Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Covid-19 and Recession

Online Events for Restaurants

Talking Reset & Refocus with Dani Valent on the Dirty Linen Podcast

July 1, 2020 No Comments

You can also listen to the podcast here. From Dani’s description: ‘Ken Burgin is a hospitality consultant who reckons he’s stopped hundreds of hospo wannabes from sacrificing their own homes and futures for a starry-eyed food dream. He’s a realist and a numbers guy who loves helping people see the beauty – and the necessity – of a nice set of numbers. He sees the pandemic as an opportunity to reset and refocus…’ See more

Read More »

Nat shares his dislike of crap food, and millions agree…

May 18, 2020 No Comments

What is it about Nat the muso cook that people love? [warning: lots of swearing]. He’s raw and real (his dad was a chef), he hates fake food, and he’s getting media attention. What can we translate from this into restaurant & cafe land? Enthusiasm ✅, energy ✅, love of real food ✅, potty mouth 🤔. … I asked a bunch of restaurant mates if Nat actually helps the industry: Absolutely yes I love him.

Read More »

Suddenly, Everything Needs to be Negotiated!

May 9, 2020 No Comments

Restaurant & cafe operatiors now have to do a lot more negotiation, and it’s not just the small stuff. Three months ago you were arguing over a 20c increase in chicken prices, or the chef wanting a $30 wage rise. Now you’re dealing with a stubborn landlord, an unknown bank manager, impatient suppliers and a cranky partner. Most of what you did before was haggling, now it’s time to work like a grown-up! Negotiating with

Read More »

How Restaurant & Cafe Owners Can Learn from Sport Teams and Violin Players

April 27, 2020 No Comments

What can sporting clubs and a classical violinist teach us about staying in touch with our customers? And not just ‘don’t forget me’ messages, but spending this time of enforced separation to build their love, enthusiasm and loyalty? Two widely contrasting social media posts landed in my feed recently – one from ‘sports fan engagement specialist’ Blair Hughes, and the other from young violinist rock star Ray Chen. Blair is a lifelong sports nut, and

Read More »
Online Events for Restaurants

Talking about Covid and Hospitality on the Hospitality Mavericks podcast – May 2020

April 26, 2020 No Comments

I enjoyed talking with Hospitality Maverick Michael Tingsager from Brighton in the UK, about Covid and Hospitality, and what we think is coming in the cafe, restaurant and foodservice industry ‘post Covid’. There’s much speculation, as things change on a weekly basis, but it’s useful to think about the fundamentals of business that don’t change, and how they will be relevant in a new business environment with less money and more restrictions. I hope you

Read More »

My interview on hospitality and the Coronavirus crisis – Sky News Australia, March 21, 2020

March 21, 2020 No Comments

I had a short interview on Sky News today about the state of the hospitality industry. I was given four questions to consider, and prepared some bullet point reminders. In the event, only the first three were asked… and I was relaxed! 1. You’ve been in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years. What we’re seeing right now is unprecedented – what should restaurant & cafes owners be doing? Communicate like never before with

Read More »

How Hospitality & Restaurant Trainers can Work Remotely: a Survival Guide…

March 15, 2020 No Comments

Hospitality training has usually been done in person – we hospo people like to ‘stand up and do it’. With the restrictions and closing of many restaurants and cafes, there’s an urgent need to present training in new ways. We need very different tools and completely new methods – traditional workbooks with pen & paper don’t translate very well. Here’s a bunch of tools, resources and ideas to use and experiment with… Understand the world

Read More »

Planning for a 50% loss of restaurant sales – what will you do?

March 7, 2020 No Comments

We must plan for the worst. Now’s the time to be like swans – floating calmly on the surface, and paddling very quickly under the water. This is real folks – take a lesson from what Chinese restaurants have gone through in the last 3 months, with customers almost completely disappearing. What if half your business disappeared in two weeks? You need to plan for a specific scenario. This is not like ‘sales are down

Read More »

How to ask your Member of Parliament for financial help or to change a policy…

January 7, 2020 No Comments

Tourism and hospitality are reeling from fires, drought and the COVID-19 crisis – the effects on small business are catastrophic. That means a lot less employment, no-one investing in new equipment, and a lot less money in the economy. A recession is already here. It’s time for much more government financial support for small business operators in Australia – on the scale of what was done after the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) in 2007-9. Through

Read More »

Recent Highlights: