3
Jun

OnCue: BBQ MBA

Posted by on . -- OnCue Consulting

The BBQ MBA is part of the Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza event held each January. While the hogs and brisket are cooking, we gather to hear wisdom, advice, and cautionary tales from the pitmasters and marketing/media masterminds.

I love feeling of potential that greets me every January as I start a fresh New Year. The exercise of planning and putting ideas and concrete goals in my calendar is immensely satisfying. For the past two years, much of my inspiration has come from the BBQ MBA portion of the Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza. The ideas and information we share helps me prioritize specific projects and provide a burst of energy in my creative thinking.

WholeHog_SpeakerPanelThe pitmasters talked about restaurant branding, how television affected their businesses, and their own personal barbecue journeys.

WholeHog_KatThe incomparable Kat Kinsman, editor of CNN’s eatocracy.com took the stage with equally eloquent Mitchell Davis, EVP of the James Beard Foundation and me and we discussed social media dos and don’ts and how to use it to develop relationships, as well as PR strategies for winning media attention.

WholeHog_SpeakersMitchell also gave a rousing talk aptly titled, “Barbecue in Context: from Pits to Pouilly Fuissé” – a perfectly on-point discussion about barbecue’s place in American cuisine. Brilliant marketing and branding mastermind Aric Nissen spoke about branding and menu engineering. I shared ideas and insight about the real work behind building a successful barbecue restaurant and brand.

Did you attend this year’s event? I’d love to hear your favorite takeaway in the comments below.

Read about the Brisket Bonanza portion of this event here. Read more about OnCue events and the 2013 – early 2014 schedule here.

Follow our speakers on twitter here: Amy, Kat, Mitchell, Aric, Wayne, Barry, Brad, Sam, and John.

Make 2014 your best year ever and join us at the next Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza/BBQ MBA which will be held January 19-21, 2014. All photos © Ken Goodman Photography. View the entire gallery here.

2
Jun

Reading this week

Posted by on . -- Reading, Uncategorized

Hingham High School graduation.

This week was filled with end-of-year activities, prom, and graduation.

Here are some links that made me think:

The Chicago Sun-Times fired its photographers. As a journalist and a friend to a number of photojournalists, this makes me sad and makes me shudder. The best photojournalists I know have a gift for capturing humanity. That trained perspective will surely be lost when an accompanying photo is an iPhone afterthought.

Speaking of photography … as someone whose event photos have been compromised by multiple “photographers,” I found this to be dead on and kind of sad. Let’s all try to be more courteous and let event photographers do their job. And to take it a step further, sometimes it’s more fun to just live the experience and put the phone away.

Texas Monthly barbecue critic Daniel Vaughn talks brisket grade and pricing.

The Glass Castle was a fascinating memoir and this profile of Jeanette Walls is equally interesting and disturbing.

I follow Rachel Sklar on twitter. She seems smart and savvy and this profile confirms it. The headline is incorrect, though… she’s not trying, she pretty much IS a social media entrepreneur.

The media landscape has changed for all of us in the restaurant biz and nowhere more so than New York City. The feverish quest for online coverage is exhausting.

The Worst End of School Year Mom Ever confessional took the internet world by storm and had mothers and teachers alike howling with laughter and nodding in agreement.

My daddy taught me long ago that “first-class people associate with first-class people.” “I don’t shine if you don’t shine” and “People know you by the company you keep,” are two gems from this article:  Why powerful women make the best friends.

Frank Bruni on why siblings are a gift. So good.