Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Kitchen Management

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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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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Food Delivery Truck

How to Get a Better Deal from Food & Beverage Suppliers

February 16, 2022 No Comments

The relationship between hospitality venues and their suppliers is a complicated one. Sometimes, vendors act like a business partner, tipping you off to new products and trends. Other times, you feel as though they are competition, squeezing out every last cent. The best way to manage this paradox is to have some supplier tips and tools up your sleeve – here are some suggestions. Many small hospitality businesses run their price negotiation on a weekly

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Restaurant Efficiency

How to Get Better Results on the Busy Days

February 8, 2022 No Comments

Being busy is great, but chaos is not – it leaves customers frustrated, staff upset and a real loss of potential profits. Here’s a quick checklist to prepare front and back of house so you maximise results, contain costs and avoid drama. Be well organised Anticipate the Busy Days. Based on the other factors, like weather, day of the week, TV and sporting events. Over time these have predictable results on customer numbers – check

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Kitchen Recruitment

Podcast 9: Take a Fresh Look at Finding and Keeping Kitchen Staff

February 7, 2022 No Comments

Foodservice operators need to be more creative and flexible in their search for staff, and more thoughtful about how they look after those they have. It’s more than just offering higher pay – that might be part of the equation, but there are many other factors involved. In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks with Paul Rifkin. a chef consultant who works with a wide variety of clubs, pubs and foodservice operators. He’s a practical optimist,

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foodservice outsourcing

Podcast 8: Outsourcing and Labour Saving in Modern Foodservice

January 31, 2022 No Comments

Shortages of skilled staff are nothing new in hospitality, but Covid lockdowns and job losses have only made the situation worse. It’s time to stop waiting for things to improve, and take a fresh, hard look at your menu and how many people you need in the kitchen. Customers still want quality and service at an affordable price, but how else can this be provided? In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks with Graeme McCormack from

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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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Rise Menu Prices

How to Raise Restaurant Menu Prices without Negative Pushback

October 19, 2021 No Comments

Inflation is back, following dramatic rises in energy costs, wages and all the food & beverage supplies we purchase. Operators still holding the price of meals to what they were 12 months ago are bearing the brunt of massive increases in the cost of ingredients. And profitability is suffering. Setting prices is approached with fear and anxiety by many restaurant and cafe operators, but it’s a unique opportunity to use your marketing and financial skills

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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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