Welcome New Year 2010! Good riddance to 2009! Many challenges have faced therestaurant in the past year and lessons are always learned... every day. The restaurant business is by far more challenging as we enter each New Year. New opportunities await as we tenuously move slowly forward. Economic difficult times may hopefully be a thing of the past.

This year, I believe will be the year of really hunkering down and going back to the basics. Good, hearty comfort food will be the focus, yet creating dishes with higher quality ingredients will be something that drives this trend. The year of the burger (2009) is over. Now let's go forward as we investigate a new ways to serve pot roast, prepare inventive tetrazzini and redo simple classics with a twist.

Menu pricing is challenging. We are not yet out of the bad economic woods just yet. So new incarnations of our menu with be friendlier and streamlined for better service without cutting quality. Our customers are savvy and will find the best deal that fits their budget. So with that said, prix fixe menus are all the rage right now. Mixing and matching flavor profiles that will fit almost anyone’s palate will be ongoing and changing continually, until the right mix is found.

With the Christmas season finally over, people will be getting their credit card bills in the mail. The first quarter of the year is the second most challenging quarter of the year (third quarter is the most difficult). Many events are scattered throughout this quarter; Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, Lent (fish fry), St. Patrick's Day and Easter is then literally right around the corner. This usually drives a somewhat first half, strong January and then towards the second half starts to come to a halt. February, Valentine's Day and other small dates of interest create great opportunities to be able to show your "stuff" by creating some great dishes. March is the month that signals the start of wedding banquet season. Cinco de Mayo is a great opportunity to get your Mexican/Spanish staff involved with down home specials. Then St. Patrick's Day is next. This is the day/week to consume corned beef & cabbage until it comes out your ears.

It will be an interesting year this 2010. Let's keep our fingers crossed and anticipate for the best without looking back to the difficulties of 2009.

This is my first real blog writing since I have created this page over a year ago. I am thinking that blogging may be a little easier as I get my creative juices flowing and my fingers "hunting and pecking" my keyboard. More blogging.... continued "Facebooking" and maybe some more Tweeting this year.