Harvest America CUES BLOG

chefs

  • COOKING LESSON FROM ERIC CLAPTON

    At the age of 63 I decided to finally take guitar lessons. I have owned a beautiful Fender Stratocaster for years as well as an Epiphone Les Paul without really deserving either. For quite some time I have dabbled in… Continue reading

  • CHEF’S NEED TO SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

    In 1996, Richard Carlson wrote a very successful book on stress relief entitled: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. His approach was to de-emphasize those tasks and issues in our lives that drive us crazy and are, from his perspective, not… Continue reading

  • THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORK ETHIC IN RESTAURANTS

    Work ethic is one of those concepts that has been frequently thrown around when discussing the foundations for individual and group success. There are likely as many books written on the topic as there are styles of management but that… Continue reading

  • DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSIONALISM IN THE KITCHEN

    It drives me crazy to see the lack of discipline and respect for the profession of cooking that exists in so many kitchens today. How we maintain our kitchens, care for our uniforms, attend to basic grooming, treat the ingredients… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANT BUSINESS ACUMEN OR CREATIVITY – WHICH COMES FIRST?

    Some would promote one vs. the other when in reality you can’t have one without the other. With the Superbowl behind us (a rather painful one to watch) you could easily compare Creativity to a solid offense and Business Acumen… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANT PROFIT IS IN THE PEELS AND SHELLS

    I believe that there are very few businesses more challenging when it comes to profit, than restaurants. As I have previously pointed out, there are numerous reasons for this; however, one of the most significant is the management of perishable… Continue reading

  • THE ADVANTAGE OF AGE

    After watching the Grammy Awards last night I was impressed with something that many might not have seen through all of the glitz and glamour of an entertainment spectacle. What impressed me the most was the “advantage of age” and… Continue reading

  • GREAT FOOTBALL – GREAT RESTAURANTS: ONE & THE SAME

    As we recover from an exciting weekend of playoff football and prepare mentally and emotionally for the biggest sporting event of the year, I began to reflect on the similarities between the game of football and the game of restaurant… Continue reading

  • AN UNLIKELY BUT PERFECT MARKET SEGMENT FOR GREAT CHEFS AND RESTAURATEURS AWAITS YOU!

    We all realize how important restaurants are to those who have a need to celebrate. Anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, and holidays or simply because it is Friday: our guests are looking for a reason to celebrate in restaurants of all types.… Continue reading

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

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

  • WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHEF-PURVEYOR RELATIONSHIP

    I remember a fantastic television ad years ago for a company that escapes me at the moment. The owner of the company assembled his key sales people together and said that they had a problem: many of their old, established… Continue reading

  • Setting the Record Straight About Restaurant Profitability

    I am on a mission today to set the record straight. There is a terrible misconception on the part of the media, restaurant customers and even many restaurant employees that food establishments make gobs of profit. “I can purchase those… Continue reading

  • YOUR BUSINESS RESOLUTIONS FOR 2014

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

  • Looking for a Holiday Gift?

    This is an admitted, somewhat shameful self-promotion, but “tis the season”. If you are looking for one of those last minute gifts, a light read that is focused on sharing some stories associated with the first four decades of my… Continue reading

  • SETTING THE HOLIDAY TABLE – A New Role for Restaurants

    Good, bad or indifferent, the reality for the holidays is that they mark some of the busiest days of the year for restaurants. To our guests it may simply reflect their desire to truly relax and avoid the hustle of… Continue reading

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

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

  • THE COMPLETE CHEF

    The restaurant industry in the United States is enormous with 2012 sales in excess of $450 billion. There are, among the 960,000 plus operations, varying degrees of quality and commitment to excellence. There are those that disappoint, many that meet… Continue reading

  • WHY CHARLIE TROTTER WAS SO IMPORTANT

    We are where we are today as an industry, to a large degree, because of Charlie Trotter. To say that he was important would be such a disservice to his overall impact. It would be easy to talk about his… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANTS CAN and DO PLAY a LARGER ROLE in IMPROVING LIVES

    Restaurant people are, by and large, some of the most generous, giving people that I know. In many cases, whether they think this way or not, restaurant families make a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis. Yes, our… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANT FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE LASTING ONES

    How important are the details? Make no mistake the “small stuff” does add up when building an experience for your guests. First impressions help to draw people into your business, set the tone for the experience, build guest expectations, define… Continue reading

  • DEEPER STILL: LINE COOKS AFTER HOURS

    Everything seemed to be in order at the end of service. Jake’s station was spotless, his knives were cared for and locked up, his dirty uniform replaced by jeans and a sweatshirt, and his prep list for tomorrow was on… Continue reading

  • DIGGING DEEP: THE LIFE OF A LINE COOK

    I thought that I would re-post an old series that was presented through Harvest America Cues a few years back.  As I continue to marvel at the focused life of line cooks I was compelled to introduce this story (one… Continue reading

  • COOKS and CHEFS NEED to TAKE CARE of THEMSELVES

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

  • RESTAURANTS NEED TO GET PAST THE EARLY ADOPTERS

    We oftentimes depend on the complexity of marketing principles to build our business. These principles have created a new generation of chef’s and restaurateurs who are consumed by innovation and pushing the envelope, simply because they misinterpret the statistical data… Continue reading

  • ATTRACTING CAREER LINE COOKS

    In most cases credit for a great restaurant meal goes to the chef. At least that is what most guests believe to be true. There is no question that the vision for a menu, oftentimes the recipes and plating design… Continue reading

  • MY OCTOBERFEST – MEDALS BEFORE BEER

    The Culinary Olympics were over. Our team was exhausted, yet numb from exceeding our own expectations. It certainly felt good to walk away victorious, but what would take some time to sink in was that we were successful because we… Continue reading

  • MY OCTOBERFEST 1988 – A TEAM EFFORT

    After the day one results in Frankfurt, the New England Culinary Olympic Team was truly energized. Mickey Beriau and Danny Varano had set the bar very high with their gold medal performances. This now became everyone’s goal and the team… Continue reading

  • MY OCTOBERFEST 1988 WITH TEAM NEW ENGLAND

    It was October 1988 at Logan International Airport when we were waiting to board a Lufthansa airplane to Frankfurt, Germany. As we (10 team members, spouses, apprentices, manager and coaches) lined up with our tickets I started to reflect on… Continue reading

  • IS YOUR RESTAURANT STRUGGLING TO MAKE A PROFIT? LET’S LOOK AT THE MENU.

    The restaurant business is built on very narrow margins. We are constantly faced with decisions that nip away at the pennies that operators try to make on every dollar in sales. Let’s look at some basic facts that have placed… Continue reading

  • SOUP’S ON!

    The air is crisp, fog sits on the lake every morning, leaves are turning to vibrant colors, sweaters come out of hiding, the sun burns off the fog but still leaves a chill in the air, and cooks are busy… Continue reading