Summary – Countertop warmers keep pre-cooked foods warm.  In this Tech Talk, learn how to replace all 4 components that could fail in your countertop warmer. Critical Note – Never run the warmer without water! For best results, use the model and serial number on your warmer to identify the right …

A commercial deep fryer is a vital piece of restaurant equipment in any kitchen.  But as anyone who has worked in a commercial kitchen knows, they can also be high maintenance when it comes to cleaning.  Changing the heating oil is a constant chore, especially in higher volume establishments, and …

There has been much discussion about discounting in the restaurant business over the past few years.  Many in the industry worried that serial discounting would forever cheapen their brand and condition customers to be coupon hunters rather than loyal patrons. That’s why it was interesting to see the results of …

A stick mixer is a hand-held, electronically powered device that allows chefs to mix large amounts of sauces, soups, and stews during preparation and cooking.  The motor connects to a long shaft with an attachment on the end that rotates at a high speed, making large-scale mixing projects manageable in …

The menu is often the first thing your customers see when they decide to eat at your restaurant, and sometimes might even be the thing that convinces them to come inside in the first place. But you’d be surprised how many restaurants spend little or no time on menu design, …

No matter what kind of restaurant you run, from fast casual to fine dining, combo meals can help your customer make a choice that makes them feel like they’re getting a deal, even if the combo costs exactly the same as the a la carte menu. This is backed up …

The food service industry can be a brutal business, and sometimes the differences between making it and breaking are very, very thin.  As the manager, you have a lot on your plate – from training and supervising employees to running budgets and purchasing new equipment and supplies. This series is …

Despite the fact that a majority of restaurateurs view discount sites like Groupon as the biggest threat to their business, and despite a lot of talk in the restaurant industry about how discounts devalue a restaurant’s brand, new market research reveals that coupons and deep discounts are probably here to …

Last summer I wrote about Klick Kitchen, an internet-based replenishment service for food service businesses.  At the time it struck me as odd that despite all the press Klick Kitchen had been getting, there didn’t seem to be any feedback from real chefs/managers/owners in the field who could substantiate Klick …

Any server will tell you the hardest thing to sell is dessert.  The meal has come to an end, customers are ready to go or just enjoy a cup of coffee, and more often than not the dessert menu is met with some pretty stiff resistance.  Add in a climate …

Anyone who has worked for a significant amount of time in the food service industry has seen the dark side of the restaurant business.  While food service can be incredibly rewarding, and can provide many opportunities for advancement with little or no formal education, there are also many in the …

Through constant research as well as attending many industry programs, I have learned a great deal on what can be done in the “greening” of new restaurants.  Here’s a list of top ways your restaurant can go green: The most obvious is to use high efficiency refrigeration, but there are …

In Counting Plates: Parts One we discussed the difficulties faced by managers, servers, and guests resulting from shrinking renewals budgets. I advanced the idea of treating glasses, plates, and tableware as inventory rather than purely as an expense. This allows the cost of these items to be more accurately reflected …

The Back Burner is written by the employees and friends of Tundra, and while we usually try to make this blog as informative as possible without imposing our brand on the information, sometimes there’s just going to have to be an exception. Don’t worry, we’re not going to suddenly turn …

Small independent restaurants have been dropping like flies over the past year.  Chances are, if you’ve made it this far through the recession, the worst is behind you.  That doesn’t mean tough days aren’t ahead, but hopefully you’ve at least stopped just trying to stay above water and have started …