Culinary Cues

MAY 20, 2024

He has been one of my primary motivators and reference points throughout my career in food. He would spend endless hours trying to figure out how to re-create the experience of in-house dining through home delivery. He would ask: “What are you doing to excite and inspire the next generation of cooks? ” Enough said!

Hotels 272

Hotels Fine Dining Front of House Back of House 272

Culinary Cues

APRIL 29, 2024

At a time when the desire and need for dining out has returned to 2019 levels, this seems like a counter-productive formula. While all of this “reaction” is taking place, the root cause continues to be ignored. There is a noble side to preparing and serving food. We mustn’t forget how important these aspects of the business are.

Front of House 240

Front of House Back of House Training Customer Service 240

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 10, 2024

The tables are full, and he is having a difficult time keeping up but makes a mental note to address that once the dining room clears out. Suddenly, he remembers the cobwebs and thinks: “I’ll take care of that in the morning”. Seek out the details and then prioritize corrective action. It’s never too small to worry about.

Uniforms 360

Uniforms Small Business Dine-in Training 360

Culinary Cues

JULY 23, 2023

Deep inside that crusty exterior, behind the veil of authority, underneath the hard-nosed, sometimes reactionary body of a chef lies a person who is haunted by an unrelenting need to be expressive, do things exceptionally well, and be more self-critical than any writer for the local food column will ever be.

Guest Recovery 404

Guest Recovery Seasonal Menu Presentation Customer Experience 404

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. Cookbook sales on Amazon spiked and grocery stores were challenged to keep food on their shelves. Is this the answer? have a problem Houston.

Guest Recovery 448

Guest Recovery Uniforms Point of Sale Customer Experience 448

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

There are masters to serve, people who depend on the work of the culinary professional, who trust that their food will be prepared properly, that it will be managed and handled well, and the plate viewed as an important canvas on which the technician and artist paints. You see a little out of sorts, what can I do to help?”

Employee Relations 382

Employee Relations Training Fine Dining Take-out 382

Culinary Cues

MAY 3, 2023

They are out there. 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. What will it take to get the message across? Bread is the same way.

Food Truck 467

Food Truck Customer Experience Food Supply Take-out 467

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. Maybe this is who you already are, but if not, then view these as some “food for thought” that can turn your professional life around. [] BE POSITIVE: Simple, right?

Leadership 381

Leadership Fine Dining Workshop Training 381

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

Culinary Cues

APRIL 22, 2024

It only takes a few seconds to move from being a “go along for the ride” consumer to feeling screwed. I suppose it was only inevitable that this new method of doing business would creep into restaurant and other food related businesses. Bread has always been a given. What is value to one guest may be insulting to another.

Consumer Goods 284

Consumer Goods Pricing Customer Experience Hospitality 284

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Yes, it’s true – when the Michelin Guide decided to recognize some exceptional street food vendors with Michelin Stars, they broke the barrier of snobbery noting that excellence can happen outside of traditional fine dining. It will take super-human effort, ample amounts of time, arduous training, and boat loads of cash.

Fine Dining 353

Fine Dining Front of House Dine-in 2016 353

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 5, 2023

In other words – patience and persistence – it takes time to build the skills and knowledge necessary to get to your destination. In all cases I would encourage you to take a step back, breathe deep, put down your knife, and check your enthusiasm for right now. This is where real cooking CAN take place.

Kitchen Safety 366

Kitchen Safety Food Safety Back of House Front of House 366

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The stores were empty, and restaurant service staff were staring out windows from the vantage of unfilled seats. Every restaurant knows that once a customer walks through the door a sale of food and beverage will likely result. Going out to a restaurant for lunch or dinner must be more than filling the void in our stomachs.

Customer Experience 362

Customer Experience Customer Service Food Safety Retail 362

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. It’s not easy being a chef. Don’t do it!

Seasonal Menu 353

Seasonal Menu Food Supply Training Presentation 353

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Okay, so there are certainly employers out there who probably don’t deserve good employees, and, in those situations, I can understand some level of discontent, but not to the extreme of stating that being a cook is a dead end. Invest, push yourself, learn, grow, and take a chance – this is the formula on which great careers are built.

Workshop 361

Workshop Article Uniforms Take-out 361

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. So, here are some thoughts (nothing new here, but always worth reinforcing): [] TRAIN AND DELEGATE “When will I find the time to teach anyone to be as thorough as me?” Once again, train and delegate as much as you can.

Training 326

Training Article Take-out Café 326

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 21, 2023

This the time of year to pause and reflect, to push past the challenges, the less than stellar moments, the times we would just as soon forget, and the scars from an industry that passes them out freely and give thanks for what we have. Those days and nights when our mise en place wasn’t where it should have been made us stronger.

Kitchen Safety 416

Kitchen Safety Food Safety 2024 Inventory 416

Culinary Cues

APRIL 1, 2024

Outside people went about their day, never giving mind to the effort, dichotomy of characters, hustle, stress, and complexity of what takes place in the “back of the house” at a twelve hundred room hotel. As I tied on my apron and pulled out my knife kit ready to dive in, the executive chef called me into his office.

Back of House 318

Back of House Kitchen Safety Hotels Front of House 318

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Those of us who fit this description should take the time to think about those who are not so fortunate. When you see a doctor or nurse walking towards your local hospital for another 12-hour shift, stop and say: “thanks for taking care of all who are in need”, it costs you nothing and means a great deal.

Hospitality 380

Hospitality Travel Uniforms 2024 380

Culinary Cues

MAY 12, 2022

Of course, there is a handful of masterful chefs and restaurateurs who can charge crazy prices to sold out audiences. These are the restaurants where dining is much, much more than just consuming food. If they don’t see the value, regardless of how tasty or beautiful that plate of food might be, then why would they return?

Pricing 352

Pricing Training Consumer Goods Customer Experience 352

Culinary Cues

JUNE 22, 2020

Every chef has experienced it and as a result he or she will relate to the content of this article. There are times, possibly many times, when you question your own skill – whether in cooking or presenting food, or even with the operation of a kitchen. They were one with what they played and sang. All in all – I can do the job.

Food 433

Food Presentation Leadership Café 433

Culinary Cues

APRIL 3, 2023

What does it take to be great? Of course, talent helps, but as I have pointed out many times before, talent without the commitment to feed that talent is a promise without delivery. The room is set up nicely for exercise and my routine of crunches on the slant board and a light weightlifting routine takes 18 minutes.

Seminar 472

Seminar Equipment Hiring Café 472

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 17, 2023

Others – peers, parents, or even teachers might label you as not having what it takes which was incredibly painful. If that plate of food were to carry your name and contact information, would you approach it differently? Would you take care to make sure it was prepared perfectly? Think about it. Risky, but powerful.

Uniforms 365

Uniforms Article Café Training 365

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. It’s only food to some, it is a focus on purpose for chefs.

Coaching 368

Coaching Fine Dining Café Training 368

Culinary Cues

APRIL 15, 2023

My town leaders, bless their hearts, try to figure out ways to strum up cash flow for small businesses. Cafés and Bistros should be able to dip into a cache of “extra” money to pay for the entrance fee and since it is thought that restaurants make significant profits from the food they sell, then those deep discounts will be easy to swallow.

Seasonal Menu 447

Seasonal Menu Café Point of Sale Social Media 447

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

This may seem like a strange topic for a blog focused on the restaurant industry and the world of food but hear me out. You can see it moving in and taking up lodging in our social media streams, in books that are published, articles in the news, music that is written, and a change in what we find on our televisions.

Social Media 348

Social Media Food Safety Retail Back of House 348

Culinary Cues

JULY 25, 2023

I remember returning to my office, closing the door, and taking the time to collect my thoughts before calling him in. Now, I want you to listen closely, I want you to take this in and store it in a place that can be easily accessed in the future. There are few foods more comforting than a ripe tomato from the vine.

Food Truck 342

Food Truck Reference Café Take-out 342

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. Plan, equip, train, evaluate, educate, and celebrate each and every employee.

Food Truck 319

Food Truck Back of House Education Training 319

Culinary Cues

JUNE 13, 2023

I need a job” however becomes a sense of urgency that steps away from the negative and shouts out how important a job is to your survival. They work me to the bone”, must mean that a person feels like an indentured servant with no way out. I got the job!” Of course, I could go on and on. you can do better than this’”. -Dr.

Article 308

Article Social Media Blog Café 308

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 23, 2022

Consumers visit a fast food or quick serve restaurant (QSR) with a goal in mind: secure a tasty meal incredibly quickly. Once upon a time, a frontline employee at a fast food restaurant did not necessarily need technological skills to apply for the job. Who makes the magic happen? Cashiers, cooks, and other QSR crew members.

Food 186

Food Food Safety Front of House Fast Casual 186

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 21, 2023

Beginning with a few flamboyant artisans like Jeremiah Tower, Paul Prudhomme, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters – the chef came out from behind the curtain as the star of the show, the person responsible for over-the-top food that wowed and inspired people of all socio-economic backgrounds.

Back of House 390

Back of House Food Supply Government Dine-in 390

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. “We Day one, you walk through those kitchen doors with a bit of swagger.

Uniforms 323

Uniforms Waste Café Take-out 323

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 28, 2023

I am tired of the media focusing on the stories of exception, drooling about zealous articles that point to unacceptable kitchen environments, glamorizing the negative through their “reality” shows and movies, and then following up with dramatic writing about how hard it is for restaurants to find help and survive in such a fragile marketplace.

Entertainment 363

Entertainment Back of House Consumer Goods Recruiting 363

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. I could have spent time pointing out the negative attributes of a less than stellar operation and an operator who didn’t “get it”, but as my brother-in-law told me many times: “A leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

Employee Relations 472

Employee Relations Restaurant Law Waste Article 472

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2022

That’s a load of negativity to digest – no wonder the title to this article makes some people believe that it’s true. For the Restaurateur: Are you willing to take a hard look at your business model and change how you attract, train, invest in, compensate, and evaluate your staff?

Food Supply 392

Food Supply Training Supplies Café 392

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Now consider the heat and steam that create the atmosphere where this takes place. At the end of a shift cooks are drained (not even considering the mental and emotional toll that will be addressed in subsequent articles). Cooks walk out the back door sore and exhausted only to return the next day and start the process all over again.

Article 412

Article Take-out Café Customer Service 412

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. If your direction is planned out then work can be, and will be, enjoyable and rewarding.

Kitchen Safety 324

Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Food Safety 324