Culinary Cues

MARCH 15, 2021

Sure, I know how much the restaurant/foodservice industry is suffering and how many operations are shutting their doors as a result of avoiding decades of challenges brought to a head by the pandemic, but believe me when I say that this will change. Just as the restaurant industry evolves, so too must the industry of education.

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Education Food Supply Training Communication 542

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 17, 2020

There are a number of reasons why restaurants fail – some are predictable and avoidable, while others can catch a business off guard. There have been well over 100,000 restaurants that have closed their doors permanently as a result of the pandemic. Even the best operators are at a loss for solutions.

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Uniforms Cash Management Brewery Consumer Goods 471

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. Why waste time working in an environment that is less than supportive?

Employee Relations 475

Employee Relations Restaurant Law Waste Article 475

Culinary Cues

MAY 20, 2024

A perfect example would be Chef Eric Ripert from Le Bernadin Restaurant in New York City – consistently rated as one of the top restaurants in the world. His kitchen organization: the kitchen brigade, revolutionized how the back of the house operated, and the experience of the restaurant guest.

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Hotels Fine Dining Front of House Back of House 207

Culinary Cues

JULY 23, 2023

Most restaurant owners, managers, family members of cooks, friends of cooks and chefs, those in other professions, service staff, and restaurant patrons, don’t get it. Build in those “business decision” standards that must be present, allow the chef to interpret them, but keep them as essential to the operation of the restaurant.

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Guest Recovery Seasonal Menu Presentation Customer Experience 406

Culinary Cues

MAY 28, 2022

Restaurants are very much like families, sometimes dysfunctional, but still family. There are the emotional scars from that small percentage of guests who fail to treat the staff with any level of respect, the demands of timing, the challenges in upselling, and the struggle to always keep a smile on their face. Bob Ehrlich.

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Front of House Back of House Employee Relations Small Business 322

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Why do we remember this line and what significance might it imply in relation to work in a kitchen? So, here goes: THE PROS ABOUT WORKING IN RESTAURANTS: CREATIVITY Cooks are technicians and accomplished craftspeople, but they are also artists with the ultimate vehicle of expression – the plate.

Employee Relations 389

Employee Relations Fine Dining Training Communication 389

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 4, 2022

Where has civility gone, why is it in such short supply, and what is the impact on our way of life? It starts simply, maybe too simply: Never looking people in the eye, or failing to smile and express “good morning, good evening, thanks, have a nice day.” www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. Is this still the case?

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Supplies Healthcare Presentation Restaurant Law 399

7 Shifts

AUGUST 12, 2020

So far, 2020 has thrown marketing plans, advertising budgets, and restaurant growth out of the window. Whatever plans and forecasts you had for your restaurant are yesterday’s bread now. But as restaurants reopen and business starts to pick up again, it’s important you pick up your marketing plan too.

Marketing 418

Marketing 2020 SEO Loyalty Program 418

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 15, 2022

It is also this potential that allows teachers to change the direction of a young student’s life, a garden expert to beautifully landscape a home, a plumber to turn copper into a work of art, an electrician to properly wire a house, or a cook to prepare a perfect restaurant meal. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. Figure it out!

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Uniforms Front of House Food Safety Healthcare 416

Culinary Cues

MAY 27, 2023

TECHNOLOGY AND RESTAURANT CULTURE Learning to live with technology and stay in control is essential. In restaurants we need to bring people together, if not already doing so. The staff meal is so important to the sense of team, the family of the restaurant, and the synergy of work. Try “FOOD” on for size.

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Technology Front of House Social Media Back of House 351

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

Why is it so rare? Why is a wow experience isolated to a few crazy innovators who also charge loads of money to see and feel what they are capable of offering? Why can’t more experiences be of the WOW caliber? Why else bother? Success will rarely come without some failure along the way.

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Innovation Café Travel Book 413

Culinary Cues

JULY 19, 2022

The list of responsibilities keeps growing: menu planner, budget manager, concept developer, quality controller, purchaser and negotiator, trainer, and of course – accomplished cook – this is the job description for a restaurant chef. The cook needs to understand “why” they are doing something a certain way. Restaurant Consulting.

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Training Presentation Employee Relations Article 372

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

On top of this – restaurants are offering wages that were unheard of pre-pandemic and still employees are not inclined to return to kitchens and dining rooms. CHANGE #1: The days of the fixed menu for restaurants should come to a halt. The important reality is that we MUST MAKE CHANGES NOW!

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2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 497

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Every good leader understands how important great followership is and how the leader’s role is to give them all the support he or she can muster. [] DEFINE YOUR BENCHMARKS: Find those cooks, chefs, restaurants, companies, or inspirational leaders who define excellence and learn from them. Restaurant Consulting. CAFÉ Talks Podcast.

Leadership 385

Leadership Fine Dining Workshop Training 385

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2023

The restaurant business is sometimes like the canary in the coal mine and at other times like the father of teenage children – the last to know. Most of the problems in restaurants were there before but not so vivid, not so “in your face”. Stop with menus that don’t make sense, that fail to tell a story or show any semblance of unity.

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Food Truck Back of House Education Training 322

Culinary Cues

MARCH 25, 2021

Chefs should not only know process and methods, but also the why, where, and who behind everything that is done in the kitchen. Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. [] KNOWLEDGE: Greatness has its roots in knowledge. Being a role model is the basis for followership attitudes from others.

Communication 438

Communication Coaching Fine Dining Influencer 438

Culinary Cues

APRIL 6, 2020

This storytelling through cooking evolved over centuries into restaurants that offered interesting tales to strangers and friends alike. Today, restaurants serve a multitude of purposes that has brought this industry to a status of importance that is impossible to deny. It is this understanding that will bring the industry back.

Travel 442

Travel Back of House Customer Service Small Business 442

Culinary Cues

JUNE 4, 2021

Nowadays a question I am often asked is: “Why is it so difficult to understand cooks and chefs?” When we fail to understand this and lead in a manner that is people-centric, then the results will always be rocky at best. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. That may seem like a copout, but it is true. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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Café Take-out Blog Training 428

Culinary Cues

JUNE 11, 2020

OK, so here we are: restaurants are beginning to re-open (maybe prematurely, maybe not) and we are all scared to death. We are fearful that 25% or 50% capacity in our restaurants will not allow us to survive – so, what’s the point? Why can’t we just return to “normal”?

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Restaurant Law Customer Service Customer Experience Food Supply 324

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022

With more than one million restaurants in the US we can flip a coin and hope for the great, will likely step through the doors of good, and far too often settle into the mediocre. I wonder why this is the case. Those who strive for excellence are far more likely to succeed and those who avoid doing things right will most likely fail.

Fine Dining 396

Fine Dining Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 396

7 Shifts

MARCH 10, 2021

Successful restaurant owners have many traits in common. Here we've outlined seven practices of highly successful restaurant owners. The fact that 60% of restaurants fail in their first year and 80% close within five years of their grand opening is an indication that few have what it takes for long-term success.

Management 370

Management Management Small Business Email Marketing 370

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

Why has this been the case for decades and why are we still struggling to convince others that becoming a professional cook is not only viable as a career – it is important, inspiring, intelligent, enjoyable, and eventually lucrative? www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER. CAFÉ Talks Podcast.

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Back of House Reference Presentation Mobile Ordering 424

Culinary Cues

MAY 15, 2021

The restaurant industry continues to be devastated – not just as a result of the pandemic but because the pandemic brought underlying issues to the surface. The glory days of the restaurant industry have been laid to rest and they may never return to any semblance of normalcy. What if……happens? How will we react?”

Customer Experience 390

Customer Experience Cash Management Customer Service Front of House 390

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Every now and then this can serve as a “checks and balance” activity to keep you on the right path and assess where and why you might have strayed from those “stakes in the ground” that are important to your core. Reaction without planning will uncover numerous other challenges that you failed to think through. Restaurant Consulting.

2021 400

2021 Point of Sale Reference Take-out 400

7 Shifts

JANUARY 7, 2021

With a new year comes new challenges, and after the year for the industry that was 2020, we want to help set your restaurant up for success in 2021. As restaurants reopen and business starts to pick up again, it’s important you pick up your marketing plan, too. Which is where your restaurant marketing plan comes in.

Marketing 195

Marketing 2021 SEO Loyalty Program 195

Culinary Cues

JUNE 22, 2020

At the same time I always thought, and oftentimes acted on finding out why that food, that presentation, that operation was so much better and how I might learn and grow from the experience. Why does that chef’s food taste so much better than another’s? www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Food 436

Food Presentation Leadership Café 436

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 20, 2021

These are the people who worked their way up, failed countless times along the way, stumbled and picked themselves back up, were humble and grateful, and realized that contrary to the organization of the dictionary – work does come before success. www.harvestamericacues.com – BLOG. The potato is a. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Front of House 425

Front of House Uniforms Back of House Kitchen Safety 425

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 29, 2022

When an individual complains about the hours, his or her team, a lousy chef, a restaurant that doesn’t care about them, about how uninspiring the food is, or how poor the pay is and how limited the opportunities, then my reaction is: “it’s so sad that you haven’t found the right kitchen, the right chef.” Restaurant Consulting.

Uniforms 430

Uniforms Café Training Operations 430

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

JULY 20, 2021

So, why is it important to look at and talk about these underlying emotions? Anger over a realization that a kitchen did not meet expectations can often be associated with a realization that the chef failed to properly train or communicate. Restaurant Consulting. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. CAFÉ Talks Podcast.

Training 474

Training Leadership Café Waste 474

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. She spoke from the heart of her “all-in” commitment to her restaurant and staff over the past 20 years while addressing the countless challenges that face independent restaurateurs across the country.

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Article Point of Sale Take-out Dine-in 311

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2022

I have never physically owned a restaurant, but I have always approached the position of chef as if I did. Unless there is a strong belief and execution of concept, consistent quality of product, real investment in people, and encouragement for excellence and value then the restaurant will eventually struggle.

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Café Hospitality Operations Blog 336

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Some restaurants can operate efficiently with a staff of 10 or less, while others might require more than 50. An operation with one restaurant outlet is far different than one with several. In this size operation there will likely be a sous chef for each restaurant outlet and a banquet chef whose focus is large-scale events.

Beverage 490

Beverage Events Food Order Website Management 490

Culinary Cues

MARCH 30, 2020

The restaurant industry has been plagued with problems for decades – this international crisis has brought everything to a head. This virus has demonstrated just how important restaurants are to people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Without restaurants – society just seems incomplete.

Small Business 358

Small Business Food Supply Food Truck Healthcare 358

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 30, 2019

I have the privilege of working with many different restaurants and food businesses. So why does it sometimes go wrong? One of the most important goals of any restaurant is dependability and consistency. Every restaurant must constantly invest in training. [] PUTTING ALL OF YOUR EGGS IN THE CHEFS BASKET.

Cash Management 268

Cash Management Point of Sale Leadership Website Management 268

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 23, 2019

We throw up our hands as managers and blame everyone but ourselves, and scratch our heads as consumers and wonder why the virus is allowed to spread. Employees fail to understand that building their skills is their responsibility as much as it is the company they work for. Restaurant Consulting and Training. SIGNS OF INFECTION.

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Hospitality Employee Relations Cash Management Training 207