Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 14, 2024

Ah…” when opportunity knocks, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket, in basketball or hockey you’ll miss every shot you don’t take, if you aren’t going all the way, why go at all,” …there are plenty of quotes that point to the same reality. This statement applies to all of us, in every situation, or any career. You might fail.

Coaching 415

Coaching Employee Relations Take-out Training 415

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Taking the time to be grateful is so refreshing. Taking the time to step away from all of that, looking up to the light and reflecting on how fortunate we are is cleansing and very, very important. It can be overwhelming, pointing us down a very dark path. Happy Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

Food Supply 409

Food Supply Uniforms Café Take-out 409

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 29, 2025

At our core (restaurant folks) we are in the business of taking care of people through food. This leads to the intent of this article. Some may view dining out as a luxury that can easily be put aside, but time and experience has demonstrated otherwise.

Dine-in 309

Dine-in Blog Article Training 309

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

Unless theres a good reason to keep them (like being a house specialty or a key part of your concept), theyre probably taking up valuable real estate on your menu. Phase Out or Rework Dogs If a dish has low sales and low profitability, it might be time to cut your losses. Dogs: Low profitability, low popularity.

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Menu Seasonal Menu Point of Sale Online Ordering 195

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 16, 2024

From washing dishes to plating the most intricate dish excellence prevails. [] NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN A DULL KNIFE Take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you. We can all agree on the power of food to unite us. [] COOKING FOR ANOTHER IS VERY PERSONAL AND MEANINGFUL Cooks put it all out there.

Employee Relations 410

Employee Relations Presentation Small Business Recruiting 410

ChowNow

APRIL 4, 2025

Online reputation management for restaurants is all about paying attention to your restaurants digital reputationand taking steps to shape that conversation. Nothing turns off a potential guest faster than calling a number thats out of service or showing up to a location thats moved. Start with the positive reviews.

Management 195

Management Management Social Media Online Ordering 195

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. What is the projected profile of cooks and chefs moving forward.

Kitchen Safety 302

Kitchen Safety Food Supply 2030 Healthcare 302

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 10, 2024

One thing stood out from what was the likely mood in public houses during the days of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson – people, in general, seemed to be enjoying themselves. So, take your moments to reflect. The noise level was high and I’m sure among those present there was some discussion about the election results.

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Front of House Back of House Sourcing Travel 433

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 2, 2024

You look around the kitchen and marvel at the amount of work that takes place each day on stainless tables, in 5 00-degree ovens, on open flames, and in dozens of pots and pans washed and rewashed countless times. You decide to walk through the kitchen during these last moments and take it all in. This is not one of those moments.

Coaching 409

Coaching Take-out Food Order Inventory 409

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

In this article, youll learn simple, practical strategies to make it happenno awkward upselling or overcomplicated tactics required. Creating a sense of urgency with time-sensitive promotions and specials encourages customers to spend more in the moment, fearing theyll miss out if they dont act fast.

Ordering 349

Ordering Online Ordering Loyalty Program Customer Experience 349

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 27, 2022

Well, keep reading this article to find out exactly how to incorporate images into your promotional emails. So make sure you either hire a professional photographer or use a high-quality in-house photographer to take pictures of your dishes. JPEG: JPEGs are low quality, but are more compressed and take up less space.

Email Marketing 508

Email Marketing Marketing SEO Social Media 508

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Nearly nine years ago, during the first twelve months of Harvest America Cues blog, one of my articles went viral attracting almost 40,000 views in one day. The article struck a nerve with its focus on A Cook’s Kitchen Laws. Since then, more than 100,000 people have read and shared that article.

Coaching 447

Coaching Restaurant Law Training Article 447

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 24, 2025

" To learn more about the courses and induction cooking methods, Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) reached out to Chef Chris Galarza, Founder of Forward Dining Solutions LLC and Co-founder of EcoChef, who assisted in Chatham’s induction conversion and who helped design Chatham’s ACF courses.

Sustainability 448

Sustainability Food Equipment Design 448

ChowNow

MARCH 7, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How to optimize your Google Business Profile to boost visibility and credibility. Fortunately, you can take steps to improve your ranking and that first critical step is filling out your Google Business Profile. Follow these steps: Stay calm and professional: Dont take it personally or argue.

SEO 195

SEO Online Ordering Mobile Ordering Website Management 195

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

A spike in food costs, a drop in sales volume, or one slow season can wipe out months of hard work. Thats what you actually take home. You can pull in millions of dollars a year and still struggle to stay open if your costs are out of control. Without it, one bad month can wipe out three good ones.

Point of Sale 195

Point of Sale Insurance Fast Casual Customer Service 195

ChowNow

APRIL 11, 2025

The last time you tried a new restaurant, what steps did you take before you walked through their doors? A study out of Berkeley found that a half-star improvement on Yelps five-star rating scale makes a restaurant 30% to 49% more likely to be fully booked during peak hours. Did you scroll through the online reviews first?

Online Ordering 195

Online Ordering Social Media Customer Service Customer Experience 195

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

Valentine’s Day is often a busy time for restaurants, but many are now dealing with various challenges amid the pandemic, like no indoor dining or limited capacity as well as more customers opting for carry out. With the Marketing Rule of 7 , it takes an average of seven interactions with a brand before a purchase takes place.

Marketing 553

Marketing Email Marketing Website Management Social Media 553

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Every restaurant and restaurateur are struggling to figure it out how am I going to make this work? Theres plenty of fear and loathing going on in the restaurant business. Where does this leave the restaurant experience and the societal role they have played for generations? Is this our future a place we want to be?

Fine Dining 242

Fine Dining Food Supply Customer Service Recruiting 242

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 13, 2020

Still taking payments the old fashion way? Worse, paper menus don’t give you the ability to change things on the fly when food items run out. Once reserved for the Fortune 500, the democratization of AI makes it possible for businesses of all sizes to take advantage of its benefits. You may want to consider changing.

Customer Experience 596

Customer Experience Food Safety Food Supply Technology 596

ChowNow

MAY 30, 2025

A calm, thoughtful response shows that you take feedback seriously, care about your guests dining experience, and are committed to improvement. Do: Acknowledge Swiftly and with Empathy When someone leaves a bad review, theyre not just pointing out a flaw; theyre saying, I expected better. And speed matters.

Operations 195

Operations Customer Experience Customer Service Dine-in 195

ChowNow

MAY 9, 2025

In this article, you will learn: The five most important restaurant costs to track and manage Easy strategies for controlling food costs and labor costs Tactics to save money without hurting your guest experience Lets start with the big picture and learn where your money is actually going. Scales ensure every dish is exactly the same.

Operations 195

Operations Email Marketing Food Supply Seasonal Menu 195

Culinary Cues

APRIL 14, 2025

He ran a restaurant in Tijuana where out of necessity one night, he put together the famous salad with the ingredients on hand. And, of course, the development of Eggs Benedict can be found in far too many bits of lore taking credit for this centerpiece of brunch and breakfast menus from coast to coast. Food for thought.

Fine Dining 339

Fine Dining Seasonal Menu Travel Presentation 339

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 8, 2020

The article below covers some of the factors you should consider in your social media strategy – including what to look for when choosing the right social media platform for your restaurant’s marketing strategy. Twitter, for example, is perfect for sharing news articles, quotes, and other bite-sized pieces of information.

Social Media 520

Social Media Advertising Customer Service Article 520

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 16, 2021

Looking back on my last few articles, I have focused on facts, on technology and on the hard time that we are all having hiring staff. They remind us not only that there are great people out there, but also that many of them work for us! When the chef and general manager found this out, they immediately jumped into action.

Front of House 520

Front of House Cash Management Back of House Hiring 520

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 21, 2023

Taking proactive measures and having plans in place will allow your business to react quickly to help minimize the impact of an emergency. Let us pass on the knowledge and expertise that we have gained in our 100+ years in the insurance business, so you can take a few things off your plate – and gain peace of mind.

2024 474

2024 Kitchen Safety Cash Management Insurance 474

Culinary Cues

MARCH 21, 2025

The lesson of course is that you never know where ideas will take you, but the process is one that provides an opportunity for a great one to take form. A simple idea built out of anger at a customer that evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Crum sliced potatoes extremely thin, fried them to a crisp.

Hotels 267

Hotels Back of House Customer Service Entertainment 267

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 10, 2022

Nobody has time for that when there is a crowded dining room, to-go orders flying out the window and customers complaining about their favorite menu items going up in price. We’re going to park this one here until a little later in this article. Take food cost management for instance. Are you doing anything with that data?

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Supplies Food Supply Audits Inventory 493

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 14, 2022

As I sat down to write this article, all I could think about was how the foodservice industry is so vital to our daily lives. And with the industry taking so many hits over the last few years, how are restaurants supposed to make it through these tough times? When we don’t want to cook, we call our favorite restaurant.

Technology 539

Technology Information Take-out Inventory 539

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

To get the timing right, you need to send out emails at strategic moments, such as: After a first order: Send a welcome email thanking the customer, followed by a series of other emails reminding them to order again and then other ways they can place orders with your restaurant.

Ordering 195

Ordering Email Marketing Social Media Online Ordering 195

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 474

Food Truck Customer Experience Take-out Food Supply 474

ChowNow

JANUARY 23, 2025

At this point, all it takes is one lousy dining experience to sever the connection you once had with a customer who potentially spent thousands of dollars at your restaurant every year. Its significantly more cost-effective to keep your regulars walking through the door than it is to get a new customer every time you take an order.

2025 195

2025 Loyalty Program Operations Email Marketing 195

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 7, 2021

If we see the challenge as something that has an answer if we take the time to really push our problem-solving skills, then a solution will eventually present itself. Let’s take one possible cause that is not on everyone’s radar: nurturing real interest in a restaurant career early on. Challenges solved. We can do this.

Social Media 474

Social Media Cash Management Blog Equipment 474

ChowNow

APRIL 11, 2025

To really get the most out of your tablets, you need to be strategic about how you choose them, use them, and train your staff. Before you spend the money and roll out a dozen new tablets across your front of house and kitchen, its worth asking: Are these things actually built for the job? Clean, simple, and way less stressful.

Front of House 195

Front of House Allergens Online Ordering Back of House 195

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Third-party delivery apps start out as a convenient way to reach new customers, but they always take a significant chunk of your profits. Offer Incentives for Direct Orders Changing customer habits takes time, but you can speed up the process by offering valuable incentives. But how do you get diners to change their habits?

Ordering 195

Ordering Email Marketing Online Ordering Social Media 195

ChowNow

MARCH 27, 2025

In this article, youll learn: The 10 KPIs for online food delivery every restaurant should monitor Why these metrics matter to your business How to track and improve them Lets dive into the KPIs that can make or break your online delivery strategy. This eliminates the chance of human error and ensures orders move straight to the kitchen.

Delivery 195

Delivery Online Ordering Loyalty Program Food 195

ChowNow

MAY 2, 2025

Running a restaurant is one of the most rewardingyet riskyventures out there. Lets take a closer look at the leading causes of restaurant failure and see how you can avoid making the same mistakes at your restaurant. Before you do anything like sign a lease or hire your wait staff, take the time to do real market research.

Email Marketing 195

Email Marketing Social Media Cash Management Leadership 195

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

In fact, its going to be a lot easier than you think, and there are steps you can take starting today that will give you real results by tomorrow. Optimize Your Website and Online Ordering Experience If your restaurants website isnt easy to use, youre probably losing out on online orders. Next, take a look at your menu.

Online Ordering 195

Online Ordering Ordering Email Marketing Mobile Ordering 195