Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Employees

honest staff

Creating a Culture of Honesty in Foodservice

July 10, 2022 No Comments

The hardworking and committed staff you want are looking for a positive, honest and respectful workplace. Creating and maintaining that is a powerful way to attract and keep good people. It also flows through to the quality of service and care of customers. The elements of a positive culture include: A Code of Conduct – in writing and publicly available. Short points about your commitment to honesty and hard work, plus care and respect for

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Restaurant Systems

Hospo Reset’s Product of the Week

July 6, 2022 No Comments

Every week in the Hospo Reset Newsletter, we share a product or service that’s caught our eye – for kitchen & beverage management, staffing, facilities management, marketing and overall productivity. This is not an endorsement, please do your own assessment of suitability for your business. Here’s the list so far, and it’s updated every month. Food, Menus and Kitchen Management Restoke manages back of house functions like recipes, menus, ordering, work lists, staff training, plus

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Building Teamwork

Podcast 17: Building Teamwork in Restaurants and Cafes

May 22, 2022 No Comments

Wherever there are people working together, there will be team dynamics, negotiation and the sharing of tasks and responsibilities. A good leader guides this process to get the best from their people – and chef Glenn Flood has many years of experience making this work. It was great to talk with him about Building Teamwork in Restaurants and Cafes – in the kitchen and front of house, and improving relations between the two sections. In

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Disney & Hospitality

Podcast 11: What Can Disney Teach Us About Hospitality Systems & Service?

February 27, 2022 No Comments

If you haven’t experienced a Disney theme park or travel adventure, you have heard about the amazing service and carefully designed experiences they produce. How can hospitality operators of any size learn from the Disney approach to customer service, and create some of that magic in their own venue? In this podcast, I’m talking with Michelle Pascoe, a Customer & Team Retention Specialist in the hospitality industry. Her dynamic business covers areas from leadership &

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Kitchen Management

Successful Kitchen Management for Non-Chefs and Restaurant Owners

November 15, 2021 No Comments

If you depend on the profits of a food operation, you need to understand kitchen management, and how to move in that space with confidence. Here’s a quick guide to how a non-chef can become much more skilled in managing ‘secret kitchen business’ – it can be satisfying and very profitable to understand the workings of production, staffing and cost control. Create Effective and Easy-to-Use Kitchen Management Systems Introduce a Digital Ordering System. No more

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Recruit the Best Staff

How Large Restaurants, Hotels and Clubs Can Recruit the Best Staff

November 9, 2021 No Comments

Large hospitality groups have big advantages when it comes to purchasing food and beverages. They also have extra strength in negotiation with service suppliers and landlords. So why do so many of these operators ‘think small’ when it comes to recruitment, pay and conditions? It just doesn’t work in the race for talent… It’s time to flex your advantages when it comes to recruitment and retention – you can offer ‘the best job in town’

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Restaurant Training Quiz

How to Use a Trivia Quiz for Restaurant & Pub Training, or to Keep Customers Connected

August 17, 2021 No Comments

A good Trivia Quiz is a great way to lift the spirits and stretch the brain, and in the time of Covid lockdowns, it’s also an excellent way to stay connected with customers, staff and friends. Staff Training: I’ve had a lot of success with quizzes lately, using a Trivia Quiz to train staff in a new business product – an otherwise very dry subject. Technical details had to be learned, and there’s a limit

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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

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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

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Hospitality Student

How to become ‘Employer of Choice’ for local Hospitality Teachers (and help solve your staff shortage)

April 6, 2021 No Comments

Short of young staff? Hospitality is a very popular subject in secondary schools, and there are many students looking for opportunities. Here’s how to make the right connections: Get to know the careers counsellor and the hospitality teachers. the counsellor works with every school student on their career and training plans and is keen to meet local business operators who have genuine opportunities. Once they know you are honest and fair, they can often give

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