The Key Ingredient for Success
Helping Great Restaurants Stay Great
Practical consulting for independent and family-owned full-service restaurants — especially in rural communities — from someone who's spent 20+ years in the business.
Know your numbers
Plate costs and margins you can trust.
Menus that work
Dishes your guests love and your kitchen can deliver.
Steadier operations
Systems that help your team run smoothly.
Rooted in community
Built for small-town and family-owned dining rooms.
Meet the Founder
Travis Lee Bartell
With more than 20 years of restaurant and management experience, Travis helps owners protect what makes their place special while tightening the numbers behind it.
Read Our StoryServices
Straightforward, flat-rate pricing
- Recipe Costing & Standardization$149
- Menu Profitability Review$349
- Complete Menu Development$699
- Restaurant Operations Assessment$999
- Multi-Location Restaurant ConsultingStarting at $1,500
As a restaurant and culinary consultant, Travis works alongside your team on kitchen operations, recipe costing and food cost control—see how a consulting engagement works.
See What's IncludedLocal restaurant roots. Remote support nationwide.
Cooking With Love works with independent and family-owned restaurants in western Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, with remote consulting available nationwide. The service area describes where we work with restaurants—not a network of physical offices.
Discuss recipe costing, food cost control, menu profitability or restaurant operations consulting with Travis. For multi-location services, start with a conversation about your restaurants and the scope you need. Any on-site arrangements are agreed during your consultation.
Food cost control starts with clear numbers
Understand the warning signs behind food costs, inventory issues and menu margins. Restaurant-specific calculations and recommendations are part of an agreed paid service.