Making your commercial kitchen work harder
Kitchens now have to work harder than ever to deal with competition in the restaurant business. Many eateries will go out of business in their first year, so it’s vital to assess how to make your business work effectively. The first step is to make sure your kitchen is as productive as it can be.
Proper training
One of the most important investments you can make is your staff. If your chefs and other workers are properly trained, this can make all the difference to the running of the business. Staff should know their menu back to front, and they should also know health and safety rules of the kitchen. Training your workforce ensures a smooth running business that is efficient in technical knowledge and customer service.
Track waste
In Europe, we throw away 100 million tonnes of food every year. Wastage is a big problem in commercial catering, due to ordering and stocking issues and customer returns. Check which dishes are regularly returned to the kitchen or not ordered by customers. Also check chefs are preparing food properly. Only order what you need and make a deal with a local charity to offload unavoidable waste.
Proper storage
Store food in the right place, with older stock at the front of the cupboard. Keep the food at the right temperatures in the fridge and freezer to ensure less waste. It is also important that everyone knows where the items all are, as this saves time. Create sensible and well-ordered storage space for a smarter, more orderly kitchen.
New appliances
By ensuring you have the most up to date appliances, you can enjoy a more efficient kitchen. Old appliances can waste energy and this is especially true of fridges. Spending money now on replacing old appliances saves money in the long run. For example, you could try commercial bottle coolers, from stockists such as https://www.fridgefreezerdirect.co.uk/commercial-bottle-coolers, as a way of cooling bottles in an efficient way.
Try a takeaway
Some people don’t want to sit down to lunch and wait for table service, but would prefer to take away food to eat at their desk or in the park. Try out a takeaway menu for workers at lunchtime, as this could be a way of increasing revenue. The kitchen can be kept busy, bringing in more money.
