Harvest America CUES BLOG

restaurants

  • ANGER AND THE SELF-DESTRUCTIVE CHEF

    Most chefs have been there – that point of exasperation when something isn’t going as planned, when a staff member didn’t follow through, when that order came back for a re-fire, or when a vendor sent disappointing products to your… Continue reading

  • COOKING MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE SKILL

    As members of an advanced society we stress over many things – to most the skills necessary to survive, thrive, and contribute to society rank above all else – some might even say that learning how to make a difference… Continue reading

  • BECOMING A MASTER OF YOUR CRAFT

    I just finished watching a YouTube video clip of Jeff Beck and Stanley Clarke performing their incredible music at a jazz festival. I watched the clip four times in a row until I knew that I had to get back… Continue reading

  • THE CHEF – DECISIONS EVERY 30 SECONDS

    Ah…the good old days when it was just about cooking. Remember those days when your stress, considerable as it may have been, was focused on your mise en place, keeping orders straight on your station, making sure that your knives… Continue reading

  • SERIOUS COOKING / COOKING SERIOUSLY

    There are cooks and there are cooks – such a profound statement. My experience has shown me that there is a place for numerous levels of skill and commitment in our profession. People do need to eat, and in this… Continue reading

  • KITCHENS – WHEN THINGS START TO UNRAVEL

    I imagine that every night that the cast of a Broadway play watches the curtains open, there is a feeling that the performance will either be great or terrible. When the most organized and well-seasoned band hits the stage for… Continue reading

  • NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PREP COOK

    Chefs are acutely aware of the importance of their line crew and care is typically taken to hire those who have a complementary chemistry and skill set – team is critical to success. But, how much similar effort is placed… 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 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

  • A BAKER’S DOZEN LIFE LESSONS FROM A DISHWASHER

    Yes, I have talked about the importance of dishwashers before and I stand by my statement that they are the most important people in your kitchen. Just think about the state of your operation any time that the dishwasher doesn’t… 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • BEING A CHEF – THE PASSION AND THE COST

    Let’s first separate those three types of cooks who stand tall behind a range: Those who consider cooking to be their purpose in life, the career choice that inspires them, and the choice that let’s them jump out of bed… 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

  • 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 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

  • 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