Harvest America CUES BLOG

cooks

  • 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

  • HEY CHEF – WHO ARE YOU?

    What does it really mean to be a chef? Is it strictly a position of authority – a position well-earned through time, trial and error, loads of cooking skills, business savvy, and a brand that helps the operation and the… 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

  • 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

  • THE PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF COOKING FOR A LIVING

    There are a few common denominators when it comes to viewing the job of a professional cook. One, of course, is the need to appreciate, understand, and practice the established foundational processes of preparing food – this is essential regardless… Continue reading

  • KEYS TO BUILDING A GREAT RESTAURANT MENU

    The heart of every great restaurant is the menu. The building of a menu impacts every other aspect of the business, in fact – every other aspect of the restaurant should be designed to support the style of cooking and… Continue reading

  • WE ARE COOKS

    I was thinking back to a fantastic lecture that I attended maybe in 1982 or 1983 that was presented by Andre Soltner – one of the true great chefs of my generation. Soltner was, at the time, the chef/owner of… Continue reading

  • TO THOSE WHO COOK FOR A LIVING – WHEN IS IT EVER OK TO BE MEDIOCRE?

    I just don’t get it. Those with whom I have worked and enjoyed countless kitchen adventures have lived by the mantra: “Anything worth doing is worth doing well”. This is a philosophy that has lived at the core of success… Continue reading

  • COOKS AND THE BEAST OF SUMMER

    Americans have always seemed to live for summer. This is the season of fun, engaging with the great outdoors, tanned skin, beaches and water, convertibles and rock and roll. Everyone seems to agree with this except one segment of the… Continue reading

  • EVERYBODY WANTS TO ALIGN WITH A WINNER

    Pride can be a wonderful motivator. Chefs and cooks are, by nature, very proud individuals – they choose to enter a demanding field of relentless work because there can be immense amount of pride in creating beautiful, delicious food for… Continue reading

  • BREAKTHROUGH MOMENTS FOR THE AMERICAN RESTAURANT

    How did we (the restaurant industry) get to where we are today? With over 1 million freestanding restaurants in the U.S. and comfortable as the number two employer in the country (only surpassed by the government) the restaurant industry has… Continue reading

  • WHAT CHEFS & COOKS CAN LEARN FROM the OLYMPICS & OLYMPIC ATHLETES?

    I am very fortunate to live in a small village of around 5,000 residents in the Adirondack Park of New York. This is one of the most pristine areas in the world situated in a 6,000 acre protected area of… Continue reading

  • WHAT CHEFS CAN LEARN FROM BUSINESS DISRUPTORS

    Some of us look back with fondness at those individuals who inspired us and became our role models. Often, those same people were held at that level of esteem because their beliefs and work were somehow parallel to our own.… Continue reading

  • MORE LAWS OF THE KITCHEN

    A while back I posted an article that pointed to the Unwritten Rules of the kitchen. It seemed to strike a chord with almost 100,000 views. Any list that tries to address how a complex environment like a kitchen works… Continue reading

  • REAL KITCHEN HEROS

    There is never any shortage of rhetoric regarding the chefs who are destined to be admired and emulated. They are oftentimes the chefs who are pushing the envelope with technique, amassing an empire of restaurant concepts, winning awards, or pioneering… Continue reading

  • BANTER, INNUENDO, BULLYING, AND A CULTURE OF KITCHEN HARASSMENT

    Quite a title isn’t it? Maybe what is coming to the surface today in every facet of our society makes it easier to talk about this or maybe it is a topic that is one that we may want to… Continue reading

  • MARVELING AT KITCHEN CRAFTSPERSONS

    Even after nearly five decades of work in and around kitchens and kitchen staff – I continue to be impressed by the skills and the passion of the craftspeople who come to work each day and execute a set of… Continue reading

  • THE IMPORTANCE OF PAUL BOCUSE

    Since the passing of Paul Bocuse this past week there have been many tributes and acknowledgements of his contributions over a lengthy career. I thought deeply about this remarkable chef and how to pay homage to not just his contributions,… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANTS – PAY ATTENTION TO FIRST AND LAST IMPRESSIONS

    We all tend to focus on the main characters in a movie, a book, or play – the central plot and those individuals who seem to be the lead in a story. This is, I suppose, how we have all… Continue reading

  • WHAT WORKING IN RESTAURANTS TAUGHT ME

    I have often reflected on the lessons learned and the lessons taught in kitchens. When I look back at almost five decades of involvement in the food business I do so with great respect for the environment and the people… Continue reading

  • THE HOLIDAYS ARE ANOTHER LESSON FOR RESTAURANT COOKS

    What we do is different than the norm. There are other jobs and career choices that live with this same reality, but this difference is simply accepted until we arrive at those holidays that involve family and family memories. This… Continue reading

  • SOVANA BISTRO – CREATING AN ICONIC NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT

    The American Dream remains the opportunity to own a business, be your own boss, and bring an idea to fruition. For generations, this is what has made our country a destination for young people with a passion, a concept, and… Continue reading

  • QUOTES TO LIVE BY FOR LINE COOKS

    Well-crafted thoughts and words are, at least to me, fuel for the soul, energy for the body, and thought provoking for the mind. I often find that certain quotes from people who have attained a level of success in life… Continue reading

  • A NEW RESTAURANT – OPENING NIGHT

    The chef is having a hard time getting to sleep. There are hundreds of details swirling through Tom’s head, far too many to push aside and try to catch a few zzzzz’s. Tomorrow is opening night, the christening of a… Continue reading