Harvest America CUES BLOG

restaurant

  • RESTAURANT EYES

    So, here’s the thing – knowing how to operate a restaurant is not difficult – executing the steps is a whole other story. The work is relentless, the unpredictability is insanity, the never-ending attention to detail is mind-numbing, and timing… Continue reading

  • KITCHEN RESPECT

    Yes, I have been preaching the need for change in restaurants. Changing how we view our concepts, menus, pricing structure, our staff, marketing, and the list goes on has never been more critical. Change, however, does not infer that we… 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

  • DON’T NICKEL AND DIME YOUR GUEST or IMPRESS THEM WITH QUANTITY

    There’s a reactionary movement that I keep seeing in restaurants; a movement that assumes the answer to the restaurant bottom line is to take more and give less or give too much to justify raising prices. Raising prices is inevitable… Continue reading

  • ANOTHER YEAR – A CHEF’S NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

    I know, I know – New Year’s Resolutions seem to be a waste of time. We all make them and rarely stick to the plan. But lack of execution should never get in the way of planning, dreaming, and setting… 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • BECOMING A GREAT LINE COOK

    Whether you are a product of a formal culinary education or working your way up through the school of hard knocks, it is likely that all roads leading to the position of chef will move through the line cook position.… 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

  • A LINE COOK’S LEGAL VICES

    The dictionary may define a “vice” as a bad habit or fault, but sometimes those habits cause less harm than the definition may imply and far more joy than one might assume. We all have a vice or two, some… Continue reading

  • IS THE KITCHEN A COOK’S “SAFE PLACE”?

    Look around the kitchen and pause to really assess what you see. The lifeblood of the kitchen is not found in stainless steel, contemporary equipment, or even the ingredients that fill cooler and storeroom shelves. The lifeblood of the kitchen… Continue reading

  • THE CHEF’S INTELLECT

    It is certainly true that professional cooks and chefs live in a tactile world. The kitchen is attractive to many as a vehicle for working with your hands – building and creating dishes and presenting them with flair that inspires… Continue reading

  • WHAT MAKES A CHEF’S JOB SO CHALLENGING

    If you cook in a serious way, if you have defined the process of cooking as something that you want to invest in, if you find that the passion of working in a professional kitchen is something that inspires you,… Continue reading

  • A COOK DEEP IN THOUGHT

    If you are a restaurant cook – how often have you paused to think: “Why am I doing this”? Every cook understands that there is a balance of good, bad, and ugly with most careers, but at times it does… Continue reading

  • A LINE COOK’S LIFE DIRECTION

    “There’s nothing worse than a feeling of being lost.” -Chef Daniel Boulud These are such important words from a chef and restaurateur whom many consider one of the worlds finest at his craft. They gave me a moment of pause… Continue reading

  • THE ORIENTATION OF A NEW COOK – WELCOME TO THE CLUB

    “Welcome to the camp, I guess we all know why we’re here.” These opening lyrics by the Who in their dramatic album “Tommy” referred to an underlying understanding of purpose. Anyone could interject numerous scenarios that point to common beliefs,… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S PRIDE

    Pride is defined in both a positive and a negative manner. To some, pride is something to avoid: “An irrationally corrupt sense of ones personal value, status or accomplishments.” – Wikipedia – Or as some would label it: “ego”. On… Continue reading

  • THAT ONE INCREDIBLE MEAL

    What was the moment, the event, the restaurant, the dish, that changed your life? Can a meal or a restaurant experience really change a person’s life? Maybe it wasn’t in a restaurant after all, maybe it was a memorable experience… Continue reading

  • LINE COOKS ARE THE ENGINE THAT DRIVE A RESTAURANT

    It takes many years for a good cook to become a great cook, to become a chef. There is an enormous amount of experience that leads to the ability to lead a kitchen, to create a vision and set the… Continue reading

  • TYLER SCOTT: A YOUNG CHEF MARKS A PATH TO EXCELLENCE

    New York City has been called the center of the universe. For chefs and restaurateurs it is the mecca for the best talent to be found and a place for aspiring professionals to earn their chops, refine their talent and… Continue reading

  • DECEMBER 5TH: I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

    Today is a momentous day for the U.S. restaurant industry. On December 5, 1933, Prohibition was repealed. That marked 14 years of illegal manufacture, distribution, sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages and a law that was literally impossible to enforce… 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

  • “You’re Gonna Like the Way You FEEL, I Guarantee It”

    I can’t remember where I found this jpeg, probably on FaceBook, but it really struck a chord. When I was at the helm of a kitchen my feeling was that every customer wants a dessert and should be given the… Continue reading

  • SEEKING RESUMES OF TALENTED CHEFS, SOUS CHEFS & RESTAURANT MANAGERS

    As a restaurant consultant I am constantly faced with finding the right team leaders for restaurants and resorts of all types.  Harvest America Ventures is thus looking to build a strong portfolio of passionate, honest, talented chefs, sous chefs and… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANTS NEED TO PAINT OUTSIDE THE LINES

    What ever happened to creativity and the fun associated with developing something new, exciting, delicious and trend defining in restaurants. Certainly you could cite those handful of unique restaurants that grace the cover stories in trade magazines, win James Beard… Continue reading

  • The Importance of the Neighborhood Restaurant

    I have waited some time before writing this post – I needed to let the significance of the event sink in. Anyone who ever spent time in Saranac Lake over the past 30 years knows Casa del Sol. “Casa” as… Continue reading

  • It is Time for Reform – Your Health is the Top Priority

    The Elephant in the Closet: So here is the reality: I praise the president for making an attempt at healthcare reform and unlike some I do not necessarily oppose what has been labeled as Obamacare. I think the greatest nation… Continue reading