Harvest America CUES BLOG

Continuing Education for Food Professionals

  • THE END OF SERVICE TO SERVICE

    There is another casualty in the restaurant business – one that is far more detrimental than the loss of another corner operation.  This casualty has been in the making for some time but adding point of origin supply chain issues… Continue reading

  • RENT, LEASE, OR BUY – THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RESTAURANT LOCATION

    Was it Ellsworth Statler who, a generation ago proclaimed, “The three most important elements of success are location, location, location,” or was it the British real estate tycoon named Lord Harold Samuel who died in 1987? In either case, those… Continue reading

  • WE SHOULD ALL HELP TO PROTECT ARTISAN FOOD PROCESSES

    I really do try to avoid getting tangled up in bureaucratic or politically influenced issues since they are so difficult to change. However, when food integrity, quality and traditions are involved, my patience starts to wear thin. Traditions are so… Continue reading

  • THINGS THAT EVERY CULINARY SCHOOL GRADUATE MUST REMEMBER

    This is the time of the year when culinary schools pass out diplomas and send their graduates out into the world of professional cooking. These young culinarians are eager, full of energy and loaded with ambitious ideas about who they… Continue reading

  • FOOD IS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

    Once you brush away all of the superficial things that we accumulate in life and begin to prioritize those that are important it is remarkable to see that everyone shares the same list. It all boils down to family, faith,… Continue reading

  • WHY DEMOCRACY DOESN’T WORK VERY WELL IN A KITCHEN

    The foundations of our country stem from the concept of democracy or as clearly stated by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address: “a government of the people, by the people and for the people…” a bold, and noble statement that… Continue reading

  • ARE LINE COOKS REALLY REBELS WITHOUT A CAUSE?

    Many people reflect back on the 1950’s as a unique time in American history when the concept of the role of youth was being seriously questioned. James Dean personified the challenges of a younger generation in the cult classic 1955… Continue reading

  • FIND A MENTOR, BE A MENTOR

    For those seeking to define their place in the world-whether it be professionally or personally, the one piece to the puzzle that allows this to truly happen is the mentor relationships that a person takes part in. The mentor is… Continue reading

  • SORRY – THE CHEF CAN’T MOTIVATE YOU

    “The chef really needs to motivate me today”. How often have you heard this type of interplay in the kitchen? People have a tendency to relegate their performance, attitude, and outlook on their job to someone else. A restaurant employee… Continue reading

  • WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT FOR RESTAURANTS TO MAKE MONEY?

    This is the most important question for operators or would be operators of restaurants. This is the defining question that separates those who will be successful vs. those who are destined to fail. Unfortunately, far too many in the restaurant… Continue reading

  • YOUR BUSINESS RESOLUTIONS FOR 2014

    Well, 2013 is nearly over. Time certainly does fly by both professionally and personally. I hope that this year has worked out well for your restaurant, resort, culinary school or hotel and that you are looking forward to an even… Continue reading

  • SHARPEN YOUR CONTROL PENCILS – EVERYONE IS GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

    Most of you are probably thinking: “what an awful statement to make”. The American mantra is always the opposite and has become the basis for our legal system, yet from experience, I would state that the best approach is to… Continue reading

  • COOKS and CHEFS NEED to TAKE CARE of THEMSELVES

    The excuses are all around: “I don’t have time to eat properly; I’m around food all day, a meal just doesn’t appeal to me; I can’t watch what I eat, my job requires that I taste everything; A real meal… Continue reading

  • THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COOK AND A CHEF

    A few years back I read of an interview with a prominent chef who was asked: “what is the difference between a chef and the millions of cooks throughout America.” The response, to me, was a perfect definition: “Most reasonably… Continue reading

  • SAY IT’S NOT SO……….

    I guess we all have our heros – people who in our professional or personal lives have helped us to set a course and continue to inspire us on a daily basis. To some it may be a musician, a… Continue reading

  • In France the Fundamentals are Strong

    Bread, Cheese and Wine – all products of fermentation, products that require an artisan to prepare properly, products of passion and commitment and products that represent the foundations of a great cuisine. Having just returned from a far too short… Continue reading

  • How Important is Food Cost

    Lets be realistic – the primary job of a chef is to make money for the restaurant. Now the ways to get there are through creating a product that drives sales, exceeding customer expectations so they return, training the staff… Continue reading

  • More of: The Top Line Drives the Bottom Line

    The hardest task for any restaurateur is convincing a potential customer to walk through the front door for the first time. This takes considerable effort in the form of image building, identifying target markets, use of social media, advertising, building… Continue reading

  • The Top Line Drives the Bottom Line

    This is a first post in a series demonstrating what Harvest America Ventures does to help restaurants reach their goals. The restaurant business is quite simple on paper, the challenge is transitioning some simple rules into effective processes and great… Continue reading

  • The Odds are Against Them, Yet People Continue to Open Restaurants

    There are more than 965,000 free-standing restaurants in the United States. That does not include Business and Industry foodservice, Schools, Hospitals, or home-meal replacement from your local grocery store deli-counter. Most data points to a 66% failure rate for free-standing… Continue reading

  • The Hands of a Chef – The Ultimate Tool

      I have been giving lots of thoughts to my tool kit lately.  Like many chefs, I have a plethora of knives, forks, cutters, pastry tips, strange new gizmos and the like.  My tool kit (if I brought everything with… Continue reading

  • Hoping for Excellence, Living with Mediocrity

    What is so fascinating about the surge in interest for careers in culinary arts is the desire that every serious young cook has for making their mark in the food world.  As is the case with most things in life,… Continue reading

  • Addicted to Food??

    “A baby is born, it cries, it is fed, it is content.” (In the Shadow of Cooks: iUniverse Publishers)  So…the baby cries and cries until it’s body aches from the effort.  When the baby is finally fed, it feels better.… Continue reading