Scoring with the right pitch

I’ve been in the batter’s box a few times and know I’m in control.  So whether the Ace throws chin music or cheese, I’m already ahead of the count.  It’s entirely up to me to take a pitch, lay down a bunt or swing for the fences.

Go nuts for donuts?

You can image my surprise when I moved to Denver a decade ago, did a location search for Dunkin’ Donuts and found – nada.  I expanded the radius to 100 miles and three blipped up in the Springs.  One homesick day, I drove to there and back just for an iced coffee.  True story.

Chef Laura: Treat ’em right

My food service peers and I all abide by a certain code of conduct. It’s our unspoken version of the Hippocratic Oath. We promise to “do no harm” to fellow servers, chefs and bartenders. As a result, we get fabulous service, and you can too, even if you’re not in the biz.

Chef Laura: It’s hip to be Square

Selling gift wrap for a school fundraiser, and Grandma wants to write you a check?  Let her save her checks for the express lane at King Soopers and ask Meemaw for her plastic to pay for the paper. Hosting a yard sale this weekend?  Cash is still king for the ultimate in bartering, but accepting A...

Chef Laura: Trust hang-ups

As business pros, you need to protect yourself and your company, but not at the risk of offending potential customers.  Are you inadvertently sending signals that you don’t trust them?  Maybe requiring convoluted contracts, chaining a ballpoint pen to a counter or installing cumbersome hangers?

A recipe for efficiency

Getting shown the ropes those first days, I tend to notice a dozen procedures that strike me as odd. I chalk it up to my life-long character flaw of questioning authority rather than being any kind of efficiency expert. I can’t help but ask, “What if you moved that trash can between your station a...

Party of one: A five-step plan for going solo

The cowardly business traveler has two options:  fast food (on an expense account? Nope!) or room service.  I know the thought of room service seems really highfalutin, but it’s usually a letdown – like a Nickelback album or the sequel to Weekend at Bernie’s. The tray of lukewarm food is incredibl...

The pay it your way model

Last summer, with the help of two interns, I put a pretty progressive business model into action.  It was a complex “pop up” food and beverage operation with a minefield of issues: unskilled employees, fierce competition in a saturated market, little to no advertising efforts – and let’s not forge...

Chef Laura: The new “Norm!”

Sales is a lot like dating. In the beginning, you are wined and dined before seeing a Broadway show.  A few months later, your idea of “date night” is the two of you lounging in sweatpants with Dominos, PBR and Netflix, wondering what the heck happened. After the “customer honeymoon” period is ove...

Chef Laura: Appetite for giving

Dining Out for Life is a fun and philanthropic way to eat your way though the Mile High City.  Visit your usual stand-bys, explore your old stompin’ grounds to see what’s new since you left, or venture into the unknown (and surprisingly delicious). 

The IKEA Effect

The whimsically-coined IKEA Effect is a theory, developed by some “wicked smaht” Harvard Business students, about sweat equity. We’ve all heard the phrase “a labor of love”.  Most people would agree that this term loosely means that if we love something, we tend to put a lot of effort into it.  Bu...

A foodie nation divided against itself

Bigger, bolder, buttered and…deep-fried. Leaner, greener, grainier and…tofu-ized.

We’re a foodie nation divided and always have been. But a new line has been drawn in the sand (ahem, sugar) recently when it comes to the battle of the bulge.

Let’s meet the opponents: