I am a concerned spectator at a time when everything seems to be in question and every one of us lives on the edge. We fear, we adjust, we cope, and then there comes a time when our coping mechanism comes into real question. This is when leadership is most needed. Leadership is always important,…
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OUR DAILY BREATH: OPENING RESTAURANTS – WHERE’S THE PLAN, STAN?
Let’s assume, for a moment, that we actually are all in this together. Let’s put on our restaurant hat and take responsibility for doing what is right for both the health and wellbeing of our families, staff, and customers, and help in bring our communities out of the deepest economic hole since the Great Depression.…
OUR DAILY BREATH: CHANGE FOR THE RIGHT REASONS
There is so much angst and uncertainty among the restaurant community right now. Should we reopen when the green light is given? What precautions need to be in place to protect our staff and customers? How will we survive if we are required to live with 25% or 50% of normal capacity? Will customers return,…
A LETTER TO CULINARY SCHOOL GRADUATES
First and foremost – congratulations on earning your degree or certificate. This is an accomplishment that over the course of your lifetime will reward you tenfold. Know that the degree or certificate is more than an acknowledgement of the skills and knowledge that you have gained – it represents your level commitment and discipline that…
OUR DAILY BREATH: PROBLEMS WITH THE CENTRALIZED FOOD SYSTEM
Every day there are lessons to be learned. At this level of crisis there are bound to be ancillary challenges that arise – challenges that were not obvious until the domino theory took hold. The farm to table movement of the past two decades was, on the surface, a return to supporting local growers and…
OUR DAILY BREATH: COOKS ARE SALT OF THE EARTH
There is a world of difference in how we view people whether from the outside looking in or the inside looking out. We walk on dangerous ground when we rely on first impressions or unverified perceptions (outside looking in) to assess others and stand a much better chance of understanding the type of person they…
OUR DAILY BREATH: WONDERS OF KITCHEN SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Cooks have a certain swagger that oftentimes hides a sense of pride in skill development from that first day in the kitchen. Maybe it was that entry-level first job at the age of 16 – that part time work as a dishwasher or fast food worker, or a series of progressive positions once cooking seemed…
OUR DAILY BREATH: TRUST
What is very clear, as restaurants in certain states sense a desire to lift stay at home restrictions and return to business is that guests will remain leery of any interaction with others in public places. A lack of trust will apply to everyone and every place as those once enthusiastic patrons give pause to…
OUR DAILY BREATH – OUR DAILY BREATHE: A CHEF’S RESOLVE
Breathe in – breathe out. Fill your lungs and then slowly exhale. To breathe is to engage in a process unlike a breath – which is a short moment in time. We breathe to cleanse our soul and to refresh our heart, to take time to reflect and put aside our anxiety, to pause and…
OUR DAILY BREATH: A PHASED IN APPROACH TOWARD RESURRECTING RESTAURANTS
A cautious approach towards opening is the most prudent rule as we begin to see signs of a virus that might be controlled in the future. There are few certainties at this time except an understanding that this is not over. As some states begin to entertain loosening restrictions and easing out of “stay at…
