Clark Wolf's Rants, Raves, Diatribes...and a few other Thoughts

Why There Are Too Few Cooks For New York City's Elite Kitchens

But for other chefs, Utopia doesn't look like New York. It's a smaller, more affordable city with its own vibrant food culture — like Austin, Texas, Madison, Wis., or Chapel Hill, N.C. Those places have the added advantage of being more connected to the farms they buy from — something that is a badge of honor in today's restaurant world.

As Clark Wolf, a restaurant consultant based in New York and Sonoma County, Calif., puts it: "I used to say, 'If it grows in Manhattan, scrape it off. Alright?' "

Full article here

Listen here

Finding the right crew in competitive hiring market

With unemployment on Long Island still over 6 percent, one might assume employers would have the luxury of picking and choosing the best of the best. Not necessarily.

Clark Wolf of Clark Wolf Co., a food, restaurant and hospitality consulting firm with offices in New York City, says perhaps Engel was not reaching the right labor pool.

"For whatever reason, the word-of-mouth usually associated with building a kitchen crew" didn't kick in, Wolf says. "Who works in restaurants in Garden City? Are there immigrant groups there? Do they have their own language newspapers, churches and schools? That's where he should advertise." Restaurant owners also can get leads from their vendors, Wolf says. "They are at the back door of every other restaurant and know who works where."

Full article here