Selected Archives
Selected stories 2011-2021
Many candidates at job interviews do not realize how important it is to ask solid, intelligent and well thought out questions at the job interview. At Michael J. Hawkins, Inc. one of the ways that we judged candidates is by the caliber of questions that they ask. The key is to ask great questions- not to ask questions that you should know the answers to already (“What does the position entail?) or questions that make it all about you (“What is your vacation policy?”) Here are 9 great questions you can use or make your own on your next job interview. Obviously they're generic and should be tailored based on circumstances: 1. Who would make the ideal candidate for this position? 2. How will the work I’ll be doing contribute to the organization’s mission? 3. What were the best things about the last person who held this position? 4. What are three ways I can contribute to the company beyond the job description? 5. How can I best contribute to the department’s goals? 6. How do you see me best contributing to the corporate culture and morale? 7. What do you see as the biggest challenges of working here and how can I overcome those challenges? 8. What is your vision for where the company or department will be in one year? In 3-5 years? 9. How can I help you and the team succeed? Of course, the more research you do in advance, the more you can ask specific questions about the company’s recent news, blog posts, product launches, plans, etc. But here’s the bottom line: Ask questions that demonstrate genuine interest in the organization and how you can fit in to their success. Remember, also, job interviewing is a two-way-street! By asking questions, you can get a much better sense of the organization you’re interviewing at, and the extent to which you’d even want to work there. In summary, the best tabletop sales people know the great questions to ask when they are in front of the customer in a sales mode. It’s even more important when your career is on the line. Mike Hawkins is a top executive recruiter specializing in the hospitality industry. Mike has vast knowledge of the foodservice sales and marketing industry having experience on both the supplier and dealer sides of the business.
To learn more about Ancap Porcelain and their wide assortment of tabletop products for the hospitality industry, go here: http://www.ancap.it/en/
To visit their Ancap-USA site, go here: http://ancap-usa.com/
Celebrating its 20th anniversary year of support to the food and beverage industry, The International Food & Beverage Forum has helped a great number of young hospitality professionals to get a better start to their careers through the funding of scholarships. The IF&B Forum has also honored 17 Restaurateurs of the year and inducted 31 Hoteliers & Beverage Industry professionals into the International Food & Beverage Forum Hall of Fame which is located in Chicago.
For more information on the IF&B Forum and its auction, go here: http://www.foodandbeverageforum.com/
To learn more about Figgjo Porcelain from Norway, go here: http://figgjo.com/
This week, we're listening to a new band - Blue Sky Riders - here at TabletopJournal's HQ. A little country, a little bluesy..and some good ol' rock music....think you'll like it. We certainly did when we saw them in concert the other night. Georgia Middleman, Gary Burr, and some other guy who has made a few songs over the years. To learn more about Blue Sky Riders, go here: http://blueskyridersband.com/
Pandolfi counts among his customers chefs like April Bloomfield, who along with Ken Friedman, is bringing San Francisco's legendary TOSCA back to life. Marcus Ware from Aureole and Marcus Jernmark from Aquavit are two other signature chefs that he currently is working with, but Pandolfi is long known for his high-profile dinnerware collaborations with chefs like Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, NoMad), Matt Lightner (Atera), and Wylie Dufresne (wd~50), as well as his custom tabletop pieces that showcase each chef's creations.
CNN interviews RAK Ceramics CEO Abdallah Massaad who takes us on a quick, inside look at the emerging ceramics giant and the role that its hospitality tabletop plays in the larger company.
RAK Porcelain produced 20,000,000+ pieces of dinnerware last year alone! To learn more about RAK Porcelain and its tabletop products for the hospitality industry worldwide, go here: http://www.rakporcelain.eu/
With Day#1 of The Roots Conference completed at The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio you may be asking ...What's all the fuss about? What brought top chefs like Curtis Duffy, Lois Ellen Frank, Walter Whitewater, Nephi Craig, Tracy Ritter, Arlie Doxtator, and Rena Dennison to Farmer Lee Jones and a small farm spot in Middle America ? And, why would noted culinarians Claus Henriksen and Soren Wiuff travel halfway around the globe to give their thoughts on where the future of food is going? And, then you have major industry supply sources like Steelite,who the major sponsor of this event, TriMark/S.S. Kemp and Vitamix ....why would they involve themselves? Perhaps the real question is ...why didn't it happen sooner - and why aren't MORE of us involved? With chefs from America flocking to conferences such as Rene Redzepi's MAD Symposium in Copenhagen, Gaston Acurio's Mistura in Peru and Enrique Olvera's Mesamerica in Mexico to explore the indigenous ingredients and traditions of these nations, the question has to be asked: Why is the same thing not happening in America, a nation with a rich indigenous culture of its own?
It will forge a deeper appreciation and understanding of the valiant struggle native chefs have undertaken for so many centuries to preserve a way of life under a constant barrage of assault. Steelite's John Miles concluded by saying, "Bringing the essence of native culture to practical ideas that an end user can implement in their operation, is what will create lasting effects." Other presentations during Day # 1 included "The New Definition of Local: Why miles don’t matter as much as ethics do" led by Claus Henriksen & Soren Wiuff The Roots Conference concludes with Day #2 today. On the agenda today are: More than a Pretty Picture: The role of imagery to affect change and move an agenda forward led by Evan Sung and Kristin Teig and The Present and the Past: How understanding history makes us wiser people and better chefs with Kyle Connaughton and Naoko Moore In a National Restaurant Association article on how restaurants should market themselves to millennials, author Jeff Fromm makes the point about the fact that this key demographic group doesn’t just want to buy your brand, they want to be a part of it. “They’re looking for ways to participate. And they want to understand why you do what you do not just what you want to sell.” We think many of the same concepts apply for hospitality tabletop companies and the products they bring to the restaurant and hospitality industry. Restaurants, like millennial consumers, define themselves by the brands they choose. More and more, the "why" of what products tabletop companies produce is as equally important as the "what" they produce to today's restaurateur. For instance…. Quality
Fromm talks about how “key basics” such as great food, money for value, etc. are simply the price of admission for doing business with millennials. We would say that those same “key basics” apply when attempting to bring tabletop products to the hospitality industry. Product quality, ability to deliver in a timely manner, and good value are “basics” in most any industry – the hospitality tabletop segment is no different – and are not truly differentiators. Restaurateurs have come to expect these basics in the tabletop products they choose. Tabletop companies who fall short on these basics are not serious competitors in the hospitality tabletop game. Uniqueness Millenials seek unique flavor experiences according to Fromm, and we agree. A quick trip to any supermarket will confirm that. But, the same applies to tabletop as a participant in that helping to showcase and deliver that unique flavorful, often – but not always – ethnic experience. Tabletop products such as cast iron, terra cotta, colored-glaze dinnerware that reinforce a particular culinary experience are more popular than ever. The overall dining experience continues to be important to the millennial customer and tabletop products that contribute to that overall experience will continue to realize higher levels of success. Like the foods they serve, restaurateurs more and more seek truly unique tabletop products to enhance the dining experience of their particular dining guests. Authenticity and Transparency The truth in how and where products are made is just as important to tabletop products as it is to the food products that restaurants serve. We continue to see tabletop companies that produce their own products in their own factories finding favor versus those who simply source from a variety of factories that have cheaper costs of production. Increasingly, millennials care about not only what materials go into making their tabletop products, but how, where - and why – they are made. Tabletop products that are perceived as authentic and transparent to the dining experience will only grow in popularity with today's forward thinking restaurant decision makers. As millennials continue to evolve into a more participatory level of brand and product involvement, tabletop companies must realize that this concept applies not only to the foods millennials choose to eat. This trend extends into all areas of where this key demographic chooses to do its consumer spending. We see it in the foods they choose to eat….the wines they choose to drink….and the tabletop products they use to consume them. So, yes....tabletop matters. You can read Jeff Fromm’s very interesting article by going here: https://www.restaurant.org/Manage-My-Restaurant/Marketing-Sales/Promotion/Millennials-are-changing-the-definition-of-brand-v |
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Ment'or Inspiring Culinary Excellence Archives
November 2021
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