A Jeanne in the Kitchen

European starlings are not native to America. They are an invasive species of bird here. They call lots of places home and are very common. They like it here though, and are quite prolific. I see them all over the place. I actually think they are beautiful birds, with their shimmering multi-colored feathers. They are luminescent, especially when the light shines on their feathers.

You can find beauty in every place, in every situation if you only just allow yourself to see it. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Abby Holt has contributed a few articles about the food and restaurant industry that I have shared with you in the past. She has submitted another interesting article that I am once again sharing with you.

Here is Abby’s article:

How Culinary Pros Can Turn Experience Into a Thriving Food Consulting Business

For culinary professionals and food industry experts who’ve spent years refining standards, systems, and taste, the next career move often feels boxed in: stay on the line, move into management, or step away from the work entirely. The challenge is that hard-won expertise can be obvious in a kitchen but hard to translate into a service clients understand and trust enough to pay for. Consulting entrepreneurship offers a way of transforming culinary experience into a food consulting business that creates income without abandoning the industry. The opportunity is real when expertise is positioned as outcomes, not effort.

What Food Consulting Really Means

Food consulting is paid problem-solving for food businesses, using your know-how to improve a result like sales, safety, or consistency. It fits naturally for pros with deep industry expertise because clients buy decisions, plans, and implementation support, not kitchen hours. Specialization makes the offer legible: one clear lane, one clear promise, one clear way to measure progress. Consulting is an art of relationships and execution, so a focused niche helps you set expectations, deliver faster, and earn repeat work. Think of it like a chef’s station. A sauce specialist (a saucier) ships plates faster than someone juggling every component, and quality stays predictable. The same focus turns your experience into packages clients can budget for. With that clarity, choosing the right client category becomes much easier.

Match Your Experience to Client Types—and a Winning Offer

Once you understand that food consulting is really about applying specialized expertise to solve business problems, the next move is choosing who you want to solve them for. The client landscape is wider than restaurants alone. Many consultants build thriving practices with food manufacturers that need help with product formulation, process tweaks, or operational improvements. Others partner with consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands looking for recipe development and product refinement that can translate to consistent, scalable production. Hospitality businesses, from hotels to event operations, often seek support with menu creation and kitchen execution that fits their service style.

Media companies also hire culinary pros for recipe development and related food content, where accuracy, repeatability, and professional credibility matter. Seeing these options side by side makes it easier to shape a resilient business: when one segment slows, another may still need the same core expertise delivered in a different way. That diversification can also help you clarify a practical food consulting business model that matches what you’re best at and what clients will pay for.

How to Launch and Grow a Food Consulting Business

This process helps you move from “I have experience” to “I run a consulting service” with clear offers, a simple way to get clients, and delivery systems that make your work easier to scale.

1. Set up the basics and decide how you’ll operate
   Start with a business name, a simple brand promise (who you help and what outcome you deliver), and a dedicated way to handle money and paperwork. Keep your setup lean, but treat it like a real operation by outlining your schedule, your tools, and how you will communicate with clients.

2. Package your expertise into 2 to 3 clear services
   Choose a few offers that match your strengths and your buyer’s urgent problems, such as menu improvement, product development support, kitchen training, or process cleanup. Write each offer as a defined scope with deliverables and timelines, because measurable inspection criteria are the difference between “helping” and a service a client can approve and renew.

3. Create a repeatable delivery workflow
   Build a simple checklist for discovery, diagnostics, recommendations, implementation support, and follow-up, so every project runs the same way. Include what you need from the client, what you will produce, and how you will confirm the result, because defining the inspection scope thinking prevents scope creep and keeps projects profitable.

4. Win your first clients with focused outreach
   Start with warm connections: former colleagues, vendors, owners, and brand teams who already trust your judgment, and ask for one intro at a time to your ideal buyer. Pair that with proof-driven visibility like one case study post, a one-page service sheet, and a short pitch that names the problem you fix and the result you deliver.

5. Grow by productizing, not overworking
   After a few projects, turn what repeats into templates, training decks, audit checklists, and standard reports you can reuse. Add retainer options (monthly QA checks, seasonal menu updates, ongoing R and D support) so revenue becomes steadier and your calendar stays predictable.

Food Consulting Questions People Ask Before Starting

Q: What is the biggest mistake when launching a food consulting offer?
A: Trying to help everyone with everything. Pick one buyer type and one painful problem, then write a scope that names deliverables, timing, and what is out of scope. A simple rule: if you cannot explain the outcome in one sentence, it is not ready to sell.

Q: How should I price my services if I do not have consulting case studies yet? A: Start with fixed packages for common problems, not hourly rates, so clients can approve a clear budget. Set a floor price based on your time plus a buffer for revisions, then raise rates after every 3 to 5 completed projects. If a prospect pushes for a discount, reduce scope before reducing price

Q: When should I use a retainer versus a one-time project?
A: Use a project when the goal is a defined change like a menu refresh or a training rollout. Use a retainer when the client needs ongoing decisions, updates, or quality checks. A good decision rule: if work will recur monthly, price it monthly.

Q: How do I prevent scope creep with clients who keep adding “quick asks”?
A: Create one shared document that lists deliverables and a change process. Reply to new requests with two options: add-on fee or swap for an existing task. This keeps relationships positive while protecting profit.

Q: Can I consult if clients want tech help like inventory systems or AI tools?
A: Yes, but sell outcomes, not software. Many teams struggle with adoption because 74 percent of companies face hurdles in scaling AI value when metrics and ownership are unclear, so include training, a pilot period, and a success checklist in your scope.

Build a Sustainable Food Consulting Practice Through Client
Value

Food consulting can feel like a tug-of-war between what you know in the kitchen and what it takes to run a real business. Long-term consulting success comes from industry knowledge integration paired with business planning importance and a client-focused approach that keeps scope, pricing, and expectations aligned. When those pieces work together, your work becomes repeatable, your referrals increase, and consulting business sustainability stops depending on luck or hustle. Client value is the only strategy that scales in consulting. Choose one next action this week: define the outcome you deliver for a specific client type and write it as a one-sentence promise. That clarity builds resilience, for your clients’ operations and for your own stability and growth.

Being a Chef Consultant is a good gig if you can get it, but with any consulting job, they are not always easy to obtain or sustain. But good luck to all who choose to pursue this line of work. Getting your first client is always the hardest part.

Thank you once again Abby for this interesting and informative article. You can reach out to Abby Holt at abby.holt@craftability.org if you have any questions or would like to get more information from her.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is short. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

Every now and then I see multiple cormorants all together, but more so than not, I usually only see them on their own. They seem like they don’t care if they have an audience or not, and are just going to do and be themselves no matter who is or isn’t watching them. Maybe part of the reason I like them so much is because of this attitude. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Be like the Cormorant, and always be yourself. ‘Til next time.

It was another scorcher of a day, so there was NO WAY I was going to heat up the kitchen unnecessarily. It was definitely time to pull out the slow cooker and put it to good use again. On these dog days of summer, slow cookers are a real gift. I made an Indian slow cooked curried chicken stew. I served it with some naan bread, sweet potato wedges and a cool, crisp sauvignon blanc on the side.

Indian Slow Cooked Curried Chicken Stew

This recipe is so simple and only requires a few basic ingredients. Using a slow cooker is one of the easiest ways to cook, especially when the mercury is on the rise. Just put everything you need in the slow cooker, walk away and forget about it for a few hours. Easy-peasy!

1 1/2-2 lbs chicken breast, cut into large pieces

3-4 tomatoes, diced

1 TBSP ginger

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp garam masala

2 cups (1 can chicken broth)

1 cup water, add more later if necessary

2 TBSP coconut vinegar, optional

salt & pepper to taste

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 apple, peeled and diced

1 onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cup red lentils

1 cup rice

Start with the tomatoes, spices, garlic, ginger and jalapenos on the bottom. Though it really doesn’t matter how everything is “layered” since you are going to mix it all up before starting to cook it. It does make for better pictures though. 🙂

Add the onions, rice, apples and lentils.

Add the chicken and the chicken broth, then stir everything together well, cover and turn the slow cooker on.

You can cook it at high for 4 hours, or at low for about 6 hours. Either way, it will come out with tender, flavorful chicken. Stir occasionally while it is cooking. This is easy-peasy and very tasty. I promise you’re going to love it. 🙂

Life is short. Make the most out of everyday. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

I am not walking as much as usual because it has been so stinking hot. If I was smart enough, and awake enough, I would try to walk early in the mornings, before it gets so hot, but unfortunately, that doesn’t happen to often. So, I walk when I can. Even the animals say it is too hot right now. But when I get my act together, and go earlier, I still see lots of great things.

I am seeing a lot of Red-winged black birds. They are serenading each other with their songs of love. I love seeing them. I see them all over, but usually I find them in the reeds, singing to their sweethearts.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay cool. ‘Til next time.

We bought a pork loin that I am cutting up and cooking in different ways. Rather than cooking it as one big roast, since it is way to hot for that, I am cutting it into thick pork chops instead. The first way I prepared it was in a light lime and coconut sauce.

Lime and Coconut Pork Chops

There are so many different curries from around the world. My favorites are both the Indian and the Thai curries. This recipes has influences from both of those curries plus my own added touches as well.

3-4 thick cut pork chops

1/4 red onion, sliced very thin

1 TBSP ginger

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup coconut milk

1 TBSP coconut vinegar, optional

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsp honey or hot, spicy honey

1 TBSP lime juice

1/2 red or orange bell pepper, sliced thin

1 cup corn

1/4 cup fresh, cilantro, basil and/or lemon verbena

salt to taste

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste

olive oil and butter for cooking

1/4 cup toasted coconut

Get a large skillet very hot, add the oil and butter then sear the pork chops for about 4 minutes per side. Once both sides are brown, remove the pork from the pan and keep warm. You can use this same sauce with chicken or shrimp too.

Add the ginger, garlic, corn and peppers to the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes then add the coconut milk, honey, spices and broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, re-add the pork chops and continue to cook for about 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add most of the fresh herbs right at the very end of the cooking process and mix in. I thought I had cilantro, since I always have cilantro on hand, but this time I didn’t. But I had plenty of lemon verbena, that has taken over my back yard, and fresh basil, so I used both of those.

Serve over rice. I used wild rice, with a topping of a little sauce, then the pork, a bit more sauce, and topped it with more fresh herbs and the toasted coconut. I served it with potstickers and green beans on the side, with a cool crisp white wine to complete the meal. DELICIOUS!

Life is short. Live life to the fullest and make the most out of everyday. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Happy Birthday America. Today, she celebrates her 250th birthday. To most countries she is still just a young child, but to me and many others, she is doing great. I am a proud American and I am ready to help America celebrate her big day. Most Americans celebrate the day with parades, picnics or BBQs and fireworks after.

Some celebrate with reenactments of the Revolutionary War.

Some celebrate by going to air shows.

But once the sun sets and the night darkens the skies, we all look above for the colorful explosions of the fireworks that mark our birthday.

Thank you to all who have served and continue to serve to protect our great, beautiful nation. We are the land of the FREE because of the BRAVE.

Have a happy, safe 4th of July no matter how you celebrate. Happy 250th Birthday America. I hope you have another 250 yet to come.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Celebrate all the little things in life. Those are the things that make life so special. ‘Til next time.

Summer is here in full force. It was a scorcher today. Our temperature here was 95* F or 35*C. I didn’t really feel like cooking or eating anything heavy. It was definitely salad weather. So I made a delicious Caribbean shrimp salad with an orange vinaigrette to help cool us down.

Caribbean Shrimp Salad

This cool refreshing salad will definitely help when the temperatures are soaring. It is filled with all kinds of fresh veggies and the slightly spicy orange vinaigrette will give you that tropical Caribbean vibe no matter where you are. I made the dressing first because I also used that as my marinade for the shrimp. I marinated the shrimp for about 30-45 minutes before cooking them. I sauteed them, but they would also be great grilled too.

Orange Vinaigrette

1-2 TBSP honey

1 cup orange juice

3/4 cup olive oil

2 TBSP orange olive oil, optional

2 TBSP orange vinegar, optional

fresh black pepper to taste

1 red chili pepper, diced fine

2-3 TBSP fresh basil, chiffonade

Whisk everything together and set aside until ready to use. I used about 2/3 cup to marinade my shrimp.

The Salad

2 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed

1 carrot, peeled and shredded

1/3 cucumber, sliced thin

1 tomato, diced

1/2 red onion, sliced very thin

1-2 TBSP green onions, sliced

2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced

1/4 avocado, sliced, optional

cheese of your choice, optional

roasted pepita seeds, optional

Of course Larry’s salad had cheese and mine had the avocado slices and the pepita seeds.

Once the salads were made, I put enough dressing on them to make them come to life without drowning them in dressing. I served them with some toasted bread and chilled white wine on the side. It was a deliciously perfect way to cool down on these dog days of summer.

Lighten up a bit, especially when the hot weather weighs you down. Life is short. Live life to the fullest and enjoy the ride. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

I have lots of material and things to write about, but today, unfortunately, the words just aren’t coming together. I have case of writer’s block. Fortunately, it is a pretty rare occurrence, but it is certainly here today. I guess sometimes we all have those days when the words just aren’t there. And that’s OK. We all need some down time I suppose. Hopefully my brain fog will be all cleared up by tomorrow and I will once again be back to my “talkative self”. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Live life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.

In between events at the Midsummer Festival, left for dinner. Since we were enjoying the Swedish festival, we thought we should enjoy some Swedish food as well. We found a restaurant called Crown & Rye. It was a happening spot. I think a lot of other people had the same idea.

Crown & Rye is owned and operated by Brandi Swenson and her family. Brandi, with over 20 years spent in the restaurant industry, has a deep understanding of the culinary world.  She honed her skills at the prestigious Scottsdale Culinary Institute, earning a Le Cordon Bleu Culinary degree.  Brandi’s passion for food is balanced with a strong business acumen, thanks to her additional degree in Business with a Human Resources emphasis from Fort Hays State University.  Her management experience spans restaurants in both Lindsborg and Salina.  She is the master of making tastebuds happy!

Driven by a love for food and hospitality, Brandi creates dining experiences that leave a lasting impression.

Crown & Rye serves traditional Swedish food as well as some non-traditional foods as well. The food is very good and the restaurant is very clean, warm and inviting. Both of our meals came with a salad. Larry went with an American salad, where I chose a beet, green onion, caper and egg salad which is a typical Swedish salad. I loved it and ate every bite.

Larry ordered Swedish meatballs for his entre. Those were also very good. We both tried each other’s dinner choices. We do this all the time so we each get to sample more dishes.

I chose the potato sausage and Swedish potatoes. I had never eaten potato sausage before. It’s really good.

After our dinner and yet again, full tummies, we walked around the town a bit to take in the sights. The streets are lined with typical Swedish art and folklore.

More Dalas.

The Swedish eagle.

I fell in love with this beautiful colorful house too.

It was a very enjoyable way to spend our last evening of the trip. We had a great trip, but we were ready to go home too.

Crown and Rye is located at 121 N. Main St, Lindsborg, KS. You can call them at (785) 227-8422 or visit them online at eat@crownandrye.com too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is short. Live life to the fullest and try as many new things as you can. Enjoy the ride. ‘Til next time.