Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Hospo Reset Spotlight

Restaurant Sustainability

Restaurant Sustainability is About Success, Not Just Recycling.

June 8, 2022 No Comments

Sustainability is about survival and prosperity – can we put that upfront? Now more than ever, with soaring supply prices, staff shortages and crazy weather, sustainability makes sense across all business areas – it’s much more than recycled packaging and local vegetables. So let’s look at how it can make your business stronger. I rethought my approach when I hosted a panel on the topic at the National Restaurant Conference in Melbourne. Melissa Goffin from

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Reducing Food Waste

Podcast 18: Reducing Food Waste – New Strategies and Solutions

June 6, 2022 No Comments

Dianne McGrath has been doing some remarkable work on sustainability in the hospitality industry. While everyone believes in reducing food waste and improved sustainability, she has done detailed research on how the problem shows up in restaurants and foodservice, and how to make practical improvements. Ken Burgin interviewed Dianne to find out what he’s learned from her research, and how that can be used by operators and the wider food production industry – the production

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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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Kitchen Front of House

Reducing Tension Between Kitchen & Front of House

May 17, 2022 No Comments

Friction between floor staff and kitchen is wasteful and unnecessary, but it won’t go away by itself. It usually needs intervention by senior management to bring all parties to their senses – here are the key issues that need to be understood and resolved: Make sure everyone understands the word ‘teamwork’. Think in sporting terms – a successful team has agreed rules, a variety of skills, they chase a good score, they have good leaders,

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Hospitality Management

Podcast 16: Digital Innovation & Leadership in Hospitality Management

May 9, 2022 No Comments

Michael Tinsager has a unique position in hospitality – as an industry adviser and podcaster with the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast, he has access to the experience and wisdom of hundreds of operators and experts. He is based in the UK and has a great perspective on the industry there, in Europe, North America and worldwide. Ken Burgin interviewed Michael to find out what he’s learned during the pandemic about Innovation & Leadership in Hospitality Management.

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Reduce Waste

Podcast 15: 8 Ways to Reduce Waste and Inefficiency in Restaurants and Foodservice

April 20, 2022 No Comments

In this podcast, Ken Burgin looks at Toyota’s classification of 8 different types of waste, and how you can use this in hospitality to cut costs, increase efficiency and improve the bottom line. 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 produce things too! This classification of 8 Types of Waste is based

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social media marketing

Podcast 14: Smarter Marketing for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Celebrations

April 11, 2022 No Comments

In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks with Mark Khoder from YourSocialChef. He develops and manages social media and marketing campaigns for a wide variety of cafes, restaurants and food brands. As you will hear in the discussion, he is 100% focused on getting the best return on investment, to help your brand and income grow. There’s no shortage of social media options, and it’s easy to be excited by the latest ‘shiny object’ – but

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chef training

Podcast 13: Teaching Chefs About Kitchen Management and Menu Design

March 28, 2022 No Comments

We expect a lot from chefs – not only to manage production and service, but keep to a budget, organise a team of people and handle safety issues, changing food trends, menu design & engineering, plus social media and a bit of marketing. It’s a big ask, especially when they may not have had training beyond hands-on experience with another chef. In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks with Liz Perkins, a chef, former hospitality business

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How to Sell a Cafe

Podcast 12: Buying and Selling Cafes and Restaurants

March 14, 2022 No Comments

In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks with Paul Leach from GSE Business Consultants about Buying and Selling Cafes and Restaurants. Paul is an experienced business consultant and broker: he originally trained as a chef and has many years of experience as a cafe and bakery owner. There are some great hospitality businesses for sale, and many that will be disappointing – it’s essential to understand the factors that make the difference between a good purchase

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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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