Harvest America CUES BLOG

TO COOKS, CHEFS, AND ALL WHO ARE ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF FOOD

You are the salt of the earth!

I started Harvest America Cues Blog in 2013 at the encouragement of Chef Curtiss Hemm. The blog was meant to parallel the start-up of Harvest America Ventures Consulting. At the age of 63 (most of those years as a cook, chef, and culinary educator) I felt that I had enough experience, enough stories to tell, and a litany of success and failure to offer something of value to clients and readers. Twelve years have come and gone, the blog has topped 2 million views through 975 articles on every culinary/management topic imaginable, and I have had the honor of working with more than fifty different clients from coast-to-coast – restaurants, hotels, resorts, culinary colleges, and commodity boards.

I have transitioned (in my own mind) from chef to storyteller and find great satisfaction in telling those stories through this blog, CAFÉ Talks Podcast (that I host for the Center for Advancement of Foodservice Education) and through the novels (fiction) that are now published: The Event That Changed Everything in 2017, and A Cook on the Run in 2025.

So, it’s time to take a break. I will step away from Harvest America Cues Blog for at least the summer of 2025 and may come back with a fresh approach, or maybe I will fade away and leave the archives behind. Thank you to all who have read the articles and supported Harvest America Cues for 12 years – I hope that you found some value in what has been offered.

I remain incredibly proud to have been a cook, a chef, educator, and a consultant. I hope that at whatever point in a career you sit, feel the same.

“People who love to eat are always the best people.” – Julia Child

Paul Sorgule

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

“Work Hard and be Kind” – Dick Cattani

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

(Over 900 articles about the business and people of food)

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-podcasts

More than 100 interviews with the most influential people in food

harvestamericacues.com Avatar

Published by

harvestamericacues.com
President of Harvest America Ventures – Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting. Five decades of experience as chef, educator, food and beverage manager, consultant. Member of 1988 New England Culinary Olympic Team. Won gold medal in Olympics in Germany, 2001 ACF Educator of the Year, cooked at the James Beard House, Author of three novels.
Categories:
Tags: , , , , , ,

8 responses to “TO COOKS, CHEFS, AND ALL WHO ARE ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF FOOD”

  1. CAMERON ANDERSON Avatar
    CAMERON ANDERSON

    Many thanks for the contributions over the years!

    Reply
  2. wmhunt03 Avatar
    wmhunt03

    Thank you, Tip of the Toque, Chef. It has been a pleasure reading your excellent articles. Best, Chef William Hunt CEC, CCE, AAC

    >

    Reply
  3. Richard Simon CSC CCEH Avatar
    Richard Simon CSC CCEH

    THANK YOU CHEF FOR YOUR LIFE

    TIME OF SERVICE!

    Reply
  4. lufoodbf1af5dd12 Avatar
    lufoodbf1af5dd12

    Chef Sorgule,

    I have followed your blog for many, many years and think that I have read just about every article you have posted. I am an educator and have often referenced, relayed, and quoted many of your stories to my students and co-workers. I will miss reading your blogs but understand your stepping away for a bit. I for one, hope you return, but if you “fade away” you will not be forgotten. I have so enjoyed your blog that you have inspired me, as I will be retiring at the end of July 2025, to create a blog of my own. I would love any advice or suggestions on the best way to begin. I have not yet pulled the trigger, but am eager to get started.

    All the best to you. I have so enjoyed reading your posts and in my career and daily life I have lived by a lot of what you have preached.

    Very Respectfully,

    Chef John Lucchesi, CEC

    Reply
    1. harvestamericacues.com Avatar
      harvestamericacues.com

      Chef,

      Thanks so much for your kind words, for reading my articles, and finding a way for them to be of use. I will likely return to the blog in the future with a revised look and maybe a different slant. Right now, I want to take a breath. Glad to hear you have an interest in starting your own blog. We all have a voice. The experiences that are part of your history will provide great insight and loads of useful advice to readers. WordPress provides easy templates to get started. My general advice is to know who you are writing to and for, write what you know, and do so without any preconceived ideas in the beginning of how many readers and followers will tag along. Stay true to who you are and there will be an audience who will find you. The blog will grow as long as you write consistently and create a reason for followers to check in with regularity. Start by maybe writing two articles a month and work up to one every week. Don’t post on a weekend – articles get lost in the shuffle. Shoot for mid-week release. Finally, don’t write just to write – write when you have something to offer or something to say. So, the best model is to get a few substantive articles ahead, keep them in a folder, and release them on the same day each week or every other week. You want your readers to think” oh, it’s Wednesday, let’s see what Chef John has to say.”

      There are ways to monetize a blog – I just never had the desire to do so. Google for help in this regard.

      Best of luck.

      Paul

      Reply
      1. John Lucchesi Avatar
        John Lucchesi

        Chef Sorgule,

        Thank you so much for the reply and the great advice. I appreciate your guidance. I too am not really interested in monetizing the blog, but would rather try my hand at a blog that is followed and looked forward to as you suggested.

        On a separate note, I am a member of the ACF and the Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Chapter here in Michigan. At one of our meetings, some of the current and past Culinary Olympic chefs gave a talk. I had the pleasure of hearing from and speaking with Chef Michael “Mickey” Beriau. I know he was a teammate of yours. Wow, what a group you had!! Not only a gold medal group, but a group that was a solid CLASS ACT.

        Thanks again for your advice, it is greatly appreciated and valued.

        Very Respectfully,

        John

      2. John Lucchesi Avatar
        John Lucchesi

        Chef Sorgul,

        Thank you for all of the advice and guidance on starting a blog and giving some insight on the process. I greatly appreciate it. It is good to see your back at the pen and putting out more articles.

        I just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I appreciate that you took the time to reply to my message. I am sorry it took me so long to let you know.

        Respectfully,

        Chef John Lucchesi, CEC

  5. Christopher Mccook Avatar
    Christopher Mccook

    Thanks Paul ,

    I have enjoyed your work over the last 12 or so years, I am friends with Micky Berrio and have just recently retired after 50 years in the industry.

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.