Holy Guacamole Podcast

Being intentional is no easy thing. Being intentional in life, in career, and your restaurant requires minute actions. Profits requires intentional actions. Building strategy into business is how intention becomes reality. This episode shares some simple steps to creating a roadmap to a healthier, more profitable business.

Enjoy the episode. Share with restaurant owners, share with those eager to improve the state of independent restaurants in US.

John Shields is a talented and genuinely nice person. He's a chef/owner of Gertrude's Chesapeake Kitchen, author of 5 books, host of two television shows, James Beard nominee and now runs a non-profit to bring community together called Our Common Table.

It's our delight to have an entertaining and informative episode. You'll learn how a boy from Baltimore, brought up in a tightly knit Irish community was able to use his creativity and positive attitude to delightful heights in California. We'll let you listen for all the fun stories and laughter, followed by some smart and effective collaborations and community building for good!

Gertrude's Chesapeake Kitchen website at Baltimore's Museum of Art. Please follow and participate in social media.

Our Common Table website. Please follow and participate in Instagram and Facebook.

We are calling out for cafes. Cafes, big and small. Cafes with a scratch kitchen, or a cafe with commissary kitchen. Cafes only serving from an espresso bar, serving a minimalist food menu. All versions of the model accepted.

In the coming months and year we will explore many different models to learn what makes an independent cafe tick.

Captain Don has held a spot at the 32nd Street Farmers Market, every Saturday, year round, for the last 10 years. As one of many stalwart vendors, he spends his week fishing and delivering to a wholesaler, and holding some of his haul to sell to the market.

This episode focuses on Capt Don, one local vendor to represent the time, effort and exceptional focus on bringing the best they have to offer to sell directly at the farmers market. It's what makes our local foodshed healthy and vibrant.

Baltimore has a solid local food economy. It's important to recognize where are food comes from, and when it's local it's that much fresher and tastier. Knowing where are food comes from requires a little more time and curiosity to come to your local market. Chefs and residents are increasingly more curious.

Hear what life on the water is like for a modern day fisherman. He's catching according to what his State of Maryland permit allows. Captain Don shares a big picture view of sustainability, appropriate fishing, crabbing and gathering oysters.

Want to know more about Capt Don, and his chartered fishing tours, here is the website.

Louis Moskow is chef/owner of 315 Restaurant & Bar. He's been in Santa Fe, New Mexico creating a french focused menu for 27 years. This episode shows us how a fantastic wines list with a carefully curated menu can build a clientele that will keep coming back.

315's menu has never stopped serving locally sourced ingredients, and he shares how the relationships with the farms and farmers is not an option--it's the only way to serve a great meal. Chef Moskow is resolute in drawing attention to the good, seasonal ingredients he chooses for his menu.

The wines compliment the items on the menu. He is the chef in the kitchen, and he does not shy away from coming to guest tables and helping them choose the wine that best compliments the menu.

His team and staff are strong and consistent. Lately, in Sept/October several staff have left and Louis Moskow shared his struggles with us on the show

315 Restaurant and Bar website

Google My Biz is a huge asset for your company ... WHEN IT'S ACCURATE. Claim your listing, it's free. Too often owners take the google listing less seriously than they should. Make sure your listing is up to date in every way, with photos of the exterior and interior. Keep current by putting a reminder on your phone, to check and respond to anyone who has reviewed your business.

TripAdvisor is a valuable, and is still largely under utilized. Claim your listing, it's free. Curate your business. A well written blurb will attract tourists. If you place is a classic in your city or town, the TripAdvisor listing will serve you well.

Take advantage of these two methods to list your business. People want to know who you are and what you do.

Irena Stein is a Baltimore restauranteur for the last 18 years. That would be impressive on it's own. There is far more to Irena Stein, and it's a joy to share what many people do not know. She is a creative, and artistic human! She has allowed that artistic self to find a home in Alma Cocina Latina, with a variety of plants in the restaurant. Many plants. Inside the restaurant you'll see more than plants. Black and white photos on some walls, a stunning mural to accentuate her love of nature. Her love of nature does not stop in her ability to create an appealing space. She respect nature which the menu reflects by using local produce, minimizing waste, recycling and consistently building her business with sustainability in mind. This episode is a conversation on beauty and art, and how releasing those aspects into your restaurant can create solace--for the managers, the bartenders, the chef, the servers, Irena (the owner), Mark (her partner)as well as every single guest. You feel nature surrounding you in this lovely restaurant. Today we invite you to listen, and then to look up the website and their IG.

Our guest is Steve Vilnit. He is known in the Chesapeake Food Shed for his deep knowledge in seafood, as well as farms. He knows the watermen and the farmers and has foster relationships between watermen and farms to chefs in the greater Baltimore region. After years working for the State of Maryland, and going above and beyond as a sales rep for JJ McDonnell (seafood) and Capital Seaboard (seafood and produce) he has taken a leap into photography.

Steve understanding of local food reverberates in how photography can accurately portray stories of restaurants. We hear how photography has only recently become the focal point in social media, websites and in revenues. Capturing interior shots, team photos, and of course beautiful food photos can take your business from a mystery, and unknown place, to highly regarded restaurant/cafe/food truck with revenues that result from communicating to your regular guests, and ever increasing your reach to new guests.

Steve and Martha share what can happen when photos are taken in house, to hiring a professional. Steve and Martha also tell the stories of chefs making a difference at #nokidhungry. That side story is about creating community among restaurants for a worthy non-profit.

Tune in and catch what two professionals are observing as food photography's role improves and increases, and how your restaurant will want to leap on to gain leverage, market share and the resulting revenue growth.

For more information on Steve Vilnit, check out his website and his Instagram

Meal delivery is the topic of this episode. Barry Fleischmann owns and runs The Scratch Mill Kitchen. He has a rich history in hospitality. He's been serving catered dinners, wedding and corporate events for 30 years. He's owned his own restaurant in downtown Baltimore. During the pandemic he decided to add a new element -- Meal Delivery. As an owner he had to redo his website, and now sends weekly emails to his followers. He delivers throughout the metropolitan area three times a week. It's been a wise and healthy shift, and is now expanding further into cooking classes.

Meal delivery, also called online food delivery platforms, will have around 1.6 billion users throughout the world in 2021. It is an alternative to cooking at home, and an alternative to eating out.

Barry's website is The Scratch Mill Kitchen. If you are local, sign up for his email and start ordering!

Owners struggle with whether they need to pay for good photos or not. The typical reaction is they don't need good food photography and default to a DIY solution before considering how good photography can make their restaurant shine. Mediocre photos represent their business one way. Good photos of the restaurant, the vibe and the food creates a visitors perception, and choice to come in for a meal.

Good food photography is a new service that Martha Lucius offers. She shares the reasons owners share for why they go the DIY route, and whether that is a wise choice.