The Hangover

Most of us have been there; an evening of booze –fuelled festivities morphs into a morning of headaches, nausea and trying to remember the last thing you did. You know very well you should have stopped at the last one but where is the fun in that. Life is short, and there are so many more good times to be had.

We all know there is no cure for a hangover but over the years, I have learnt a trick or two. Basically out of necessity, like how to get through a 12 hour shift, faking it for a meeting or preparing yourself to do it all over again for yet another festive party.

So, my tricks of the trade are:

1. Never drink bad spirits. Some are so high in sugar they will cause the mother of headaches. There is just no recovery from that.
2. Two Panadol and large glass of water before bed. Don’t forget. The process has to start some were.
3. Before you have anything else in the morning, drink 2 cups of English breakfast tea. I have only recently learnt this and promise you, it’s like heaven in a cup.
4. Have a piece of toast.  Settles the stomach and lifts those blood sugar levels.

Now that you are feeling human again, here are my tricks for coping with the day:

1. Order some fried goodness with your brunch. No scientific facts, it’s just hot and salty and makes everything better.
2. Have a Bloody Mary. It’s like a soothing tonic and it’s a vegetable.
3. Drink Sprite. There is even some medical research to suggest it could be a cure.
4. Have a dosa (Indian pancake filled spiced goodness) for a late lunch. Kathakali in Devon St, New Plymouth do a great one. Worth a trip.
5. Take more Panadol.
6. Have a small scoop of ice cream. It will wash away the last remnants of the night before.

Merry Christmas and good luck to you over this festive season.

Victoria Hodson –don’t do anything I say.

Rule # 1 -Life is too short for bad drinks

Call it what you want: escapism, indulgence, recklessness, a waste of money, fun, good times…. but I love a well-made drink. These are beverages that people have put time, love, skill and passion into making. From a wine maker, to a brewer, barista or cocktail maker –they all have one thing in common – they all enjoy making something that you will enjoy drinking.

With every change of season, I am on the hunt for that season’s drink. Something new, something I get to learn about and something I get to share. Weird to some, but not to this hospitality lover.  I call it “broadening my horizons”. If I want to be a great hostess, then I need to make sure I have done the research.

So, the research is done and these are my picks for the coming summer:

1. Summer in a glass  -White Sangria
Refreshing, great for groups and easy to make. Just make sure you have more than one bottle of Pinot Gris in the cupboard. One jug is just not enough.
Use a 1 litre jug.  ½ fill with ice.
Add 750ml Pinot Gris 
90ml Stolen white rum
30ml St Germain Elderflower
30ml Pear liqueur
Stir
Add slices of pear, apple and cucumber.

2. Margrain Pinot Rose
Delicate and decidedly moreish. Prefect long lunch wine 
Check them out www.margrainvineyard.co.nz

3. Christmas in a glass
Always nice to finish any get together with a nightcap. Not only will you have a good night sleep, but it will give that lingering visitor a subtle hint.
1 part Drambuie
3 parts hot apple juice
Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon wedge
Add a cinnamon stick
Serve in a coffee glass.

Thanks for the photo Gina
Stolen rum -all the way from NZ
http://stolenrum.com/

The Christmas Challenge –Random acts of Christmas Spirit

Those of you who know me may claim that I am somewhat of a Christmas Grinch. It’s not that I don’t like Christmas, but after many years of working in the hospitality business, I have: 

• fed and watered hundreds of people;

• had far too many early starts and late finishes;

• worked long days on my feet without a break;

• heard every Christmas carol at least twice an hour for weeks on end; 

• dealt with too many stressed out grumpy customers;

• had to “manage’ too many overzealous drunk people who claim I have ruined their           Christmas.

You will forgive me but, on occasion, I have been known to somewhat lose that jolly Christmas spirit.

This year, I am fighting back and I have set myself a challenge: a challenge to spread the Christmas Spirit of Giving and Kindness.

So, in this spirit, here is my list of 10 random acts of Christmas. This year I will:

1. Give a Santa sack full of little gifts and treats to an adult. Watch them unpack it and           smile like a kid.
2. Make a Christmas cake and give it to the old lady on the corner who lives by                     herself. 
3. Post 10 Christmas cards to friends and family.  This just never happens any more.
4. Give a box of chocolates and a thank you note to my local café.
5. Bake some Christmas cookies and give them to the voluntary fire service with a               Merry Christmas note.
6. Put money in a stranger’s parking meter that’s just about to expire.
7. Give a food donation to the local food bank and SPCA
8. When I get my takeaway coffee, I am going to pay for two so the next person gets              theirs free
9. Send a Christmas card to my favourite young person and tell them how proud I am of         them. 
10. Leave a box of chocolates out for the rubbish collecting guys.

So now I challenge you. What will your random acts of Christmas Spirit be? 

2 Sides To Every Story – The S*#T People Say

Every now and then we all need a good laugh and to remember not to take life to seriously.
This is a tongue and cheek approach to 2 sides of the story.

S*#T People Say To Bar Staff
and

S*#T Bartenders Say

Without a word of lie....this does actually happen!
Enjoy a good laugh

Special thanks to Beam NZ and FamousBag

My recruitment frustrations -Tips from an insider on how to apply for a job and how to conduct yourself at an interview.

My recruitment frustrations –Tips from an insider on how to apply for a job and how to conduct yourself at an interview.

Recruitment is an expensive process no matter what the industry. In fact, it’s probably hard to define its true tangible costs. Sure, you may place an ad and know what those costs are, but what about the time drafting an ad, defining the job description, screening all the applicants, making appointments, writing interview questions, participating in 1st and 2nd interviews, reference checking, through to sending “no” letters? For small business owners, this is an everyday reality. 

Searching the net, there are hundreds of articles relating to CV preparation and how to answer interview questions; but I still don’t believe the basics are covered. So from my recruitment experience, here are my insider tips.

How to apply for a job 
1. Take time and find out about the company you are applying for a job with. Google is your friend!
2. Address your letter of application with the recruiter’s name. If you don’t know it, find out. It will actually look like you care. Addressing a letter “Dear Sir” when I am female isn’t a good start. Particularly, when the ad says my name.
3. If you are applying via email –please consider your email address. Replying to Ilovebigbutts@hotmail or suxmyd@%k@hotmail or crazyslag@hotmail doesn’t inspire us in confidence.
4. If you are attaching a covering letter or CV to an email –please consider what these files are saved as. Seeing a covering letter or CV saved as “2nd option” or “hospitality last choice” isn't going to get you an interview.
5. Save the drawings and photos for something else.  A CV covered in pictures of flowers or photos of your dog doesn't scream maturity.
6. We are going to Facebook stalk you. So remember it is a public domain. Don’t tell us you are so interested in a job but post on Facebook “how you can’t wait to leave this town” or “how you applied for a crap job and hope you don’t get it”.
7. Don’t insult the recruiter.  Don’t ring them and tell them you are sick of waiting or you find the ad vague. You will be placed straight on the no pile.
8. Mums and Dads, we love you but please don’t come to the interview with your children. Let them be grownups. They are capable. 
9. You need to sell yourself. You need to tell us what you will bring to the organisation. You need to tell me why I might invest in you!  Don’t state in your application that you are now ready to learn new skills. Employers want staff that bring something to the table. We aren't interested in solely advancing your skills.

How to conduct yourself at an interview
1. Be on time. In fact be 5 minutes early. 1st impressions count.
2. Be aware that we watch you walk towards and away from the interview? Stand tall, be proud and don’t shuffle your shoes.
3. Make eye contact. This shows confidence that you are listening and paying attention.
4. Dress well. Wearing a tee-shirt to an interview is never right no matter what the job. Neither are jandles, caps, or beanies. A good rule of thumb is to come to an interview over-dressed rather than under-dressed.
5. Shave and groom.
6. Make up -Even wearing a little lip gloss and doing your eye lashes count.
7. Turn off the cell phone and certainly don’t answer it.
8. Spit out the gum before coming into the building.
9. Make sure you know about the business and the job. Please don’t waste our time applying for a job you really don’t want. 
10.This is my very favourite one – don’t criticise the business or point out its faults and how you might fix it. Seriously, that’s not the question we asked.

What’s wrong with our industry? Hospitality as a profession - will it ever be taken seriously?

I love the hospitality industry. I should, I have been immersed in it for 20 plus years. One of my very 1st jobs was in a bar. My flat mate had done a runner and stuck me with the rent. My landlord was kind enough to hold the rent till I found a new flatmate, but I still owed arrears. I was desperate for money. I already had 2 part time jobs, studied full time and lived week to week. I saw an ad in the newspaper for bar staff wanted. I rang and applied and then heard nothing back. Still desperate, I rang to follow up. Some clearly frustrated guy who had no idea who I was, told me to turn up on Friday at 4.30pm. Nervous and excited, I arrive at 4.00pm, was given my uniform and shown how to pour a beer. The same clearly frustrated guy told me not to move from that spot. So my job for the night was to pour beer from the DB Bitter tap. And that is exactly what I did till 1.30am. No breaks, no toilet stops and at the end was told I had been successful with my trial. None of that mattered though. I was hooked and four years later, I was the manager.

So, why the other day, when I told someone what I did, they went “oh” and changed the subject? Why was a young team member upset when a customer said “Don’t worry, you’ll find a real job soon”?

And herein lies the problem. Hospitality jobs are real jobs. But as an industry are we convincing anyone? Will my friends/family be happy if their children tell them that when they grow up they want to be a chef, a barista, a concierge, a hotel manager, a waiter, bar tender, caterer or function manager?

So how do we convince you that hospitality is a genuine career choice?
1. Be professional –Do we supply employment agreements, job descriptions, performance reviews, and staff handbooks?
2. Set a standard – What are the uniform requirements? Do we have a minimum standard of makeup and hair style? Do we use an order of service? Do we teach our staff about what they are selling?
3. Invest in training.  Shouldn’t everyone be trained? Shouldn’t we all have an opportunity to develop?
4. Encourage career development and gaining qualifications.
5. Pay well and offer reward for targets met. 
6. Give key staff the option to buy into your business
7. Are our tertiary intuitions providing quality and value courses? Is the course content relevant? Is workplace training compulsory? Working in a test kitchen is not the same as a fully geared and operational kitchen. Fluffy ducks and blue lagoons are not relevant cocktails.
8. Get rid of rubbish TV shows that depict bad hospitality businesses being fixed by a hot shot chef. This already makes us look like idiots.
9. Consider the generation that work for us. Times have changed. Working all nights/ 70 hour weeks/no breaks are over. Deal with it. We need to offer flexibility and work balance if we want to attract the right people.

What will they get out of a career in hospitality?
To work in an exciting and diverse industry, that could take them any were in the world. An industry where passion and hard work means you can up skill and be a head chef, owner,hotel manager or coffee roaster. The options are endless. You will have some of the strongest problem solving, planning, operational, behavioural assessment, negotiating, sales and team leadership skills which would rival any other industry. You will have an opportunity to be in contact with hundreds of people and no 2 days will ever be the same. You will make lifelong friends and if you are like me, even meet your spouse. 

Married To Food - My Love Hate Relationship: The Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and ...

Married To Food - My Love Hate Relationship:
The  Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and ...: The  Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and what should you, the customer expect? The hospitality industry is based around peopl...

The Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and what should you, the customer expect?

The  Insider Tip –What makes a good customer and what should you, the customer expect?

The hospitality industry is based around people. Those who work in it are (or should be) people pleasers. We cook with passion, our coffee is made with love, we want you to feel welcomed and we love it when all that is brought together and you leave as very satisfied customers.

Isn't customer service a two-way street?  Sure, some business aren't perfect but neither are customers. To some, this may be a sensitive topic as it is viewed  “ the customer is always right”.

Are they? Knowing how to be a good customer is just as important as knowing how to treat customers. And likewise as customers, you should know what to expect from the staff.

So here are my insider tips to what makes a good customer and what should you –the customer expect.

What makes a good customer?

• Please don’t yell at the staff. It’s not their fault if they run out of something, or you have waited too long or you don’t like the price or don’t like the product or service. See the person who makes those decisions. They are paid according to listen and deal with your complaint.
• If you are in a hurry, please tell us when you order. Not after ( for example) you have ordered a well done steak and you only have ½ hr for lunch.
• Never yell “hey” or click your fingers to get the attention of an employee.
• When we ask “ how are you?” please answer, don’t ignore us -we do actually care.
•  Please don’t cuddle us or pinch our bums. While we like you… we just don’t like you that much.
• If you are unhappy with the product or service, please tell us. We don’t always get it right, in fact sometimes it can be a shocker. However, a great hospitality business will welcome all feedback and deal with them according. So please, step out of your comfort zone and tell us.
•  If you make a reservation for a certain time, then please be on time. We plan around reservations. We really don’t want 2 tables of 10 arriving at once.
•  If you book a table for a certain number of people, then please tell us if that changes. We might not be able to make the table bigger if you arrive with a bigger group or we could have reused part of your table for another booking that we had to turn away.
• Please don’t sit at a dirty table. Tell us you want that table and we will clear it and get it ready for you. Sitting at a dirty table doesn't mean you will get served any sooner.
• If you get refused service because we think you are intoxicated, please remember we are the sober ones. We aren't doing it to burst your party bubble. There are substantial fines for us if we keep serving you. Quick tip –if you then start arguing and yelling at us, that’s a sure sign we have made the right decision in the 1^st place.
• If you pre-order your meal or takeaway for a certain time, then please be on time. Don’t be upset with us if we held your order till your arrived and then you have to wait or complain that its cold.
• Please respect our place and stuff –Don’t steal our ash trays and hand soap. Please don’t smash our toilet seats –we want you to have nice toilets. Please don’t leave your baby’s dirty nappy on the table for us. Please don’t put sugar in the salt containers and ruin someone’s meal –it’s not funny. Please don’t put more and more firewood on the fire –particularly after we ask you not to and then you start a chimney fire and please don’t let your children draw on our furniture and walls. 

 What should the customer expect?

•  Eye contact -staff should look up from whatever they are doing and make eye contact. Its called acknowledgment.  Whether they can serve you or not at least you know you have been seen and something will happen soon.
• A smile and warm welcome. They are in the hospitality industry and it should be 2^nd nature. You can teach skills but you can’t teach someone to smile.
• Staff should be focused on you, not talking about their hangover or what they did last night.
• Staff should know what they are selling. Telling you they “don’t know what the fish is or what’s in the salad” isn't good enough.
•  Coffee shouldn't be bitter nor the milk burnt. And it should be in the cup not the saucer.
• Your beer should be cold and your glass shouldn't be chipped.
• Your poached eggs should be soft and runny. Hard eggs is just wrong.
• If the chef tells you that you can’t add or takeaway something from a menu items –that’s rubbish. Spend your money somewhere else. It’s not hard to take anchovies off a pizza or put them on.
•  A restaurant is never full. If you are prepared to wait something will come up but just because a restaurants bookings are all in at 6.30pm doesn't mean something want be free by 8.30pm. If a restaurant still  turns you away after you are willing to wait, then you probably should just spend your money elsewhere.
•  We should always keep you informed. You should know if there is going to be a wait or a problem with what you have ordered.
• The premises should be kept at an adequate temperature. It’s about the customers, not the staff running around taking your order.
• An experience – a level of food, beverage, service and atmosphere that we as hospitality owners or employee's would  like to receive ourselves.

#food
#goodcustomers
#goodcustomerservice

If you haven't been then you must go to Waiheke Island

Thanks Oyster Inn. Loved our lunch over Labour Weekend. Good honest food, very relaxing and sangria to die for.
Check them out www.theoysterinn.co.nz 

PS -Not to name and shame but further up the road was a more questionable experience. Stopped in for breakfast. Completely understand that's its busy and appreciate the heads up on the wait but its not OK to only toast one side of the bread, its not OK to serve coffee with burnt milk, its not OK to serve cold eggs and it’s not OK to pour balsamic dressing all over our food. It’s a garnish not a sauce.
I guess the staff know when it’s wrong too -literally, dropped the plates at the table, no eye contact and couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Other highlights from our trip -
Kennedy Point Winery -Great Melbec and our hats off to the Japanese hostess. Very welcoming. Total pleasure.
Te Motu Winery -Sold me on the food before I even saw the menu. Great smells from the kitchen.
Cable Bay -great staff and lovely tapas. The view is amazing. We did feel sorry for the waitress when the drunk, old guy fell up the stairs and his wife thought it was appropriate to yell at the waitress. Like it was her fault. Yep, she put the stairs there just so he would trip over them. Pledging now, to never be that drunk guy.
Man O War -well worth the drive and the view is pretty special.
Hot Tip....bring your own picnic and enjoy their great wines.