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
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
This week will be the final post in our Busy Saturday Night Perspective series. We’ll be running series like this over time so I’d love to get your feedback and ideas. Share a restaurant or bar experience with me either in the comments below or through email (Rebecca@mckinneyanddoyle.com) and I’ll work to form a series around it. Your experience can be positive or negative, old or new. Whatever your story is, I want to hear it! Continue Reading
As we near the weekend I wanted to add to our Busy Saturday Night series. This week I want to get inside the mind of the restaurant manager and next week, to close out this particular series, we’ll go into the kitchen and talk chef’s perspective. Let’s start after the pre-shift meeting but before the mid night craziness. 
Okay, let’s go back to the Busy Saturday Night Post from last week to get one customer’s perspective. I’d like to take a quick moment and say that obviously, not every customer will have that same experience. I chose one example fully knowing that every customer experience is different and everybody handles situations differently. That being said, let’s revisit that night from the hostess’ perspective.
It’s Saturday night! Date night! You and your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend are ready to dress up a little, have a few cocktails and treat yourselves to a nice meal. You even made a reservation at your favorite restaurant earlier in the week because you wanted your favorite table. You know the one, the corner table tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen and the noise. But what’s this? You got to the restaurant right on time and your table isn’t ready. No biggie you’ll just grab a couple drinks at the … oh … the bar is packed. Your night isn’t exactly going as planned so far but that’s fine it’ll only be a couple of minutes.