Perfectionism Is A Hustle

“Perfectionism is a hustle.”  –Brené Brown

I’ve spent many a night at the office–hours after everyone else has driven home and eaten dinner–to get ahead on my job. I’ve worked through hunger pains, dehydration, and exhaustion all in hopes of delivering a great product, getting ahead of deadlines, and/or outperforming others.

When I first showed signs of overworking and holding myself up to impossible standards, people asked me what was going on. Perfectionism, I’d say with an air of accomplishment. It’s perfectionism that drives me to push myself so hard.

I’ve spent years conning myself into believing that perfectionism is what made me good at my job. But the truth is, perfectionism has done me more harm than good.

Perfectionism may masquerade as a tool for success in the workplace, but it undermines creativity, true productivity, and happiness. Underneath the banner of “Be Perfect” is a bonfire of ego and self-loathing.  We say we want to be perfect for ourselves and others, while fanning the flames of self-doubt and low self-esteem.

Perfection is an insidious voice that tells me that if I don’t overwork myself, I won’t get what I want. It whispers to me that I’m the only one who cares about a particular project. It urges me to stay later and work harder because if I don’t do it myself, I will let everyone down. What’s worse, perfectionism has made me turn on myself and others.

Even though many of us in business use perfectionism as a badge of honor, it’s not the key to achieving success. Perfectionism keeps us from living a healthy and authentic life. Trying to achieve the unattainable goal of perfection is linked to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis. Perfectionism fosters a culture of fear within us and our workplace. Being the Best makes us afraid to fail, to make mistakes, or even be criticized.

Whenever I feel a bout of perfectionism coming on, I enforce mandatory self-care moments. I set an alarm to make sure I don’t stay past my out time at the office. I take walks around the block to break up the monotony of the project I’m working on. I put some music on. I read an inspiring article. Or, when things get really bad, I take an emergency chocolate break.

Despite all the mind chatter telling me the opposite, I have to remind myself over and over again that I am the most productive when I’m having fun and taking care of myself.  I don’t need to get everything done right now. There will be more time tomorrow. In the world of tech, the mantra is done is better than perfect. So why not treat myself to a productive next day, after I’ve had a great night of sleep and dinner with my husband?

It’s in the stillness of self-care–deep breaths, meditation, or enjoying a bit of delicious food–that I am reminded that overworking doesn’t earn me a spot at the table. I’m over the perfectionism con. In truth, we are all invited to be part of building something special. But we can’t show up if we aren’t taking care of ourselves. I’d rather be happy as I do great things.

How do you fight off the perfectionist mindset?

6 Goals for a New Restaurant Consultant

Are you thinking about starting your own restaurant consulting business?

If the answer is yes, I’d wager that the food business has become part of your DNA. Hospitality runs through your veins. Maybe you’ve worked in restaurants most of your life or have run some aspect of the food business that’s given you the confidence and experience you need to share what you’ve learned so far. Perhaps you’ve been a leader in service, are an experienced chef who is obsessed over food preparation and  streamlined operations. Maybe you’re a whiz at hiring and training great teams.  Or maybe you watch the Food Network like it’s your job.

Regardless of who you are, the idea of consulting and being your own boss has gotten under your skin. This is probably the time to ask yourself what about consulting appeals to you.

Maybe consulting seems like the best way for you to showcase your talents. Maybe you’re tired of working long hours for people with big personalities and big egos who don’t recognize your work. You might even think that having a consulting business will be less stressful or give you more flexibility in your life.

I wish I could tell you that by starting your own business you’d be free of all the hard stuff like big personalities or long hours. But I can’t. You might not get free of any of the tough stuff. 

But yes, you will have choices you wouldn’t typically have if you were an hourly employee. You will also have bigger challenges you wouldn’t usually face if you were a server or manager of a restaurant chain–like finding clients so you can earn a paycheck.

If money is tight and you’re not sure if you can afford not getting paid for a while, you might want to consider easing into consulting on a part time basis.

“If you’re not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business.”      –Ray Kroc, McDonald’s Founder

I developed my career as a restaurant consultant by doing a lot of research, planning and then eventually, jumping in head first and figuring out the little details along the way.  

I had to open my mouth and tell somebody what I was planning on doing. I had to act as if I was a restaurant consultant. And, lucky for me, the first professional contact I told about my future restaurant consulting business hired me on the spot.

That’s when I had to just JUMP.

After that first job, I refined my vision. Experience helped me see where I needed to trim some old ideas, borrow heavily from other restaurant leaders, and do a few things in my own way.

If you’re wondering where to start as a restaurant consultant, here are 6 goals to get you on your way to starting your own consulting business.

6 Goals to Getting Going as a Restaurant Consultant:

  1. Define what kind of consultant you are.

  2. Decide what kind of service you’re offering.

  3. Figure out how much your services cost. Decide how to create value for your clients.

  4. Define who your audience is.

  5. Set up a website. A basic website is better than no website. 

  6. Develop an offer. Figure out how you can over-deliver.

 

Battle Axes and Bitches

Perhaps the rule book hasn’t been written yet, but I have yet to find the definitive guide to overcoming the unique set of challenges of being a woman, a leader, and a restaurant professional.

But it’s a thing. Being a woman and a boss is tough. I think not enough restaurant people are talking about it.

Since the beginning of restaurants, men have dominated the landscape. Even women as a dining public were not allowed to dine out until the 1900’s. Women diners were not even allowed in the same dining rooms with men until the mid 1920’s.

Becoming a female leader in restaurants has been even more difficult. “Respectable women” weren’t even allowed to work in restaurants (as waitresses and hosts) until the 1940’s. Rare were the women running kitchens, overseeing business, and owning the establishment.

Married women may have been allowed a hand in running restaurants in the early days of America, but owning a restaurant outright was nearly impossible.

Restaurant ownership continued to be a challenge for women well in to the 1970’s.  Banks would refuse women credit, restaurant supply companies would overcharge for supplies, vendors would charge high deposits and communities would shame women for being indecent.

Considering history, I shouldn’t be so surprised by the challenges I’ve experienced working in restaurants as a female.  The mere idea of women in charge isn’t even something that’s been in existence for 80 years.

If you are the boss and you happen to be female, you are more prone to being labelled a bitch or a battle axe. Bitch is a clever little word that’s meant to demean and shame. Battle Axe the kind of description that’s meant to hurt and give tough women who stand up for something, something to be ashamed of.

In my experience, I have seen men do the same things I have done and instead of being shamed for it, they’ve been given raises, promotions, and earned the moniker of being idiosyncratic.

GET JUDGED. FIGHT FOR RESPECT.

One of the key differences between men and women in leadership is that men are often given respect right away and over time earn judgement. Women in charge, however, get judgement up front and have to fight hard to earn respect.

FEMALE ROLE MODELS ARE HARD TO FIND

When I started out working in restaurants I was a teenager. I was naive, never-been-kissed, and eager to please. So when I stepped into the kitchen of East End Seafood as a “soda girl” I was uncertain where my place was. The males cooked and the women stacked high towers of fried food, made drinks with raspberry syrup and limes, microwaved cups of chowder and rang up customers at the push-button cash register.

80’s rock played on the radio and cooks talked about hooking up with girls and getting wasted. They also spent a lot of time shaming all the girls working in the kitchen, too, about how we looked, how sexually naive we were, and what we could expect to have be done to us.

Once when I was collecting limes in the walk in, one of the cooks stepped into the cold storage closet and rubbed himself against me and whispered something into my ear.

I was scared, confused, and oddly aroused. I laughed, because I didn’t know what else to do. I stood by the box of limes and waited for him to leave. When I went back to making Lime Rickies, I wrote the whole thing off as flirting–even though every word out of his mouth after that was mean and degrading.

At the time, I didn’t think I could go to the people in charge with what happened. The owners were a husband wife team. Tasos called the young women who worked for him chicks (even though I asked to be called a young woman). He kept his chain-smoking wife silent whenever it came time to make decisions.  

Later, after graduating from college, I got a job as a bartender in a live music club outside of Boston, Massachusetts. 

I was one of the first women to work behind the bar. I learned from my colleagues that the nights I worked behind the bar with them were more lucrative –especially when I wore tight shirts. When I showed up to work in a baggy black tee shirt and jeans one night I got an earful from my co-worker.  “You really gotta think about how you dress,” he said. No one seemed to care that his jeans were ripped and his tee shirt hung over his belly like a tent.

I moved to Los Angeles in the late 90’s. After graduating from film school, I eventually became a server in a fine-dining restaurant called Opaline, a ground-breaking restaurant of the early 2000’s. I wasn’t confident in my role as a server. The menu had dishes with elegant names and ingredients I had never seen or heard of before. There was lamb’s tongue, beef cheeks, and a French cassoulet.

It was there at this ground breaking restaurant, that I was first introduced to a female chef who was helping out in the kitchen that night. Her name was Suzanne Goin. She was a stoic, powerful force at the stove. She looked like a seasoned ballerina, with long, lithe limbs. Her movements were precise and elegant.

I was a nervous wreck when I stepped in to the kitchen and approached Suzanne for the first time. She was the first female chef I had ever met, let alone see in action, and I had been working in restaurants for a decade.

I blurted out some meandering story about vegetarians and food allergies and finicky diners when Suzanne put down her sauté pan and stared at me with an intensity I will never forget.

“I don’t care about the story,” she said. “Just tell me what they want.”

Her words hit me in the gut. Her steady gaze made me forget how to speak English.

The strength she had, her drive to get shit done–regardless of how I felt about it–scared the breath out of me. It took me a moment to gather myself and recollect my use of the English language.

“Can you m-m-make the pasta without the meat?”

“OK,” she said. She snapped her head back to the contents of her pan and put it back onto the flame.  I stumbled out of the kitchen, stunned.

She scared me.

Months later, I was able to extract from the interaction a precious jewel of experience.  Suzanne showed me that to get things done sometimes, you have to be direct. She taught me the importance of communicating quickly and with confidence–especially around a hot stove.

She didn’t resort to talking down to me, or to shame me. She asked me to make myself clear. 

My interaction with Suzanne shone a light on my own embedded sexism I had been programmed with my whole life. Her power frightened me. I judged her because she didn’t call me sweetie or say something nice when I came into the kitchen. She was a boss at the stove, and she didn’t give a shit if I liked her or not. She was there to get the job done, and she wanted it done well.

I began to recognize my need to dance around a thing in order to avoid being direct. I wanted to make sure everyone liked me. But Suzanne taught me that if you want to get things done in a kitchen or a busy dining room, there might not be time to be nice. Just say the thing.

Suzanne was the kind of woman I wanted to be.

Continue reading “Battle Axes and Bitches”

Foodwoolf Returns After Three Years

Hi friends! It’s been a while.  Since my last post three years ago, a lot has changed.

The social media landscape has completely transformed the way we communicate. In just three years, Instagram has created a visual equivalent to visual blogging. It’s given us a constant stream of food-porn gratification and visual stories of our favorite food brands. This is the time of websites, lifestyle brands, podcasts, and online personalities.

It’s good to be back to the website I started in 2007. Ten years ago, I was an early adopter who  joined the “blogosphere” after the first wave of food blogging started to gain momentum. I wrote recipes, food essays, restaurant reviews, and eventually began writing a series called Service 101. These pieces were a place where I could share my insights and experiences as a service leader and consultant working in some of Los Angeles’ top restaurants.

Three years ago I began to get the inkling that if Foodwoolf was to continue, something needed to change. I was working on a book about restaurant consulting, when I realized that the most important shift I was seeing in the food industry was in fast casual restaurants. Wanting to expand my experience beyond fine dining and coffee shops, I decided to dedicate my next few years to the study of the industry from the inside out.

I put this website on the back burner and my consulting practice on hold.

I joined a healthy fast food concept called Sweetgreen. I became an operator of the company’s first west coast store and dedicated myself to learning about the healthy fast food industry from the inside out.

I experimented with leadership approaches. I had beautiful triumphs and some heart-breaking failures. I did intensive training in D.C., NYC, and Maryland. I learned about sourcing great ingredients.  I met world class leaders. I developed great people and trained future leaders. I saw the power of vision and core values in action. I chopped more kale than you could imagine. I worked side by side with leaders who inspired me. Together we struggled, failed, pushed, pulled, kicked ass, and pushed ourselves to be better than the day before. I lifted cases of romaine like a boss, counted lemons and weighed every vegetable in the store at four am on inventory days, and lead a team of enthusiastic team members to market success and personal development.

Several years later, I was approached to return to my consulting work to help a healthy food chain in Florida. I developed recipes, people, and operational plans that helped the restaurant grow and thrive.

I returned to LA to help open a world-class Northern Italian restaurant.  Together with the founders and, in an unexpected turn of fate, my husband, I helped the team re-define the traditional restaurant paradigms and build something truly groundbreaking.

In these three years, I’ve seen a lot of pretty remarkable things.  I’ve grown professionally, learned new skills, and experienced a whole new level of  personal development. 

I’ve seen how love, vulnerability, and patience make up the most important muscle I’ve got: faith.

I’ve learned a lot more while I’ve been away.  I’m so excited to share some of the lessons I’ve learned.

In addition to new content, I look forward to giving Foodwoolf a tune up. I’m eager to make this site a resource for people who love restaurants, who work in a food business, for people who are looking to open their own restaurant/cafe, or are interested in becoming a consultant.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I’ve missed you.

Food Woolf Season Finale, 2014

Ever notice that the best shows on TV communicate a particular theme each season?

Shows like Homeland, the Killing, Mad Men, and other past greats like The Wire or The Sopranos tell complicated stories with dramatic themes like: you can never go home, you can’t deny your true nature, or the past will always catch up with you. 

If the writers have done their job well, the theme of the show is reflected in the main and secondary storylines all the way through until the televised narrative comes to a dramatic end.

I’d say that if my life was a series, this season has been full of wonderful narrative twists and turns—some expected and others completely unanticipated.  The season in my life and on Foodwoolf.com has been about big changes that began with small actions and events.

By aligning my personal and professional goals with my internal compass I saw how the incremental turns could lead to entirely new vistas.

The theme of 2014: Actively live in the paradoxes.

  • Give in order to get

  • Get comfortable being uncomfortable

  • Go slow to move faster

  • Get small to go big

Whenever I made leaning into a paradox a priority throughout my days in 2014 I saw extraordinary things happen. When I actively chose to do the opposite of easy—picking up the phone when I wanted to not call back, sending a generous email to a stranger rather than ignoring their request—I found success, generosity, abundance, and work that I have always wanted. Continue reading “Food Woolf Season Finale, 2014”

A Remembrance of Tomato Chutney

The Chutney Maker. Oil pastel by Brooke Burton
The Chutney Maker. Oil pastel by Brooke Burton

“If we don’t cook all of this down soon, it will go bad,” my mother says.

She points to the case of juicy summer tomatoes sweating in the heat on the kitchen counter. She drops a sack of onions on a thick wood cutting board. My mother pulls a chair up to the counter and hands me a heavy cleaver. I am to be my mother’s summer prep cook. I am nine.

My uniform for work is simple. I’m dressed in a one-piece bathing suit and wear swimming goggles pulled so tight over my face, the skin underneath puckers from the suction.

I am not skilled with a knife, but my will push my small hands to go faster. Beads of humidity, tears, and sweat pool at the bottom of my mask as I struggle to chop white rings of pungent onions into tiny slivers. We sing our favorite songs from Godspell.

I watch my mother chop onions into tall mounds. Her face is wet with tears and her long, wavy hair drips with sweat. I marvel at her strength. I feel the smallness of my hands on the big knife.

When we are done chopping, my mother stirs the piles of our hard work into a pot. She adds the liquid guts of the tomatoes, bags of brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, crushed cardamom, mustard seeds, and freshly chopped coriander.

The pot on the electric stove pushes rings of heat and spice into the air that are so heavy, my heart bangs against my chest like a bird trying to escape its cage.

We stand together, though, stirring our precious chutney with a long wooden spoon. The chutney is not yet chutney. It still has hours to go until it becomes the tawny stuff we heap on chicken. Fresh from the pot the reddish mash tastes of bright summer, the spice of fall, and something green and unfamiliar. 

When the kitchen gets too hot, we charge outside for mouthfuls of fresh air.  Exhausted, I crawl to the living room and fall asleep. Down low on the green shag rug, I dream of tomato chutney and the sweet juice soaking through light clouds of basmati rice.

*****

My mother recommends following the Tomato Chutney recipe from Recipes: The Cooking From India for this dish. This British cookbook was first published in 1969 and is full of easy to follow and delicious recipes and can be found used on many websites for under $5.

Service 101: Selling Happy

I am a consultant to restaurants and businesses who want to have a strong service program. I write training manuals, I build operational systems that support strong performance, hire and train great teams, and coach people on how to engage guests (and increase sales).

But most importantly, I’m in the business of teaching people the how and why of selling happy.

Plenty of restaurants have figured out the process of making great tasting cakes, a sandwich, latte, or fried egg. But what many restaurant owners forget to spend time on is how they deliver their products to their guests.

Here’s the thing, businesses that thrive in today’s connection economy need to do more than just deliver high-quality products that people need or want.  Successful businesses with a dedicated fan base are ones that go out of their way to delight their customers. Continue reading “Service 101: Selling Happy”

Service 101: The Problem with Folklore

Back in high school I became fascinated with folklore. I marveled at the hand-me-down stories and morality tales that were whispered between teenagers. There were many versions of the same tale. There was the one about the couple at make-out point who find a hook on the side of their car. The tarantula stowed away in a crate of bananas. The sad end of a child star, as a result of a deadly mixture of pop rocks and Coca Cola. Though the details of each story may have been interchangeable—they were murdered! They escaped! They ate the spider! The spider laid thousands of eggs!—the story left the audience feeling in a similar way. Uncomfortable.

Folklore may be a good way to deliver a moral idea, but it is an incredibly ineffective way to share an organization’s plan for service.

Continue reading “Service 101: The Problem with Folklore”

Iced

I follow a twenty-something woman with a messy ponytail and rock tee-shirt into the air-conditioned coffee shop.

A tall Latino man in a Coffee Bean baseball cap waits for her behind the register.

“Good morning,” he says with a smile. “How may I help you?”

Her face is expressionless as she keeps her eyes down. She scans the multitude of apps on the screen of her sherbet colored iPhone.

“Iced blended,” she says. A double-click with her agile thumb launches an app.

“What size would you like,” he asks.

“Regular,” she says, annoyed. Her mouth is angry. “Put some whipped cream on top.”

The tall register man leans closer. What did she say? Continue reading “Iced”

Service 101: 10 Things Restaurants Can Do to Improve Service

Restaurants are built on two major principles: serve great food and give great service. Problem is, many restaurant owners fail to take the time to chart out what specifically they want their service to look and feel like or invest the funds to create a solid service program.

When things start to go off track, sales slump, and Yelp reviews get increasingly worse, that’s often when people at the top begin to wonder what they need to do. When things are going wrong with a business, many hope they can find a quick fix to a bigger operational problem.

It doesn’t matter if you are about to open a restaurant or have been up and running for years, asking for help from a hospitality consultant like can definitely speed up the process and make a positive impact on your bottom line (just ask my clients!). But beyond a shot in the arm from an inspiring workshop or coaching session, restaurant owners and managers need to take a long-term commitment to working hard on daily maintenance of hospitality principles with their staff. Continue reading “Service 101: 10 Things Restaurants Can Do to Improve Service”

Soft Boiled Eggs, a Remembrance

food memory

It is morning in Los Angeles. Not yet 9 am, and I have claimed a corner high-top table at Republique, my new favorite restaurant by my friend, Walter Manske. I turn on the computer and prepare myself for a morning of writing. I have notes, a pot of coffee, and soon, the breakfast I ordered.

Moments later, a runner places a wood board before me. On it is a freshly baked baguette with a trio of white porcelain dishes: one holds soft butter; a pot of handmade strawberry jam; and another, two soft-boiled eggs.

The yolks are orange as sunset and hide behind translucent whites cooked so slowly they appear to be made of custard. I pull a coin-sized bite from the baguette. I marvel as the crust explodes into tawny shards.

I dip the soft interior of the bread into the egg yolk and take a bite. Suddenly, sensory memories flood my consciousness. I am transported to an early morning in Angers, France several decades ago. Continue reading “Soft Boiled Eggs, a Remembrance”

Service 101: Being the Unseen

Big Traveling Potluck dining table

It’s dinner hour at The Big Traveling Potluck. I head straight for the kitchen.  Three of the ladies behind The Potluck—Erika, Pam, and Sharon—garnish the succulent smoked lamb and pull the vegetable skewers out of the oven.

Tina, a strong Finnish woman and host of the night’s events, hands me two spoons and a silver tray piled high with lamb and lollipops of vegetables.  “Let’s go,” she says. 

It was almost a year ago when I first volunteered my hospitality services to The Big Potluck founders, Maggy, Erika, and Pam. I wanted to apply my hospitality skills and restaurant experience so I could help to relieve them of the organizational pressures of the event and they could be free to do what they do best. Continue reading “Service 101: Being the Unseen”

Service 101: How Do I Become a Restaurant Consultant?

Ever since I wrote the essay “How I got into Restaurant Consulting,” I’ve gotten lots of emails from men and women who are considering restaurant consulting as a potential career. Though the people vary in age and approach, they all ask the same big question: What do I need to know in order to become a successful restaurant consultant?

I wish I had a simple one-line answer, but I don’t. There are no easy answers or shortcuts for building a meaningful career as a freelancer.

how do I become a restaurant consultant

Continue reading “Service 101: How Do I Become a Restaurant Consultant?”

Mint Matcha Latte

Mint matcha latteLife as a restaurant consultant requires a deep well of faith along with a big dose of hustle. I’m always been prepared for hard work and have to accept the natural periods of rest that come between jobs.

Rather than fret and worry about downtime, I remind myself that taking time to recuperate and to recharge my batteries is a job requirement. I’m so wired for GO! I can sometimes forget the importance of a nap, the inspiration that can come from a dinner at a new restaurant or a book that’s read cover to cover, or even a movie. Because, as a friend likes to remind me, “you can’t transmit what you haven’t got.”

So whenever I have time between consulting jobs, I take what’s given to me as an opportunity to get inspired. This week I’ve been spending more time in my kitchen, taken a fair amount of cat naps, and had the pleasure of reading two great books (Brene Brown’s Daring GreatlyIt’s a must if you want to live a wholehearted life—and Don Frick’s biography of Robert Greenleaf, the man who birthed the idea of servant leadership).

One beverage that’s fired up my culinary creativity is a mint matcha latte. I’ve spent the past two weeks trying to perfect a latte that’s balanced with the grassy flavors of green tea, herbaceous mint, and the sweetness of whole milk. Continue reading “Mint Matcha Latte”

Service 101: The Rise of the Service Jedi

Hospitality ninja
Service Jedi Illustration by Brooke Burton

Lots of people pursue careers in restaurants, hotels, medicine, and politics. Most in these service industries see their work as great a way to make a living. But rare are the individuals who perceive their job—as a server, hotel receptionist, technician, doctor, chef, bell hop, county worker, or clerk—as a calling.

In a microcosm of service workers, there is a faction of workers who go out of their way to give generously of themselves to others as a way to make the world a better place—one simple act at a time. These unique folk practice a rare art form of hospitality when they employ the humble ideals of compassion, empathy, and humility in the workplace.

I like to call this radical group, the Service Jedi.

Like the peace-making warriors of the Star Wars cannon, The Service Jedi are a band of unique individuals who study, serve, and use an unseen force of goodness to help those in need. They approach service as a calling, not just a career.  The Service Jedi are modest heroes whose metier is to uplift others, rather than themselves.

The Service Jedi are outliers in the for-profit world of Big Businesses. They are a scarce and powerful folk who practice a rare art form of service that is admired by many, but accomplished by few. The Service Jedi have the power to transform people and experiences.

The Service Jedi may begin their journey alone, but naturally seek out others like themselves for alliances and understanding. Within the ranks of The Service Jedi, all are students. Few are masters.  Despite galactic differences between industries, Service Jedi can identify each other’s talents and appreciate their similarities. Through connection, The Service Jedi increase their power as they step away from isolation and share their hard-earned knowledge and emotional intelligence. Continue reading “Service 101: The Rise of the Service Jedi”

Restaurant Unstoppable

valentines day restaurant tableFinding good resources for inspiration or direct support within the food and beverage industry can be difficult. There are websites and food publications like Saveur, Lucky Peach, and Bon Appetit that may have helpful ideas you can use. Restaurant books, chef memoirs, and exposés on the service industry can give perspective and ideas. Reality television shows like Restaurant Impossible, Top Chef, and Kitchen Nightmares can entertain and teach by example.

But it is face-to-face conversations with restaurant professionals that many in the food and beverage business lack the most. Thanks to the restaurant industry’s long hours, pace of business, and fierce competition restaurant leaders can easily get isolated from each other. Many restaurant pros rarely see fellow comrades, unless they run into each other at the same late night noodle shop or bar. And even then, we are frequently too exhausted to share quality resources or ideas.

Restaurant Unstoppable: The Pod Cast

Last week I was approached by Eric Cacciatore, creator of Restaurant Unstoppable, to be a guest on his weekly podcast. Restaurant Unstoppable is a weekly radio show that features industry professionals’ insights and tips on what it takes to succeed in the food and beverage industry.  I had to admit I hadn’t heard of Eric’s show, but I was intrigued by his enthusiasm and dedication to growing an online resource for restaurant professionals.

Restaurant Unstoppable is a place where restaurant people can share insights and ideas that can be accessed at any time of the day. Bravo! I like what Eric is trying to do, so I agreed to be interviewed. Who doesn’t want to be part of building something cool?

Eric sent me a rather detailed questionnaire before our interview. His questions about what it’s like being a hospitality consultant got me thinking about simple solutions I could share with people in the restaurant business.

Here are a few hiring tips I shared:

  • Smile when you interview applicants.  If the applicant is unable to smile, don’t hire them if they are applying for a front of the house position.
  • Have open interviews once a month, even if you don’t need people. It lets your current staff know how important doing great work is and it keeps you open to finding extraordinary people.
  • Pay great people more. When you find great people, pay them a little bit more than average if you can afford it. Even $.50 more an hour can go a long way in making a difference in the choices of barista or counter person. Paying more encourage great people not to go elsewhere.
  • Feed your team. Once you get a great team, make sure they’re fed. Offering a great staff meal can go a long way in making your food workers happy and perform well.

Continue reading “Restaurant Unstoppable”

Service 101: Shame and Self Loathing in the Restaurant Industry

Service is an honorable profession
Service is an honorable profession

We live in a time where chefs are celebrated like rock stars and restaurants make great TV.  But no matter how popular chefs have become, the people who wait tables, deliver food, and clear dishes exist outside the realm of cool. Service staff occupy a space that’s filled with shame.

Discrimination against service staff is so hardwired in individuals, even journalists are unaware of their bias. The media may do a good job of elevating the status of chefs in the eyes of the dining public but many do much to continue the stereotype of a servile service staff.

Flip through a newspaper or magazine or peruse an online media site and you will find that the largest percentage of stories about waiters focus on unfavorable service styles or controversial tipping practices. Hospitality leaders like Danny Meyer may be cited in profiles about elevated service but the media does little to raise the public opinion of servers, bussers, and runners alike. Rare are the laudatory profiles of service professionals that deliver in the dining room. It seems that in popular culture, there’s no honor in making a living as a server, busser, runner, or barista.

In my professional experience, service professionals who identify themselves as career waiters or full time bussers are regarded by friends, family, customers, and the business community with pity and dishonor. Shame motivates many full time waiters and service staff to hide details of their restaurant work from friends, family, or acquaintances. Service work is—if referred to at all—is spoken about as a way to “pay the bills” until they get “a real job”.

Continue reading “Service 101: Shame and Self Loathing in the Restaurant Industry”

The Cup of Life

cup of lifeEarly in my twenties I designed a tattoo to be placed onto the soft spot of skin near my ankle. The tattoo artist placed a thimble-sized chalice, made of curving blue lines that overflowed with abundance.  I named it “The Cup of Life”. It was to be a pictogram of who I was–a life-force so strong it bubbled over the top.

Over time, the meaning of the tattoo morphed to fit my changing personality. During my dating years, I joked with suitors that my tattoo was proof that I was the Grail; a treasure worth pursuing.

During my years as a successful mixologist, the tattoo was evidence of my commitment to the fine art of creating and enjoying cocktails. Later when I began studying wine–the history, varietals, characteristics, regions, flavor profiles, and wine makers–I thought the tattoo proved my enthusiasm for wine.

Then, three years ago, I gave up drinking all together.

Once I took away the daily act of wine tasting and removed boozy cocktail making from my skill-set, my tattoo trademark seemed inaccurate. During the summer months I tucked my ankle behind my leg to hide my insignia. Who I was and what I stood for was uncertain. I was undergoing an overhaul.

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Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese

cauliflower gratinJust about everybody loves macaroni and cheese. Kids and adults. Vegetarians and meat lovers. Even gluten free folks and carb-loaders alike crave the instant comfort of the satisfying combination of cheese and pasta.

Though most people may enjoy the indulgence of a ooey-goey macaroni and cheese, not everyone seeks to become a modern day expert on the subject of marrying dairy and pasta. Few go out of their way to become fluent in the way of whey; cow, goat, and sheeps’ milk, and dried pasta.

Thanks to the journalistic skills and writing talent of Garrett McCord (VanillaGarlic.com) and Stephanie Stiavetti (TheCulinaryLife.com), the work of understanding the art and mechanics of making truly great macaroni and cheese dishes is served up for you to enjoy in their newest cookbook: Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.

Garrett and Stephanie are great food writers who elevate macaroni and cheese to a whole new level. They lavish their readers with entertaining stories and important insights on cheese and pasta. Melt, The Art of Macaroni and Cheese is a cookbook filled with well-crafted recipes that are a pleasure to cook with year-round.

Beautifully photographed and elegantly styled by the epically talented duo of Matt Armendariz, photographer, and food-stylist Adam Pearson, this book is as educational as it is visually stunning. Melt is a perfect holiday gift for the difficult to buy-for food lover: the book is filled with unexpected gems of information (like a comprehensive guide of artisanal cheeses and a primer on the fundamentals of pairing specialty cheeses with pasta), witty headnotes, and fascinating research. The book oozes with inspiring food photos and over 75 original recipes.

While some single-genre cookbooks might veer too far into the lane of kitch, Melt, The Art of Macaroni and Cheese navigates an enjoyable path for the home cook who seeks to create satisfying gourmet comfort food.

Organized in stylized chapters, Melt is an incredibly versatile cookbook that gives readers different ways to approach cheese and pasta: creamy stovetop macs, hearty casseroles, refreshing salads, and surprising sweets.

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