A few years ago I had the opportunity to work with a very talented and passionate pantry cook named Nicolette. She left not long after I started to attend culinary school. I advised against it. She has since graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and become an accomplished pastry chef. I asked her to […]
A World Without Tips
I am still incredibly grateful for my recent guest post on tipping. It inspired my response that discussed the economics of tipping. It also raised a few other interesting points that I am now learning are common misconceptions about restaurants. For people who have never worked in a restaurant, these misconceptions can easily be mistaken […]
The Economics of Tipping
I still occasionally get the guest who will say, I can buy this wine for half this price at the store. Which is true, but it doesn’t come with a staff to serve it and a crew of chefs ready to cook you an incredible meal from a fully stocked kitchen. I wonder if the […]
The Economics of Tipping
I still occasionally get the guest who will say, “I can buy this wine for half this price at the store.â€Â Which is true, but it doesn’t come with a staff to serve it and a crew of chefs ready to cook you an incredible meal from a fully stocked kitchen. I wonder if the […]
The Great Debate (Introduction)
There are a number of topics about serving and restaurants that are open for debate. The opinions are generally split between those who have been in the industry and those who have not. It is very similar to the political process as it currently stands. Most people have chosen either the Server Party or the […]
Recommended Reading 11/8
Saturday night we had a notable guest at the restaurant. I say notable guest rather than celebrity out of fear that many of my readers would only know her from Dancing with the Stars or Raising Hope. The older folks out there would then facepalm remembering all of the great work she did in our […]
Independent vs Corporate Restaurant Priorities
This morning I read an article regarding the rising costs of food and how restaurants will respond. In the article former server Charles Ferruzza finds a pair of local restaurant owners who say they will refuse to raise prices to compensate for the increase in costs. The owners discuss absorbing the costs themselves or reducing […]
Prosciutto, Pancetta, and Serrano
I had dinner last night at the newest location of Kansas City’s best tapas restaurant, La Bodega. This was actually my second trip in as many weeks. I’ve always enjoyed the small plate concept and no one executes it better. It also led to a foodie discussion of the difference between the different pork products […]
Server Safety Tips
When I started my first job in Management year ago, a fellow manager told me this story on my first night. He had managed a restaurant a few years earlier with his best friend. He asked his best friend to close for him on a Saturday night so he could go on a hot date. […]
Recommended Reading 11/1
In my continuing attempt to find a good Monday feature, I have decided to share some of the more fun or interesting things I have read over the last week. I’m not really putting a minimum number of in because I don’t want to ever post filler. These are just random restaurant related articles that […]
About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.
Critiquing The Server
As you are reading this, I am most likely sitting in a courthouse awaiting a trial. Not my trial or anything of that nature. I was summoned for jury duty. If this is the last post for a while, you will know I was sequestered for the crime of the century. In anticipation of my […]