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Patricia Cobe

Senior Editor

Articles by
Patricia Cobe

Page 155

Tyrant or tenderheart: What’s your management style?

Watching episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, the average viewer comes away thinking that cursing, screaming and ruthless bullying is the only way to run a successful restaurant kitchen. True, many chefs are as hellish as Gordon Ramsay appears on TV, routinely leaving their staff quaking in their clogs. But some industry veterans are embracing a kinder, gentler management style—and finding it has its place.

A Visit to ShopHouse

I've always been a big fan of Chipotle Mexican Grille's menu and business model. What's there not to like about ordering very tasty burritos and bowls custom-built before your eyes with top quality, carefully sourced ingredients? I guess the long lines are one drawback, but they don't seem to keep the faithful away.

Food

Grape expectations: winter

Now that local produce is done for the season or in storage in many parts of the country, there are still tasty late fall and winter selections that can excite a chef and add color, flavor and creativity to the menu. Consider grapes, for instance.

The sandwich generation

Today’s diners see sandwiches as a healthier, fresher more affordable choice—especially in the quickservice segment.

A day in the life of a forager

Connie Green, who gives herself the title “head huntress,” is a professional forager and the author of The Wild Table (Viking Studio, 2010). In the wee hours of the morning, she sets out from her Napa Valley home to hunt down exotic mushrooms and other wild ingredients for picky chefs and top restaurants. We sat down with Green to find out exactly what a professional forager does.

2011 Clean Plate Awards

When folks in the restaurant business are asked to name their favorite dishes, it’s not easy to narrow down the choices. But our team of passionate industry insiders dug into their collective food memories and came up with their top picks. Tacos, french fries, steaks and pig popped up on a few lists, but there were plenty of surprises, too.

Squash: An autumn icon

September to January is peak season for winter squash—all of which share hard shells, yellow-to-orange flesh and great nutritional profiles. “The large...

Financing

Sourcing produce for fall menus

The current farm-to-fork mindset is changing the way restaurants buy produce.

Financing

Burgerville LTOs strong on sustainability

Local, fresh and seasonal are the sourcing mantras at this 40-unit Northwest regional concept. So when the R&D team decided to revamp last year’s grilled salmon sandwich for this year’s fall LTO, they partnered with a new sustainable supplier to source the fish.

Financing

Pears: Ripe and ready for fall

With over 3,000 varieties of pears grown worldwide, there is fruit available in almost every month of the year.

Making the grade

Dead roaches count for fewer points than the live bugs. A carton of moldy tomatoes sitting on the basement floor is a red flag—even if those tomatoes belong to another tenant in the building. And arguing with a health inspector means automatic failure.

Turkey porcupine sliders

Last September, First Lady Michelle Obama and the USDA challenged chefs, school nutrition professionals, students and community members to create an imaginative, nutritious, kid-approved recipe that schools could easily incorporate into the National School Lunch Program.

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