Everyone should read this list, not only staff but patrons alike.

Enjoy.

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

2. Do not make a singleton feel bad. Do not say, “Are you waiting for someone?” Ask for a reservation. Ask if he or she would like to sit at the bar.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral.

7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.

9. Do not recite the specials too fast or robotically or dramatically. It is not a soliloquy. This is not an audition.

10. Do not inject your personal favorites when explaining the specials.

11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.

12. Do not touch the rim of a water glass. Or any other glass.

13. Handle wine glasses by their stems and silverware by the handles.

14. When you ask, “How’s everything?” or “How was the meal?” listen to the answer and fix whatever is not right.

15. Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”

16. If someone requests more sauce or gravy or cheese, bring a side dish of same. No pouring. Let them help themselves.

17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait.

18. Know before approaching a table who has ordered what. Do not ask, “Who’s having the shrimp?”

19. Offer guests butter and/or olive oil with their bread.

20. Never refuse to substitute one vegetable for another.

21. Never serve anything that looks creepy or runny or wrong.

22. If someone is unsure about a wine choice, help him. That might mean sending someone else to the table or offering a taste or two.

23. If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc.

24. Never use the same glass for a second drink.

25. Make sure the glasses are clean. Inspect them before placing them on the table.

26. Never assume people want their white wine in an ice bucket. Inquire.

27. For red wine, ask if the guests want to pour their own or prefer the waiter to pour.

28. Do not put your hands all over the spout of a wine bottle while removing the cork.

29. Do not pop a champagne cork. Remove it quietly, gracefully. The less noise the better.

30. Never let the wine bottle touch the glass into which you are pouring. No one wants to drink the dust or dirt from the bottle.

31. Never remove a plate full of food without asking what went wrong. Obviously, something went wrong.

32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.

33. Do not bang into chairs or tables when passing by.

34. Do not have a personal conversation with another server within earshot of customers.

35. Do not eat or drink in plain view of guests.

36. Never reek from perfume or cigarettes. People want to smell the food and beverage.

37. Do not drink alcohol on the job, even if invited by the guests. “Not when I’m on duty” will suffice.

38.Do not call a guy a “dude.”

39. Do not call a woman “lady.”

40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.

41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.

42. Do not compliment a guest’s attire or hairdo or makeup. You are insulting someone else.

43. Never mention what your favorite dessert is. It’s irrelevant.

44. Do not discuss your own eating habits, be you vegan or lactose intolerant or diabetic.

45. Do not curse, no matter how young or hip the guests.

46. Never acknowledge any one guest over and above any other. All guests are equal.

47. Do not gossip about co-workers or guests within earshot of guests.

48. Do not ask what someone is eating or drinking when they ask for more; remember or consult the order.

49. Never mention the tip, unless asked.

50. Do not turn on the charm when it’s tip time. Be consistent throughout.

51. If there is a service charge, alert your guests when you present the bill. It’s not a secret or a trick.

52. Know your menu inside and out. If you serve Balsam Farm candy-striped beets, know something about Balsam Farm and candy-striped beets.

53. Do not let guests double-order unintentionally; remind the guest who orders ratatouille that zucchini comes with the entree.

54. If there is a prix fixe, let guests know about it. Do not force anyone to ask for the “special” menu.

55. Do not serve an amuse-bouche without detailing the ingredients. Allergies are a serious matter; peanut oil can kill. (This would also be a good time to ask if anyone has any allergies.)

56. Do not ignore a table because it is not your table. Stop, look, listen, lend a hand. (Whether tips are pooled or not.)

57. Bring the pepper mill with the appetizer. Do not make people wait or beg for a condiment.

58. Do not bring judgment with the ketchup. Or mustard. Or hot sauce. Or whatever condiment is requested.

59. Do not leave place settings that are not being used.

60. Bring all the appetizers at the same time, or do not bring the appetizers. Same with entrees and desserts.

61. Do not stand behind someone who is ordering. Make eye contact. Thank him or her.

62. Do not fill the water glass every two minutes, or after each sip. You’ll make people nervous.

62(a). Do not let a glass sit empty for too long.

63. Never blame the chef or the busboy or the hostess or the weather for anything that goes wrong. Just make it right.

64. Specials, spoken and printed, should always have prices.

65. Always remove used silverware and replace it with new.

66. Do not return to the guest anything that falls on the floor — be it napkin, spoon, menu or soy sauce.

67. Never stack the plates on the table. They make a racket. Shhhhhh.

68. Do not reach across one guest to serve another.

69. If a guest is having trouble making a decision, help out. If someone wants to know your life story, keep it short. If someone wants to meet the chef, make an effort.

70. Never deliver a hot plate without warning the guest. And never ask a guest to pass along that hot plate.

71. Do not race around the dining room as if there is a fire in the kitchen or a medical emergency. (Unless there is a fire in the kitchen or a medical emergency.)

72. Do not serve salad on a freezing cold plate; it usually advertises the fact that it has not been freshly prepared.

73. Do not bring soup without a spoon. Few things are more frustrating than a bowl of hot soup with no spoon.

74. Let the guests know the restaurant is out of something before the guests read the menu and order the missing dish.

75. Do not ask if someone is finished when others are still eating that course.

76. Do not ask if a guest is finished the very second the guest is finished. Let guests digest, savor, reflect.

77. Do not disappear.

78. Do not ask, “Are you still working on that?” Dining is not work — until questions like this are asked.

79. When someone orders a drink “straight up,” determine if he wants it “neat” — right out of the bottle — or chilled. Up is up, but “straight up” is debatable.

80. Never insist that a guest settle up at the bar before sitting down; transfer the tab.

81. Know what the bar has in stock before each meal.

82. If you drip or spill something, clean it up, replace it, offer to pay for whatever damage you may have caused. Refrain from touching the wet spots on the guest.

83. Ask if your guest wants his coffee with dessert or after. Same with an after-dinner drink.

84. Do not refill a coffee cup compulsively. Ask if the guest desires a refill.

84(a). Do not let an empty coffee cup sit too long before asking if a refill is desired.

85. Never bring a check until someone asks for it. Then give it to the person who asked for it.

86. If a few people signal for the check, find a neutral place on the table to leave it.

87. Do not stop your excellent service after the check is presented or paid.

88. Do not ask if a guest needs change. Just bring the change.

89. Never patronize a guest who has a complaint or suggestion; listen, take it seriously, address it.

90. If someone is getting agitated or effusive on a cellphone, politely suggest he keep it down or move away from other guests.

91. If someone complains about the music, do something about it, without upsetting the ambiance. (The music is not for the staff — it’s for the customers.)

92. Never play a radio station with commercials or news or talking of any kind.

93. Do not play brass — no brassy Broadway songs, brass bands, marching bands, or big bands that feature brass, except a muted flugelhorn.

94. Do not play an entire CD of any artist. If someone doesn’t like Frightened Rabbit or Michael Bublé, you have just ruined a meal.

95. Never hover long enough to make people feel they are being watched or hurried, especially when they are figuring out the tip or signing for the check.

96. Do not say anything after a tip — be it good, bad, indifferent — except, “Thank you very much.”

97. If a guest goes gaga over a particular dish, get the recipe for him or her.

98. Do not wear too much makeup or jewelry. You know you have too much jewelry when it jingles and/or draws comments.

99. Do not show frustration. Your only mission is to serve. Be patient. It is not easy.

100. Guests, like servers, come in all packages. Show a “good table” your appreciation with a free glass of port, a plate of biscotti or something else management approves.

Lately twitter has been taking up a lot of my time and thoughts.

When I first heard of twitter I was skeptical, it seemed hollow and useless, being almost too simple and rudimentary, but once I caved and got my own twitter account (along with the Bloom Coffee twitter) I am now realizing the vast potential that twitter has to offer, along with the endless possibilities that twitter has yet to offer.

In essence twitter is a flow of CURRENT information that anyone can take part in, at any time, with no limitations on how much or how little of a part you take.

Twitter puts it like this

“The result of using Twitter to stay connected with friends, relatives, and coworkers is that you have a sense of what folks are up to but you are not expected to respond to any updates unless you want to. This means you can step in and out of the flow of information as it suits you and it never queues up with increasing demand of your attention.

Twitter allows us to constantly be in the know of who is doing what, where, when, and why. It allows us to share information with friends, family, colleagues, customers, or anyone who is following you; or even, anyone who is searching for similar content.

How I came to realize the amazing thing that is Twitter: (a little story)

@alopezbl and I were at his house attempting to print something, BAM! Power goes out. We leave his house and head downtown. Whilst leaving we notice a huge cloud of black smoke in the sky maybe 2 miles away #rosevillefire was created (yes it was only used 6 times but thats not the point) We then spent the next 2-3 hours searching twitter for anything related to Roseville, Fire, Smoke, Power Outages, ETC. We then began tweeting about the fire and Re-Tweeting Photos from others. At this point I realized power might be out @bloomcoffee, after a quick phone call to @lucaselia I found out it was still on. I then began tweeting using the @bloomcoffee account, using key words like the ones we had searched for earlier Roseville, Fire, Smoke, Power Outages, ETC, assuming many other residents of Roseville would be searching for things related to this fire. I then informed people @bloomcoffee still had power and delicious coffee. By the end of the day we had 30 more people follwing @bloomcoffee.

Utilizing Twitter is an easy way to not only keep the people or customers that you already know informed, but to TARGET and find new people and customers that share common interests.

Twitter has amazing possibilities to be an online billboard, getting you or your companies name out in the open, right in front of the people who you want to see it. Once they become customers then Twitter becomes an amazing way to retain customers and offer them promotions or incentives, to keep up on what there doing and to connect.

Twitter is all about connecting people, thats it.

Check out these sights.

Happn.in is taking twitter and localizing it. Creating a platform that allows people within a city to see current twitter trends or topics, letting you know what people are talking about in YOUR city right now.

search.twitter.com allows you to do real time searches for any keywords that you may be looking for. It allows you to filter through your searches based on people, location, date, or attitude. This allows you to keep up on current news outside of your timeline.

twitter.grader.com lets you see who has the most followers in your area and where you rank on how many followers, how many tweets how many people your following, and more.

GO TWEET THIS!

I was drinking coffee the other day and noticed that I don’t like drinking HOT coffee. I enjoy drinking coffee around 120°F. Coffee is brewed around 200°F and typically served between 180°F-190°F.

It got me thinking about why we drink coffee hot and how does temperature affect our perceived taste¹.

After doing some research I found an article about Yale scientist Barry G. Green regarding Thermal Taste:

“We’ve discovered that specific tastes can be produced by temperature stimulation, just as certain chemicals can evoke only certain taste qualities,” 

Green and his colleagues call this temperature stimulation of taste “thermal taste.” It has been known since the first electrical recordings of taste nerves that they are sensitive to temperature as well as to chemicals, but it was not known how the brain interprets this thermal stimulation. Thermal taste shows that it is interpreted as taste, not temperature, say the researchers.

The close relationship between temperature and taste qualities suggests receptors in the tongue that respond to chemicals have certain properties that make them vulnerable to specific kinds of temperature change, explain the scientists. This information may provide clues to understanding the nature of these receptor processes.

Thermal taste is different on different parts of the tongue, explains Green, indicating that taste receptors that are sensitive to temperature are not uniformly distributed throughout the tongue. For example, sweetness is more readily perceived on the tip, sourness on the side and bitterness in the back, he says.

Not everyone experiences thermal taste, notes Green. About two out of every three people tested in the study experienced at least one taste quality — sweetness is the most common thermal taste and saltiness is the least common. Green notes that these individual differences are consistent with other evidence that taste physiology and taste experiences vary substantially from person to person.

“Thermal taste probably does not affect the taste of most foods and beverages because the temperature conditions that produce it are rarely encountered during eating or drinking, and when they are, the chemical tastes of foods and beverages tend to mask thermal tastes,” Green says. “However, it is possible that frozen desserts may taste somewhat different to individuals sensitive to cold-induced sensations of thermal sourness and saltiness.”

Individuals sensitive to salt will notice that an ice cube touched to the very tip of the tongue for a few seconds will begin to taste salty, explains Green. Unfortunately, he adds, saltiness is the least common of the thermal tastes, and this is not a reliable way to demonstrate the phenomenon.

A little more research and I found an article on Nature.com about Ion channels in our tongues:

TRPM5, a cation channel of the TRP superfamily, is highly expressed in taste buds of the tongue, where it has a key role in the perception of sweet, umami and bitter tastes. Activation of TRPM5 occurs downstream of the activation of G-protein-coupled taste receptors and is proposed to generate a depolarizing potential in the taste receptor cells. Factors that modulate TRPM5 activity are therefore expected to influence taste. Here we show that TRPM5 is a highly temperature-sensitive, heat-activated channel: inward TRPM5 currents increase steeply at temperatures between 15 and 35 °C. TRPM4, a close homologue of TRPM5, shows similar temperature sensitivity. Heat activation is due to a temperature-dependent shift of the activation curve, in analogy to other thermosensitive TRP channels. Moreover, we show that increasing temperature between 15 and 35 °C markedly enhances the gustatory nerve response to sweet compounds in wild-type but not in Trpm5 knockout mice. The strong temperature sensitivity of TRPM5 may underlie known effects of temperature on perceived taste in humans, including enhanced sweetness perception at high temperatures and ‘thermal taste’, the phenomenon whereby heating or cooling of the tongue evoke sensations of taste in the absence of tastants.

Why do we drink coffee hot? Does it scientifically taste better at lower temperatures? How does temperature affect eating other foods? 

While yes it is necessary to brew coffee at those high temperatures, to extract the necessary oils and solubles, why do we drink it that hot? During cuppings we often taste coffee many times over the temperature range and almost unanimously agree that coffees change and “open up” as they cool, becoming sweeter and more complex. 

How does temperature affect our perceived taste and should we change the temperature at which we serve coffee?   

Footnotes 
1. Our perceived taste is built on combining different elements such as:  chemical taste, smell, texture, and temperature.

I have been seeing Green Walls and Green Roofs popping up more and more. I like them. 

Benefits: 

- Building Protection
     -They create a layer around buildings that reduces temperature fluctuation, reduces noise and vibration, and shields the exterior of the building from ultra-violet rays and acid rain, reducing cracking and extending the life of the building.

- Heat Island* Reduction and Energy Savings 
    - Green walls reduce the amount of heat created by heat-absorbing materials like asphalt and concrete, they also keep the inside of buildings at lower and more stable temperatures reducing the need to run A/C units lowering the production of heat more and lowering the cost of running the A/C

- Clean Air
     – 10cm² of green roof is equivalent to a 13ft high tree. This leads to more consumed CO2 and more produced O2 resulting in cleaner and healthier air.

- Habitat Restoration 
    - As habitats disappear at ridiculous rates, these walls and roofs create habitats ideal for birds, insects, and other animals to thrive.

- Beautiful
    -These walls are gorgeous.

I would love to see builders and developers using these materials. Why not right? 

To learn more check out these web sites.
www.g-sky.com
www.eltlivingwalls.com 
-LeylandJacob

*Heat Islands are a weather phenomenom caused by the centralized heat produced by our cities through vehicle exhaust, air conditioners, and massive quantities of heat-aborbing asphalt and concrete

Welcome to the website/blog of Leyland Jacob Elia. 

This is how it works. 

I want to talk about the things I am passionate about and share those things with others. Currently I have 3 main passions in my life:

1. Life (A little general I know, but we should all be passionate about it)

2. Food

3. Design

Life, Food, and Design (top right of the page) are all major categories and have there own pages. On those pages you will find subcategories. If you click a subcategory it will take you to all the posts that contain anything that I have written about that subcategory. The home page will have the 6 most current posts. I will be posting often so check back frequently. 

I hope you enjoy reading this.

-LeylandJacob