Culinary Incubator
The barriers to entry for food manufacturers make entrepreneurship difficult. Many of us have the perfect idea for a rich chocolate sauce, frozen food line or catering business. Getting your product…
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…
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.
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…
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…
Training the Next Generation
A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly “Food Consulting” Newsletter. Click here to receive the newsletter by email. Every time I run into Chris Douglas, chef/owner of Tavolo and…
How Do You Measure Success?
I started working with a new client last week who wants to re-energize his business. In our initial meeting, I asked him his goals for the strategic audit. He replied, “I want to make a profit.” I…
Farmers and Chefs: Working Together
Last week I attended a farmer to farmer conference put on by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. During the lunch break, I listened in on a conversation between two farmers discussing the…
Sales and Promotion
Every March and August, restaurants in the Boston-area offer discounted prix-fixe menus as a way to lure customers into the restaurant as part of the well-promoted restaurant week. While it doesn’t…