5 Tips to Make Your Restaurant Kitchen More Efficient
Introduction
The most successful restaurants know that efficiency makes or breaks a restaurant, especially in the kitchen. That perfect balance between speed and quality can seem elusive, but there are many strategies a restaurant can employ to achieve it. Here’s a quick overview of the top five tips to make your restaurant kitchen more efficient.
5 Ways to Make Your Restaurant Kitchen More Efficient
1. Listen To What Your Employees Tell You
It’s all too easy to settle into a particular mindset and run your kitchen the way you always have. True leaders dedicated to efficiency don’t operate this way, though. Watch the workflow in your kitchen closely, and try to get a deeper understanding of how things really work in the back of the house. Then, ask for feedback from your kitchen staff about what is and isn’t working, and listen closely. Using their suggestions, allow them to make changes to how the kitchen runs if it improves workflow. Not only does this help them become more invested in the business, but it also helps them make efficiency personal.
2. Consider Streamlining The Menu
Choosing menu items is always a balance between on-hand ingredients and your staff’s optimal service speed. Learn what ingredients, equipment and skilled staff you have available and what dishes are most efficient. Additionally, determine what fits best into your budget when balanced against what the kitchen can handle. If you find the right balance, you can make sure that your menu is composed of delicious food at a good price. Moreover, your menu won’t overtax your budget or your kitchen staff.
3. Establish An Efficient Inventory System
Running out of ingredients during meal service is every restaurant manager’s worst nightmare. Not only does it inconvenience the customers, but the waitstaff and kitchen end up at odds with each other when diners order dishes that can’t be prepared. Establishing an efficient inventory system that is always up to date eliminates this issue before it ever becomes a problem. Additionally, it reduces waste due to spoilage and over ordering ingredients for less popular dishes.
4. Organize The Kitchen Into Workstations
Identifying the rate limiting steps in the kitchen prep flow is crucial to increasing efficiency. It is vital to establish clear workspaces for specific kitchen duties, and outline separate areas for incoming inventory and outgoing meals. Not only does this increase efficiency, but it significantly reduces the risk of cross contamination. Finally, check in with your chef to ensure they have everything close at hand to do their job. For example, will ingredients be within easy reach of their prep station, or will they have easy access to utensils and knives? Clear organization of workspace in the kitchen is potentially the most important part of increasing kitchen efficiency.
5. Invest In Quality Staff
The skill and work ethic of your kitchen staff is the chief determining factor for an efficient kitchen. You need to be prepared to invest time and money in your people to train and equip the best possible line cooks and hire the best chef. That means dedicating yourself to being a servant leader, and every decision you make needs to serve the needs of your kitchen staff. Work hard for them, help them be their best, and your investment will reap rewards beyond measure. If you can accomplish this, you will see your efficiency grow and expand exponentially.
Conclusion
Clearly, improving efficiency isn’t as difficult as it seems. Simply apply these five easy tips to your operation, and you’ll see efficiency increase in no time. Remember, the more efficient your kitchen, the greater your growth. Increase efficiency, and success will follow.