Being an owner of a hotel or even a hotel or restaurant manager there are several aspects that need to be looked into in detail for running a hotel successfully. Of the various things kitchen is the most primary and essential of all which needs to be uniquely managed and maintained. There are various methods and key points to be considered to efficiently run a kitchen and we shall discuss some of the basic yet most important of them all.
1. Exclusive workstations in the kitchen: Kitchen is the place where a lot of daily operations happen and also a place where there are always chances of major confusions that can happen. It goes without saying that kitchen has to be a place with utmost coordination should take place. Hence to prevent bottlenecks in the kitchen it is always good to have clear workspaces for different duties. The best would be to have separate doors for inventory to enter the kitchen and finished means to go out to be served to your customers. The workstations of the chefs should be equipped with all that’s required for him to perform his duties and should have easy access.
2. A well-streamlined menu: It is not at all a good idea to have a populated menu without rightly evaluating and being sure about what can be served to your customers. Though you would love to impress your customers with unique and various dishes, always take a consensus of your chefs and also the stock of the ingredients and equipment available. The items on your menu need to be what your kitchen can efficiently deliver and it should not be an added burden on the chefs and staffs. The best would be to prepare the menu in consultation with your head chef.
3. Daily preparations: Make sure you get a good guy assigned the task of preparing the kitchen before the start of the day or the start of a new shift. It should be his or her duty to see to it that the kitchen is well stocked with all the needed ingredients as well as other the other equipment all clean and neatly arranged. This will not only save time but also bring an order in the kitchen premise.
4. Some preparations to be done ahead of time: Cooking is one thing which cannot be prepared as if the food sans freshness it’s better not to be served at all. Freshness of the mean is very vital but yes there are certain basic elements in the kitchen which can be planned and prepared ahead of time. Identify such key duties that will help in not loosing time while you carry out the core preparations.
5. Inventory system: Inventory is the core of any kitchen and nothing is as bad as running out of key ingredients in the middle of the preparations especially when its peak time. A good and well-planned inventory is the key to an efficiently run kitchen and special care should be taken to restock the same but avoiding wasting food.
6. An employee manual: It is beneficial and essential to have a good standard operating procedure that all your staff has to adhere to. This not only brings a sense of operational streamlining amongst the staffs but also will make the staffs aware of their key responsibilities thereby maintaining the required standards.
7. ‘Staff’, the essential ingredient: One of the most important ingredients for a successfully Kitchen and for that matter any business is its staffs. It is imperative to say that one has to invest time, money and efforts in fetching the best staffs and provide them the required training so that they can perform to your expectations. Always have staffs who seem passionate in the hotel industry and are excited about carrying out the operations to their fullest abilities.
These are some of the basic elements which can contribute to run a kitchen efficiently and effectively and there are many more unique tips which and be add-ons. A well-planned kitchen will yield to a successful running restaurant and kitchen is the key to it of the many other factors. Hence its the first place where a hotel or restaurant owner should start investing in terms of money, time and staffs.
