Culinary Cues

MARCH 10, 2022

If you doubt my belief – think about this: If a line cook calls out – we simply spread the work out among those who are present. At the very least, we know that the work right in front of us won’t change. The rhythm of the kitchen is closely tied to the work and efficiency that is present in the dish area.

Front of House 448

Front of House Back of House Uniforms Hiring 448

Culinary Cues

MAY 1, 2023

There are many reasons why I am so grateful for the decades I spent in front of a range. 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.”

Front of House 431

Front of House Back of House Food Order Seasonal Menu 431

7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

A better description might be a balancing act that presents new and unique challenges every day. 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.

Management 397

Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 397

Embrace the Suck

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Some of the most damaging communication issues come from high up in organizations, so if you work with other managers and owners, stay updated on all issues and policies to ensure you're presenting the same set of instructions across the board. Train your employees to confirm requests if they're unclear instead of making assumptions.

Front of House 292

Front of House Back of House Communication Hiring 292

Hot Schedules

MAY 10, 2021

Seasonal Staff Playbook: Hiring, Training & Retaining Great Teams. Stadium and other sport event venues have a front row seat to these plays – and to what happens when the right talent gets on the field and execute. We’ve got a few tips from the workforce management front office here at Fourth. User Network. Social Media.

Hiring 147

Hiring Training Mobile Ordering Coaching 147

Ken Burgin

JULY 25, 2023

Use these enjoyable and instructive games to engage your front-of-house and kitchen staff – they’re designed to prepare and run quickly. 15 Training Games for Front of House Restaurant and Cafe Staff Menu Mastery: Divide staff into teams and have them take turns describing a dish on the menu as enticingly as possible in 30 seconds.

Training 60

Training Kitchen Safety Front of House Dietary Restrictions 60

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

With their ability to connect various facets of restaurant operations and provide real-time data and insights, networking solutions present a powerful tool for overcoming these challenges and setting a new standard for efficiency and customer service in the industry.

Operations 189

Operations Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 189

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

The quick fix may just be a dramatic change in how we plan and present our menus. This will, of course, make it far more challenging to control quality and consistency, but with a movement towards on-going training and quality assurance – it can be done. The important reality is that we MUST MAKE CHANGES NOW!

2021 497

2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 497

7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

A better description might be a balancing act that presents new and unique challenges every day. 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.

Management 195

Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 195

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 8, 2024

Food Safety Food safety is paramount to any business that involves food and as a result the resources to train and develop food safety at all levels is well-established. This is also well-known in foodservice with the fast-paced work required in back and front of house.

Food 187

Food 2002 Food Safety Kitchen Safety 187

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. It was that first time in the lead position – the commander of the kitchen brigade. You are now the conductor of the orchestra that is totally in sync, creating beautiful music together.

Kitchen Safety 427

Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Seasonal Menu 427

Ken Burgin

JUNE 6, 2023

I love using ChatGPT to develop training activities and materials for restaurant and cafe employees. I’ve used it here to brainstorm ideas for training modules for waiters, managers, cooks, head chefs, and baristas. This will help train staff in customer service skills and problem-solving.

Training 68

Training Kitchen Safety Dietary Restrictions Food Safety 68

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Miso Robotics provides intelligent automation solutions for foodservice that solve some critical back-of-house kitchen operations. Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine asked Jake Brewer, Miso's Chief Strategy Officer for his views on the present and future of increased robotics and automation use in restaurants.

2023 188

2023 Front of House Back of House 2022 188

Ken Burgin

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

Are there opportunities for further training, or to attend workshops and events? If the managers or owners doing an interview raise and answer these job applicant questions, they will have a better rapport with applicants. Questions in the Minds of Chefs or Cooks Applying for a Job What is the restaurant’s culinary or food philosophy?

Front of House 78

Front of House Tip Distribution Kitchen Safety Customer Service 78

7 Shifts

AUGUST 16, 2021

But it's the good shifts, when the front of house and back of house are flowing like a symphony, when customers are delighted, and the restaurant atmosphere feels effortless—that's the best part about restaurants. A bad shift can lead to unhappy customers and disgruntled staff. The pre-shift meeting ensures that doesn't happen.

Front of House 397

Front of House Back of House Coaching Customer Service 397

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 23, 2021

This can be direct (the menu item itself contributes working funds) or indirect (because the item is present on the menu – other items are more likely to sell). How you approach the design of your restaurant in this regard will determine nearly everything else. In both cases it is sales (the top line) that sets the stage for success.

Point of Sale 450

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

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 409

Back of House Front of House Food Order Uniforms 409

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 6, 2020

Those who are proponents of systemic thinking know that even the smallest decision, especially one made in a vacuum, will domino and cause havoc on numerous fronts. White tower decisions without a grasp on the systemic impact of those decisions is a common flaw of leaders who are out of touch with reality. A short while back the U.S.

Government 245

Government Front of House Small Business Back of House 245

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 4, 2022

People do care about value and once the splash of being able to get out of the house wears off, value assessment will be paramount once again. Well then – what will? Try apathy on for size. Maybe it’s me but I have seen a growing number of restaurants (certainly not the majority at this point) who are simply not trying that hard anymore.

Front of House 331

Front of House Coaching Uniforms Back of House 331

Culinary Cues

JULY 12, 2020

It is an uneasy feeling that was pronounced as those cooks who were already at work – looked cautiously at their teammate, nodded, and turned their heads back to the work in front of them. The kitchen lights are back on, deliveries arrive, the battery of ranges is fired up, and cooks (some of us) are welcomed back.

Front of House 407

Front of House Back of House Dine-in Food Truck 407

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2023

Regardless of your career choice – dependability remains a basic assumption and unless you are fully present: physically, mentally, and emotionally, then success will never happen. A few years back, I posted an article about the UNWRITTEN RULES of the kitchen. Anyway – use as you see fit.

Kitchen Safety 327

Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Food Safety 327

Sling

DECEMBER 19, 2020

An effective restaurant training program is the driving force behind your business’s success. In this article, the workforce management experts at Sling give you tips for creating a restaurant training program that really works. Restaurant Training Vs. Onboarding. Restaurant Training. Onboarding. 1) Start Small.

Training 78

Training Hiring Front of House Back of House 78

Clover - Restaurants

MAY 7, 2024

Here are a few sample back-of-house job descriptions you can use to jumpstart your own job descriptions to help attract top notch BOH staff. Lead and manage back-of-house kitchen staff, including sous chefs, line cooks, prep cooks, and dishwashers. Continuously expand culinary knowledge of techniques and best practices.

Back of House 52

Back of House BOH Kitchen Safety Front of House 52

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

This is a topic I have presented numerous times and it seems as though whenever I travel it rises to the top of my thinking. Ironically, there is always room to be great and there is plenty of room to be mediocre. The choice to be great or not so great is in the hands of the restaurateur and the folks who make a living with food.

Fine Dining 396

Fine Dining Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 396

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 20, 2021

The kitchen is a place where those who are successful come to the realization that those later aptitudes are enhanced through experience – the more you do, the better you become. Some talented people are not the best cooks and chefs and quite often the most intelligent (using commonly referred to scales of measurement) are lacking in common sense.

Front of House 425

Front of House Uniforms Back of House Kitchen Safety 425

Culinary Cues

JULY 9, 2022

It’s the start of another day in the kitchen. Seven in the morning and aside from the baker and breakfast cook, I am alone with clip board in hand and my roll bag of knives placed strategically at a workstation. Having held the position of chef for nearly 20 years, this routine was very familiar and always enjoyed.

Front of House 370

Front of House Back of House Presentation Café 370

7 Shifts

APRIL 21, 2023

These courses were bite-sized presentations that Bhushan developed from his own experience. With experience in the front and back of the house, Kam Talebi has walked a mile in both shoes. What comes to mind when you think of success in the restaurant industry? A colorful TV personality or a renowned cookbook author?

Leadership 195

Leadership Training Front of House Customer Experience 195

Foodable

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

Listen to "A Classically Trained Chef’s Journey to Making Burgers" on Spreaker. In this episode of Chef AF, I chat with Chef Paul Griffin , chief culinary officer at BurgerFi about his training, his experience of over twenty years, and his road to BurgerFi. We have a five-person team based on the 5 positions that they train.

Training 52

Training Front of House Back of House 2006 52

7 Shifts

MAY 10, 2021

If you're hiring, look at how you're presenting yourself to potential employees. On the latest episode of the 7shifts Restaurant Management & Growth Podcast, we had the opportunity to sit down with Jensen Cummings. That's not going to build a foundation. So those uninspired job posts have to go.,” says chef Jensen Cummings. says Cummings.

Hiring 370

Hiring Back of House Tip Distribution Insurance 370

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2020

General Motors would never build and equip an auto plant, hire the entire staff, and create a marketing strategy until the car they intend to build is designed, prototyped, and presented to various focus groups first. YES – the menu is that important! Why should it be any different for restaurants and their menus?

Menu 391

Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 391

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 12, 2020

It usually involves an orientation, paperwork collection, and training. Day Two Training: Learning how to do your job with a training manual, in-person classes, online learning, and shadowing. Restaurant technology training, including how to request shifts and what to do during opening and closing shifts.

FOH 307

FOH BOH Food Safety Customer Service 307

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2022

It is the season of butternut, acorn, delicata, and spaghetti squash roasting with plenty of butter and brown sugar, of roasted walnuts, pecans, and marcona almonds added to your salads, and in-house pickling finding its way onto your appetizer boards. Are you up to it? Winter is, by far my favorite season to plan menus.

Seasonal Menu 311

Seasonal Menu Front of House Presentation Menu 311

7 Shifts

DECEMBER 27, 2019

When you hire someone who doesn’t share your team’s values , no amount of training or tips will make them engaged in their work. Orientation and training ($820.96): Onboarding are training are costly and time consuming. The average restaurant employee, however, change jobs every 56 days ! Here’s how.

Hiring 360

Hiring Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 360

Culinary Cues

MAY 15, 2021

To attract and retain quality staff you must train well, treat them with respect, pay them a respectable wage, offer reasonable benefits, and provide them with the tools to be successful. 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.

Customer Experience 390

Customer Experience Cash Management Customer Service Front of House 390

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 24, 2023

For example, the host stand was custom-built to allow for multiple people to operate the front of house simultaneously and the 3,000-bottle wine cellar rises two stories high and serves as the backdrop for the school’s wine appreciation class. We also prepared a formal Schematic Design presentation for approval.

Design 167

Design Fine Dining Seasonal Menu Front of House 167

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 339

Technology Social Media Back of House Front of House 339

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

For the past six months I have been committed to an exercise regimen thanks to my Apple Watch. Closing the rings of movement, exercise, and standing has been a goal since I first strapped on the watch, a goal that consumes my attention and cannot be broken for fear that I will simply fall off the pattern if the rings fail to close for one day.

Fine Dining 319

Fine Dining Dine-in Front of House Design 319