Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Cost Control

Why The E-Myth is Still So Relevant for Cafe & Restaurant Owners

It was published 24 years ago in 1986, and reverberated like a thunderclap in the world of business. You’ve heard that saying ‘work on your business, not in your business‘ so many times you could scream. That’s from the The E-Myth!, and author Michael Gerber’s message is still electrifying, even in a world run by digital systems… and facing virus restrictions and dislocation. Years ago I ran one-day management events for restaurant owners and would

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Online Events for Restaurants

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

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

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

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

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Petty Theft – Where Do You Draw the Line With These ‘Grey Areas’?

Ever seen staff help themselves to food, drink or even cash, and they seem to think it’s OK? You call it shrinkage, waste, ‘unders’, discrepancies or theft. What do they call it? It’s the grey areas that cause problems: drinks or food for friends and family, sloppy work that results in waste, or taking home left-overs. Grey has to become black or white. Does the culture you’ve created reward honesty, or overlook those who break

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McDonalds is retraining our customers, and it’s a good thing…

Here’s the revamped McDonalds in Sydney’s inner suburb of Kingsford. 24 (twenty four) kiosks have replaced the queuing area, and the pickup counter is now just a small area on the side. The McCafe remains (on the right). You can order at the counter, but there are no visible registers or signage to indicate this. Cooking is now out of sight. Trays are gone, and if you choose to dine in instead of takeaway, you

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Restaurant Roster System

How to Choose a Restaurant Roster & Staff Scheduling Systems

These systems have become indispensable if you want to control wage costs and manage labour allocation. Rostering is one part of their function, and they should also allow interpretation of Awards and pay conditions, integration with payroll systems, and collection of employee data. Plus easy connection with a bookkeeping system like MYOB or Xero, and dashboards to track results. This list is regularly updated, and descriptions are taken from their websites. Terminology varies between different

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Event Management

Event Management & Booking Systems for Restaurant and Function Venues

Most event management systems are now cloud-based, and have become an integral part of planning and organising weddings, special dinners, parties and catering. The Main Event Management Systems in Australia Priava – ‘a purpose-built enterprise venue and event management booking system in the cloud for managing all types of venue and event bookings. All the complexities involved with multi-venue availability, event logistics, catering, equipment and resource requirements, and the delivery of those services are all

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

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

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Free Recipe Software

Free Recipe Software – plus other recipe costing options

Accurate and up-to-date recipe costing is the sign of a professional chef and kitchen – your profits are built one recipe at a time. Easy-to-use recipe software and costing calculators are essential tools in a modern kitchen. I found CookKeepBook through a social media mention, and it seems to have all the functions for recipe costing software that an independent operator needs. There are other excellent high-end recipe costing apps and food cost calculators such

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7 Small Ways You Could Be Leaking Money

None of these is major, but each week they soak up cash and cut into profits. Part of the fix is showing staff that every cent counts and you do watch the cents! They can be an active part of the solution, not standing on the side watching. Every single member of your staff could point out something that’s ‘leaky’ and wasteful – do they tell you? Do you ask? Late to Arrive and Early

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