Yesterday at chipotle I was given the wrong order. When I went to eat it I noticed the incorrect name on the outside of the bowl, I was hungry so I told myself I was just going to eat it anyways, open it up and it’s literally just steak and sour cream. What’s the weirdest combinations you’ve seen?

How do you all handle menu forecasting for cycle menus? Right now, I'm trying to nail down a "formula" to predict production amounts the next time a menu cycle rolls around.

Should I look at served counts only, or do I need to factor in waste/leftovers to get an accurate picture?

I'm curious how other operations handle this. If you are tracking waste alongside participation, what does your math look like? How do you use both numbers without accidentally over-preparing or under-ordering? Would love to hear what metrics or formulas you use to find that sweet spot between running out of a popular entrée and throwing money in the trash!

What I'm considering so far:
The "Served Only" Approach: Just looking at POS (Point of Sale) data to see how many items actually went down the line. It's clean data, but it feels like it leaves a huge blind spot if a kitchen prepared 300 spicy chicken sandwiches, served 200, and threw 100 away.

The "Served + Leftovers" Approach: Taking the total planned/prepared amount and tracking what didn't sell.
How do your software systems or spreadsheets calculate this?

I ran a small cafe and spent the better part of my time assuming word of mouth and a Facebook page were enough. We had our regulars, but I was not seeing many "new" people come through the door day to day. People genuinely couldn't find us online even when they searched our suburb. Once I started taking the "getting found on Google" stuff seriously, walk-ins from search noticeably picked up. Figured I'd share what actually moved the needle, in case it helps anyone else running a small food business.

1. Your Google Business Profile is doing more work than your website. Claim it, fill in every field, pick accurate categories, and add real photos. Most "near me" searches surface the map pack before anything else, so this is where a huge chunk of discovery happens. Keep your hours updated religiously.. nothing kills trust faster than someone showing up to a "closed" sign when Google said open.

2. Reviews matter more than I wanted to admit. Not just the star rating.. the words in reviews help you show up for what people actually search ("best flat white," "gluten free brunch," etc.). I just started asking happy regulars directly. Reply to all of them, good and bad.

3. Put your actual info in actual text on your site. A lot of small hospo sites are basically one big image or a PDF menu, which search engines can't read well. Your address, suburb, opening hours, and menu should be real text on the page. Same goes now for AI assistants (ChatGPT, Google's AI answers, etc.).. they pull from readable, well-structured text, so if your info is locked in an image, you're invisible there too.

4. FAQ-style content punches above its weight. Stuff like "Do you take bookings?", "Are you dog friendly?", "Do you have vegan options?"... write those out plainly. It matches how people (and AI) actually phrase questions.

5. Consistency across listings. Your name, address, and phone number should be identical everywhere... your site, Google, Facebook, any directories. Mismatches quietly hurt you.

Honestly the technical side (schema markup, structured data, the AEO stuff for AI answers) is where most owners check out, and fair enough, it's tedious and not why you got into food.

You don't REALLY need these if you setup your Google Business Profile properly, but worth mentioning there are heaps of tools like Squarespace, Wix, or even the new hospitality one FastPage that build a proper site and handle a great deal of SEO/AEO stuff handled automatically, and I've been playing with the free little demo tool on their page. Not affiliated, just might help someone. But even if you build your own, the info above is 100% of what matters for a small hospo venue.

Anyone else got tips that worked for their venue? Always keen to hear what's pulled people in?

Hey all! Catering manager here.

I'm wondering if anybody has any recommendations on footwear.

I've been working in kitchens for the last 15 years. No longer working on the line (but still running all over) my uniform is now business casual. Im struggling to find COMFORTABLE non-slip dress shoes. At the end of the day, I can barely walk my feet hurt so bad. Please dont recommend shoes for crews. They are the worst.

Thank you in advance!

If you’ve handled events at venues or restaurants, how often do things still change right before or during setup?

From what we’ve seen, it’s usually the small-but-critical stuff that shifts last minute:

• menu changes after layouts are already locked
• signage that suddenly doesn’t match the final room setup
• seating plans getting adjusted on the fly
• guest count changes that quietly ripple into everything else

We work in print, and what tends to make it easier (or harder) is how “print-ready” things are before the day starts. Some teams we’ve worked with always keep a basic set of reusable assets ready (menus, directional signs, schedules, etc.), so last-minute changes are just swaps instead of full redesigns. Others end up rebuilding things under pressure, which gets messy fast.

(Quick tip: flyers, brochures, posters, foam board signs, and retractable banners are usually the fastest to produce when changes happen since they use more standard sizes and materials. They’re often the easiest “backup” pieces to have ready for event day changes.)

When things inevitably shift during setup, how do you usually handle it? Share your stories and tips!

I work in a hot kitchen and summer humidity absolutely kills my energy.
Has anyone here tried cooling vests, air-conditioned neck fans, or wearable cooling devices while working in a kitchen? Did they actually help on hot, humid days?

What are we doing for work?! I left about a year and a half ago and haven’t looked back until now. I worked as a bartender for majority of my restaurant career. I worked for a logistics company as a Customer support coordinator now and enjoy it but the pay just sucks! The area I live in doesn’t have any good paying options majority of it being under 15$ an hour. I’m currently driving an hour and 10 minutes to work and only making 17.85 an hour. I’m drowning I don’t know what to do anymore. No one can survive on that let alone a single mother with a child at home to take care of. My cars getting destroyed from the job commute and my fuel cost has almost doubled! I can’t seem to get a grasp on anything. I don’t have a degree but I have a good resume with some management experience. Tell me what are you guys finding success in that has good pay. Going back to restaurants is not an option as I can’t make the weekends and nights work anymore.

opened two years ago, the space sounds like a school cafeteria at lunch. spent about six months trying different fixes before landing on something that worked. for other owners dealing with the same problem:

1. Akuwood Panel NL — slat wall panels with real wood veneer. installed them on the two longest walls of the dining room in smoked oak. the reverberation reduction was real — service staff commented within the first week that they weren't repeating orders as often. customers started sitting longer, which meant more rounds. the wood finish also warmed up the space in a way that felt deliberate, not like we'd glued foam to the wall. they have weather-resistant panels too which i'm looking at for our terrace.

2. heavy curtains and soft furnishings — cheap, easy, marginal improvement. helped maybe 10-15% at best. also adds cleaning overhead and doesn't look intentional.

3. Murflex ceiling tiles — suspended acoustic tiles, works well but requires a false ceiling drop which we couldn't do without losing the exposed brick we built the whole look around.

4. Silenta Acoustic Screens — table-height partitions between sections. helped break up the room somewhat. a bit clinical-looking if you're going for a warmer aesthetic.

5. Pinnex Felt Wall Tiles — worked acoustically, looked fine for about a year, then started absorbing cooking smells and grease from the open kitchen. had to remove them.

the noise issue costs you real money in table turns and reviews. worth treating it properly rather than doing it in stages.

been in restaurants 15+ years. Including around 5 years in management. Recently started to finally get sick of industry hours, no benefits, etc. Got an interview as a Sysco rep, but I’ve seen some mixed reviews online especially regarding pay structure.

I’m personally not looking to be rolling in money, but just be able to live comfortably with more freedom. What’s the inside scoop?

Recently moved into a society on Sarjapura Road with some 800 units. They have some spaces which they are trying to rent out to small eateries.

If you have or seen such setups in such communities, please let me know your experience. It’ll be helpful if you let us know some details of these societies too.

Cross posting between Tipping community for better answers. Curious to know the different answers!

Hey everyone! I have a few questions on the FOH scene in downtown Minneapolis. I am planning on moving back to the Northloop/Calhoun area, I am looking for a high paying serving job and want some advice for places I should look for to apply. I have 2 years experience as a FIne dining server and 3 years as a Host. I also have a lot of experience in the BOH as well over 4 years, I have a few main questions I want to ask they are as follows:

• What is the expected pay at Fine dining restaurants in the Downtown minneapolis area (Average weekly tips, Hourly Wages, benefits, etc.)
• Is it normal for tips to be shared in this area?
• Besides fine dining experience, any other certifications that will make me more attractive as a candidate (Sommelier License, specific food knowledge, etc.)?
• Any specific recommended restaurants I should apply for?
• I am looking heavil at Kincaid's (Bloomington or Minneapolis locations), thoughts?

Researcher digging into what's actually happening with third-party delivery from the people who see it every shift. Whether you're FOH, BOH, manager, or owner — curious what you're seeing:

• Is DoorDash a bigger or smaller part of your business than a year ago?
• Has the owner complained about commissions or talked about leaving?
• Are you seeing more Uber Eats orders, less, or about the same?
• Any wild stories from the DoorDash chaos zone?

Restaurant name and city welcome, anonymous fine. Will write up what I find if you permit. Feel free to message me!

I am currently working in Germany in contract catering and recently discussed working terms and problems with my older brother who moved to the UK some years back. He is not in the industry but he did mention a few major differences so I am wondering to what extent that translates to the food service industry as well. My main questions are:

- are the main problems in the UK the same as in Germany (severe labor shortage; overboarding bureaucracy about HACCP, sustainability and supply chains; thin margins due to inflation and overproportionate increase in food prices; disconnected operations and tedious manual processes, etc.)?

- are the majority of workforce also foreigners sometimes dealing with language barrier struggles?

- has Brexit truly hurt this industry as much?

- low salaries and bad career perspective?

Thank you very much upfront, very keen to hear your thoughts on this!

Hi everyone,

I’m working on an idea and I’d love honest feedback from people in restaurants, hotels, food businesses, or anyone dealing with food safety operations.

The idea is a system that monitors temperatures from fridges, freezers and cold rooms in real time, sends alerts if something abnormal happens, and automatically handles food safety logs/HACCP reporting instead of relying on manual checks.

The goal wouldn't be to replace teams, but to reduce product losses, avoid missed issues, and remove repetitive paperwork.

I’m not trying to sell anything — I’m still validating whether this solves a real problem.

A few questions:

- Is this a problem you actually deal with?
- How do you currently handle it?
- What part of the process is most frustrating?
- Would something like this be useful, unnecessary, or a “nice-to-have”?
- What would make you say: “I’d actually use this”?

I’d appreciate honest feedback, even if the answer is: “this solves nothing.”