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. We can always find things to disagree with and people who frustrate us, but very little good ever comes out of this approach. BEING A COOK IS MORE THAN THE PROCESS OF COOKING.

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Culinary Cues

MARCH 4, 2022

I would assume that many chefs who read this article – at least the ones from my generation have reflected on where they are, what they have done, and what they are still able to do. We read the articles and listen to chefs and restaurateurs desperate to fill positions of line cook, sous chef, chef, manager, etc.

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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. It takes so much effort, time, and money to pull customers in for that first visit – we want to make them feel good about their investment and book another reservation soon. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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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.

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Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

When we sign our work, we take full responsibility for it. “I Think about it for a moment – would you be willing to put yourself out there and take ownership for work that is less than stellar, less than the best you can do? Make excellence the rule and send mediocrity out the back door. I did this, this is my work”!

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 20, 2024

There’s a reactionary movement that I keep seeing in restaurants; a movement that assumes the answer to the restaurant bottom line is to take more and give less or give too much to justify raising prices. This is compounded when a restaurant doesn’t even take bread seriously. Help them out. Do it right!

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Culinary Cues

MARCH 3, 2024

You were either part of this or feeling left out because you weren’t. Can you tough it out? We even boast an informal initiation period where new employees are given conflicting directions, inaccurate details on the work to be done, or even sent on wild goose-chases just to embarrass them and see if they can take it.

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Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

SUDDEN LACK OF DEPENDABILITY: When an employee who had always been a rock of dependability – always on time, ready to work, interested in taking on more responsibility, always able to complete tasks as expected, suddenly fails to meet those expectations – then it’s time to pay attention. You see a little out of sorts, what can I do to help?”

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Culinary Cues

JULY 23, 2023

As if that weren’t enough, the menu and each morsel of food presented represents the chef’s life of experiences, his or her family history, the cuisine of their forefathers, every chef who contributed to their training, and everything that they believe in – as it pertains to food. It simply points to what may be behind it.

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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.”

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 11, 2022

Before you turn and run away or write me off as unaware of how you have the perfect formula for success, just hear me out. We do know it will be different and the Baker’s Dozen list in this article will be only the start for those who think they are ready to take the leap. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 29, 2024

It is human nature to try and push those out of our minds, but given a moments pause, it’s easy to remember them. It takes time for people to push aside tradition, habits, and yes – fear, that accompanies change. Change will happen, in fact it already is, but as we all known – change is not something that is embraced with open arms.

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Kitchen Safety Guest Recovery Uniforms Food Safety 395

Culinary Cues

APRIL 15, 2023

My town leaders, bless their hearts, try to figure out ways to strum up cash flow for small businesses. In small private entrepreneurships it is common for owner/operators to not take a steady salary so they might meet payroll or pay a vendor for recent deliveries. Please don’t ask us to take it on the chin. We would love that.

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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? PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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Culinary Cues

AUGUST 26, 2024

If you are anything like me, the anticipation of a really good restaurant experience is at the top of my list when traveling, or just taking a break from cooking at home. This is a call out to all who make, sell, and earn a living through food to self-assess and ask a basic few questions: 1. It really hurts me to say this.

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Culinary Cues

AUGUST 22, 2022

Bigger is less predictable and much more difficult to control and bigger takes cooks and chefs away from what they love to do, what attracted them to the trade in the beginning – to cook from the heart. Instead of thirty-gallon trash cans spread out through the kitchen, there were two much smaller cans, a recycling bin, and tubs for compost.

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7 Shifts

AUGUST 10, 2020

Taking the time to set up a restaurant organizational system is an investment – but it’s one that will certainly pay off in the form of more efficiency. Here are some reasons why you may want to carve some time out in your schedule to reorganize your working space. Don’t have the budget for any filing products?

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Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 26, 2020

So, as we close out on 2020 – here are some reflections and outcomes in the past that we might learn from. [] A DRAMATIC EVENT, BEYOND OUR CONTROL HAS SHUT THE DOOR ON RESTAURANT BUSINESS. Our purpose, and our passion have been devastated over the past 9-months and we know that it will still take time before things truly begin to improve.

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Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The stores were empty, and restaurant service staff were staring out windows from the vantage of unfilled seats. The look of the service staff, cooks on the back loading docks grabbing a smoke break, salesclerks with arms folded, starring out shop windows, and nervous shop owners checking their bank accounts on cellphones was disconcerting.

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Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2023

It’s the fire in the belly waiting to take charge, the anxiety being held in check, cold sweat running down your back even though it’s 120 degrees where you stand, and the nervous chatter of tongs clicking to the beat of a cook’s rhythm. In and out before the crowds, this is what they like. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

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Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 17, 2023

Others – peers, parents, or even teachers might label you as not having what it takes which was incredibly painful. Would you take care to make sure it was prepared perfectly? Would you take that extra few seconds to make the presentation of ingredients was beautiful? Now, this is not literal, I’m just making a point.

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Uniforms Article Café Small Business 378

Culinary Cues

MARCH 3, 2021

In a recent article about Danny Meyer – NYC restaurateur extraordinaire, he talks about his epiphany over the past year – an opportunity he had to truly assess everything about his restaurants and the accepted approach towards operation. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER. ” -Danny Meyer – Union Square Hospitality. CAFÉ Talks Podcast.

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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. You know it, when you see it, feel it, smell it, or taste it.

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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.

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Culinary Cues

JUNE 9, 2024

I know, I know, you can’t find the help and those who do sign on are not professionally trained cooks, and you must pay them more than you can afford. I know that ingredient costs never go down, they always rise; that your rent keeps going up, utilities are out of sight, and you pay a fortune just for the privilege of accepting credit cards.

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Culinary Cues

JUNE 3, 2024

It may not look the same and they may have never written it down, but this is their method of operation. [] LOOK THE PART Take pride in your appearance and the sharpness of your uniform. Becoming GREAT takes serious dedication and lots of repetition. Seek out every opportunity to learn something new every day.

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Uniforms Point of Sale Coaching Small Business 347

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.

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Culinary Cues

JULY 19, 2024

The attention to detail at every workstation is a perfect indication of the training and unity of purpose that every cook shares, and the sense of calm that this organization brings is a strong indicator of how the unit works towards plate perfection and a great customer experience. Mise en place is a way of life.

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Front of House Food Order Customer Service Customer Experience 271

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. It was an emotional experience reading this article and knowing that thousands of other chefs and restaurateurs across the country could have written a similar one.

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Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 30, 2023

There is a lesson here for cooks, chefs, and restaurateurs – a simple message that stands out from every other “road to success” Prophet: Whatever you do, do it well. It will take super-human effort, ample amounts of time, arduous training, and boat loads of cash. What will it take for you to become part of that club?

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Culinary Cues

AUGUST 4, 2022

People do care about value and once the splash of being able to get out of the house wears off, value assessment will be paramount once again. When I read an article the other day about BMW charging a subscription fee for heated seats in their cars, I thought: “Where are we going with this?” Is it ignorance or apathy?

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Front of House Back of House Coaching Uniforms 340

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

If you are part of a working couple, managing a budget, paying for a mortgage, supporting two cars, and probably still paying off your student loans, then does going out to dinner make sense? If you are going to invest in “dinner out” then this is where you would prefer to spend your money. You want to support them.

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Culinary Cues

MAY 2, 2020

Breathe in – breathe out. We breathe to cleanse our soul and to refresh our heart, to take time to reflect and put aside our anxiety, to pause and think more clearly, to contemplate the bigger picture and to start anew as an individual or part of a group. This is a time to train yourself to breathe and think more clearly.

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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.

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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.

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Uniforms Small Business Dine-in Training 374

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. Plan better – train harder, takes on new meaning.

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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.

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