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.

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Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023

He brought his assignment to the chef before suiting up for work. Chef, I completed your assignment and met with the three chefs.” “So, Chefs Daniel, Pierre, and Deborah all began, like me, in high school as dishwashers. The chef nodded. After a couple years she moved back here as the chef of her current operation.

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Back of House Hotels Uniforms Certification 265

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.

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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.

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Uniforms Airlines Fine Dining Food Order 463

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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 800 articles and counting). PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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Influencer Fine Dining Travel Book 346

Culinary Cues

MAY 8, 2023

It sounded like an appropriate title for an article about life in the kitchen. Of course, I’m sure many other professionals, in a variety of disciplines, have had their share of those challenging days at work, but I sense not many have worked through the steady flow of consecutive back and mind breaking moments like a chef.

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 29, 2024

If you’re a chef from my generation then you likely have concerns over the changing landscape in the kitchen. Chefs lament over a time when cooking was a giving craft, not one focus on what the cook received in return. Many chefs somehow remember those as the glory days – the reason they chose the path of the French knife and apron.

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Kitchen Safety Guest Recovery Uniforms Food Safety 381

Culinary Cues

APRIL 1, 2024

Chefs are often nostalgic. It is also those times that built our character, our confidence, and our reputation as a chef who is well seasoned. As an evening sous chef for the operation, I expected to be insanely busy trying to juggle all these different events. In line with my usual response, I said: “Yes, Chef – what’s up?”

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Back of House Kitchen Safety Hotels Front of House 318

Restaurant Clicks

OCTOBER 19, 2021

Many chefs seem to flock to this MId Atlantic City and they quickly find out that you cannot run a mediocre restaurant to stand out. The next time you are considering your dining destination, try something different, and choose based on the chef versus the cuisine. The Top Chefs in D.C. Washington, D.C. Check out my list below!

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Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Here are eleven to consider: COMMIT TO LEARNING: Read articles, food history books, professional cookbooks, stories of chefs with their words of wisdom (see list at end of this article), volunteer to work with accomplished chefs after hours, ask for additional responsibilities that provide a chance to learn something new.

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Workshop Article Uniforms Take-out 361

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 24, 2023

The very thing that makes a complex kitchen environment work is the same thing that drives non-culinary folks away from professional chefs. Everything has a place, and everything is in its place, is a mantra that becomes an obsession with cooks and chefs. Order is one thing that the chef must hold on to.

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Back of House Front of House Food Order Uniforms 407

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

I see it through the eyes of the operator, the chef, the cook, server, and customer – it is a virus that continues to spread and grow exponentially. Every day should be an opportunity for each employee to grow, learn, and improve through teaching and training.

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Culinary Cues

AUGUST 21, 2023

PART TWO: The Era of the Chef: Ah, now things really changed. The once restaurateur-centric restaurant was about to become chef-centric. Seemingly happening overnight – the chef went from a behind the scenes after-thought to a celebrity. People traveled cross country to experience these chef extravaganzas.

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 15, 2024

As the chef of a busy restaurant, I know emotions in the kitchen will be high and the focus on food will be challenged by the anxiety felt by cooks hoping their team will make it to the next round. Jake turns and responds: “Yo, chef, I’m all set, in position, and on the line of scrimmage.” What’s up chef! I respond in kind. “No

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Front of House Food Order Back of House Café 248

EATER

JANUARY 23, 2023

Joules Garcia /Eater Pastry chefs may be leaving restaurants, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the profession For the last several years, I’ve noticed a terrifying trend: Major magazines and food publications say that pastry chefs are going extinct. As a pastry chef myself, this is bad news, to say the least.

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Restaurant Law Back of House Small Business 2009 101

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

Chefs know how to play it safe; cooks understand what it means to stick to the basics, and many customers do like to embrace predictability. The most creative, thrilling, energy packed, inspired chefs can shake things up BECAUSE they eat, drink, and sleep the fundamentals, the SAFE part of cooking. Is there anything wrong with this?

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Culinary Cues

APRIL 10, 2023

If I were the outlier who simply was fortunate (or plain lucky) then I would be remiss in writing this article. However, I know hundreds of cooks and chefs who would agree with me when I proclaim that this is a wonderful business with limitless opportunities.

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Culinary Cues

APRIL 9, 2024

Look out chef – I’m coming for your job! The sous chef takes you around and introduces you to the team – a team of very serious cooks with blazing fast and accurate knife skills, immaculate workstations, impeccable organization, and a look of complete control. So, your answer was quick and positive: “Yes, Chef. Embrace it.

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Uniforms Waste Café Take-out 323

Culinary Cues

APRIL 22, 2024

How can a chef set the stage for a dining experience if restaurants continue to look at everything as an extra charge. The a ’la carte model lacks an understanding of how people perceive value and how the chef desires to create enjoyable experience and focus on a way to attract return guests. Value is a very personal consideration.

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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. Is it culinary school, working in well-known restaurants, finding an established chef to mentor them, or is it something else entirely?

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Hotels Point of Sale Cash Management Training 426

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 19, 2023

How many inner musicians, writers, athletes, teachers, entrepreneurs, cooks, chefs, and restaurateurs never rise to the surface because they were never recognized, encouraged, trained, taught, or given the opportunity? This need not be limited to in-house chefs and managers – it might include guest chefs, vendors, wine makers, farmers, etc.

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 20, 2024

Chefs know how to plan the right combinations to maximize the experience and that is exactly how an entrée should be offered. When we look at vegetables as a ’la carte only then we degrade the value of the meal and the skill of the chef. Variety on the plate helps to frame in the entrée and enhance the experience of eating.

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Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 11, 2022

If you are a cook who is happy working just for a paycheck – more power to you, but you can probably save some time and not read this article. Over 800 articles about the business and people of food). BEING A COOK IS MORE THAN THE PROCESS OF COOKING. Study how they work, why they are so committed, and how they approach their work.

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Leadership Fine Dining Workshop Training 381

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 3, 2022

The sous chef, Carl, smiles when I walk to my office: “Mornin chef -another dreary day in the neighborhood.” Here you go chef, coffees on the way.” I pull on my chef coat and say: “Thanks Emmett”. Morning, chef.”. He finished signing the invoice and said: “Everything’s good today chef, except for the raspberries.

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Back of House Hotels Front of House Book 337

Sante

JULY 6, 2020

” During his time at Lark Creek Steak in San Francisco, Chef Jeremy Bearman found that replacing the loin lamb chops on his menu with shanks actually increased sales. Bearman, like many chefs around the country, has learned that so-called lesser lamb cuts often mean more value for the restaurant.

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2023

Time check – 5:15, the chef just walked through, tasted sauces, and reviewed mise. The sous chef is set at the expeditor station, ready with fresh herb garnishes, gaufrette potatoes, fried leeks, and delicate finishing sauces. The response: “25, chef”. Over 800 articles about the business and people of food).

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Fine Dining Back of House Front of House Food Order 460

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2023

A few years back, I posted an article about the UNWRITTEN RULES of the kitchen. The article was my first to go viral allowing me to realize that so many chefs and cooks were looking for a structure that defines what it means to be a professional. Anyway – use as you see fit. Don’t let them down.

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Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 30, 2023

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. These are the operations that cooks are proud to work in, chefs are inspired to lead, restaurateurs are excited to own, and guests are enthusiastic about supporting.

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Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

I was reading an article from the blog: www.blog.cheapism.com titled: “33 of the oldest chefs in America”, when that flame of nostalgia kicked in. At first, I thought isn’t it great that these incredible chefs and ambassadors for cuisine in America were still doing what they love at the age of 62-85? PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 4, 2023

Chefs, like those listed above are beaten up, stressed out, pressured, critiqued, and second-guessed throughout their careers, so why in the world do many continue to hang on past a reasonable point in their lives. So, what gives? Why is it so hard to step back and relax? A good thing never ends.

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Culinary Cues

MARCH 22, 2023

No longer involved in the company she sold, Chef Silverton, is owner and operator of Mozza Restaurant where exceptional Northern Italian dishes are highlighted on the menu. The best cup of coffee, best omelet, best burger, best barbeque, or most outstanding steak is the carrot dangling in front of every chef or cook.

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Culinary Cues

JUNE 7, 2023

If you’re reading this article, it’s because you have suffered from the ill effects of stress on the job. You’re a chef – stress goes with the job – right! Chefs live on the edge of chaos every day. Chefs impose this scheduling on themselves. You had an attack of anxiety called a panic attack. Know that you are not alone.

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Culinary Cues

MARCH 3, 2021

Well, to a significant degree chefs have been working on blind faith for decades. Chefs and restaurateurs need the freedom to “do what they like” and find success in terms of restaurant profitability, life balance, happy guests, and fulfilled employees. BLIND FAITH. This is the restaurant world that must change – and it will.

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Culinary Cues

JUNE 16, 2023

Shawn wanted to become a chef! I think, this is what you were destined to do, and I know someday you will become a chef in a great restaurant. I never told you, but at the peak of my career I was the chef in a four-star hotel with a team of two dozen cooks. Chef Pierre referred to him as the house roundsman.

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