May 2010 Blog Posts (52)

It’s All about the Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue sauce is not that easy to prepare, but once you have perfected the ingredient, you are definitely going to impress your guests. You do not have to be an outstanding chef in order to learn how to prepare delicious barbecue sauce. Of course, your food newsletter can probably give you an idea how to do this, so do not unsubscribe…

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Added by ChefBlogDigest on May 20, 2010 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Cutting the Salt

First it was saturated fat, and then it was trans fat, the new culprit on the menu: SODIUM. And not without reason: In salt-sensitive people, elevated levels of sodium in the diet have been shown to raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. So it’s no surprise that health advocates like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have been lobbying for government control over the use of…

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Added by Alyson Mar, RD on May 19, 2010 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Harry Hogan is my Hero!

How can Harry Hogan be my hero? I've never met the man yet he taught me an invaluable life lesson for which I am forever grateful. I'm sure Harry was no Hulk. I doubt if he was even around when Hulk Hogan was the king of wrestling (I use the term wrestling loosely). While I thought Harry was great from the beginning, as I grew older he became a legend in my mind.

To this day I work hard to apply the lesson I learned from him between the ages of 5-17. So you may be wondering… Continue

Added by Bill Campion on May 19, 2010 at 12:02am — 2 Comments

Inspiration 101

Two ways to do it…..

Do it because I pay you.

Do it because I inspired you.

Both work.

One gets amazing results.

One gets short-term results.

One takes a lot of work, one not so much.

Inspiration takes a lot of work and some folks just aren’t willing to give what it takes to lead from this very important value.

What does it take you… Continue

Added by Andy Swingley on May 17, 2010 at 6:59pm — 1 Comment

Non-Operator Comfort Zone Plateaus - Barriers to Success

Every once in awhile I find myself on what I call the “comfort zone plateau.” I recently just jumped out of a comfort zone plateau. Basically, I was working hard, extremely customer focused and maximizing results. Many people would applaud this type of work effort because it does produce amazing results, creates forward progress and delivers high levels of customer satisfaction.…

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Added by Kathleen Wood on May 16, 2010 at 10:30pm — 2 Comments

Web-Browser based POS on iPad/iTouch/iPhone Lets CEO Visit Any Table at Any Restaurant

Over the past two weeks I've been fortunate to play with a POS system demo'd on an iPad, iPhone and iTouch. Developed by a Portland, OR based firm who lists as a partner a former Regional Director of Rockbottom and before that TGIFs, this system is phenomenal.

Imagine you're the CEO of a major multi-unit restaurant outfit. You call one of your GMs and ask "how's the day going?" Of course, you're going to get the response that things are good, things are busy.

Now imagine you… Continue

Added by Jeffrey J Kingman on May 15, 2010 at 1:01pm — 4 Comments

Non-Operator Be FOHnomenal

Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve what one has to offer.

-Rick Pitino

Take heed, all front of house staff. Today's diners are armed with powerful tools that give them access to dynamic, richly presented information about your restaurant's food, wine, ingredients, service reviews, and more. They are connecting through social… Continue

Added by FohBoh on May 13, 2010 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Bagel Mornings and Deliveries

There were a few bumps in the road after our first bake this morning. We do very little wholesale. I would say we are at 1/4 capacity as far as volume of bagels we are capable of producing from this oven, etc. without ripping the equipment apart. Santo’s came in at 1:00 AM and turned the equipment on. That means, lighting the fire in the oven, lighting the flame for the kettle, and switching the other machinery on. It takes a good 30, really more like 40 minutes to get the water in… Continue

Added by Mary Beall Adler on May 13, 2010 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Non-Operator New Pal's BEI Alumni

Congratulations to our most recent Pal’s BEI Alumni who completed the Achieving World-Class Results training on May 7, 2010. The participants from left to right are Chris Comeaux (Four Seasons), Anthony Melo (Foster Farms), Mark Landouw (El Pollo Loco), Jesse Larios (El Pollo Loco), Sarah Pope (Piggy Bank Express), Thom Crosby (Pal’s), David McClaskey (Pal’s BEI), Nalini Pillay (A&W), Ken Walker (Foster Farms), Leslie Fletcher (Holston Medical Group), Chandris Equivel (A&W), Shawna… Continue

Added by Clay Rolston on May 13, 2010 at 9:11am — No Comments

Syrah, Syrah, Syrahs at Hospice du Rhône (and in Santa Barbara)

When we talk about “Rhône” grapes, we usually mean more than syrah; but also grenache, mourvèdre, viognier, roussanne, marsanne, and some sixteen other varieties, as well as blends of such, associated with the vast expanse of Southern France, from the Riviera to the Bay of Biscay (in this sense, these aren’t nearly so much Rhône Valley grapes as they are Southern French grapes).…

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Added by Randy Caparoso on May 13, 2010 at 6:30am — No Comments

Non-Operator Zombies Among Us

Recent hits in popular cinema and literature have brought renewed attention to vampires (the “Twilight” series, among others) and zombies (everything from George Romero’s films to the amazing Jane Austen homage -- or parody -- entitled…

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Added by Rod Guinn on May 13, 2010 at 4:00am — 1 Comment

Non-Operator Chef Throws Patron Out Of Restaurant

".........we heard yelling — loud, sustained, top-of-lungs yelling — coming from

the kitchen........................A few minutes later, the chef was at it again.

Fifteen seconds.

Another fifteen

And without much forethought, I pushed back my chair and walked through the… Continue

Added by Paul Green on May 13, 2010 at 12:30am — 3 Comments

Fear, Greed and Popcorn

Greedy people really bug me these days. How can a person can talk about team, yet be entirely focused on his or her own agenda? What’s best for them is, well, all that matters. I’m not talking about taking care of your family or planning your retirement. I mean being solely focused, with maniacal passion, on one’s self-importance. …

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Added by Michael L. Atkinson on May 11, 2010 at 11:30pm — 10 Comments

Michelin-starred Chef Fergus Henderson of St John Restaurant's offal food takes Manhattan

Chef Fergus Henderson of London’s St John Restaurant was in Manhattan yesterday, at Chef Jonathan Waxman’s Barbuto Restaurant in the West Village. This is one of four stops in the United States for the chef who took the awful out of offal. The architect-turned-chef is promoting the forthcoming opening of his London… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 10, 2010 at 9:18am — No Comments

Chefs – unsung heroes – one in particular

Dean Batlas, executive chef. Dean was the president of the Central

Maryland Chefs and Cooks Association for numerous years, an organization

that has supported many a charity in the Baltimore region. If you have

dined at Harryman House or Jordan’s Steakhouse he probably prepared

your meal. Most recently, Dean has worked for Marriott as a food and

beverage manager but that is no longer the case.

A real fighter- he is fighting a very…

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Added by Dara Bunjon on May 10, 2010 at 9:10am — No Comments

Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament - you can be a judge

Kicking off on Monday, May 10th is the Mason Dixon Master Chef Tournament where our top regional chefs go

head-to-head in a competition where they have one hour to prepare a

three course meal. Like March Madness, the winners of each competition

move on to the next round of culinary competition. This is happening every Monday and Tuesday with our… Continue

Added by Dara Bunjon on May 10, 2010 at 9:06am — No Comments

A call for silence - so we can hear

We live in a world that is cluttered with overload - from news media shouting the latest headlines to friends so caught up in the 'me, me, me' world of Facebook and Twitter that they no longer take the time to truly listen.

I have noticed, in recent weeks, a friend who has begun to regularly scream and yell at me because he thinks I've said something criticizing him. He will probably feel that way if he reads this blog. What I have to say is not critical - in the overall…

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Added by susan holaday on May 10, 2010 at 2:01am — 4 Comments

DAWG Talk: Special Skills On-site

Once overlooked and referred to as the institutional side of the restaurant industry, on-site dining remains one of the fastest growing segments of the food service industry. Fortune 500 companies are building facilities and setting high expectations for the contract operator. It is no longer acceptable to have “cafeteria food.” Dining Centers are staffed with culinary trained professionals that have exceptional culinary skills and creativity.

Today, on-site foodservice… Continue

Added by David Rose on May 9, 2010 at 12:36pm — No Comments

Restaurants, Dining Experience and Marketing

Restaurants are a common new business venture but unfortunately, they also have a high rate of business failure.

We ask ourselves... what are the reasons people go to restaurants? Dining out is more than just going for food. In many situations, dining out means a social event or an entertainment experience. The overall atmosphere within the restaurant has a large impact. The manager or owner of a restaurant needs to have a focus on the customers' entire dining…

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Added by Jim McGinty on May 7, 2010 at 8:30am — 1 Comment

Non-Operator The Recession is Over !!! Signs of Progress

The Fed’s Ben Bernanke and many other market watchers say that the recession has bottomed out. There are small positive signs appearing here and there. I agree with predictions that strong signs of recovery will manifest over the next couple of months. There will still be problems here and there, but in my opinion, the bottom line is that the whole economic climate begins to change when a retail consumer sees the item that they have been looking at for many months, picks it up and buys… Continue

Added by Doug Marranci on May 7, 2010 at 7:00am — No Comments