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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

• Why Food Makes the Best Gift for a New Mom - April 12, 2023
• 5 Ingredients to Cook With This Spring - March 15, 2023
• 10 Reasons to Dine Out on Valentine’s Day - February 2, 2023

A re-share from 2018

Most restaurants update their menu at least three or four times a year. Items are removed and new items added not only as a way to keep our regular’s experiencing new and exciting dishes but also in an effort to keep things aligned with the world around us. I actually get a lot of questions from readers, especially from those of you who subscribe to our newsletter, about WHY certain changes have been made and how these updates have come to be. Well, today is your lucky day because I’m gonna break it all down for you.

Menu changes stem from four primary questions:

1. Is this in season? – Obviously, not every ingredient is available FRESH all of the time. But a quality chef is only interested in working with fresh ingredients. So if a dish from the summer menu is removed, it may be because a major component of said dish is out of season. Similarly, a chef may have a great idea for a dish but if it’s not in tune with the season, it’ll have to wait.

2. What does this season feel like? – Ingredients are one thing but weight of a dish matters too. This one is pretty obvious. When are you more likely to enjoy a heavy, hearty bowl of stew? The winter or the summer? It’s clearly a winter dish. A chef will work to use “in season” ingredients in a way that compliments the season itself.

3. What do our guests want? – Customer, or as we at M&D think of it, Guest, feedback is not taken lightly. Without our guests, there would be no restaurant so of course it’s important to listen to what our guests think about the menu. It is not unusual to craft menu changes based on popular requests or recommendations. Guest experience is at the top of our priority list.

4. What are the new trends? – The food industry has exploded over the last decade in terms of how many people are intrigued by the unknown and open to trying new things. Foodies run the world (at least in our book) and it’s important to stay on top of what the new “thing” is each season. HOWEVER, not all trends are worthy of a chef’s time. At M&D, we will only participate in a food trend if that trend is of the highest quality. In other words, it needs to be worthy. While some are fabulous and game changing, like house infused liquors, others are outlandish for the sake of being outlandish. It’s important to make sure that an idea/trend answers each of these three previous questions in a positive way.

Menu changes are standard in this industry and while we sometimes have to say goodbye to a dish we love (even just temporarily), I promise it’s for good reason. All four of these questions come into play each and every time we update the menu but above all else, the quality of the ingredients comes first.

I chose to re-share this post today because in case you haven’t noticed, the world around us looks a lot different than what we would have expected even just 6 months ago. You’ll likely notice changes to our menu going forward in addition to the changes in operations that you’ve already seen and I just want you all to know that these changes are not take lightly and are not made on a whim.