9: Flexibility in Virtual Collaboration

I am most excited about the new virtual world we have all become immersed in. Pajama-wearing business Zoom meetings aside, this may be our biggest takeaway win from 2020. Going forward, through this new virtual world, we can now bring ideas like new spring/summer menus to sales, Instagramable wedding food packages, and all those new pretty appetizers to our kitchens without infringing on production time, and at far less cost.

In 2021, I am most looking forward to working with clients across the country, helping their teams to design menus, dishes, and to bring those items to production life. Virtual assisted, this can all be achieved in a new way we never though it could be before. This is the new R&D component of our businesses—without the staffing overhead, or the expense of travel and accommodation—that may have prevented us from having these types of discussions in years past. We will all adapt, grow in ways we never thought about before, and expose our teams to new ideas—and continue to do this together."

- Keith A. Lord, Founder & Principal, Stratəjē Fourteen, Culinary Operations & Logistics Consulting