Lately I've been sharpening my knives on social media, using the sites as a test kitchen for my own food stylings. I've discovered that rave reviews stoke the stove where the best confections are baked. No reviews push me to raid the pantry for more enticing ingredients, until someone likes the presentation.
In one instance, small bites hit home, dishes that were so tasty people begged for more. I laid a buffet with ever more tantalizing and forbidden delights. Then one beefy dish pushed a bit too far, and folks pushed back from the table. Lesson learned: Know when people have had enough.
In another venue, visitors' disdain for the menu pushed me to tweak the recipes again and again until I got a review, albeit a bad one. More testing -- headline, deck, body content, bullet lists -- each in their turn, until my little social media restaurant had repeat customers.
Finding the right flavors for the menu takes time. And just like the prep before a banquet, when an overripe piece of fish or a too-tart sauce must be tossed in the trash, some social media musings should be sent back to the kitchen.
Never mind the critics, your patrons will never fail to let you know -- with their absence or repeat business -- that expertly prepped ingredients from a bountiful pantry yield dishes that tell a delicious story.
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