CODEwalkerr | Systems Architect

You can work for the same kitchen for years and then suddenly you come to a realization that maybe you want to open your own spot and stop contributing to the hamster wheel of life. It takes a lot of data analysis, customer service experience, quality assurance and making sure ethical standards are set in place from the beginning. Early mornings. Probably around 2-3am were the fuel though. The wake up, go prep, do a farmers market event, email all clients back. It becomes stressful doing it all without a solid system in place. The food can come out great, but what happens when your food is sitting there for hours and no customers are coming? I remember we did a few events that lost a couple hundred. It was shocking to see happen in real time. I knew something was off and started documenting what I saw was wrong from an EA pov. The founder didn’t see everything I saw. We were making too many empanadas hoping they would sell out based on recent weeks of success. That was the wrong move and guess what? Wasted food, loss of money. Do you really know how it feels as a cook to spend that hard earned money and time then no one buys the food? It’s devastating. It’s funny as well because the data lies at times. A solid month one year may not translate the same over time. Data gives us a baseline for sure.. so we have references, but those references have different variables that contribute to the overall success of your catering business or restaurant. Things to ask: Was there marketing done? Did I introduce new and old flavors that customers like/liked? What time of year is best for my product? Do I have to be there live at the event or can I put my time elsewhere and delegate? How does my audience stay informed? Where does my audience hang around? Where can they buy elsewhere? If you didn’t know I like to ask a lot of questions. It’s one of the only means to acquire real data besides the lived experience. Because at that point the client is telling you how to make your money… you just have to pay attention to their pain. If you don’t think deeply and clearly you will falter. That’s in any business. Ask questions. They seem to be the solution to most problems.

@robertoblake Do you have floaters?

Went to a local place to get my eye exams (risk for glaucoma). $150 for the exams. $1450 for 2 pairs of glasses. I thought it would be like $850. But my eyes are pretty bad without my glasses… insanely bad actually. Hence my typos when I don’t use them. And my current prescription was actually naming my vision worse. Probably could have gotten a better deal doing the exam and then getting the glasses themselves from @WarbyParker if I had thought about it.

They were surprisingly friendly, but timid.

@SneakerBae “Fat hoe” is crazy work lol. Have a good workout 👌🏾

Hmm. So with this mindset in a kitchen setting. 1. Drive consistent revenue for the restaurant. 2. Communicate with the key stakeholders and staff regularly to make sure everyone is in line with thinking. 3. Own/delegate tasks to the proper person(s) 4. Ensure timely prep, quality, and delivery of food to ensure customer is always happy 5. Making sure all decisions are aligned. The decisions should make sense to retain and keep new customers satisfied at all times. 6. Offering discounts and loyalty program to ensure you retain happy eaters and they are rewarded for their continued patronage. 7. Showing up with marketing and advertising on reputable platforms and your own that you host yourself. 8. Building trust with your repeat and new clients from the top down with instilled core values (CEO to delivery driver) 9. Being able to solve a catering dispute in a timely manner and issuing a refund (if applicable) 10. Maintaining a standard of quality, precision, effective use of time, and systems to maintain consistency.

@Lilly7862 The boring work leads to rent being paid. That’s what we strive for. But I think the icing on the cake is consistent clients, retaining them, and keeping them happy.

Consistency doesn’t feel powerful in the moment. It feels ordinary. Even boring sometimes. But over time, it builds something most people never reach. Because they stop before it compounds.

@summer_food Why are you doing this to me on a daily basis now lol. That glaze looks like heaven 👀

Crispy Honey-Glazed Shrimp A perfect balance of crunch, heat, and sweetness

@avstorm We are back! Reminds me of the halo era and call of duty 4 when we’d all load up the parties and just go out and cause absolute mayhem for hours on end.

Xbox got a brand refresh

The first person who has to believe in your business is you.

@the_weirdzahrah love to see it! Start em early! 🫶🏽

CALISTHENICS knows no age,the earlier the better 😎 NB: no one was injured

Next week will be amazing. More knowledge to apply to the kitchen!

There are days and nights where you really wonder if what you’re doing is worth it. I would stay hours in the kitchen wondering if prepping all of these ingredients and recipes would really create ROI. The things founders don’t really discuss much: - how many clients didn’t convert - how many emails and DMs went unanswered - how many IRL meetups you traveled miles for to hear a “no” You experience difficulty of having down periods that don’t match up with the previous successful months. This is the harsh reality of dealing with kitchens and the things that go into daily operations. If you’re a restaurant owner doesn’t have an EA… just imagine. You’re doing EVERYTHING yourself if it’s not delegated. Leading you to be a bottleneck. If you persist, even when it doesn’t feel like things are working out. I can attest that you’re literally almost there. When you want to quit you’re: 1 step away. 1 email away. 1 phone call or connection away from getting your first client(s).

@EphraimToluse Cornbread is a mix of sweetness and savory imo (depends on brand you bought and added sugar) We used butter in ours at the end.

@CODEwalkerr Is it sweet??

I can still smell the fresh Gouda cheese, mozzarella, and cheddar… 🧀 The time put into making the yams. The filling for the empanadas. The yam juice touching the Mac and cheese just so.. when you plate it. These are the happy accidents that happen as you cook. Yall don’t understand. 😅 I love quality recipes. And reframing what’s already been done. Many recipes out there to try and master, but adding your own spin and flavor to it is the freedom I enjoy. It’s like I can taste the food as I tweet this and smell the aroma of the brown sugar from the sweet potatoes. I smell the butterfly shrimp on the fryer…and the cornbread in the oven. Being around food is spiritual. You can’t tell me otherwise. (How many pieces of cornbread and how many trays of Mac and cheese do you think this made?)

@nostalgiacore This crowd isn’t hype enough for me. Blowing the vibe of this classic jam smh. How can you not move to this?

37 years later, still one of the greatest dance songs ever made

@YM_Corey No lie!

Had the early 2000s in a chokehold

I see this way too often in Latin and Black-owned kitchens.. - You’re filling your sanitizer buckets, but you have no test strips. - You’re changing the water but have no idea if it’s actually killing bacteria. Health departments are checking this more in 2026. Passing your inspections should always be your main focus from the beginning to the end of the year. Implementing a system to make sure you are ready every time that calendar day comes. Now there’s no surprises. You’re ready to pass.

Weekend prep is one of the biggest hidden ops killers in Black & Latin soul food kitchens. When you load up on turkey wings, yams, and collards on Friday: - the walk-in gets overloaded - temps creep above 41°F - you’re either throwing away product or risking a critical violation by Sunday. The fix for this isn’t just buying a bigger cooler, it’s smarter batching and rotation schedules that actually match your real volume.

@Phil_Lewis_ What does vastly reshape Hollywood really mean though?

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros shareholders approve $81 billion sale to Paramount in a mega merger that could vastly reshape Hollywood.

Cross-contamination is killing more Black & Latin kitchens than bad recipes. Color-coding your cutting boards is one of the first things we’re taught in the kitchen, but it gets overlooked. This type of negligence can lead to severe foodborne illness or kill someone at its worst. Most neglect how serious this really is. You should never mix any meats and RTE foods in preparation. We eat food everyday and don’t know how vital it is to prepare it properly. This is the difference between being salmonella and E. coli free. Not being mindful can lead to near death experiences. Be careful and stay safe when you cook.