Harvest America CUES BLOG

restaurants

  • 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

  • THE SLOW, PAINFUL DEATH OF A RESTAURANT

    The other day I witnessed, once again, one of the most gut wrenching events that may go un-noticed to others. I watched as a restaurant closed its doors for the last time, the “for lease” sign take the place of… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S WISH LIST FOR CHRISTMAS

    Well, it’s Black Friday – some unfortunately believe that this is a national holiday in America. For those in the restaurant business this is a day to recover from Thanksgiving service when we serve hundreds of guests who chose not… Continue reading

  • THE OFTEN FORGOTTEN WORKHORSE OF THE KITCHEN

    Put aside all of the excitement and glamor of working in a fine dining restaurant, the “art on the plate” image, the unusual ingredients and groundbreaking new techniques, and of course the image of sophisticated food and simply ask yourself… Continue reading

  • HOW AN IDEA BECOMES A RESTAURANT DISH

    There is a method to the madness in most restaurants – a process, even though it may never be fully defined, that is used as an idea morphs into a menu item. I often find myself making comparisons of cooking… Continue reading

  • THE LINE COOK’S ADRENALINE RUSH

    What is it about working the line in a busy restaurant that is so attractive to cooks? Why, with all of the challenges that a career in the kitchen brings are people, especially those who are younger, willing to set… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS – #4 THIS IS AN EGG

    One of my favorite movies is the 1954 original version of Sabrina staring Audrey Hepburn. In the context of the story she winds up in Paris at the renowned Cordon Bleu cooking school. Trying to learn to become a more… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S EIGHT ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS – #ONE – BUTTER

    Every cuisine has it’s own list of critical ingredients – ingredients that give a unique character to the dishes that define that genre. However, every kitchen that I know, every chef with whom I have worked, every person who has… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – HOW STABLE ARE WE – REALLY?

    If you are a chef I know that you have experienced it many times – people around you who shake their heads and wonder what’s wrong with you. They are astonished at the hours you work, the physical and mental… Continue reading

  • A ROADMAP TO SUCCESS FOR COOKS AND CHEFS

    Although some my choose to turn down an unknown road to see where it leads – most of us would prefer to predetermine a destination and plug in our GPS. There are those who would state that the best way… Continue reading

  • COOKS – LEARNING HOW TO FIT IN

    There is a definitive culture in a professional kitchen – a culture that requires certain attributes of members. Membership is not automatic – far from it. It is this culture that attracts many to the profession – it is this… Continue reading

  • I REMEMBER – A CHEF’S REFLECTIONS ON TIME

    It was 1964 when Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones sang: “Time is on my side, yes it is.” I wonder now if there is any truth to that statement. When you are 14 years old, as I was, time… Continue reading

  • I LOVE BEING A CHEF BUT I’M MAD AS HELL

    From that first moment when I held a spatula in my hand at the age of 15 and was shown how to flip a pancake and how the flick of my wrist could coax an egg to gently change sides… Continue reading

  • IS THE RESTAURANT BUBBLE ABOUT TO BURST?

    It could be very easy to state that the restaurant industry has never been stronger, never more robust, and never more promising. There are, according to the National Restaurant Association, more than 1 million freestanding restaurants in the U.S., generating… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – 22 MORE SUREFIRE WAYS TO FAIL AT YOUR JOB

    What makes a chef successful at his or her job? It certainly takes many years for an accomplished cook to rise to the position of chef, but what should they have learned along the way? Just as with restaurant owners… Continue reading

  • LINE COOKS – TOUGH AS NAILS – USED AND ABUSED, DRIVEN AND CONTENTIOUS

    We are who we are or – are we defined by what we do and the environment that we function in? Look into a person’s eyes and you can determine quite a bit. A cook’s eyes are focused, tired, often… Continue reading

  • COOKS WITH DRAGONS IN THEIR CLOSET

    Make no mistake, the most enjoyable part of working in a kitchen will always be the interesting people who man that station or cutting board next to you. Of course we have a passion for the food – this is,… Continue reading

  • WHY COOKS APPRENTICESHIP MAY BE THE ANSWER

    What goes around does come around. For the past forty years the restaurant industry has relinquished its responsibility for serious training to culinary schools across the country. From the days of Careme, Pointe, and Escoffier till the early 1960’s the… Continue reading

  • WHAT DRIVES A LINE COOK CRAZY

    Recently, I pointed to the things that drive a chef crazy, but line cooks share a list of actions or lack thereof that push their buttons as well. Some of these actions are real and correctable while others are simply… Continue reading

  • THE WINE EXPERIENCE /THE WINE CULTURE – A CHEF’S PERSPECTIVE

    Is it possible that an area like the North Fork of Long Island could become the next serious wine region of the country? What differentiates the Napa Valley, Paso Robles and Sonoma County of California from the Willamette Valley of… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – TWELVE SUREFIRE WAYS TO LOSE GOOD EMPLOYEES

    A common complaint from chefs and restaurateurs is that they can’t hang on to employees. The blame game always includes pointing a finger at those who leave claiming that they are ungrateful, lazy, uncommitted to their field, or just incompetent… Continue reading

  • ROCK SOLID – A COOK’S PROFILE

    A chef posts job openings for a restaurant kitchen “Looking for line cooks – dependable, experienced, strong work ethic”. These three descriptors summarize what most chefs are looking for. The resume is simply an elaboration on the critical traits of… Continue reading

  • WHAT LINE COOKS BELIEVE – FACTS AND ALTERNATIVE FACTS

    At the core of every person is a foundation of beliefs. Some of those beliefs are based on facts and experience while others are somewhat hollow beliefs that are loosely based on perceptions rather than a deeper understanding. Perceptions left… Continue reading

  • THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOL IN A PROFESSIONAL KITCHEN – A COOK’S HANDS

    Cut, stitched, bruised, burnt, swollen and callused – a cook’s hands are a testament to the torturous work that they endure and the symbol of an incredible work ethic that they represent. It is not uncommon for people to take… Continue reading

  • HAVE YOUNGER COOKS LOST THAT HUNGER TO LEARN?

    It is a question that is far more complex than it seems on the surface, yet it is a question that has been posed to me many times. Each generation seems to question the next generations’ commitment and in doing… Continue reading

  • IMAGINE IF CHEFS WERE IN CHARGE

    Now that we know that experience in government is not a pre-requisite for high level positions in the U.S., I started to wonder what it might be like if chefs were in charge of Congress and the White House. Hey… Continue reading

  • IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT RESTAURANTS

    How many people have ever stopped to contemplate the importance of restaurants to society, to a community, the local and national economy, and to their own personal lives? Beyond the obvious provision of meals for a hungry public, restaurants are… Continue reading

  • A COOK IN THE WEEDS

    What does it feel like to be part of that downward spiral situation on the line referred to as being in the weeds? This is different, a far cry, from just being buried in orders on a busy night. This… Continue reading

  • THE WELL-SEASONED COOK

    What is it about food that stops people in their tracks? What single characteristic about the food that we consume is literally addictive? What is the most important part of the formula for a successful restaurant that attracts return customers… Continue reading

  • SO – YOU WANT TO OWN A RESTAURANT

    The life of a restaurateur: “Work all day in preparation to work all night.” -Gabrielle Hamilton – Prune Restaurant Every chefs dream is to own a restaurant – this is, after all, everything that a chef works for. Being in… Continue reading