Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Financial Management

What Employees Should Never See or Hear

We want to be open with staff and involve them in decisions and success. And the team may feel like ‘family’, but there are some things the kids shouldn’t know about – personal and business! New managers can find it difficult to be discreet – do they need some guidance? Here’s my No-Go list – how does it compare with yours? Comments and examples very welcome… Pay Rates and Employee Perks. Most people know what

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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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The Restaurant Management Blogs I’m Finding Most Useful…

Have to admit I’m an information glutton, and part of my job as Community Manager at Silver Chef is to keep employees updated on what’s happening in the wider hospitality community. Generally I prefer to follow blogs and twitter, instead of receiving email newsletters – here are the ones I find most useful at the minute. And I’m very open to suggestions… Aaron Allen, Quantified Marketing Group – blogging on restaurant marketing internationally Jim Sullivan of

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restaurant profitability

What Profits Are Used For: An Explanation for Restaurant Staff

Sales – costs = profit. It’s simple. If profits are good, there are more smiles and generosity – the fundamentals of hospitality. If money is tight, there’s not much for extras, and shortcuts will usually cut into service and quality. Everyone needs to understand restaurant profitability. It’s easy for staff to misunderstand the profitability of a business – they assume that you’re making money on the first coffee sold on Monday morning, and it’s $3.50

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Simplifying Business – a Good Theme for 2018

Simpler is usually better. Processes can be done more quickly, there are fewer costs, fewer moving parts, less need for highly-skilled staff, and fewer mistakes – this is not about ‘dumbing down’. Make SIMPLIFY your theme for 2018, rather than a list of ‘resolutions’ that are soon forgotten. To get started, make a list of things that seem to be complicated and difficult. Ask your staff – they’ll have plenty of suggestions! Here are a few

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4 Overlooked KPI’s for Restaurant Management Control

Apart from the weekly sales, F&B costs and wage totals, these 4 additional figures will give an accurate, honest snapshot of how things are working, and what’s possible for improvement… 1. Spending per Customer: it’s a simple figure and I find most operators don’t check it. Or they guess. Divide the total sales or sales in a category by the total number of customers – simple. It’s often less than you think, and a reason

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Payment and Ordering Systems seen at the Fine Food Show…

Credit card processor Tyro were at the recent Fine Food Show in Sydney, well known for their POS integration and keen pricing. For the very small operators, note that you can buy now buy a Square system from Officeworks for $25! A quick win for every operator is to get onto the merchant services department of your bank and ask for a  rate review – most people don’t even know what they’re paying. Your challenge is

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