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CHEF OF THE COLD KITCHEN

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We have all heard the phrase: “If you can’t stand the heat – get out of the kitchen”.  To many it defines what it is like to work in a restaurant kitchen – toiling over cherry red hot flat tops and char broiler flames that rise up to surround steaks and chops seeking those perfect grill marks, a deep fryer spitting hot oil back at the fry cook, and pans so hot that they would polish the palms of a cook if touched without a proper dry towel.  Those who have held a station position on the line know what it’s like to feel sweat run down your back, chef hats soaked at the end of the night, feet swollen from the heat, and dinner plates almost too hot to handle.  The temperature in front of the sauté station is likely in excess of 150 degrees and the broiler even higher.  Ovens are cranked up all the way during service so that opening and closing of doors does not drop the temperature too much, and if you have a wood fired oven for pizza it is likely tipping the scales at over 700 degrees.  It’s hot!

But….there is another part of the kitchen where this is not so.  A part of the kitchen that is home to cooks and chefs who are just as hard working and just as talented as those on the line.  This is a place where the pressure of the clock still exists, where orders off the POS seem to stream just as relentlessly, and where impatient servers tap their shoes and stare just as mercilessly as they do on the hot line.  This is the home of Garde Manger, or pantry, or simply – the cold kitchen.  This is where cold appetizers, salads, terrines, pates, cheese plates, and likely desserts are presented with a high level of artistic expression and where, in many cases, the profit in restaurants reside.

Don’t dismiss this area of the kitchen.  While the hot line may be home to the adrenaline rush and the machismo associated with a bit of suffering to accompany the excitement – the cold kitchen is a place of a methodical approach towards design and structure.  The person who is dedicated to the cooking methods used and the complexity of design will find that the cold kitchen is a place where cooks learn about ratios and formulas, the exactness of flavor building that is sometimes replaced by an educated palate on the hot line, and where the layout on the plate can be comprised of an inventory of flavors that are both separate and unified akin to planning out what clothes you might wear signifying the uniqueness of each piece and the symmetry of the whole package.

When an appetizer is planned appropriately it is a vivid introduction to a meal, a piece that starts the process of leading up to the entrée and foretells what the guest can expect.  The flavors should be full and tempting causing the person to both salivate and anticipate what will follow.  The garde manger must be conservative with portion sizes while affording the greatest impact on the dining experience.  Additionally, the cold appetizer that arrives from the garde manger must be so striking as to cause the guest to stop and admire the dish from different angles before experiencing the flavor, aroma, and texture.  Finally, the cold appetizer should be such that the guest is hoping for more, but knowing that the stage has been set for subsequent courses to complete the package.

If it is a pate, terrine, or galantine; rillettes, plate of canapés, or even the before the meal amuse bouche – the Garde Manger must understand composition, the role of and ratio for fat to meat, the impact that temperature has on the flavor profile of the item, the best way to use space on the plate, the right complements or sauces that will enhance the flavor of the item while not attacking the palate leaving it unreceptive to the next course.  It is a fine line to walk – one that requires the planning of the menu to be such that all courses are designed to marry with others.  Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea Restaurant in Chicago refers to it as “Flavor Bouncing” where everything on a plate marries with every other ingredient and every dish on a menu does the same with other dishes.

When the Garde Manger approaches salads- he or she does so with the same enthusiasm that a Sauté Cook or Grillade does with a dish from their station.  There can be no “utilitarian” salad in a true garde manger department.  The salad, even one described as a “side”, should be able to stand alone in terms of its flavor blending, and visual presentation.  Salads from this department are designed to accent the components of construction to include a base, body, garnish, and dressing.  Nothing on the salad plate is superfluous – everything has a purpose.  The ingredients must reflect the height of freshness, the colors and flavors of the season, the application of height and breadth on the plate, the textures that excite the palate, and a dressing that is noticeable, yet reluctant to hide the natural flavors of the primary ingredients.  In a true garde manger department the salad dressing is applied by the cook, not by the server, and the dressing used is specific to the integrity of the dish.

Oftentimes the cold kitchen is also the place where the work of a pastry chef or baker is assembled for the guest.  The ingredients of gelato, sorbet, cakes, tortes, pate au choux, Bavarian, mousse, coulis and hippenmasse, and tuilles and savarin may have been prepared earlier that day, but the Garde Manger at night is assigned the responsibility of pulling everything together in an orchestra of color, height, structure, texture balance, and exciting flavor.  This is, after all, the end of the meal and a memory that guests will carry with them.

On buffets it is the Garde Manger who stands tall and steals the show.  Those platters of charcuterie, relishes and chutneys, exotic cheeses presented as if someone measured the precise distance between pieces and placed them as a river might flow within the boundaries of its banks.  Standing tall on risers, or tilted toward the guest as if waiting for a camera to capture the art, these platters signify the commitment to quality that exists in the kitchen and how proud every cook is of the work done.

The first course and the last course are in the hands of the cold kitchen and as such become the basis for memories of the dining experience.  It is this combination that affords the restaurant an opportunity to earn a profit.  Those items that guests need not purchase, yet if presented properly are highly desired, are the ones that signify whether a restaurant will be able to remain viable or not.  This is the role of the garde manger and the value of the cold kitchen.  Don’t underestimate the importance of the person who calls this area of your kitchen – home.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-podcasts

CHEF’S HAVE PERMISSION TO SUCCEED

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It was 1969 when the acclaimed “super group” – Blind Faith with Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker caused a stir with their self-titled album.  Although the group was short lived, they did leave us with an applicable lyric:

DO WHAT YOU LIKE:

“Do right, use your head, everybody must be fed
Get together, break your bread, yes, together, that’s what I said
Do what you like”

-BLIND FAITH

Well, to a significant degree chefs have been working on blind faith for decades.  The hope was that by doing more, working harder and longer, making more complicated menus, and pushing the envelope of creativity the restaurant industry would rise up to new levels of success.  Menus became encyclopedic, the skills to execute these menus were over the top, the equipment that allowed for this level of creativity was space age and expensive, the intensity and stress in the kitchen was as heavy as lead, and the number of staff members required to execute this complexity was painful.

Chefs and those aspiring to become chefs gave up any semblance of balance in their lives to be part of this madness, dozens of vendors were required to meet the ingredient needs of complex menus, dining room table tops were plagued by extraordinarily expensive inventories of Riedl glassware, bone china and sterling silver flatware; and wine cellars became museums for wine selections from around the world that rang up hundreds of thousands of dollars in rare vintages to support the menus that chef’s felt compelled to design.

At the end of service when the lights were finally turned off over the $50K combi ranges, bank of sous vide set-ups, All-Clad pots and pans, Vitamix blenders, Paco-Jets, and anti-griddles – chefs were left exhausted, bruised, angry, desperate to keep the line cooks that they had just belittled for placing fresh herbs with stainless tweezers at 3 o’clock instead of 5 o’clock on the plate, and discovering that although the dining room was full of 4-hour dining patrons, and wine was served at every table – the restaurant was still not profitable. 

Down the street – a cadre of small independent restaurants with smaller staff requirements and tasty rustic menus would have been profitable except rents on their space had gone through the roof ever since this high end, 8-course menu, mecca restaurant opened its doors.  These small restaurant operators opened and closed their doors at an alarming rate simply because they couldn’t afford the space.

Any reasonable person would look at these situations, scratch his or her head and wonder what in the world was everyone thinking.  This was the restaurant world, or at least part of it, prior to the pandemic.  This is a restaurant world that is not sustainable.  This is the restaurant world that must change – and it will.

Chefs and restaurateurs need the freedom to “do what they like” and find success in terms of restaurant profitability, life balance, happy guests, and fulfilled employees.  This is what needs to happen and this is what will happen – chef’s and restaurateurs have permission to change.

In a recent article about Danny Meyer – NYC restaurateur extraordinaire, he talks about his epiphany over the past year – an opportunity he had to truly assess everything about his restaurants and the accepted approach towards operation.  

“Never again in our careers will we be able to take the boat out of water and put it in dry dock for a year to inspect every inch of its underbelly and make it seaworthy again,”

“We want to make sure when we put the boat back in the water, it’s a sounder boat and does business in a better way.”

-Danny Meyer – Union Square Hospitality

Inc. Magazine:

https://www.inc.com/lindsay-blakely/danny-meyer-union-square-future-restaurant-business.html?fbclid=IwAR30zbCadI_9nqRmBZU6o4Iu9XuYETaxJ7riH_NOE2mDcDaUhaxI5c7jpas

Danny Meyer is giving all of us permission to change the accepted approach towards the restaurant business and the way that we measure success.

Fairness, equality, respectable pay, balanced lives, manageable menus, fair third-party fee structures, and operations that stand a better chance of earning a profit must be key to a formula for success moving forward.  This is an opportunity and an absolute requirement moving forward – we must embrace this and more.

Menus that reflect excellent ingredients and seasonality, menus that offer less choice, but the highest standards of quality, presentations that are naturally beautiful but that do not require an army to assemble, flavors that excite and satisfy, service that is real and filled with honest to goodness hospitality, dining rooms that are comfortable, cheerful and fun, and prices that allow for profitability while making sense to a larger swath of guests – this is what we have permission to focus on.

Let’s keep our standards high with fewer, well-paid employees who have the ability to engage in exciting careers and balance a life beyond the kitchen or dining room.  We can do this and there has never been a better time to think about how we move in this direction.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com – BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-podcasts

DON’T SETTLE FOR MEDIOCRITY

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It would be difficult to find a more sinister, demoralizing, harmful, or self-destructive word than mediocre.  Mediocre sucks the lifeblood out of an individual or an organization – it is the dark side of the moon, the harbinger of discomfort and pain, and the salt in the wound that saps your energy and leaves you hardened and embarrassed.  Am I over-dramatizing it – maybe, but then again –  maybe not.

When we settle for mediocre we relegate ourselves to a life of not good enough, also ran, and didn’t care enough to make it.  Is this where you want to be?  Look around you – identify the companies, businesses, or individuals whom you admire – you know, the ones that seem to win a lot and fit into that category of “successful”.  Even more important – these are the companies, businesses, or individuals that seem to enjoy what they are all about.  These “successful” players are there due to one very important reason: they never accept mediocrity.  In fact, just the opposite – they constantly seek excellence and always know that as good as they may be – they can always be better.  Mediocrity has no place in their vocabulary.

These are the Ritz Carlton’s of the hotel business, the Tesla’s of electric autos, the Wegman’s of the grocery business, the Apple’s of computer hardware and electronics, the Harvard’s of business schools, and the French Laundry’s of the restaurant industry.  We know them by name, we oftentimes buy their products and services, we read about their success, and we aspire to be like them in some small way.  Look deeply into these businesses and the people who own and operate them and you will see an unrelenting effort towards achieving excellence in design, product quality, efficiency, value, and service.  The culture of these businesses insists on the relentless pursuit of greatness.  The Japanese would refer to them as companies focused on “Kaisen” (a pursuit of constant improvement). 

Now here is the kicker – excellence has very little to do with the price you charge or the type of product or service you provide.  The big misconception is: “You get what you pay for”.  This is an excuse that allows a person or a company to accept being mediocre.  “It’s only a hot dog” – so excellence is not an option: WRONG.  “It’s only a plate of spaghetti” – so excellence is a pipe dream – WRONG.  “It’s only beer” – so why even focus on excellence – people will drink what you pour – WRONG.    “This isn’t the French Laundry” so why even invest the time in plate presentation and cooking it properly – WRONG. 

Take a simple hamburger – the second most popular item on American menus (a close second to pizza).  Ground beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a bun – simple right?  Walk through the steps toward excellence:

  • What blend of meat and what fat content make the most flavorful and moist burger?
  • What method of cooking will yield the best opportunity for caramelization and deliciousness?
  • What piece of equipment will be most successful in reaching your goals of deliciousness?
  • Which type of lettuce will provide the freshness, the crunch, the mouth-feel, and the flavor balance with that perfect burger?
  • Which type of tomato will present the most pronounced flavor of fine ripened, deeply refreshing acid/sweet balance on the sandwich and how can we ensure this consistently throughout the year?
  • Which bun sits best in the hand, has the balance of crust and soft interior, toasts well and holds its shape while absorbing the juice from that perfectly cooked burger?
  • What type of onion provides the aroma, sweet bite, and intensity that cuts through the fat of the burger to offer the perfect package of flavor and texture?
  • Should the fries offered on the side be hand cut or frozen?  If hand cut – which potatoes offer the right balance of starch and sugar to brown properly and hold their shape?  What type of fat and what is the best temperature for producing the perfect fry?
  • Should pickles be sliced in coins, sliced lengthwise, cut in wedges, or left whole.  Should we pickle our own or buy them? Should they be sour dills, half dills, bread and butter pickles, or intensely spicy?  What works best in creating excellence?

If you walk through these questions and answer each with excellence in mind it is easy to see how the simple acceptance of mediocrity will never set the stage for success, but an all out assault on mediocre decisions with an over-riding intent to make “the absolute best burger in the history of mankind” can lead a restaurant of any type to be superior and to create loads of  “WOW” experiences for guests.

Create a similar checklist for every product on your menu, regardless of the type of operation or the prices on you charge and you will find a path from mediocrity to excellence. 

Now, here is the bonus: when mediocrity is replaced with excellence then every person who works in an operation feels the power of earned pride.  Excellence will eventually become the norm with everything that they do – on the job and off.  At some point their work stations will be better organized, their uniforms will look a bit more pristine, their knives will be sharper, their attitude toward others will be brighter, and their acceptance of mistakes or slips towards mediocrity (from themselves or others) will not be tolerated.  As the movement towards excellence becomes the standard – everyone and everything will begin to rise up.  At some point excellence will no longer be a destination – it will become a habit and an essential part of a business culture.

When excellence is the standard method of operation for the business then purveyors will work extra hard to make sure you receive the best ingredients, the best potential employees will be knocking on your door for an opportunity to join the team, the regional press will notice and be more inclined to tell your story, and occasional customers will become steady customers and eventually ambassadors to spread the word about a GREAT restaurant (or school, car dealership, shoe store, or insurance agency).

Now this doesn’t happen overnight – it is a process that takes time, but it starts with the small stuff.  It is your job to SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF.  It is your job to make sure the equipment in the kitchen is in good working order, the store rooms are organized, uniform appearance is monitored, the dining room tables are steady, employees are constantly being trained, the dish pit procedures produce spotless china, glassware, and flatware; the windows are clean, the parking lot swept, the signage is maintained, and the bottles on the back bar are dusted with labels facing forward.  All of the details from the mix of beef in your hamburger to the polish on the flatware will lead the operation away from mediocrity and pointed in the direction of excellence.  This can work for the hot dog stand that attracts customers from 20 miles away to the fine dining restaurant picking organic fresh vegetables from their roof top garden.  The formula is the same – it’s all about your interest and commitment to make it happen.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Eliminate mediocre from your vocabulary

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-podcasts

THE AMERICAN RESTAURANT 2022 (Post Pandemic)

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Ah…now is the time for everyone to start speculating about what the restaurant business will look like when all of this craziness is over.  Let’s start with what we are fairly comfortable saying:  whatever “normal” is will likely not make an appearance until the end of 2021 – so…let’s begin our speculation with January of 2022 to be safe.  I know what you are thinking – WHAT!!!! Restaurants cannot wait that long, no way, no how – this is the end of the world, as we know it.  Sorry – just trying to be realistic.  Once we have a target we might at least be able to plan effectively to either re-invent or throw in the towel.  At least the real bad news is out of the way.

Now, let’s think about the purpose of restaurants so that current and potential restaurateurs and chefs can choose the direction they want to take. 

THE PURPOSE OF RESTAURANTS (Where do you want to fit)

  1. To nourish and provide sustenance
  2. To offer convenience
  3. To provide a forum for conversation
  4. To create opportunities for gatherings
  5. To reward customers
  6. To provide an outlet for chef creativity
  7. To complete a neighborhood or destination
  8. To rock customers world

There may be more reasons, but these are the most common.  So choose where you want to sit and lets jump on the speculation train.

[]         NOURISH AND PROVIDE SUSTENANCE:

Without a doubt – one of the primary purposes of a restaurant and one that supports the defined needs of a guest is to fill their stomachs.  There are numerous multi-billion dollar chains along with countless mom and pop operations that do a great job on this front.  Of, course the food must be tasty and appealing at some level and above all else – consistent.  If this is your purpose then the field is wide open and will remain so as long as the price you charge matches the level of purpose.

[]         OFFER CONVENIENCE:

Quite often, the restaurant that is focused on nourishment is also great at providing convenience.  In a world where everyone seems to live on tight schedules – convenience rules the day.  How convenient you might ask:  we barely need to slow down our cars and roll down the window when our food arrives – that’s convenience.  During the pandemic – those operators who have been able to convert their operations to take out, curb side, or delivery using third party providers like GrubHub and Uber Eats have hit the nail on the head.  Safety and convenience are first and foremost in consumer’s minds.

[]         PROVIDE A FORUM FOR CONVERSATION:

The heart and soul of many communities is a place where conversation flows freely –  a place where opinions reign and where judgment of others is set aside in favor of a free flow of ideas.  This was (is) the design of classic coffee houses, speakeasys, and corner cafes for generations.  Whether a restaurant or tavern fills the role is dependent on many factors, but high on the list is the owner’s intent on creating a mecca for this to take place.   If creating this type of environment is high on your list of priorities then there will come a time, an important time, when we are able to return to this type of interaction. 

[]         TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GATHERINGS:

Houses focused on catering informal and formal events whether it is that tavern where people gathered after a game to celebrate a win or commiserate a loss, the banquet hall booked for weddings, reunions, birthdays, and holidays; or simply that restaurant where you can always depend on familiar faces to clink glasses with – gathering spots are important.  We have felt the pain of their loss over the past year, and will need to do without them a bit longer, but in all likelihood they will return in a very robust way once it makes sense. 

[]         TO REWARD CUSTOMERS:

There are operators who enter the business for altruistic reasons:  to bring happiness to people, to reward them when others may forget to do so, or even to allow guests to find their own reason to seek a pat on the back.  Great food and drink and honest, sincere service can be the sunshine at the end of a not so terrific day.  This is what hospitality is all about.

[]         TO PROVIDE AN OUTLET FOR CHEF CREATIVITY:

The definition of a chef sometimes includes: “frustrated artist”.  Individuals who dedicate their lives to the preparation of food often view the plate as their canvas and what they do as something far more than just nourishment.  This may be your priority, but know that those on the consuming end may not appreciate the chef’s art form.  Restaurants are businesses as well and the customer is the other end of the restaurant tug of war.  Art is wonderful, but in business it must sell to have any real value.

[]         TO COMPLETE A NEIGHBORHOOD OR DESTINATION:

Look at your own neighborhood and point to any common point of interest that helps to bring people together and turn a few blocks of houses into a community of homes.  Chances are pretty good that the point of interest will be a restaurant.  Gentrification or urban renewal almost always begins with the opening of a place of dining.  Focusing on this makes both altruistic and good business sense.

[]         ROCK CUSTOMERS’ WORLD:

Ah, then there are restaurants, restaurant owners, chefs and cooks who see the operation as a vehicle for standing out, for making people jump up and applaud, for confusing the competition and helping people focus on food experiences that they never imagined.  These are the risk takers, the individuals who push the envelope, and the ones who work like crazy because they have a goal of knocking people’s socks off.  If this is your objective then know that it is hard, it involves the fickle nature of consumers, it requires superhuman effort to earn and then more to maintain a reputation for “the extraordinary”.  To see this as a goal is to make a lifetime commitment to constant improvement because what rocks a customer today will become ordinary tomorrow.  Many have tried, but few have succeeded.

So, what will rise to the top when the Covid Monster has gone into hibernation?  Impossible to say, but there are some indications of change they just might have staying power.  Here are a few to chew on:

  1. GHOST KITCHENS are making people scratch their heads and wonder if this is the next “big” thing.  Rent kitchen space, develop multiple concepts around a core of ingredients, develop a separate branding campaign including “order friendly” websites, contract with a third party delivery service and go to town.  Minimal staff, no long-term lease, no property taxes, no dining room, no service protocol, and social media as your only marketing initiative.  If one of those brands fails to move well then shut down the website and you are done.  Much of the sizzle is set aside, customer interaction is non-existent, and the feeling of community may be lost – but it certainly is interesting and it eliminates many of the challenges that restaurants face.
  • FOOD TRUCKS are not a passing fad.  Eliminating the need for brick and mortar and a set location give restaurateurs a chance to take the product where the customer is and move freely when customers have a need to do the same.  Limited, focused menus; high impact flavors; spontaneity, and limited staff needs make this a very attractive model for chefs and owners.  Add a rented commissary kitchen space (ghost kitchen) for prep and you can scale a hot concept to multiple trucks working an entire city.
  • POP UP RESTAURANTS give a chef the opportunity to experiment with concepts, menu items, styles of service and preparation, and even multiple locations.  Running a concept for a few weeks can provide enough analytical data to support the need for a brick and mortar operation someday down the road.  It makes sense to move in together before marriage.
  • GROCERY STORE PARTNERSHIPS provide chefs with another potential outlet for their product without the headache of dining rooms, service staff, and the pressure of the clock.  Renting shelf or cooler space for your product places the merchandising, collection of cash and credit, and facilities maintenance in the hands of the store.  Placing your product in a location where customers visit anyway opens the door for spontaneous sales providing your packaging and point of sale merchandising is top shelf.
  • BRICK AND MORTAR OPERATIONS will have a much more difficult time rising from the destruction that the pandemic is leaving behind.  Lease, mortgage, utilities, staffing, and the need to convince people to visit you is even more of a challenge than in the past.  There is little doubt that location restaurants will return, will service the needs of customers, and in some cases will thrive, but they’re a far greater gamble than other options – at least in the short term.

Be cautious, but through planning and the willingness to make solid business decisions you can find a market for your product and service.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-podcasts

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A TAVERN

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Every year, a significant number of new restaurants open and almost as many close their doors for good.  It is, that spark of “I have a great idea for a restaurant” that drives many people towards the leap into entrepreneurship – a leap that too many are unprepared for.  Nevertheless we have always been blessed with choice when it comes to finding a place to eat.  On occasion, a restaurant opens, the owners have the right idea, everyone in the operation rallies around core principles that find a home in consumer minds and hearts, and the place enjoys success for a long period of time.  These are the places where memories are built and where customers become friends, and friendships last from generation to generation.

This past year has been excruciatingly brutal on restaurants that simply haven’t been able to weather this relentless storm of pandemic related restrictions and consumer concerns.  The typical 30% or more failure rate has crept up to 50% and even the most established generational restaurants have locked their doors for the final time.

It pains me to see any restaurant close.  I know how much time, energy, money, and heart goes into that first day when a proud operator and/or chef looks up at the front door sign that proclaims they are open for business.  I know how much personal experience is expressed in the menu that is oftentimes comprised of family recipes and a chefs “best effort”.  I know how many sleepless nights went into the decision to lease a space, writing a check for the kitchen equipment, filing for an LLC, hiring those first employees, receiving that first order from vendors, and wondering if there will be enough money to pay the bills each week.  I know how heartbreaking it is when the dining room is nearly empty, and how invigorating it is when it is full.  The decision to close, to tell your loyal employees that it is over, to file for chapter eleven, to clean out the coolers and shut off the lights for the final time is something that cuts deep – this is maybe one of the worst feelings imaginable.

To some it is a sense of failure while to others it represents the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.  Some walk away never to contemplate ownership again, while others immediately begin to formulate the next “great idea”.  In all cases, it is not something that was contemplated on that first day of opening – it is always a last resort.

To this end, I think that it is proper to recognize all who take the leap, who give it their best, who pour their heart and soul into an idea – even if the end means a lock on the door.  Here are just a few remarkable restaurants that have closed this past year – many simply because the pandemic was the last straw – something that they just could not overcome – we will miss them:

[] BLACKBIRD:  A superb Chicago restaurant known for its innovation and passion.  Donnie Madia and Chef Paul Kanan did an extraordinary job of bringing a relatively small restaurant into the Chicago limelight.  Ultimately it was this small size that made it impossible to survive with the limits to capacity that the pandemic brought.

[] K-PAUL’S:  There were times when people would wrap around the block and wait hours for a chance to sit and break bread at Paul Prudhomme’s landmark restaurant that defined the Cajun/Creole obsession that people had for this New Orleans mecca.  Even after his death, the restaurant carried on – until it just couldn’t.

[] AUREOLE:  For a few decades there were a handful of incredible restaurants in New York City, just a handful out of the more than 25,000 in the Big Apple that truly defined the food revolution.  Chef Charlie Palmer’s Aureole was one of those operations.  Incredibly creative, extraordinarily delicious food accompanied by an out of this world wine list helped to put this operation on the map as one that stood out for decades.  Now the space is for rent.

[] BLUE SMOKE:  Quite possibly one of the most noteworthy, successful restaurateurs in America – Danny Meyer and his Union Square Restaurant group seemed to own New York City for quite some time.  Blue Smoke was his foray into the Barbeque genre, and it was a star.  Even the brightest stars can fade, and so Blue Smoke is no more.  Still, there is little question that Meyer’s restaurants will shine again once Covid is behind us.

[] THE COPACABANA:  A number of owners, a variety of locations, but always recognized as the premier “club” in the Big Apple.  This was the place in the city for the hip and the fun loving, for those in the know, and those who wanted that to be so.  No owner had more influence on this landmarks prominence from generation to generation than Peter Dorn.  He overcame many obstacles as locations were changed for various reasons from “off the park” to Hell’s Kitchen – this was the place to party.  Now it is a memory.

[] GOTHAM BAR AND GRILL:  I had a number of extraordinary meals at Gotham – a place known for innovation, the operation that coined “vertical cuisine”, a place of elegance and lightheartedness, a place for consistent excellence for more than 25 years under the guidance of Chef Alfred Portale (originally from Buffalo, New York), and a restaurant that for quite some time was one of the top grossing operations in the city.  Portale left a few years ago, but it was his standards that put the operation on the map.  I will really miss this restaurant.

[] THE 21 CLUB:  A speakeasy in 1922 during Prohibition – Jack Kriendler and Charlie Burns made this a place that was synonymous with the New York dining scene.  Hemingway was a regular, and the mob was known to hang out and even plan a hit on individuals not in their favor.  It was part of the New York landscape for almost 100 years.

[] FARALLON:  This was a restaurant whose décor was a combination of beauty and strangeness, but its food was undeniably superb.  The octopus ceiling lights may have been what reporters wrote about, but it’s the food and service at this San Francisco restaurant that everyone will miss.

[] PATINA:  This was Chef/owner Joachin Splichal’s first entrance into the fine dining scene of Los Angeles.  Often written about, frequently compared to, and always respected – this operation grew into a small empire of restaurants within the Patina Group that would eventually include restaurants on both coasts.  Now it is a memory.

[] CITY TAVERN:  This important restaurant opened its doors in 1773.  Many of the most influential people in American history spent time in this grand operation from Paul Revere to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams – the halls of City Tavern are filled with history.  In 1777 the 1st 4th of July celebration in our country was held at City Tavern – the most American of celebrations.  Chef Walter Staib was given approval to operate the business in the now National Park that is host to America’s past and he held this position with great pride until 2020 presented the business with a challenge that it could not overcome.

[] MORTONS CHICAGO and LAWRY’S PRIME RIB:  Houses of beef would be the most appropriate title for these operations.  Steaks, chops, and prime rib carved tableside.  Although other locations remain – these were destinations.

[] EVEREST:  Richard Melman – owner of Lettuce Entertain You – the thematic restaurant group centered in Chicago, opened Everest as his entrance into the high-end fine dining market.  Beautiful, masculine, impeccable old world service, and a menu that reflected the grand style of cuisine – now a moment in time.

[]         MESA GRILL – LAS VEGAS:  Bobby Flay was the guy for quite some time.  His blending of American cuisine and Southwestern won him acclaim at the New York City Mesa Grill and his sister operation Vegas took it to the next level.  When Vegas succumbed to the pandemic, the volumes needed to sustain many of the incredible restaurants there were forced to re-evaluate.  Mesa is a victim.

This is just a sample of the tens of thousands of restaurants that have closed over the past year.  Many in your neighborhood have likely fallen through no real fault of their own.  Where do these operators turn to for answers?  The normal: “what could I have done differently” is no longer valid.  Those in the business will try to ask these questions as recovery looms closer, but the answers will be few and far between.  One thing is clear – restaurants will rise again but with battle scars that will take years to heal.

Support your local restaurants when you are able, thank those restaurant owners and chefs for what they provide, and relish the memories that cafes, bistros, taverns, and restaurants have provided in your past.

“Once upon a time there was a tavern

Where we used to raise a glass or two

Remember how we laughed away the hours

And think of all the great things we would do

Those were the days my friend

We thought they’d never end

We’d sing and dance forever and a day

We’d live the life we choose

We’d fight and never lose

For we were young and sure to have our way”

  • Mary Hopkins – 1968

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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CAFÉ Talks Podcast

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FOR THE LOVE OF RESTAURANTS and COOKING

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I am optimistic and realistic at the same time.  I am optimistic in the ability of the restaurant business to recover and shine, to bring people together once again, to return to a position of central to the life of neighborhoods, and optimistic that this business of food will provide wonderful careers for cooks, chefs, service staff, bartenders, managers and owners – THIS WILL HAPPEN.  At the same time – I am realistic and know that this will not occur without the pain of defeat for some, the anxiety of not knowing when this will occur, understanding that the financial burdens will seem unmanageable for some time, and realistic in understanding that the business of restaurants will look different a few months from now and that change is inevitable.  This is the Yin and Yang of the environment where restaurants live today.

The lifeblood of success will be, as it always has been – the love that owners, chefs, cooks, servers, and managers have for what they do, the food that they have the privilege to work with, and the guests who place trust in their hands.  Restaurant work is not for everyone, yet those who find their way, or in many cases – those who are drawn into restaurant work will readily say: “There is nothing else that I would rather do.”  It is because of these people that I am very bullish on the future of the restaurant business.

I look at the multitude of restaurant people that I know and see interesting similarities among those who somehow manage to hang on, weather the storm, and keep an optimistic eye on the future.  These individuals are inspiring and worthy of our praise – they are solid advocates for the right reasons to get involved in the restaurant business, and always encouraged by what they see as that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.  I offer their insights as a spark that will hopefully give others a chance to breathe deep and wrestle with the realities before them.

“I feel like I’m not doing my job and staying true to myself if I put anything on my menu, or use an ingredient that doesn’t have a story behind it.”  Know your source.

-Chef Tim Hardiman – The Tailor and the Cook

Great restaurants, great menus, and great chefs bring memorable stories to their tables.  It is these endearing stories that help to establish the longevity and resiliency of a restaurant.

“I have always looked at it this way: if you strive like crazy for perfection – an all-out assault on total perfection – at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence, and then you might be able to sleep at night.  To accomplish something significant – excellence has to become a life plan.”

-ChefCharlie Trotter – Charlie Trotters

Those restaurants and chefs  – regardless of menu focus or price tags on the menu, that stem from an unrelenting push towards excellence will always find an audience.  These are the benchmarks that others strive to emulate and guests can’t stop talking about.

“When you get close to the raw materials and taste them the moment they let go of the soil, you learn to respect them.”

-Chef Rene Redzepi – NOMA

True Farm to Table goes beyond buying local – it means that the chef and cook understands the farmer, respects his or her work, and know what it’s like to become truly connected to the ingredients – real cooking demands this.

“Food feeds our souls.  It is the single great unifier across all cultures.  The table offers a sanctuary and a place to come together for unity and understanding.”

-Chef Lidia Bastianich

What we do as cooks is important.  Our craft bridges gaps in understanding and speaks to anyone willing to listen.  We are communicators, ambassadors, and speakers of the universal language of food.  Differences can be put aside when we revel in the beauty of a well-prepared plate of food.

“It wasn’t about mechanics; it was about a feeling, wanting to give someone something, which in turn was really gratifying.  That really resonated with me.”

– Chef Thomas Keller – The French Laundry and Bouchon

Service is a noble profession.  Those who understand this know that the restaurant business – front and back of the house, is the service business.  When service exists business success will follow.  Service requires understanding, empathy, the ability to listen, caring, and joy.  Guests may come initially for the opportunity to enjoy your food, but they return time and again because of your commitment to real service.

“A great restaurant is one that just makes you feel like you’re not sure whether you went out or you came home and confuses you.  If it can do both of those things at the same time – you’re hooked.”

– Danny Meyer – Union Square Hospitality

We (those in the restaurant business) are part of a family and every restaurant guest is welcome to join.  Hospitality – a sense of place – is the heart and soul of a great restaurant.  Operations that believe in this will always be in demand.

“We need to get into the community and understand who they are and what their needs might be instead of just giving them something without understanding what they want.”

– Chef Dominique Crenn – Atilier Crenn Restaurant

All hail the neighborhood restaurant (not just geographical) that responds to guest needs and sets aside the ego of the restaurateur and chef.  When this happens – the restaurant can become the centerpiece of a community, the place of choice, and a business that sees their success through the eyes of the guest.

“It’s hard to be 100% better than your competition, but you can be 1% better in 100 ways.”

– Richard Melman – Lettuce Entertain You

It’s all about the details.  Sweat those details, no matter how small, and know that the “experience” is an accumulation of hundreds of pieces of the puzzle.  Become an expert at the little things from the lighting in your parking lot to the greeting at the door; from the comfort of your chairs to the temperature of the butter on the tabletop.  Great restaurants sweat the small stuff.

“I realized very early that the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport people to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

-Chef Jose Andres – Jose Andres Restaurants and World Central Kitchen

The experience of a restaurant allows the guest to build a relationship with other cultures, traditions, flavors, and history.  The restaurateur is the tour guide.  A person may be able to cook in the style of Italy, Scandinavia, Mexico, Asia, New Orleans or France at home, but only the restaurant can provide the Italian, Mexican, Scandinavian, Asian, Cajun, or French experience.

“It’s around the table and in the preparation of food that we learn about ourselves and about the world.”

– Chef Alice Waters – Chez Panisse

The preparation and sharing of food brings all of our senses into alignment and points us to the question: “what am I capable of creating and how can I communicate what I am feeling with others through food?”  Differences melt away when we engage in this most personal act of caring – the preparation of a plate of food for a friend, family member, passing guest, or individual who otherwise may differ from you in so many ways.  Food is the great equalizer.

“If I have a really bad cook, manager, or sous chef – I previously would have fired them or lost my temper.  But now I realize that if I’m so right, then I should be able to communicate it so clearly that they get it.”

– Chef David Chang – Momofuku Restaurant Group

The restaurants that are able to thrive again are the ones that are able to build a team – a cohesive group of well-trained professional artisans with a shared vision; individuals who take their job seriously and are given the tools to do so.  Long gone are the days when the chef or restaurateur ruled with an uncaring, iron fist.  To be successful in the food business you must learn to listen, to train, to support, to collaborate, and to lead.

“I take so much pleasure in seeing customers who are happy – happy with what they eat, but happy with their friends and in sharing a moment together.  I think that this is more important in life than the endless pursuit of perfection.”

– Chef Daniel Boulud – The Dinex Group

Why do we cook or operate restaurants if not to bring happiness?  Happiness is what we strive for among those who cook and serve and happiness to those who enjoy the chance to break bread at our table.  To watch guests savor each bite, to see them smile or laugh, to watch them raise a glass to friendship or success, or to simply view them relax and shed the stress of the day – this is what we work for – this is our mission.

“Anyone can write a menu, but the ability to consistency execute (that menu) profitably is the true test of an operator.”

-Chef Keith Taylor – Chefsoul Culinary Enterprises

Yes, everything stated in this article is true, but the super-human effort of the chef or restaurateur without the discipline and understanding of how to generate sales and control costs will quickly lose energy.  Restaurants are operated from the standpoint of many altruistic building blocks, but they are businesses at the same time.  Those that will survive our current challenges and thrive once again in the near future are ones that understand this.

“We have a philosophy – it’s very simple – it’s called ROG, Return of Guest.  Everyone, in every aspect of the operation has got to be doing something that translates into the guest wanting to return.”

-Roger Berkowitz – Legal Seafood

It’s very challenging and costly to convince individuals to walk through your door and become a guest.  To not focus your energy on their comfort, happiness, and willingness to return makes no sense at all.  Why would they want to return if we treat them as if they are just passing through?  Set the stage for their return – turn them into raging fans and they will be at your door when the time is right.

Yes, I am optimistic and realistic, but I know that this sampling of individuals who are or were enormously successful in the restaurant business had “that something” that set them apart.  It was and is a passion, a commitment to excellence, an understanding of real service, a desire to please, and a strong business foundation that created a path for natural success.  We can all learn from them.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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CHEFS – VALUE and the TOP LINE DRIVE the BOTTOM LINE

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In the restaurant business there are really only two ways to view profit:  a very small amount of profit balanced by very significant volume, or a significant amount of profit on far less volume.  How you approach the design of your restaurant in this regard will determine nearly everything else.  How you approach profit will determine what your physical plant will look like, the scope of sophistication in your kitchen, who your vendors will be, how many employees you will hire and the depth of their experience, where you advertise and how much you invest in that, your table top appointments, and even your hours of operation.  So, if you are in the process of ideation with regard to a restaurant – then start with one simple question:  “How do I want to measure profit?”

In those restaurants where profit is measured in terms of smaller numbers with significant volume then concerns such as food cost percentage are of paramount importance.  When profit is measured in more significant profit from fewer sales then I will make a statement that may cause many chefs scratch their heads in disbelief: “Food cost percentage is far less relevant – it’s all about contribution margin.”  In both cases it is sales (the top line) that sets the stage for success.

So what is contribution margin?  Simply stated it is what a menu item contributes to the financial success of a restaurant.   This can be direct (the menu item itself contributes working funds) or indirect (because the item is present on the menu – other items are more likely to sell).  So let’s look at this through an example or two:

Chicken Saltimbocca vs. Beef Tenderloin with Wild Mushroom Demi Glace. 

The Chicken breast (6 ounce flattened) may cost in the neighborhood of $3, the additional slice of Prosciutto, Provolone Cheese, and sauce reduction another $1.50, and complementary vegetable/starch combination another $.75 for a total plate cost (not actual costs, but fair estimates) equals around $5.25.  The baseline formula for determining selling price using an acceptable food cost percent of 30% would be:

SELLING PRICE SP) = PLATE COST (PC)/FOOD COST %(FC%)

SP = $5.25 / .30

SP = $17.50

The available funds left (contribution) = $17.50 – $5.25 or $12.25

________________________________________________________________________________________
The Beef Tenderloin might look something like this:

Beef Tenderloin (trimmed) (8 oz.) at around $18/pound = $9.00, the wild mushroom demi from stock to finished reduction around $1.25, mélange of wild mushrooms (chanterelles and morels) at approximately $2.00, and a standard vegetable/starch combination at $.75 for a total plate cost of around $13.00.  If we use the same baseline formula for determining selling price:

SP = $13.00 / .30

SP =    $43.33

The available funds left (contribution) = $43.33 – 13.00 or $30.33

Now the first question is:  Can you sell this steak at $43 or does this exceed what the market will bear?

If we chose to use 50% as the desired FC% then the result would be:

SP = $13.00 / .50

SP = $26.00 (A price that guests would be more willing to swallow)

The available funds left (contribution) would be $13 or $.75 greater than chicken at 30%.  But now the contribution potential goes even further if we consider general psychology and human behavior. 

1.         It would not be a stretch to consider that a steak person is different than a chicken person (behavior considerations are generalized).  The steak person may very well be less “price sensitive” and more willing to listen to recommendations by the server for adding appetizers, desserts, and even a nice bottle of wine.  The chicken person might be of the same mindset, but could be considered more cost conscious and a tougher sell.  So, in this example  – even though the steak (at a 50% cost) falls outside of the norm for food cost percentage, it stands to contribute more in terms of available gross profit as well as the ability to encourage ancillary sales of other items. 

If, in fact, you understand that the success of a restaurant leans on the ability to generate sales, then it becomes obvious that getting all wrapped up in food cost percentage pales in comparison to driving the “top line”. 

2.         The “soft issues” that go beyond measurement of dollars and cents point to a more robust overall “dining experience” when a guest is able to enjoy a broader spectrum of dishes and complementary beverages.   When the “experience” is driven by turning tables to reach a desired volume then something will likely be missing.  It should always be the restaurateur’s goal to encourage return business and ambassadorship when happy guests recommend what you have to offer to others.

Now, what about those operations that rely on a smaller amount of profit enhanced by some serious volume – can they create an experience that is worthy of a return?  Absolutely!  But, in this case you need to rely on the uniqueness of an atmosphere that also encourages shorter dine in times, signature items that create excitement and buzz (think Chick fill-A chicken sandwich), systems throughout the operation that are geared for speed (think about the order/delivery system at Panera), and the ability to maintain a high level of volume.

In the higher profit/lower volume model there will be a requirement for higher levels of skill from both front and the back of the house, a greater understanding of ingredients and their source, cost appropriate table top items (more expensive china, flatware, and glassware), and a level of finesse that rises to the level of the menu pricing.

At a time when pandemic restrictions dramatically impact typical top line initiatives for both methods of measuring profit, it is easy to see just how challenged restaurants are to find a profit scenario that works.

BRING VALUE INTO THE FORMULA

The magic of a great restaurant and one that yields profit potential for the operation lies in those factors that go beyond costs and selling price determination.  These are the elements of a food experience that create “value”.  Every restaurant should embrace, as part of its goal structure, a feeling among its customers of: “That was well worth what I spent.”  Whether it is a $5.00 quick service meal or a $100 fine dining evening – there is always room to create experiences and in turn – great value.  The most common components of the value approach are:

  • UNIQUE, MEMORABLE FLAVORS

It may very well be that one item or a few signature menu choices that just knock people’s socks off.  Excitement around flavor is one of the most compelling reasons to support a restaurant.  People come from all over the country to New Orleans with a clear commitment to stand in line at Café du Monde for their beignets.

  • A SPECIAL LOCATION

Those restaurants that are fortunate enough to physically sit in proximity to a breathtaking view, a center of exciting activity, or in a community of other restaurants will always enjoy a steady flow of value seeking customers.  The Union Oyster House in the middle of Quincy Market – Boston; The Slanted Door on the edge of San Francisco Bay; or Spiaggia overlooking Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and a view of Lake Michigan are all prime examples of locations that create an experience for diners.

  • BEAUTIFUL FOOD PRESENTATIONS

A chef knows that he or she has succeeded in engaging a guest and creating visual value when the presentation of a plate of food causes the table to stop, focus on the beauty before them, and pull out their cell phones to take a few pictures to remember.

  • TRUST IN CONSISTENCY

Those restaurants that consistently create food flavors that are expected, presentations that are anticipated, and service that lives up to previous experiences will always be viewed as a place that offers special value.

  • REAL SERVICE

There certainly is value in proper technical service, but it will always be those restaurants that offer that warm sincerity, the welcoming attitudes, and those friendly connections with guests that build the most important reasons to return.

  • COMMUNITY RELEVANCE

Finally, when a restaurant is engaged with a community, supportive of neighborhood efforts and causes, and there to make a difference  – true value becomes incredibly obvious.  Why would guests patronize any other operations when yours is part of the neighborhood family?  This is value.

In the end, creating compelling reasons for guests to patronize your restaurant is complex, but it can be narrowed down to building value.  Building value will always lead to healthy top lines (sales) for restaurants.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Create Value Experiences

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CULINARY SCHOOL – STICK YOUR TOE IN THE WATER BEFORE BUYING A BOAT

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There are a handful of very significant decisions that we make in life – decisions that involve tremendous commitments of time, effort, focus, and yes – money.  Starting a relationship, a decision to marry, buying a house or an expensive car, opening a business, and enrolling in college are all decisions that would be considered “monumental”.  The right decision can lead you to self-awareness, long-term gratification, rewarding careers, and the foundations of family.  The wrong decision – of course will be the opposite.  How we go about making those decisions is the real question.

Making a decision to marry another person without taking the time to understand who he or she is and what makes that person tick can lead to loads of pain and disappointment.  Buying a home without researching what is available, how that location fits your life situation, and how you will manage paying for that home can weigh heavy on your shoulders. Choosing to attend a college, especially one that is focused on a very specific career path without having a clear idea of what that career path is and how it will impact your life – will oftentimes lead to heartache and years of burdensome debt.

So – you are a young (or not so young) person who loves food, enjoys restaurants, and finds the media depiction of becoming a chef to be exciting and rewarding.  “This looks like something that I would love to do for the rest of my professional life.”  This might be true, and if you like games of chance, maybe this is a “roll of the dice” that is intriguing.  If you understand the implications of: “You can’t always judge a book by looking at the cover”, then you should understand that the sizzle may sell the steak, but the sizzle doesn’t always tell the full story.

It has been my experience that those who choose culinary school as a way to build a strong foundation for a career in the kitchen fall into one of two brackets: 

  • Those who do so from a place of experience (they have worked in a kitchen – preferably one that is run in a professional manner)
  • Those who do so by placing all of their decision making powers in the hands of the media

In other words those who understand what they are getting into vs. those who don’t.  Now, I do not have any statistical data to support my next observation, but I have found that those who have spent time in a kitchen before entering culinary school are more committed, more intent on doing everything they can to absorb all that is offered, hungrier to learn and apply new skills, and far more likely to succeed and stick with their career choice.  Again, an unscientific conclusion, but I would bet that many culinary instructors and restaurant chefs would agree.

My plea to those who are wrestling with a decision about culinary college is to get a job in a kitchen first.  If you are a high school student – find a part-time position on weekends while in school and full time in that summer period.  If you are a career changer – knock on a chef’s door and tell him or her of your plans to attend school, ask for a position in the kitchen (yes starting off as a dishwasher is a good decision), tie on an apron and give it a whirl.  You will learn what you need to know about the type of work, the physical demands, the stress of timing, how decisions are made, the organization of a kitchen that sometimes is chaotic, the dynamics of team, the demands of a customer, the heartache that comes from a rejected meal, the joy that comes from an occasional compliment, the exhilaration of serving more guests in a meal period than anyone thought was possible, the crush of defeat when things go sideways, and the effort that will be required to move from dishwasher to chef at some point in time.  Just imagine how shocking it would be to enter that culinary school classroom or kitchen without having those experiences under your belt.

Those decisions in life that are monumental are learning experiences, but proper research will help to minimize the negative impact of wrong ones.  Culinary schools understand all of this, but at the same time they are intent on making sure that enough students enroll to make a class viable.  After all – everyone should have an opportunity to succeed or fail, but when students discover mid-term that this is not for them, then everyone suffers from a realization that did not have to be.  When a student fails to complete a program or loses the energy to remain passionate then it hurts the instructor and the school as much as it does the student.

There was a time when prior experience was a pre-requisite to acceptance into a culinary program, but the feeling that this is somehow counter-intuitive to a persons right to choose what he or she wants took over the logic of requiring prior experience.  I believe, that this is a harmful change in approach. 

If a prospective student is wrestling with the college decision then there are avenues that can help.  Working in a restaurant is a natural step in the right direction, but there is also the vocational education option for high school students or if all else seems to not fit your situation – at least schedule appointments with local chefs and ask if they would talk with you about “what it takes”.  Spend a couple days as a stage’ (working or shadowing without pay) in a restaurant just to get a feel for the environment.  Dine in as many different restaurants as you can and ask for a tour of the kitchen.  Do whatever you can to paint a more accurate picture than is portrayed in the media.  You owe this to yourself!  Restaurant work is NOT FOR EVERYONE.  Once engaged in a restaurant you will find that 98% of what you do in the kitchen is just plain hard work.  You need to learn about the heat and the sweat, the physical demands, the emotional requirements, the infringements on what is considered a “normal” life/work balance, and the time that it will take to accumulate the skills, knowledge, and experience to become a chef.

Stick your toe in the water before you choose to buy the boat.  You might start by reading the 650 articles in this blog.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC
Restaurant Consulting

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THE EINSTEIN MOMENT FOR RESTAURANTS

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I have been thinking quite a bit lately about a comment made by Chef Jeremiah Tower during our recent podcast conversation.  He stated: “The restaurant industry needs an Einstein Moment.”  There are numerous ways that we categorize these occurrences:  Eureka moments, aha moments, or light bulb moments; but what we are referencing are those points in time when we suddenly understand the solution to a problem or the need for something that no one has pondered before.  With all of the challenges facing the restaurant industry today, it would seem that Chef Tower is spot on; but where do we turn for that flash of inspiration?

One thing is certain – we are overwhelmed with the problems of the moment and seem unable, or unwilling to move through the storm to blue skies that might exist beyond.  Those who have confidence in their abilities will often times say: “Give me some time to think, to reflect on my experience, to chat with a few friends, and I will find a solution to the problem.”  When we are able to set aside the pressure of the moment and let our imagination wander, there will be greater opportunities to find solutions and to define a new direction – one that might create even greater opportunities. 

I have been struggling to dig deeper into Chef Tower’s statement and have come to a few conclusions:

  • I don’t have the answers for the restaurant challenges of the day
  • I do have a better understanding of how we might collectively approach those challenges

There are a variety of ways that people, throughout history, have approached Einstein Moments – inspiration that leads to positive solutions:

  • OBSERVATION – Newton supposedly observed an apple falling from a tree and thought about earth’s pull – the result was an understanding of gravity.
  • EXPERIENCE – Horst Shultze, a young bellman at a hotel used his experience of working his way through various positions to eventually land the position of CEO of Ritz Carlton Hotels and their approach towards Total Quality Management.
  • TRIAL AND ERROR – Thomas Edison had thousands of failures before he was able to perfect the light bulb – the world has never been the same.
  • BUILDING A DEEP PORTFOLIO OF KNOWLEDGE – Doctor Salk, an accomplished researcher and virologist was able to build on his knowledge and that of his peers to develop the first vaccine for polio.
  • BEING BORN WITH THE GIFT OF VISUALIZATION – Steve Jobs was always able to envision devices and services that only he knew the world would need before they came to that realization.  The resulting products of personal computers, smart phones, clean and addictive MP3 players, and tablets are an integral part of our lives today.
  • DIGGING IN AND WORKING THEIR WAY THROUGH IT – This is the method that every professional chef has used for generations.

One thing is certain, as described simply by Albert Einstein:

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Ah – stay with me:  you might be thinking that the current challenges that restaurants face are all driven by the pandemic – so, we didn’t create them.  Certainly, the pandemic is a major curve ball that was not anticipated, but the effects on our businesses are crippling to this degree because of some deep seated issues that have been around for decades:  a labor intensive business, low profits, high rents, ingredients with a short shelf-life, unpredictable business volume, high cost of ingredients, and the list goes on.  In the end, the restaurant business did not have the resources or the wherewithal to weather this storm.  Our country will get through this crisis, but there will be others, maybe not as severe, but there will be others.  The Einstein Moment must begin with a realization of the “cause” so that we can find better ways to avoid curve balls in the future, or at least better deal with the “effects”.

Restaurant folks are pretty good at problem-solving when we can approach the issue in a logical manner:  “business volume is down and labor cost is out of whack so we change our operating hours and reduce the amount of labor needed – problem solved for the time being.”  But when the boat is leaking from a dozen different spots, then logic is far less effective.

“Logic will get you from point A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.”

-Albert Einstein

The industry’s current situation requires imagination that can lead to a Eureka moment and a new direction that attacks the root cause of leaking from a dozen different spots.

“Knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be.”

-Albert Einstein

Relying on what we know may simply not be enough to pull our industry out of the weeds, build on its solvency, and set the boat right as we move forward into uncharted waters.

Somehow the restaurant industry as a whole (ideally), or at the very least small groups of community restaurants need to make the time to step back, take a deep breath, put aside the pressures of the moment and let their collective minds wander.  What we are looking for is not a solution to a problem so much as it is a rethinking of how we perceive our businesses.  

If we are looking for those flashes of insight it is important to define periods of time when we can “incubate” our thinking – stop focusing on the current problems and allow your mind to observe, listen, drift a bit, take in your environment, share with others, tap into other interests, and give your mind a chance to breathe and clear ample space for new thinking.  It may mean that we need to engage with other stakeholders and rather than state your time-tested approach – open yourself up to their feelings, needs, and thoughts.

“The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design (and longer term challenge solving) we will have.”

-Steve Jobs

Think of some of the great new directions (and products) that came out of this “Eureka Moment” approach:

  • When asked what consumers thought about buying record albums in the 1990’s and beyond, it was discovered that they were miffed that they had to purchase an entire album to get the one or two songs that they really liked.  The result was Napster – a free (illegal) service that allowed people to download individual songs to their MP3 player.  The industry responded by filing lawsuits and taking Napster to court rather than listening to consumers and addressing the real issue.  Along comes Steve Jobs and Apple – iTunes is born and the recording industry is suddenly re-invented.
  • When asked what they felt about the decades old taxi industry – customers expressed their dissatisfaction with standing on street corners trying to wave down a cab.  The resulting Einstein Moment gave birth to Uber built on the technology of a smart phone. The taxi business was re-invented.
  • When customers were asked about the service they received from their banks – they expressed dissatisfaction with hours of operation and their ability to access service when they were not at work.  The result was an Einstein Moment that led to drive-thru windows and ATM machines that were available 24/7. The banking industry was re-invented.
  • And when it was observed how much time and effort was involved in shopping for everyday purchases – Jeff Bezos responded with amazon.com that gave customers access to nearly everything imaginable, available 24/7, delivered to your door in a few days, and now with Prime – without the cost of shipping on every purchase. The retail business was re-invented.

This is what Chef Jeremiah Tower meant when he called for a restaurant industry Einstein Moment – a time when a major paradigm shift results in reinvention, not fixing a problem.  Who will be our Albert Einstein, our Steve Jobs, or our Jeff Bezos?  When will we take a step back and allow our minds to wander, to incubate, and to think clearly about what the restaurant business can and should be like in the decades to come?

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafetalks.libsyn.com/

A CHEF’S LETTER TO CONGRESS

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When approached, as it should be – your position is very challenging, at times – almost impossible.  By design you are charged with defending the Constitution, protecting the American people from harm, creating and passing laws that support the Bill of Rights, keeping other branches of government in check, lifting up the economy, being a beacon of light for other countries seeking to maintain or create a democratic government, creating an environment for private business to be innovative and cutting edge, maintaining the infrastructure of an enormous country, and doing all of this as representatives of the people.  This job of representation was designed to be a public service, something that you choose to do for the betterment of the country – offering your expertise in an altruistic manner for a period of time.  This is hopefully done in a manner that will leave the country better off as a result of your involvement.  You are elected by the people to do just this, and they trust that you will live up to the pledge that demands it.  We know that it takes time to get comfortable and understand your role more fully; we know that a few years is not enough time, but we also know that representation was never meant to be a lifetime career that bends to your need to “keep the job” and hang on to the personal benefits that it provides.

All of this is a heavy responsibility – not for the faint at heart.  This should never be a position that sets aside what you know is right and what the people expect in favor of a political party’s inclination or the pressures from donors and lobbyists.  The expectation is that you will stand up to this pressure and choose what is right and appropriate over what special interest groups desire.  This is a position that should make it difficult for you to sleep at night, to take those long vacations, to set aside the need to read and research, to avoid challenging the norm and stand on that soapbox at times in defense of what is right for the people.  Sorry, this is what goes along with the position of representation – representation that holds on it’s shoulders the lives of American people, their livelihood, their families, and their potential to live the American dream.

These are incredibly challenging times, times that none of us could have imagined just a year ago.  We all know the issues: a 100 year pandemic, a crumbling economy, a threatened system of education, loss of millions of jobs, a planet crying out for help, our decaying international stature, runaway deficit spending, fairness and equality, and the demise of private entrepreneurship – such an enormous load.  This is the worst of times, not the best and as a result this is the most inappropriate time to relinquish your responsibility for partisanship behavior.  When times are toughest teamwork must rise to the top of everyone’s priority list.  The decisions to be made must always take precedent over party desires and special interest pressure.  You need to come together to resolve the critical issues of our time or we all will pay the price.  Your people, the ones who placed their trust in you with their vote, are counting on you and they are watching.  The world depends on you just as much as do the American people and they are watching as well, watching with bated breath. 

One issue that may seem to be just another to add to the pile is the health of the restaurant industry in our country.   To some, this industry may seem to be one that is far from critical.  After all, people can cook at home.  To some, restaurants will always be a luxury and not a necessity – something that is great to have, but not essential.  I would beg to differ, and so would the millions of Americans who either work in, or dine in those establishments that have been the backbone of our economy for generations (yes, the backbone).  Allow me to elaborate for your edification – first some hard facts:

According to the National Restaurant Association:

  • There are (were) over 1 million freestanding restaurants in the United States before the coronavirus was part of our vocabulary.
  • 15.6 million Americans are (were) employed by the restaurant industry and to so many who live in this country – working in a restaurant was their introduction to the workforce
  • 90% of restaurant managers started out as entry-level restaurant employees demonstrating the upward mobility from a job to a career and although I don’t have a numeric value for it – a high percentage of professional chefs got their start as a dishwasher
  • 80% of restaurant owners started as an entry-level restaurant employee demonstrating the magic of the American Dream to become an entrepreneur
  • 70% of American restaurants are single unit private entrepreneurships

Now on the qualitative side – the following list points to the societal importance of restaurants to the heart and soul of our country:

  • Throughout the last 150 years – restaurants have been that place where people gather to challenge each other, to celebrate, to nourish, and to reward.  We rely on restaurants to provide these opportunities and the environment that fosters these interactions.
  • As our country has clawed its way through disaster after disaster: two world wars, the Korean war, Vietnam, Desert Storm, The Afghanistan War, the Great Depression, numerous recessions, the horrors of 9-11, Polio and HIV, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters – it has been the American restaurant that showed the first signs of national recovery.  When these disasters occur – it has been the American restaurant Industry that came together to help with the first, most basic need – to feed those in need. 
  • When families seek to raise their children to be active members of society and learn to care for themselves while earning those first paychecks – they turn to restaurants to teach their sons and daughters some basic skills.
  • When the demands placed on families because both parents need to work, or in single parent homes where survival is the first call to arms – the ability to lean on restaurants for family meals has always been a comfort.
  • When neighborhoods that have been plagued by decades of neglect seek to renew and rebuild – it is oftentimes expected that a restaurant will be the first business to open and show signs of life and hope for that renewal.

I could go on and on, but the essential point is that restaurants are important to America, they represent all that we envision and work to reach: a paycheck, an opportunity to become an entrepreneur, a place of gathering and comfort, a place to celebrate and raise a glass, an a sign of life and vitality for a community. 

Right now restaurants are in need of understanding and help from Congress.  This is not an issue that can be put aside for a while and looked at in the future.  This is not a tomorrow issue – this is critical TODAY, in this very moment.  The pandemic and necessary restrictions on public places like restaurants in order to protect the lives of so many are something that restaurant owners, chefs, servers, and managers understand.  At the same time, this is not a normal situation that resulted from an operator’s ability to manage properly, this is far beyond our control and as a result we need help to weather the storm.  Some predict that as many as 50% of the private restaurants in America will close before this pandemic comes under control – some will reopen and new ones, undoubtedly will rise up, but millions of jobs, the centerpieces of many neighborhoods, the lifeblood of far too many communities, and a significant chunk of the American Dream stand to crumble.

This is not a time for Congress to bicker over politics, to take partisan sides, to try to slide in those special interest expenditures, or to go on vacation with the job left undone.  This is the time to act for the people and the country that put you in office to be a representative, to do what is right.  The restaurant industry needs help in providing a paycheck for their employees, loan deferrals, rent support, and long-term advisement on how to reinvent themselves.  This is what one would expect from the greatest nation in the world and from a country that promotes the American Dream as essential to its character.

To fail to do this will result in the destruction of an essential industry to the character of America.  WE CAN’T WAIT – TIME HAS RUN OUT.  Do what you were elected to do and do it TODAY.  We are all watching what you do next.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

THE RESTAURANT ECO-SYSTEM NEEDS HELP

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There are a number of reasons why restaurants fail – some are predictable and avoidable, while others can catch a business off guard.  None, however, are as devastatingly out of the operators control as this pandemic.  Even the best operators are at a loss for solutions.  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.  Restaurants have been relegated to outside dining or limited indoor space with loads of protocol limitations (some that are even more stringent than what is expected of other businesses) – this doesn’t pay the bills or keep a staff employed.

The pandemic is an “all hands on deck” problem that can be somewhat contained through simple precautions, but until there is mass vaccination of a population – these precautions dig at the heart and soul of a business that is essential to our way of life, our psyche, and our social health and wellbeing. 

There have been well over 100,000 restaurants that have closed their doors permanently as a result of the pandemic.  Many of these restaurants have been around for decades or even generations.  They just can’t survive the pain of lost business for months on end.  Now, this alone might not keep the average consumer or politician up at night, but what they fail to understand is that restaurants are at the center of a broad eco-system of businesses that are inter-dependent.  When your favorite restaurant closes its doors it is disturbing and sad, but it is also part of a domino effect that can tumble out of control.

Here are some of the other businesses that suffer when a restaurant closes, sometimes they too cannot survive as a result:

[]         Regional Farmers:  A significant percentage of farm crops are dedicated to restaurants.  A reduction in restaurant business leads to crop waste, unplanted land, and serious cash flow problems for farmers.  Already living on the edge – smaller farms cannot withstand this loss of business volume.

[]         Fisherman:  The end consumer’s love of fish cannot sustain a fisherman’s need to catch and sell a quantity of product to offset their expenses.  Restaurants account for a large percentage of a fisherman’s direct or indirect business volume.

[]         Ranchers:  Have you noticed that the price of beef, pork, and chicken has increased significantly over the past few months?  Those processing plants need to cover their substantial operational costs now that restaurant business has all but disappeared.  If processing plants cannot find an outlet for their end product then this trickles down to the rancher who is saddled with cattle, pigs and chickens without a market.  The end result is reduced herds, increased cost of feed, land without sufficient grazing, etc., etc.

[]         Cheese Makers:  Cheese, although there are exceptions, is still a product with a shelf life.  When restaurants fail or reduce their product needs, then cheese makers must do the same.  Inventories wane, waste becomes a real concern, decreased cheese product means a reduced need for milk putting a strain on dairy farmers, and the lists goes on and on.

[]         Equipment Manufacturers:  Restaurant kitchens are home to some very expensive equipment – when sales volume evaporates then restaurants are faced with aging equipment that they cannot replace, and delays in opening new operations that require equipment purchases.   There is no other outlet for this specialized equipment.

[]         Breweries:  Sure, maybe consumers are directing their beer purchases to their local package store, but breweries know that this direct to consumer cycle is not sufficient to support their growing expenses.  It is the restaurant segment of their business that creates a steady flow of cash to support their endeavors. 

[]         Distilleries and wineries:  The same holds true for those who market distilled beverages, and of course the wine industry.  Restaurants are the mainstay of business for vintners both domestic and imported.

[]         Table Top Manufacturers:  Restaurants are constantly buying and replacing china, glassware, and flatware for their restaurants.  It is a business that is predictable and dependable – until purchases stop.  Every restaurant that tries to survive during these difficult times will commit to tightening their belts and deferring any purchases that are deemed non-essential.  Those companies focused on tabletop have found that their business has disintegrated.

[]         Local Musicians:  Musicians need to play.  That wonderful local talent that graced the stage in bars and restaurants, and at banquets and festivals no longer has an outlet.  There is literally no opportunity for them to play and earn a living.  The need to survive will have a long-term impact on the availability of live music for quite some time.  Musicians depend on the restaurant business.

[]         Florists:  Sure – florist shops do very well on Mother’s Day, Easter, and Valentine’s Day – but the rest of the year involves a full-time focus on weddings, banquets, reunions, anniversary parties, and daily restaurant floral displays.  When this business goes away (there are no conferences, large wedding receptions, business gatherings, or restaurant floral displays during the pandemic) then the florist is left with unsustainable cash flow.

[]         Linen Companies:  The vast majority of restaurants do not have laundries where tablecloths and napkins, and restaurant uniforms and side towels can be laundered, starched and ironed.  These restaurants rely on linen companies for this service as they rent all of the above.  When business dries up in restaurants – so does business disappear for linen companies.

[]         Wholesalers:  Those companies that collect, deliver, stock, and bill for essential ingredients in restaurants depend, almost exclusively, on restaurants for their business.  Unless they can change their business model and supply ingredients directly to consumers – then wholesalers are left with a greatly diminished amount of business volume.

[]         Clothing Stores and Uniform Companies:  Those local clothing stores take a direct and indirect hit from a faltering restaurant industry.  Directly – those clothing stores that have relied on providing restaurant uniforms have found that their business model is void of customers.  Indirectly, as fewer people take the risk of dining out and shelter at home during the pandemic, they also cut back on clothing purchases that they can display when enjoying a night at their local restaurant or bar.

[]         Coffee Growers and Roasters:  The direct to consumer market for coffee roasters is certainly important, and at some level the take out business and home brew option is still strong, but still a large section of their wholesale business has dried up as restaurants fail at an alarming rate while others have seen business volume decrease by 50% or more.

[]         Landlords:  Building owners have been a target during the pandemic as restaurants have found it impossible to meet the requirements of a lease.  In the end, the landlord also has to pay bills and when a restaurant defaults – they find themselves in a very difficult situation.  “Should we cancel a lease for non-payment and evict the tenant, or should we try to compromise?”

[]         Bakeries:  Most small to medium sized restaurants cannot afford the space or talent needed to produce their own breads and other baked goods.  So, they rely on local or regional bakeries for those goods.  Many bakeries have built their business model on this type of wholesale as their mainstay.  When restaurants fail – they take your local bakeries with them.

[]         Culinary and Restaurant Management Colleges:  With a decrease in the number of restaurants and significantly lower volume of business – there is far less need for those young, eager graduates.  Schools are experiencing dramatic declines in enrollment and challenges in job placement.  Every day brings another college program closing.

The list could go on and each of these listed businesses has their own eco-system of impacted operations.  The point is that that failing local restaurant is only part of the dilemma.  If we allow restaurants to fail, then we allow the entire ecosystem to fail as well.  If restaurants are financially healthy then the system works well.  Right now the restaurant industry needs help from the Federal government.  Without extended PPP benefits, bank loan deferrals, help for landlords, and business recovery training for small restaurants – this system will crumble.  Restaurants cannot wait until 70 or 80% of the population receives a vaccine.  Restaurants cannot survive until the fall of 2021, restaurants cannot continue to wonder from week to week whether they will be able to accept indoor customers or not and they cannot wait for politicians to find a way to talk respectfully to one another.  They need help now!  If this is not provided then an important part of our culture, a major employer of people, and the heart of the food ecosystem will not survive.   Write to your representative, speak your mind through the media, stand in support of your local businesses and do your part.  We have lost too much over the past 9-months; don’t add your local restaurants to the list.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafetalks.libsyn.com/

MARC MENEAU – ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT CHEFS

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There are chefs who have mastered the craft of cooking, chefs who have built a public brand that defines a region or exemplifies a cuisine; there are others who give to their community and as a result uplift those who call that community “home”; and there are those who push cooking in new and exciting directions.  On rare occasions, there are chefs who do all of the above and more.  Chef Marc Meneau was such a chef – a powerful personality who elevated the dining experience – a chef who lived excellence every day in his restaurant L’Esperance in Vezelay, France.

A small, historic community on the crest of a hill in the Burgundy stands tall as a village where thousands of worshipers and interested historians visited each year to pass through the threshold of its Benedictine monastery – The Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine built in 1120 A.D. – a house of worship where it is claimed rest some of the bones of Mary Magdalene.  Walking up the cobblestone road that leads to the church and taking in the beauty of the French countryside is truly a spiritual experience.  At the same time, on the outskirts of this religious mecca, sits another destination that for decades attracted worshipers of a different kind.

Vezelay is a centuries old village of less than 500 year-round residents, but throughout the year, visitors from around the world would make the trek to experience the spirituality of the area and to win a table reservation at Marc Meneau’s magnificent restaurant.  Some would fly into France and make the final journey by car to break bread with friends and business clients at the Michelin 3-star L’Esperance, enjoy a memorable meal, and then fly home.  It was this good.

Walking towards the entrance to L’Esperance – you could feel the stress of life leave and the anticipation of something unique and noteworthy about to happen.  Chef Meneau’s wife, Francoise, might greet you at the door, as well as their dog that had free reign of much of the restaurant.  A beautiful, petite gift shop on your left was reminiscent of stepping into a Cartier store in Paris, but in this case the product was not jewelry, but rather expensive wine, caviar, glassware, and reminders of your time visiting Marc Meneau’s contribution to the culinary arts.

The dining room was perfectly appointed with fresh flowers, the finest tabletop details, and magnificent views of the L’Esperance gardens.  Many visitors would in fact be encouraged to walk through the gardens in between courses to take in its beauty and aid in digestion of the multiple courses to come.

As you walk through to your table you might pass young service staff hand wrapping house made caramels and chocolates, polishing silver, and nurturing the robust coffee beans that would eventually become a perfect espresso at the end of your meal.

As perfect as the dining room was – the environment was still light and comfortable.  The L’Esperance experience was not pretentious at all, yet for those who make their livelihood with food – there was a reverence to this place that was quite unique. 

If first impressions are truly lasting impressions then Meneau knew how to control them.  While guests take in the view and passionately read the menu – the L’Esperance signature Cromesqui would arrive.  Painstakingly prepared with foie gras passed through a fine mesh sieve until it was as smooth as silk, and added truffle and cognac – this mind blowing concoction was refrigerated, cut into precise cubes, coated in seasoned flour, and fried until crisp.  When served the process of enjoying this amuse bouche came with instructions from your server.  “Place it in your mouth, do not chew – allow it to melt in your mouth and attack your senses.”  This single bite could be felt in your sinuses, on your palate, and in the process of coating your throat as it disappeared.  This set the stage for what was to come.

Each course would be masterfully prepared and presented and flawless in execution.  You would find yourself wanting more of each dish, but anxiously awaiting what would come next at the same time.  This was dining as it could be; dining executed at the highest level.  If you ever wondered why a 3-star Michelin experience was so special – you now knew.

A tour of the kitchen was to a food lover, the ultimate polish to a perfect meal.  The kitchen, as you would expect, was pristine.  Stainless, silver, and copper was accentuated by the natural light that flowed from the kitchen windows.  Stations were set as per the same model that Escoffier had defined more than a century and a half before.  Entremetier, Saucier, Poissonier, Garde Manger, Grillade, and Patissier were directed by the calm yet forceful voice of the Sous Chef/Expeditor as he called out orders in French.  Everything was made fresh and from scratch – in fact, at the end of a service, the coolers at L’Esperance would likely be near empty –waiting for the early morning orders to arrive tomorrow.

Chefs and commis were in crisp whites and blue aprons.  They were serious about their work and cognizant that the smallest detail was as important as the most complex.  The experience that was the guest’s – began with this level of passion and commitment.

Meneau’s presence was always felt, even though he might be walking through the dining room visiting guests.  He did not need to cook a dish to impact it’s flavor and presentation.  This kitchen was the perfect example of a consummate team of professionals.

Meneau was never trained as a cook, yet his passion for food, for outstanding experiences, and for the significance of excellence allowed this self-taught study of the craft to rise to the culinary world’s highest perch.

For ten years, I had the distinct pleasure of sending student interns for a semester experience in France.  An experience that included a stage in operations like L’Esperance.  While not every student had the opportunity to work with Meneau, they did find themselves in Michelin restaurants from Paris to Sancerre.  Every student knew of Meneau and what he represented, and he would often visit our home base in Entrains sur Nohain to chat with them about food, history, and the beauty of France.

Meneau was a world ambassador for French cooking and was treated as a celebrity wherever he would visit.  He was commissioned to work with the producers of the movie “Vatel” featuring Gerard Depardieu as the chef who made the grand food presentations during the age of Louis the XIV.  The food that you see in the movie was directed by Meneau.  Sofia Coppola, in the movie: “Marie Antoinette, was surrounded by beautiful food created by Meneau and his team.

As a restaurateur – Meneau understood the challenges of being successful.  Of earning a profit – he once told me:  “Restaurant profit is found in the onion peel, not the onion, and in the lobster shell, not the lobster itself.”  At one point Meneau suffered through the loss of a Michelin star, but- re-energized, he worked to gain it back and did so.  Earning those stars is challenging, but keeping them is relentless.

On December 9, 2020 – Marc Meneau passed away at the age of 77 and the culinary world will miss him.  His impact will not be lost as this chef has raised the bar and sits with a small cadre of exceptional culinarians as a benchmark that will continue to define the possibilities of great dining.

Rest in Peace – chef.

PLAN BETTER –TRAIN HARDER

Listen to and learn from the great chefs

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COOKS AND THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS

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Sweat was creeping down Alex’s back.  The line was just 15 minutes into the 7 o’clock push and the board was full.  The pressure was on, but Alex was on his game – he was wearing an ear-to-ear smile because he knew he was in the zone.  The line team was in total sync:  Alex looked at his sous chef expediting on the other side of the pass – his eyes said: bring it on chef.

This has been a long haul for the eager, confident line cook who started out three years ago as a dishwasher.  It was that part-time job in his senior year of high school, diving for pearls on weekends and an occasional weeknight that gave Alex a level of confidence that was lacking in his life.  He would graduate from school, but not because he was a stellar student, but simply because he promised his parents that he would.  School actually came easy for him, but it just wasn’t his thing.  Working, sore muscles sweat, aching feet – this is what gave him a sense of purpose.

The light bulb went off the summer after graduation when he finished his third consecutive week of 50 plus hours on dishes – the chef called Alex into his office and sat him down.  “Alex, I really like your work ethic, the fact that I can always count on you to be here and work your hardest is incredibly valuable to me and the team.  I just don’t think that you are working to the level of your ability.  You’ve washed enough dishes – it’s time to learn how to cook.”  From that moment on Alex knew that his career choice had been made.

This is how so many cooks are made.  Even those who have the opportunity to take the time to attend culinary school, if they are truly committed, started out just like Alex.  It has been said many times that career cooks don’t choose their profession – it chooses them.

Alex spent a year as a prep cook – this is where he learned how to identify ingredients and judge their quality, proper food safety and sanitation, how to set-up a work station, sharpen and care for knives, the dimensions on vegetable cuts, how to make a perfect stock, all of the cooking methods, fabricate a chicken, cut steaks, bone out a ham, fillet round and flat fish, open clams and oysters, turn potatoes, build flavors, and create an array of sauces from the bold stocks that he made.  Most importantly he discovered how to organize his work, be consistent, meet the standards of the operation, and build some speed.  After a year of this important routine – he was ready for the line.

Things were a bit rough at first.  Alex had become accustomed to working independently – playing his skills against the clock and the constantly expanding prep list, but now he had to depend on others.  The whole concept of team was something that would take adjustment time.  He started on the fry station where his focus was on a few bar appetizers, pommes frites, and an occasional deep fried entrée.   When other stations depleted their mise en place Alex would jump in to chop fines herbs, portion extra proteins, clarify butter, or simply line up plates or fold extra side towels.  This was a valuable experience since he had the chance to watch how every other station operated.  At first it seemed impossible: “How do they keep all of those orders timed properly, seasoned appropriately, and always looking perfect at the time of plating?”   After a few months he had a pretty good picture of how it all worked and his comfort level improved dramatically.  Now he was pulled into the grill station on a reasonably slow night when the normal station cook was ill and couldn’t make it in for his shift.  Alex understood degrees of doneness, but keeping a chargrill organized with multiple degrees of doneness, making sure that those hash marks from the grill were spot on, and taking carry over cooking into account was overwhelming.  He made it through that first night with only three re-fires, but it was rough.

The chef made sure that from that point on – Alex was scheduled one night per week on the grill.  Practice makes perfect and in no time he had built a high level of competence and confidence.  Alex saw that the chef was determined to build him into a roundsman – a cook who could work many stations with a high level of skill.  For the first time since washing that first dish while in high school, Alex saw the kitchen as a likely career – one that might even lead to the chef’s position at some point.

Another few months and the chef pulled Alex off of the hot line and scheduled him to shadow the Garde Manger.  “You need to learn the cold side of the kitchen as well.  Garde Manger is where we make our profit.  Salads, appetizers, and desserts are the “extras” that help to turn a restaurant into a successful one.  This is also where you will fine tune your skill at plate presentations.”

To Alex, this seemed like a demotion.  The hot line was where the action was, where teamwork was built, and where the sweat from hard work was most evident.  Garde Manger seemed too light for a cook on the rise.  He would work with Sally who had been at the restaurant for three years – the last two in Garde Manger.  Alex quickly saw that the shear number of components that Sally had to work with made the grill station look like child’s play.  Everything had its own process, most of which fell on Sally’s shoulders unlike the hot line that was serviced by the prep cook.  There were marinades, dressings, poached fruits, sauce reductions, delicate garnishes, artisan cheeses of all types, croustades, washed and spun greens, shucked oysters and clams, poached lobster, pates, and galantines, and the assembly of some pretty intricate desserts that were prepped by the pastry chef in the early morning hours.  It was a lot to organize and assemble – Sally did it so well, with so much finesse.  Alex’s learning curve would be steep.  He dove into the challenge and learned to admire Sally’s skill more and more every day.  He would later find out that she too started on the hot line, but now preferred her artistic station.

Through his on-going training rotation Alex felt himself grow into each position, earn respect from his peers, and slowly become a very good and extremely valuable member of the restaurant kitchen team.  After three solid months in Garde Manger the chef called Alex in to the office.  “Alex, I am very pleased to see how much you have grown and how confident your teammates are in your skill set.  I want to take a step back for the next month and schedule you back in the dish room.  You will start there on Monday.”  The chef left it at that without any explanation.  Alex was crushed and confused.  “This is where I was two years ago.  I thought I was doing a really good job in the kitchen – why is the chef doing this?”  A bit of anger crept into Alex’s psyche and as he walked home he even gave thought to quitting this job and looking to a different restaurant.  The next day, however, he returned to the kitchen thinking that he would show the chef that he was much more talented than wasting his abilities on diving for pearls.

What happened in that first week of dishwashing was both enlightening and humbling.  He began to see the position differently now – he looked at the importance of the dishwasher through the eyes of the cook.  It wasn’t sufficient just to wash sauté pans for the middle station – he wanted to make sure that they were stacked in line with the cooks mise en place, handles pointing a certain way, scrubbed till they glistened, and always perfectly dry before they hit the deep blue flame from the stove.  He made extra sure that plates were perfectly clean, dry, and free of chips and cracks.  He knew now how frustrating it was for a cook to pick up a plate and find out it wasn’t suitable for the assembly of a dish.  He took the time to show servers just how important it was to properly scrape and stack dirty plates to keep the system working well, and he was always on the look out for floor spills that could endanger a cook or server.  He quickly slipped into the role of an excellent dishwasher.

After two weeks, the chef called Alex into the office again.  “You may have wondered why I put you back in the dish area after two years of cooks training.  I think you see now that the objective was to give you a different perspective on how important that position is to the operation of the kitchen.  A great dishwasher can lead to success and a poor one can bring a kitchen down.  I guarantee you that from this point on you will never take the position for granted.   Tomorrow you will begin to learn sauté – our most complicated line position.”

It has been three months now since Alex started on sauté.  He is exceptional at the work, incredibly well organized, spot on as a teammate, and well rounded with his understanding of cooking.  When his look passed on to the expeditor said: “bring it on”, it was because Alex was a confident and competent cook who learned through the school of hard knocks.  He loved what he did and knew that the chef could depend on him to jump into any position where he was needed – even the dish room.  Alex could see into the future and knew that it wouldn’t be long before that first sous chef position came his way.

There is no better way to learn the ropes, become excellent at your craft, and set the stage for a long and fruitful career than learning by doing.  All of these steps are essential.  Look for the opportunities, accept the challenges, enter each phase with an open mind, and build your repertoire in a methodical fashion.  The world is your oyster.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

One Step at a Time

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CHASING THE DEVIL – SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS

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Joe is a single guy, young and well educated, quiet yet personable enough, incredibly talented as a cook, reflective, and a closet alcoholic.  From the perspective of the chef who reigns in charge of the restaurant where Joe works – this young line cook is an ideal employee.  The chef knows that Joe will always be ready with his mise en place at service, always be focused on excellence in cooking, he will look the part of a professional and whenever the chef is short an employee he knows that Joe will respond to the emergency and double time it in on his day off.  The chef is either oblivious to or avoiding what everyone else in the kitchen knows – Joe drinks with reckless abandon.  After work – Joe can’t wait to trot to the closest bar where his alter-personality kicks in after the second drink.  When he settles in to this environment he quickly turns from that quiet, reflective, talented cook to the life of the party.  He has done this for so long that Joe is able to stumble home at 3 in the morning and appear sharp and focused at 1 p.m. when he arrives for another shift behind the line.

Today, something is different.  It’s 1:20 and Joe hasn’t shown up for work yet.  The rest of the crew is quiet and uncomfortable as the chef asks if anyone has heard from Joe – his most dependable cook.  The chef has called Joe’s cell a few times – but no one answers.  By 2:00 everyone is rather worried and the chef sends one of his other cooks to Joe’s apartment to check on him.  After pounding on his door for ten minutes – he finally opens the door.  He is in rough shape, his face is bruised and cut, his clothes are spattered with blood, and he is obviously still intoxicated from a late night of bar hopping.  “Man – what the hell is going on?  You’re supposed to be at work – the chef sent me to check on you.”  Joe is speechless – he simply waves off his peer and says: “I’m not coming in today.”  This cook has hit the wall – alcohol has taken control and there is no turning back at this point.  He hasn’t been on an extended bender for quite some time – but now one is rearing up its ugly head.  This isn’t the first job that he will likely lose, and it won’t be the last.

If you are working in the restaurant business then this story will ring true.  Maybe you are one of the lucky ones who can occasionally over-subscribe to alcohol or other substances and not worry about the disease sinking its clutches into your every being.  Even if this is the case – you have worked or are working with others who can’t turn it on or off.  Statistics that measure substance abuse by industry rank food service as #3 in heavy alcohol use and #1 in abuse of illicit drugs.  Joe is not an anomaly.  Nearly 13% of all heavy alcohol users in the U.S. work in the food service industry!  Why is this so and what can be done about it?

There are a number of tragedies associated with Joe’s situation – a number of ancillary victims whose only shortcoming is a quiet association with Joe and his problem.  The chef will ultimately lose a great employee, his co-workers will suffer the impact of Joe’s meltdown, customers might even begin to notice a change in the quality of work, Joe’s family will suffer the uncertainty of his health and wellbeing, friends and relationships will deteriorate, and he will continue down this bottomless pit until he self-destructs even further.  All of those connections tried to ignore the growing problem and simply shook their heads and hoped for the best.

One recovering alcoholic stated: “I think I always knew there was going to be a problem – but I thought – not me.   One day a delivery driver arrived late – I was pissed!  I gave him a hard time for no reason – it was not his fault.  On his way out the door he said to me: ‘I wish I could give you a beer’.  It was confirmed – I wasn’t hiding it well.”

Alcoholism and Drug Abuse are part of a disease category that relies on dependence.  Like any other disease it needs to be recognized, accepted, and treated.  This dependence will not go away on it’s own.  The person or persons impacted by this disease will require a regimented treatment unlike any other debilitating disease.  People impacted by substance abuse will need tough love, support, physical treatment, mental and emotional support, and a lifetime of discipline to overcome the need to lean on alcohol or drugs.  As is said: “once an alcoholic or drug user, always an alcoholic or drug user.”  Note that no one is ever cured of this disease – they are always referred to as “recovering” – never cured.  Yet, like Joe – so many keep their problem under wraps as long as they can – never seeking help, never admitting that they are plagued by the evil hands of a monster that always tries to draw them in.

You might think:  “a drink now and then is fine, it’s enjoyable, a nice release, a way to enjoy the social nature of friendship and family.”  You might reflect on your own situation where a bottle of wine with a great meal is the complete package and never something that draws you in at the expense of family, friendships, mental health, or a career.  That’s great – I belong to this fortunate club, but at the same time I have witnessed lives crushed, relationships shattered, careers end, and even lives lost among those who are not as fortunate to have the off and on switch.  What Joe is experiencing is what tens of thousands of food service workers face every day – it is a very, very serious problem.  There was a point in my career when I felt that I should become an honorary member of Alcoholics Anonymous simply because so many of my friends and co-workers built their life schedules around AA meetings.  Let me reiterate – it is a very, very serious problem.

A good friend and fellow chef stated:  “Most alcoholics and addicts feel all alone in a crowded football stadium – most of us think we don’t belong.  A lot of people think, in the beginning, it will help them be more social, to get along better, but what you’re really doing is placing yourself where you can no longer learn – you stop growing.”

During these unprecedented times when the restaurant industry is challenged like never before, when the routine of the cook, chef, server, or manager is very uncertain, and when that typical adrenaline rush of working in a busy kitchen has, in some cases, come to a halt; there may be more individuals than ever before who are on the edge.  It is so easy for alcohol or drugs to creep in and take control.  We all need to pay attention to the signs, be aware, and be there to support those who are finding it difficult to cope.

It takes a village to save a friend or co-worker from the ravages of substance dependence; we can all play a role in the recovery process.  First, most who are in the know will tell you that it serves no purpose to ignore or discount an alcoholic’s or drug addict’s actions.  This is the tough love part – they need to be called out.  Second, we can all help by talking about how their actions impact not just themselves, but also all those individuals around them.  It is important that the individual come to grips with the problem.  Third, we need to support them by helping the alcoholic or drug dependent individual connect with the right help.  Bring the individual to the helping hands of another recovering cook, chef, friend, family member, or known AA sponsor.  Know where and when local AA meetings are being held.  Post it in your kitchen for all to see.  Finally, be the voice of encouragement – the process out of despair is long and difficult, but never turn away from their desire to become whole again.  The person may lose a job along the way; find a family member or friend who turns his or her back, or a co-worker who fails to understand the disease.  From this point on – staying sober or clean is the most important action in their lives.

Words of advice from my friend: “Ask for help!  You are not alone.  There is so much help out there – talk with somebody before it’s too late.”

I was turned on to the following TEDTalk.  It is heart-wrenching and uplifting at the same time.  Everyone, whether directly impacted by substance abuse or not – should watch and listen.  This is a valuable 10-minute investment of your time.

SOBER REALITY FOR THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY:

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER
Know that you are not alone

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

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THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN THE MAKING OF A GREAT CHEF

30 Monday Nov 2020

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Is it possible to narrow down the secret of greatness to one ingredient?  What could it be?  Is it really that simple, or in this case is simplicity really complex?   I have had the honor to work with, know, or at least meet many extraordinary chefs and cooks and my assessment is that – yes, there is one common ingredient that makes all the difference in how adept, interesting, creative, and ultimately successful a chef or cook might become.  The ingredient is CURIOSITY.

Great cooks and chefs never simply accept – they are perpetually inquisitive.   Those classical kitchens where cooks simply follow directives because that is what the chef demanded were never destined to nurture great chefs.  Cooks need to state the most important questions if they are to grow – “why, where from, what is the rationale, what is the history, how is it made, what are the differences, and when should you choose one example over another?”

It is curiosity, the quest for answers upon answers that builds passion, understanding, creativity, and competence.   When a cook simply accepts without asking why, how, what, or when, then his or her passion for the craft will be limited, his or her perspective on the job of cooking with be tainted, and the resulting cooking will be a shadow of what it might become.  To nurture young cooks, to teach and train, and to build competence and confidence among those who work in a kitchen, it is essential that we (chefs and culinary teachers) establish a platform where curiosity reigns. 

Think about the possibilities and the opportunities that curiosity might unveil. 

  • SALT as a mineral and a seasoning is just salt – why question it?  Yet to really know salt is to understand where it comes from and how it is extracted.  Once you understand that the environment where salt is drawn from, just like the terroir for wine grapes, will have a significant impact on this magical mineral.  Visiting a salt mine, a sea salt plant, or if you have the chance a French Fleur de Sel farm or Japanese soy sauce artisan producer will reveal the complexities of this simple ingredient that to many cooks is just a commodity that sits on their storeroom shelves.
  • CARROTS, POTATOES, TURNIPS, and PARSNIPS are root vegetables that are easily available to all cooks and are offered at very inexpensive commodity prices.  Root vegetables are just root vegetables unless you understand them, visit a farm where they are grown, spend a few days in the farmers shoes, harvest the root vegetables by pulling them from the soil that has kept them in a protective blanket for months, and brushed them off and taken a bite.  Curious chefs want to know what that carrot really tastes like, how the farmer plays a role in its shape, texture and flavor, and how soil and climate impact the flavor.  I guarantee that if this curiosity is met – the cook will never view a root vegetable in the same manner again.
  • THAT STRIP LOIN COMES FROM MY VENDOR, period.  This is easy to accept.  Call your local meat vendor, place an order, receive it, store it, prep it and prepare it just as the chef told you.  Simple directions for the cook working the grill station in your kitchen.  But cooking that is void of understanding is so shallow, void of respect, and starved of meaning.  To become an extraordinary grill cook and eventually a chef who plans menus using those products received from a meat vendor – a serious kitchen employee must ask those critical questions:  WHERE does the product come from?  WHAT part of the animal?  WHY do certain cuts adapt well to high temperature, rapid cooking like grilling, while others insist on low heat and slow timing?  HOW is the animal cared for?  WHAT is it fed?  HOW is the animal processed, fabricated, aged, graded, and packaged?  WHAT is the difference between dry and wet aging and does Cryovac impact the flavor of the muscle?  Think about the care, respect, intensity of attention to detail, and pride that a cook will have once he or she is able to have answers to these questions, maybe visit a cattle ranch, a feed lot, and processing plant before turning a steak on a hot grill to receive those perfect grill marks.
  • ORDER FRESH SEAFOOD FROM OUR USUAL FISHMONGER is a task that chefs engage in constantly.  It might come from a local supplier or be flown in from different parts of the world, but what is important is the transaction and receipt – right?  The styro boxes packed with ice arrives and inside are beautiful Queen Snapper from Florida, Mahi Mahi from Hawaii, Atlantic salmon from Norway, Lobsters from Maine, or Dover Sole from the coast of England.  The chef unpacks, fabricates, stores, and prepares this seafood as is intended and the customer enjoys the fruits of the chefs labor.  How shallow is this process that is void of any real understanding or curiosity?  Why did the chef choose that Queen Snapper from Florida, Salmon from Norway, or Lobster from Maine?  Is it simply because of a product specification designed to meet a standard?  Imagine how the chef would approach the transaction if he or she had spent an arduous day on a Maine Lobster boat – pulling in cages?  Imagine how the chef might approach the fabrication of a beautiful Norwegian Salmon if he or she had visited with those engaged in fish farming off the cost of Bergen, Norway?  Imagine if that same chef had tried to overcome seasickness on a 25-ton fishing trawler positioned miles off the coast of Florida as they pulled in nets filled with the fruits of the sea?  Would satisfaction of this curiosity change the way that chefs order, store, fabricate, cook and serve the fish that came through the hands of dedicated fishermen rather than those who simply move the product from point A to point B?
  • PURCHASING THOSE FLOUR OR CORN TORTILLAS is the most cost effective way of acquiring the ingredients for that “authentic”, Central American restaurant.  After all, who has time to make fresh tortilla?  This will always be the case in the absence of curiosity.   Until a cook or chef has tried that first hand pressed and grilled tortilla, folded it to encompass a world of different ingredients, maybe pay a visit to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, or Costa Rica or at least spent a day with indigenous people who would never, ever use a store bought shell – he or she will fail to feel the history and the passion behind this beautiful ingredient and process.  “I wonder if there is any difference between store bought and hand made tortilla, and I wonder how the item came about in Central American culture.”  Inquiring minds want to know, and inquiring chefs will always learn to excel at what they do.
  • THE WINE LIST IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DINING ROOM MANAGER OR SOMMELIER – says a typical chef in a busy restaurant.  Have enough variety and there will be something to please most guest palates, besides, the chef really doesn’t have time to engage in wine selection as well.  Great restaurants and great chefs understand the connection and importance of food and wine pairing.  A great chef without a solid knowledge of wine varieties, terroir, the art of the wine maker’s signature, variances in vintage, and how a particular wine enhances the experience of food presented on the menu will surely be at a loss.  Chefs who delve into the winemaker’s closet of understanding will be far better at their job and will reveal a passion that rivals that of the food ingredients that bring a menu to life.  It is the curiosity about this beverage that is alive and ever-changing that adds a spark of interest to a chef’s repertoire.

Whether it is a desire to learn more about the ethnic influences that create a cuisine, the indigenous ingredients that are at the base of a certain cuisine, the time-proven steps in cooking methods, or the historical environment that led to the development of a dish or a regional cooking style – it is that most essential ingredient: curiosity – that separates a good cook from a passionate great one.  We must all remain curious if food is to be viewed as a life-long calling.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

IT’S STILL A TIME OF THANKSGIVING

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

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For most people this will be a different Thanksgiving, a day without the traditional celebrations of large family gatherings, a day with far too much leftover turkey as we attempt to keep some semblance of normality through the bounty of the table.  Even though those we care about the most may remain spread out across the country and social distancing is measured in hundreds of miles instead of six feet – there is still plenty to be grateful for.  We can be grateful for whatever health we are able to enjoy, for the memories of those whom we have lost over the years, and the prospect of a happier and hopeful 2021. 

We can be grateful for faith and science that has carried us through this most difficult time and that will allow us to rise up anew – refreshed and positive as the virus is slowly brought under control.  We can be hopeful that what seems to have separated us will now help us to heal and come together.  When we look in a mirror there will always be more that unites us than tears us apart.  We can be thankful that Mother Nature carries on with her work – the snow will be here soon, the crisp air will wake us in the morning, holiday lights will brighten our day, and the season of giving will have even more meaning this year.  We can be thankful that this crisis serves as a wake-up call – an alert that allows us to remember what is truly important: family, health, friends, traditions, and that our longing to bring all of those blessings together will be rewarded soon enough.

We can be immensely thankful for those tireless individuals who risked their own wellbeing so that we could continue on with our lives during this pandemic: doctors, nurses, grocers, cashiers, first responders, medical technicians, postal carriers, farmers, fisherman, cooks and chefs, servers, FedEx and UPS drivers, teachers, and those in the trades who still managed repairs when their safety was tested.   How would we have managed through this without them?  We can certainly be grateful for ZOOM – this is a gift that allowed us to work from home, stay connected with our families, and even talk with our health care providers when a person-to-person visit was not possible.

For restaurants, chefs, cooks, and servers – this is a particularly difficult holiday season.  Thanksgiving and Christmas Week, New Years Eve, Presidents Week, and Valentines Day are some of the busiest restaurant days of the year – especially during a season that has little to offer small restaurant businesses otherwise.  This year will not be the same.  We won’t see the elaborate holiday buffets, full dining rooms of families looking for a break from cooking at home, restaurants enjoying the seasonal increase in marriage proposals and planning for weddings, and of course those Santa visits to eager youngsters dressed up for the Christmas Eve buffet.   There will be less need for kitchens filled with cooks working overtime, and servers hoping to receive those extra generous gratuities that will make their family holiday season a little brighter.  Maybe it’s a good thing – maybe the industry needs to re-evaluate the importance of allowing their staff to be home with their own families during this time of the year and maybe those traditions of family kitchens filled with relatives trying to lend a hand at dinner will return as we collectively relish the way it once was.

Like other businesses, especially those small businesses that make up the backbone of our economy, this has been a catastrophic year.  Some closed their doors and will not reopen; others have struggled to hang on with hope of a better tomorrow.  Those who remain will be different when this is all over.  They may look different, offer a new product or service, and will certainly be aware that how they deliver those products or services to the public will be different.  They will need your support as never before.  Those who could not weather the storm should know that other opportunities will arise and they will need our encouragement and engagement as well.  We will be different in another year – different, but in many ways better, stronger, and more in tune with what needs to be done.

We may not enjoy those large gatherings at home or in restaurants this year, but we still know that the heart and soul of this season is all about appreciating what we have and looking forward to what will come next.  This can happen in your dining room, in your local restaurant, or breaking bread via a ZOOM call that brings everyone together to smile, laugh, and enjoy the moment, even if virtually.

Next year will require that we remain vigilant and patient.  It will require that we muster up the positive energy and courage to do what is right for our families, our neighbors, and ourselves.  This is a time to give thanks for those connections and to remain strong while science does its work and the world collectively takes another step towards winning this battle.

After we have persevered – whether it is the Spring, Summer, Fall or beyond – it may be time to ask:  “what have we learned and how will we act moving forward?” One thing for sure, we have all assessed and reassessed our priorities over the past few months – let us not forget what we learned in the process.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone; be safe, be well, love your family, cherish your friends, break bread and raise a glass, and let’s move through this as a stronger, more unified, compassionate country of 330 million people.  

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consultant

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CHEFS – FAILURE IS NOT INEVITABLE

20 Friday Nov 2020

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It seems that every time I check my email or flip through postings in social media – there is another restaurant, food business, or culinary school preparing to close their doors.  It is heartbreaking to read of life visions dashed and even long-standing, viable businesses choosing to throw in the towel.  I am writing this to tell you that, in most cases, this does not have to be the storyline.

There is no shortage of organizations established to support their segment of a far-reaching industry.  We have organizations for bakers, pastry chefs, savory chefs, executive chefs, corporate chefs, club chefs, restaurateurs, cooks dedicated to sustainability, whole food chefs, college food service directors, culinary educators, hoteliers, club managers, dietitians and nutritionists, vegetable farmers, dairy farmers, cheese makers, servers, bartenders, mixologists, grape growers, wine makers, and sommeliers.  Each has a focus on issues and opportunities for their particular group, but rarely do they talk effectively with one another.

I tend to try and separate cause and effect – knowing that nothing will truly change unless we identify cause and focus on that.  Restaurants, culinary schools, producers, and those in the beverage business are suffering because of the pandemic, but there were (and still are) plenty of other crisis situations facing these segments long before Covid-19.  Restaurant profits are too low, finding competent staff is far too difficult, prices of ingredients keep rising, rents are out of sight, culinary school enrollment continues to decline, competition is too expansive, cost of an education doesn’t match rates of pay, industry pay scales and benefit offerings are too low, and marketing is way too confusing in the era of technology and social media.  How many of these challenges might be addressed if all of these silo groups actually viewed themselves as part of the same business and worked together?

Here are some things that I know to be true:

[]         Restaurants Will Rise Up Again

When WWI and WWII ended – restaurants and bars were some of the first businesses to recover.  When the Great Depression came to an end – restaurants and bars positioned themselves to thrive.  As we rebuilt American pride after 9/11 – restaurants stood in position to greet a reinvigorated American spirit.  Following the economic devastation of 2008 – restaurants hunkered down for months and then came back refreshed and charged up.  And when we are able to bring the pandemic under control – the same recovery for restaurants will be the case.  Restaurants and bars will be different; their product, service, and method of operation will likely change – but they will rise up again.

[]         Culinary Schools Will Be In Demand Again

Those schools that self-evaluate and communicate effectively with the industry they serve will always be needed.  The question is – are they willing to change?  The purpose of colleges is to teach, prepare, train and connect students with the rest of their lives.  The purpose is not to generate degrees.  When they start to look at the relevance of products that they offer and diversify from the standard degree; and once they connect better with the industry that hires their graduates, they will stand tall and thrive.  Schools cannot continue to exist in their own bubble – creating content that fails to align with the industry they serve.  They cannot continue to create programs that place graduates in debt for 20-years following graduation and, they cannot remain effective unless they deliver an education model that takes advantage of industry partnerships.

[]         Bars Will Once Again Become a Preferred Meeting Place

People love to gather, to connect with friends and make new ones.  Restaurants and bars have always served that purpose and they will again once people are comfortable with being out in public.  In fact, I would dare to guess that bars, in particular, would find themselves busier than ever before.

[]         Smaller Farms Will Become Essential Once Again

One thing that has become very apparent during this pandemic is that our supply chain is far more fragile than we thought.  Compound this with the impact of climate change on centralized production and we have a real concern that reaches far beyond the altruistic and environmental reasons for connecting with local farms.  Although a very difficult business – the opportunities for smaller regional and local farms will only grow.  But, farmers and chefs must work together to create this model.  Neither can exist in a vacuum.  The farmer needs to grow what the chef is looking for and the chef must create more fluid menus that take advantage of growing cycles and the quality derived from peak crop maturity.

[]         Great Bread Will Be Even More Important to Restaurants in the Future

One thing that we have learned over the past two decades is that great bread is essential to a great restaurant experience.  We have also discovered that artisan style bread is preferred over the tasteless, poorly structured products that were prevalent in the American diet for decades.  For those who are willing to learn and invest the intense amount of effort – artisan bread will be in much higher demand – thus a business opportunity.

[]         Private Entrepreneurship Will Prevail in the American Restaurant Industry

Those who have been most impacted by the pandemic are the small, privately owned restaurants in America.  Tens of thousands will close their doors, yet the American dream of entrepreneurship will rise up from the ashes and restaurants that have always been, and will once again become – a first choice for those who want to leap into ownership.  If banks can become more “user friendly” for restaurants and landlords more reasonable with rent, then your neighborhood restaurant will return – maybe with new owners, certainly with new concepts, and a fresh way of serving the needs of a community.

[]         More and More People Will Seek to Eat Healthy as They Understand the Impact on Health and Wellbeing

It is inevitable that our obsession with healthcare will lead a larger percentage of the population to work on preventative issues such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart issues – all are linked to the type of food, the method of cooking, and the amount that we eat.  Restaurants will need to respond, and they will.

[]         Profitability and Challenges with the Labor Market Will Eventually Find Common Ground

Restaurants are and always have been highly labor intensive while remaining very stingy with profit.  The answer has always been to skimp on rates of pay and benefits creating an ever-challenging swinging door of employees moving from operation to operation for a few pennies more in pay.  The likely answer is to change the way we look at production and service leading to more efficient operations requiring fewer employees that can be paid a fair wage with reasonable benefits.  Something has to give.

Now, if we can unify our efforts around these realities, if we can connect all of those silo driven organizations to work together for common solutions, then the business of food will thrive and become far more resilient before the next crisis strikes.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant and Culinary School Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

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WHAT CUSTOMERS DON’T KNOW ABOUT RESTAURANT WORK

17 Tuesday Nov 2020

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More difficult than you may have thought, more chaotic than you might expect, more poetic than you realize, and more fulfilling than you would understand: this, to me, describes the environment of the professional kitchen that few customers are able to view or experience.  It is this dichotomy of experiences that draws people into a career behind the range and keeps them there for decades. This is a behind the scenes look at the place and the people that bring a plate of food to the guest’s table. 

TEN THINGS YOU DIDN”T KNOW ABOUT A RESTAURANT

  • An organizational structure that attempts to keep things under control

There is a long history of how kitchens and restaurants are structured.  Although executed at different levels – this structure is something that all those whom work in restaurants can depend and lean on. It is our comfort zone – a place and an organizational structure that makes sense and attempts to keep a lid on a long list of independent work before and during service. 

In the kitchen – work responsibilities are divided into oversight and action positions – the number depending on the scope of the restaurant menu and the size of the operation, but basically there are chefs, cooks, and support staff.  Each have specific duties and all have some shared responsibility.  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.  He or she may not spend as much time cooking as a typical guest might think.  The cook is the action person – this is the individual who actually brings ingredients together, responds to customer requests, and prepares your plate of food.  The support staff members include those dishwashers, and cleaners who keep the ship afloat during the chaos of prep and assembly. 

The front of the house is typically separated into those who interface with guests directly and walk them through the ordering process to those who set the stage and support the work of the primary server.  This includes back waiters, bus personnel, and bartenders.  The strict alignment to table stations, training, development of a wine list that complements the food menu, and the smooth oversight of intense chaos so that it seems to be controlled rests on the shoulders of the dining room or restaurant manager.

Regardless of the restaurant type – this is a standard structure that anyone working in the business can expect and adapt to.

  • Independence in a manufacturing model that defies logic

To walk through a kitchen prior to service you will see a number of cooks and support staff going about their respective work with seemingly little connection to a master plan.  Each will have their own list of prep that relates to either a station or event and with rare exception they are allowed autonomy in how they approach the work.  Underneath the façade of independence lies a system that keeps all of this personal activity integrated into a bigger picture.  This may never become apparent until these same cooks are setting up their stations for finish work once the dining room doors open to the public.

  • A cluster of artists accepting control

Every seasoned cook struggles with controlling a desire to flex his or her artistic muscle and modify a dish to suit his or her style.  At the same time, each cook is fully aware that consistency and adherence to the standards of excellence that defines the restaurant must win in the long run.  A smart chef will provide opportunities for creative expression through nightly features and a cook’s input on the next wave of menus.  Any long-term attempt to keep artistic expression under wraps will result in constant replacement of cooks after frustrated ones leave for an operation with more freedom.

  • Chaos that leads to symphonic orchestration

There are two different kitchens, two different restaurants that might be observed by an interested guest.  The kitchen before service is alive with independent, sometimes stressful work scattered throughout the space.  Each cook is struggling against the clock to get his or her prep in order before setting a station for service.  Once service begins there will not be any time to take care of prep that was not completed in advance.  To view this, one would certainly use the word: chaos.

Once each line station is set for service, the mise en place is well appointed, the side towels are folded, pans stacked in the ready, menu reviewed, and ingredients are in place; once the orders start to tick off the printer and the expeditor raises his or her baton to signify the start of the nightly score – the chaos turns into a beautiful piece of music.  Cooks pivot and turn, pans ring as they hit the stove top, tongs click in rhythm, plates clang in unison as they are set in the pass for pick up, and cooks chime in with yes chef when directives are given by the expeditor.  You can put music to this dance that is very poetic and fluid.

  •      Improvisation that is kept in check

Although cooks will have a chance to express themselves through nightly features and an occasional pitch of an item for the next menu – when the restaurant doors are open on any given night – their job is to make sure that each dish is prepared consistently, looks and tastes the same, and follows the established design that the chef has put his or her stamp on.  There can be no deviation from the established norm.  Cooks know that “buy-in” to this game plan is essential if they hope to keep customers coming back time and again.

  • The chef who rarely cooks your food

This may be a shock to many guests, but the chef in your favorite restaurant is probably not the person who cooks your meal.  As previously mentioned each person has specific responsibilities and the chef’s are at a different level than those who finish the food you order.  It is, however, the chef who is responsible to train those cooks how to prepare the dishes that the restaurant puts its signature on.

  • A culture of family that defies logic

All of the typical highs and lows of being part of a family exist in a kitchen.  Team members know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and compensate accordingly.  They may be highly critical of each other, but don’t ever assume that someone outside of the “family” has the right to do the same.  When in trouble – the team will help a member of their group – without question.  There is a brotherhood or sisterhood that is just as real as if there was a biological connection between them. 

  • Service staff that have other careers

The majority of those restaurant servers that a guest connects with have other jobs – sometimes jobs that are their chosen careers – they just don’t pay enough, or they don’t provide the challenges and stressful excitement that comes from being a pleasant server, psychologist, counselor, and menu expert for those who fill dining room tables. 

  • A gathering place for castoffs and square pegs

The dynamic of the restaurant employee (especially in the kitchen) is flush with those who don’t fit in, are not inspired by typical 40 hour work weeks, find comfort in chaos, never flinch at cuts and burns, and do what they do out of a love for the art they produce and challenges that uncertainty brings every day.  Restaurant employees are part of a culture that doesn’t fit anywhere else.

  • Adrenaline junkies who are gluttons for punishment

When you step back and watch all of this, when you discover that cooks in particular live on the edge of disaster on any given day, when you see how they kick into gear when the job becomes impossible, and when you see them return the next day for a repeat of the same punishment, then you will begin to understand that the heat, the stress, the uncertainty, and the shear craziness of kitchen life is driven by the adrenaline rush.  Unless you have been there and felt it, you can’t understand.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafetalks.libsyn.com/

**Check in to CAFÉ Talks Podcast this Wednesday – November 18 for an interview with Chef Jeremiah Tower.

A COOK’S SENSUAL OVERLOAD – TOUCH, TEXTURE, CHEW

12 Thursday Nov 2020

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We are tactile beings – the feel and texture of things that we encounter is very personal and very important to our life experience.  Such is the case with the food that we consume.  As is stated by the Institute for the Psychology of Eating – some believe that chew or experiencing the texture of food is an innate need to show a level of aggression – a necessary release for our piece of mind – while others simply point to the process of chewing as an essential part of the digestion process.  In all cases, the concept of flavor depends on the texture of food, to be complete.

To this end, certain foods are defined by their texture or chew.  What would a September apple be without that crisp snap when we bite into it, what would a great bagel be without the hard work of chewing, a pudding without the creamy texture of softened butter, or a steak without the rich chew that releases the deep umami sensation that is a result?

“So important is the level of crunch that many years ago, potato-chip manufacturers developed a sophisticated apparatus to measure the perceived level of crunch that consumers hear in their heads. The most pleasurable decibel levels were deciphered, and potato chips were subsequently manufactured to these standard orgasmic crunch levels.”-The Institute for the Psychology of Eating

Flavor is a complex and complete experience – it is far beyond the stimulation of taste receptors.  To taste without chew is shallow and incomplete.  Chew is something that has lasting meaning and, like smell, there is memory attached to it.  Just as we remember and look forward to the texture of that fall apple, so too do we vividly remember what that experience is and use it as a benchmark of quality when it comes to judging all other apples.

Texture and chew is also a metaphor in life that points to how these “touch” events determine the depth to which we become one with life’s experiences.  We are told to “chew on it” when presented with an opportunity or problem.  Accountants “crunch” the numbers signifying a commitment to ensuring that the results are accurate and when we over-extend or take on too much responsibility we are said to “bite off more than we can chew”.  It is this physical process or association that helps to define the type of experience that is a result.

As cooks and chefs build their flavor memory they must understand and categorize the process of connecting with texture, touch, and chew.  Think about these products and experiences and how important touch, texture, and chew are to the dynamics of flavor.

  • That first oyster or clam:

It is an act of faith in the strong recommendation from a chef or the result of a dare from others that allows us that first experience with a raw oyster or clam.  Certainly, it is rare that anyone would choose to let a live shellfish slide down your throat for any other reason – yet, if we allow that incredible texture and ocean brininess to take hold – the flavor experience is like no other.  In this case – chew is very subtle; we allow the throat to simply accept the texture of the sea.

  • The French fry expectation:

Food companies spend countless hours trying to perfect the French fry experience.  For the product to meet and exceed expectations it must retain its deep fried crunch on the exterior while yielding a soft and moist experience within.  It is a delicate balance between the type of potato, the method of processing, the state of chill or freeze, how it is blanched, the type of oil used in deep frying, the temperature of the oil, and knowing how the cook will treat the whole process before the finished product is placed in the pass.  With the French fry – texture is king.

  • Ripe melon:

Melon is one of those fruits that thrive on the extreme.  An unripe melon just doesn’t feel right in the mouth, is tasteless, and is likely quickly discarded by any who have experienced the benchmark of ripeness.  When ripeness is at its peak – the texture is soft, yet still in complete control, the flavor is pronounced, the level of moisture is intoxicating, and the overall food memory created is exceptional.  Once you experience a perfectly ripe melon – nothing else will do.

  • Vine ripened tomato:

To meet the demands for tomatoes on the market – twelve months a year, and to be able to ship those same tomatoes without damage – they are far too often produced in a greenhouse, sometimes hydroponically, picked long before vine maturity, sometimes waxed and sent your way.  The result is a firm and tasteless product that barely resembles what a perfect tomato should be.  When a tomato is exposed to the sun, grown in rich soil, picked when it is mature and consumed while still warm from that July sun – it is something to write books about and sing its praise with song.  When the texture of the skin serves to simply keep those warn tomato seeds from bursting forth, when the bite yields the powerful flavor and soft texture of that warm interior running down your chin – then you have a flavor memory that will linger until next season.

  • The magic avocado:

Maybe more so than any other fruit – the avocado is a tough client for the chefs cutting board.  Before it is ripe – the texture is uninviting and unwilling to add any value to the kitchen program at your restaurant.  Left too long in its skin and the peak creaminess of a perfect fruit turns to a stringy and sometimes blackened interior that shouts to the cook that he or she has waited too long.  When the avocado is perfect it is as creamy as softened butter, rich in flavor and brilliant in color.  This is the fruit that serves as a centerpiece for salads, appetizers, and your favorite guacamole.

  • Crispy skin of a roast chicken:

There are few preparations that point to the skill of a seasoned cook than a perfectly roasted chicken.  When the cook pays as much attention to the skin as he or she does the breast meat or rich darkness of the thigh and leg, then the chicken experience is so prominent as to become a favorite meal.  Basting, seasoning, covering and uncovering through the roasting process will yield that crisp, buttery, salty crunch that is the first thing that a knowledgeable consumer reaches for.

  • A Georgia peach at peak maturity:

Stone fruits like plums, nectarines, cherries, apricots, and peaches can be just as fickle as the avocado.  Typically picked before maturity so that shipping does not damage the fruit – these hand held products of nature can be too hard, too unforgiving, and too tasteless for positive food memories.  When picked at or near maturity – the peach is an ambassador for Mother Nature.  Soft with a small amount of bite, bursting with flavor of sweet and a little bit of tartness, dripping with nectar, and hard to put down – the ripe peach is right at the top of the food memory data bank.

  • Artisan bread:

Very few foods are as satisfying as perfectly baked artisan sourdough bread.  When done right – the combination of a crisp exterior and a chewy interior that releases more and more flavor the longer you chew is something that you can experience virtually once imbedded in your food memory.

  • The stages of salt water taffy:

Maybe not the most prominent flavor that chefs think about, but in remembrance of your youth – walking on the beach and stopping at that salt water taffy stand is something that can define an important time in your life.  Taffy has it all from a texture and chew standpoint.  The warmth of the sun makes the taffy a bit sticky to handle, but once in your mouth you will always remember the changes from a challenging chew at first to different stages of softness until it finally melts and disappears.    Incredible – imagine if chefs could re-create these stages with their dessert selections in a restaurant.

  • Al dente pasta:

Al dente – or firm to the bite defines how most pasta is designed to be eaten.  When cooked al dente – pasta is digested more slowly and thus satisfies your hunger for a longer period of time.  The firmer texture creates a more enjoyable “chew” and retains far more flavor than over-cooked pasta that bleeds out its flavor to the salted cooking water.

  • A comfortable dining room chair:

Aside from the food itself – the environment where we dine has much to do with the flavor experience.  An uncomfortable chair detracts from the process of eating and attention is placed on finding a way to relax so that dining becomes a positive respite.

  • The feel of the right flatware:

The feel and type of flatware can enhance the flavor experience if it matches the food ingredients, their preparation and their cost.  A plastic fork and knife may be perfectly acceptable for that Nathan’s hot dog and fries, but the Black Angus rib eye steak deserves a rose wood handled Henkel steak knife and heavy, long tine sterling silver fork.  The touch of the tools is part of the dish memory.

  • The delicate elegance of the right wine glass:

Wine is such a unique beverage that is impacted throughout its life by numerous environmental factors.  The struggle that the vine goes through to extract nutrients from the terrior will determine much of the grapes integrity and flavor; the process of touch as it applies to how the grapes are crushed (gravity fed or more aggressively pressed) will determine if the grapes are bruised and possibly change the deepness of flavor; the packaging for shipment of bottles will either protect or endanger the stability of the continued bottle fermentation; and the quality of the wine glass does, in fact, impact the experience of taste and aroma.  If you have never been through a Riedl glass seminar then make sure you put it on your list of “must do” experiences

Touch, texture, and chew are essential components of the dining experience and critical elements that define your food memory benchmarks.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER
Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

A COOK’S SENSUAL OVERLOAD – SMELL

07 Saturday Nov 2020

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Now that I have your attention – allow me to walk you through a cook’s journey of experiences that activate the senses.  One of the most amazing aspects of the human mind is its capacity to store and remember every single experience from birth to last breath.  These experiences whether they are tactile, social, psychological, or spiritual are stored in the subconscious mind – a person’s “built-in” hard drive.  Sometimes those experiences are buried deeply in that hard drive and take real effort to bring to the surface while others simply require a small prod to jump into the conscious realm and activate all of the senses.  It truly is amazing.

What cooks and chefs talk about quite often is “food memory”.  Oftentimes the difference between a good cook and an exceptional one is the breadth of a person’s food memory.  Sometimes we refer to them as flavor benchmarks – significant additions to a food memory data bank that become the standard-bearers of how we approach and compare food experiences moving forward.  Cooks and chefs are bombarded with these benchmarks – each and every day.

WHAT IS THAT SMELL?

*Bacon – is there any deeper, more intoxicating, more all consuming smell than that of thick strips of bacon frying in a pan or rendering in an oven.  Every kitchen is filled with this gratifying aroma that greets cooks and chefs as an old friend wrapping his or her arm around their shoulder and telling them that life is good?

*Onions – what makes us salivate, wake up and direct our attention to our palate is the rich smell of caramelization.  Onions are the mistresses of the kitchen – that irresistible link to the passion of eating.  Every cook snaps to attention when those onions hit the surface of a hot pan and squeak and hiss as they turn from white to transparent, to lightly brown.

*Garlic – Ahhhh – garlic.  What is that smell that reminds us of home cooked meals, of the beginnings of a rich Bolognese, the foundations of shrimp scampi, or the start of a sear before the long and slow process of braising those veal shanks or short ribs?   Garlic, to cooks, is the magic ingredient that only gets better as it is used with reckless abandon.

*Grilled meat – a cherry red grill fed by the flames from briquettes laps around that ribeye, New York strip, or Black Angus filet.  The marbled fat that webs through the eye of those steaks begins to melt and drip – fueling the flames even more and sealing in the flavor and moisture of the steak with grill marks and an exterior crust that shows the power of the Maillard Reaction.  This smell is like no other – it reminds us of a good life, of summer bar-b-que with family and friends, and the best partner that a robust red wine could have.  This aroma welcomes cooks to their station and reminds them of why they do what they do.

*Sauté’ mushrooms – When we use the term umami we often think of the savory aspects of roast pork or a 109 rib pushing it’s internal temp close to 120 F.  But the smell of fresh mushrooms like porcini, shiitake, crimini, morels and chanterelles is as close to umami nirvana as one might ever expect to achieve.  This is the environment that cooks live in.

*Bread from the oven – the work, the time, the physical handling of a living product, the elegant simplicity of four ingredients, the marvel of a sour dough starter uniting the gluten strands and lifting a dough to a remarkable stature pales in comparison to the smell of the finished product being pealed from the oven.  Let the loaf dance in your hands as you flip it over, pull it close to your nose and drawn that completely unique smell into your being.

*Cinnamon Danish – if you have worked in a kitchen where breakfast is served – then you are familiar with the sinful smell associated with cinnamon rolls or Danish pastries fresh from the oven.  You know that you shouldn’t, but it is nearly impossible to get anything else done until you break apart the rings and allow that first bite to melt in your mouth.  You must take a moment with a familiar cup of coffee to relax and just let the magic happen.

*Simmering Stock – I always made sure that every kitchen that I orchestrated had a stock working every day.  Sure, the stock was important as the foundation to soups and sauces, but maybe even more importantly it sets the tone for a kitchen dedicated to foundations, to building flavors in layers, and to respecting the traditions of a professional kitchen.  Stocks are a statement and their deep aroma welcomes every cook to his or her station, allowing them to know that they are part of something special.

*Fresh brewed coffee – We all have a relationship with coffee.  To many, it is the first thing that we seek in the morning, the finish to a great meal, and the last acknowledgement to signal the end of the day.  Each sip allows us to engage our olfactory senses as well as our taste receptors.  In professional kitchens – coffee is a baseline aroma that is always there, always luring us over for another jolt of caffeine.

*Cured meats – The inspiration for this article was a video clip that I watched a dozen or so times – a walking tour through a curing room filled with thousands of Prosciutto hams hanging and working their way through the long process of fermentation that yields one of the culinary worlds most heavenly aromas and flavors.  Picture what it must be like to walk through that cure room, take a deep breath, and let your senses turn to high alert.  This is a cook’s moment.

*Cheese affinage – As enticing as the prosciutto cure room might be, the musty, fruity, deeply fragrant smell of a cheese cave takes it a step further.  It is the affinage that takes the pressed curds from milk and transitions them into signature cheese from runny soft, and stinky Epoisse, to firm, mature Manchego, or the aged and intelligent aromas of Parmigiana Reggiano.   Cheese, bread, cured meat, and great wine combine to tempt the nose to understand the mystical nature of the food that we eat.

*Shaved truffles on scrambled eggs or pasta – Not an every day experience, even for the most experienced chef, but if there were an aroma that’s impossible to describe except to say “truffle” this would be it.  Nothing else smells remotely close to a truffle, nothing will make you stand tall and give all of your attention to food, and no smell is more addictive than a fresh truffle that is shaved over loosely scrambled eggs or fresh pasta.  If there were a smell to describe heaven – this would be it. 

As cooks we are privileged to work with, be enticed by, and enjoy the pleasures of aromatic foods.  This is the environment we work in and this is quite possibly one of the greatest benefits of choosing a life behind the range.

Up next:  TOUCH, TEXTURE, and CHEW.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafetalks.libsyn.com/

THE APOCALYPSE FOR RESTAURANTS IS NEAR

31 Saturday Oct 2020

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It is the end of October 2020 and we are all focused on the National Election in just a few days.  We certainly should be zeroing on this event that will likely change the course of history and determine what America looks like and how it is perceived for generations to come.  While we wrestle with important issues of voter suppression, confidence in the system (how amazing it is that this is a concern in the United States of America), and whether or not one party or another will accept the results – there are two monumental disasters looming:  Covid-19 is rearing up its ugly head for a second and third wave that all indications point to as worse than the first (even if some may try to down play the threat) and as a result – the restaurant industry is facing the end of the road.  As Jeremiah Tower stated in a recent interview I conducted with him:  “This is not a challenge – it is the apocalypse.”

This is not an exaggeration, this is not a case of fear mongering, this is not political – it is a fact.  As winter looms heavy on every restaurateurs shoulders and those outdoor patios are closed due to weather – restaurant owners and chefs are breathing heavy as they know what lies ahead.  The pandemic is real, the virus is real, and people are scared.  Dining indoors is scary enough for both customers and providers, but opening inside dining with 50% occupancy is simply not workable financially.  Add to that the realization that at any moment, Covid-19 may force local governments hand and another mandated lockdown could be right around the corner.  Leisure travel is non-existent, and business travel is very limited.  Conferences and conventions are gone, weddings are not taking place in hotel and restaurant venues, meetings are virtual, graduations are accomplished on ZOOM , and those Friday night meetings of friends in a local bar or trendy restaurant have basically evaporated.  Each one of these changes is another nail in the coffin of the restaurant business.

Try as they may – restaurants cannot sell enough take out, press regular customers to purchase enough gift certificates, deliver enough re-heat meals, or convert enough dining rooms into marketplaces to cover their expenses and make up for that loss of full dining rooms.  Restaurants are facing really, really difficult times.  These are problems that they can’t ideate their way out of.  Even the best restaurant minds are at a loss – what can be done to stop the bleeding and ride out the storm that is likely to last another year?  Holy crap!  Most restaurants have a tough time surviving through one tough month – let alone nearly two-years.

Breathe deep, sit down, have a glass of wine or beer and think about a world, a country, a neighborhood without those familiar restaurants, those places where we gather with family and friends to celebrate, honor, laugh, toast, and communicate over great food.  We might try to convince ourselves that restaurants are a luxury and we can get by without them – but the reality is that restaurants are a very, very important part of our lives – we all need them.  We may have survived over the past eight months without those restaurants, but think about the hole in our lives as a result let alone the loss of jobs and the demise of small businesses. This is a serious and highly transitional time that will have a long-term impact on society. 

We certainly can’t ignore the dangers of Covid-19, it is our responsibility to do what is necessary to move through this, stay safe, and keep our neighbors healthy.  Restaurateurs and chefs, for the most part, do not deny this – but, the question is: “are we ready to pay the price?”  Are we ready to face a life without those places that are the core of a community?  Is there an answer, is there a way to protect each other and support the restaurant industry at the same time?

YES THERE IS!

First, and foremost – we need immediate assistance from the Congress and the Executive Branch of government.  It might even be too late, but we (I mean each and every one of us) must insist that Congress pass a relief bill that focuses on the individual, restaurants, and state governments that host all of those public services that we depend on.  A new wave of PPP support to help restaurants and other small businesses pay their employees (employees that are in rough shape through no fault of their own), intervention with landlords for reasonable deferral and payback programs for rent that can’t be met during the pandemic, and an infusion of funds to the SBA so that they can buoy up restaurants that need short term loans and consultation to help problem solve their crisis issues.

Second, we need to stop this politically polarized nonsense that denies the seriousness of Covid-19, ignores the directives of science, and coddles people who fight common sense over wearing masks as if they were middle school brats, and promotes dumb conspiracy theories that the virus is non-existent or far less serious than it is.  This is just absurd and we will never get back to anything close to normal unless we stop this foolish behavior.

Finally, we all need to do our part to support local businesses in ways that we can, while still practicing safe behavior.  We need a 12-month strategy that will support the 24/7 efforts of local businesses to survive.  The alternative is to accept a life after Covid without those restaurants that have been around for generations, those places where we gather to celebrate special occasions, take a break from the stress of work, or simply get together to clink glasses, share our day, and laugh with reckless abandon.  Remember those days, remember how important those opportunities were to our wellbeing? 

Call your representative, vote for those who know what needs to be done and stand on a soapbox to fight for yourself and those local businesses that make a community all that it can be.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

SAVE LOCAL RESTAURANTS – WE NEED THEM!

Be smart – wear a mask, socially distance from one another, wash your hands, and know that together, with effort, we can make a difference.

www.harvestamericacues.com BLOG

COOKS AND CHEFS – WE ALL CRAVE DISCIPLINE

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

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Let’s not confuse freedom with a desire to do whatever we want without a system of order or respect for the discipline of structure.  We can both be free and still respect the need for that discipline that comes from organization.  A well-run kitchen is not a free-form environment where every cook does his or her own thing or moves to the beat of his or her own drum.  Just like other well-run organizations – the kitchen functions best in a system where everyone has well defined jobs, follows the structure of systems or order, and exhibits the discipline of structural respect. 

Whether it is the military, your favorite baseball or football team, FedEx, UPS, the airlines, or your favorite musical group – structure and a level of discipline are essential if the end result is going to be accomplishment of business objectives. 

My experience, and I will note that it may not be everyone’s experience, is that kitchens tend to attract a broad array of staff members who come from environments where discipline is not always the norm.  The refreshing nature of discipline is what attracts many of those great employees to the environment of the kitchen.  There is comfort in the ability to achieve concrete objectives – a well-prepared plate of food and a satisfied customer.  There is comfort in wearing a clean, crisp, white uniform that represents history, tradition, and pride.  There is comfort in following the directives on a prep list, a recipe, or a banquet order.  There is comfort in knowing and executing foundational methods of cooking that can consistently yield good results.  There is comfort in knowing that there is a chain of command in the kitchen and that following this order creates a sense of team when and where it is needed.

I have recently read articles that claim that the discipline and order of chefs as far back as Escoffier or as contemporary as Ferran Adria or Thomas Keller are no longer appropriate or needed.  That this structure that chefs have defended for generations will somehow stifle an individuals opportunities in a kitchen and thwart their ability to grow.  Oh contraire, my experience is just the opposite.  It is exactly this structure, and this discipline that helps to develop talented, polished individuals and build a skill set that leads to long-term success. 

Do not misconstrue this support for discipline as an endorsement of hostile work environments where some chefs have been known to demean and excessively criticize cooks – there is no place for this approach.  Discipline is not synonymous with this awful, abhorrent approach that is, for some reason, portrayed as normal on TV kitchen shows.  This may have been normal in the distant past, but it cannot be tolerated today.  But, a level of discipline and structure is critical, especially in complex, ever changing and time sensitive environments like a busy kitchen.

I have observed kitchens that are highly disciplined while employee centric at the same time.  It is these kitchens that hum with enthusiasm, pride, and professionalism and produce extraordinary results.  I have seen cooks when they button up those crisp, clean uniforms, tie on an apron, and draw their knives across a wet stone to hone an edge; when they wipe down their station, line up their tools, and pull down an organized prep sheet, and I have watched that spring in their step, that look of focused professionalism that can only occur in a kitchen that respects the order and discipline of the work.

It makes no difference if it is a 4-diamond restaurant offering fine dining, a quality pizza shop, a bakery, or a hospital foodservice – discipline, pride, and results are closely aligned.  I have seen cooks from all different walks of life – some from culinary schools, some who worked their way up from dishwasher, some born into an American neighborhood, and some who came to our country for a better life, both male and female, young and at the beginning of their work life and others who are nearing the end of their careers – come together with pride in the work they do, joy in their accomplishments in front of the range, and charged up about the kitchen where they work.  This is what discipline and organization bring to a work environment. 

Peek into the kitchens of restaurants that you patronize and you can immediately see the difference.  In fact, it is likely that the food presented to you as a customer will reveal the level of discipline, professionalism, and organization that exists in that kitchen. 

A chef who understands that his or her role is to define that structure, create an environment where critique is tied to training, and results are aligned with the structure and organization that –yes, Escoffier, Pointe, Poilane, Keller, Trotter, and others established or reinforced, is a chef who will not only find personal success, but will set the stage for employees to enjoy a long and fruitful career.

There are many aspects of the restaurant business that need to change: pay scales, benefits, reasonable work schedules, tolerance of chefs and operators who demean and belittle employees, and addressing the factors in restaurants that limit profitability- but, in all cases it will be organization and structural discipline that will make those changes possible.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks Podcast

https://cafetalks.libsyn.com/

CHEFS – WHAT DOES YOUR MENU REPRESENT?

24 Saturday Oct 2020

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Consider this – the menu is the most important component of a successful restaurant and once designed it can, and should, impact every other aspect of the business.  These aspects include: décor, skill level of staff, style of service, pricing, profit, type of vendors selected, kitchen layout, equipment selection, marketing and advertising, pay scales, dining room seating, type of china, glassware and flatware, even the location and color scheme for the exterior of the restaurant.  YES – the menu is that important!

The menu comes first and should reflect the philosophy of the owners and chef and how the operators expect to be perceived by the public.  Far too many times the menu takes a back seat to all other planning that will lead to serious miscalculations along the way.  General Motors would never build and equip an auto plant, hire the entire staff, and create a marketing strategy until the car they intend to build is designed, prototyped, and presented to various focus groups first.  Why should it be any different for restaurants and their menus?

That being said – here are a few examples of “menu thinking” that can be considered:

[]         A COLLECTION OF ITEMS THAT SELL

This menu is developed using analytical data that is drawn from surveys and historical reference to other restaurants within a community or region.  There is certainly nothing wrong with this approach except that the result is typically an operation that lacks inspiration, lacks soul, and attracts employees who are less interested in passion and far more content to align with the operation that provides a dependable paycheck.  There are thousands of restaurants just like this – they serve a real need for dependability.

[]         A CONNECTION TO HISTORY

Whether it’s the history of the town where the restaurant is located, the family that owns the operation, or the heritage of a certain ethnicity – sometimes these influences set the stage for a menu and what it represents.  Destiny and tradition create expectations that are hard to argue with.  A restaurant on the Maine coast without lobster would be difficult to justify, just as a café in the French Quarter of New Orleans without some reference to Cajun, Creole, traditional Southern or Acadian French cooking would seem out of place.

[]         A CHEF’S SIGNATURE

Of course – many chefs view the menu as a chance to make a statement – a statement that focuses on those styles of cooking that influenced the chef, his or her desire to “push the envelope”, and a chance to stand out among the crowd of competitors.  This menu energy is attractive to chefs while at the same time it is risky.  A chef’s signature without any research can set a negative perception of the restaurant that is hard to break.  At the same time – a restaurant that boxes a chef into a corner with little or no room for expression will find it difficult to hang on to culinary talent. 

[]         THE COLLECTIVE STYLE OF THE KITCHEN TEAM

When a chef engages the culinary team in the process of menu building, and when this is done with proper guidance and adherence to a common set of benchmarks, then real kitchen synergy will result.  This is one of the best ways to attract excellent cooks and create an environment where they want to stay and contribute to the team effort.

[]         A DARING TRIP INTO THE UNKNOWN

We have seen some examples of uniquely talented and daring chefs who want to shock as much as inspire.   Keeping in mind that there is a relatively small, but passionate number of consumers who are referred to as “innovators” (1-2% of the dining public) – there will always be room for a few disruptor restaurants.  The biggest challenge is keeping those innovators interested and expanding the market to enough predictable guests to keep the restaurant in business.

[]         A REFLECTION OF COMMUNITY

When a chef takes part in active demographic research – a menu might very well reflect something about the community where the restaurant sits.  Building a neighborhood restaurant where support for the operation is considered a responsibility of residents becomes a reality when that operation truly connects.  It might be based on a menu that reflects the heritage of the community, the ethnicity of residents, their socio-economic background, or something about the community that makes it unique.  When a chef identifies this and as a result creates loyalty – then a restaurant can expect to live on for generations.

[]         THE OWNER’S FAVORITES

Owners have a tough time staying out of the menu planning process.  It is their business after all – right?  The chef, regardless of how creative he or she might be, and the owner, regardless of how savvy he or she might be as a consumer – needs to take a back seat to all of the factors that will lead to a connection with consumers and return customers.  Beware of the owner that hopes to build a personal menu rather than one that might work.

[]         A LIST WITHOUT DIRECTION

It takes just a minute or two for a seasoned restaurant professional to identify a menu without direction.  There should always be “connections” on the menu:  the appetizers set the stage for the entrees, and the entrees lead to desserts that complete the package.  When a menu lacks continuity, then the experience suffers and the customer is left – confused.

[]         AN ATTEMPT TO PLEASE EVERYONE

There was a time when the American diner was prevalent at every major crossing of highways.  Not ever knowing whom their next customer might be – these operations attacked the customer will pages of menu choices, representing multiple ethnic influences, utilizing every ingredient possible, and doing so without any parameters such as what makes sense for a given meal period or how the kitchen and service staff might function.  When the restaurant offers pasta primavera and tacos throughout the day then the consumer starts to wonder what the results will be.

Don’t underestimate the importance of smart menu planning that takes into consideration the habits and desires of typical customers, demographics, the facility layout and equipment on hand, the skill level of the cooks, the style of service that front of the house employees are trained to execute, the price point and profitability potential of the items selected, the availability of vendors, and the passion and ability of the chef who stands at the helm.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

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THE COOK’S INTELLECT

19 Monday Oct 2020

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Anyone who has tied on an apron in a professional kitchen understands the physical nature of the work.  We know about the aching muscles, the throbbing feet, the faltering knees, and the heat – did I mention the heat?  But we don’t often take the time to stop and pay attention to the intellect of the cook and the broader skills that few careers can boast.  Great cooks and chefs are highly intellectual individuals who are challenged to apply those skills and aptitudes every day.  Unfortunately, it is rare to hear of anyone pointing out these essential abilities or the need for them if one is to be effective in the job.

So, for all who are sweating on the line every day, for all who are dipping their toes into the rushing water of a culinary profession, and to all chefs who think they know their worth – here are the unheralded skills that cooks and chefs apply each and every day without much fanfare:

[]         MATH

Yep, that’s right – cooks are adept at using math every day in the kitchen.  They apply these principles while expanding recipes, using fractions with units of measurement, working with percentages (especially in the bakeshop), portioning products, determining yield of products through fabrication and cooking, using geometry to determine precise vegetable cuts, and working within the parameters of recipe costing.

[]         TIME MANAGEMENT

Working backwards from a finished plate of food – cooks must prioritize work based on how long each step will take, as well as pacing of a ‘la minute work on the line to ensure that every dish on an order is ready at the precise time for plating.

[]         STRATEGIC PLANNING

From the moment a cook walks through those kitchen doors he or she is building a strategy for the day.  “How will I approach today’s prep, what can I defer till a later time, based on who is scheduled for a shift – how must I adjust the work that I do, and given the reservations for tonight – which items might move and which items will take a back seat to demand.”  Sometimes the strategy is systemic and doesn’t waver, while at other times each day will be unique. 

[]         PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Especially in operations where there are significant numbers of banquets and special events – the cook is assigned a function and must either align with a project strategy already developed by the chef, or in some cases build and manage that project independently.  All of this is done within the parameters of standards of excellence and timing.

[]         PROBLEM SOLVING

Even the best-laid plans can go astray when the unforeseen gets in the way.  The best cooks and chefs will constantly work on scenarios so that very little is classified as a surprise.  If left to chance – whatever could go wrong – will.  This is the principle of Murphy’s Law that every cook subscribes to.  The best cooks solve problems before they arise.

“In its simplest form, Murphy’s Law states: If anything can go wrong, it will. However, as with many successful business theories, the original law has been extended over time to cover specialist areas, several of which are given below:

  • Project Planning: If anything can go wrong, it will. Usually at the most inopportune time.
  • Performance Management: If someone can get it wrong, they will.
  • Risk Assessment: If several things can go wrong, the one you would LEAST like to happen will occur.
  • Practical creativity: If you can think of four ways that something can go wrong, it will go wrong in a fifth way.”
  • www.mindtools.com

[]         HISTORY AND ANTHROPOLOGIE

The best cooks take the time to study the background of a dish or a cooking process.  A person who has never studied the history of a dish such as Cog au Vin is far less likely to master it than another person who understands the ingredients, why they are used, how they are used, the type of people who consumed it, their socio-economic background, the indigenous nature of the ingredients used, how it was presented and how it might have been celebrated by those involved.  So cooks are often compelled to learn more about a dish or process as part of their skill development.  One does not learn how to make Kansas City BBQ without living in KC and apprenticing with a pit master who was born and raised there.

[]         ART AND DESIGN

Food is the ultimate art form and every plate of food that a cook touches is truly a canvas that was analyzed and approached with an eye for color contrast, symmetry, dimension, consideration of negative space, applying different textures, combining geometric shapes, and maximizing the three-dimensional nature of the dish.   Additionally, the cook considers all human senses in the build out of that dish: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch – no other art form is that fully engaged with the senses.

[]         PSYCHOLOGY

There is psychology at play whenever team members are reliant on each other to perform a task.  The kitchen team is a fragile organism that requires understanding, compassion, support, critique, anger management, and passion.  All of the aspects of understanding oneself and those around you are at play at every moment in the kitchen.

[]         COMMUNICATION

Communication in all of its forms is essential in a well-run kitchen.  Verbal, body language, written communication, and eye contact are used by cooks – all the time.  Whether it is checking what and how you say something, the manner with which you give a directive, offer critique, write a prep sheet, enter info in a log, prepare a recipe, or simply give a nod or make eye contact with another player on the team – communication is critical.  Cook’s learn to be masters at this essential skill.

What is most interesting about these unique skills is that they define the difference between a cook and a great cook, a chef and a remarkable chef.  These skills are also very transferrable – thus great cooks and remarkable chefs can quite easily transition into another career track as a result.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

Know your value and the unique skills that you bring to the table.

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THE FUTURE OF THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS

13 Tuesday Oct 2020

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Numerous people have asked me, over the past few months, what I think about the future of restaurants in America.  Of course, this is a question without scientific studies to back up an answer – this is pure speculation.  However, there are a number of indicators that point to a very challenging few years ahead.  The simple answer is nobody knows for sure, but it doesn’t look good.  Please read through till the end, because it’s not all doom and gloom.

Here are the challenging indicators

In the short term:

  1. A capacity limit of 25% or 50% simply doesn’t work for an industry with substantial fixed costs and low profit margins.
  2. The difficult labor situation pre-Covid was tough, it’s even worse now, as many people have decided that a job in the restaurant business is just not worth it.
  3. Landlords can only be forgiving for a short period of time – they have bills to pay as well.
  4. Customers may put their toe in the water and test the safety of going to restaurants now, but all that it will take is an outbreak traced back to a restaurant to change everything.
  5. The industry, in many parts of the country, had a decent summer season, but that was because of outside dining.  In many parts of the U.S. that is beginning to change as winter looms large.  Dining inside is just not as attractive right now.
  6. Un-employment and under-employment eradicate unnecessary family expenses – so restaurants are right back where they were after the 2008 economic crash – they are not essential.
  7. Small restaurants, in particular, are just like their employees.  They cannot endure long periods of time without a revenue stream.  Many restaurants cannot survive past a month or so without throwing in the towel (It has now been more than seven months).
  8. Our government just doesn’t get it.  Restaurants are important to the economy, they are important to American’s piece of mind, they are effective ways of bringing people together especially when everything else seems to push them apart, and restaurants tend to define a community or neighborhood – they are the heart and soul of what makes a community gel.
  9. It is estimated that as many as 50% of the nations restaurants will close and never re-open as the virus continues to thwart any chance of financial survival.

In the long term:

  1. Restaurants don’t want a bail out – they want support and real help.  This means that American entrepreneurs need the support and advice of experts to help them figure a way out of this business mess.  These restaurants need training and mentorship, they need easier access to low interest loans, they need some type of easement on their rents (which requires federal support for landlords), they need extended unemployment benefits for their employees and they need a national marketing program to focus on the importance of your neighborhood restaurants.
  2. This pandemic has revealed significant problems with the U.S. supply chain.  This is just as important as talk about infrastructure rebuilds.  Without real dialogue that looks hard at centralized production and distribution vs. a return to a more de-centralized model – there is little doubt that the supply chain will continue to show its weakness.
  3. Low profitability and intense need for lots of hands to get the job done are issues that have plagued the success of restaurants for many decades.  The country needs a load of great minds to figure this one out.  With an increased failure rate among restaurant start-ups, soon enough we will see a decreased interest in becoming a restaurant entrepreneur.
  4. Low pay and meager benefits have been associated with restaurant work forever, finding a solution to this is long overdue.  Ask yourself: “Why would anyone want to work in a high stress, physically demanding, unpredictable, labor deprived powder keg industry when pay is below the national average for skilled workers, employer paid healthcare is impossible to find, sick leave is even rarer, vacation time is questionable, personal days are non-existent, and predictable schedules are impossible?
  5. For seven months people have become accustomed to avoiding restaurants, cooking more at home, and saving money that would have normally been spent for a dine out meal.  Will they return at some point as though this period in time was just a slight inconvenience?
  6. As restaurants suffer from low participation and in many cases – closure, so too have culinary schools who had the job of training tomorrows cooks, chefs, and restaurant entrepreneurs suffering from low enrollment and less than stellar placement opportunities for graduates.  This adds to the draining of the labor pool.

So, indications for long-term recovery and success are not great.  But, this does not mean the restaurant industry will not recover and regain strength over time.  These factors simply change the face of an industry that has evolved very little over the past 50 or so years.  There is, and will be, real opportunities moving forward for those who can recognize and solve the immediate problems, accept the need to change – really change, and approach tomorrow with passion and enthusiasm.

This is what I (again, no scientific data to support my theory) think will occur over the next few years:

  • There will be a wholesale culling of restaurant numbers.  Those who are not business savvy with disappear, those who fail to recognize that they need to re-invent will disappear, and those without quality leadership will not have the heart and energy to carry on.  This breaks my heart to see; yet it is the most likely scenario.
  • Those who stand tall and admit that they need help, seek out those who can encourage change and show them the path, and those who relish the opportunity to become truly different will find a path to renewed success.  Of this I am certain.
  • Those who re-design their systems to reduce the number of hands required in a restaurant while increasing efficiency and quality will be able to pay their employees better and find a way to create improved work/life balance for their most important assets – people.
  • There will be a movement towards more reasonable dialogue and contractual agreements with landlords.  There is a space for effective compromise here.
  • More and more – mobile options for restaurants will gain traction.  This means more food trucks, more appropriate licensing and tax burden sharing with communities, and wider acceptance of this as a long-term answer.
  • Take out food will rise to a new level of excellence as most restaurant realize that although this will never be their most profitable way to present a meal – it will be an expectation and they had better do it exceptionally well.
  • Consumer education will become the norm through on-site classes, video chef demonstrations, and instructional links for take out customers – how your food was prepared and how to refresh it at home.
  • Partnerships between schools and restaurants will provide opportunities for certificates and degrees in culinary arts that cost less and result in better-trained graduates.  Schools will need to speed up the process of learning, ensure that what they teach is relevant, and build hybrid delivery experiences that are as good or even better than full-time person-to-person.  Refresher process specific course work will become available on line or through social media, and those who enroll in school will be able to access skill updates for life.  The connection between schools and students will never end and job placement will become the key element of an education with some level of guarantee that those who complete a course or degree are “kitchen ready”.
  • The safety protocols that larger chains have adopted and seem able to deliver will be just as well programmed in those independent operations.  As a result, the neighborhood restaurant will have a fighting chance of regaining their support in communities across America.
  • The government will eventually see the importance of restaurants to our way of life and will re-invigorate the breadth of work and power of the SBA to do so much more.  They will be able to provide training and consultation for small restaurants, help them negotiate better terms for long and short-term bank loans, and connect hundreds of thousands of independent operations to a national marketing campaign that helps the industry attract employees, and convince the public that these businesses are streamlined to keep them healthy and safe.
  • Finally, the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and professional commodity groups, food related organizations, and chefs will form a taskforce to look deeply into the changes needed for a stronger, more resilient food distribution system.

I truly believe this and am confident that with leadership in Washington that is more in-tune with the issues facing restaurants – things will change.  It will take time, but as has been the case through national and international disasters over many decades – the restaurant industry will rise up and thrive again.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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A KITCHEN’S ELEGANT LAST IMPRESSIONS

07 Wednesday Oct 2020

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As a chef, I have long admired the craft of the Patissier and Boulanger. Chefs readily admit that the skill set of a dedicated pastry chef or bread baker is quite different from that of the savory chef.  Aside from the innate artistic talent for detailed presentations – the pastry chef is far more adept at applying the exactness of chemistry to food, and far more intent on the details and patience required to present incredible works on a plate.  Pastry chefs are in a league of her own – a club of amazingly talented individuals who make every chef shake his or her head in disbelief at the art of individual with a pastry bag in hand.

One of my favorite “wake up” moments was working in a competition kitchen many years ago when the famous Pastry Chef – Lars Johannson walked by my station.  I was busy piping a salmon mousse on canapés at the time.  He looked at me and

said: “You do very nice work, but you have no business holding a pastry bag.”  He walked away and I knew for certain that pastry work was not in my future.

I have always subscribed to the importance of first and last impressions to the overall experience of dining.  Think about it – I would dare to say that many guests understand that those initial experiences in a restaurant and those that end the meal are the ones that stick with us.  They define the food experiences that we have and create benchmarks for others to follow. 

Whether it is a trip to your local retail bakery, a walk through a well appointed grocery store, that first impression of food when seated in a restaurant or the final course before the presentation of the check – I guarantee that the visual impact,

deep aromas, and first bite of an artisan bread, or luscious plated dessert are some of the most satisfying parts of the guest experience.

Why is it that a simple ham sandwich from a bistro in Paris can be so extraordinary?  Sliced ham on a buttered baguette – that’s it!  Why does this rival the finest complex sandwich found in a New York deli?  It’s the quality of the bread.   Why is it that no matter how full we might be after a restaurant meal – it takes very little prodding to convince us to order that feature dessert?  It’s our nature to crave something sweet and our desire to see just how exceptional the kitchen might be with this last impression. 

That commitment to great bread and the focus that a chef places on a dessert menu that rivals a restaurants signature entrees is one of the most important drivers of a successful restaurant.  That beautiful retail bakery window display that highlights the skills of a pastry chef with cakes, tarts, petite fours, profiteroles, Madeleines, and meringues is impossible to resist. 

People crave the luxury and innocent pleasures that sugar, pastry, fruits, genoise, chocolate, and crème fillings bring.  It is in our DNA to want and our limited willpower to resist the temptations of the pastry chef.  If a chef loses sight of this

reality then he or she is limiting the full experience for the diner.

Bobby Flay once said:  “First Impressions are Everything”, but I would add – it is also true that: Last Impressions are Forever Impressions.  The pastry chef and baker are responsible for both.

It may have been Chef Careme who first brought the concept of Grand Cuisine and the art of cooking to the event tables of his day, but today’s pastry chef has refined and re-defined the art and the importance of food for the eyes as well as the palate.

Carême, as you may remember, gained fame in Paris for his elaborate centerpieces made of pastillage, sugar, and marzipan.  He did free lance work for Napoleon and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand to name a few.

A pastry chef to those operations large and complex enough to support the position is the visual signatory of the operation.  Hotels, resorts, clubs, and caterers crave those signature pieces to make their food events stand out as memorable and sought after.  A grand wedding deserves the grandest of cakes; a conference or convention seeks out those centerpieces on buffets and individual tables that reflect the objectives of the event; holiday festivities in hotels and resorts demand those structures that align the property with the joy of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Hanukah, and other ethnic and religious celebrations as well as welcoming in the New Year.  It is what is expected and it will always be what guests talk about for years to come.

The talent of the pastry chef may be innate, but the skill to produce centerpieces and individual plated works of art is built from hard work, countless years of practice, and loads of patience.

A SINGLE DAY OF EXCELLENCE:

The pastry chef – Suzanne Holmes, enters a resort kitchen just shortly after 4 a.m. – the bread baker is pulling crusty whole-wheat boules and crunchy baguettes from the oven – his day is nearing an end.   She pulls down the clipboard with today’s prep list and smiles nervously at the breadth of detailed work to be done.  Her apprentice will arrive shorty and Sam – her counterpart for the evening shift will take over sometime after 3 p.m.  This is a week of high profile events including the unveiling of the hotel’s new spa.  Chef Holmes will need to concentrate much of her effort today on completing an elaborate chocolate sculpture of male and female figures in a yoga pose.  This has been a project that she has worked on for the past two weeks in addition to her normal onslaught of pastry and dessert work.  Additionally, two weddings will require triple tier fondant cakes and nearly 1,000 individual petite fours glace.  The dessert menu that has brought fame to the main restaurant must be stocked with individual components that Sam will assemble in the evening.  Chef Holmes breathes easy when she touches base with Addie – her bread baker and breakfast pastry aficionado – she knows that this part of her department will always take care of itself.

The petite fours cakes have been layered and trimmed so all that remains is to wrap them in marzipan, coat with fondant, and pipe a simple rosette on the top of each bite size piece.  Her apprentice has been with the department for six months now so aside from delicate chocolate filigree work and important sauce reductions – the apprentice can handle the restaurant dessert work.  Sam always keeps up with ice cream work since the operation added two Pacolet machines that make the work much easier.  So – it looks like centerpiece time.  Chef estimates that the finish work on the sculptures and final spray with cocoa butter will take her about three hours – plenty of time to let everything set and move the showpiece to the spa entrance.  The resort GM is counting on the chocolate work to be front and center when local press arrives to take pictures at the opening.  Another three hours on the petite fours and the two weddings tomorrow should be set except for assembly and final piping on the three tier cakes.

As pressured as Chef Holmes feels she knows that being patient and methodical are essential traits with the detail work before her.  Her dedication to excellence and insistence that every piece of work that comes from her shop meet exacting standards makes the work fun, but always stressful.  She re-hangs the prep sheet clipboard, sets her station and begins a typical day in the pastry shop – a day where her last impressions will help to define the quality of the whole operation.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

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CHEFS – YOUR EMPLOYEES JUST MIGHT HAVE THE ANSWERS

26 Saturday Sep 2020

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We all know the challenges facing restaurants right now – there is little benefit in reiterating the problems.  The question is: “What’s the answer?”  Of course the pandemic is the cause and the effects are either a direct result of that or the necessary restrictions that evolved from Covid.  What needs to be addressed is: “ How do we build trust among customers, trust that the restaurant will keep them safe, and how do we generate enough sales and in turn – profit, to keep the operation moving forward?  Ask your staff!

Your staff members are vested in the success of the restaurant, just as you are.  They may not be encumbered with as many critical issues as you – but they know the customer, they see the operation through a less cluttered lens, and they are able to tune into immediate changes that might just pull you out of the weeds.  Engage them, trust them, encourage them, excite them and give them an opportunity to help far beyond preparing a plate of food or delivering it to the table.  Behind the mask and the social distancing each one of those employees is home to that next great idea – sometimes obvious, and sometimes hidden beneath the surface.

WHAT THEY KNOW:

[]         Your employees know that the essential challenge is TRUST.  They see those hesitant customers walking into a restaurant (or not) while scanning the environment for masks, distancing, and proper safety protocol.  Your employees know that this is not the best way to start a dining experience.  They know that at this point their primary job is to make the customer feel safe.  Ask your employees: “What else can we do to bring about that trust?”

[]         Your employees know that preparing and serving food is only a part of what has kept customers coming back on a regular basis.  They know that the ability to attract new customers lies not with just flavorful food and speedy service, but rather with a deeper experience that can and does create memories.  Ask them how you might bring back an experience in a world of masks and 6 feet of distance.

[]         Your kitchen employees know that the wall that separates the kitchen from the customer creates a level of uncertainty: “What are they doing back there to ensure that the food is safe, the plates are sanitary, and the process of preparation is designed to keep Covid at bay?”  Pose these questions to your employees – who is better positioned to find the answers that would lead to a higher level of trust among customers than those who interact mask to mask?

[]         Your kitchen employees know that 25 or 50% occupancy caps on restaurant dining rooms will never be sufficient to sustain an operation.  They fully understand the rationale that the top line (sale) drives the bottom line (profit).  They can see the concern in your eyes over the certainty of failure when a full dining room is not allowed.  Ask them for ways that you might increase check averages, improve costs, become more efficient, or build menus that contribute more to the bottom line.  You might just be amazed at what they have to offer.  They live every day what you simply oversee.  Who is better prepared to understand the cause of problems and potential solutions than those people who are closest to the challenge?

[]         Your employees know that one confirmed case of Covid stemming from your restaurant will result in temporary or even permanent closure.  Any trust that was built will be set aside when fear takes over.  Ask your employees about your protocol and how to best protect them, the guest, and the business.  Who lives closer to the challenge than employees who are shoulder to shoulder in the operation?  What should be done to protect this? 

[]         Your employees know that typical marketing in the midst of a pandemic is very ineffective.  That ad in the local paper or radio commercial that helped to fill a dining room in the past is frivolous at best when fear and uncertainty are the norm.  Ask them how to best promote a restaurant experience when so many people are simply saying: “No, I’ll just wait until this whole thing is over?”  Ask them about creating word-of-mouth, and a social media buzz that quells fear and builds anticipation for that experience once again.  Your employees are more than just a name on the payroll – they are ambassadors and salespersons who, when they trust what you are doing, will invest in creating that buzz.  Get them engaged.

Your greatest asset in business will always be the employees’ who clock in to your front or back of the house.  All of the investment in décor, menu, tabletop, and marketing are far less significant than the quality of committed staff members.  Solicit their ideas and engage them in the process of success.  Don’t rely on government to solve our problems and overcome our challenges – rally your troops to rise up and find the opportunities that will always exist even in the most difficult times.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

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Restaurant Consulting

TEAM COMPETITIVENESS IN THE KITCHEN

20 Sunday Sep 2020

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Create a Team Built to Win

When Coach Vince Lombardi said: “Winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing”, he was not inferring that winning at all costs justifies the means, not was he inferring that somehow “losing” was the end of all hope – he was simply stating that the attitude of excellence and the goals that define it should always be a driving force within a person’s attitude or a teams mantra.  How you play the game in the process of winning is critical, as is the sportsmanship that allows people to get past defeat with honor and grace while taking the time to positively recognize those who administered that defeat.  Standing tall and looking forward to the next chance to win, knowing what needs improvement, how to rise above mistakes, and supporting each other in the process is at the core of a winning team – even in defeat.

Well-run organizations – in this case a kitchen, are built to win.  They hire, train, critique, support, celebrate, and rally behind the members of the team that has been built and push each individual to contribute his or her best – always.  This is what great organizations and great teams do.

Kitchens, like athletic teams, share in a common structure.  This structure is based on the understanding that the team is only as strong as its weakest link and that greatness is achieved with each team member understands his or her strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the other members of the organization.  Great teams turn to those with certain strengths to rise up and show the way and build up those with identified weaknesses so that together they can float their boat even on the most challenging seas.

Each day in a kitchen there are ample opportunities for a “win”.  Getting that dish just right, controlling costs, managing inventory, meeting budgetary goals, topping yesterdays customer count, clearing the rail of tickets without any re-fires, a complement from customers, top ratings on Trip Advisor or Yelp, or a positive local restaurant review can all be viewed as a competitive opportunity.  Each of these goals requires that all players on your kitchen team be tuned into their role and self-motivate to hit the mark of expectation that the chef, manager, or owner has set.  Success will not occur if the weight of success falls solely on one individual or even a part of the kitchen team.  United in purpose is the call to arms.

The spirit of competition must be felt by every individual in an organization and by the team as a whole.  In this manner – competition helps to drive people to always improve.  The Japanese refer to this as Kaizen.

Michael Jordan is probably one of the most vivid examples of a person who would breathe that competitive spirit constantly.  He said:

“You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.”

Michael did not need to be pushed to strive for excellence – it was in his DNA.  As a result, he became the taskmaster for the team, the standard setter that drove the expectation of others.  His unwillingness to accept anything less than best effort became the core philosophy of those around him.  He was tough, but focused on something that would benefit everyone.  He could play a support role when the team was clicking on all cylinders or he could take individual control when the rest of the team had lost its steam.  It was his competitiveness with himself that kept the team boat afloat.

Charlie Trotter, in many chefs’ minds, defined what fine dining would become in America.  His renowned restaurant: “Trotter’s” was the benchmark for others to follow for nearly 25 years.  The food was groundbreaking, the service was impeccable, the restaurant was polished and smooth on the eye, and the creativity was beyond parallel.  It was his competitiveness and the expectation of the same from his staff that made the restaurant what it was.  He was a tough person to work for and his expectations were not for the faint of heart. 

His focus is clear in this quote:

“I have always looked at it this way:  If you strive like crazy for perfection – an all-out assault on total perfection – at the very least you will hit a high level of excellence, and then you might be able to sleep at night.”

It is this internal competitiveness that pushed Trotter to not only create a truly great restaurant, but more importantly to help those who worked for and with him to carry this spirit of winning to their own careers, and in some cases – their own future restaurants.

Never known as a pleasant person to work for – Steve Jobs – founder of Apple, was a consummate perfectionist, the driving force behind and in front of a company that always maintained a mission of excellence and ease of use.  Creating the next great product was secondary to doing so as the company that created the benchmark of excellence with regard to that product.  His focus on every detail from the user interface to how beautiful the circuit boards in an electronic device were (something that the average user would never see), to the packaging and style of everything associated with the company became the core belief and guiding measurement for every employee in the company.  Some could not live up to the expectation and some would thrive in the environment where winning meant admiration, respect, coolness, and desire to own.  Although he is no longer with us – Apple continues to move forward with the underlying question: “What would Steve think?”

Steve once stated:

“For you to sleep well at night – the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.”

He was in competition with himself to always produce a product that was great – this same objective became the calling card of Apple – that internal competition that drives them to always determine how to make things better – how to win.

“When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it.  You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.”

-Steve Jobs

This is how a great business “wins”.  This is the result of a commitment to excellence and internal competition that moves people in that direction.

The same can be said for numerous other companies like Walt Disney, IDEO, Porsche, Bose, Oxo, Daniel Boulud’s Dinex Group, Thomas Keller’s restaurants, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality, and Ritz Carlton Hotels.  Each of these successful companies is founded on an attitude of excellence – a desire to win – not at all costs – but through a commitment to individual and group need to reach for excellence.

Your restaurant whether it is a neighborhood pizzeria, taco shop, American diner, Italian trattoria, French bistro, Farm to Table fine dining operation, or New York style deli – can and should build up from a desire to be excellent, a commitment to win, and a team effort to reach those goals.

As a friend of mine and successful entrepreneur once said: 

“No matter how many similar businesses there are in a community – there is always room to be the best.”

It’s hard to argue with that logic.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

www.harvestamericacues.com  BLOG

CAFÉ Talks podcast

https://cafetalks.libsyn.com/

CHEFS – FINE TUNE THOSE SENSES

15 Tuesday Sep 2020

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The kitchen sensual army

There are many things that differentiate cooks and chefs, but none more important to the customer experience and the reputation of the restaurant than mastery of the senses.  Whether a fine-dining experience or your local taqueria – the cooks that stand out, the ones that are the reason why customers line up to buy their food, are the ones with well developed senses of taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound as they relate to what takes place in the kitchen.

The essential tool in development of these senses is experience.  Certain individuals may be born with the capacity to taste and smell, with the innate talent to present beautiful food, and with excellent hearing, but it is what those senses are exposed to that makes a cook – a great cook.  Every experience that we have is imbedded in our subconscious mind.  When we are exposed to that memory again, it moves quickly to the conscious realm and we say: “a’ha – I remember that”.  After frequent exposure to that same memory can even allow an experienced cook or chef to envision what that product will smell, look, sound, and taste like – even before that takes place.  This is how experienced chefs are able to plan dishes and menus knowing how ingredients will marry together, what the overall flavor profile will be, and how the final dish will look.  It’s an amazing process.

Without the experience associated with the development of this sensual tool, it is like a beautiful knife that never leaves the roll bag, or fine china that never serves as a canvas for a plate of food.  Thus, the best cooks and chefs are always seeking out those sensual food experiences so that they can develop their flavor memory.

It is common for people to confuse flavor and taste as being the same, but taste is but a portion of the flavor experience.  Flavor is a combination of taste, sight, sound, smell, and texture – all in the right proportions.  Try tasting a familiar ingredient while you hold your nose to see how the flavor changes.  Close your eyes and taste a raw potato next to a fresh apple and see how similar they are.  Think about it: Is a potato chip a potato chip without the sound of the crunch?  Is fresh baked apple pie as appealing if it has no smell?  Why do green and white asparagus taste so different – does it have anything to do with the color?

An interesting exercise to establish the importance of sense experiences is to ask your cooks some basic questions:

[]         WHAT DOES A STRAWBERRY TASTE LIKE?

The majority of time the cook will likely say something like: “It tastes like a strawberry”.  Well, if that cook had never tasted a fresh picked, fully mature strawberry before – how would they know what to expect?  More importantly, how would they know how to differentiate a great strawberry from an inferior one?

[]         DESCRIBE THE FLAVOR OF BAR-B-QUE BRISKET?

Anyone from a southern state will likely win any contest in describing this flavor, and ironically, their response will differ depending on which state they are from.  What will be universal are the smokiness, the moisture, the tenderness, and the subsequent mouth feel that comes from a process that goes beyond taste.  Unless you have tried a brisket that was smoked and cooked over coals for 12-24 hours then it will be impossible to describe the flavor or know when a properly cooked brisket is just right.

[]         WHAT DOES A FRESH TRUFFLE SMELL LIKE?

The truffle is one of the most unique, impossible to describe ingredients unless you have held one up to your nose, shaved it offer soft scrambled eggs or fresh pasta, or buried it in raw Arborio rice to imbed its perfume in a dish of risotto.  It is intoxicating and overwhelming to the senses.  But without the experiences mentioned, it would be impossible to describe.

[]         TELL ME IF THE HOLLANDAISE I JUST PREPARED IS CORRECT?

What is the balance of lemon and heat from Tabasco? What is the right amount of salt? Is the correct balance of egg yolk and clarified butter present?  Is the mouth feel correct?  A sauce with the simplest of ingredients is so hard to make correctly and to achieve proper balance.  Can you imagine being asked to make a hollandaise if you never made one correctly before or had never tasted a perfect example? 

[]         CAN YOU TELL IF A SAUTE DIVER SCALLOP IS BEING COOKED CORRECTLY IF YOU ARE BLINDFOLDED AND 20 FEET AWAY FROM THE RANGE?

That scallop will only reach it’s perfect state if the pan used to sear it is screaming hot and the portion of clarified butter is just right.  The sound of a pan when it sizzles beneath that scallop and the smell of butter before it passes the burn point is a tell- all even if the cook does not see the scallop.

[]         ARE YOU ABLE TO DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF DONENESS ON THAT STEAK BY SIMPLY TOUCHING IT?

Of course a cook can always probe that steak with a thermometer to determine degrees of doneness, but a seasoned broiler cook would never be caught doing that.  This cook knows the give of the muscle at medium or medium rare.  He or she knows the perfect point at which to give the steak a 45 degree turn to imprint those beautiful grill marks, when to flip the steak (just once), and when to pull it from the heat so that it takes advantage of carry over cooking and time to rest so that it doesn’t bleed out when that first cut of the knife opens it up on a plate.

[]         CAN YOU TELL IF THOSE ONIONS ARE CARAMELIZING PROPERLY JUST BY SMELLING THEM FROM THE OPPOSITE END OF THE KITCHEN?

The Maillard reaction (reducing sugars and protein through the application of heat) that is the process of caramelization has its own smell and sound.  If it is taken too far then the item begins to burn giving off a less than pleasant aroma.  When it is done right the sound of the sizzle and the sweet smell of this chemical reaction is one of the most positive of kitchen aromas.

When the chef turns on his sensual radar

A seasoned chef can walk through a kitchen, turn on his or her sensual radar and assess what is going right and what is going wrong.  When the radar is tuned in, he sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of the kitchen fill the air and send signals of process and outcome.  These are skills that go way beyond a person’s natural ability; it is a culmination of experiences that have changed how the cook views the world around him or her.  Without these experiences, this capacity will never be realized.

Cooks who have the desire to master their craft are the ones who seek out food experiences, taste and mentally record those experiences, re-introduce those experiences frequently enough to allow them to become a part of their bag of tricks, and relish the opportunity to share this gift with others.  When this happens they are in control of the food that is being prepared, the ingredients that are being purchased, and the success of the team engaged in creating memories for restaurant guests.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Experience is the best educator

Restaurant Consulting

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

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THE BREAKFAST COOK – TOUGH, DEPENDABLE, ORGANIZED, AND FAST

08 Tuesday Sep 2020

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There are cooks and there are cooks – each has his or her list of responsibilities, required skills, and bag of tricks.  Just because you are listed on a schedule as a cook does not necessarily mean that you are adept at filling every position under that designation.  Grill cooks, sauté, prep, garde manger, bakers and pastry chefs are all very unique.  Then there is the breakfast cook – although some cooks use this position as a stepping stone to the evening line – many are comfortable choosing this as their position of choice.  If you fit the mold – then you possess a special value reserved for just a few, value that – to the chef goes way beyond the ability to prepare breakfast items.

Unlike other line positions where there is a time allowance for preparation, pacing of courses, and the detail work that equates to a meticulously aligned plate presentation – the breakfast cook must be efficient and fast.  When the order is placed the cooking is almost instantaneous. 

Finding that perfect person for the job is one of the more important tasks of the chef in a property.  Comparable to finding a solid sous chef – this position must, at some point, almost become invisible.  The chef wants to know that the cook will be there, will be ready, will be consistent, and will represent the quality that is expected of the operation – without much supervision.   When this person is identified then the chef can rest easy.

There can occasionally be room for a creative dish or two, but when it comes to breakfast – most restaurant guests are looking for well-executed familiarity.  At the same time, the guest is quite specific about how they like their breakfast items prepared – their expectations are clear.  “I want my eggs over-easy but yolks that are not too runny”.  “I want my waffles crunchy”.  “Make sure that the scrambled eggs are dry”.  “I like my bacon well done”.   “A five minute egg  (not shorter and not longer)”.  The list goes on and on.  Add this to an onslaught of orders coming in a breakfast crunch time and you can see how easy it would be for a cook to get frazzled. 

So what are the unique attributes of this individual?

[]         DEPENDABILITY:

The last thing in the world that the chef needs is that 5 a.m. call from the restaurant stating that the breakfast cook called out or didn’t show.  The thought of jumping out of bed and rushing to the restaurant, setting up an unfamiliar station and trying to function while behind the eight ball is un-nerving.  This is not the best moment in a chef’s day.  He or she must be able to depend on the breakfast cook to be there or provide ample warning so that the chef can find a replacement.

[]         INDEPENDENCE:

Oftentimes the breakfast cook is an island.  It is very common to find, unlike the evening shift where there may be three or four line cooks for a meal period, the breakfast cook may be the one and only.  Because of this, his or her planning, prep, organization, and attack are separated from the rest of the kitchen team.  The right candidate must be able to function effectively in this manner.

[]         EFFICIENCY:

Efficiency is the rule of law for all cooks, but even more so for the breakfast cook.  When an order comes in it is immediately cooked, plated, and slid into the pass.  This requires that the cook’s system is tight and foolproof.  Mise en place has never been more important!   The breakfast cook must be able to anticipate business volume, reflect on his or her past experience to assess what items will move, how many eggs to crack, how much batter to make, bacon to cook ahead, and plate garnishes to prepare.  Considering the limited time available between orders placed and orders filled – there is no time to return to prep during service.

[]         ORGANIZATION:

Pan placement, folded side towels, clarified butter placement, temperature of griddle, poaching water, and plate organization are all crucial, especially during crunch time.  All cooks must be organized, but a breakfast cooks station will resemble the cockpit of an airplane – he or she will be able to point to the placement of each ingredient or tool without even thinking.  If you want to see impeccable organization turn to chaos in a few seconds – let the chef jump behind the range to “help” a breakfast cook through the rush.  Most cooks would rather not have the help.  As a chef, whenever I helped I made sure that I stuck to garnishing plates and wiping the edges of china before a plate went into the pass.

Pans lined up waiting for the command.

[]         MULTI-TASKER:

Eight pans of eggs cooking simultaneously (some sunny side, others varying degrees of over-easy), four orders of pancakes on the griddle, eggs benedict poaching, waffles in the iron, and a refresh on the oatmeal.  This is constant, unrelenting as the dining room moves from a few guests at 6:30 a.m. to a full house by 7:15.  Flip the cakes, slide the over easy eggs in a pan, respond to the buzzer on the waffle iron, plate up orders, transfer that rasher of bacon or triple sausage alignment,  bark out: “pick up!”, and start all over again.  Multi-tasking must be second nature.

[]         SPEED:

Guests and in turn – servers have little patience during breakfast.  The average dining room guest for breakfast is likely to spend no more than 30 minutes from the time they are seated.  They have things to do, places to be, and breakfast is simply a means to an end.    A five-minute wait seems like an eternity to a breakfast guest.  The pressure is thus on the cook to be fast – lightning fast.  To watch an efficient breakfast cook is mesmerizing.  This modern version of the short order cook still amazes me. 

I remember my first introduction to the cooking profession was watching a short-order cook through a restaurant window.  At the age of 9 or 10, it was amazing to watch the efficiency and speed, the focus and the calmness of a person who was able to handle so many orders with grace.  It is this experience that years later helped me to decide to become a cook and eventually a chef.

[]         DETAIL ORIENTED:

As traditional and seemingly simple as breakfast may be, there is a detail that is expected, a focus on doing the little things right that makes all the difference in the world.  If that bacon isn’t exactly how the guest likes it – the meal is substandard.  If the oatmeal is not the perfect consistency, then it is pushed aside by a disappointed guest.  If those eggs are too runny or not runny at all, then the expectation of a good start to the day is shattered.  The details are small, but nevertheless important. 

The breakfast cook cannot sacrifice the details for speed, nor speed for the details.  It is a delicate balance.

[]         ECONOMY OF MOTION:

The best cooks work from the standpoint of the pivot step.  Everything must be within that pivot step if the system is to work.  One step to the left or right, forward or back – any more and the game plan is in jeopardy.  The more steps that a cook takes the greater the opportunity for mistakes.  This is why organization and efficiency are so closely tied to how this station is set-up.

Focus, organization, efficiency.

[]         FOCUS:

Watch this cook from the moment he or she arrives until everything is packed away for tomorrow.  There is a focus that tells a story of oneness with the job.  Walking through that back door at 4:30 a.m. – the cook clicks on that focus switch in his or her head and then it takes over.  Flip on the lights and the hood fans, fire up the ovens for bacon and sausage, turn on the griddle to warm up, and the flat top that will accommodate those egg pans in a short period of time.  Fill the steam table and grab a cup of coffee.

Roll out the cart with mise en place that was prepped at the close of yesterdays business, slide those first pans of bacon and sausage in the oven, set the timer, put on butter to clarify, and oil the flat top to welcome pre-cooked, diced potatoes for home fries.  Crack a half case of eggs for scrambled, and finish the pancake and waffle batters that were measured out yesterday.  Check plates for chips and cleanliness and restack in their assigned location.  Pre-assemble garnishes, transfer eggs to cooler pans for easy access, keep those potatoes moving so that they are crisp on the outside and soft and warm inside, transfer cooked bacon and sausage to the steam table, fold side towels, and align spatulas, tongs, and slotted spoons for service.  Pre-heat pans in that lowboy oven, and double-check all of your mise.  Set up that pinch pot of salt and pepper, wash and dry berries of pancakes, remove the solids from that clarified butter, and grab another cup of coffee. 

Only a few minutes till the dining room opens – time to check in with the dining room manager and walk through your checklist one more time.  There will be no rest for the next three hours.  Soon the action begins and if all is organized properly it will run like a well-rehearsed orchestra.  At the end you will prep for tomorrow, clean your station, and pass on the spatula to the next shift.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

All respect for the breakfast cook

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