The Garnish: A Podcast for Restaurant People

How Ming Tsai Gives Back to the Staff at Blue Dragon

By providing health insurance and adding a 2% kitchen appreciation fee to each bill — and by saying "thank you" every day — Ming Tsai shows the staff of his restaurant that he cares. For more on Ming, check out our previous episode with him, Season 1, Episode 3, where he told us about his origins and how he went from mechanical engineering student to chef to allergy advocate. Thanks for listening to The Garnish! Sign up for our listener newsletter atbit.ly/thegarnish [http://bit.ly/thegarnish]for bonus content and a message from me whenever we release a new episode. Our theme song is Leopard, from Filmstro.

Ashish Alfred on Sobriety, His 65 Staff Members, and the Guest Experience [S2E11]

Ashish Alfred is the chef-owner of three restaurants in the Baltimore area: Duck Duck Goose Baltimore [http://www.ddgbaltimore.com/], Duck Duck Goose Bethesda [http://www.ddgbethesda.com/], and George’s Chophouse [http://www.georgeschophouse.com/]. He’s also over five years sober and extremely open about his lifelong struggle with mental health. We chatted about sobriety in the industry, how he manages 65 staff members across three restaurants, how he strives for an outstanding guest experience, and what he’d advise a friend if they told him they were opening a restaurant. Thanks for listening to The Garnish! Sign up for our listener newsletter atbit.ly/thegarnish [http://bit.ly/thegarnish]for bonus content and a message from me whenever we release a new episode. Our theme song is Leopard, from Filmstro.

Renovating Restaurants [S2E10]

Today on The Garnish, we’re talking about restaurant renovations. We spoke to Dala Al-Fuwaires, a restaurant designer at FJI Design [https://www.fji.design/], about how to renovate a restaurant on a budget, and how to build your restaurant brand. Then, we also chatted with two restaurateurs — Alex Garcia [https://www.instagram.com/p/B5vjocKp9JD/] and Steven Darwin [https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/when-hiring-restaurant-staff-steven-darwin-goes-with-his-gut] —  who’ve recently built out new locations of their restaurants and have some lessons to share. This episode is brought to you by Toast Capital [http://bit.ly/2TVLOvw], access to fast, flexible funding for restaurant owners and operators. Thanks for listening to The Garnish! Sign up for our listener newsletter at bit.ly/thegarnish [http://bit.ly/thegarnish] for bonus content and a message from me whenever we release a new episode. Our theme song is Leopard, from Filmstro.

[Staff Series #1] Irene Li Constantly Trains Her Staff, and They Stick Around

Irene Li, the founder of Mei Mei [https://www.meimeiboston.com/jobs] in Boston, MA, incorporates constant training into the jobs at Mei Mei: staff learn the finances behind the restaurant thanks to open-book management, they run peer trainings on everything from herbs to pronouns, and they also get external trainings, like one on service for those with alzheimers and dementia. She invests in her staff by teaching them everything she knows, and encouraging them to teach each other, and it pays off — average employee tenure at Mei Mei is 2-3 years. Thanks for listening to The Garnish! Sign up for our listener newsletter at bit.ly/thegarnish [https://bit.ly/thegarnish] Our theme song is Leopard, from Filmstro.

[Staff Series #2] How Ciro Fodera is Breaking Down the Front- and Back-of-House Divide

From the moment Ciro Fodera, chef de cuisine of Capo South Boston, joined the team as sous chef three years ago, he's been hell-bent on demolishing the front- and back-of-house divide, and on building a cohesive, happy team. Thanks to his efforts, he hasn’t had to replace a cook in over a year. Thanks for listening to The Garnish! Sign up for our listener newsletter at bit.ly/thegarnish [https://bit.ly/thegarnish] Our theme song is Leopard, from Filmstro.