In my last post, “Fly on the Wall: Two Chefs,” I challenged my sous chef to collaborate with me in an effort to address some of the current economic realities affecting our F&B lives. The post generated quite a bit of buzz from fellow colleagues, and we were challenged by the magazine’s editor to briefly address some potential solutions to the new norm.

Over the next seven weeks, we will be implementing initiatives at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North based on our “Fly on the Wall” discussion. We’d like to share them with you.

Week 1: Embrace Scarcity
Week 2: Sell like a Team
Week 3: Build a Culture
Week 4: Learn from the Streets
Week 5: Walk, Don’t Spin
Week 6: Attract Rookies, Build Rock Stars, Set them Free
Week 7: Sharpen your Excel

In 1776, legendary economist Adam Smith penned, “No complaint … is more common than that of a scarcity of money.” Indeed, business is founded on the very idea that competitive entities will leverage scarce resources against one-another. Why then, is it, that our first tendency as employees and managers is to waste time complaining about what we don’t have? Read more of this >>

Now that the State Fair is over (see my earlier blog) and after splurging on some 60 foods on a stick, I can conclude that all but perhaps a handful of them are not good for the human body if consumed in large quantities.

In order to encourage our employees to eat healthier, I recently partnered with our human resources department to offer healthy recipes to team members. These recipes are easy to prepare and feature simple ingredients. Ninety percent of our team members are not culinary professionals, and everybody has a busy life. Therefore, I created recipes which anyone should be able to do in 30 minutes, with ingredients readily on hand. Read more of this >>

Dear Valued Team Members,

I would like to thank you all for your work during these tough economic times. As our country is on the road to economic recovery, we too are on that road by keeping our occupancies high, our costs low, and our guest satisfaction at its current lukewarm to mediocre state.

As a company, Big Box Hotels & Resorts has positioned itself to once again be the preferred vendor for all the parent hotel companies joining a very short list of companies that are able to continue to expand and grow. We’re doing so by tightening our belts and taking all we can to the bottom line. We started this program aggressively last year with our Labor Windows Program (LWP) and by pressing our interests our national purchasing vendors. The effort has paid off in our ability to both allow for the senior corporate officers to grant themselves a raise that can only be termed as “bangin’” and also keep our meddling in your operations high to scare the bejeesus out of your GMs and senior hotel executives. Read more of this >>

Two chefs (Keith Schroeder and David Harrison, executive chef and sous chef respectively at Westin Atlanta Perimeter North) talk candidly about the state of the franchise business-hotel kitchen.

Cooking in hotels has evolved in the past two decades. While there have been boutiques who have elevated hotel dining to historic highs, the classic business hotel enjoys economy-related challenges like never before. Two chefs take time after lunch to chat about the state of their segment: Read more of this >>

Ever since this economic downturn started, I have spent a lot more time thinking about the local economy and what I have the responsibility to do both as a chef who provides a service and as a consumer who receives one. As a chef, I have come to realize how important it is to be a part of the local economy and support and strengthen it, and I understand that the choices I make everyday running my kitchen can affect this.

We have adopted a way of doing things in my kitchen that helps support our local economy; we do it not to save the planet or to cut down on green house gasses or because it is trendy and we want to market it and profit from it. We do it because it helps put food on the tables of our neighbors and because it helps instill a sense of pride and accomplishment that we can actually witness. Read more of this >>

Do you have a gold mine in your F&B operations? You might if you were to avail yourself of all the collective information compiled from your frequent guests’ preferences, including catered events. Depending on the type of software you’re using for your customer relationship management (CRM), you could identify an enhanced information base that will highlight the types of menu item preferences which have reached their saturation point and are no longer effectively exceeding sales. Read more of this >>

State Fair History

The Wisconsin State Fair will mark 159 years this year, representing one of the most family-friendly and affordable entertainment experiences of Wisconsin’s summer season. Fairgoers of all ages will again come together to celebrate storied traditions and start new ones. In recent years, the Fair has drawn close to 900,000 people and was rated one of the Top 100 Destinations in North America by the American Bus Association. About 90 percent  of the visitors are Wisconsinites, while 10 percent are Flatlanders.

Memories and stories that have been established over generations are passed on, relived and celebrated at the tradition known as the Wisconsin State Fair. It takes place for 11 days each summer, usually in early August; it is truly the Grand Champion of summer featuring agriculture, horticulture, family attractions, and diverse food offerings.

There is the saying, “In Wisconsin (food) has got to be fried or on a stick; and people will eat it.” And the annual State Fair is the bellwether for food on a stick, the best opportunity to enjoy Wisconsin street food, ranging from longtime favorites to new culinary creations. While there are new introductions to each year’s Fair, some of the traditions of days past remain, becoming traditions for each new generation that experiences the Wisconsin State Fair. Some may only last one summer, while others spread throughout the country. Read more of this >>

You’ve set up your F&B budget for the year based on expected inflows and outflows for operating your dining establishment at the hotel in a profitable mode. However, you relied on economic trends from previous years (lean and getting leaner) and forgot to include one of your most important expenses:  marketing your operation. Marketing doesn’t have to be a hard cost expense; it can be in the form of upgrading how your staff (and personnel, overall) contribute to the image you are presenting to your end-users (guests, visitors). Read more of this >>