Sadly, many caterers don’t look at their bottom line enough. Some never look at their bottom line. They think they know what their net profit was on a particular event. But when it comes to overall company net profit and how to improve it? They h...
There are a few events in our lives that we remember well over the years even though they seemed insignificant at the time. One of these happened to me in 2000. My family and I were touring New Zealand. We went to a fish and chips stand. I asked ...
The foundation of great restaurant service begins with great restaurant staff. Surprisingly, this concept is lost on many owners and managers, yet the solution really is simple.
As the restaurant business is transient by nature, high turnove...
“You need a holiday
Take a holiday
Find a far-off wonderland
Where you might regain command
Of your life today.”
—“Holiday” by Jimmy Buffett
I started in the work world when I was around five. My dad was a consulting chemical engineer a...
I am all about great restaurant experiences and I love dining out in new places when I travel. Recently, I was on the coast of Maine and had a chance to visit a new steakhouse I had heard about.
I met a friend for drinks and we first took a se...
Photo: ThinkstockI recently spoke at a restaurant trade show in Florida, and while I was there, I chatted with a catering sales person for a high-end restaurant where catering sales are growing at a healthy pace. I went online to review their cat...
I broke one of my own cardinal rules for catering last week: We didn’t count the carrots for a big sit-down off-site catering event.
What’s the big deal, you ask? Let me give you a little background.
Catering a seated dinner is my least fav...
I often recommend that all restaurant owners eat in both their own establishments and a variety of other restaurants from time to time to notice details from a customer’s perspective. Put on your “guest hat” and you’ll have a powerful advantage o...