2023

I trust you had a successful 2022 and are looking forward to an even bigger 2023.

As usual I would love to hear from more of you. If you have any comment, question or topic you need help on, please let me know. I will be giving away spots at the short courses and subscriptions to the software for the most interesting questions/suggestions.

Many chefs forget how important the start of the year is. They are usually trying to recover from the Christmas and New Year shenanigans.

Planning for success in the early months of the year is so important. Here are some of my thoughts:

Staff Are Your Number One Asset

• Get to know them and ask for their opinions

• Show respect to all staff and say thank you often

• Look at a training and succession plan

- Staff may be looking for a change

- You don’t want the good ones to leave

• Get a holiday calendar in place

- Plan now to help spread them out

• Sit down with each staff member and give feedback on the last year

• Reward your staff and have fun at your staff meetings

• Always follow up on problems

Your Best Marketing Tool Is The Menu

• Fully cost it!

• With recipe cards everyone can produce the same meals with consistency

• Smaller is often better

• Be flexible and make your menu easy to change if things go wrong

• Your menu is like a fashion trend, so keep it up to date

• Have a social media plan

• Provide healthy meal options

• Is your menu kid friendly?

- Parents stay longer if kids are happy

• Always follow up on problems

• Has the menu been written for the time of year?

- Seasonal produce is often cheaper and tastes better

• Every single dish that leaves the kitchen must make money

- This will likely require the business to simplify the menu offering

GOODS RECEIVED: ARE YOU GETTING WHAT YOU’RE PAYING FOR?

• Go over training to ensure your staff can properly receive goods

• Are you checking each product? What about temperatures?

• Is your goods-received system digital? Can you check temperatures, weights and what is invoiced against what is ordered? Can you see price changes and substitutions at the time of inspection?