2016 Wedding Cake Trends

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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)

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday with family and that you had some time to rest and rejuvenate. I was so thrilled to spend a week up in New York over the holidays. I was even spoiled with relatively mild weather (most of the time)! I love every bit of the holiday season. The family time, the food, the celebration, the decorations and music, all of it makes me wedding cake trendssmile from ear to ear. But this year, my all time favorite thing about the holiday season, was saying “YES” to my boyfriend’s marriage proposal. I am still sporting an infinite smile and I could not be more excited to be Matt’s wife. As you can probably imagine, my mind constantly wanders to all things wedding related.Continue Reading

Happy Thanksgiving!

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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)

This time of year is Foodie Heaven. There are just SO many things to drool over, am I right? While we are all about what is on your Thanksgiving table, let’s not forget what this time of year is really FullSizeRender-1all about. Here at M&D, we are grateful for all of our hard working employees both behind the scenes and in the front of the house, our customers who have turned into friends and family, and the opportunities we’ve been given to help you celebrate the holiday with your family.

 

Tomorrow, as you sit around with family, I hope you find comfort and joy in their smiling faces (even if they are stuffed with turkey and mashed potatoes). Have a wonderful holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Per Se: A Foodie’s Dream Come True

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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)

Have you ever had an experience so magical that you had to continuously pinch yourself to prove you weren’t in a Per Sedream? I have. After I graduated from the University of Delaware in 2012, my parents gave me a foodie’s dream gift. They took me to Per Se in Manhattan for dinner. It was the ultimate graduation dinner. Actually, ultimate isn’t good enough. It was exquisite. Indescribable. I have yet to enjoy a meal anywhere nearly as much. Seriously, it was that good.Continue Reading

2015 Fancy Food Show Highlights

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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)

I remember being a young teen (maybe 13 or 14-years-old) and being thrilled when my dad invited me to the Food Show at the Javits Center in New York City. I got to wear a badge and wander the massive space wide eyed and bushy tailed as my love of the food industry really started to come alive. I’ll admit, I’ve only gone that one time, but I’ll Fancy Food Show Recapnever forget it. This year, though I was bummed I couldn’t accompany him myself, my dad scoped out the food show with the McKinney and Doyle bakery manager, Vicki, and a couple members of her amazing staff, Amanda and Sarah and everybody had an amazing time. For those who don’t know, the Fancy Food Show brings together some of the world’s leaders in the food and beverage industry and gives them the chance to showcase their latest and greatest. This year, thousands of vendors took over the Javits Center in NYC for three days at the end of June. I know I’m not the only one who wasn’t able to attend so I thought today would be a good day to go over some highlights.

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