Harvest America CUES BLOG

cooks

  • 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 DEEPER: READY-SET- YES CHEF!

    It was now 5:15 and the chef was out in the dining room going through pre-meal with the service staff. All of the other line cooks were caught up so Jake surveyed his station one more time. This time of… 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

  • 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 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

  • LIKE HIM OR NOT, BOURDAIN’S CURRENT MESSAGE IS ON THE MARK

    Initially known for his not so favorable depiction of life in a professional kitchen, Bourdain drew praise as a writer, comradery from many “pirate” cooks, and frequent distain from those in the food industry who were trying to build a… Continue reading

  • A Sad Day for Those in the Restaurant Community

    This is a day, as we all well know, that will always be remembered. September 11, 2001 was a day that changed all of our lives forever, a day when evil seemed to win over good. Each of us remembers… Continue reading

  • LABOR DAY THOUGHTS

    This picture was a perfect opening for some Labor Day musings. I am part of an industry that is interesting to many on the outside, challenging to those who own restaurants, exciting to those who find themselves in the grips… Continue reading

  • SHORT ORDER COOKS WERE MY HEROS

    I can still remember that day in my hometown of Buffalo, New York. I was 10 years old and on a shopping trip downtown with my mother as we came upon that restaurant with a full picture window framing in… Continue reading

  • THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COOK AND A CHEF

    A few years back I read of an interview with a prominent chef who was asked: “what is the difference between a chef and the millions of cooks throughout America.” The response, to me, was a perfect definition: “Most reasonably… Continue reading

  • PROFESSIONAL COOKING IS A TEAM SPORT

    The cadence of orders in a busy kitchen seems unrelenting. A staccato clicking from the point of sale printer sends out a drum roll of orders while the expeditor calmly, yet seriously calls out tickets in kitchen lingo to the… Continue reading

  • Realistic Expectations for Culinary School Graduates

    This is an article that I posted two years ago regarding the expectations that young graduates of culinary education oftentimes have when first entering a professional kitchen. I felt that it fit well with the series of recent posts that… Continue reading