Harvest America CUES BLOG

restaurants

  • HEY CHEF – IT’S ALL ABOUT VALUE

    I spend the majority of time with this blog talking about the kitchen environment, the great people who work in restaurants, the unique characteristics of serious cooks, and the challenges that these individuals face, but quite possibly not enough time… Continue reading

  • MARVELING AT FOOD AND RESTAURANT SKILLS

    “The Kitchen is the Heart of the Restaurant.” -Chef April Bloomfield from The Spotted Pig As true as this is, the real core to a restaurant lies with the people who are the soul of the operation. It is the… Continue reading

  • A LETTER TO CULINARY SCHOOL GRADUATES – 2017

    It’s that time of year again when thousands of students will walk the stage and graduate from culinary school. This, of course, is an exciting time for them, a time when they view the world as their oyster with limitless… Continue reading

  • WALKING IN A LINE COOK’S SHOES – The Good, The Challenging, & The Ugly

    While television and even some books might portray the life of a line cook as exciting, edgy, competitive, and even dangerously glamorous, few really demonstrate an understanding of what it is like to walk in a line cook’s shoes. Start… Continue reading

  • CHEF’S AND COOK’S ARE THE GREATEST DIPLOMATS

    At a time when the world seems to be totally on edge, when countries fight other countries, people express hate for others not like them, and political beliefs dictate whether or not another person is worthy of friendship we crave… Continue reading

  • KNIVES, FIRE AND ATTITUDE – THE LINE COOK’S ARSENAL

    There are certain things that when viewed together just don’t seem to marry well: oil and water, bald tires and icy roads, puddles and live electric wires, and the typical line cooks arsenal of attitude, sharp tools and intense flames.… Continue reading

  • THOUGHTS ON A DEMOCRATIC APPROACH TOWARD PAY SCALES IN KITCHENS

    For more than a year we (those in the food industry) have debated the dilemma of kitchen staffing. Restaurants have been crying about their inability to find enough cooks and chefs and keep them employed. We have discussed numerous ways… Continue reading

  • HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL CHEF – A BAKER’S DOZEN

      This may not turn out to be my most popular article, but it might very well be one of the most important for a cook or chef planning on a long, successful career in the kitchen. If we take… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – LET’S KEEP INTEGRITY AT THE TOP OF OUR LIST

    One of the most distressing things to watch is a person sacrificing his or her integrity for the sake of a paycheck. I get it – survival is an instinct that is difficult to put aside, but when we set… Continue reading

  • CHEFS – DON’T DISMISS THE NEW GENERATION OF COOKS

    The restaurant industry is faced with the likelihood of dramatic change. I’m not referring to the type of change that we are use to: trends in food choices, style of dining, size of portions, shifts in flavor profiles, etc.; I… Continue reading

  • “MAKE MY DAY” – WHAT PUSHES A CHEF OVER THE EDGE

    It was one of those famous lines in a movie that survives for decades, that is used, and reused by many to make a point – sometimes unrelated to its original intent – a statement for the ages. Clint Eastwood… Continue reading

  • COOKS & CHEFS – DO IT RIGHT OR GO HOME

    Let’s begin with the assumption that people inherently want to do great work. Now, I know we can all offer examples of those with whom we have worked who portray just the opposite, but let’s agree that they are in… Continue reading

  • WHAT DRIVES A CHEF

    The vision of extreme work ethic always inspires me. Extreme may be an over-used word, but not in the restaurant business. A chef’s life is a life of never-ending focus on food and the workings of his or her kitchen.… Continue reading

  • SALUTE TO THE DISHWASHER

    Typically discounted, often maligned, frequently abused, and rarely appreciated (until he or she doesn’t show up) – the dishwasher is actually the most important employee in the kitchen. Cooks may scoff, chefs will dismiss, and owners have no opinion whatsoever,… Continue reading

  • WHY CHEFS CAN’T IGNORE POLITICS

    Is ignorance really bliss? Like many of you, I am tired of the political rhetoric, the discourse that is oftentimes based on hearsay, rather than fact, and the sometimes-vicious personal attacks that have dominated the stage for years. It would… Continue reading

  • KITCHEN FRIENDS

    It is disheartening to occasionally hear of cooks, chefs, and service staff who dislike their jobs, find the work less than rewarding, and most discouraging – fail to feel a unique connection to the people who they share a kitchen… Continue reading

  • THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY – IMMIGRANT NATION

    Certainly one of the hot topics throughout the past election cycle and moving forward is the immigration policies and shortcomings of the United States. There is a political bent and there is reality. You can choose the side that you… Continue reading

  • FUTURE PERFECT FOR RESTAURANT COOKS AND CHEFS

    It may be difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow, but there are most certainly indicators that give us a clue. There is always a tendency to be hopeful that things will somehow be better along with a reluctance to… Continue reading

  • PROFILE OF A MODERN LINE COOK

    It might be time to retire the concept of a job description. For all intents and purposes a job description is limiting and fails to address the unique characteristics of individuals and those intangibles that separate an average line warrior… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S FLAVOR MEMORY

    I imagine everyone would agree that the most important part of a restaurant dish is taste and flavor. This, of course, encompasses texture, aroma, and appearance, but to most – the intriguing part of enjoyable food revolves around what is… Continue reading

  • GAME DAY IN THE KITCHEN

    Life happens whether we plan or not, whether we have a strategy or shoot from the hip, whether we think through the process of reaching outcomes or if we simply cross our fingers and hope for the best. Looking at… Continue reading

  • RESTAURANT FOOD- GENERATIONS OF DENIAL

    One of the more significant topics of debate in America is focused on the cost of healthcare and the millions of people who are ill-prepared to deal with health issues due to a lack of insurance or insufficient insurance. It… Continue reading

  • YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE LINE COOK IF………

    There comes a point in time on most people’s lives when they finally realize that what they do for a living is what they are meant to do. It is this “aha” moment that can either serve as a breath… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S TOLERANCE FOR PAIN

    Those of us who have held court behind the range know it, our families know it, our peers know it, but the rest of the world has no real idea about the physical and emotional pain that accompanies the job… Continue reading

  • THE EFFECTIVE CHEF’S NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

    Why do we bother to create a list of year to come resolutions when more often than not we disregard the list soon after it is written? Is it because of a tradition that lacks commitment, or because we know… Continue reading

  • CHEF’S and COOKS GIVING BACK

    To many – cooking is a job, maybe a job that is rewarding in ways other than compensation, but never the less – a job. With more than 1 million free standing restaurants in the United States it is obvious… Continue reading

  • LINE COOKS – WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES

    Many jobs are physically demanding and others push a persons ability to think clearly and problem solve. Some jobs can be emotionally draining while others are adrenaline driven and allow workers to ride high and weather the storms of stress.… Continue reading

  • A COOK’S “LIFE IN THE MOMENT”

    The world spins around us, life takes us in many different directions – some exciting and rewarding, some seem to spin out of control, but in all cases we have to take it in stride. There are macro issues of… Continue reading

  • A CHEF’S LETTER TO LINE COOKS

      Interesting how even after hanging up a chef’s hat I still enjoy being called “chef”. Although I haven’t spent more than one occasional day at a time behind a professional kitchen range in some time, I am still filled… Continue reading

  • “THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN” – FOR COOKS AS WELL

    There is something fulfilling and yet final to the news that Bob Dylan is being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Many have chastised the decision by the Nobel committee to award such an international honor to a troubadour who… Continue reading