Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Staff Recruitment & Management

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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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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Developing Young Leaders

Podcast 10: Developing Leadership Skills in Young Hospitality Staff

February 14, 2022 No Comments

More young people are being given management responsibilities early in their career, and running a hospitality business is becoming more complex. This can mean added stress and errors, and much more to learn about. Training and development for new leaders can be done through professional courses, and many times it’s through guidance on the job. How can business owners and senior managers make this process more effective and efficient? In this podcast, Ken Burgin talks

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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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Recruit the Best Staff

How Large Restaurants, Hotels and Clubs Can Recruit the Best Staff

November 9, 2021 No Comments

Large hospitality groups have big advantages when it comes to purchasing food and beverages. They also have extra strength in negotiation with service suppliers and landlords. So why do so many of these operators ‘think small’ when it comes to recruitment, pay and conditions? It just doesn’t work in the race for talent… It’s time to flex your advantages when it comes to recruitment and retention – you can offer ‘the best job in town’

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Online Events for Restaurants

The Future of Restaurants & Cafes after the Pandemic – Podcast Interview

October 20, 2021 No Comments

It was great to talk with hospitality industry expert Michelle Pascoe on The Michelle Pascoe Hospitality Podcast, about what I see as the future of restaurants, cafes and foodservice after the pandemic storms settle. I’ve already shared some of my thoughts on how we should expect a tough and demanding summer and the importance of having a Plan B for the next Covid Lockdown. But people still want to eat out, share time with friends

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Pandemic recovery plan

Expect a Tough, Demanding Summer for Restaurants and Cafes

October 5, 2021 No Comments

The Covid delta variant is widespread, limiting activity and creating fear of new variations. People are nervous, which always limits spending. There’s very little of the ‘see you on the other side’ mentality that was a saving feature of 2020. What are the challenges that business operators will need to navigate in the next six months? Vaccine resisters are a tiny minority, but noisy – and if you expect young staff to handle them at

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Restaurant Training Quiz

How to Use a Trivia Quiz for Restaurant & Pub Training, or to Keep Customers Connected

August 17, 2021 No Comments

A good Trivia Quiz is a great way to lift the spirits and stretch the brain, and in the time of Covid lockdowns, it’s also an excellent way to stay connected with customers, staff and friends. Staff Training: I’ve had a lot of success with quizzes lately, using a Trivia Quiz to train staff in a new business product – an otherwise very dry subject. Technical details had to be learned, and there’s a limit

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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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