Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Food

Two Restaurant Service Techniques That Add Style and Pizzazz…

January 4, 2018 No Comments

People keep saying that ‘fine dining is dead’ – maybe. But there are lots of techniques from traditional fine dining that add flair, service speed and a point of difference. And with the first one shown here, silver-service, it’s also quicker and more efficient – one of the many ways you can exceed expectations. If you have employees who have worked in a traditional restaurant, ask them to train the other service staff – it’s

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Positioning is why people don’t ‘get’ your special food concept

November 29, 2017 No Comments

Feel like eating out? Let’s go to a Thai place – red curry, stir fry, fish cakes… mmm Or maybe Mexican – spicy beans, tacos, burritos… yum! What about that new Filippino place? Or the Ethiopian one? Huh?? Most people are fairly conservative in their tastes, and 8/10 want the same as last time. They may range across Pizza, Mexican, Thai and Subway, but each of these concepts has a clearly defined position in our brains

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The famous risotto scene from the movie Big Night

October 15, 2017 No Comments

Two Italian immigrant brothers struggle to Americanise themselves and their restaurant.  The younger one Secondo is more willing to adapt; his older brother Primo finds the food preferences of Americans strange and upsetting. If you’ve ever worked with a chef who has ‘standards’, you will recognise this scene! Find and watch this wonderful movie on iTunes, Netflix  or on DVD – it’s a treat…

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Sustainable Restaurant

How to Promote your Cafe or Restaurant as Environmentally Sustainable

September 25, 2017 No Comments

It’s surprising how many cafes and restaurants follow sustainable practices with the food and packaging materials they use, cleaning products, energy sourcing, plus waste disposal and recycling. What we’re often not good at is sharing the good news, especially as environmentally friendly and sustainable business is a constant theme in traditional and social media, plus school education. Consumers are very interested in what makes you an eco-friendly coffee shop or restaurant, as are corporate and

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Plant a lemon, lime or even a coffee tree at your cafe?

September 19, 2017 No Comments

Realistically, you won’t be able to grow all the herbs and greens you need in a cafe or restaurant garden – that would need some serious production. But you can still share your enthusiasm for fresh produce with more than just a bowl of tomatoes on the counter: plant a lemon tree, or a lime… even a coffee tree or an avocado! What makes citrus and coffee trees attractive is that they’re quick growing, can

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Wine and Food Books

Wine and Food Books are Great for Staff Training and Gifts

September 10, 2017 No Comments

Chances are you can’t take your staff to a winery or a farm, but you still want them to be familiar with where food and beverages come from and how they are processed. Chefs often have a secret passion for cookbooks, that makes them an ideal thank-you gift. Illustrated books can be useful as chunky visual aids for training, and are very inexpensive if you look for them second hand. Where to find pre-owned Wine

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Australian Food History – this is quite a list!

September 1, 2017 No Comments

A very interesting discovery is the Australian Food History Timeline – meal by meal, cafe by cafe, pot by pot, Jan O’Connell has put together all the significant events in Australia’s culinary history going back to 1770. A few morsels from the hundreds she’s assembled: In 1913 the first pumpkin scone recipe was published, and 1915 saw the start of 6 o’clock closing in pubs. In 1948 the Sunbeam Mixmaster was introduced, and the jaffle

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