I have implemented an observation day. After interviewing someone that I think is a great candidate, I have them come in for a paid observation day. I explain that it is not simply to stand back and watch, but it really is like the first day of train...

I’ll never forget the night it happened. It was dinnertime on a Friday night. My best-ever crew was getting ready for the rush and I had all of my aces in their places. I realized that I had forgotten to restock the petty cash box wit...

Operations Management Use a Camera to Catch an Employee Thief By Jeff Freehof I’ve got a surveillance camera, but I think I have a manager stealing from me. It looks like she’s ringing people in, but I can’t really tell. Is there a ...

According to YourEmployeeHandbook.com: Employees better understand their rights and responsibilities. A written employee handbook gives everyone the same set of rules to follow and informs employees of such policies without distortion or mistakes. Po...

Several years ago, my wife and I were in a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. We had heard that the place had really good pizza, so we decided to try it. As it happened, I was sitting where I had a birds-eye view of the oven — a wood-burning oven. ...

A photo of a recently deceased friend was posted on a social network. As people commented several words kept reoccurring; beautiful, con­fident, intelligent. That photo was powerful; it evoked memories and emotions. Though we view things in varying ...

National Pizza Month Pizza Challenge: We asked pizzeria operators to give us their best pizza recipes to celebrate National Pizza Month in October. We received recipes from across the North America. These are our interpretations of the best of the be...

Here’s how you can grab your slice of the talent pool. Reputation matters. It’s critical that you hire right the first time; your reputation depends on it. Can teenagers (your future workforce) hear you yelling on the street at a bad hire? Are fo...

Say hello to the family of “little cakes” better known as tortelli, tortellini, and tortelloni. Tortelli looks like a stretched out ravioli (a specialty of Parma, Italy). Tortellini is a small ring-shaped pasta that is filled with me...

Most of the time Carpaccio is associated with beef, as in thin slices of raw beef, veal or even tuna. The name comes from Vittore Carpaccio, the Venetian Rennaissance painter who, as history points out, favored the use of red and white in his paintin...

Menu Development Chill Out Salads are moving year ‘round these days By Jeremy White, Editor in Chief It’s February, traditionally one of the coldest months of the year in much of the United States, and many of your customers are thinking ...

Menu Development Mushroom Madness By Carol Kroskey Look beyond cultivated white mushrooms to add flavor, texture and variety to menu items Diners who like mushrooms really like them, giving operators a chance to promote specialty pizzas like the &ldq...