Menu Café 416

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. Is this just another result of apathy?

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Front of House Coaching Uniforms Back of House 328

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Working in a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, or any place that serves food & drink is a fast-paced, always-on career. On the 7shifts blog and social media, we seek to provide actionable and informative content to help restaurant people learn about every corner of the industry. Success starts with a great schedule.

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Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 27, 2020

The refreshing nature of discipline is what attracts many of those great employees to the environment of the kitchen. It is exactly this structure, and this discipline that helps to develop talented, polished individuals and build a skill set that leads to long-term success.

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Uniforms Airlines Food Order Fine Dining 463

Culinary Cues

MAY 24, 2022

Well, there is little that can be said to those who have caught the restaurant fever – you know, when that opportunity finally knocks, and you have your sights on a café with your name on it. This is when every friend or family member with an investment in your success and happiness will come in handy. NEXT: Don’t take shortcuts!

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Café Take-out License Small Business 383

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

An exercise that I have found to be really helpful is to occasionally state/re-state what you believe in as a chef. Every now and then this can serve as a “checks and balance” activity to keep you on the right path and assess where and why you might have strayed from those “stakes in the ground” that are important to your core.

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2021 Point of Sale Reference Take-out 396

Culinary Cues

MAY 13, 2023

Is it culinary school, working in well-known restaurants, finding an established chef to mentor them, or is it something else entirely? My money is placed on working in a quality hotel, resort, or club. So where will you get exposure to much, if not all of that?

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Hotels Point of Sale Cash Management Training 426

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? Why would I choose to support a locally owned restaurant? 64% of those independent restaurants were “full-service”.

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Fine Dining Food Supply Customer Service Presentation 468

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Welcome to our Employee Resources Hub! Here you'll find links to our favorite blog and support articles, information about 7shifts Academy, our social media profiles, and more. Whether you need to brush up on your restaurant slang or you need to swap a shift, we've got you covered. Resources for working in restaurants.

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Culinary Cues

JUNE 13, 2023

What can I say, it’s a job”, means there are no redeeming qualities to the work and all a person can do is try to soldier through the day. The plight of the worker has been immortalized in books, articles, blogs, social media posts, union contracts, songs, and movies for as long as those methods of communication have existed.

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Article Social Media Blog Café 308

7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

Managing a restaurant is a delicate routine—if we can even call it a routine. Managers are responsible for nearly every aspect of the restaurant and have to cover a variety of duties. In addition to their main duties, restaurant managers also have to contend with all the unwritten or hidden responsibilities that fall on them.

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Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 195

Culinary Cues

JUNE 26, 2021

Over the past few decades, I have been asked to design a number of kitchens for restaurants and banquet spaces – a task that I thoroughly enjoy. Inefficiencies cost money, frustrate employees, and oftentimes set the stage for poor quality results. Creating restaurants is an expensive endeavor.

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Design Fine Dining Uniforms Waste 367

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

We all know the challenges facing restaurants right now – there is little benefit in reiterating the problems. What needs to be addressed is: “ How do we build trust among customers, trust that the restaurant will keep them safe, and how do we generate enough sales and in turn – profit, to keep the operation moving forward?

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Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Customer Experience 331

Culinary Cues

MAY 9, 2021

I hear this statement every day and receive countless calls from restaurant operators pleading for help finding employees to fill their vacant roles. You bet and it is crushing the restaurant industry just as much as the pandemic has. I don’t believe this statement for one minute. Is there a labor shortage? I don’t think so.

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Government Café Education Hiring 438

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 28, 2021

Look around you – identify the companies, businesses, or individuals whom you admire – you know, the ones that seem to win a lot and fit into that category of “successful”. These “successful” players are there due to one very important reason: they never accept mediocrity. Is this where you want to be?

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Uniforms Fine Dining Small Business Customer Service 449

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 28, 2020

For the restaurant operator caught up in the current, somewhat bleak reality of the business environment we are living in – there is hope in knowing how resilient the business of food can be. Social distancing is un-nerving in restaurant settings – how can you make it fun? The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”.

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Social Media Communication Loyalty Program Training 436

Culinary Cues

MARCH 15, 2021

Sure, I know how much the restaurant/foodservice industry is suffering and how many operations are shutting their doors as a result of avoiding decades of challenges brought to a head by the pandemic, but believe me when I say that this will change. Just as the restaurant industry evolves, so too must the industry of education.

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Education Food Supply Training Communication 539

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Learn how to write a killer restaurant mission statement to be among the select few that can. Restaurant mission statements matter whether you're opening a restaurant or refreshing your brand. Your mission statement is the “why” of your business strategy and captures why your restaurant exists. The result? Here's how.

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Fast Casual Customer Service Customer Experience Back of House 370

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2022

I have never physically owned a restaurant, but I have always approached the position of chef as if I did. Sometimes those decisions mean that labor hours must be cut, or positions eliminated; sometimes it means raising selling prices again or finding ways to cut costs that compromise some level of quality or quantity.

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Café Hospitality Operations Blog 333

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

Getting that dish just right, controlling costs, managing inventory, meeting budgetary goals, topping yesterdays customer count, clearing the rail of tickets without any re-fires, a complement from customers, top ratings on Trip Advisor or Yelp, or a positive local restaurant review can all be viewed as a competitive opportunity.

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Fine Dining Coaching Dine-in Café 409

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 30, 2019

I have the privilege of working with many different restaurants and food businesses. Some are very successful, while others are hanging by a thread. One of the most important goals of any restaurant is dependability and consistency. So why does it sometimes go wrong?

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Cash Management Point of Sale Leadership Website Management 266

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2021

We all knew that the restaurant industry was in need of a structural overhaul, we (those of us affiliated with the business) were well aware of the cogs in the chain, and the years of rust that had accumulated on systems and organization, but it took the pandemic of 2020/21 to shout out: THE TIME IS NOW! Such is the case in 2021.

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2021 Social Media Kitchen Safety Restaurant Law 462

Culinary Cues

MAY 18, 2020

The restaurant industry is being hit extraordinarily hard, unlike any other time in recent history. As we continue to fight this pandemic that we still know so little about, and try to gradually open up the economy with a keen eye on public safety – it will be restaurants and other hospitality businesses that suffer the longest.

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White Paper Certification Food Safety Food Supply 519

Sling

DECEMBER 10, 2023

In this article, we discuss some of the best things you can do before you even open your doors that can help make your new bakery a success. In this article, we discuss some of the best things you can do before you even open your doors that can help make your new bakery a success. Good for you! And that’s OK.

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Restaurant Law Customer Experience Customer Service Employee Relations 78

Culinary Cues

JULY 20, 2021

Anxiety over the complexity of required job outcomes that include product quality, timing and efficiency, financial performance, personal brand control, dependance on others, etc. EXCITEMENT in the chef’s success or others who work in the kitchen is natural – celebrate it.

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Training Leadership Café Waste 474

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

Restaurant managers do it all. Our detailed restaurant management templates cover everything from work schedules to time tracking and closing checklist. But we’re going to focus on the templates that simplify your job as a restaurant manager and help you automate tasks to focus on the bigger picture, and become a better boss.

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Management Management Download Leadership 195

Culinary Cues

JULY 19, 2022

The list of responsibilities keeps growing: menu planner, budget manager, concept developer, quality controller, purchaser and negotiator, trainer, and of course – accomplished cook – this is the job description for a restaurant chef. Yes, as chefs, we need to look beyond each cook as a person to fill a slot on the schedule.

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Training Presentation Employee Relations Article 368

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 31, 2019

There is little question that most young cooks who are serious about their craft have a desire to work for the higher end, independent properties with chefs who are committed to building a name for themselves and the restaurant where they work. When the situation demands action, a growing number of restaurants are ready to up the ante.

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Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

These “innovators” are constantly looking for the next interesting interpretation of food – the restaurant chef who teases them with food preparations that strike a chord, who makes them challenge how they think about food, and puts a smile on their face. That is in our DNA, we can’t really help ourselves.

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Fine Dining Café Menu Customer Experience 426

Culinary Cues

APRIL 30, 2020

As some states begin to entertain loosening restrictions and easing out of “stay at home” directives – restaurants will consider their options. Do we open in such uncertain times and potentially endanger our employees and guests? Do we open in such uncertain times and potentially endanger our employees and guests?

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