Food Security
During high school summer vacations, I worked in a gift catalogue warehouse. I loved climbing up the racks to pull inventory off the shelves and then packing them in boxes. The machine that filled…
Marketing Your Menu
Aside from word of mouth, a restaurant’s menu is perhaps their best marketing tool. When diners consider where to eat on any given night, they might peruse menus on the web, or in your window. It…
Allocating Expenses
Business owners need to know a few basic terms for evaluating the health of their business: Revenue (how much money you earn), Cost of Sales (cost of the product you are selling) and Net Income…
Sustainable Seafood
Barton Seaver’s new cookbook hits shelves on May 3rd. What? You’ve never heard of him? Neither had I until 3 weeks ago, when at the last minute I decided to attend a lecture on sustainable seafood…
Planning for Design
Bringing in appropriate design consultation early in the planning process of a new restaurant is an important step that will save you time and money.
Getting Started: Writing a Marketing Plan
Last month, we offered an overview of marketing plans and their value in increasing sales. This month, we offer tips to get you started.
Inventory Management
Every month chefs hunker down in the walk-in refrigerator and dry-storage room to count what’s on hand. It’s not a particularly pleasant task and, unfortunately, it’s often put off until the end of…
Announcing: The Farmer’s Kitchen
I’m thrilled to announce that my new cookbook, The Farmer’s Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Enjoying Your CSA and Farmers’ Market Foods is now available for sale.
Creating a Marketing Plan to Increase Sales
“You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” - Yogi Berra You’ve got to know where you’re going if you are going to get there. Streamlined operations…
Streamline and Standardize
A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly “Food Consulting” Newsletter. Click here to receive the newsletter by email. Next week, I will spend a day observing the operations of a…