Culinary Cues

MARCH 10, 2025

There is an appeal there pointing to the frenzy, intensity, preciseness, and organized chaos of chefs and restaurants vying for public attention. Here are the reasons: [] ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The typical free-standing restaurant cannot afford, nor do they need the structure of a full kitchen brigade.

Hotels 372

Hotels Fine Dining Healthcare Seasonal Menu 372

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 27, 2025

In today's digital landscape, restaurants have become prime targets for cybercriminals who take advantage of potential entry points from point-of-sale systems, online ordering platforms, customer databases, loyalty programs and third-party delivery services. Consider the alarming pattern over the past three years.

Insurance 283

Insurance Document Employee Relations 2023 283

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Seamless restaurant operations, where the crew anticipates customers’ and coworkers’ needs and easily course-corrects, require more than technical know-how and vetted organizational systems. In this article, I’ll share those tips so you can hire people who will excel in the role and not only fill it.

Hiring 419

Hiring Leadership Customer Service Customer Experience 419

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 24, 2025

"This initiative reflects a growing industry trend toward aligning business practices with global sustainability goals, ensuring that graduates are prepared to lead the way in transforming the culinary and design landscapes for a sustainable future." Most restaurants are operating on the razor thin margin of 3%-5%.

Sustainability 448

Sustainability Food Equipment Design 448

Culinary Cues

APRIL 7, 2025

We (those who have invested decades in the business already) may complain about the current labor environment and question the level of commitment from a younger pool of candidates but I have rarely heard anyone attempt to define how it will all wash out. We all have a role to play in making sure that this happens, but I am confident it will.

Kitchen Safety 302

Kitchen Safety Food Supply 2030 Healthcare 302

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

Many restaurant operators have misconceptions about average order volume (AOV) and how it works, making statements like: I need more customers to make more money. or That sounds like something for big chains, not a small independent restaurant like mine. Increase Your Restaurants Average Order Volume (AOV) 1.

Ordering 349

Ordering Online Ordering Loyalty Program Customer Experience 349

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 14, 2024

I look to all the properties I am connected to, all the chefs that I know, all the businesses that are pushing to grow, and even the ones that are teetering on the cliff of potential failure and note one common challenge they face: they can’t find the right people to move them forward.

Coaching 415

Coaching Employee Relations Take-out Training 415

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

Respectable restaurants either bake their own or invest the time to find an exceptional resource for this essential ingredient in the dining experience. It is a cacophony of sound that blends into a piece of music that is timeless and inspiring. Total utilization of every part of the animal shows respect for their sacrifice.

Food 414

Food Front of House Point of Sale Back of House 414

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

Sitting in a neighborhood restaurant after the recent election I was struck by the balancing act that food establishments have played for hundreds of years. We (restaurants) have been there to help through wars, economic uncertainty, religious conflict, natural disasters, changes in power, pandemics, and all types of uncertainty.

Front of House 433

Front of House Back of House Sourcing Travel 433

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Theres plenty of fear and loathing going on in the restaurant business. Every restaurant and restaurateur are struggling to figure it out how am I going to make this work? This is true for every business. Whats going on, how do restaurants overcome this problem? Wages have gone up still no one is biting.

Fine Dining 242

Fine Dining Food Supply Customer Service Recruiting 242

ChowNow

MARCH 7, 2025

Its the number one way customers discover new restaurants and if your business isnt showing up in the search results, youre losing diners to competitors who are. Local restaurant SEO is the best way to attract new customers, and its easier than you thinkyou dont need to be a technical expert to start seeing real results.

SEO 195

SEO Online Ordering Mobile Ordering Website Management 195

ChowNow

APRIL 4, 2025

When someone searches for your restaurant online, what do they see? Whether you like it or not, your restaurants online reputation is shaping first impressions long before a guest walks through your doors or even places an order. Think of it as hospitality beyond the walls of your restaurant. And those impressions matter.

Management 195

Management Management Social Media Online Ordering 195

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Read any article enumerating the current or emerging trends in restaurants and retail and you will see ideas of health and wellness, environmental sustainability, and brand authenticity coming to the fore. But is B Corp certification something restaurants should pursue? Green Restaurant and Slow Food were others we considered.

Certification 221

Certification Fast Casual Government Front of House 221

Culinary Cues

MAY 1, 2025

Some may view it as a threat to business viability while a few will see it as the driver that helps everyone improve. Of course, if, in this case, too many restaurants open before the marketplace has a chance to catch up, then failure rates will increase regardless of how operators respond. Can there be too much competition?

Fine Dining 352

Fine Dining Innovation Consumer Goods Customer Service 352

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Dont waste time. [] ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL Talk with any kitchen employee or restaurant worker and they will likely reflect on the importance of being part of a team. Maybe I tend to quote Bourdain too much, but he comes from a real place. This is the missing ingredient in so many guest experiences.

Employee Relations 410

Employee Relations Presentation Small Business Recruiting 410

The Rail

JANUARY 21, 2025

By Bailey Ramsey, Contributor Food waste is a critical issue in the restaurant industry. To put this in perspective, restaurants waste anywhere between 4% to 10% of the food they purchase. Predicting Customer Demand Accurately One of the leading causes of food waste in restaurants is overproduction.

Waste 182

Waste Compost Recycling Food 182

Culinary Cues

MARCH 16, 2025

I know youre busy. Businesses shut down and those that were open pushed for remote relationships with their staff. Restaurants didnt know how to react. Restaurants didnt know how to react. How can we stay in business when customers have no interest in leaving their homes? Think back to March of 2020.

Food Supply 232

Food Supply Customer Service Delivery Recruiting 232

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 4, 2021

Finding a restaurant today is typically accomplished by typing in search terms like “Italian restaurant near me.” ” From there, the majority of people look at only the top three to six results served up by Google and other search engines to select their restaurant of choice.

SEO 577

SEO Website Management Online Ordering Mobile Ordering 577

Culinary Cues

MAY 12, 2025

Wrapped with care in parchment paper, sealed with a stamp that embraces your logo, include an information sheet that outlines the source of ingredients, the history of your restaurant, and what goes into bringing this sandwich to the guest. Choose your oven wisely. Travel and experience what others have worked with for decades.

Fine Dining 348

Fine Dining Seasonal Menu Front of House White Paper 348

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 27, 2024

Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea Restaurant is considered a contemporary culinary genius who stretches the imagination and interprets food preparations as if they originated on a different planet. A simple entrée, found in most any restaurant in America. Once you adopt a philosophy of excellence, it will become your signature. Be excellent!

Training 417

Training Coaching Uniforms Café 417

Culinary Cues

APRIL 22, 2025

As Bourdain once stated (and I paraphrase here) Everything important that I know I learned washing dishes in a restaurant. To this end, those differences are not viewed as an impediment but rather a strength of the kitchen and the restaurant. The kitchen is a melting pot ecosystem that is best when viewed as a sum of the parts.

Employee Relations 355

Employee Relations Reference Influencer Education 355

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER Harvest America Ventures, LLC Restaurant Consulting www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG (Over 900 articles about the business and people of food) CAFÉ Talks Podcast [link] More than 90 interviews with the most influential people in food Happy Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

Food Supply 409

Food Supply Uniforms Café Take-out 409

ChowNow

JUNE 12, 2025

There’s one problem every restaurant owner is trying to solve: how to increase restaurant sales without spending money on expensive ads or giving up huge chunks of profits to third-party apps. Add bold, well-placed “Order Now” buttons on your restaurant website , social media platforms, and even your Google Business Profile.

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Social Media Email Marketing Online Ordering 195

Culinary Cues

MARCH 31, 2025

PLAN BETTER TRAIN HARDER Work Hard and be Kind Dick Cattani Harvest America Ventures, LLC Restaurant Consulting www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG (Over 900 articles about the business and people of food) CAF Talks Podcast [link] More than 90 interviews with the most influential people in food Make more music.

Consumer Goods 448

Consumer Goods Transportation Small Business Take-out 448

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

You can't scroll news sites without seeing more articles about inflation, but was does it mean for restaurants? Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine quizzed expert Kathryn Petralia, co-founder of Kabbage, an American Express Company, for her analysis on what restaurants owners need to understand about inflation.

Cash Management 518

Cash Management Food Supply Seasonal Menu Social Media 518

Culinary Cues

MAY 22, 2025

Twelve years have come and gone, the blog has topped 2 million views through 975 articles on every culinary/management topic imaginable, and I have had the honor of working with more than fifty different clients from coast-to-coast restaurants, hotels, resorts, culinary colleges, and commodity boards.

2025 238

2025 Food 2013 Education 238

ChowNow

JUNE 6, 2025

An “About Us” page for a restaurant website is almost always written as an afterthought, or was created so long ago, it no longer reflects the restaurant’s personality or values. A well-written restaurant About Us page builds trust, sparks curiosity, and even helps you show up higher in search results.

Social Media 195

Social Media Fine Dining Front of House Customer Experience 195

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

When you decided to open a restaurant, you probably didnt picture yourself glued to spreadsheets or tracking the price of eggs, but keeping an eye on the numbers is how you stay open year after year. The truth is that the average restaurant profit margin is razor-thin, leaving almost no room for error. added up to $60,000.

Point of Sale 195

Point of Sale Insurance Fast Casual Customer Service 195

Culinary Cues

MAY 22, 2025

For decades I have listened to cooks, service staff, and even restaurant managers complain about the business that provides their weekly paycheck. So, YES, the business of food is faced with challenges that impact those who work in kitchens but try to understand that the underlying benefits outweigh those challenges.

Food Truck 296

Food Truck Sports Education Influencer 296

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How to improve your restaurants visibility so more people discover you Engagement strategies that turn first-time visitors into repeat customers Practical marketing tactics to fill more tables and increase takeout orders Here are eight strategies proven to attract more customers to your restaurant.

2025 195

2025 Email Marketing Social Media Loyalty Program 195

ChowNow

JUNE 6, 2025

77% of diners go online to research a restaurant before deciding where to eat. And of that group, 68% said they were discouraged from going to a restaurant because they didn’t like what they saw. Whatever it is, your restaurant’s online presence is shaping the decision of whether or not they’ll place an order.

Social Media 195

Social Media Email Marketing Online Ordering Website Management 195

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How to educate customers on why direct ordering matters Simple incentives to encourage direct orders Ways to streamline and promote your direct ordering system Lets explore the best ways to shift customer behavior and grow your direct ordering sales. But how do you get diners to change their habits?

Ordering 195

Ordering Email Marketing Online Ordering Social Media 195

ChowNow

MARCH 27, 2025

If youre one of the thousands of restaurants that added online food delivery in recent years, you might be wondering: is it actually helping my business grow? The only way to know for sure is by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive business growth.

Delivery 195

Delivery Online Ordering Loyalty Program Food 195

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

The story made me think about what I did for a living and my zest for cooking delicious food, traveling to special parts of the world, working and dining in great restaurants, learning from exceptional chefs, enjoying incredible wines from the hands of vintners, harvesters, and wine makers.

Back of House 386

Back of House Travel Government Education 386

Culinary Cues

APRIL 10, 2025

As a 15-year-old I had no business thinking about becoming a chef, but I did. As a still very young 27-year-old with a few chef and manager gigs under my belt, I had no business thinking about becoming a culinary teacher, but I did and spent 30 years growing into that role.

Travel 350

Travel 2025 Blog Food Order 350

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 22, 2025

Have you ever wondered why restaurant renovations are so costly and often delayed? A National Restaurant Association study found that 46 percent of restaurant owners have had to foot budget-busting renovations because of poor planning or miscommunication. Usually, unexpected design challenges leave owners frustrated.

Design 221

Design Technology Fine Dining Fast Casual 221

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 15, 2022

As payments evolve, consumers adapt and restaurants must meet them there. Big-name businesses have immersed themselves into the world of crypto, including PayPal, MasterCard, Microsoft and Overstock. And while some restaurants have yet to accept digital currencies, many are placing crypto on the menu. Why the Crypto Craze?

Food Supply 592

Food Supply Point of Sale Supplies Food Safety 592