Restaurant Memes: Some Gems from Bourdain, A Double in the Weeds, When it's Soup Time, and More!
It’s Monday, so here we are with another glorious batch of restaurant memes to fill your meme-void. Share these bad boys with guests, your staff, or anyone else with willing eyes to laugh and start things off right. In this week’s batch: the dreaded avocado latte is still here, Beetlegeuse-ing your way through work, hosting parties, and more!
DID YOU KNOWS…
Always On
If you sometimes feel like you and your guests are online pretty much nonstop, we have good news for you: you’re not alone. According to a recent Pew Research survey, 1 in 4 American adults say they’re online almost constantly, with another 43% claiming to go online several times per day. Teenagers seem to find it even harder to disconnect, with nearly half of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 saying they are constantly online. The main reason for this trend is the ubiquity of smartphones which 95% of teenagers say they have access to.
Breaking the Language Barrier
A new Spanish manual could break the language barrier between being a barback to a bartender. BarSmarts, a 10-hour online bartender training program, is working on a Spanish version of its program. It’s currently under testing with Spanish-speaking bartender testers in Mexico and Columbia, but is slated for wider release starting July 1st. This is a great start to leveling the playing field and rewarding some of the industry’s hardest workers.
RIP 8 Million Bottles of Champagne
The world lost eight million bottles of champagne thanks to a freak hailstorm that cut through Bordeaux and stripped vines of leaves and grapes. According to a Timesreport, 6% of the vineyards in Bordeaux as well as 14% of the brandy-centric vines in Cognac were affected by the storm. This comes as a huge blow to a region already struggling this year due to the smallest harvest seen since 1991, and the worst France has seen since World War II.
‘CAUSE OF A LUST FOR LIFE
Why it matters to you: Writer, storyteller, TV Star, and former chef Anthony Bourdain has died at age 61.
If you are even remotely interested in food or anywhere near the food world you know who Anthony Bourdain is. He came on to the scene fast with his first book Kitchen Confidential which gave an unfiltered look into the goings on behind the scenes in restaurants in a semi harsh but very spot on and funny way in which only Bourdain could accomplish. This book ended up turning into his critically acclaimed and nearly universally loved Anthony Bourdain: No ReservationsTV series which lasted 9 seasons (8 years) in which he traveled the world and showed us that what might seem strange culturally or culinarily actually isn’t strange and is usually delicious and fascinating. He used his shows as a way to convey to us that across all cultures, borders, and countries we are all a lot more similar than we’d initially think. Bourdain died in his favorite place on earth, France, at age 61 while filming an episode (presumably) for season 12 of his TV show Parts Unknownwith his close friend (and incredible chef) Eric Ripert.
What an incredibly huge loss for the food world and just our world in general. There has been an (expectedly) massive outpouring of emotion and raw reaction from people in all walks of life so far in regards to Bourdain taking his own life. We are truly seeing what a gargantuan impact he had on the world as an author, host, and person. We feel for those close to him and his loved ones. RIP Tony. This one hurts…
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Why it matters to you: Communication in your restaurant can mean a shift in the weeds or a shift on cruise control.
Anyone who has been there knows exactly how crucially vital communication is in the restaurant. The kitchen telling the front of house what is 86’ed, the wait staff properly conveying their table’s order specifications and any dietary restrictions to the back of house, knowing which food goes where, taking down finished tickets and putting up new ones in the right order, the list goes on and on. That’s why we are here to stress this bit: COMMUNICATE with each other. From our managers properly describing exactly what your position’s duties are around the joint to strategizing where all the moving pieces perform it can be life or death on a busy Friday night for all involved (or rather, seem that way).
This is relatively straightforward stuff so we won’t beat you over the head with minute details of how to communicate with each other as humans but it needs re-stressing from time to time. Talk to your staff. All of them. Get some feedback on how they are feeling and what they think you could do better as an operation/operator. Listen to them. With any luck their tips along with improved communication throughout will lead you to many successful shifts to come.
