Harvest America CUES BLOG

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  • SALUTE TO THE DISHWASHER

    Typically discounted, often maligned, frequently abused, and rarely appreciated (until he or she doesn’t show up) – the dishwasher is actually the most important employee in the kitchen. Cooks may scoff, chefs will dismiss, and owners have no opinion whatsoever,… Continue reading

  • WHY CHEFS CAN’T IGNORE POLITICS

    Is ignorance really bliss? Like many of you, I am tired of the political rhetoric, the discourse that is oftentimes based on hearsay, rather than fact, and the sometimes-vicious personal attacks that have dominated the stage for years. It would… Continue reading

  • KITCHEN FRIENDS

    It is disheartening to occasionally hear of cooks, chefs, and service staff who dislike their jobs, find the work less than rewarding, and most discouraging – fail to feel a unique connection to the people who they share a kitchen… Continue reading

  • THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY – IMMIGRANT NATION

    Certainly one of the hot topics throughout the past election cycle and moving forward is the immigration policies and shortcomings of the United States. There is a political bent and there is reality. You can choose the side that you… Continue reading

  • FUTURE PERFECT FOR RESTAURANT COOKS AND CHEFS

    It may be difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow, but there are most certainly indicators that give us a clue. There is always a tendency to be hopeful that things will somehow be better along with a reluctance to… Continue reading

  • PROFILE OF A MODERN LINE COOK

    It might be time to retire the concept of a job description. For all intents and purposes a job description is limiting and fails to address the unique characteristics of individuals and those intangibles that separate an average line warrior… Continue reading

  • OVER THE HILL – A CHEF’S PERSPECTIVE

    Still one of my favorite and sobering quotes comes from the band “Little Feat” when they proclaimed: “You know – that you’re over the hill when you mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill.” It would be false… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S FLAVOR MEMORY

    I imagine everyone would agree that the most important part of a restaurant dish is taste and flavor. This, of course, encompasses texture, aroma, and appearance, but to most – the intriguing part of enjoyable food revolves around what is… Continue reading

  • GAME DAY IN THE KITCHEN

    Life happens whether we plan or not, whether we have a strategy or shoot from the hip, whether we think through the process of reaching outcomes or if we simply cross our fingers and hope for the best. Looking at… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANT FOOD- GENERATIONS OF DENIAL

    One of the more significant topics of debate in America is focused on the cost of healthcare and the millions of people who are ill-prepared to deal with health issues due to a lack of insurance or insufficient insurance. It… Continue reading

  • YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE LINE COOK IF………

    There comes a point in time on most people’s lives when they finally realize that what they do for a living is what they are meant to do. It is this “aha” moment that can either serve as a breath… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S TOLERANCE FOR PAIN

    Those of us who have held court behind the range know it, our families know it, our peers know it, but the rest of the world has no real idea about the physical and emotional pain that accompanies the job… Continue reading

  • THE EFFECTIVE CHEF’S NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

    Why do we bother to create a list of year to come resolutions when more often than not we disregard the list soon after it is written? Is it because of a tradition that lacks commitment, or because we know… Continue reading

  • CHEF’S and COOKS GIVING BACK

    To many – cooking is a job, maybe a job that is rewarding in ways other than compensation, but never the less – a job. With more than 1 million free standing restaurants in the United States it is obvious… Continue reading

  • LINE COOKS – WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES

    Many jobs are physically demanding and others push a persons ability to think clearly and problem solve. Some jobs can be emotionally draining while others are adrenaline driven and allow workers to ride high and weather the storms of stress.… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S “LIFE IN THE MOMENT”

    The world spins around us, life takes us in many different directions – some exciting and rewarding, some seem to spin out of control, but in all cases we have to take it in stride. There are macro issues of… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S LETTER TO LINE COOKS

      Interesting how even after hanging up a chef’s hat I still enjoy being called “chef”. Although I haven’t spent more than one occasional day at a time behind a professional kitchen range in some time, I am still filled… Continue reading

  • “THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN” – FOR COOKS AS WELL

    There is something fulfilling and yet final to the news that Bob Dylan is being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Many have chastised the decision by the Nobel committee to award such an international honor to a troubadour who… Continue reading

  • A WOMAN’S PLACE “IS” IN THE KITCHEN

    Originally posted on Harvest America CUES BLOG: I could start this article by simply asking: “Why is this even a topic for discussion?” The truth of the matter is that we shouldn’t need to identify people by gender in a… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S THOUGHTS ON IMMIGRATION AND DIVERSITY

    Every day that I walked into a kitchen, from the time I was a 15-year old dishwasher with working papers, I saw something that made me feel special. It was the sense of camaraderie, the feeling that we were all… Continue reading

  • COOKS – BLUE COLLAR AND PROUD OF IT

    There is something inherently gratifying about making things with your hands. Developing and fine-tuning a set of skills that have been passed down for generations help to build pride in a profession that is timeless. In my mind there is… Continue reading

  • TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS AGO – THE TEAM OF TEAMS

    It was October 1988 – I was looking out the window of a Lufthansa 777 jet en route to Frankfurt. It seemed like a dream – after two years of relentless practice and a few trials and tribulations along the… Continue reading

  • CHEFS- KEEP IT SIMPLE, DO IT BETTER

    We (myself included) have become so obsessed with complex, challenging, unique preparations and presentations of restaurant food that, in many cases, we lost sight of the real enjoyment of food – flavor. Perfection may mean incredibly unique, beautiful, and in… Continue reading

  • COOKS and SERVERS BUILD A RESTAURANT ONE PLATE AT A TIME

    Many people think of a restaurant as the physical property, the décor and ambience of the dining room, and the space or location that the place occupies. In truth, the restaurant is much more ethereal. It is the food and… Continue reading

  • HOW IT FEELS TO BE A LINE COOK IN AMERICA

      This is not a scientific study based on polling a cross-section of cooks from coast to coast, but rather an observation from experience working with and managing cooks whom I have a great deal of respect for. First some… Continue reading

  • AMERICA’S CULINARY TEAM

      This is the motherlode time of the year for sports fans. Hockey, Football, and Baseball all intersect for a month making it difficult for many to choose what to watch. There is another sport that takes place during October… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S WEEK IN TUSCANY

    The morning air is crisp, the aroma of olives, and ripe grapes bearing the weight of sugar and juice pull the vines toward the earth, and the must of stone buildings that are hundreds of years old greet me each… Continue reading

  • WHAT “HARVEST” MEANS TO A COOK

    Summer is typically not a line cook’s favorite season. Sure, kitchens are always hot, but nothing compares to summer on the line. A cook comes from the heat of outside to the heat of the kitchen. The make-up air system… Continue reading

  • A LINE COOK – THE INTELLIGENCE CONNECTION

    In terms of human intellect, we evolved much faster than one might expect. The information storage and potential of the human brain is almost limitless – in fact, we use a very small portion of its capacity. How could we… Continue reading

  • REFLECTING ON A DAY THAT CHANGED OUR LIVES

    I was in a routine meeting when I heard the news of the first plane crashing into the Twin Towers. Maybe it was a freak accident. Was it a small private plane – oh well, what an awful accident. When… Continue reading