Harvest America CUES BLOG

culinary

  • ARE YOU EXCEPTIONAL?

    What does it mean to be exceptional? What does it take to get there? How does one measure exceptional performance? Are some people born to be exceptional? Is it a genetic gift or, is it possible that we all have… Continue reading

  • COOKING FROM JOB TO PASSION

    It started in an unassuming manner – you needed a job, a local restaurant was hiring, and it just seemed to fit the bill. Maybe you began as a dishwasher or counter person in a quick service operation or an… Continue reading

  • THE PLATE AND THE PASS

    I am the canvas on which the cook paints, the frame that draws the viewers eye to the image drawn. I am the plate – too often disregarded except by those who understand the importance of the canvas and the… Continue reading

  • COOKS – CLAIM YOUR OWN PATH TO SUCCESS

    If you’re a chef from my generation then you likely have concerns over the changing landscape in the kitchen. I hear, nearly every day, “things are not what they use to be.” Chefs lament over a time when cooking was… Continue reading

  • THE PATH TO EXCELLENCE – SO INSPIRING

    What term or phrase best describes those who are on the path of excellence: unrelenting, finesse, culinary pride, make a dent in the universe, pursuit of perfection, make a difference, total commitment, or focused drive? Some portray the result while… Continue reading

  • THE EVOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN RESTAURANT

    PART TWO: The Era of the Chef: Ah, now things really changed. The once restaurateur-centric restaurant was about to become chef-centric. Seemingly happening overnight – the chef went from a behind the scenes after-thought to a celebrity. Beginning with a… Continue reading

  • AMERICAN RESTAURANTS – AN INTERESTING EVOLUTION

    PART ONE: An Immigrant Nation Melting Pot: America was the land of opportunity and tens of thousands came to our shores, through Ellis Island, and stood at the gates of New York ready to become American and bring their ethnic… Continue reading

  • WHY CULINARY PROGRAMS FAIL

    There has never been a more important time for culinary schools than right now.  Sure, I know how much the restaurant/foodservice industry is suffering and how many operations are shutting their doors as a result of avoiding decades of challenges… Continue reading

  • CHEF OF THE COLD KITCHEN

    We have all heard the phrase: “If you can’t stand the heat – get out of the kitchen”.  To many it defines what it is like to work in a restaurant kitchen – toiling over cherry red hot flat tops… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S MANIFESTO – 2021

    An exercise that I have found to be really helpful is to occasionally state/re-state what you believe in as a chef.  Every now and then this can serve as a “checks and balance” activity to keep you on the right… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – VALUE and the TOP LINE DRIVE the BOTTOM LINE

    In the restaurant business there are really only two ways to view profit:  a very small amount of profit balanced by very significant volume, or a significant amount of profit on far less volume.  How you approach the design of… Continue reading

  • THE 2021 CHEF SKILL SET

    It is always safe to say: “things change”.  Change is an inevitable part of life and as we all know if we fail to recognize that and adapt – we can become obsolete.  Throughout history there are countless examples of… Continue reading

  • WHAT CUSTOMERS DON’T KNOW ABOUT RESTAURANT WORK

    More difficult than you may have thought, more chaotic than you might expect, more poetic than you realize, and more fulfilling than you would understand: this, to me, describes the environment of the professional kitchen that few customers are able… Continue reading

  • IT’S ONLY FOOD

    You know I have occasionally heard this statement, or at least felt that it was implied: “Don’t get so wrapped up in it – it’s only food.” Well, I am here to state unequivocally that this just isn’t so. Of… Continue reading

  • WHAT RESTAURANTS HAVE LEARNED DURING THE PANDEMIC

    As restaurants rally to try and meet the requirements of the new protocol for operation – distancing tables, reducing customer volume, enforcing mask wearing, deep sanitizing of surfaces, moving to on-line menus or single use documents, removing anything from table… Continue reading

  • KITCHENS CELEBRATE DIFFERENCE

    It has always been my experience that kitchens are the great equalizer. Sure, I know that the environment of a kitchen can sometimes be tough and abrasive, it’s hot, humid, noisy, stressful, fast paced, and somewhat unforgiving, but…..all that being… Continue reading

  • EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP WHEN IT SEEMS TO BE IN SHORT SUPPLY

    I am a concerned spectator at a time when everything seems to be in question and every one of us lives on the edge. We fear, we adjust, we cope, and then there comes a time when our coping mechanism… Continue reading

  • COOKS: A CALL TO ARMS – DON’T SETTLE!

    There exists a real dichotomy of enthusiasm towards working in the restaurant business. I realize that this may have always been present at some level, but in today’s kitchens there appears to be a polarization of those who love the… Continue reading

  • COOKS – THE COMFORT OF HEAT, SWEAT, AND HARD-WORK

    Staring at the POS printer, waiting for those orders to start their tap dance building to a crescendo in an hour or so, clicking a pair of tongs by your side, shifting weight from one foot to the other, and… Continue reading

  • A CHEF WHO GETS THE MESSAGE RIGHT

    Two of the most significant issues facing businesses today are RETAINING good employees who are so difficult to find and MAXIMIZING the productivity and efficiency of those same employees. Ample research has been done pointing to the most significant culprit… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

    Yep – another year, another moment in time to reflect on where you are and where you might be going. To many people a resolution is a futile attempt at changing poor behavior, lost opportunity, broken promises, and failed attempts… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S LIFE – IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

    In the Blink of an Eye “Looking forward has no limits Looking back reels you in Thinking about what could be Gives pause to what might have been Vision is energy for an active mind while Reflection is food for… Continue reading

  • WHEN COOKING BECOMES MORE THAN A JOB

    Typically, it starts off that way – old enough to work, they’re hiring, no experience required – it’s a job. Maybe it’s a local diner as a dishwasher or assistant to a short order cook; maybe it’s a fast food… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S ANXIETY – A MOMENT IN TIME

    It’s 5:15, 120 degrees in front of the battery of ranges, and sweat is pouring down every cook’s back, dripping off their foreheads. This is moment in time, like the starting line for an important race, when adrenaline is pulsing… Continue reading

  • BODY, MIND AND SOUL – COOKS ARE IN IT TO WIN IT

    It was 1959 when the late great Miles Davis released “Kind of Blue” one of the great jazz albums of all time. Over his creative career – many of the most accomplished musicians of a generation got their start or… Continue reading

  • WHEN IT COMES TO MENUS IN 2019 – LESS IS MORE

    So…to fail to change is a surefire way to fail. When everything seems to be against restaurant success – those who strategically stand tall and change direction are the ones who win. Just look at the current picture for restaurants:… Continue reading

  • INVENTION, RE-INVENTION, A FRESH LOOK

    There are few examples of businesses that can continue to thrive without change. Not too long ago, the need for change was gradual – giving owners/operators a chance to assess, research, test through trial and error, and slowly take baby… Continue reading

  • CHEFS CHASING THE OWNERSHIP THING

    I don’t believe that I know a single professional chef who doesn’t have a deep seeded desire to own a restaurant. Some are more obvious about the desire then others, some hide it pretty well, but underneath the façade of… Continue reading

  • LINE COOKS WHO TAKE THE LEAP

    At some point, fairly early on, restaurant cooks make a decision to either view what they do as a transitional job while they look for something that they really want to do, or decide that cooking is their life calling… Continue reading

  • IS COOKING LOSING ITS COOL IMAGE?

    Maybe, the old adage: “what goes around, comes around” is true in the case of cooks and chefs. There was a time when individuals worked in kitchens for one of two reasons – they were either destined to do this… Continue reading