Tri-Skill Consulting, LLC

06/09/2026

I wanted to buy steaks last weekend for a family special occasion, and I ended up putting them back.

If you're a restaurant operator right now, you know that beef is expensive, and it's not getting cheaper anytime soon.

Here's why:

The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest point since 1951.

Drought.
Wildfires.
A parasitic fly outbreak in Mexico that cut off a major import source.
Tariffs.
Rising costs in farm fuel, equipment, and fertilizer.

None of that is in your control.

That said, here's what is:

--Recipe adherence
--Portion control
--Proper prep
--Waste reduction

These might seem like small adjustments. "We're already doing that."

But are you?

These small adjustments are the difference in a workable food cost and one that's working you.

Where are you seeing the biggest cost issues right now? Drop it in the comments. I'm curious to know what you're seeing on the front line.



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I'm Noelle. Call me the Training Maven. Call me the Attrition Magician. Just call me. I help Restaurant Leaders level up. ⬆️

06/02/2026

I refused to buy my Trainers Red Bull.

Chips and cookies? Sure.
Bottles of water? Absolutely.
Chocolate? Of course.
Microwave popcorn? You bet.

Energy drinks? Hard no.

When we opened a new P.F. Chang's restaurant, I made up a goodie bag of treats for each of my Trainers. I loved our food, but you can only eat so much Chinese in a three-week period.

You could argue those bags were filled with junk food, and you'd mostly be right.

So what was the difference?

We worked super long days with limited time off.
We ate our meals standing up and on the fly.
We pushed our minds and bodies to perform well under extreme stress.

Chips don't promise to fix that. They're just a teeny comfort when you need a moment of normalcy.

Red Bull does promise to fix it. For heaven's sake, their tagline is "Red Bull gives you wiiiings!" After a couple of them, I could see my Trainers physically vibrating.

That's not comfort. That's a problem.

As a Leader, the easy move is giving people what they ask for. It feels generous, helpful, maybe even loving.

The harder move is knowing the difference between what your team wants and what they need and being willing to hold that line even when the person on the other end doesn't like your response.

Sometimes that looks like a goodie bag with no Red Bull.
Sometimes it looks like honest feedback or a hard conversation or a boundary.
Sometimes it looks like a "no."

Even when they don't like it. Maybe especially when they don't.



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I'm Noelle. Call me the People Potentialist. Call me the Attrition Magician. Just call me. I help Restaurant Leaders level up. ⬆️

05/23/2026

Thank you for sharing!

You just promoted your best Server to Manager.

Six weeks ago, she was closing down the bar with the rest of the team. Now she's supposed to be writing schedules, having hard conversations, and holding people accountable.

But she doesn't know how.

And she is really struggling. Frustrated. Upset. Failing.

Why?

Because nobody bridged that gap for her, and most likely, you - her leader -don't have the time or the tools to do so.

That's where great restaurant operators lose great people.

I got to dig into this recently with Chason Forehand and Dr. Melissa Robinson-Winemiller, TEDx speaker, author, trainer on the Time2CHANGE podcast. We talked about what it actually looks like to serve your staff so your staff can serve your guests, and why the leadership gap in restaurants is costing our industry more than we admit.

If this is a problem you're living right now, click the link below to watch, and then let's talk.

And if you want the story about my slightly unhinged streaking habit, jump to 6:00. 😄 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-SgnNEH3Sg



****
I'm Noelle. Call me the Training Maven. Call me the Attrition Magician. Just call me. I help Restaurant Leaders level up. ⬆️

05/20/2026

You might think that running and running a business have nothing in common, and you would think wrong.

I have run at least a mile Every. Single. Day. for 4018 days.
11 years, including 3 leap years.

Airports? I've run in them.
Grand Canyon? I ran there, too.
Beach, roads, trails, treadmills? Yep. All.
Marathons? I've done six.

I'm not fast, and unless I outlive my competition, I'll never stand on a podium.

Still, over 11 years and thousands and thousands of miles, I've learned a few things.

--Allow yourself to be where you are.
--Plan ahead.
--Don't compare yourself to others.
--Perseverance, not perfection.

And the most important . . .

Celebrate.

Celebrate the big wins and the little wins.
Celebrate the fact that you showed up.
Celebrate where you started, where you are, and where you're going.

This is about running.
And this is absolutely not about running.

05/18/2026

You just promoted your best Server to Manager.

Six weeks ago, she was closing down the bar with the rest of the team. Now she's supposed to be writing schedules, having hard conversations, and holding people accountable.

But she doesn't know how.

And she is really struggling. Frustrated. Upset. Failing.

Why?

Because nobody bridged that gap for her, and most likely, you - her leader -don't have the time or the tools to do so.

That's where great restaurant operators lose great people.

I got to dig into this recently with Chason Forehand and Dr. Melissa Robinson-Winemiller, TEDx speaker, author, trainer on the Time2CHANGE podcast. We talked about what it actually looks like to serve your staff so your staff can serve your guests, and why the leadership gap in restaurants is costing our industry more than we admit.

If this is a problem you're living right now, click the link below to watch, and then let's talk.

And if you want the story about my slightly unhinged streaking habit, jump to 6:00. 😄 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-SgnNEH3Sg



****
I'm Noelle. Call me the Training Maven. Call me the Attrition Magician. Just call me. I help Restaurant Leaders level up. ⬆️

05/12/2026

Red beans and rice is an ugly dish.

Seriously. It looks gross. It's brownish-red and mushy and . . . yuck.

I don't like mashed potatoes because of texture.
I don't like guacamole because of texture.
So I sure as hell wasn't prepared to like red beans and rice . . . because of texture.

That said, it tasted pretty damn good.

I made it from scratch at the request of a loved one, despite never having prepared the recipe before.

What I didn't realize in this food adventure is that she didn't expect that I would do the whole thing. Soaking the beans. Prepping the veg. Rendering the ham and the andouille. I did all. the. things.

She expected Zatarain's.

We didn't talk about it ahead of time.
She said, "red beans and rice," so I made red beans and rice.
I didn't ask if out-of-the-box was okay.
She never said she wanted from-scratch.

Lesson learned.

Ask questions.
Set expectations.
Don't make assumptions.

Take a step back. As an owner, operator, entrepreneur, what do you assume about your clients, vendor, or staff?

Ultimately, they are ALL your customer.

How can you best serve them, and how do your assumptions prevent you from doing so?




****
I'm Noelle. Call me the Training Maven. Call me the Attrition Magician. Just call me. I help Restaurant Leaders level up. ⬆️

05/11/2026

Body Glide - Runners

The true purpose of a walk-in cooler - Restaurant people

Runners have a community. We speak the same language. We know each other's challenges and successes. It doesn't matter if you're a 12 minute miler or the guy who just won the London Marathon - most of our runs are recovery runs.

Restaurant people have a community. We speak the same language and know each other's struggles and celebrations. It doesn't matter if you run a mom-and-pop coffee shop or a Michelin starred restaurant - most of our shifts are middle of the road, get-it-done kind of shifts.

Here's the question: whether you're a runner or running a restaurant, how do you lean in to your community?

We all have made mistakes. We have all enjoyed success. We all have experiences that others can learn from.

So . . . what can you do to use your past to elevate your community's future?

05/01/2026

Rainy Running Streak Day #4000 - at least a mile every day for four thousand days.

Four. Thousand. Days.

It started as a "what if."

What if I could run every day from now until I fly back to the US?
What if I could run every day for a hundred days?
What if I could run every day for a year?
What if I could run every day for as long as my body lets me run?

If running every day for nearly 11 years is possible, what other "what ifs" are possible?

04/30/2026

I am not okay with this.

Something about the premise of 24 chefs cooking in 24 challenges within 24 continuous hours sits really wrong with me.

In the ads and the premier episode, I heard:

--judge Michael Simon saying, "you're either insanely talented, or you're just insane"
--many comments about the amount of caffeine and lack of sleep it would take to make it to the end
--a call for medics and the sounds of a siren

It's TV. I get it. I know they're going to make it look dramatic.

But why is this level of drama enticing?

In an industry where many of us are actively promoting mental wellness, why is it okay to make a competition out of who can last the longest with no rest?

In the wake of Noma, is this intensity, stress, and environment indicating that some level of abuse is acceptable?

Thoughts?

04/28/2026

If you run, you're a runner.

If you run a restaurant, you're also a runner.

On a weekend where TWO people broke the 2-hour barrier in the London Marathon, we are reminded that all things are possible.

Run.

Run a restaurant.
Run the kitchen.
Run the line.
Run the food.
Run the bar.
Run the host stand.

Just run.

And run your best.

Think of your two busiest hours in your restaurant.
Think of what you accomplished in that time.

You took care of guests.
You took care of your staff.
You ran your a$$ off.

You're a runner.



****

I'm Noelle. Call me the Training Maven. Call me the Attrition Magician. Just call me. I help Restaurant Leaders level up. ⬆️