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Bars IN cp, blogger Become Boss, cocktails, Entertainment, Food Blog, Food Critic, Food Knowledge, Hospitality Management, Priyank Sukhija, restaurant management, Restaurant Reviews, Restaurants in CP, Sidharth Bhan Gupta, Tamasha, tips to run a restaurant
For past 13 years, I have been engaged in learning about Hotel & Restaurant operations and it has not been an easy ride, neither has it been a short ride.
I am still learning and will continue to do, as there is no end to the ways we can enthrall our guests, neither is there any perfect way to go about managing a restaurant. A lot of restaurant management is skills and charm of a particular server or collectively a team effort, however, there are certain ways which are the most basic yet defining in terms of How to be an effective Service professional.
As bloggers, we are expected to be experts on Food & Beverage and must have a working knowledge of what differentiate a good practice from a bad one, a lot of time bloggers are found wanting in their skills to analyse the correct method of service and often the empathy towards the restaurants is missing owing to lack of personal experience of running a restaurant.
Keeping this in Mind, Priyank Sukhija owner of Rocket science hospitality and its various restaurants in Delhi organized an initiative called ‘Blogger Become Boss’ where in each blogger was allotted a day to be the boss of their respective allotted restaurant.
In continuation to the occasion and the theme of the initiative I would like to share some key points which are important to manage quality F&B service operations in any restaurant.
Menu Engineering
Menu Engineering is the most important and defining part of the job, any restaurant is defined by its menu and the same should be in line with the concept of the restaurant.
A restaurant menu need to be balanced in terms of its flavours and offerings covering most of the demographics in mind. A balance between vegetarian and non vegetarian offerings is key, also ensuring there is ample representation of different meats, vegetables, seafood, textures, colours, cuisines(as per concept), innovations,authenticity among other aspect.
A menu should be priced keeping various factors like costing, demand, trends, competition and overall pricing strategy of the restaurant.
Menu engineering is a science, although many a times its a gut feeling of what you think may work well with guests, thus a true visionary anticipate trends and innovate dishes to create new flavours and offerings while never falling off from the path of fundamentals and principles.
Preparation
In Hospitality terms, This is called Mise-en-place and Mise-en-scene, Basically ensuring all the preparations are done required to Deliver an effective menu service as well as maintaining the ambience & decor of the place.
Checking all food preparations, their trials, presentation, crockery, cutlery, glassware, all menus,reservations, uniforms( Clean & Ironed), Staff groomed and briefed, checking the cleanliness of the restaurant, checking all equipments, lightings, tables and chairs( for sharp edges and wobbling) and various other things which keeps the restaurant & its team set and ready for service.
Usually in a restaurant an opening checklist is maintained, wherein, all pre-preparatory work is well defined and followed as a process.
Art of Order Taking
Order taking is a specialized job and not every one can excel in this art. Each restaurant has some order takers which are better than the others and has certain flair and confidence in them to be able to sell the products as well as ensure they provide their guests with an experience which exceeds their expectations, however, basics of order taking and a thorough knowledge of menu along with some key disciplines ensure the art of order taking is practiced well in the restaurant,across all sections.
It’s important to understand the guest’s needs, taste profile, mood, type of meal they are looking to eat, a thorough knowledge of menu, skills to do suggestive selling and upselling, understanding the customization that guest needs as well as the prowess and limitations of the Culinary team to execute it, are few common aspects of this art, however, there are many more minute details, gestures, etiquettes and fundamentals required to make a foundation of a service operation where art of order taking often defines one the highest points of guests dining experiences.
Upselling/ Suggestive Selling
A smart restaurant does this.
Suggestions are always the first things guests are looking for and it is important to suggest as per guest taste, that’s where the art of order taking comes in picture.
Up selling through suggestions, Suggesting signature dishes, suggesting as per inventory status, Suggestions based on New items introduced, time of the day, seasonal produce, up selling a chef’s special menu or even the no. Of portions by suggesting the exact portioning needed to serve a larger table and various other ways to upsell are often things that a server takes pride on.
As a boss, one trains the staff on these lines and ensure the team is learned and motivated enough to do the same.
Effective Communication
Communication is another important aspect of any front end staff of a Hospitality organization.
It’s not just the menu knowledge and standard service phraseology, rather an ability to strike a conversation with the guests and sound friendly, courteous yet professional with your words and demeanour.
One should be hands on with the local area knowledge, routes, places to visit, important restaurants and markets and various other information of general knowledge.
Effective communication is what differentiate a great restaurant from a mediocre one.
Coordination with Chef
Any great restaurant of the world thrives on the Service-Kitchen relationship and thus coordination between the two main departments of restaurant is one of the most important and often under estimated aspect of restaurant management.
It is important to have an understanding of kitchen processes, how much time does dishes take to be dispensed, placing correct orders and its rightful follow up, systematic non- panicking approach especially during busy operational hours ensures the coordination between kitchen and service is healthy.
Often cross training are done to ensure the processes of other departments are well understood for smoother coordinations on the job.
Team Building & Appreciation
Great teams makes great restaurants. It’s important to have all the above mentioned skills and best practices to ensure a great team is build, however, It is key that the whole team is motivated enough to perform at their best capability.
Recognition is the least what a management can do to keep up the morale of the team, whereas there are many ways to motivate staff, incentivise them, help the staff grow, their learning & development, facilities provided, correct job allocations are few important things, however A simple Thank you too goes a long way in appreciating a days work and no matter how small this task is, it often goes a long way in keeping a team together and build them well, together with the growth of the restaurant.
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All the above points are important, there are a lot of other aspects which are important and makes a gamut of activities and processes which makes a great restaurant.
These are not easy things to do and does require an acumen & understanding of the processes to be followed, thus it is always advised to hire a professional team, who can carry Forward these processes with ease and strive for excellence.
So while I was at Tamasha as the boss for a day, I tried to encapsulate the above mentioned points in my work style, and though I have previously set up and worked in high end restaurants with extremely high level of service and guest relations, it all came alive once again, and I could learn from close quarters how the new age Bar & restaurants are adapting to the changing environment and growth of restaurant industry especially in the capital.
The experience was unparalleled, with many bloggers coming up with their Innovative dishes, I am certain Priyank and his team will have their eyes on to include some of them in their menus as well as seek passion based inspiration to focus on Quality Food & Beverage, It’s service and service culture which any top notch restaurants of the city would be proud of.
Bloggers on the other hand, can’t thank enough for this great opportunity to understand restaurant operations from close quarters and this will, hopefully reflect in their understanding of the restaurant, standards, processes, service and many more things about the industry from their experience of managing the same first hand.
I am certain, this improves the restaurant and bloggers alike, and thus, augurs well for the hospitality industry.
Hospitality industry being my only client, As I often say, I was excited to be a part of this initiative, and I am happy that it met it’s purpose, a big kudos to Priyank and his entire team for pulling of this unthought of initiative, he truly lived to the precedence.
Thank you.
Sidharth Bhan Gupta