Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2021

So here is the good news: there will be ample opportunities in 2021 and beyond for chefs, cooks, managers, and service staff who recognize the immediacy of the challenge and the new skill set that will be required of successful players and leaders in the field. will find themselves in the winner’s circle. [] FLEXIBILITY.

2021 462

2021 Social Media Kitchen Safety Restaurant Law 462

Culinary Cues

JULY 2, 2023

To many chefs – “simple” is a goal, easy is not; complex is un-necessary, and difficult is real only when a chef resists the connection to the ingredients and the result. When a chef allows Mother Nature to lead the way and present ingredients as they were meant to be, then simple can become a means to an end.

Back of House 353

Back of House Seasonal Menu Café Sourcing 353

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 20, 2020

But, farmers and chefs must work together to create this model. The farmer needs to grow what the chef is looking for and the chef must create more fluid menus that take advantage of growing cycles and the quality derived from peak crop maturity. [] Great Bread Will Be Even More Important to Restaurants in the Future.

Social Media 497

Social Media Education Email Marketing Healthcare 497

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

How does that corporate chef feel when he or she visits a random restaurant and sees how a 16-year-old on the grill has no vision of excellence in execution? Find ways to assess quality: chef tastings, peer tastings, pre-meal critique, post-meal assessment, guest comment cards, etc. [] SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Customer Service 344

Customer Service Customer Experience Uniforms Point of Sale 344

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 28, 2021

I know you remember the first day that you slid your arms into the sleeves of that chef’s jacket with your name embroidered under the title: executive chef. As the chef you want to make sure that you lead by example, so even though your plate will be filled with a new list of responsibilities, you want to spend time each day as a cook.

Kitchen Safety 423

Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Seasonal Menu 423

Culinary Cues

MARCH 4, 2022

I would assume that many chefs who read this article – at least the ones from my generation have reflected on where they are, what they have done, and what they are still able to do. We read the articles and listen to chefs and restaurateurs desperate to fill positions of line cook, sous chef, chef, manager, etc.

Coaching 472

Coaching Training Fine Dining Article 472

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

What is the difference between a cook and a chef”? As an example, I remember one very moving presentation to a room full of culinary professionals by Andre Soltner (a consummate chef whom I will forever admire) during which he directed all who were in the audience to remember that we should “never forget that we are all cooks first”.

Restaurant Law 409

Restaurant Law Coaching Café Sourcing 409

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

How does a chef or restaurateur approach the challenges of a public that wants to return to restaurants that are unable to meet the rapid growth in demand and a supply chain that is making it nearly impossible to get the ingredients they need and afford the ones that are available?

2021 495

2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 495

Culinary Cues

MARCH 25, 2021

There is no greatness without a passion to be great – whether it’s the aspiration of an athlete or an artist, a scientist, a parent, business owner (or chef).”. So what is the path to greatness for a chef? Chefs should not only know process and methods, but also the why, where, and who behind everything that is done in the kitchen.

Communication 436

Communication Coaching Fine Dining Influencer 436

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. This is the chef’s most important job – hands down. BUILD A TEAM – KEEP A TEAM.

Loyalty Program 582

Loyalty Program Communication Training Coaching 582

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

So, it’s time to build contingency plans with this in mind – the problem will not be fixed overnight. [] SMALLER MENUS ARE A MUST, AT LEAST FOR NOW: Chefs do like to strut their stuff. This is a good thing – roll up your sleeves, the chef won’t always have the cleanest uniform in the kitchen. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Food Supply 416

Food Supply Employee Relations Kitchen Safety Social Media 416

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2020

The menu comes first and should reflect the philosophy of the owners and chef and how the operators expect to be perceived by the public. Far too many times the menu takes a back seat to all other planning that will lead to serious miscalculations along the way. [] A CHEF’S SIGNATURE. YES – the menu is that important!

Menu 388

Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 388

Culinary Cues

APRIL 7, 2022

This really is an interesting assessment of time in the kitchen, time in the life of a chef. During the most challenging times as a chef – this is something that I could always take enjoyment in. [] What cooks and chefs do is meaningful. This is what we do. [] As a chef I am only as good as my team.

Training 371

Training Social Media Presentation Café 371

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

As chefs we all are aware of the time, physical stress, and emotional trauma associated with running a busy kitchen. Yet tomorrow morning you will wake well before sunrise, put on that starched, white uniform, walk through those kitchen doors and face the challenges of a chef once again. Many chefs are part of this club.

Seating 572

Seating Uniforms Communication Take-out 572

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 31, 2020

Rest assured, at some point restaurants will rise up again, clubs and hotels will measure success based on occupancy and food service activity, and the position of “chef” will be center stage in driving sales and measuring profitability. Chefs can be very confident without putting on an air of superiority.

Leadership 398

Leadership Point of Sale Training Coaching 398

Culinary Cues

APRIL 16, 2022

Just as these two factors inspired you to become a chef, so too are they what inspire your guests to return time and again – driving that potential for profit and helping you to attract the very best cooks. The most important word ever uttered by a guest and ever embraced by a peer cook or chef is WOW!

Hotels 370

Hotels Presentation Reservations Social Media 370

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 27, 2020

I have recently read articles that claim that the discipline and order of chefs as far back as Escoffier or as contemporary as Ferran Adria or Thomas Keller are no longer appropriate or needed. Discipline is not synonymous with this awful, abhorrent approach that is, for some reason, portrayed as normal on TV kitchen shows.

Uniforms 463

Uniforms Airlines Fine Dining Food Order 463

Culinary Cues

MARCH 9, 2021

Those who have held a station position on the line know what it’s like to feel sweat run down your back, chef hats soaked at the end of the night, feet swollen from the heat, and dinner plates almost too hot to handle. A part of the kitchen that is home to cooks and chefs who are just as hard working and just as talented as those on the line.

Fine Dining 385

Fine Dining Presentation Seasonal Menu Design 385

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 28, 2023

General Mills Foodservice is putting the Chefs of the Mills to the test against back-of-house obstacles in its new “Chefs on the Line” video series, Each episode will challenge General Mills Foodservice’s resident culinary experts with the high-stakes scenarios that foodservice operators face every day.

Back of House 167

Back of House Customer Service Inventory Operations 167

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 12, 2021

Chef Phil Learned stood tall in the kitchen of The Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville Notch, NH. Counts were tallied throughout the night and the chef/expeditor would keep everyone apprised as to how many guests had been served and how many registered guests remained. Our industry recently lost a giant of the professional kitchen.

Seasonal Menu 470

Seasonal Menu 2005 Hotels Customer Service 470

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 10, 2023

When creating an elevated dining space, it’s critical for there to be a meeting of the minds between the chef and designer that culminates in a setting that is reflective of the chef’s vision and taste. The partnership resulted in a 116-seat signature restaurant directly inspired by the chef’s menu.

Design 191

Design Customer Experience Magazine Seating 191

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

You know that every chef has wrestled with this – should the menu reflect a personal philosophy to move the bar or stick with time-tested standards? Chefs are, for all intents and purposes, inherently creative people who are always looking for a way to express that creativity and place their signature on the plate.

Fine Dining 426

Fine Dining Café Menu Customer Experience 426

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

The tasks of the chef are fairly universal: planning menus, putting your signature on each dish, hiring and training staff, ordering product and building vendor relationships, controlling costs and adhering to budgets, maintaining a clean and safe kitchen environment, etc. Each property is unique – thus the job of chef is also unique.

Beverage 487

Beverage Events Food Order Website Management 487

Culinary Cues

JUNE 4, 2023

I’ve been reading an interesting book of advice from dozens of prominent chefs: “Chef Wise” from Phaidon Books. Of particular interest to me was a paragraph from Chef Sean Brock of Audrey Restaurant in Nashville (pages 289-290) that everyone should read. Start immediately! Build your network of professional relationships.

Brewery 353

Brewery Equipment Book Blog 353

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 31, 2019

A chef struggles with feeling as though the career is a calling and sensing that they are trapped in a cycle of existence without the ability to break away. The more that a chef delves into the job, the more the job demands of them. Now his day had come. Now, things were different. He now knew what “all in” meant.

Reference 345

Reference Uniforms Social Media Take-out 345

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 4, 2022

"The Bear," a new Hulu/FX program portrays the raw reality of restaurant culture Chefs from around the country have commented to Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine on the authentic representation the show gives of life in the kitchen as a chef. Chef Patel. Chef Jair Solis – The Restaurant at the Norton.

Back of House 186

Back of House Front of House Communication FOH 186

Culinary Cues

MAY 16, 2021

Do you remember when the chef that you admired turned to you for the first time and said: “Come up with a feature for tonight’s menu”? What an incredible WOW moment – the chef is allowing me to represent his or her reputation and that of the restaurant and put my work out there. Remember how you felt? Does this bring back memories?

Dine-in 445

Dine-in Take-out Customer Experience Café 445

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

There are many things that differentiate cooks and chefs, but none more important to the customer experience and the reputation of the restaurant than mastery of the senses. Thus, the best cooks and chefs are always seeking out those sensual food experiences so that they can develop their flavor memory. The kitchen sensual army.

Customer Experience 381

Customer Experience Fine Dining Presentation Take-out 381

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

There are chefs and there are chefs. I have always been blessed to count a significant number of true chefs as friends. As a chef, you have the opportunity and I would promote – the responsibility to pass on what we know and guide others through the process of learning and growing. Great chefs take care of themselves.

Front of House 292

Front of House Communication Leadership Back of House 292

Culinary Cues

APRIL 24, 2020

Yesterday, I read an emotional, well-written, soul-crushing article by Gabrielle Hamilton – chef/owner of Prune Restaurant in New York City. It was an emotional experience reading this article and knowing that thousands of other chefs and restaurateurs across the country could have written a similar one.

Article 309

Article Point of Sale Take-out Dine-in 309

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 11, 2020

I recently spoke with Charles Carroll – one of America’s more successful chefs and business leaders, about an initiative that he has been engaged with for the past few years. Carroll is the Executive Chef of the River Oaks Country Club in Houston – one of the most prestigious, and busiest, clubs in the country. It’s a win, win.”.

Communication 310

Communication Leadership Employee Relations Entertainment 310

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 23, 2021

When profit is measured in more significant profit from fewer sales then I will make a statement that may cause many chefs scratch their heads in disbelief: “Food cost percentage is far less relevant – it’s all about contribution margin.” In both cases it is sales (the top line) that sets the stage for success. BEAUTIFUL FOOD PRESENTATIONS.

Point of Sale 450

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

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 26, 2022

"The Menu" hits the screens next month and chefs are already dishing about the black comedy focused on fine-dining. Chef Jason Herandez – Corporate Director of Food & Beverage at Encore Resort at Reunion (Orlando, FL). "After As a chef you want to experience first hand the guests’ point of view.

Fine Dining 175

Fine Dining Social Media Dine-in 2000 175

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Chefs are expressing optimism and anticipate a return to “normal,” according to the 2022 James Beard Foundation Fall Industry Survey. Rising food costs are the number one issue of concern for chefs heading into 2023, according to the survey, with 44 percent of respondents ranking it as their top worry.

Food Supply 186

Food Supply 2023 Fast Casual Fine Dining 186

Culinary Cues

JULY 27, 2022

Those flavors are restaurants we have visited, chefs who inspire us, family traditions that are part of our background, trips that we have made, books we have read, markets we have visited, kitchens where we have worked, and fellow cooks with whom we have shared a stove. Fifty of the most dynamic people who help chefs grow.

Influencer 346

Influencer Fine Dining Travel Book 346

EATER

MARCH 19, 2024

You were not a chef if you couldn’t make a mother sauce (why do you think we call them chefs ). But over the past few decades, French cuisine was supplanted with chefs inspired by the cuisines of Japan , Spain , and California , among others. Chef Douglass Williams of D.W. And you can get jambon baguettes at both D.C.’s

Food 100

Food Fine Dining Seasonal Menu Dine-in 100

Culinary Cues

APRIL 4, 2020

Structure is important to a chef as it aligns with our obsession over mise en place (organization) and how it defines the operation of a successful kitchen. Once conditioned – a chef has a very difficult time breaking out of a routine. So, it is safe to say that our routines define us to a large degree.

Leadership 355

Leadership Retail Training Take-out 355