Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Cost Control

Covid Lockdown for Restaurants

Plan B for a Covid Lockdown for Restaurants or Cafes

May 9, 2021 No Comments

As COVID controls and vaccination helps businesses return to more normal operations, government policy in Australia and New Zealand now seems to be using selective lock-downs to control spot fires and coronavirus outbreaks. Planning is essential for when there’s another Covid Lockdown for Restaurants or Cafes. Your Lockdown Plan B needs to cover three critical areas, so you can move within hours to protect your business, and alert customers, staff and suppliers. First, diversify your

Read More »
Restaurant Forecasting

Smarter Restaurant Forecasting to Boost Sales & Stop Cost Blowouts

April 11, 2021 No Comments

With smart ‘future-watching’, you can adjust staff and purchasing to reflect expected business much more accurately. Covid disruption has shaken up a lot of business patterns, but it’s still possible to make good predictions about future sales and customer numbers. Caterers work with 100% certainty for much of the time – they get low food and wage costs because they work with exact numbers, not guesswork. So how can a café, restaurant or bar also

Read More »

C.R.C. – 3 Words to Get Much Better Results

March 22, 2021 No Comments

If your staff management, menu updates, and marketing is inconsistent, these 3 words will get you back on track. They create much-needed discipline in an industry that’s often ‘hit and miss’, and they also show staff and public that your business is professional and reliable. Calendar + Reminders = Consistency. And consistency is what makes the difference between smart ideas, and the implementation of them that creates results. Consistency is what your competitors rarely achieve

Read More »

9 Ways Staff Will Take You For Granted – if you let them

March 16, 2021 No Comments

You’re a good manager – fair, not too emotional and you care about the staff. But over time they’ve taken more and more for granted – feeling entitled to extra favours, and assuming you make so much money it doesn’t matter. Why did this happen, and how can you make a change? For most people (like your staff), if you don’t give them rules and reasons why things have to be done a certain way,

Read More »
restaurant podcast

I love this business interview with Nick Kokonas of Alinea and Tock

December 7, 2020 No Comments

Make time to listen to one of the best restaurant business podcasts I’ve heard to in a long time: Patrick O’Shaughnessy interviews Nick Kokonas, founder of 3 great Chicago restaurants Alinea, Next, and The Aviary. He’s also co-founder and CEO of Tock, an innovative restaurant booking system. Alinea broke the mould with the way they pre-sold bookings to avoid no-shows and cancellations, and introduced variable pricing (just like planes and hotels). Kokonas then developed the

Read More »

How to Support Staff to Give Productive Feedback & Suggestions

November 16, 2020 No Comments

Your staff have plenty of bright ideas, but do they know the best way to present them? If you want your staff to keep taking a positive interest in your business, you may need to teach them about ‘managing upwards’. Sometimes known as ‘managing the boss’, and it’s a lot more than knowing how she likes her coffee or what beer he drinks. Many staff have bright ideas for new menus, equipment, service and efficiencies.

Read More »

Using Toyota’s 8 Waste Control Methods in Your Restaurant or Cafe

October 13, 2020 No Comments

Toyota built its world-class success by watching and controlling every step of the manufacturing process, especially waste. It’s very useful to apply the discipline of manufacturing to hospitality – we make things too! Use Toyota’s classification of 8 different types of waste, and discover new ways to cut costs and improve your bottom line. Over-Production: creating more of a product than is needed. The enthusiastic bar staff over-prepare fruit garnishes for the evening. Salad trays

Read More »
Online Events for Restaurants

Talking Food Costs & Restaurant Management – Podcast Interview

September 10, 2020 No Comments

I’m getting fairly excited by what some see as a fairly dry topic – but not for me! Great to share ideas and information about food costs, inventory, ordering, kitchen technology, kitchen teams and staff management with Venessa Barnes and Adam Moore, two chefs who really know what the industry is about. 🎙 See more podcast interviews here on the Ken Burgin website. 🤚 Check the weekly discoveries on Hospo Reset – information & inspiration

Read More »

How to Have More Life When You Own a 7 Day Business

August 3, 2020 No Comments

Have a life and a business. It works fine if you have a Monday to Friday cafe in a business area. But if you’re part of the raging weekend cafe market, Saturday and Sunday are top earners – they can’t be neglected. Maybe you can’t have office hours like your corporate friends, but there’s a lot you can do to have more time away from business and still have control. Build your Remote Control Systems:

Read More »

The 7 Day Food Cost Diet – help your cafe or restaurant to lose the fat!

June 18, 2020 No Comments

Feeling heavy, slow and financially unfit? Time for some urgent action – cut, reduce and tighten. Staff might complain and want to quit – lazy is always more comfortable. But the business will be slimmer, healthier and much more sexy after you’ve pushed through the pain barrier! Day 1 – Lighten up the Fridge and Freezer. That’s where up to 80% of product value is stored. Do you really need to hold enough for a

Read More »

Recent Highlights: