Consult Chef Restaurant Bar Cater S.F. Bay Area East South North

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Consult the Chef - Enjoy our Site!

For Owner/Operators, Franchisees, Corporate Chains and Institutional Foodservice Companies needing to build more Profitable, Organized and Manageable Restaurants, Bars, Catering Businesses and Food & Beverage Sales Organizations. We are an experienced and valued Resource for The Food & Beverage and Hospitality Industry.

As you Navigate our Website, you'll find an incredible volume of information that hopefully spurs creativity, motivates action and clearly defines challenges and needs that confront today's Food & Beverage Service Businesses. By using the Section Headings in the Title Bar above, you'll be directed to pages & pages of information about that Heading Title and our vision of it's proper application. Then, by choosing a category and clicking the "Contents Buttons" on each page (like the ones to the left here,) you'll read even more detailed information about that specific category that will further clarify potential needs and give overviews as to our prospective solutions. At the end of each category, select the "Back to Top" Button to return to the Contents table and select a new category. This will prevent excessive scrolling for navigation. Our Pricing and Readable Contract are available in our final Pricing Section Heading. Our website is meant to be a resource for everyone involved in, or having interest in our Industry. Please enjoy your visit and thank you for Consulting the Chef!

If while using our website you realize you don't have the Answers, Knowledge, Large Budget or more importantly the Time to implement changes for your Business, Contact Us at Consult the Chef and we'll design a Consulting Solution that fits all your needs

Mission Statement

Consult the Chef provides affordable, expert operating Solutions for Restaurants, Bars and Catering Companies

using our traditional and uniquely creative Culinary Experience, Systematic Organization, Financial Controls,
People Skills and Targeted Market Knowledge for the sole purpose of increasing Profits & Stability. We identify each organization's individual needs via hands-on experience inside and around their venue. We solve Management & Financial problems with simplified technological and manual solutions. We train passionate individuals to grow their talents to achieve Industry success. We share our Culinary expertise to expand every Restaurant's Cuisine to higher quality and profit levels. We promote the Sales of great Food & Drinks to local customers for great Profit. We serve the greater good by enacting quality of life, sensible work environment and Community based solutions for our Clients. We produce Profitable results at unmatched Value. Consult the Chef is where the Industry goes for Solutions to Business Challenges.

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So you think you might need a Consultant? Why, when your Restaurant or Catering Company has done OK to this point?

Congratulations! You have faced it…things aren't the way they used to be (or should be) and you need to make some changes. The Restaurant, Bar & Catering Industry is tough right now (as always) and the worst thing you can do is take the "hibernating bear" approach and believe it will just be better when we all wake up next year! Now is the time to make those changes and improve your business and/or your chance for success.

However, maybe the changes that need to be made are outside your realm of knowledge.
This is where Restaurant, Bar and Foodservice Industry Consultants can help and help a lot!

Every Owner/Operator gets into the business with some level of expertise: Finance, Food, Management, Customer Service, Sales & Marketing etc. But only the really successful Foodservice businesses can master all the different areas required to thrive and grow. The best part is, you recognize that something is amiss and you don't seem to have the answer! You're already halfway there by acknowledging your need of assistance. Every Restaurant, Bar & Catering business from San Francisco to Savannah needs help sometimes with Operational challenges.

Most of the time its just simply a matter of looking at things with a "New Set of Eyes" that can step back and identify the big picture issues that you don't see in your day to day struggle to operate your business. See if any of these simple sounding problems are familiar:

Restaurant or Catering Sales are consistently down…Your Gourmet Spring Menu might be more "Gore" than "May"…You and your Manager(s) work 10 to 12 hours every day and your Restaurant isn't growing anything except mold in the Kitchen…You go to other Bay Area Restaurants and they seem to have a dynamic Service Staff and Upscale Design while yours is a little like that limp Fish you serve on Fridays…Restaurant Chains are expanding while your Owner Operated Bistro is always in Cost Cutting mode…the Bills just gained ten yards on you and your Café doesn't even show Football Games…You know that leaky refrigerator condenser needs fixing, but there's always something more important to do -until- one of your Chefs slipped, injured himself and won't be in for a month… You feel like you need a drink all the time, but your Beer, Wine and Liquor keeps mysteriously disappearing!!! Arghhhhhh!

But to get more serious, any one of these "lighthearted" situations can already be costing you thousands per month. Even worse, they can climax into a major expense, or combination of expenses, that can cripple even high volume Restaurants or Corporate Chains, let alone an Owner Operated, Small to Medium sized Foodservice Company. This is where Consultants earn their Money! They identify and help solve the problems along your road to Restaurant Success. If you find yourself unable to solve your current operational problems, then a consultant is absolutely for you. You simply need to choose the one that fits your needs and matches your business acumen, ethics and budget.

Consultants usually have wide experience in many different Bar/Restaurant/Catering venues and disciplines. Some Investment based Consulting firms focus on Finance, Venue Sales, Business Rescue and Financial Re-Organization. Some Corporate Restaurant Consultants prefer only Larger clients that can afford focus on high tech, automated Back of the House (BOH) corporate style operating systems along with high fashion, high impact, trend marketing for Front of the House (FOH) and must have high operating budgets. Some operate with Communication "Chords" attached for months that are incorporated into high prices under the umbrella of "Full Support and Service." Others are simply informational and charge just for cut and dry reports with little implementation support. Service or Training from these type of Restaurant Consulting firms is extra and after you add it all up you can end up with quite a Consulting bill!

Consult the Chef, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, does things a bit differently. Our clients are mostly Owner/Operators, Franchisees or Chain Directors here in the Bay area and Nationwide, who have families, are trying to serve the communities they live in and are trying to live the American Dream to one day retire and leave a legacy for their kids and their employees. We consult with these primary goals in mind to ensure operators and their businesses longevity, credibility and growth regardless of project size. We offer Individual Issue Consulting Sessions for a specific training need (one class,) more broad scope Consulting Packages & Business Reviews for pre-set Value-Based Prices or Customized Consulting Projects that may require long term multi directional program implementation. We also offer "Immediate Needs" Consultations for businesses in extreme distress needing immediate solutions to stay viable. Each client chooses their specific need and can tailor there own Consultation.

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Why Choose Consult the Chef vs. other Restaurant Consultants?

While we believe we offer more "realistic" value-based operational solutions for most Restaurants, Catering Companies and Foodservice Businesses in the San Francisco Bay area and Nationwide, we also recognize that not every Consulting Company's focus is appropriate for every client, including ours.

So instead of a convoluted compare and contrast series of paragraphs based on what other Consulting Firms might or might not do, here's what we offer to the benefit of our Clients, straight and Simple:

1. We are Value Based – we strive to have our costs totally recoverable via

our recommended programs within the first quarter of full implementation,

assuming the Venue Operator fully implements recommended programs

2. Restaurant Operations are Simple when Systematically operated -

Electronically (Computer) or Manually (Paper/Book Formats,) Operations

are not difficult, there are just many, many daily functions to operate.

Technology doesn't necessarily make it faster; it depends on the Technology,

Your Sales, Customer Volume and Management team. We can control,

predict and budget every cost you have via our Systems and Vendor reviews.

3. The Success of your operation starts and ends with Fabulous Food &

Drinks - The Chef offers Recipes for Food & Beverage Menu upgrades, New

Meal Period expansions, Ethnic Cuisine enhancements, and full Training for Taste

Improvement, Technique & Presentation plus Food Handling and Cleanliness

Evaluations. You can have everything else organized perfectly …if your Recipes

fail, so will your Bar or Restaurant!

4. We Review and Recommend Sales & Revenue Stream Growth – We use

your Historical Records and Review every potential Revenue Stream to maximize your

Profits. We’ll investigate In-house, To-Go, Banquets, Catering, Off-site Sales,

Pre-made packaged meals, Contracted Cooking, Private Cheffing, Pop-Up hosting

and more to maximize your Profits. Not every Revenue, Cooking or Food Sales

format is appropriate for every Restaurant/Bar/Catering/Foodservice business.

5. We Target your Menu and Revenue streams to your Market niche -

By physically examining your Neighborhood Demographics and local Industry Competition,

we will then attack your Market area via Community based Marketing/Advertising

Projects, some involving Media, some not, depending on your Bar or

Restaurant's Market Niche, needs and budget capabilities.

6. We develop new Indentities, Financial Targets & Business Strategies -

Via New Business Locations, Interior Designs, Branding & Promotional Collateral

& Signage, Web-site Development, Green Business Certifications, Charitable

Co-operations and Restaurant/Bar/Catering/Foodservice Associations and

Political Action services, we help direct our client's Financial, Industry & Community

growth and reputation. We offer ongoing recommendations via industry

communications and updates from our website. Our clients will always

have their pulse on the Restaurant/Foodservice & Hospitality Industry.

7. We offer concise Bidding, pre-set Pricing & Straightforward Contracting-

we outline all Work Duties, Time Expectations with Full Pricing disclosure

prior to engaging any Contract or receiving any Consideration. If you don't

fully understand what we are planning for you, then we don't engage, period.

All issues in our Bids are presented in writing for your full scrutiny, with

tenant pricing, so no confusion ensues. We'd rather re-write a contract 20

times to get it correct, than do it wrong, once.

8. We Serve every sized Business in any Capacity we can – If you need a

Full Business Review & Re-Organization, we can help. If you have a specific

Consulting Project that only takes a day or two, we’ll be there. If you want a

Training Session for just a few hours, we’re your choice! Even if you just want a

couple of questions answered, were here to help. Email us from the appropriate

Button and we can post it to our Talkback Section or mention it in the Chef's Blog

so others can share the knowledge. You can also call us for more sensitive issues.

Our goal is to serve at any and every level. Knowledge is power and a better

Bay Area and National Foodservice Industry makes us all stronger.

If you don't see your particular need specifically addressed here, then Call or Email us and see if we skipped it or we don't consider it an area of our expertise. Regardless, we have excellent relationships within our Industry and if we aren't your best choice, we'll be happy to recommend one of our fellow Food & Beverage Industry Consulting Services who do focus on your specific need.

We would say our main benefit vs. our competitors is our communication level and ethics. This comes from our Executive Director Chef Steven Howard, a 35-year Industry Professional. His biggest pet peeve has always been organizations or service providers who "jargon-speak" ad infinitum, give "techno-babble" explanations, omit key information that lead to extra work and expense and aren't totally transparent about what is expected of them. That is why we contract everything before starting work or accepting payment. If it's not written down, we don't do it or charge for it.

"Write down the needs, Set the expectations, Map the work and Benchmark the results," says Chef Steven, " this is the way I was taught to manage and operate by my Father, who was also a Multi -Millionaire Business owner. It sounds simple, but it's also what every Business Textbook used to profess as well. Not Rocket Science, just positive Organization."

"Many stories are out there about Consultants who talk about things they will do, never focusing on actual solutions and the ones they do give are so grandiose or expensive that their recommendations are useless." The Chef continues," Then you get the bill and are charged by the hour for open-ended investigation that produced nothing useful! Who needs that in today's environment? Dollars are tight, man, and people need real answers to real problems and they need to know the investment up front!"

Consult the Chef uses the Chef Steven Howard's business Credo to solve every one of our Clients needs…

" I'd rather Over-Deliver and be welcomed back, than Under-Deliver and be afraid to enter the room!"

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Chef Steven Howard's History & Vision

Chef Steven Howard was raised in the Granada Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles California and spent his early years with his Grandmother Vera teaching him the love of great food. He Credits his love of restaurants from his parents who always made a point of taking the family out to eat once a week on Friday or Sunday nights. His father was a classic American Dad, Grill master and his Mother, a Queen of Roasts and Thanksgiving Dinners. Its amazing that with their Irish heritage (both Mother and Father 's Families are from Ireland) that the Chef has come to be known for Amazing Cuisine.

This isn't to knock Irish Cuisine, the Chef is one of America's Foremost creators of Celtic Nouvelle Cuisine and has cooked for the President of Ireland and Other Irish Dignitaries on several occasions. However Irish family cooks are known for Boiling and Brining everything and this is one of the major complaints of travelers to the Celtic Isles.

The Chef's "No Shy Food" style was honed by an early love of Italian, Asian and specifically the Los Angeles Native Mexican food. "Great Food starts in the Air" often states the Chef, " and if you can't smell the love and texture in the air, the food will never live up to its promise in your mouth. Some of my fondest memories are of great childhood dinners...we all remember...being outside all day and staying too long (woops!) Peddaling your bicycle like the wind to get home ('cause you know you're in trouble) and you turn the corner onto your block...and it hits you like a fog bank or a warm fluffy blanket - Mom is making one of your favorite dinners! The aroma gets stronger and stronger as you approach and you pull up into the driveway, drop you bike right where you stand and open the door...you are truly transformed...this must be what heaven is like...until Dad starts chewing on you for being late, but it all doesn't matter once you sit down to that meal! That's what intense Aroma does for food and more importantly for the people eating. Unlike my ancestors, I have the access to fine Fresh herbs and Spices and use them liberally to create blends of textured flavors that bring old recipes alive with unbelievable aroma and new grand flavor. No Shy Food, Baby!"

Most of the Chefs he worked with in Los Angeles were of Mexican descent, even in his Italian Restaurants and Classic Fine Dining Steak & Chop Houses. "At Michael's Los Feliz in Hollywood, Chef Murro had a dry rub and oil marinade that made his steaks jump off the plate," says Chef Steven Howard. "But I really loved when the guys would cook for themselves and make these Mexican Steak, Chorizo and Fresh Vegetable Breakfasts with Fresh made Tortillas. That was what I loved, that smell the whole Restaurant took on when those Family style Mexican recipes were on the grill. Those were some of the best breakfasts ever!"

As he progressed in his early Foodservice Career, the (not yet Chef) Steven was only a private Caterer cooking for Family Dinner Parties, Friend's and Associate's Private Parties, Plus his own legendary "Las Vegas Night" House Parties. The Chef chose to learn the Business from the Management side first working with, many successful Multi-Unit Family Operations and most notably spent several years with Pillsbury/Vicorp Corporate Restaurants who taught him the value of ultra Organization.

"Corporate Restaurants do one thing very well. The know how to control money. They have a system for everything and everything has a system. If it didn't have a system and you didn't create one, you still got reprimanded for not managing it properly. Back then, Big Chains didn't care much about the food or the customer, but they cared about and drilled Systematic Operations into you and those Concepts stick with me even today," says the Chef.

As he moved on to more Gourmet cuisine, privately owned restaurants, the Chef noticed that Community Marketing became the key ingredient to a private Restaurant's success. The food could be marvelous but you need to compete against those TV ads for the big Chains. The Chef developed Community Marketing Plans that set Sales records for Corporate Chains he worked for and the individual Owner Operators. His concept of Sampling, Meeting & Greeting via Events, Businesses and Charities help grow his Restaurants into the Studios in Burbank, which he catered for. The Chef says he never would have had access to those clients without building key Civic Relationships first.

As he went on and partially owned and operated Restaurants in Los Angeles, he grew tired of the 80 to 100 hour weeks and started noticing his level of Creativity and Commitment fading. So he moved to Arizona where he focused more on the Travel, Tourism, Marketing and Advertising Side of the Business. Arizona Express Promotions created Resort & Dining tours in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sedona, Las Vegas, San Diego, Monterey/Carmel and San Francisco. Local area Bars, Restaurants, Retailers, Car Dealerships and Real Estate Developers used these tours as incentives to Thank customers for their shopping loyalty while the destination Casinos, Hotels, Resorts, Bars and Restaurants got loaded up with new Business. The Chef himself hosted many of these tours, threw hosted departure parties, and developed many lasting Relationships all over the Southwest.

"Great Promotions and Advertising Campaigns can make a Restaurant, Bar or Catering Company. Fortune 500 companies ended up supplying Local Hotels, Restaurants and Bars with new customers. It's cross-marketing to proper target market niches that lead to such unbelievable success. Great ideas require great people to execute and grow them. We can do this on a Major Corporate level or on a small Mom & Pop scale," says Chef. "Everyone needs more customers. It doesn't matter if you're MacDonald's or Joe's Coffee & Danish!"

The Chef missed the kitchen, so he kept his hand in Catering all the while. He built up a local reputation for producing Community, Church & Charitable Events on Grand scales. He built s staff of such reputable professionals, that they were asked to even help Cater Pope John Paul II's visit to Arizona.

Finally, Chef Steven Howard opened Your Personal Chef in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2003. His new creation of "Family Gourmet Cuisine" blended his "No Shy Food" concepts with the Recipes and Traditions he gleaned from his 25 years Cooking, Managing and Owning Restaurants all over the West. Recently, his almost 20 years in the Sonoran Arizona Cuisine arena allowed him to cook for Affluent Families, Government & International Dignitaries, Sports Luminaries and Business Magnates who lived in and visited the Phoenix and Scottsdale Areas.

"We cooked every Worldwide style of Cuisine from the aforementioned Celtic Nouvelle to French and Italian, Mediterranean, German, Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian, Polynesian, Mexican, Central & South American, Caribbean and Just as many American regional styles as well, in addition to his California Nouvelle and Sonoran/Santa Fe style Southwestern, his own personal favorite. You can actually see some of his recipe titles by going to our "Recipes and Menus" Heading Section.

Chef Steven Howard was also a staple on Phoenix area Television and Radio and worked with several Gourmet Supermarket Chains to help build their Businesses and gain exposure. Chef says, "The growing "Home Gourmet Chef" movement in America that my friends at Food Network have spawned, is a Business paradigm shift par excellence. Even when I performed with Martin Yan in his shows, it was all about Mom & Pop America wanting to be just like the Greats, and we can teach them how. Everything is do-able, once you know the secret! Heck we even created "Iron Chef" style cook-off shows for Corporations and House Parties as fun Events. Creativity and Organization can produce amazing Results and this is the type of conceptual creation we bring to every business we help."

Chef Recently moved to the Bay Area of San Francisco and has opened up Consult the Chef to help Owner Operators of Full Service Restaurants, Bars, Catering Companies, Institutional style Kitchens and Cafeterias. We also service Bakeries or Deli's, Pizza & Asian Delivery or Quick Service Counter Bars & Restaurants create amazing food, manage costs, systematize operations, discover and implement new revenue streams and open new markets. By interacting with Industry Professionals, Business, Charitable & Community Leaders, we can help create Advertising & Marketing programs and provide solid, successful, profitable results while living reasonable lifestyles within this Industry.

"I almost got out of the Food & Beverage Service Industry completely, due to overwhelming burn out and the soul sucking hours it required. And it's unnecessary! We have the Security & Management systems in place to make Operations Turnkey. I can help the Flavor of your Food and teach your Staff to execute Recipes, Sell to your Customers and keep your Restaurant clean. I've developed Marketing Programs and Sales opportunities that will absolutely grow your profits and as long as you are willing to take our approach of professionalism and teaching and apply them to your staff. You and your staff should be able to apply your talent and work 5 days per week and enjoy the fruits of your labor without losing the personal opportunities of happiness that the rest of the working wolrd enjoys!"

Chef Steven Howard invites your thoughts, comments and needs. Consult the Chef can help any sized Business correct past issues, implement new concepts and start on a lifelong pattern of operational success. Ask any question or schedule a business review. We'll help in whatever way we can.We look forward to hearing from you soon!

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Or Contact Us for any questions and Consulting Needs

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