One of the keys to a successful restaurant or café business is to run an efficient kitchen.  A well-run kitchen must be equipped with the right people and tools to deliver tasty dishes on time for a number of hungry people.  There are many factors to the efficient kitchen, ranging from the complexity of the menu to the number of kitchen workers and of course the systems you put into place.

Additionally, another very important factor is making sure you have the right amount of ingredients available. There’s nothing more off-putting for a customer to place an order for a tasty sweet and sour seabass to learn it’s no longer on the menu because the seabass has run out.  Let Alliance online guide give you some ideas on how to run your restaurant kitchen efficiently.

Staff Your Restaurant With The Right People

Skilled chefs and kitchen assistants are vital because without good staff in the kitchen there’s no way your restaurant will succeed.  As well as seeking out skilled employees, ask yourself if they have common sense and what their temperament is like.  Clashing personalities in a small environment will always bring friction so it’s important to get the right mix so everyone works well together and will be willing to pitch in during very busy times.

Appoint the right head chef, someone who has clear leadership skills, is well-liked and respected because he or she will help to make sure your kitchen operates efficiently.  He or she should be able to delegate well too and employ a sous chef to assist your head chef.

For lesser skilled chefs or those learning the ropes, its best to assign the easy dishes according to skill-set, perhaps dishes that are able to be put together fast with minimum fuss.  Leave the more complex menu items to highly trained chefs.

Appliances & Food Stores

Depending on the size of your restaurant you’ll need ample refrigeration because you’ll store your perishable items and partly prepared dishes here.  You should make sure you have good quality cooking appliances and purchase Bain Maries for sauces, soup and food which can be kept hot for long periods.  As soon as groceries and goods arrive into the kitchen they should be put away quickly especially the perishable goods.  Have different areas for vegetable stores, dry goods, equipment and cleaning items.

Food Preparation Areas

Separate your food preparation areas into three different areas:

  • Meat/fish/poultry
  • Fruit/vegetables/salad
  • Pastry

Additionally, if you have the space for it, your pastry dishes should have their own baking oven and you should have another area especially designated for roasting, grilling, frying, steaming and boiling.  This prevents too many chefs being in the same place at the same time and leaves ovens and boiling tops freed up for one or two food types therefore helping with speed and efficiency.

Keep the dishwasher or ware-washer area separate from where food is prepared so dirty dishes are brought into the kitchen and taken straight to a washing up section.

Be Energy Efficient

You should also be energy efficient because this will help you to save money in the long run. When you’re considering how to run your kitchen in an efficient manner, take into account how to be energy efficient too.   Here are a few tips to how to save money:

  • Keep the kitchen clean throughout shifts, this means cleaning up pans as soon as they are used. The shinier they are the quicker they heat up and the better they conduct heat!
  • Purchase energy efficient appliances such as convection ovens, saving 20% less energy monthly this is because they work by circulating heat inside therefore reducing cooking time.
  • Check the bottom of your pans regularly because if they are warped, they will take longer to heat up.

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Before Each Shift

  • Make sure the staff in your kitchen know what the menu is well in advance so any research they need to do is done.
  • You should regularly check all your equipment and this includes ovens, grills, fryers, ware-washers etc. but it also includes your day to day utensils such as making sure your knives are sharp.
  • Encourage your kitchen staff to get all the ingredients out and ready they will need for the shift and pre-prepare what they can.
  • Check your staff understand what’s expected of them and encourage them to ask questions if they are unsure of anything. It’s better to clarify things at the beginning of a shift than during a shift when the kitchen is at its busiest.
  • Make sure all the equipment needed for the shift is available, clean and ready for use; this prevents staff looking for vital pieces which slows cooking and serving time.
  • Start preparing dishes which take a long time to cook first.

Finally, always stay calm and in control because busy kitchens can be stressful places.  Stress filters through to the staff in your kitchen and makes people nervous, when people are nervous mistakes and even accidents happen.

To run your kitchen with precision it’s important to install quality appliances and have excellent equipment in place.  For all your catering needs, Alliance has everything in one place sourced from highly reputable suppliers and at competitive prices.