Resources
>
BLOG

How to Recruit an Amazing Restaurant Manager

Nov 27, 2016

Many people open restaurants based on their big dreams for sharing their food or their concept with others as well as to turn out a large profit. But as many as 60% of new restaurants that open up fail within the first year and a whopping 80% tank in less than five years, according to Business Insider.

 

For your best chance at success, you need to hire a restaurant manager who is capable of running the show. He or she should be able to manage the restaurant and staff so that it runs like a well-oiled machine. Finding the right manager for the job can be tricky, so follow this advice for ensuring you choose the right candidate to manage your restaurant.

 

  1. Search Hospitality Websites
    For a restaurant you need more than someone with management experience. You need someone with restaurant management experience. Someone who knows how to endure life in the hospitality market. So start looking for candidates in that area on hospitality websites. Recruitment companies that specialize in hiring for the hospitality industry are also great to work with. The experienced companies know to dig in to the details of what you are looking for while understanding what may be available in the marketplace.
  2.  Ensure you Interview a Large Pool of Candidates
    Even if you truly find the first candidate to be what you’re looking for, don’t cancel the other interviews you’ve scheduled. You might find someone even more qualified or find someone else’s background to make them a better fit for the position. Remember, this person will be running your business on a daily basis so it is critical you choose the one that can do it the best.
  3. Leadership Skills
    Starting with fully understanding the level of manager that you need, the recruiter draws on one of two directions – to bring someone in with leadership experience from past employers OR a candidate who will be taught leadership skills from your involvement, your operation and the way that you would like them to lead your team. Styles of leadership differ greatly in this business – most important is what you need at your restaurant and for your staff.
  1. Check up on Those References
    It’s common in the restaurant business for people to pad up their resumes.So make sure to check out every reference of every potential restaurant manager you interview. You really need to make sure you hire someone who has the real experience needed for running your restaurant or this will all be a waste of resources when you find you need to restart the hiring process from scratch.
  1. Ask a lot of Questions
    To determine the best candidate for your restaurant manager position, ask as many questions as possible for each candidate you interview. How will you help my restaurant run well? How will you manage my staff? It’s all about how the candidate dealt with issues in their past. How do they handle restaurant problems, “people” problems and even profit problems? Make a list of questions like this, leaving space between to jot down your notes so you can reference them later when you need to decide on which candidate to hire.
  2. Review Qualifications
    Did your candidate get a degree or even a masters in hospitality management? Certificates and qualifications also make the man or woman you choose to hire for the role of your restaurant manager. What you learn by the candidate achieving a degree is that they “know how to learn”. This can be very important to the growth of your business and your bottom line. Make sure you find someone whose credentials sync up with your business.

 

By taking care when going through the hiring process, you’ll be much more likely to find that person who will really fit into your restaurant as the manager. This person should be an extension of you with shared ideas about the success of the restaurant so be thorough and honest in what you want in order to find the perfect one for you.

 

Resources
>
BLOG

Table Service at…McDonald’s?

Nov 26, 2016

When you think of McDonald’s service (or any fast food restaurant service for that matter), you may envision a drive-thru window or perhaps ordering your food at the counter. Well, McDonald’s is aiming to change that image!

According to Restaurant Business Online, McDonald’s will be expanding kiosk ordering and table service to all of its 14,200 U.S. locations. The touch-screen kiosks are available for meal customization, allowing service to be streamlined through the convenience new technology. It’s clear that McDonald’s is aiming to shake things up, including the addition of craft burgers and new two additional Big Mac sizes.

More below:

Resources
>
BLOG

Is Your Menu Meeting the Demands of Today’s Consumer?

Nov 18, 2016

It’s a well-known fact that people eat with their eyes before they get to taste with their mouths. Well-done photography and descriptive menus can really push a customer to choose one dish over another. But what will drive them to keep coming back for more?

You might say service, the quality of the food, and the experience at the restaurant overall. For those things, you’re not wrong, however one thing many restaurants forget to consider when trying to get customers in the door over and over again is how the menu speaks to their customers.

Today’s consumers want something that gives them the feeling that they are eating something unique. For example, no one is going out to eat things that they can cook themselves. They’re going for the fusion foods that millennials helped to create that straddle two or more types of cuisine to create something revolutionary. The result are dishes that consumers gravitate toward because they seem different but aren’t so bizarrely unfamiliar that they’re game on trying them.

Another thing that consumers look for these days are options for eating healthy. Restaurants that offer healthier dishes, or even a small selection of them, are much more likely to get a bigger market share from this group. Farm-to-table concept restaurants also do well in this category simply because fresh is healthier and they tend to customize their offerings better than say a chain restaurant would.

Finally, as more and more people switch to vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, many restaurants are responding to this by creating special dishes for these diners. No one wants to go out for a lame plate of vegetables so it’s crucial to find something that looks and tastes worth the price. It should also be described in an appealing way to entice these consumers to order it.

The rest of course is up to your chef and the team behind the scenes. Creating an idea is one thing but bringing it to life is another. If your head chef can execute brilliantly on these new dishes, there is no doubt that these consumers will return again and again because you spoke to their dietary concerns by reflecting it on your menu.

Take a good look at your menu. If your offerings are all fried or have no option to go meatless or gluten-free, you might be repelling customers from your establishment. There’s no need to go overly poetic on menu descriptions either, particularly if you have a casual eatery, but making things sound more exciting than say “bread, cheese and meat served with fries” will make a major difference in customer perception. And as we know, perception is reality.

If you would like to schedule an informal call to discuss your menu and was to become more innovative give us a call.

Resources
>
BLOG

New Discoveries: Why Thrive Culinary Algae Oil is Awesome

Nov 16, 2016

Recently, we had the opportunity to attend the reTHINK Food Conference and were privy to some new culinary breakthroughs, methods and products. One product totally rocked our world and is poised to change the way we all cook.

 

The product in question? Thrive Culinary Algae Oil. What’s so remarkable about it is that it allows the flavors of your food to really shine through without greasing it up or adding excess fats. It’s great for cooking and baking, and it can even be used to create sublime salad dressings.

Thrive Algae Oil
Thrive Algae Oil

Cooking with it is a dream, but there are many other benefits to using Thrive Culinary Algae Oil that we just love.

 

  1. Algae is a superfood

It’s one of the world’s original superfoods, too. It’s also one of our planet’s most completely sustainable sources of food.

 

  1. Highest levels of good fat

Out of all the cooking oils you can choose to make your culinary creations, only Thrive Algae Oil has the highest level of monounsaturated fat in it. That’s the good kind of fat, which is something your body needs. One tablespoon gives you that same amount of monounsaturated fat that you’d get from one whole avocado, which is 13g.

 

  1. Less saturated fat than olive oil

Olive oil was once considered the healthiest of oils to cook with. And while it’s still not bad, it could be better. Thrive Algae Oil has less saturated fat than olive oil. 75% to be precise. That’s a much better choice for those who care about keeping a healthy heart.

 

  1. The algae is grown in a controlled environment

The algae used to make Thrive Algae Oil is grown in a controlled environment that is kept pure. Inside fermenters, the algae are given renewable plant sugars so they can make oil in only a few days. The algae is then pressed to release the oil, much in the same way as coconut oil and oils from seeds are created.

 

  1. No waste means it’s better for our world

Leftover algae is able to be used again for renewable energy and a variety of other uses. That means it can reduce the carbon and water footprint of cooking oil everywhere.

 

Caring for ourselves and our environment through the foods we eat is one of the biggest things to take hold of the culinary world. It’s about taking healthy and making it tasty, farm-to-table fresh, and sustainable for enjoyment the world over for years to come.

 

If you are interested in making a difference with you food lets schedule an informal conversation to discuss how we can help bring innovation to your menu.