 keeping your ideas fresh
I am very curious what other people do to continue to come up with fresh ideas. I work in a small restaurant in a small community in northern Maine. I have never cooked at another restaurant before this. The customers that I serve are country folk with relatively shy tastes that lean toward old fashioned home cooking. I try to provide for them all of the things they expect with a sprinkling of things that are new that they cant get anywhere else in the area. At first it was very hard. Everything I made was "too wierd". Slowly, a few regulars at a time i won people over and now they are very excited to see something new ( within reason ). I love it. I am blessed(I think) with a boss that gives me liberty to do what I want as long as I consider, expense, labor time and the all important... will the customers stick up their noses or will it sell? So anyway... I have alot of fun. However, living in a rural area my best resourse for Ideas, problem solving and self education is the internet. Lately I am feeling a little stale. I am looking at the same ole web sites and not getting any new inspiration. I need a flaver that they will eat that I havent explored yet or a new tecnique to perfect someting that I already do, to inspire me. As I consider myself a novice Im sure there is much much more I can do. I guess maybe I have a little "bakers block"
End of summer burn out?
Anyway I would love to hear what others do to keep from getting stale, continue learning and improving and keep up with new ideas that will sell.  | 
