662: Oliver Ridgeway on Do it Nice or Do it Twice
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 10/28/2019
687: Steve Raggiani and Joe Scalo on Fixing the Broken Review Culture
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
What if there was a way to help us find the food we’re craving, in a no-bullshit, dead-simple, dependable manner recommended by people we actually trust? According to Steve Raggiani and Joe Scalo, there is a better way and it's called the 8it app. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "It's about the food." In today's episode with Steve Raggiani and Joe Scalo we will discuss: How deep and useful are the recommendations on 8it app? The obnoxious "old way" of finding a good place to eat in a city strictly about the food; the app specifically suggests restaurants based on food The...
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686: Dave Hirschkop on Launching Your Retail Product
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Upon graduating college Dave Hirschkop opened Burrito Madness in College Park, MD. As a way to deal with unruly drunks, Dave created a hot sauce. Before long that hot sauce became Dave's main focus, and Dave's Insanity Sauce was born. Today Dave owns a website and business called Dave’s Gourmet where they sell Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce, pasta sauce, overnight oats and much more. In Today's episode, Dave shares how he spun a gourmet food business out of his restaurant and what advice he has for other restaurants looking to launch their products into stores and online retail. ...
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685: Jason Harris on 6 Habits to Make You More Persuasive
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Jason Harris is the CEO of the award-winning creative agency Mekanism and the co-founder of the Creative Alliance. Harris works closely with brands through a blend of soul and science to create proactive campaigns that engage audiences. Today we're here to talk about his book The Soulful Art of Persuasion: 11 Habits That Will Make Anyone a Master Influencer. Check out The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey as mentioned in today's episode. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "No growth in comfort." In today's episode with Jason Harris we will discuss: Partnerships...
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684: Michael Peticolas on Be Better not Bigger
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
After over a decade of practicing law, Michael Peticolas left bailiffs and briefcases behind for barely and brews (at least that's what he thought) when he opened Peticolas Brewing Company in 2010. In the first year, Michael and wife, Melissa, were the sole brewers, sales reps, and distributors and they still managed to win gold at the Great American Beer Festival …and again in their third year. In 2013 Peticolas was elected to the board of directors of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild. Shortly after, the board elected Peticolas as co-chair of the legislative committee, which has been integral...
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683: Nir Eyal on 4 Ways to Be More Indistractable
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Since 2003, Nir Eyal has founded two tech companies and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford. He is the author of the bestselling book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, Nir’s writing has been featured in The Harvard Business Review, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today. Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel...
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682: Chef Andrew Savoie on Setting Your Team Up
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Chef Andrew Savoie, a native New Yorker, began his culinary journey after graduating from Baltimore International College in 1997. Eager to begin his professional training under the direction of highly regarded chefs, Andrew headed to New Orlean, Virginia, California, Maine, and back again to NYC. After a move to Dallas, Andrew spent his time inspiring tomorrow’s chefs as a Culinary Instructor at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Dallas, where he earned awards and accolades from faculty and students. Today, Savoie serves as the Chef-Owner of Resident Taqueria...
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681: Nathan Ares on The Realness of Food and Labor Costs
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Nathan Ares is a native of Boston, MA and was raised in Tucson, AZ where he got an early starting working in some of Tucson's most well-known restaurant establishments. After a stint working at Los Vegas' SushiSamba, Ares made the move back to Tucson to partner with Brian Morris in opening Prep and Pastry. Six years later the single location has scaled into Ares Collective which consists of 3 Prep and Pastry locations, Commoner & Co, and August Rhodes Market. All located in Arizona. Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: Hospitality is a big work made up of a bunch of little...
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680: Aaron Chamberlin on Building Community Through Food
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Aaron Chamberlin's family has been working in the restaurant industry since the 1930’s, led first by his grandfather, who was a chef himself. Aaron credits his grandfather with having inspired him to become a chef at a very early age, and already had him cooking in the kitchen by the age of nine. A few years later, at the age of 14, he’d hold his first job in the industry. Aaron would go on to work at some of the best restaurants in the country, from New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and in Phoenix. In the early 2000's Aaron returned to Phoenix where he joined the La...
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679: Davin Waite on Zero-Waste and Plant-Based Dining
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
In the mid-'90s after being hired at Ichiban in Santa Barbara, CA, Davin Waite made the decision to drop out of college and chase his new-found passion; food. After a few years of being mentored by local legend, Chef Hiro, Waite made the move to San Diego where he weaseled his way into the kitchen of Cafe Japengo where he further refined his skills. Six years later Waite opened his first business, The Fish Joint (which later rebranded as Pickled Ginger Catering & Events) which was followed by Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub, and The Whet Noodle all located in Oceanside, CA. For his next...
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678: Stacey Poon-Kinney on Volume Hides Everything
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
As a descendant of restaurant operators Stacey Poon-Kinney caught the restaurant bug early. After 8 years of managing a restaurant chain, Stacey and her father took over Megan's Cafe in 2007. After a successful 2 year run, Stacey decided to rebrand to The Trails Eatery and expanded the restaurant footprint to twice the size, but her success was followed by near-total failure in 2011. On the edge of losing total hope, Stacey reached out to the Food Network and Robert Irvine's Restaurant Impossible for help and the rest is history. Check out Episode 641 with Greg Scheinman as mentioned in...
info_outlineChef Oliver Ridgeway, was born and raised in Sussex, England. For Ridgeway, life in the kitchen began in his father’s restaurant, where his own passion began to emerge. After studying cooking at Crawley College, Ridgeway worked in multiple hotels and even a cruise ship before landing in U.S. where he held multiple chef positions and even cooked for VIP's during the Olympics. In 2011 Ridgeway made the move Sacramento where he took the Executive Chef Role at Grange Restaurant & Bar, and Camden Spit & Larder in 2018.
Show notes…
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "Do it nice or do it twice."
In today's episode with Oliver Ridgeway we will discuss:
- Born into the industry and staying with it
- Traveling there ENTIRE world and what you learn
- Cutting your teeth on a cruise ship kitchen
- Hotel kitchens
- Airport restaurant kitchens
- The importance of world travel
- The importance of connections
- Working as a chef at the olympics
- You have to give a shit
- Standards, expectations, and aiming points for your team
- Accountability
- Keep your ego and temper in check
- How to let team members go during hard financial times
- You don't know everything so surround yourself with people who know things you don't
- Resentment in the industry
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Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Leading by example
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Addressing the issue of team members who try hard but it isn't hard enough
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- What makes you happy? What drives you?
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Telling good people that they aren't good enough
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Working with efficiency and urgency
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Making "no" sound like "yes"
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- Setting the Table by Danny Meyer
- What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Look at the long road rather than just the immediate
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
- If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
- Be kind
- Cook from the heart
- Do it nice or do it twice
Contact info:
Thanks for listening!
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Huge thanks to Oliver Ridgeway for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!