Courtesy of a group of cooks that lived through this a few too many times:

Stage 1: The Clubhouse

You're not busy at…

I check the latest posts on a few favorite blogs almost daily, and I keep them on my blogroll. I'm always looking for interesting blogs to peruse, so what are your favorites?

I really like Bay Area Bites, Chocolate & Zucchini, Chow (ok--this might not count as a true blog, but it's interesting), The…

CHINO , Calif. (Feb.

17,

2008)



In the largest beef recall in U.S. history, the Hallmark Meat Packing

Co. and its affiliated Westland Meat Co. are trying to recover…

With out a strong base a house can not be built. With out strong roots a tree will no grow strong. With out strong employees your business will crumble. Look after those at the bottom of your business, with out them theres no way you at the top can sit comfortable. Don't take what they do as "just their job." Some are easily replaced, others would take months to hire someone and turn them as knowledgable and…

One Fast Route to Becoming an Authority for High-Motivation Owners

When working with restaurant owners, I like to recommend that they write and publish a cookbook of their best everyday recipes and their most well-received specials. Fast? Worked in around all the other jobs you do, it can take two to four months to complete. For a project that will continue to enhance the public's Perception of your restaurant for years to come, that's pretty…

Having expertise in your product is expected at a speciatly establishment. If you brag about how great your product is, then serve it with mediocre condiments, there is an immediate disconnect. Add poor customer service and you may never go back. Worse for the establishment, tell other about your experience...

Yesterday, I bypassed Starbucks in Santana Row for the tea place around the corner. A real tea house! I love tea and I was excited to finally try this place.

Well, my…

this is from a book i read by john c. maxwell, it shows that not everyone is a natural born leader and just like most things in life in order to get good at something you have to practice and know your strengths and weaknesses in what you are trying to improve.

step 1 I don't know what i don't know.

its simple...as long as a person doesn't know…

A week ago, I shared with you the story of a

close relative of mine, ‘Flo’ who is 87 years old. She lives in a ‘nursing home’ and is confined to a wheelchair. On Christmas Day, she and her family went out to a big local brand name hotel for Christmas dinner, since she was unable to…

I saw this article online and found it very interesting!

America's Best Restaurant Cities

These are the places where foodies go to town

Twenty years ago it would have been difficult to call more than a handful of American cities “great restaurant towns.” There were New York and…

Quality vs. Quantity. Who says you can’t have both in restaurant equipment?…

Controlling Losses – Implementing a Slip and Fall Prevention Program

By Brandon O’Dell…

Delia Smith has put herself on a collision course with the organic movement by declaring that she does not "do organic" and understands why people buy battery-reared chickens.



The chef, who has taught the nation how to cook for more than 30 years, said it was vital that poorer families had access to nutritious foods.

"I can’t…

Every couple of years I write about the urgent need to prepare a “marketing disaster, what-if plan” for your restaurant or hospitality business. I’d be willing to guess that less than one percent of business owners ever bother.

What if you were the marketing person for a major airline? Maybe even in charge of marketing a unique vacation island? Or perhaps you’re the…

The chart of the week is USDA baseline annual change in total beef, pork and chicken output

for the

next few years. If you have attended any of our seminars, you have

heard

us say that the inflated feed costs that protein producers are

experiencing

have not made their way completely through the respective finished

products yet. Typically when input costs rise for…

How can you inject more creativity into your restaurant, or generate more innovation in your marketing?

John Sweeney is world leader in workplace innovation. Years ago, John left a successful corporate real estate career to follow his passion for performing improvisational comedy. Today, he has found a way to combine his business…