Food Service

Restaurants and commercial kitchens have always been relatively high turnover work environments, making new employee recruiting and training a constant chore for management. A few basic procedures can help you maximize employee retention and reduce turnover, which in turn reduces costs and increases efficiency. Cast a wide net. When you have …

In this article I would like to talk about the refrigerators and freezer units commonly found in a commercial kitchen and restaurant. The average unit will give long service with minimal maintenance; however there are a few things you should know that could possibly prevent breakdowns. You should also read …

Any restaurateur who has dealt with equipment parts has heard of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and generic parts.  If you haven’t, here’s a quick rundown: OEM parts are produced by the manufacturer of the piece of equipment or a subcontractor commissioned to make parts for the original manufacturer.  OEM parts …

The website KlickKitchen allows chefs to source food products for their restaurant or commercial kitchen exclusively through the web.  Vendors upload their food products and restaurants log in and order what they need from the website’s catalog of foodstuffs.  The site is the creation of Jordan Glaser, formerly of the …

Last month, Rohit Bhargava published a post with a compelling title, “Forget Eating Your Own Dog Food – Just Try Buying It …” His premise is built around the adage that the best way to understand your customer is to experience your product as they would and he means every …

“Which _____________ do you recommend?” This is a question I have been asked countless times by owners/managers that operate the restaurants I have worked in. The real question they are asking is: “What equipment will run the longest and have the fewest breakdowns and cost the least to fix?” The …

This article will deal with common maintenance issues regarding commercial gas kitchen equipment. I will address issues with electric equipment in a future article. It has been my experience that most commercial restaurant equipment is operated with natural gas. In general I believe gas equipment to be better than electric …

Casters make life in your restaurant’s kitchen a whole lot easier.  They allow you to roll heavy equipment around for cleaning.  They make your mop buckets mobile and power hand carts and loaded shelving in your walk-in and storage areas.  They even let you roll the trash out quickly.  The …

No one would say seafood tastes better anywhere else than right beside the ocean.  There’s something special about enjoying food in the place that produced it. Local food, or “regional cuisine,” has enjoyed resurgent popularity in recent years as restaurant patrons rediscover the unique experience of combining physical place and …

Mobile marketing is beginning to sound like the movie Minority Report, where pedestrians had their retinas scanned by computers as they walked by stores and voices addressed them by name and encouraged them to buy products tailored to their personal preferences. That would be scary, but it’s never gonna happen …