I arrived a little early today for our lunch with Robbie Wright from Chat with Women. It was very fun and she was so enthusiastic and entertaining. She wants us to help out with her event for the opening of the movie Eat, Pray, Love. Then I made a bunch of our private dining packets that we can pass out to potential clients. And, of course, I filled out my daily Banquet Information Sheets. Then I helped Erich get ready for happy hour behind the bar. Finally Gracie and I headed to Seattle to apply for our membership with the Seattle Convention Bureau and to talk to Arie, the Sales Manager at the Seattle store, about her upcoming vacation and what we will be doing in order to cover for her. All in all, a very productive day!

Today I helped out with my first satellite dinner. I came in a little later in the day than usual and Gracie and I brainstormed and shopped around for new August gift ideas. Then we met with the satellite dinner hosts who came 2 hours early to set up and make sure everything was in order. I also helped Ron with the cold side line check. We tried all of the dressings and sauces and made sure they were up to our flavor standards. We also checked all of the temperatures to ensure that they were safe to eat. Then we looked at all of the food products, including the desserts, to ensure that there was enough and that they were all aesthetically pleasing enough. It took longer than I thought it would, but Ron explained the importance of making sure everything is to a Ruth's Chris standard every single day. Then Gracie and I welcomed the guests to our satellite dinner and another party and made sure that everything ran smoothly. There was one minor blip with a menu that was printed incorrectly and slipped past all of us, but Neil, the server, was able to keep the guests happy and I don't even think anyone noticed our mistake. Finally Gracie and I scoped the neighborhood competition's balconies to see what we were up against in the hot weather. Luckily, we weren't overly impressed with anyone!

Sorry Lisa, you missed out on the mini cheesecakes, berries & sweet cream, and the chocolate sin cake...YUM!

Mistica Wines Launch Party introducing their Argentinian Wines at the Pampas Room. Whoops, Scott blinked.

Monday, No intern...see you tomorrow!

Today is the start of the famous Bellevue Arts Fair! So Alicia and I hit the streets and passed out our lunch menu to the visitors and happy hour menus for the vendors who are finished around 10. We definately got some customers that we saw in our restaurant later! I also filled out Banquet Information Sheet for all of our upcoming events. Now Jeff is going to train me in the bar!

I haven't blogged in a couple days because we have been very busy! But last Tuesday was a crazy day where we had 4 events going on at lunch and Gracie and I had to make a presentation at Expedia to promote our private dining and catering to major neighborhood businesses. We offered them signature appetizers, like sweet potato in a pecan crust and slow-cooked chicken salad canapes, to sample. The day ended up going alright even though it was one of those when we couldn't think of anything else that could go wrong. All the events were pulled off flawlessly for the client! I helped Matt completely reset our ST. Charles room for our evening big event. Then Gracie, Adam, and I with the AV set-up for our dinner party as well. Yesterday I arrived early to help with another large lunch event. I simply was available to help the guests with any requests they might have. Then Gracie and I checked out J. Bookwalter venue for catering. We loved it!! the women who just took over are extremely nice and excited about a partnership of some sort and the wine and space are wonderful!! Finally today I helped Marco with meat consolidation again. Then Gracie and I went to the Parlor to meet Kayce and Crystal and see their venue. It was really cool! And it offers us with a good after-dinner outing to offer our guests and out-of-town business parties. Then it was back to help Marco with desserts, hamburgers, and employee meals. It's always good to work with Marco because he's sooo good at his job and really helpful at teaching me the ropes of the kitchen. Plus he's an excellent singer!

Today I worked with our beverage manager, Scott, for the majority of the day. I learned how important inventory is to a restaurant and just so we know what is in stock, but so that we know how much money we're making off of all of our products and who is sellin what. First, we had to manually count all of the liquor in our restaurant. Then we totalled it all up and entered it into a spreadsheet that calculates the total value of the liquor we have based on how much we buy it for. Next we entered it into another spreadsheet that calculates the COGS and the percent of sales. Scott did an excellent job of explaining all implications of this percentage and how he works to keep it as low as possible so as to maximize our funds. Then Gracie took me to El Gaucho, another steakhouse in the neighborhood, so that I could compare the different steakhouse and private dining options in Bellevue. It was interesting to see how different two steakhouses could actually be and to see what each company emphasizes in their sales and marketing of private dining.

-Lisa

Another busy day! I came in a bit early since we were hosting a corporate lunch for 55 people in our main dining room. And things got hectic quickly when the host decided he wanted to make a slight change to the menu. He simply wanted the dessert served with the entree so that there would be no service during the presentations. Seems like a small differences, but it just goes to show how detail-oriented this business is. We caught up in time, but the back of the house really had to push it! Then since everyone was busy with the event I helped Marcus on the lunch bar again when we got a 10-top walk-in. Things chilled out and we were able to please all of the customers, but it was bit stressful. ~Lisa

Steak & Frites

A short day today since the sun is shining and yesterday was so busy! I helped Erich at the bar again and I think I'm really getting it down. Lunch got a little crazy early on so I finished up his prep for him smoothly. I also got to help him with the bar customers a little! Then Gracie and Arie, the sales manager for the Seattle store, and I hosted Jen Taylor from Taylor'd Events for lunch. She also runs the Wedding Network USA so she gave us a bunch of great tips about kicking off our catering business as well as hosting events for her company.
The food was delicious and great company so it seems like time just flew by!

Caramelized Banana Cream Pie

-Lisa

I feel like today is my first actual taste of what event planning is all about. Tonight we are hosting three big events all within an hour of each other. There are two corporate events of over 35 people each and a bachelor party of 12. The bachelor party is simply an a la carte menu with an open bar (duh!) so the prep for that was fairly simple. We just had to set the room and make sure we had enough liqour and food readily available. The corporate events on the other hand are a bit more to handle. Conveniently, Gracie was able to sell both companies the same menu to both events. So upon arriving I helped Marco, our sous chef, prep our Chocolate Sin Cake for dessert and prep some salad things. I also made a lot of hamburger patties so that we wouldn't have to deal with them and the rest of happy hour while setting up for the banquets. Next Ron showed me the administrative side and how he has to set up the POS system with specific banquet buttons that allow servers to quickly and easily ring in orders, but at the same time keep accurate track of our spending and inventory. And then the guests began to arrive! And ever since it has simply been a "go with the flow" mentality. One minute I may be greeting guests, the next stocking wine, and the next checking and stocking the bathroom. It really is just a matter of keeping the guests happy and maintaining a smooth facade.

-Lisa

Today I finally graduated lettuce and (prep) with Marcus! I completely prepped the lunch salads with him and learned to make our delicious mashed potatoes. Then I learned how to make my favorite Black and Blue Salad and I made all of them that were ordered today at lunch. I also learned how to make a Ruth's Chop Salad. Then I helped with our weekly networking party that comes in. Marcus and I made all of the salads and side salads that were ordered and then I helped Executive Chef Tom as he expediated the order. After that Matt showed me how to reset the room after the event was over so that we can hold another event in our St. Charles room. Finally I set up, organized, and confirmed all the BEOs for tomorrow's busy day.

~Lisa

So last Thursday was a long and busy day! To start Gracie and I went to a Bellevue Collection meeting to learn what is new and happening with our fellow restaurants and retailers. The 7:30 AM meeting time was worth it in the end when we won an award!
BEST largest sales increase in May! And our timing was perfect since the COO of all of Ruth's Chris stopped in later that day. After updating the BEOs for the kitchen, one of my weekly tasks, and a couple of sales calls with the new businesses opening throughout the mall, I got to meet him! But only for a minute because Thursday was finally bartending day, which I have been studying for since my second day. Erich taught how every thing is set up and why it is the way it is. Then we prepped all the garnishes and mixes and restocked the liqour and beer. Little did I know that sweet and sour mix is everyone's least favorite thing to make, but I volunteered anyway.

After Gracie and I went to look at potential winery partners to kickstart our new catering with. We found two really good ones, Alder Ridge and Efeste, and were able to make some good connections. On our way back we stopped at a number of Bellevue hotels to give the concierge some little summer treats and happy hour menus in case guests were looking for something delicious over the weekend.

And finally, upon returning to the restaurant, Justin taught me how to make a Luxurita and a Citrus Mojito, both of which are delicious if you ask me!
~Lisa

Sizzling Hot ~ Award Winning Day

7:45 am ~ The Bellevue Collection Manager Meeting

We won ~

A little networking at Nordstrom ~ MAC

The Visit

Shadow the Bartender

Scouting out the Wineries ~ Chateau St. Michele, Alder Ridge, and Efeste

Hotel Concierge Visits

More Shadowing the Bartender

4:45 pm ~ That's it...Happy Hour with Friends

Wednesday...Here comes the Northwest Heatwave!

So it's Wednesday and I forgot to have Lisa post before she left.

The Northwest is gearing up for a big HEATWAVE. 90 DEGREES today!!! One of the chefs made smoothies for everyone. Drinking a lot of water and not even thinking of the 5K we, managers & staff, are thinking of running in just over 1 month...we'll see.

So today, Lisa is shadowing Marcus. This means prepping for lunch and dinner salads/sides. Everthing is prepped to spec, so watch carefully Lisa. We'll test you later.

Phew. Out of the kitchen. Will it be iced tea or smoothie, or both?
Did I mention HEATWAVE? Well instead of the fresh baked cookies that Lisa packed yesterday, today she's preparing a little summer relief.
Water bottles and squirt guns!
We'll be giving these out tomorrow to present & potential customers, along with menus and Ruth's Chris Steak House 45th Anniversary Recipe Cards.
The temperature should be in the 90's!!!

Until later. Stay cool
~Gracie

Week 2: Lisa's Words

With one full week of work and a holiday weekend to recuperate with, working at Ruth's Chris is starting to settle down. Not settle down in the sense that I know what I am doing. Not by a long shot! But settle down in the sense that the unending new experiences and unpredictability of the events industry is becoming the norm. Today I helped Matt, a server, out with the weekly BNI networking luncheon, again. The second time through was much easier and smoother than my first time and Matt is very supportive in helping figure out the ins and outs of serving. I learned the Ruth's Chris method of taking orders, consolidating them for the kitchen, registering them in the computer, and expediting the final dishes. He also gave me some tips on appropriate fine dining customer service, such as how long to wait to greet the guests and when a drink needs to be refilled.

After the luncheon guests were comfortable and happily eating, I sat in on a meeting with Gracie and Lindsey from the Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau (of Visit Seattle as she likes to call it). Gracie and I learned about the pros of joining the organization and talked about ways to get our name out there and spread our range of customers into Seattle. Overall I think it was very productive and beneficial for our current objective.

Next I did my weekly "intern job" of bagging our cookies for marketing. Sounds like a simple idea, but when Gracie and I took them through the mall with copies of our Happy Hour menu, I was surprised by how receptive and excited our neighboring merchants were with the idea of Ruth's Chris famous happy hour.

I am excited for tomorrow because, once again, I get to do something completely new and different. I am shadowing Marcus, one of the chefs, during lunch.

~Lisa

Walk Downtown Bellevue

What's with the pedometer?

Here's Paulina and Justin sporting his pedometer.

So, the staff is encouraged to participate in Walk Downtown Bellevue. This is a project we have given to our lovely intern Lisa.

Basically, it's 10,000 steps every day for 10 weeks starting June 22nd.

Leading the way in steps per day is our AGM and Beverage Manager, Scott!!! 22,000 steps.

Here's Marcus...That's right the kitchen is playing along too!

Week 1 - The Introduction

Things usually start with a workout before coming to work, make an iced coffee drink, turn on my laptop, listen to voicemail, eat a little something...blah, blah, etc., etc. WORK!
This week, my intern Lisa from University of San Francisco started her internship. Yeah! After exchanging many emails with my Regional VP in SF, numerous emails with my counterpart in SF, email to my corporate HR department, more emails and phone conversations...phew. I got the green light.

I meant to start chronicling the internship, so I wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel when I had another intern. Well, here's how it went this week.

Monday: Introductions are in order.
1) I introduced Lisa to the staff, of course, we're in a restaurant, so not everyone is present.
2) Watch 2 videos; one about our company and one about sexual harassment...standard.
3) First Project: Update database. Clients from the past 3 years.
Staff Meal: Grilled Chicken Sandwich with julienne potatoes

Tuesday: Get Started
1) The Hostess Desk
2) The Networking Lunch
Staff Meal: Ahi Tuna Salad

Wednesday:
1) Bellevue Downtown Association Meeting with other restaurants
2) Be in charge of getting staff involved in Walk Downtown Bellevue
3) Continue Database project
4) update Banquet Book and Kitchen Menus
5) Package Double Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Hotel Concierge
Staff Meal: Black & Blue Salad

Thursday:
1) Lunch Meeting with potential client
2) Set up dining room for dinner seminar
3) Pick up more starter kits for Walk Downtown Bellevue
Staff Meal: Ahi Tuna Salad

Friday: BIG last minute event
1) Check Dining Room, shadow Servers
2) Drop off happy hour menus & Gift Certificate to BDA for July 4th booth & raffle
3) Corporate Lunch Begins, greet guests, and observe service
4) Lunch Meeting with True Colors Events
Staff Meal: Black & Blue Salad