chefs
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RESTAURANTS ADDRESSING PERCEPTIONS, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Restaurant guests – what do they expect? It’s a very important question that restaurants of all types and price points need to pay attention to. Sometimes perceptions are misguided, yet they are what we must deal with. Perceptions are sometimes… Continue reading
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RESTAURANT PRICING – A DIFFERENT APPROACH
I just read an article in the New York Times about a $40 half rotisserie chicken in a NYC area restaurant. (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/dining/rotisserie-chicken-prices.html) It turned into a political talking point claiming price gouging by a restaurateur. Digging deeper it became apparent… Continue reading
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WHAT KIND OF CHEF ARE YOU (part two)
As a chef or restaurateur, is your restaurant food and craft centric or business centric? Are you on the journey towards the center? Is balance your goal? The battle for the upper hand is ongoing, but the result is predictable.… Continue reading
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THE TOP LINE DRIVES THE BOTTOM LINE
I will always remember a conversation I had with Dick Cattani who was president of Restaurant Associates, one of the country’s premier foodservice companies responsible for a plethora of outstanding restaurants and food operations at venues like the United Nations,… Continue reading
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THE VALUE DIFFERENCE IN RESTAURANTS
Don’t sweat the small stuff was a mantra in the late 1990’s. A movement to try and chill out the stressful environment we had created and then blamed for the woes of society. Well, here’s the reality – the small… Continue reading
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MISSION CONTROL – WE HAVE A PROBLEM
Cause and effect, cause and effect. Where should we focus our attention as chefs and restaurateurs? The effects are glaring and universal – an impossible labor market is at the top of every restaurateur’s problem list. We (those in the… Continue reading
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BRING BACK BLUE PLATE DINERS
Ah, to those who lived it, the 1950’s were a time of real Americana. World War II had ended, and Americans were clamoring to become homeowners, fill the openings in a robust labor market, President Eisenhower had committed to building… Continue reading
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CHEFS – SIMPLY GREAT!
It’s a common concept that I throw out now and again; a simple solution to many challenges that chefs face: cost of goods, intensive amounts of labor, inventory, waste and spoilage, and a cloudy identity for your restaurant. How do… Continue reading
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CHEFS – ARE YOU READY TO “BE THERE”?
CHEFS – ARE YOU READY TO “BE THERE”? The Olympics are always inspiring. This year, something very special became evident – we observed that commitment and joy can coexist. Of course, every Olympian must be excited and happy to represent… Continue reading
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MAKING YOUR RESTAURANT STAND OUT IN A CROWDED MARKET
Empty seats create that hollow feeling in your stomach. It’s a cross between fear of failure, disappointment in your marketing, wonder over what’s missing, and dread as you look at your weekly profit and loss statement. Your mind races between… Continue reading
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THE WINTER OF A CHEF’S DISCONTENT
Maybe it’s me, but I can see, taste, feel, and smell it. It permeates the air and clings to operations from the parking lot to the table. It’s a deep, dark feeling of despair and submission that I know leads… Continue reading
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KITCHEN WINS AND LOSSES
I love to watch sports, especially football. I am a true-blue fan of my team and know that their performance sets the tone for my week. I reluctantly accept that sometimes, a loss occurs and although it stings, after a… Continue reading
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CULINARY CONTEXT AND TRADITION
“Wax on, wax off.” Most people over the age of fifty are familiar with this instruction from Mr. Miyagi, the karate master in the seminal movie – the Karate Kid. This discipline helped to prepare the student for the flow… Continue reading
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CHEFS – IT’S DIVERSITY THAT MAKES US INTERESTING
(Llyod the Jamiacan Sous Chef and Frenchie the Butcher (1971) I’m a bit puzzled by those who somehow consider diversity, a problem to be dealt with. I fully understand the need for legal parameters to control entry and citizenship but… Continue reading
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ENGAGED IN LIFE
As a consultant I was often faced with the challenge of determining what is missing. Why isn’t a particular business successful when their location was great, the product was well prepared, the facility was attractive and clean, and pricing was… Continue reading
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A CRYSTAL BALL LOOK AT THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS OF TOMORROW
Restaurants, in some form, have been around since the days of the Greek and Roman Empires. The modern version had its roots in models built in hotels during the time of Carême to sophisticated free-standing operations under the helm of… Continue reading
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RESTAURANTS THRIVING IN A COMPETITIVE WORLD
Operating a restaurant is a brutal undertaking filled with uncertainty, tough reality, highs and lows, and sometimes unwanted reckoning. If you are already running a restaurant, you fully understand this and if you hope to operate a restaurant you have… Continue reading
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CHEF’S – PROTECT THE CRAFT
The temptation of convenience can be very strong in a world where success is measured solely in dollars and cents and the labor pool is as challenging as it is today. Don’t misunderstand me – profit is a noble pursuit… Continue reading
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A CHECKLIST TO RESTAURANT EXCELLENCE – Part One
A friend once told me that operating a restaurant is not rocket science. I’m sure he meant well, although my initial reaction was to get a bit defensive. We all know that running a restaurant is enormously difficult, thus the… Continue reading
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THE RETURN OF HARVEST AMERICA CUES BLOG
Yes, it’s back! After a two-month respite and a chance to assess how Harvest Cues can be of service to those who choose to read the articles offered, my blog will return in August 2025. The look will be different… Continue reading
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TO COOKS, CHEFS, AND ALL WHO ARE ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS OF FOOD
You are the salt of the earth! I started Harvest America Cues Blog in 2013 at the encouragement of Chef Curtiss Hemm. The blog was meant to parallel the start-up of Harvest America Ventures Consulting. At the age of 63… Continue reading
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TIRED OF THE NEGATIVITY
It’s the proverbial glass half full or half empty scenario. How you approach life is typically evident in everything you do from caring for your health, to relationships, to your work, and even your purpose. Do you seek sunshine or… Continue reading
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CHEFS – SIMPLE AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL
For generations – excellent meant complicated, intense, all-consuming, and sacrifice. Kitchens of great renown are staffed with dozens of talented young cooks, some even there as a stagiere – working just to learn and build their resumes. Meticulously clean kitchens;… Continue reading
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THE WAY IT WAS, IS, AND COULD BE
It seems like a lifetime ago, oh wait…it was a lifetime ago, that I stepped into my first professional kitchen. It was 1970 and the Statler Hilton kitchen in Buffalo, New York seemed like a complex, hard to wrap my… Continue reading
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THE IMPORTANT THINGS I LEARNED IN THE KITCHEN
Maybe I tend to quote Bourdain too much, but he comes from a real place. Unlike some who may speak of kitchen and restaurant life, he was there and learned about life while standing in front of a range cranked… Continue reading
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STEPPING INTO PROFESSIONALISM
There are kitchens and there are kitchens. Painting the environment that surrounds cooking with the same brush is unfair and quite inaccurate; yet many do. Those operations that resemble the caldrons of hell filled with arrogance, bullying, unprofessional behavior, and… Continue reading
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SUMMER IS PURE TORTURE FOR COOKS
Since we were able to walk – summer has represented a time of freedom, fun, blue skies, dipping our feet in the ocean or a neighbor’s pool, and great music to sooth the soul. Well, if your career path focused… Continue reading
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