Harvest America CUES BLOG

chefs

  • CHEFS – NO ONE SHOULD GO HUNGRY UNDER OUR WATCH

    Do we take for granted the most basic advantage that we share? As chefs and cooks, we spend our days planning, ordering, storing and preparing dishes of delicious, beautiful food for our paying customers. We are good at this –… Continue reading

  • THE SENSUAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING A COOK

    I miss the full experience of working daily in a busy restaurant kitchen. When that kitchen is the hub of activity in a hotel or resort then the experience is even more pronounced. From the moment that a chef walks… Continue reading

  • THE SPORT OF COOKING

    Is it too far fetched to consider professional cooking – a sport? Are there enough similarities to view how a restaurant line operates and interject many of the facets of a winning sporting teams development and performance? I think that… Continue reading

  • ANYTHING WORTH DOING IS WORTH DOING WELL

    What does it take to get ahead? Maybe the more appropriate question is what does it take to feel good about what you do? Self-Esteem is important, maybe one of the most important motivational tools available – tools that are… Continue reading

  • HOLIDAYS are TOUGH for RESTAURANT WORKERS and PUBLIC SERVANTS

    It seems as though more and more businesses are letting the temptation of the holidays drive operating hours. If there is a buck to be made, then concerns for the impact on employees can be ignored. I get this –… Continue reading

  • THE FORGOTTEN RESTAURATEUR

    There was a time when the restaurant owner/operator was the center of the hospitality universe. When a guest thought about a particular restaurant – the connection was with the person who shook their hand upon arrival, made sure that their… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANTS ARE A MICROCOSM OF ISSUES FACING THE COUNTRY TODAY

    This article is inspired by a story related to the youngest freshman U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio – Cortez. Putting aside your individual political bent – she comes to the House of Representatives from a history of positions working in the… Continue reading

  • THE COOK NEXT TO ME

    I thought I would chime in with all of the recent talk about immigrant workers in the U.S. One of the most significant reasons why I have always loved working in the restaurant business is the diversity of people with… Continue reading

  • THE LINE COOK COUNTERCULTURE

    From that first job as a dishwasher in 1966 when I was 16 years old – I knew I was part of something interesting. Who knows what struck a chord – it might have been the pace, the banter between… Continue reading

  • A LETTER TO CULINARY STUDENTS

    My professional life has been spent in kitchens and in culinary classrooms; connected to cooks, chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, product development professionals, servers, bartenders, and dishwashers. I have invested 50 years in service of the product and the farmer, the fisherman… Continue reading

  • THE IMPORTANCE OF WORK – THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR

    There are a handful of lessons in life that shine true for everyone, that stand tall as ultimately important for our existence, and that set people on a course of completeness that is so essential. One of those lessons is… Continue reading

  • THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN COOKING AND MUSIC ARE UNDENIABLE

    The two things in life that we have an instant connection with are food and music. In both cases we learn, through our associations and connection to knowledge, that we are more inclined toward certain foods and certain styles of… Continue reading

  • WHEN A RESTAURANT INSPIRES

    So much of what we do is based on a cook’s acquired ability to beat the clock, to work like hell to maintain a level of excellence while jamming on a rail full of tickets designed to hit and run.… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S KNIVES TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HIS OR HER CHARACTER AND COMMITMENT

    Do you remember that first knife that you called your own? Mine was a 12-inch Sabatier carbon steel beauty that held a razor sharp edge. That knife could slice through vegetables like they were butter, and far too frequently mistook… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S ROADMAP FOR SUCCESS

    What does success mean to you? Is success measured in professional position, status of the operation where you work, public recognition, accolades, money, lifestyle, or family? Maybe, it’s a combination of all of these factors and some level of balance… Continue reading

  • COOKS – YEP – WE’RE DIFFERENT – SO WHAT?

    When will this nonsense stop? How far will it go? Will we reach a point where a job posting states that eligible candidates must be of a certain political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation, or nationality? This era of polarization is… Continue reading

  • CHEFS AND RESTAURANT OWNERS – LOYALTY GOES BOTH WAYS

    For some reason loyalty has been given a bad rap in recent years. Loyalty need not refer to blind support of an individual, company, product, party, or even country – loyalty is something that is earned and constantly reinforced, but… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – THINGS JUST AREN’T WHAT THEY USE TO BE

    Looking back over the past 18-months it is hard to grasp just how much things have changed in the restaurant world. It made me wonder if all of this change (some planned, some unexpected) is good for the culinary world… Continue reading

  • THE FALLACY OF RECIPES

    Let me begin by setting the stage for this articles title: I do believe in the importance of recipes, but…. they are not the answer to consistently great cooking. Recipes fail in the following ways: Recipes do not factor in… Continue reading

  • GETTING INSIDE THE CHEF’S HEAD

    Worldwide there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who hold the title of chef. It is a title that seems well defined, yet each individual portrays it differently and fits the position with a unique set of qualifications. It would… Continue reading

  • MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR BEING A CULINARY TRADITIONALIST

    It seems that too often, in conversations with those younger cooks who have some level of serious interest in a kitchen career, that food talk is all about experimentation. I have lost track of the number of culinary students who… Continue reading

  • HANGING ON TO QUALITY

    When did the desire for quality fade away; when did it become an option instead of the standard? We are all born with a desire to please those around us from the time we are able to crawl, walk, talk,… Continue reading

  • THE PERSONAL CHEMISTRY OF THE KITCHEN

    I can only speak to my own experiences and as a result formulate and support my own beliefs about immigration and the value of diversity. As I have said many times before – I feel that the greatest advantage of… Continue reading

  • DAY ONE IN THE KITCHEN – WHAT TO EXPECT

    Starting a new job is always un-nerving – even more so in a kitchen where production is expected, even on day one. Whether you are totally green and walking into a kitchen environment for the first time, transitioning from culinary… Continue reading

  • START WASHING DISHES – YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE YOU MIGHT END UP

    I have always professed that everyone should have a long-term plan regarding his or her career – a plan that would allow an individual to balance every decision with its impact on that career goal. I still am convinced that… Continue reading

  • AN ACCIDENTAL CULINARY GIANT

    Unless you are from Vermont or part of the decades old culinary education world then you may not know whom this person is. Fran Voigt was the founder and past president of New England Culinary Institute (NECI) that in its… Continue reading

  • WORDS OF ADVICE FOR EVERY CULINARY COLLEGE GRADUATE

    It is May and all across the country students from the more than 1,000 culinary schools will be graduating and starting their careers in the business of food. You have accomplished a great deal, assimilated more information than you thought… Continue reading

  • CHEFS PLANTING SEEDS – THE RETURN OF TRAINING ON THE JOB

    Here we are – seven or eight years into a steady economic recovery in the U.S. leading to the admirable statistic of a 3.9% unemployment rate (granted this is not qualified with regard to those who have stopped looking or… Continue reading

  • IN THE KITCHEN: EVERYONE’S DIFFERENT – EVERYONE’S THE SAME

    This story may not be true – but it could be. “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” -Jimmy Carter Chef Michel looked around his kitchen and… Continue reading

  • OWNERS/OPERATORS – VALUING COOKS AND CHEFS

    It is certainly true that those who work in the kitchen are not the only reason why a restaurant may be successful, but it is certain that if the back-of-the-house team is not competent, is unable to function as a… Continue reading