Posts from — April 2009

My dad has been diagnosed with a nasty form of cancer about 7 months ago.  So far he isn’t beating it but he is able to maintain and he went for another CAT SCan last week and tomorrow he finds out the results as to whether or not the tumor has remained the same size or not.

This is what he has written me.

Hi,

I had something happen on show site that has happened before and worth the mention.
When doing cupcakes make sure the cupcake LOOKS like a cupcake. And that the icing actually has some flavor. Too many times chef’s are taking chocolate muffin batter mix and tossing some bad icing on it and calling it a cupcake. NOT GOOD!

Went to BBJ today to pick some linen out for a client.  I haven’t been there in awhile and as always their showroom was fabulous.  Funny, I used to do a lot of business with them but it the cost of their basic linen’s had gotten to expensive. So I only go to them now when I am needing something speciality.

Ken, my sales rep who I have known for awhile did come up with a cost savings recommendation that I think is worth passing along.  He said to use chair ties as a liner and /or fluff cloth.  I thought that was a great idea especially with chair ties at $3.00 per tie.

Claire

Working at a 5 star or a wanna be 5 star propety in New Mexico – they offer 3 different breakfast meats – and what are all of they ?? PORK based. Come -on hotels if want to be all of that and more please make sure you are offering at least one turkey or chicken based breakfast meat.

I am in PA having a wonderful weekend with my father. I talked my sister into coming up and surprising him.  And that he was.  She just left and he and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking about his friend Kenny.  Kenny is 1/2 of my fathers age which would put him in around 40 years old.  He is a salt of the earth type of guy who has a heart that is probably too big.  Kenny is definitely a Western, PA boy – get up at 5:00 am every morning and drives the company 18 wheeler all around the area delivery construction supplies for a local company.  Goes to church on Sunday, participates in the Church bowling league etc.  My father knows Kenny because they both are very active with flying radio control airplanes.  Kenny is a very good builder and sometimes comes over to help my father out.  Kenny this past year went through a divorce. He took it very hard because in his world this wasn’t what marriage is all about. On top of it he had a lawyer that was taking advantage of his sweet nature.  He would come visit my father as he was recuperatingfrom his surgery and then having to transition into his life of living with cancer – and Kenny would tell my father his tales of divorce/the lawyers/ the finances/ his x wife.  My father helped him on several occasions with writing letters and action steps to help Kenny gain some control of this divorce situation.  After my father helped navigate Kenny through Kenny said “Doc what do I owe you”. You spent a lot of time and energy on me and I want to pay you back.  My father said Kenny you do owe – because this was a learning situation and you got an education.  Education does cost something –  but you don’t owe me – you owe the next person to pay it forward.  Take what you learned from this situation and if and when you come across someone that you can help with your new found knowledge then you do owe it – to help them out just as I did you.

That my folks is my father’s story for now and he is sticking to it.

Claire

This is a term that I feel is way used way to convienently in the industry. Hotels use it as excuse as to why something is..ok it is what it is…but I am working with a hotel in New Mexico – that is doing a full breakfast buffet and there’s doesnt have a hot starch on their menu.  This is a newer hotel and I politely explain to them that  – IT IS INDUSTRY STANDARD that a full breakfast would have potatoes or a hot starch on it. But this hotel is refusing to include it. They are trying to squeeze an extra $4.00++ out of my client which is bullshit on something they should already be getting. For $36.00++ we are getting very little food for the money. We explain that all their other properties include potatoes as part of their breakfast menu and yet they refuse to cooperate because why – THEIR EGOS are in the way.
Last folks, make sure if you are offering 3 breakfast meats that all of them aren’t pork.

I had something happen to me before that has never happened.  My client is doing an event in a part of the country that not many of us or her guests would be familiar with.  So in order to create a kool guest experience the opening night – we decided to write her dinner menu around some of the history of the area.  I have done similiar things before with great success. This particular menu has a story about the state and then an food item to support the story paragraph. The goal at the end of this dinner is that their guests are going to walk away not only with a great meal but with some history of the area along with some of the food items folks would have eaten when the state was being settled. 

I forwarded this to the chef and catering manager – this story and the catering manager came back to me and very nicely said – is all this jibber jabber going to be on the menu because the chef doesn’t appreciate his food being presented in this fashion.  WHAT??? I wiped my eyes clean to make sure I was looking at this correctly and went back to her and kindly asked am I reading this correctly? YOUR CHEF doesn’t like the way the menu is written telling the story of the history of the area? And she said yes he doesn’t want his food being presented like that and wants the story part to go away and just write the menu.  Well if I did that the menu wouldn’t be nearly as meaningful. But what occured to me is that  – it isn’t his food.  It is my client’s food. HE put a price to the menu and it isn’t his job to control how the menu is being presented as long as the ingredients are all being listed correctly. IT IS HIS JOB to make sure he delivers what he agreed to from the plate on out – not from the paper.  He doesn’t own the food anymore when my client agreed to the purchase price it is her food not his.  Chef’s understand you are working for the clients – the clients aren’t working for you.

This is my story for now and I am sticking to it.

Claire

Ok, I don’t mean to brag but I am a always a gold or platinium traveler on Delta for the last several years. And with that comes changes. I need to change an international ticket and the cost of the change fee $250.00 BULLSHIT. I don’t mind that there is a change fee but $250.00 for a dedicated customer such as myself is crazy! I complain about this and I write Delta only to NEVER receive and answer but what Delta is good at is apologizing. Why we as an industry don’t stand up and say NO is beyond me.

That is my story for now and I am sticking to it.