7 Shifts

JANUARY 31, 2024

Managing a restaurant is a delicate routine—if we can even call it a routine. Managers are responsible for nearly every aspect of the restaurant and have to cover a variety of duties. Table of Contents: The main duties and responsibilities of a restaurant manager What is a restaurant manager’s daily routine?

Management 195

Management Management Kitchen Safety Front of House 195

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2021

Sometimes the change curve can be mapped out allowing ample time to gear up with new skills, new products, new methods of production, and a laser focused marketing strategy, while on occasion, something environmental takes place that forces a more immediate response. Such is the case in 2021.

2021 474

2021 Social Media Kitchen Safety Restaurant Law 474

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 7, 2021

Identifying problems has never been a challenge in the restaurant industry – there are many. 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. Making the effort to solve those problems is another story.

Social Media 474

Social Media Cash Management Blog Equipment 474

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. The unpredictable schedules, excessive hours, disfunction of management, inadequate facilities, meager pay scales, and lack of benefits are real.

Food Truck 296

Food Truck Sports Education Influencer 296

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

THE LAW: It may be the responsibility of the cook to constantly enhance his or her skill set, but it is the chef who must create an environment of learning and provide the tools for others to gain knowledge and skill. [] The Ambassador for the Kitchen. THE LAW: First and foremost – the restaurant must be profitable!

Restaurant Law 450

Restaurant Law Coaching Café Sourcing 450

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 19, 2020

But we don’t often take the time to stop and pay attention to the intellect of the cook and the broader skills that few careers can boast. Great cooks and chefs are highly intellectual individuals who are challenged to apply those skills and aptitudes every day. Performance Management : If someone can get it wrong, they will.

Restaurant Law 450

Restaurant Law Communication Café Take-out 450

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 27, 2023

One of the dilemmas restaurateurs’ face is the approach taken with the management and delivery of a restaurant concept and menu. To make it simple, the restaurant can choose to be either chef centric or restaurant centric. In a restaurant centric operation, the standards are what defines the restaurant.

Hiring 449

Hiring Training Pricing Presentation 449

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. Maybe you picked up quickly on the restaurant menu and what was demanded of your station on the line, or as a second semester student you are feeling underchallenged and certain that you can handle anything.

Kitchen Safety 446

Kitchen Safety Food Safety Back of House Front of House 446

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 9, 2021

The goal of every restaurant and every chef is to create memorable experiences for the guest. Chefs, managers, and owners should live by a simple rule – “If you are not serving the guest directly then it is your job to serve those who are.” It is, and must be, a team effort. This is essential as a team building process.

Front of House 474

Front of House Customer Experience Dine-in Training 474

Culinary Cues

MAY 13, 2023

Is it culinary school, working in well-known restaurants, finding an established chef to mentor them, or is it something else entirely? Oftentimes these properties boast a few a ’la carte restaurants, room service, special property events, banquets, weddings, buffets, and three meals a day in at least one of their outlets.

Hotels 505

Hotels Point of Sale Cash Management Training 505

Culinary Cues

APRIL 29, 2022

Whatever you want to achieve, and whatever position you seek: Restaurant Chef, Research Chef, Personal Chef, Restaurateur, Food and Beverage Director, Teacher, Author, Consultant, or Product Developer are all within your reach. Do you want to be a chef some day in a high-volume family style restaurant? Yes, this is ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

Influencer 448

Influencer Small Business Book Take-out 448

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 18, 2022

The difference is a culmination of knowledge, skill, experience, confidence, and preparation. Each of those factors: knowledge, skill, experience, confidence, and preparation are part of a cook’s mise en place. If you have worked for any length of time in restaurants, then you have been there.

Food Order 473

Food Order Customer Experience Hiring Café 473

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

My parents were convinced that I needed a college education and without any other indication of a potential career other than “I would really like to be in a band”, they pushed me from the baseline of kitchen helper to maybe try your hand at hotel management. Decision-making is ever present and comes at the cook in an instant.

Back of House 473

Back of House Reference Presentation Mobile Ordering 473

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. What rules or laws are most significant for them and how might their commitment to them impact on those workhorse cooks, dishwashers, restaurant servers, and the like?

Coaching 447

Coaching Restaurant Law Article Training 447

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Working in a restaurant is something more than 11 million people in the United States do. It's one of the most hands-on jobs you can have - and equips employees with an abundance of restaurant skills as a result. Plus tips for writing a killer restaurant resume to get the position in the first place. Table of Contents.

Front of House 370

Front of House Back of House Kitchen Safety Food Safety 370

7 Shifts

AUGUST 15, 2022

Are you a restaurant owner looking for question to ask potential candidates? Check out this blog and video on the top 9 interview questions to ask as an owner. There are a lot of jobs available in the restaurant industry. Restaurant Interview Questions and Answers [PDF]. Table of Contents. Common Interview Questions.

Customer Experience 397

Customer Experience Website Management Hiring Back of House 397

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

It is the team behind the chef that makes a successful restaurant; it is the team that executes the chef’s vision; and it is the team’s focus that allows the chef’s cost consciousness to result in a financially successful operation. Every restaurant, of every level is finding it increasingly difficult to build a team with lasting power.

Loyalty Program 582

Loyalty Program Communication Training Coaching 582

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

” Jack Welch Welch, the visionary past CEO of General Electric points to the most important role of a leader (chef, manager, restaurant owner) which is to develop their staff, to mentor them, to teach and train, and feed their passion until they match or even surpass your own abilities. This is the sign of true leadership.

Consumer Goods 290

Consumer Goods Presentation Leadership Dine-in 290

Culinary Cues

APRIL 10, 2023

To some it may simply seem like the squeaky wheel syndrome (a handful of people with loud voices) as dialogue about exodus from the restaurant business continues to raise eyebrows. There are, unfortunately some restaurants who fit the accusations. To some degree it is a result of perceptions left unchecked, but not in every case.

Employee Relations 520

Employee Relations Restaurant Law Waste Article 520

Culinary Cues

MAY 2, 2020

Never lose sight of the fact that you have a significant skill set that can be relied on. Your skills are why you are in the position that you currently hold. Fall back on those skills and many of the in the moment crisis situations will find their match. [] REFLECT ON YOUR EXPERIENCES. You are not alone.

Take-out 389

Take-out Training Transportation Customer Experience 389

Culinary Cues

MAY 8, 2023

If a chef can manage a week or two here or there it will be at that rare time when business is off and even then, chefs are checking their email a few times a day to see what crisis is occurring while they try to relax. A 34-hour work week is unthinkable, a 60 – 80-hour workweek is more like it.

Kitchen Safety 492

Kitchen Safety Food Safety Coaching Training 492

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 27, 2020

To Meta Bofinger, owner of the Blue Gentian Restaurant in Saranac Lake, who told me that the flavor of the food you prepare is influenced by the love that you have for the craft and the appreciation you have for the guest. Of course, my culinary skills improved immensely during the process. I took his advice.

Influencer 493

Influencer Hotels Education Hiring 493

Culinary Cues

MAY 4, 2022

Your chef instructors dedicated themselves to passing on the knowledge and skills that you will need to reach for your goals; knowledge and skills that took them a career to acquire. You need to approach every position, and every day with this realization and then work on building that portfolio of skills and knowledge.

2022 447

2022 Education Coaching Kitchen Safety 447

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 12, 2021

The trials and tribulations associated with the restaurant business are many – it is not an endeavor for the faint of heart. I have occasionally been asked what is the composite skill set of the chef or what should a graduate of a culinary program be able to do? www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Restaurant Law 470

Restaurant Law Education Definition Social Media 470

Culinary Cues

MAY 28, 2022

Restaurants are very much like families, sometimes dysfunctional, but still family. The kitchen is where we put our acquired skills to the test from simple knife work to mastering the foundational cooking methods and building sophisticated palates. In both cases, there is a high level of stress in restaurant work. Bob Ehrlich.

Front of House 421

Front of House Back of House Small Business Employee Relations 421

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 28, 2021

This is not an automatic process; it requires a number of skills that are built over time. Over time they developed foundational skills that would allow them to progress up through various brigade positions. Sitting later with the dining room manager you wear the hat of orchestrator of the dining experience. CAFE Talks Podcast.

Kitchen Safety 473

Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Back of House 473

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 18, 2021

Buying a home without researching what is available, how that location fits your life situation, and how you will manage paying for that home can weigh heavy on your shoulders. So – you are a young (or not so young) person who loves food, enjoys restaurants, and finds the media depiction of becoming a chef to be exciting and rewarding.

Customer Experience 450

Customer Experience Blog Café Education 450

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 29, 2024

They will always be relevant. [] SKILLS ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH TIME AND DISCIPLINE: Your skills will determine your potential and your value in the kitchen. Flavor in terms of who they are, where they are from, traditions, nuanced skills, and culture. All are focused on the same goal but bring their unique flavor to the table.

Kitchen Safety 448

Kitchen Safety Guest Recovery Uniforms Food Safety 448

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 23, 2023

Measuring how the “carrot rule”, is applied is the job of the coach, manager, or in our case chef. In terms of a restaurant, it might be: “We expect to grow our business by 20%, win the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, earn a Michelin Star, or reach a profit after taxes of 9%”.

Coaching 466

Coaching Sports Point of Sale Take-out 466

Culinary Cues

MARCH 3, 2021

The hope was that by doing more, working harder and longer, making more complicated menus, and pushing the envelope of creativity the restaurant industry would rise up to new levels of success. These small restaurant operators opened and closed their doors at an alarming rate simply because they couldn’t afford the space.

Dine-in 450

Dine-in Small Business Seasonal Menu Café 450

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

There was an initial moment, maybe as a young guest in a restaurant, or possibly as a “first job” dishwasher, when the light bulb switched from off to on. Culinary skills were non-existent, but the possibility was there. You added a skill to your bag of tricks. Confidence grew as you added another skill to your bag of tricks.

Food Order 417

Food Order Presentation Café Waste 417

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 3, 2023

I have long embraced this philosophy when it comes to restaurants, but it also can apply to any business. Let me explain: A few years ago, (50 years ago) I had a conversation with a wonderful woman who owned and operated a successful neighborhood restaurant. This love is what we call “hospitality”. Then focus on hospitality.

Hospitality 466

Hospitality Customer Experience Customer Service Small Business 466

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Don’t wait for someone else to build your skills and knowledge – take charge of your own growth. They all evolve around a commitment to respecting those around you who share a stove, grow the ingredients you use, carry your food to a guest, and manage the operation to ensure that it remains financially healthy.

Leadership 448

Leadership Fine Dining Workshop Training 448

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2022

This is meant to be a chat with all the stakeholders: cooks, chefs, servers, bartenders, managers, owners, dishwashers, and customers. The end IS NOT near, in fact, restaurants have never been more important than they are right now. For the Chef and Manager: Are you willing to look at menus differently?

Food Supply 449

Food Supply Training Supplies Café 449

Culinary Cues

APRIL 3, 2020

We may not be able to predict the future, but effective managers are always sifting through the “what if” scenarios and building a strategy for dealing with them. Here are some examples of scenarios to plan for: [] PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO BE IN A RESTAURANT WITH CROWDS.

Guest Recovery 382

Guest Recovery Social Media Kitchen Safety Food Safety 382

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 31, 2020

Rest assured, at some point restaurants will rise up again, clubs and hotels will measure success based on occupancy and food service activity, and the position of “chef” will be center stage in driving sales and measuring profitability. Restaurant Consulting. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Leadership 471

Leadership Point of Sale Training Coaching 471

7 Shifts

JULY 24, 2020

While you must follow the strict guidelines to ensure the safety of your staff and customers, that’s not to say you can’t take advantage of an empty restaurant to improve your knowledge of restaurant management, running a business, and creating a recipe for success when you eventually get back to business as usual. Goodreads: 4.23

Book 370

Book Management Management Restaurant Law 370