What Makes A Great Line Cook

What Makes A Great Line Cook

by | Jul 6, 2016 | Career

Few line cooks want to be cooking on the line for the rest of their culinary careers. Most dream of becoming head chef or even opening their own restaurants somewhere down the road. That is why most line cooks do it, to learn the ropes of the restaurant industry, get valuable hands-on experience in a kitchen and rise up the ranks. So what can you do to make yourself a better line cook and stand out in a crowded field? Let’s find out!

Show up on time

The importance of punctuality in the restaurant industry cannot be understated. Why? Because the meal service will start on time regardless of whether or not you are ready.

If you show up late or miss a prep, then somebody else have to cover your work and their own, delaying the entire kitchen’s flow. This will also send a negative message to the higher-ups. All in all, no one will be happy with you.

The importance of punctuality in the restaurant industry cannot be understated.

This is not the kind of attention you want to draw. The very first step in being a great line cook is simply showing up on time for the shifts you are scheduled. Not too hard right?

Prep your mis en place

Preparation goes a long way in making your life easier when the restaurant gets busy and you have numerous tickets to fill. When the tickets start coming in, you want to be able to focus on the food without worrying about chopping up your mis en place or making stock.

When you’re not fully prepared with your mis en place, you’ll end up distracting yourself from the incoming orders to chop more vegetables or make more stock and usually the overall quality of the dish suffers when you can’t give it your complete focus.

If you want to prove to head chefs that you have what it takes to move up in the industry, prepare your mis en place and be on top of your tickets.

Ready your station before service begins

Sure, you might not be busy right at five o’clock when service starts, but that does not mean your station should not be ready for a full on dinner rush.

Once again preparation is key to being a great line cook.

Once again preparation is key to being a great line cook. Those who prepare stand out to head chefs and other industry professionals, so make sure that you have enough clean dishes at your station, all your pots, pans, tongs, and other utensils are clean and ready to go, and of course make sure your mis en place is already prepared.

The last thing you want to be doing is scrambling around to get clean dishes in the middle of a dinner rush because that is your time to shine and do your best cooking.

Give every dish your all

Some nights will be harder than others to find the motivation and inspiration to give your best performance, but that is no excuse not to give everything you have every night.

It’s key to remember that for the customers, this is their night out or their special dinner. They came out and are spending good money for the food you are making.

Don’t let them down because they may never come back to your restaurant if they had a bad time, and that is very bad for business.

Clean, clean, clean

When your shift is over, clean your station and the kitchen thoroughly. If you see other stations that haven’t been cleaned properly, take it upon yourself to make sure it’s done right. After all, there is nothing worse than working in a dirty kitchen.

After all, there is nothing worse than working in a dirty kitchen.

In addition to cleaning, be sure to organize your area. This will not only help you when starting your next shift, but show your superiors that you know what it takes to lead, and someday run, a restaurant kitchen.

Working hard and going above and beyond to make sure the job is done right is a great way to stick out to a head chef. If you want to be a great line cook and move up the ladder of the restaurant industry, you have to be willing to do more than is required and always have a positive attitude.

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Hacks to Make your Novice Serving Life Easier

Hacks to Make your Novice Serving Life Easier

by | Jun 29, 2016 | Career

When entering the food and beverage service industry, you probably have some ideas on what the experience will be like. You know you’ll have to memorize the menu and plaster a smile on your face. You expect good days and bad days. However to ensure the highest amount of good days, you’re going to need some seasoned hacks. Here are some excellent ways to make your job easier!

Realize Serving is a Team Effort

Not every server practices reciprocity, but you should. Anyone can tell you that guests come first, so helping out your neighbor server is the right thing to do. If someone’s food needs to be run, run it. If they’re obviously in the weeds and being crushed under tasks, see if you can help in some way.

It takes a village to serve the front of house, so help each other out.

It’s not only for the guest, it benefits you too. Team players will be more likely to help you, if you help them or if they see you helping others. It takes a village to serve the front of house, so help each other out.

Adopt a Method to Remember Who is Who

When serving food to a table, the best way for quick distribution is to remember which person ordered what. Quicker distribution means you can get to another task faster, and your life is easier for it. It also makes you seem more professional, and can score you a higher tip! It’s a win, win situation!

Try taking orders left to right around the table and arrange your food that way when picking it up at the window. Usually, your meals will come up in the order it was taken, so it’s easy to put your food in the succession which you took the order.

The key is to find something that works for you.

Alternately, you could remember something about each person that correlates with what they ordered. The key is to find something that works for you. Any method is better than none!

Invest in Good Shoes

Most restaurants will give you the option to buy serving shoes through a hospitality catalog. Do it! Or at least, visit your local shoe store to find some comfortable, supportive shoes with good traction.

There’s nothing worse than trudging through a double-shift with an aching body.

At first, wearing regular tennis shoes may seem fine, but eventually, your feet, lower back, knees and hips will begin to ache all the time. There’s nothing worse than trudging through a double-shift with an aching body.

Tighten your Core

Many new servers instinctively tighten their legs and arms to keep from spilling over-full drinks. In reality, this is more likely to create jerking motions that will cause you to splash some of the beverage on yourself or on the floor.

Instead, tighten your abs and glutes.

It also makes you look like a robot. Instead, tighten your abs and glutes. This reduces motion transference from your legs to your arms and the glass.

Circle the Extras

When you’re running around like a crazy person, the last thing you want to do is make an extra trip to the kitchen, if it can be avoided. When you’re taking an order always ask about condiments and circle anything they want that wouldn’t ordinarily come with their order.

It’s easy to overlook details on your serving pad, especially if you’re busy.

It’s easy to overlook details on your serving pad, especially if you’re busy. By circling the extras, your attention will be drawn to those notations, and you’ll be less likely to forget those small details.

Don’t let a Nasty Customer get you Down

This cannot be said enough: don’t let a sour-puss customer rain on your sunshine. Remind yourself that you don’t know anything about them or what they are going through.

Do not let that negative energy transfer to you.

Also, if they’re just a rude person, that has nothing to do with you. Do not let that negative energy transfer to you. If you let it get you down, you’ll be distracted, your productivity will be lower and your tips will reflect that. Not to mention, the rest of your shift will suck.

Along the way, you’ll discover other ways to make your life easier, but these tips along with our other Server Hacks will get you started on the right foot!

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Host Hacks: Landing a Job Promotion

Host Hacks: Landing a Job Promotion

by | Jun 22, 2016 | Career

As a host or hostess, you’re the first person to greet customers when they walk through the door of the restaurant, and you’re good at it! While you love your job and the opportunity to interact with people from all different walks of life, you’re also hoping to move onto something bigger and better. Doing your job to the best of your ability will help catch the attention of managers, owners, and other staff members, but there are several things you can do to make yourself look even better.

Where Are You Going?

First thing’s first; ask yourself what goals do you have for advancement? Your future job will help determine the actions that you need to take in order to move up. Some hosts have their eyes on a job as a server. After all, the tips are better!

Your employment goal will help shape your behavior as you work your way up to the top.

More ambitious hosts, however, are eager to take it even further than that: they have their eye on a restaurant manager job, possibly even with an eye to eventually moving up to regional manager. Your employment goal will help shape your behavior as you work your way up to the top.

Make Yourself Useful

What do you do during a slow period at the restaurant, when no one is coming through the doors? If all of your work is taken care of, do you find ways to pitch in and help others?

Well, you should because this simple action can help showcase your willingness to work with the restaurant like nothing else. Don’t just seat customers and take them their silverware. Within the restrictions offered by the rules that go along with your restaurant, you can:

  • Bus tables
  • Help with cleaning tasks
  • Grab drink refills for a table whose server is busy
  • Bring out food when you can
  • Take drink orders

While you should always take care of your own tasks first, the more helpful you are, the more obvious it to your employers that you’re the ideal choice for future management or server positions. It’s not a guarantee that you’ll get the promotion you’re hoping for, but it’s certainly a great way to start pushing your foot in the door.

Put Your Best Foot Forward

If you’re hoping for a promotion, you need to show it! No, every day at work isn’t going to be your best and brightest. You’re going to have rough days: days when you were in a bad mood coming into work or when your entire shift seems to be going wrong.

How you handle those days, however, will dictate your employers’ willingness to move you into a better position. If you can handle your bad days while still being friendly and helpful to customers and going out of your way to help your co-workers, your managers are going to see it.

Every day at work is a fresh opportunity to dive in and show your stuff.

Every day at work is a fresh opportunity to dive in and show your stuff. Seat each server equally and as fairly as possible. Smile and help all of your coworkers, even the ones that you don’t necessarily like. Be kind and compassionate to customers who have problems, even when you’re struggling to understand their problem or you’re frustrated because of the way they’re treating you.

Speak up

Your managers are not mind readers. They can’t know that you’re hoping for a promotion until you let them know. You don’t want to be a nag or bring it up so frequently that you annoy them, but you do want to let them know that you’re very interested in taking your employment with the company to the next level.

Your managers are not mind readers. They can’t know that you’re hoping for a promotion until you let them know.

Not only will this make the higher-ups aware of your aspirations but it can also lead to them giving you advice on how to make it happen, which is by far your best chance of getting that promotion!

Working as a host in a restaurant is a great starting place for a future career. With time, you can work your way up through the ranks, enhance your skills, and ultimately have that restaurant manager position you’re dreaming of. It all starts, however, with the energy and effort that you put into your job every day.

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Host Hacks: How to Deal with Angry Customers

Host Hacks: How to Deal with Angry Customers

by | Jun 15, 2016 | Career

Unfortunately, there are many situations at a restaurant where a visitor may expect more than they’re given, and as a host, you’ll need to rise to the occasion and act as the face of the restaurant. Use the following tips to keep your cool and handle angry customers like the pros in the meantime!

Remain calm

The number one thing you can do is take a deep breath and bite back any indignant responses or angry feelings. Remember that you are at work, and the customer’s concerns aren’t personal to you: you’re there to keep as many people happy as possible.

In addition, your anger will likely make the situation worse, by fueling your customer’s negative feelings even further, rather than bringing them down to a manageable level.

Show them you care

Go a step beyond nodding and calmly responding to your customers. Truly reach out to them by finding their real concerns from what they say. When you can respond by letting the angry customer know that you hear and understand exactly what upsets them, they’ll feel much more taken care of, acknowledged, and thus, helped in their situation.

You may not be able to solve every issue, but do answer all complaints by saying, “I understand, Mr. Smith.”

You may not be able to solve every issue, but do answer all complaints by saying, “I understand, Mr. Smith. You had hoped to be seated sooner and want to know what we can do about it. I will speak to a manager/see what I can do/follow up with you in a moment.”

What you do here is twofold: you both make the angry customer feel heard, and you help stem further explanation of the issue from them by making it clear it’s been taken seriously.

Show empathy and apologize if appropriate

The next step is to show that you, as a representative of the restaurant, care for the customer’s concerns. Whether or not you personally feel for that person, you need to be professional in your ability to take care of the situation, and part of that is to show empathy for frustrations.

This can vary depending on the situation. For a customer intent on causing a scene, no matter what the case, you may decide to apologize for the difficulty they’re having and suggest they return when the restaurant is less busy and their needs can be tended to more thoroughly.

For a customer with valid frustrations that you can’t personally fix, apologize for their situation and show your sympathy. Then, move on to the following step.

Resolve the issue, as best as you can

Show that you’re working to fix the problem, and take what steps you can to address any customer issues, within reason. When you’re faced with a conflict that can’t fully be resolved, but requires action, offer what you can: a free meal, a drink, etc.

Be sure to check with management to know ahead of time exactly how you are authorized to assist in these types of situations.

Be sure to check with management to know ahead of time exactly how you are authorized to assist in these types of situations. If you do find yourself in a conflict that you can’t resolve alone, too, do be sure to bring in a manager, server, or some type of assistance–both to show you’re doing what you can to resolve the problem and to have a support system yourself.

From time to time, customers will show their frustration with you, as the face of the restaurant. By remaining calm, empathetic, and reactive, you can keep the situation light and diffuse tension, often ending the issue. Use your support system when you need it, and remember to remain unflustered and authoritative; you’ll control the situation like a professional every time.

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Host Hacks: How to Seat Restaurant Sections

Host Hacks: How to Seat Restaurant Sections

by | Jun 8, 2016 | Career

Hosts are responsible for providing customers with a great first impression of the restaurant but also have to organize the seating flow. This can be challenging because seating restaurant sections means not only satisfying customer requests but also servers. The pressure-filled job takes skill and adaptability, but these hacks can help!

Talk to your servers

This may sound lame, but trust me when I tell you that communication solves many problems. Talking with your servers helps gauge how they’re feeling that night—are they interested in a section full of 2-tops with high turnover?

Same goes for seating; if you know you’ll have to seat guests in an already busy section, give the server a heads up. Let him or her know what the situation is, and if they need a hand, they can ask another server to cover the table.

Whatever the case may be, you’ll find a happier team overall when you’re able to accommodate as many preferences as possible.

Rotate sections

As much as possible, rotate the sections in which you seat customers. For example, in a restaurant that has four servers, this ensures that each server gets one of every four tables.

This technique also guarantees the best possible service for each and every table, as no one server is overloaded with new tables at the same time. In an ideal situation, no two tables in any one server section should be at the same place in the “meal cycle” (e.g. no two tables are putting in their drink or appetizer order or need clearing at exactly the same time).

Keep track of tables

As a host or hostess, it’s crucial that you keep track of which tables are occupied and where each one is in the meal cycle so you know how long they will continue to be occupied. This is important for seating new customers and walk-ins.

It can be tricky though especially if you don’t have a good view of the section. If this is the case, be sure to do a lap every once and awhile (after asking someone to look over the host stand while you’re away).

Pro-tip: When you notice guests leaving, find out what section they were seated in so you know the flow.

Be fair and flexible

Just because you know one of the servers can handle three ten-tops doesn’t mean you should load them up at the expense of the other servers. Same goes for the servers you dislike; even though they may not be your best friends, you should still treat them fairly.

Nothing breeds internal discontent faster than the appearance of favoritism, or revenge.

If a particular section has been rough to seat (maybe it’s a slow lunch hour and all of your guests want to sit in booths), then ask your servers if someone else wants to cover a table in that section. Your server with the empty section won’t be bored (or angry) anymore, and the server assigned to the busy section would probably appreciate the help.

Make cuts

Few things are more frustrating to an owner than seeing a lot of staff standing around joking in the service areas or on the patio–or worse, at the host stand. If you clearly have more help than necessary, it’s time to make a cut.

And don’t forget your closing server. If one server’s section is starting to wrap up but they have an empty table you need to seat, find out if your closing server is able to take that table prior to seating your guests. It’ll help prevent any confusion among the staff as to whose table that actually is.

Pro-tip: When it comes to making cuts, I always recommend taking volunteers first (if you’re able to).

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Host Hacks: Taking Reservations

Host Hacks: Taking Reservations

by | Jun 1, 2016 | Career

The restaurant host can be one of the most under-appreciated and difficult jobs in the industry. Between juggling information, keeping a multitude of personalities happy, and running each group on a schedule, a good host has a ton to do, and it all depends on a precarious balance that the host has to keep in play.

Being a good host can be learned, though; with some experience, and the help of these host hacks and tips, a host can seamlessly move to up the career ladder. Start today with these tips from the host stand. First up are pro-tips for taking reservations:

Be friendly and accessible

This is the restaurant industry’s golden rule, always: treat people how you would want to be treated. And whether you’re taking reservations remotely or in-person, this is the first step to excelling in your position.

Smile at the diner-to-be (even if you’re on the phone), and start the conversations by asking how can you help. You never want the guest to have to ask to make a reservation. Even if your guest is hoping to dine at an inconvenient time, or has asked for a reservation last-minute, you should be accommodating and patient.

Remember, you are the restaurant’s first impression, so you want to make it a good one!

Be knowledgeable about guests

Aside from asking guests when they’d like to dine and how many are in their party, you’ll want to get some background information as well. Not only will it impress guests but also be very helpful to the servers and kitchen staff. Some items ask about when taking reservations:

  • Dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-free, peanut allergies?)
  • Table preference
  • Size of the group
  • Contact details
  • Time and date of reservation

An important note about the final point above, be sure to very nicely suggest an alternate time if the requested time is unavailable; you could easily lose business by letting this opportunity pass!

Be organized

With so much going on, you’ll definitely want to have an organization system in place so you can balance the many guests, servers and tables without losing your cool. This way, when last-minute guests do come in, you’ll be able to adjust for them easily.

Be sure to have a chart of all the servers on duty and keep track of their tables and guests throughout the night so that you don’t seat walk-ins in a busy section. This information will also be useful if a table is not turning over; you’ll know how to reorganize and where to seat the next round of diners.

Your restaurant should have a digital reservation system, but if they don’t, be sure to make note of all reservations on a physical form somewhere; the brain isn’t made to remember too many various details by itself!

Always know when someone arrives

With in-person reservations and guests alike, you need to always be accessible, and on top of your game. One key element, which can seem very small, is to acknowledge each person as they enter the restaurant, especially someone without an existing reservation.

Be sure that each person feels special, and that their reason for entering is addressed quickly and thoughtfully.

Not only will you make people happy right at the start of their dining experience, but you’ll cut down on walk-outs by being present and engaged with everyone.

These quick tips on success at the host stand will help you to stand out and improve the experience for diners, too. You’ll find that you can go far when you follow these hacks on taking reservations and be sure to check back for more host hacks coming in the next few weeks.

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