Table Side Interaction Is The Best

One of the greatest joys in the operation of a restaurant is talking to the guests at the table. The experience from our side is similar to having friends over to your home for dinner. When patrons are enjoying their meal and talking about how much they like a particular entree or the design of AZUR, the feeling is an intense "pride". No matter what negative incidents may have occurred that day (oven goes out or ice maker stops working), it all just fades away.

Upcoming Chef Series Dinners

AZUR just finished distilled AZUR - a five course tribute to distilled spirits. No rest here. We already have completed the menu for the June Chef Series which will be a Japanese seven course dinner featuring sous chef Justin Clark. Then in July, AZUR will be offering a Virtual Kentucky Bourbon Trail Chef Series with bourbons from distilleries along the official Kentucky Bourbon Trail which is in it's 10th year! As always, we are accepting ideas for August. Make your recommendation by inserting "Themed Dinner" in the subject line and sending to info@azurrestaurant.com.

Too Many Televisions in Restaurants

Lately, the trend has been to add televisions to the interior of restaurants of all types of restaurants. They're replacing artwork on the walls with several televisions tuned to a multiple stations. What happened to conversation over dinner? It seems we are forgetting about the connection between sharing a meal and being social. Inviting someone to dine with you is a personal experience that should not be intruded upon by other distractions (e.g. television). Life is passing by swiftly enough. Dinner should be a time to slow down and enjoy the food and the company of others. Interested on how slowing down can have a positive impact on your life and others around you? Explore www.slowmovement.com

AZUR Pushes Molecular Cuisine Further

Question: What does AZUR's executive chef do with extra time away from the kitchen? Answer: He pushes his culinary skills even further. While others were grilling out, he obtained additional ingredients to create interesting spherifications, reverse spherifications, caviars, foams, temperature resistant gelatins. Also obtained for experimentation were transgutamase - a type of meat glue and isomalt to produce clear sugar spheres to encompass liquids. Sounds more like a lab than a kitchen but the uniqueness and flavor explosions are incredible! Should be some interesting creations coming from the AZUR kitchen very soon.

distilled AZUR - A Study of Spirits and Their Ingredients

Several months ago, we started kicking around ideas for a dinner with distilled spirits as the theme. Doing research, AZUR discovered that the concept of using spirits in entrees was very limited except rum. We also polled our customer base through Facebook to seek input. The resulting menu would become "distilled AZUR" which essentially takes five spirits and deconstructions them to their base ingredients. Then, we created a five course menu using the ingredients in the dish as well as the spirit itself. To us, the concept didn't seem to be that extreme; however, we have had several people ask us to explain the dinner. We like the fact that the food is thought provoking and in keeping with our adventuresome offerings. Executive Chef Jeremy Ashby enjoyed the challenge as well. AZUR will be hosting distilled AZUR: May Chef Series Dinner this coming Thursday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m. If you're intrigued, follow the link for more details. http://azurrestaurant.com/chefseries.aspx

What's the Difference Between Whence & Quince?

One is an adverb meaning from what source, place or cause and the other is an often forgotten fruit. The Quince fruit is harvested in Argentina; however, there are growers in the United States. Quince is generally made into a paste and can be served with cheese or with fattier cuts of meats. When is the last time you had Quince served with your meal?

Would You Be Scared?

It is not uncommon for the average person to believe that restaurants have one of the highest failure rates of all start-up businesses. Many believe the percentage to be between 75-90%. Even representatives in the industry quote the same statistics.

In reality, the failure rate for new restaurants is the same percentage of all new businesses across all industries. (Drum roll) the percentage is about 60%. Granted that is a high failure percentage but considerably less than 90%.

Fortunately, the entrepreneurial spirit of all start-up business owners gives them the courage to face the odds and go for it (restaurateurs included). Would you be scared to face even the 60% failure rate?