Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 16, 2024

When an organization models, expects, supports, trains to, and evaluates performance with excellence in mind then it quickly moves from some obscure goal that may or may not be realized, to a way that everyone exists. You may have some areas of weakness just like everyone else. If we allow any weakness to define us, then we will surely lose.

Employee Relations 349

Employee Relations Presentation Small Business Recruiting 349

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 348

Food Supply Uniforms Café Take-out 348

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

Every restaurant and restaurateur are struggling to figure it out how am I going to make this work? Commissaries for some restaurant chains have reduced the need for kitchens and trained cooks in individual units and the drive-thru has influenced Detroit to view your car as a dining space with added cup holders and space for holding food.

Fine Dining 228

Fine Dining Food Supply Customer Service Recruiting 228

Culinary Cues

JULY 15, 2024

This is a disease that lies dormant in many people just waiting to take over their every being if those in positions of leadership allow it to. It is apparent in the classroom, the local grocery store, your doctor’s office, the gym where you work out, car dealerships, airports, subways, hotels, and yes – restaurants.

Leadership 437

Leadership Food Truck Employee Relations Training 437

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.

Front of House 365

Front of House Back of House Sourcing Travel 365

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 238

Hotels Back of House Customer Service Entertainment 238

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

It is easy to blame money, non-traditional work hours, unrealistic training in culinary schools, and the younger generation as a whole – but even if we (the industry as a whole) were able to snap our fingers and fix these issues, it is likely that team building and retention would still be challenging. TEACH AND TRAIN. Richard Branson.

Loyalty Program 582

Loyalty Program Communication Training Coaching 582

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 9, 2021

We may complain about the guest who is taking loads of pictures of their food and posting them on Instagram, but deep inside we get a bit of a rush when it happens. These team members will go out of their way for the guest because you do so for them. Let them kick the tires and take the menu for a spin.

Front of House 474

Front of House Customer Experience Dine-in Training 474

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 346

Coaching Take-out Food Order Inventory 346

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. Take a step back and give them their due; you are part of a team. [] BE THE EXAMPLE How do you want your employees to act, represent, perform, and connect?

Coaching 401

Coaching Restaurant Law Training Article 401

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. Think about the technology sector as a prime example.

2021 471

2021 Social Media Kitchen Safety Restaurant Law 471

Culinary Cues

JULY 22, 2021

Restaurants are open, and customers who have been prisoners of the pandemic are anxiously coming out of their shells and flooding to restaurants that are ill equipped to deal with the surge. As challenged as restaurants are right now, there must be an all-out effort to demonstrate value and to provide a positive experience.

Guest Recovery 450

Guest Recovery Uniforms Point of Sale Customer Experience 450

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. So, first step – let’s refer to it as a challenge.

Social Media 474

Social Media Cash Management Blog Equipment 474

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? Why not highlight them on your social media pages or in your restaurant blog.

Seminar 387

Seminar Front of House Back of House Workshop 387

Culinary Cues

MARCH 15, 2021

If you teach in a live restaurant environment on your campus is it operated with five times as many cooks in training as would be possible in a real restaurant? A recipe that takes two pages of dialogue to explain how to braise a veal shank does not make a cook a master of braising. Make sure that it is clear and positive.

Education 566

Education Food Supply Training Communication 566

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 28, 2020

Shake off the dust of complacency, press the wrinkles out of that chef coat, polish those shoes and face the challenges straight on. Send out information about your current offerings and your future plans through effective email blasts. Work at it, train for it, stand behind it, and make a difference. You can do this!

Social Media 447

Social Media Communication Loyalty Program Training 447

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 3, 2020

As restaurant owners and chefs scratch their heads trying to figure out what’s going on – it might be helpful to look at the lessons that are before us. Trust must be evident to employees and customers and trust during the pandemic is based on training all involved about the necessary protocol to keep people safe.

Government 493

Government Training Small Business Consumer Goods 493

Culinary Cues

MAY 13, 2023

Those who are serious about holding the chef title some day; the ones who are “in it, to win it”, are always wondering what’s the best path to take. Remember that being “the chef” will take you away from much of the day-to-day cooking, the adrenaline rush, and the team excitement that drew you to the kitchen in the first place.

Hotels 458

Hotels Point of Sale Cash Management Training 458

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 17, 2020

The chef will likely be the most experienced culinarian with responsibility for the financial operation of the kitchen, menu planning, ordering and inventory control, training, and quality control. Once service begins there will not be any time to take care of prep that was not completed in advance. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Back of House 537

Back of House Seasonal Menu Customer Service Front of House 537

Harbor Touch

MARCH 18, 2025

Whether youre a seasoned owner or just starting out, this advice will help you boost efficiency, keep your team motivated, and turn customers into regulars. Our goal is simple: give you tools to streamline operations, cut costs, and grow your business without burning out. Training locks in that potential. Staff Management 1.

Management 148

Management Management Seasonal Menu Cash Management 148

Culinary Cues

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Employees must be properly trained and then given the responsibility and authority to make those decisions that fit their position. [] SERVE: Respect means that everyone involved in the restaurant is in the service business. Every day should be an opportunity for each employee to grow, learn, and improve through teaching and training.

Training 383

Training Customer Service Uniforms Leadership 383

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

I can’t even count the number of times that the union, representing thousands of steel workers, threatened slowdowns, walk outs or strikes on behalf of their membership. It wouldn’t take very long (measured in months) before there was more dissent among the rank and file and the union was back to the table with managers and operators.

Kitchen Safety 87

Kitchen Safety Training Take-out Mobile Ordering 87

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.

Pricing 384

Pricing Consumer Goods Training Small Business 384

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 28, 2021

You take time to sanitize your area, firmly place a cutting board on a damp towel to keep it from slipping, draw your knives across a wet stone while honing their edge, and quickly jotting down a prep list for the next hour. You take a deep breath and smile knowing that this is where you belong, this will be a magical day.

Kitchen Safety 451

Kitchen Safety Front of House Fine Dining Back of House 451

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 17, 2020

None, however, are as devastatingly out of the operators control as this pandemic. There are short-term band aid solutions such as takeout, delivery, or even conversion into retail markets where wine inventories and local necessities take over space once occupied by diners, but they are not a replacement for a steady turn of tables.

Uniforms 473

Uniforms Cash Management Brewery Consumer Goods 473

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 12, 2021

Finding the right concept, building in the right location, finding, and training the best staff, nurturing the team, and creating a menu that reflects the needs of the guest and the passion of the cook is only the beginning. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. This is paramount! CAFÉ Talks Podcast.

Restaurant Law 424

Restaurant Law Education Definition Social Media 424

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 24, 2020

Far too many times the menu takes a back seat to all other planning that will lead to serious miscalculations along the way. When a chef takes part in active demographic research – a menu might very well reflect something about the community where the restaurant sits. Owners have a tough time staying out of the menu planning process.

Menu 420

Menu Seasonal Menu Front of House Café 420

Culinary Cues

MAY 4, 2021

Our customers need to trust that the restaurant they patronize will be safe and that the operation will take all of the necessary steps to ensure their health and wellbeing. This is the chance that is offered to restaurants as we ease out of shutdown and re-open businesses. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER. CAFE Talks Podcast.

Customer Service 492

Customer Service Customer Experience Training Pricing 492

Culinary Cues

MARCH 10, 2022

If you doubt my belief – think about this: If a line cook calls out – we simply spread the work out among those who are present. A server doesn’t show up, we adjust the station chart and maybe change the timing at the door, but we figure it out. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER. I rest my case.

Front of House 450

Front of House Back of House Uniforms Hiring 450

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?”

Employee Relations 413

Employee Relations Training Take-out Fine Dining 413

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

So, take a deep breath, kick a few empty five-gallon buckets around the kitchen (make sure they are empty), release a string of expletives if it makes you feel better, and take a few ibuprofens to address that constant headache. We are all ready to own our lives again and enjoy the simple things – like going out for a meal.

Food Supply 445

Food Supply Employee Relations Kitchen Safety Social Media 445

Culinary Cues

JULY 4, 2021

Without a clear understanding of where ingredient costs are going tomorrow and next month restaurants cannot afford to be shackled to a menu that is out of control. This will, of course, make it far more challenging to control quality and consistency, but with a movement towards on-going training and quality assurance – it can be done.

2021 505

2021 Food Supply Seasonal Menu Supplies 505

Culinary Cues

APRIL 13, 2020

This may take some years before fully implemented, but I can envision similar protocols to what is found in industrial food production facilities – think meat processing plant processing along with the record keeping of these standards. [] A NO CARBOARD REQUIREMENT FOR KITCHENS. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER.

Kitchen Safety 558

Kitchen Safety Uniforms Food Safety Employee Relations 558

Culinary Cues

JULY 8, 2021

With a real need to try and make-up for a lost year and an overnight demand for dining out – restaurants are faced with a new pressing issue: where do we find the staff and how do we keep them? How many of your local restaurants are down to five-day weeks out of necessity? Well, I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures.

Sports 474

Sports Take-out Café Training 474

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 473

Food Truck Customer Experience Take-out Food Supply 473

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. CAFÉ Talks Podcast.

Customer Experience 399

Customer Experience Café Hospitality Customer Service 399

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 18, 2022

Everyone needs to take responsibility for setting the stage. I cringe when I think of those moments when things slipped out of control but know that each moment when that occurred gave me more resolve to avoid it in the future. PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER. www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG. Nurture the hustle!

Food Order 441

Food Order Customer Experience Hiring Café 441