Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 10, 2021

If you pull a joker, the meal is on the house. For example, you can create a blog to share the inspirations and stories behind your dishes. Promoting your restaurant should start with promoting the food itself. However, too many restaurants fall into the trap of promoting items with a low food cost and high margin.

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Marketing SEO Front of House Website Management 567

Culinary Cues

MAY 1, 2023

There are many reasons why I am so grateful for the decades I spent in front of a range. And, I have witnessed the apologies and hugs between front and back of the house that said: “Sorry I may have been abrupt, it was the heat of the moment, and you know I truly care about you.”

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Front of House Back of House Food Order Small Business 453

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 22, 2022

There were eighteen or twenty seats (mostly deuces) and in better weather maybe two more tables on the street or alleyway in front or beside these tastes of a chef. There were eighteen or twenty seats (mostly deuces) and in better weather maybe two more tables on the street or alleyway in front or beside these tastes of a chef.

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Seating Front of House Back of House Cash Management 462

Culinary Cues

MARCH 21, 2022

From first-in, first-out in the walk-in cooler to how you fold side towels and where your knives are placed – it is organization that allows a kitchen to run efficiently and keeps the mood and pace of the restaurant in sync. To some, it may seem less significant, but to seasoned professionals – this is the truth of the kitchen.

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Front of House Back of House Point of Sale Food Order 386

Culinary Cues

MAY 28, 2022

These unplanned tattoos are a rite of passage, our report cards that help to define when we have passed the test of time in front of the range. The most important room in a home is the kitchen. This is the hub of activity, the space that portrays unity, defines tradition, nourishes the body and mind, and sets the tone for communication.

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Front of House Back of House Small Business Employee Relations 347

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 9, 2021

Guests will return when the effort expended to create memorable complete dining experiences is front and center. The goal of every restaurant and every chef is to create memorable experiences for the guest. Somewhere in our internal job description is a desire, and even a need to build an environment of WOW!

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Front of House Customer Experience Dine-in Training 474

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 8, 2022

The anxiety building up to a full house in the hotel packed with a series of food events has made it impossible to relax. Well, here we go. I haven’t slept much at all over the past few days and certainly won’t until the weekend is over. The preparation has been mind boggling, now we just have to execute. Things looked good.

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Front of House Back of House Seating Food Truck 425

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

Invest in an Online Presence Social media platforms provide an unparalleled opportunity to get in front of the right audience at the right time. It allows businesses to engage with current customers and help build organic brand ambassadors while also serving up content in front of new customers. In many cases, trends are a good thing.

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Marketing Social Media SEO Front of House 508

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 20, 2021

The kitchen is a place where those who are successful come to the realization that those later aptitudes are enhanced through experience – the more you do, the better you become. Some talented people are not the best cooks and chefs and quite often the most intelligent (using commonly referred to scales of measurement) are lacking in common sense.

Front of House 453

Front of House Uniforms Back of House Kitchen Safety 453

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Name tags for front of the house employees work just as well maybe with the name of the town they are from, or the number of years they have worked in an establishment. Why not highlight them on your social media pages or in your restaurant blog. Would it make a difference in attention to detail? Is there room to improve?

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Seminar Front of House Back of House Workshop 387

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 28, 2021

I know you remember the first day that you slid your arms into the sleeves of that chef’s jacket with your name embroidered under the title: executive chef. It was that first time in the lead position – the commander of the kitchen brigade. You are now the conductor of the orchestra that is totally in sync, creating beautiful music together.

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Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Back of House 451

Culinary Cues

JULY 12, 2020

It is an uneasy feeling that was pronounced as those cooks who were already at work – looked cautiously at their teammate, nodded, and turned their heads back to the work in front of them. The kitchen lights are back on, deliveries arrive, the battery of ranges is fired up, and cooks (some of us) are welcomed back.

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Front of House Back of House Dine-in Food Order 435

Culinary Cues

MAY 27, 2023

Employees can always catch up on their phones during breaks but during production and service their focus must be on the job in front of them. [] BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER: One of the “bad and ugly” aspects to technology, especially social media, is that people are pulled into their silos and fail to interact and share with others.

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Technology Front of House Social Media Back of House 379

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

The front of the house is typically separated into those who interface with guests directly and walk them through the ordering process to those who set the stage and support the work of the primary server. It is this dichotomy of experiences that draws people into a career behind the range and keeps them there for decades.

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Back of House Seasonal Menu Customer Service Front of House 537

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

Forget the beautiful menus printed by a local craftsperson or laminated to build in easy re-use; if you are not already printing menus in-house then it is time to invest in some software and a quality printer for your office. Prices of raw materials and labor, of course, have gone through the roof and there is no end in sight.

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2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 505

Culinary Cues

JULY 16, 2022

I am aware as I grow older this is going to happen, but nevertheless, it hits hard and makes you take inventory of the person you are, what you do, how you do it, how you treat others, and the way you live your life. Dick Cattani was a monumental figure in the business of food hospitality.

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Front of House Back of House Education Leadership 398

Culinary Cues

MAY 23, 2021

At the same time, many of those restaurant employees – front and back of the house, were taking their time trying to decide if it made sense to return to an industry that was unpredictable, low paying, void of reasonable benefit plans, and now a target for customer anger and angst as servers suddenly became covid policemen.

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Guest Recovery Front of House Employee Relations Food Truck 449

7 Shifts

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

What those technologies are completely depends on the role, but here are a few of the more popular examples: Servers and front-of-house roles tend to familiarize themselves with point-of-sale (POS) technology, scheduling software , online ordering integrations, and perhaps even reservation software. Table of Contents. Undercooking.

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Front of House Back of House Kitchen Safety Food Safety 370

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. Now everything is quiet except for the clicking of tongs. The air was thick with anticipation.

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Fine Dining Back of House Front of House Food Order 490

Culinary Cues

JUNE 23, 2024

Those operations that resemble the caldrons of hell filled with arrogance, bullying, unprofessional behavior, and a lack of respect for people, product, and process is the same as categorizing musicians, athletes, business leaders, and politicians under a unified profile. Not all kitchens are alike. Not all chefs are the same.

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Uniforms Front of House Back of House Food Supply 406

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 23, 2021

In the restaurant business there are really only two ways to view profit: a very small amount of profit balanced by very significant volume, or a significant amount of profit on far less volume. How you approach the design of your restaurant in this regard will determine nearly everything else. So what is contribution margin? SP = $43.33.

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Point of Sale Front of House Back of House Customer Experience 450

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2020

Consider this – the menu is the most important component of a successful restaurant and once designed it can, and should, impact every other aspect of the business. YES – the menu is that important! The menu comes first and should reflect the philosophy of the owners and chef and how the operators expect to be perceived by the public.

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Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 420

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

There are numerous multi-billion dollar chains along with countless mom and pop operations that do a great job on this front. This was (is) the design of classic coffee houses, speakeasys, and corner cafes for generations. I know what you are thinking – WHAT!!!! At least the real bad news is out of the way.

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2022 Food Truck Point of Sale Front of House 402

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 14, 2020

” The experts at Parts Town authored a blog post for independent restaurants about how to transition toward delivery. .” ” The experts at Parts Town authored a blog post for independent restaurants about how to transition toward delivery. "Cox Media has been very supportive to us during this difficult time. . "In

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Online Ordering Back of House Customer Service Small Business 530

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

We all know the challenges facing restaurants right now – there is little benefit in reiterating the problems. The question is: “What’s the answer?” Of course the pandemic is the cause and the effects are either a direct result of that or the necessary restrictions that evolved from Covid.

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Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Customer Experience 362

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 18, 2023

The rhythm between front and back of the house is seamless, tempers are in check, and the night ends with everyone sharing fist bumps and high fives. Whenever we (chefs) look back on our time in the kitchen, we’re able to categorize experiences in one of three silos: a learning experience, mission accomplished, or inspiration.

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Back of House Front of House Education Café 411

TastyIgniter

MAY 12, 2024

This blog post provides valuable insights on how to improve restaurant excellence by focusing on both front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) operations.

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Front of House Back of House FOH BOH 67

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 5, 2023

There are films that become representative of a generation and sometimes of a life lesson – occasionally both. We remember a line or two that is always there to remind us, to give us pause, or inspire us to reconnect with something or someone. You want more! The fact of the matter is: “Wax On, Wax Off” is great advice.

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Kitchen Safety Food Safety Back of House Front of House 398

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. Each person has something to offer and a need to do so.

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Uniforms Front of House Food Safety Healthcare 436

Culinary Cues

JULY 19, 2024

You can assess the quality of an operation and the effectiveness of a chef to lead a team within the first minutes of walking into a kitchen. It can be done without tasting food or even seeing a single plate presented in the pass and it is visible without asking a guest for comments on a meal.

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Front of House Food Order Customer Service Customer Experience 283

EATER

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

She lives on a plot of land big enough to house a stable with horses, ponies, and donkeys. Even when she’s not riding, she gets to experience the buzz of being around horses all day: the farrier visits and the click-clack of new shoes, the cuddles, the braiding manes and tails (all things she’s outlined in her blog ). I became hooked.

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Front of House Back of House 2025 Travel 144

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 30, 2023

Even the Michelin Guide broke the ice of snobbery in recent years. How’s that for an introductory sentence? Yes, it’s true – when the Michelin Guide decided to recognize some exceptional street food vendors with Michelin Stars, they broke the barrier of snobbery noting that excellence can happen outside of traditional fine dining.

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Fine Dining Front of House Dine-in 2016 386

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

I know how much time, energy, money, and heart goes into that first day when a proud operator and/or chef looks up at the front door sign that proclaims they are open for business. Every year, a significant number of new restaurants open and almost as many close their doors for good.

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Fine Dining Employee Relations Front of House Small Business 446

Culinary Cues

APRIL 1, 2024

Outside people went about their day, never giving mind to the effort, dichotomy of characters, hustle, stress, and complexity of what takes place in the “back of the house” at a twelve hundred room hotel. Chefs are often nostalgic. So here is an example of a story build mostly on fact with I’m sure a touch of embellishment over the years.

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Back of House Kitchen Safety Hotels Front of House 346

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. Well then – what will? Try apathy on for size. Maybe it’s me but I have seen a growing number of restaurants (certainly not the majority at this point) who are simply not trying that hard anymore.

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Front of House Back of House Coaching Customer Service 358

Culinary Cues

JULY 9, 2022

It’s the start of another day in the kitchen. Seven in the morning and aside from the baker and breakfast cook, I am alone with clip board in hand and my roll bag of knives placed strategically at a workstation. Having held the position of chef for nearly 20 years, this routine was very familiar and always enjoyed.

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Front of House Back of House Presentation Café 399

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 24, 2023

Everything has a place, and everything is in its place, is a mantra that becomes an obsession with cooks and chefs. It is the very act that allows cooks to push through the chaos of a restaurant kitchen day with military precision and awareness of looming uncertainty. Cooks seem to willingly drink the Kool-Aid”.

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Back of House Front of House Food Order Definition 417