How fraud teach me earn cash

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A fraud ring actually taught me how to run a successful restaurant.

When I entered the restaurant industry, I was just like you.

I didn't have any formal culinary training, and I'd never even stepped into a kitchen.

I graduated with a degree in communications and worked in marketing and sales.

Later, by chance, I entered the "restaurant industry."

The person who mentored me back then was my brother-in-law.

He owned a restaurant in Malaysia.

I asked him, "Is opening a restaurant difficult?"

He replied,

"Not difficult! As long as you have something special, can cook, and have customers, you're all set."

I said, "That's it?"

He said, "Yes, that's it."

It was because of that sentence that I entered the restaurant industry.

Later, I realized that

the restaurant industry I imagined and the restaurant business were completely different things.

I won't go into how I initially opened the restaurant—I've selectively forgotten that memory.

"Have you forgotten, or are you afraid to remember?"

When I came to my senses, I was already standing in Ximending, selling laksa.

A complete novice in the catering industry, with barely any cooking experience, I was forcing myself to cook every day.

The week before, when my brother-in-law was still around, he patiently taught me how to fry eggs, boil meat, make soup, and serve meals.

He patted my shoulder and asked,

"Isn't it easy?"

Me: "Yeah, not too hard."

Then, he went back to Malaysia.

Yes, he just went back...

Leaving me alone in Ximending,

facing a pot of laksa soup,

and a group of customers who might burst in at any moment.

What followed was the real nightmare.

After my brother-in-law left, I suddenly felt like an idiot.

Just a few days ago I could cook, and suddenly I couldn't do anything.

Everything went wrong, every situation arose.

Then, a young man walked into my shop.

After eating the laksa, he said,

"This stuff is so delicious."

And then, he came back for a whole week.

I couldn't help but ask him:

"Why do you come every day? Don't you have a regular job?"

He told me:

"Because your food is really delicious."

Then he added:

"I'm a chef myself, the sous chef at 'RAW'."

RAW. One of the hottest restaurants in Taiwan at the time.

My eyes suddenly lit up.

Because at that time, I really needed someone to save me.

I mustered up my courage and asked him:

"Can you teach me how to run a restaurant well?" And he actually agreed.

He walked straight into our kitchen and said five words:

"Stand, Prepare, and Then Move" (Mnemonic: Stand still, prepare, and then move)

▋1. Positioning

"Clearly divide the kitchen into zones, and you'll have no worries about food preparation and cooking."

"Food preparation area," "Ingredient preparation area," "Cooking area," "Dishwashing area."

One person doing food preparation, cooking, and cooking all at once—half the time is spent just moving around.

Without clear positioning, everyone will be running around like headless flies.

Fixed-point positioning, with each person handling only their assigned area, ensures consistent food quality.

▋2. Ingredient Preparation

"Sufficient ingredient preparation ensures you can handle a surge in orders."

Ingredient preparation is like ammunition. If you don't have enough rice or soup, you'll be helpless when orders surge.

Preparing ingredients during lulls ensures you have ammunition to fight any situation.

▋3. Categorization

"The warehouse is the graveyard of a business."

Placement items should be placed in designated areas:

▸ Disposable tableware area

▸ Seasoning and grains area

▸ Cleaning supplies area

▸ Kitchen utensils area

The benefits are threefold: "Quick inventory checks," "No stockpiling," and "First-in, first-out" for ingredients to prevent expiration.

Every item must be placed logically.

Otherwise, finding a plastic bag, pepper, or cling film every time

is like playing "Where's Willie?"

Many restaurants don't lose money because of a lack of customers,

but because of that forgotten item in the corner of the warehouse. 4. Food Serving

"The server is also the plating expert, the final gatekeeper."

Whether customers want to return depends on more than just taste;

"Plateting" and "consistency" are key.

If the food looks like this today, but one egg is missing tomorrow, and half the meat the day after,

customers will start to think:

"This place's quality is inconsistent."

The most important thing in the restaurant business isn't occasionally making a super amazing dish.

It's whether you can consistently make something nearly amazing year after year.

That's why the simple noodle shop at the corner store is always packed.

People aren't just eating noodles; they're eating a feeling, a childhood memory.

5. Greeting

"First impressions determine repeat business."

It's the most precious thing you give your customers, and it's free.

Have you ever walked into a shop, stood at the counter, and been ignored?

You wanted to order, and they looked at you with a disdainful expression and said, "What do you want?" Would you go back to that kind of shop?

"No."

Because when you're in a bad mood, even the best food tastes bad.

Conversely, if a restaurant welcomes you the moment you walk in, greets you, and chats with you with a smile,

even if the food is just average today,

you'll give it another chance next time.

Because what people eat,

is not just food, but also a feeling.

—

After saying this, I was truly stunned.

I simply asked him how to run a good restaurant, and he gave me a whole system.

I was incredibly grateful to him.

Every day afterward, he continued to come to the restaurant, selflessly teaching me,

and guiding me to adjust the processes. My path in the restaurant business finally saw a glimmer of hope.

Until one day,

I discovered his true identity.

He wasn't a sous chef at "RAW" at all, not even a chef.

He was actually part of a "fraud ring."

Yes, I'm not kidding.

The story is a long one, so I'll stop here for today.

As for how I discovered it… I'll tell you when I have time.

But that five-word mantra really helped me.

See you next time!