Resource: Restaurant Associations Around the World

As a restaurant owner, you can never tell where you might find useful advice. Here are some resources provided by restaurant associations around the world:

Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association

sample article titles:
Top 20 factors for success in the restaurant business
Choosing an effective accounting or cost management software for your restaurant
Estimating the value or worth of your business
Controlling alcohol spillage and shrinkage

link: Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association

Restaurant & Catering Australia

sample article summaries:
March/April 2005 - SALE AWAY - A POS system is a valuable tool to keep orders charged, stock counted and customers satisfied

May/June 2005 - CALL TO ORDER - The must have accessory by the wait staff is electronic order pads but are these handheld units as functional as mounted terminals?

May/June 2005 - UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE - An Auckland restaurant has found that an out-of-date website can be very expensive.

link: Restaurant & Catering Australia’s Technology Update

related link: Restaurant.org’s list of international restaurant associations

Resource: AllFoodBusiness.com’s List of Free Restaurant Checklists, Forms, and Posters

AllFoodBusiness.com has an incredible list of links to free restaurant checklists, forms, and posters for owners and managers. This site is a wonderful resource for anyone in the restaurant business and deserves further exploring. They have collected links from all over the internet and made it easy to find information.

sample titles:
Restaurant Market Analysis
Guidelines for Storing Frozen Foods
Manual Dishwashing Procedures Poster
Employee dismissal form

link: AllFoodBusiness.com’s Restaurant Forms and Checklists

You may need a free Adobe Acrobat PDF reader to view some of the documents.

The site is filled with free articles, resources, and advice. It is a site that is using the internet to help all restaurant owners improve their operations and share knowledge.

Web Site: HealthyDiningFinder.com

“Do you love to eat out? Are you looking for restaurants that offer a selection of healthier menu items? If so, then you’ve come to the right place, but a little too soon! Please enter your e-mail address below, and we’ll notify you when the website is accessible. You’ll find a wonderful selection of great-tasting, healthier menu items from restaurants nationwide, ranging from quick-serve to fine dining and representing dozens of types of cuisines.”

link: HealthyDiningFinder.com

HealthyDiningFinder site is associated with the National Restaurant Association (Note: HealthyDiningFinder site is not affiliated with TeamWaiterBell or WaiterBell). For a demo of the site in action, click here.

Update (9/4/06):

“Then you’re invited to preview this new website, which will officially launch in January 2007. Please visit often, as this website continues to grow with more restaurants – from quick-serve to fine dining – and other frequent updates.”

link: HealthyDiningFinder.com

Article: “Defining fast casual” (Jul.2006)

excerpt:
“What is fast casual?

As editor of Fast Casual magazine and this Web site, I am frequently asked this question. Sometimes I have to correct people who claim their restaurant is fast casual when it’s really a QSR or casual-dining restaurant. I can’t blame them for miss-categorizing their outfits; fast casual is a hybrid and, well, it’s the hip thing to be called.

With that said, it’s important we are very selective in who we call fast casual…”

source: “Defining fast casual” by Fred Minnick (Fast Casual, Jul.13,2006)

About the publisher:

“Founded in 1997, the foodservice media division of NetWorld Alliance is the leading vertical restaurant publisher in the restaurant industry. Together with Fast Casual magazine, fastcasual.com, Pizzamarketplace.com and QSRWeb.com, we continue to provide the industry with thought-provoking news and updates on the latest trends.”

link: Fast Casual Magazine

Reference: “Restaurant Staff Service Tips” (2003)

excerpt:
"This guide has been developed by Visa in order to provide service staff with guidelines and suggestions aimed at increasing service standards and gratuities.

This guide runs through a series of service techniques and standards, and makes useful suggestions that are easy to implement and may increase the level of ‘fun’ you have during your career. While the guide may seem a little weighty, any one of the suggestions offered, once implemented, could have an immediate impact on the quality of service you offer and the financial benefits you may receive."

source: "Restaurant Staff Service Tips" by Douglas P. Fisher (Visa Canada, 2003)

This is a free 31 page reference guide for restaurant waitstaff that was sponsored by Visa. Here is some information about the author:

"Doug was the 1997 and 2001 recipient of the Award for Excellence in Management Advisory Services from Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI), an organization representing the leading foodservice consultants from more than 39 countries."

Here are additional free waitstaff resources.

Note: In addition to their free content, many of these sites also promote waitstaff training services and instructional materials.

Reference: The Chef and Restaurant Database (ChefDb)

excerpt:
Is ChefDb yet another restaurant listings site?

Absolutely not. Nor is it a restaurant review site. Instead, ChefDb is an archival project designed to document the names of chefs, restaurateurs and restaurants, past and present. Profile pages reveal the employment history of the individual or, in the case of restaurant profiles, the individuals who have worked at that particular establishment.

All of the information is cross-referenced, making it easy to navigate between people and places. As the information on this site has not previously been collected in a central repository, it makes for an exciting project to build and develop from the ground up.

link: The Chef and Restaurant Database (ChefDb)

Similar to IMDB (Internet Movie Database) and other user-powered database sites, this is a growing site that will allow anyone to find the history and current status of restaurant professionals. For the empowered diner, they can use it to find out where their favorite chef is working or other related information.

Article: “From Prix Fixe to Cold Tea: A Glossary of Popular (and Obscure) Restaurant Terms” (May 2005)

excerpt:
"Everyone knows what a bistro is…right? And a la carte is a term that even a fifth grader knows…well, maybe not. And what exactly does smart casual mean? There are so many words and terms in the English language that are taken for granted, including those used in the restaurant industry. In a public service to diners from Boston to Bakersfield, Boston's presents a glossary of useful, as well as totally useless, restaurant terms. (Note: This page is part of our restaurant features section.)"

source: "From Prix Fixe to Cold Tea: A Glossary of Popular (and Obscure) Restaurant Terms" (Boston's Hidden Restaurants, May 16, 2005) (via ArticlesFactory.com)

Here are some other links with a glossary of restaurant terms:

Allfoodbusiness.com's Restaurant Glossary, Restaurant Terms And Restaurant Definitions

WikiPedia's entry for "Diner Lingo"

DinerSoft's Restaurant Lingo

Happy Eating.

Article: “The Ten Minute Manager’s Guide to…Al Fresco Dining”

excerpt:
"Al fresco dining can add 120 covers per day for Andy D’Amico, chef-owner of New York City’s Nice Matin. Its 56-seat patio operates from May to October. Never mind the urban vista or aroma of bus fumes. “People will wait for outside tables,’’ he says.

To take advantage of the opportunity, manage outdoor dining like a special event, advises Gary Arabia, chef-owner of Los Angeles’ Global Cuisine. “It’s all logistics, planning and execution.’’

source: "The Ten Minute Manager's Guide to…Al Fresco Dining" by Margaret Sheridan (Restaurants & Institutions, May 15, 2005)

This article is part of a series at Restaurants & Institutions magazine, "the foodservice industry's most trusted source for food and business trend information and exclusive research".

Note: For all of the past "The Ten Minute Manager's Guide to…" articles, please click here.