In the world of professional kitchen management, there is a significant divide between the efficient reality of high-volume hospitality and the dramatic ‘battlefield’ persona often promoted by modern media. While popular culture portrays a professional kitchen environment as a place of constant shouting and chaotic stress, the truth is that the most successful operations are … Read more
The Impossible Burger didn’t just launch in 2016; it arrived as the high-tech climax of a three-decade-old narrative: Cows are bad. To build its billion-dollar plant-based meat empire, Impossible Foods stood on the shoulders of an unlikely ideological grandfather: John Robbins. In 1987, Robbins famously walked away from the Baskin-Robbins fortune to preach a gospel … Read more
For many, the rice cooker is the most essential “one-job” appliance in the kitchen. While certain orange-clad internet personalities have made a career out of shaming anyone who dares to cook rice in a standard pot, the history of the automated rice cooker is actually a fascinating tale of mid-century industrial engineering and a unique … Read more
Restaurant side work is prep work done by the waitstaff or FOH (front-of-house) when they are not serving customers. This kind of work is necessary to keep the restaurant operating smoothly, and can involve various duties depending on the structure, including cleaning, restocking, setting tables, slicing or prepping garnishes, and even assembling salads. Not that … Read more
In many American Italian chain restaurants, you’ll immediately find a bowl of seasoned olive oil—often called ‘Italian butter’—placed on the table for dipping your complimentary bread. It’s a delicious ritual that many assume is a staple of life in Italy. But if you try to find this same practice in a traditional trattoria in Rome … Read more
In a restaurant setting, banquette is a word for a padded bench with a cushioned seat and back. This style of seating is used in “banquette seating,” which is often confused with booth seating. In fact, some restaurant owners may call the padded benches in their booth seating banquettes. However, banquette refers to a continuous … Read more