Restaurant Grease Management: How Traps Will Save Your Butt

Grease is an inevitable byproduct of your restaurant’s kitchen.  Unfortunately, grease doesn’t disappear when it gets washed down the drain.  Instead, it tends to build up and stick to the sides of pipes and drainages, just like cholesterol in diner’s arteries. And just like cholesterol, that buildup over time can cause some serious problems.  Best case scenario, your kitchen smells like a rotting cesspool.  Worst case,...

10 Ways To Make Your Restaurant More Profitable

1. Reduce Food Costs With A Descending Dollar Report A Descending Dollar Report is a fancy way of saying “Find the 10 food items you spend the most money on every month.”  Once you know what those 10 items are, start looking for ways to cut your costs on each one. Talk to your distributors and see if you can find a similar or even better product that’s less expensive.  Also don’t be afraid to pursue other distributors...

3 Tips To Give Your Host Stand Some Personality

The host stand is the first thing your customers see when they enter your restaurant.  That first impression can be an opportunity or a potential stumbling block, and no matter which way you impress your customers, the host sets the tone.  It’s like any new relationship: every word and action takes on an importance unique to the situation.  Just like a first date, your customer is wondering why they should trust you. Your...

Fryer Oil Maintenance: Tips To Make Oil Taste Better & Last Longer

The fryer is one of the central cooking appliances in many restaurants and commercial kitchens.  And central to every commercial fryer is the shortening or oil in the vat.  Maintaining that oil is key to producing great-tasting product every...

Why Buying Hobart Mixer Attachments Shouldn’t Cost You An Arm and a Leg

Anyone with a Hobart mixer in their restaurant or commercial kitchen will tell you what a great machine it is.  These mixers last a long time despite constant, heavy use, and for many kitchens they are essential to the success of daily operations.  Often the attachments that make your Hobart mixer so indispensable...

How To Grow Your Restaurant – Without Going Broke

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 swimming a little.  The waters out there are still dangerous, but if you’re not thinking about growth, you’re setting...

Jerry’s Tech Talk: Replacing Refrigeration Door Latches & Hinges

There are many different styles of hinges and latches.  Both the hinges and latches have a number on the back.  In addition, they may say “flush” or have the offset size, e.g. 1 1/8, 1 ½, etc.  It is important to have that number on the back to ensure you get the proper replacement. Let’s talk hinges! ...

How To Calibrate A Thermometer

Think of a good thermometer as the crescent wrench of your food safety program.  Without it, you have no idea what the temperature of your food products are, either when you cook them or when you store them.  And that means you can’t tighten the...