Featured Blog Posts (3,071)

Artistry of Wine, June 19th, 2008 @ The Ritz Carlton Hotel Chicago

There will be a chef event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness pairing food and wine from 18 of Chicago's Top Chefs and 8 of Chicago's Top Sommeliers. Well-known artists will be donating orignal works for the silent auction as well as trip, wines and other fabulous items. For $150.00, it really is a great evening out!!! Including great food and wine, live music from up and coming local artists throughout the evening.

Please contact me for more information or check out the… Continue

Added by Doreen Kaminski on March 25, 2008 at 12:16pm — No Comments

Different Name...

I am currently in the process of revamping our hourly associate book which is currently called the 'Key Hourly Supervisor Book'. The trouble is that no one in our organization is particularly fond of the names Key Hourly or Supervisor for those associates who occasionally run a shift for us.

I NEED YOUR OPINION- What should the name of this program be? What should the title for these associates be?

I am drawing a big fat goose egg!

Added by Amanda Vroom on March 25, 2008 at 12:05pm — 13 Comments

Menu-Labeling: I’m calling you out USA Today!

I just read the laziest, most untruthful article I have ever read in the USA Today about an hour ago and I have to get this off my chest. David Zincznko of Men’s Health magazine and Matt Goulding, who co-authored the book, “Eat This, Not That!” wrote the most misdirected, self-indulgent article, and factious article to meet the press that I can remember - “Feeding the obesity epidemic”.

In the article, they blame the restaurant industry and the trade association the National… Continue

Added by Chris Moyer on March 25, 2008 at 11:59am — 4 Comments

California

Baking Bread has been doing great considering I haven't been open for a year yet!!! California is showing us a lot of love with orders for cinnamon rolls and apple pie. I noticed a lot of the orders are gifts for other people which I think is very nice. I just sent some cinnamon rolls to Texas to see if a groom wants to use my cinnamon rolls in place of his grooms cake for his wedding, cross your fingers!!! I am very excited about my business and taking it one day at a time.

Added by Jennifer on March 25, 2008 at 11:43am — 2 Comments

Britons emulate celebrity chefs at weekend but increasingly turn to convenience food in the week

How UK's food tribes mix and match

by James Meikle at The Guardian

Britons emulate celebrity chefs at the weekend but increasingly turn to convenience food during the week, according to a new analysis of how we eat.

Preparing meals from scratch is more popular than it was four years ago as eating together becomes a "leisure experience".

Half of us eat ready meals every… Continue

Added by Mark McKellier on March 25, 2008 at 10:49am — No Comments

Mmmm Spring

Sugar on snow, Kentucky bourbon, witbier, and a large motorcycle. What more is there?

Added by teecee on March 24, 2008 at 7:52pm — 4 Comments

Non-Operator Customer Service VS Rules & Policy

Too any times we think we are so clever quietly making rules and policy under the guise of trying to deliver consistently good service when we are really trying to make things as easy as possible for us. Then we pound it in to our employees in "training" so that their only responses are "its policy", "its the rules" or "would you like to talk to the manager" thus completely removing any responsibility from our employee to give exceptional service.Maybe this video clip will illustrate the… Continue

Added by Jerry A. Heilpern, CFBE, FMP on March 24, 2008 at 6:04pm — 5 Comments

Walk a Different Mile

A wise old saying suggests that you try walking a mile in another’s shoes to improve your own perspective.

This advice can be especially pertinent to a small business owner. By trying to see things from another important perspective, you can identify areas of your business that might need improving.

Try these shoes on for size:

An Employee.

What should an employee know about the business? The products and services? The warranties and… Continue

Added by Doug Golden on March 24, 2008 at 11:55am — 2 Comments

Leave This Info Out of Your Interview

I came across this advice on the internet. It's filled with good advice for a first interview, so I decided to post it here:

Everyone knows someone privy to sharing too much information – the TMI, if you will. TMIs have no boundaries and no shame. They will tell you any and every piece of personal information, whether it's filling you in on her latest try at the fertility doctor or the dream he had about your boss last night.

Sharing too much information with your… Continue

Added by Matt Urdan on March 24, 2008 at 2:35pm — 2 Comments

Dioxins and their effects on human health

Background

Dioxins are environmental pollutants. They have the dubious distinction of belonging to the “dirty dozen” - a group of dangerous chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants. Dioxins are of concern because of their highly toxic potential. Experiments have shown they affect a number of organs and systems. Once dioxins have entered the body, they endure a long time because of their chemical stability and their ability to be absorbed by fat tissue, where they are then stored in… Continue

Added by Matt Urdan on March 24, 2008 at 7:03am — No Comments

EASTER IN THE LADIES' ROOM

Do you remember the Christmas fiasco with the handicapped Ladies' Restroom?

You may recall that a close relative of mine, let’s call her Flo, had a terrible experience with a major downtown hotel on Christmas Day. She was not able to use the ladies’ handicapped stall; her wheelchair would not go through the doors, nor could she use the facilities without her daughter and daughter-in-law standing guard. The front desk clerk of the hotel was no help. He acted like a robot, caring… Continue

Added by Roy MacNaughton on March 24, 2008 at 12:23am — 2 Comments

Be Aware: Dioxin Found in Italian Mozzarella Milk

ROME (March 21) - Makers of Italy's prized buffalo mozzarella took out full-page ads in Italian newspapers Friday assuring consumers that their cheese was safe after high levels of dioxin were found in some samples of buffalo milk.

The tainted products came from a few buffalo dairies in the southern Campania region, whose reputation as a top agricultural producer has already been tarnished by a months-old garbage crisis that has fueled fears of food contamination.

Over the… Continue

Added by Matt Urdan on March 24, 2008 at 7:02am — No Comments

Branding Starts Inside

Developing a company worth doing business with - and working for - takes a lot of time and energy. It’s not always about what you say you are about. Rather, it’s about what those who work for you say you are about. Getting those within your four walls to buy in to your product is the pinnacle of success when it comes to developing internal branding. We’ve got to make them excited about who they work for, what they do every day, and how they do it. Additionally they’ve got to be energized to do… Continue

Added by Jeremy A Heilpern on March 24, 2008 at 6:37am — 2 Comments

Some Typical Restaurant Manager Interview Questions

Following are some of the typical interview questions you should be prepared to answer truthfully, confidently, succinctly, and intelligently when interviewing for a management position. Remember, these questions are used not only to elicit a direct response, but also to assess your thought processes, work ethic, personality, perception of your self and others, etc. You should always try to answer in a positive fashion or with an answer that will indicate a positive resolution or outcome… Continue

Added by Tony Lyons on March 22, 2008 at 6:06pm — 5 Comments

Ever feel like a frog in boiling water?

Whether you own your own business or manage one, long tenure within an establishment can cause complacency and at times a leader can grow a set of blinders to the opportunities within the restaurant

A friend not too long ago shared a story with me about how over time one can lose sight of the simple and most important things in your business. If you walk in the same doors over and over again for years at a time the business can unintentionally deteriorate in standards of execution… Continue

Added by Andy Swingley on March 22, 2008 at 7:28pm — 8 Comments

By Amanda Hite - Rated PG13 getting these CRAZY YOUNG PEOPLE to follow you.

Here are just a few of my initial thoughts I'd like to hear yours beware this posting was almost rated R....

Be Authentic

You know when someone’s Bullshitting you do you really think they don’t know when your full of sh*@? Be honest and authentic and you’ll gain their respect.

Let them be themselves

Being YOU is IN! Encourage them to express themselves they’ll appreciate it and be more transparent with you. Personal… Continue

Added by Amanda Hite on March 22, 2008 at 3:36pm — 19 Comments

UNICEF's TAP Project Supports World Water Day

Over 2,000 restaurants around the country this week are charging $1.00 for each glass of water they serve customers, ending today. UNICEF claims that a child in a developing country will have 40 days of clean water for every $1 glass purchased this week. It's an interesting experiment and interesting to see how much UNICEF raises this way.

My first reaction, selfishly, was to think, OMG, everything is going up in price: gas, food, text… Continue

Added by Ted Cohn on March 22, 2008 at 8:33am — 3 Comments

Chocolate Video Series

Hello FohBoh-ites, and to those who are celebrating, I wish you a Happy Easter! I hope you're all going to have a wonderful holiday weekend!

In honor of the holiday, I have just posted 10 Chocolate Videos, comprising my Chocolate Video Series. That's right, Volumes I through X are now available, right here on FohBoh, free of charge for your edification, entertainment, and laugh-out-loud pleasure. There is music, there are commercials, there are cartoons, there are skits, and a… Continue

Added by Matt Urdan on March 21, 2008 at 6:23pm — 1 Comment

Tricks for Hiring to Avoid Firing: Sound advice and real life solutions

Looking for a reliable general manager is an overwhelming task. And if you can't recruit from within, I have some tricks for finding someone who fits.

First, you have to find candidates. You can try management recruiters, newspaper ads and so forth. But you don't usually have the luxury of a lot of lead time, which suits these two options the best. To get candidates in a more timely manner, try the Internet. Post your position on places such as Monster, Career Builder and Craig's… Continue

Added by Tony Lyons on March 21, 2008 at 6:05pm — 2 Comments

Wine, Cheese & Culinary Debauchery

They say that cheesemaking goes back as long ago as 9000 BC, when animals were first domesticated for their milk. Milk is turned into cheese by an enzyme known as rennet, originally found in the lining of calves’ stomachs. Seems some ancient dude decided to carry his milk in such a skin, checked it out a little later and I’ll-be-a-bull-bucker, he “discovered” cheese.

Like cheese, wine is the product of a natural fermentation, and at which point in history the first wine and cheese… Continue

Added by Randy Caparoso on March 21, 2008 at 4:15pm — 2 Comments