August 2009

The job candidate you just interviewed is a hard worker who shows up on time and knows how to deal with customers. At least that’s what the eager applicant told you. You want to make sure, so you call some of the references the person gave you. The...

Q: With so many new restaurants opening around me and the economy being what it is, I’m getting scared watching sales drop. What can I do to keep my name out there without going broke? A: It’s time to turn your advertising inside out! Here’s wh...

This is the time of year that many of us (especially those of us living in the Midwest) go bananas over fresh tomatoes. If I had the time, I would write another cookbook called “101 Ways to Use Fresh Tomatoes.” So this time of year I am constantl...

For some pizza restaurant operators — such as those who use front and center items like table linens or who have extremely high-volume locations — whether or not to do the laundry in-house or use a laundry service is a no-brainer. In these instan...

What makes a Sicilian pizza a Sicilian pizza? In two words: shape and thickness. A true Sicilian pizza is rectangular. A true Sicilian pizza has a crust that is almost a half-inch thick. How do I know this? I know this because next door to my boyhood...

Gluten is the one thing that holds our dough together. Without it, the dough would be a pasty mix of ingredients, lacking the capability of being shaped, hand-tossed or slapped. Contrary to what a bag of fl our might say, flour does not contain any g...

White pizza is often defined by what it lacks rather than what it offers. White pizza is devoid of tomato sauce, but not flavor. By omitting the bold, acidic base that most pizzas build on, the toppings take center stage with nuance, subtlety and com...