724: Jeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng on Clear Purpose, Direction, and Process
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: 06/22/2020
737: Jennifer Weishaupt on Engineering Ideal Operations
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Trained engineers, Erich and Jennifer Weishaupt had no plans to own a restaurant. That all changed when a friend purchased a property in their community and asked them to run a breakfast restaurant there. They took the challenge head-on and leveraged their years of experience with critical thinking and project management to revitalize the Mid-City New Orleans neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 12 years later, they've scaled to 18 locations throughout the Gulf Coast under the brand of Ruby Slipper and Ruby Sunshine. In addition, Jennifer has served on the Board of Directors of...
info_outline
736: Josh Kopal on Always Grateful, Never Satisfied
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Entrepreneur, restaurateur, and environmental advocate, Josh Kopel, was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Throughout his 20+ year career in food and beverage, he has managed venues ranging from the Alligator Bayou Bar, as well as the hottest Hollywood nightclubs, bars, and ultra-lounges. He went independent in 2010, opening his first concept Five0Four, in Hollywood, CA. Ten years later, he's created a family of brands ranging from Michelin-rated fine-dining to fast-casual, all with a central focus on Southern hospitality and Southern cuisine. Check out his website . To learn...
info_outline
735: Nina Compton on Positive Vibes All Around
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Hailing from the island of Saint Lucia, Nina Compton is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park. She started her professional career working under the mentorship of Daniel Boulud at his namesake restaurant . Nina then moved on to Miami where she continued to work in leading restaurants and hotels including Scott Conant's where she served as chef de cuisine. After being runner up on Top Chef season 11, and voted fan favorite, Nina moved to New Orleans to open her own restaurant, Compère Lapin in 2015. In 2018, was followed by . Go to as mentioned in today's episode to...
info_outline
734: Drew Delaughter on Operating Without Fear or Greed
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
was created by Drew Delaughter, Chef Blake Aguillard, and Trey Smith. Drew and Trey met in 2008 at culinary school in Hyde Park, NY. They both moved to New Orleans after school. Drew worked at Susan Spicer’s working his way up to Captain, gaining valuable service experience, as well as, wine and spirit knowledge. Smith went to work for Chef Michael Gulotta at where he met and worked alongside Blake. After some European traveling, and working in other cities, the trio reunited and Saint-Germain was born. Check out as mentioned in today's episode! Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! ...
info_outline
733: Ariane Daguin on Humane and Sustainable Farming
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Ariane Daguin is the founder, owner and CEO of , the renowned gourmet food purveyor. Famous for providing humanely-raised meats, from game and foie gras to organic chicken and prepared charcuterie, the name D’Artagnan is synonymous with top-quality food produced with care. Today we're here to discuss how the meat industry has been impacted by COVID-19, how Ariane has pivoted her company to keep quality meat on American tables, the issues of factory farming that have been brought to light by the pandemic, and why returning to sustainable methods is crucial to the environment and consumer...
info_outline
732: Michael Gulotta on Employees-First Culture
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Born and raised in New Orleans, Michael Gulotta began cooking in local restaurants at a young age. After graduating from the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, he joined the newly opened , where he was named Chef de Cuisine in 2007 and led the award-winning kitchen for 6 years. In 2014 Michael opened to rave reviews and accolades. Today, Michael has scaled the operation to include and a second Mopho located in the new Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Check out as mentioned in today's episode. Check out as mentioned in today's episode. Check out as mentioned in today's...
info_outline
731: Dr. Kara Farley on COVID-19 and Blue Ocean Health Services
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Dr. Kara Farley is a veteran, wife, mother of two, and physician. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during Dr. Farley's last tour as a Naval Flight Surgeon. During that time, Dr. Farley was a lead member of the public health emergency services team where she created and implemented protocol aimed at decreasing transmission between sailors and soldiers. During her transition out of the military, she realized that the civilian sector was in need of these same services she created. In June she started , which aims to give your business the tools for success during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond....
info_outline
731: Dr. Kara Farley on COVID-19 and Blue Ocean Health Services
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Dr. Kara Farley is a veteran, wife, mother of two, and physician. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during Dr. Farley's last tour as a Naval Flight Surgeon. During that time, Dr. Farley was a lead member of the public health emergency services team where she created and implemented protocol aimed at decreasing transmission between sailors and soldiers. During her transition out of the military, she realized that the civilian sector was in need of these same services she created. In June she started , which aims to give your business the tools for success during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond....
info_outline
730: Dennis Bagneris Giving People the Space to Grow
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
In 2008, Janet Davas founded . Her vision was to create a place where young adults who had been neglected or criminalized could come for a hot meal, a job opportunity, and a support system. Fast forward 12 years since its inception, we're sitting with Liberty's Kitchen CEO, and longest standing employee, Dennis Bagneris. In that time Liberty's Kitchen has evolved into a workforce development training program, which functions as a social enterprise, dedicated to transforming the lives of the "Opportunity and Vulnerable Youth" population of New Orleans, LA., by providing them with the support to...
info_outline
729: Page Pressley on Clarity of Vision
Restaurant Unstoppable with Eric Cacciatore
Page Pressley got his start in culinary where he grew up; Santa Fe, New Mexico. He continued on to The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Upon graduation, Pressley returned to the Southwest to manage kitchens at several highly acclaimed establishments. In 2011, he moved to Austin, Texas to join the Uchi team as sous chef, and later becoming a corporate executive chef for . He returned to the line at in Mexico City until 2015, when he moved back to Austin to head up the opening team at as chef de cuisine and partner. Today Pressley serves as Founder & Chef ...
info_outlineJeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng met while working for Thomas Keller at Bouchon Bakery in Napa Valley, California. They have been baking together ever since. They honed their skills in different kitchens around the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to San Antonio in the summer of 2010. In 2011 they met entrepreneur Charlie Biedenharn who joined them in forming Bakery Lorraine. Today, they've scaled Lorraine to 5 locations and they've also opened a Donut shop, Maybelle's Donuts.
Check out The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller as mentioned in today's episode.
Check out Square POS as mentioned in today's episode.
Show notes…
Calls to ACTION!!!
- Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel
- Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group
- Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!)
Favorite success quote or mantra:
- "Mistakes stop here."
- If there's any question, there's no question."
In today's episode with Jeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng we will discuss:
- Lessons Jeremy took from culinary school
- Commitment to excellence
- From food science to food prep and cooking
- Applying science to food
- Maintaining a level of ridiculously high standards
- How to attract great people to your organization
- Defeating your own laziness
- Getting your foot in the bakery door via farmer's markets
- Proof of concept
- How to develop regulars
- Quality of quantity
- Food trucks
- 3-way partnerships are best
- Pop-ups
- Converting a condemned house into a bakery
- Start where you can
- The decision to close a shop NOT because it was losing money
- Sexism in the industry
- How have restaurants changed?
- The future of the industry
Today's sponsor:
QuickBooks for Restaurants a Bookkeeping and Accounting Guide. The back-office restaurant accounting guide you’ve been searching for! Zac covers the accounting fundamentals, including sales tracking, purchasing, bill paying, invoicing, managing day-to-day liabilities, gift certificate tracking, cash management, detailed reporting, and more. Ultimately, Zac show owners and operators how to create the accurate financials and reporting that will enable them to make better informed, data-driven decisions.
Toast - A POS built for restaurants by restaurant people Adapt fast with Toast's cloud-based restaurant POS system that updates to evolve your POS along with changing industry trends and guest expectations. Toast is built exclusively for restaurants of all shapes and sizes, with over 2/3 of our employees having restaurant experience to serve you better. Online Ordering - Let guests easily order directly from your restaurant for pickup or contactless delivery to keep revenue flowing during these uncertain times. Toast Delivery Services Dispatch local drivers through an on-demand network to keep your community fed and revenue coming in.
Restaurant365 is a cloud-based, all-in-one, restaurant-specific accounting and back-office platform that seamlessly integrates with POS systems, payroll providers, food and beverage vendors. It generates accurate real-time reporting and analysis in user-friendly dashboards, facilitating immediate, data-driven decision making. Restaurant365 eliminates manual, error-prone processes and is designed to help restaurant businesses grow with functionality that helps optimize labor costs, reduce food costs and increase revenue.
Knowledge bombs
- Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
- Anne: approachability
- Jeremy: hard work
- What is your biggest weakness?
- Anne: stubborn
- Jeremy: cookies
- What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
- A team player, driven
- What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
- Keeping up with standards from staff and food
- Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
- Integrity, standing up for what you believe in, doing the right thing even when nobody is watching
- What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
- Discipline
- What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Elijayu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
- The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Elijayu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox
- What's one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
- Say thank you to your team
- Name one service you've hired.
- Graphic Design: Jamie Stolarski - San Antonio, TX
- What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls 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?
- Always strive to be better
- Never settle for anything less than the expectation
- Don't lose yourself in your work
Contact info:
Thanks for listening!
Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.
Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.
And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.
Huge thanks to Jeremy Mandrell and Anne Ng for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!