Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Hospo Reset Spotlight

Restaurant Events

25 Easy Restaurant Events to Attract More Customers

March 16, 2024 No Comments

An active calendar with a variety of restaurant events keeps staff and customers engaged and shows that your business is fresh, creative and worth another visit. Think about the customers you’d like to see more of, and those that spend well – keep them in mind as you plan ahead. Something new to talk about every month creates great word-of-mouth promotion. Seasonal Events: Phases of the moon, first day of Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter,

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Restaurant Manager

Have you chosen the wrong person to be manager?

December 12, 2023 No Comments

Henry Mintzberg, the great management writer talked about the real work of managers, and saw the following characteristics of their work: They perform a great quantity of work at an unrelenting pace – they are busy! Their work is marked by variety, brevity and fragmentation – lots of short activities. They prefer to manage issues that are current, specific and non-routine (rather than planning for the future). They prefer verbal rather than written communication –

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Restaurant FAQ

How to Write a FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions page for a Restaurant or Cafe

August 6, 2023 No Comments

The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list on a restaurant or cafe website helps the business and the customers. It adds interest to your website content, provides useful information and strengthens your marketing. It also improves the customer experience, with clear, concise answers to customers’ most common questions – it saves time and phone calls. The FAQ page establishes your authority, builds trust, and also guides staff on venue policies. You can subtly promote special services

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Restaurant Manager Training

20 Challenge Situations for Training Restaurant Managers & Head Chefs in Problem Solving

August 1, 2023 No Comments

These are designed for training restaurant managers and head chefs in problem-solving and resource allocation. They don’t have easy answers and will require trade-offs and some difficult compromises. Some of the ways to use these situations for training and coaching… Let people choose the one they want to answer and give them 5 minutes to make notes and prepare their answers. Share and compare. Cut them into strips and let people choose one randomly to

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restaurant training games

30 Quick Training Games for Restaurant & Cafe Staff

July 26, 2023 No Comments

Use these enjoyable and instructive games to engage your front-of-house and kitchen staff – they’re designed to prepare and run quickly. And a reminder of the old trainer saying: what we learn with pleasure, we never forget! Make sure to take photos and share on your social media channels. Designing short training games or ‘microlearning’, involves several principles to ensure they’re effective, engaging, and suitable for the purpose: Relevant to the work environment and reinforce

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ChatGPT and Menus

Using ChatGPT’s Code Interpreter to Improve Restaurant Menu Profits

July 23, 2023 No Comments

ChatGPT recently released a new feature called Code Interpreter, that allows you to upload a spreadsheet of data and ask for an analysis. So I asked it to ‘Give me 10 ways ChatGPT’s new Code Interpreter could analyse and improve menu profitability for a restaurant or cafe? Give answers that appeal to a restaurateur or accountant with fairly sophisticated financial understanding and good analytical skills.’ Here’s what came back: ChatGPT’s Code Interpreter can add significant

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ChatGPT and Recipes

How to Use ChatGPT for Recipe Management in a Restaurant Kitchen

June 14, 2023 No Comments

Are you keen to make more use of technology in your culinary and business operations? ChatGPT, can revolutionise the way you manage your kitchen, from organising your recipes, scaling dishes and optimising food costs, to suggesting ingredient substitutions, planning menus, and enhancing staff productivity. Also, check How to Use ChatGPT to Create Training Material for Restaurant & Cafe Employees. I asked ChatGPT how artificial intelligence, while maintaining a personal touch and creativity in your kitchen,

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ChatGPT for training

How to Use ChatGPT to Create Training Material for Restaurant & Cafe Employees

June 6, 2023 No Comments

I love using ChatGPT to develop training activities and materials for restaurant and cafe employees. I’ve used it here to brainstorm ideas for training modules for waiters, managers, cooks, head chefs, and baristas. The prompt I used is at the beginning of each section, and notice how I’ve built on one training suggestion (for tea) in the Barista section at the end, asking for the idea to be expanded. This is using the Chat in

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Employment Page

How to Create a Powerful Employment Page on your Restaurant or Café Website

January 24, 2023 No Comments

With ever-increasing staff shortages, it’s time to use your own website as part of the recruitment drive. A good employment page will attract quality applicants and ‘sell’ them on the benefits you offer. Even a small business can make a big impact, especially as many of the large operators are doing very little in this area. On the internet, every website starts as equal! The employment page should talk about what you offer and why

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Restaurant SEO

Two Essential Sales Pages on your Restaurant Website (Often Neglected)

January 4, 2023 No Comments

The ‘About Us’ and the ‘Contact Us’ pages on your website can be a great way to build interest and sales, but they need to be designed with care, imagination and plenty of information. These two pages are the doorways for curious people who want to find out more about your food, atmosphere and service. Or they want to reach you with an email, phone call or social media – sometimes immediately, or by following

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