Good Morning!! The longer I work in this crazy business the harder it seems to get it right. Last Friday we had an issue with our catfish...everything we do is hand breaded and our own recipe's. I start picking up plates and asking how things tasted and my precious guest reply "It was alright", not the words I want to hear. I go to the kitchen after the 3rd comment and taste and re-taste and yes I thought their words of "alright" were kind....it was not good. We pull the special for the day, and move on, I was very frustrated. I talk to Sam about the breading and we come up with a solution. Yesterday we tested this new method, getting ready for todays special, my goal to hear, "it was fantastic." Our crazy lunch starts and the taste test of the catfish forgotten. I start watching plates come across the line and the beans and rice do not look right, I grab a spoon and ask Cindy to taste and her words made me want to jump out of my skin, they were not good. I take a spoon and realize she is exactly right, I tell the kitchen to pull them and fix these two sides, now I my heart it racing.. "why yall?"...their reply "we thought they were alright"...oh mylanta the exact same words my guest used the week before about the special. "Alright puts you out of business", I know not a nice reply but I was angry. In the middle of this mess, one of my girls had a large party in my tech room and when asked what the special of the day was she replied,"Hand breaded catfish," when in all reality it was stacked beef enchilada's with rice and beans. Well you can just imagine the chaos that caused in the kitchen....they plate up ALL the special plates and it hits the server...."Oh no I told them catfish!!" Happy Beauitful Friday....just another day at the CIG, the guest were so kind and understanding, even though the server took alot of kidding for her mistake we were able to make them happy and to settle the guys in the kitchen down. I have a sign hanging in my office that was written by Vince Lombardi, the title What it takes to be NO 1, I read this often, it talks of winning, that it is habit forming to win or it is habit forming to loose. We were raise to achieve greatness or to be the best we can be, and I will be the first to say its hard what we do and to get it right but this is how our heavenly father made us, not to settle or to become complacent. I know my staff wants to say.." be quiet!!" when things start going south but if I start settling for less, we then become less. Are you settling because you dont want to upset others or your exhausted from trying to be better and do better? Like I said, the longer I work in this easy bake oven, the harder it is to get it right....but as long as I do not settle we will become better....I want to strive everyday to be the best, I want that to be habit forming!! May your friday be amazing and you strive for greatness because when you get it right there is no better feeling. Here is to hoping the catfish receives great reviews and the staff will realize it is a great feeling to not settle!
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AuthorI opened the Cast Iron Grill in October 2007. Lots of changes have happened in the last 5 1/2 years. The CIG started with 55 seats in an office building located at 18th and K. After five years, we were bursting at the seams with now 167 seats, and 24 wonderful co-workers working on top of eachother to make it happen. 2012 the Lord chose a different journey for the CIG. We relocated the CIG and opened our doors on January 2nd, 2013, just four blocks away from the old location! It has changed my world completely! All of these stories are the happenings of the people and the joy and celebration that make the CIG what it is. Archives
May 2014
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