Chapter 7—Restaurant Management

What are restaurant operations divided into?

front and back of house

Front of House

includes anyone with guest contact (busser, hostess)

Who runs a restaurant?

the general manager (restaurant manager)

In larger restaurants, there may be more managers with specific responsibilities that are cross-trained 

What is the importance of the front of house in restaurants?

creates/maintains curbside appeal, keeping the restaurant looking attractive and welcoming

Host/Hostess

• Greet guests and escort them to a table, or take their name/table preference 

• Maintain a book/chart showing sections and tables so they know which are occupied

• Bring guests to tables, give them menus, explain special sales

How do hosts decide where to place guests?

They rotate arriving guests among sections/stations. Ensure even/timely distribution of guests so no section gets overloaded

What is the maximum number of tables a sever can serve at a time?

5

How do servers know who ordered what?

they take the orders in a specific pattern

How do servers interact with guests?

• Introduce themselves, offer beverages/specials, suggest items to order.

• Check on guests and make sure everything is good

• Suggest desserts, coffee, or post-dinner cocktails 

What are servers expected to be?

NCO (neat clean and organized)

What are the two components of forecasting sales?

guest counts (covers) and average guest check

Guest Counts (covers)

number of guests patronizing the restaurant over a given time period

How do restaurants forecast covers for a year?

done by taking into consideration meal period, day of week, holidays, previous forecast materializations

 it’s divided into 13 periods to ensure accounting procedures are able to compare equal periods

What percent of revenue do Friday, Saturday, and Sunday account for?

up to 50%

Average Guest Check

total sales/number of guests

How is total forecast sales calculated?

Number of guests forecasted for each day is multiplied by the amount of the average food/beverage check for each meal

Each day, actual totals are compared with forecasts and totaled to become annual total 

What else is forecasting used for?

predicting staffing levels and labor cost percentages

How has American service changed?

Less formal but still professional

American Service

where food is prepared/appealingly placed on plates in the kitchen, carried into the dining room, and served to guests. Is quicker and guests receive hot food

What do good servers do?

learn to gauge guests’ satisfaction levels and are sensitive to guests needs

Danny Meyyer

owner of NYC’s Gramercy Tavern and recipient of Restaurant of the Year and Outstanding Service Awards from James Beard foundation 

gives all restaurant employees an annual allowance to eat in restaurant and critique the experience

What are some restaurants with new types of service?

• Chipotle-style where food is in a line. Pay, get utensils, eat for cheap

• Panera-like, use technology to order or order at counter 

• Carmel Kitchen and Wine Bar: tablets with menu, place own orders

What is the objective of suggestive selling?

turning servers into sellers because guests are often receptive to suggestions from good servers

Upselling

If someone orders a drink, servers can suggest the more expensive brand. Or, if describe a higher-priced special in detail to get guests to order it

How do online ordering services work?

restaurants can have orders sent directly to POS/KDS. Saves manually organizing orders

Restaurants can take orders on their website, offer curbside pickup, in-house delivery, or fulfillment by delivery service 

Point of Sale Systems

• Used to track food and beverage charges and other retail charges that occur at a hotel/restaurant

• Made up of POS terminals that interface with a remote central processing unit

MICROS

offers POS systems that encompass FoH, BoH, and the enterprise

Why are mobile handheld devices good for POS systems?

increase speed of processing orders to kitchen and increase revenues. Orders go directly to kitchen/bar

Makes payment processing quicker/easier

Why are Kitchen Display Sytems useful?

• Enhance processing of orders to/in the kitchen

• Post order preparation time to central database for reporting/analysis by management

How do KDS work?

video monitors present orders and time since ordered to the chef/kitchen

Guest Services Solutions

Applications designed to help a restaurateur develop a dining relationship with guests

What are examples of Guest Services Solutions?

frequent-diner programs, delivery management, guest accounts receivable to manage home accounts/gift certificates, voice activation/recognition to pay, etc

How are all guest services solutions accessed?

through POS system and give restaurateurs the opportunity to offer their guests convenience while allowing them to track best customers

How do guest services solutions help restaurants?

Guest activity posted into central database and management can develop targeted marketing programs based on this information 

French service

ood is attractively arranged on platters in the kitchen and brought to table by servers and presented to guests. 

Preparation of food is completed on gueridon table next to guest

Russian Service

food is cooked in kitchen, cut, placed on serving dish, garnished. Presented to guests and served individually by lifting food onto guests plate and serving with a spoon and fork

Can be used in formal restaurants where servers have white gloves

What are the challenges of Russian/French service?

getting food to guests quickly so it’s still hot and also keeping it reasonably priced

Mystery Shoppers

are registered with a company and provided with access to a job board that lists various opportunities to “shop” restaurants

Ronald Kuroiwa

• Restaurant owner of Casa Maya in Lakewood Ranch, Florida

• blended modern with traditional cuisine

Back of House

Refers to all areas that guests don’t typically come into contact with. Generally run by the kitchen manager

What are examples of back of house roles?

purchasing, receiving, storing/issuing, food production, stewarding, budgeting, accounting, and control

What is the “backbone” of a full service restaurant, so must be well managed and organized?

the kitchen

What are some of the main considerations for efficient operation of BoH?

staffing, scheduling, training, food cost analysis, management, employee recognition

How do kitchen managers, cooks, and chefs begin the production process?

by determining the expected volume of business for next few days

What does a kitchen manager do to prepare for the day?

checks head line cook’s order, which brings prep area up to par stock of prepared items

Par Stock

amount of stock to be on hand at any time so recording takes place

When is most prep work done in a kitchen and why?

early morning/afternoon. Taking advantage of slower times allows line-cooks to do final preparation prior to/during actual meal service

How is a kitchen layout/size set up?

according to the business projected (sales forecast) as well as menu design

What aspects are included in the layout for many full-service kitchens?

Back door area, walk-ins, freezer, dry storage, prep line, salad bar, cooking line, dessert station, service bar

Cooking Line

might consist of broiler, window, fry, salad, saute, pizza stations

American Culinary Federation Trend

members emphasizing organic/locally grown produce, wholegrain breads, and grass-fed meat products

What is an important multi-year plan by the NRA?

a plan to guide restaurant/food service industry toward sustainable farming practices and developing sustainable policy initiatives

Ron Shaich

created a new niche called fast-casual, serving real food in a pleasant environment

Started Panera

Why was Panera so successful?

• clean, responsibility raised, nutrient-rich food

• Added calorie information to menus before it was required 

• Made food without artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors, or colors

• Uses integrated technologies for digital ordering/operations. Have interactive tablets

Is it better to overstaff or understaff?

Overstaff because it’s easier to send someone home than call someone in and having extra employees allows for cross training/development 

Why is good training for employees important?

• If employees are properly trained, little time/money needs to be spent correcting errors

• Thorough training helps in retaining employees for longer periods of time

Why is it important to continue developing skills of employees over time?

Helps management get feedback on running of kitchen and how well development program works. Allows also for internal growth/promotion

What is key to the success of a restaurant?

production procedures, because they directly relates to recipes and how much product is on hand

Production Control Sheet

count products on hand for each station and make calculations

How often should par stock levels be changed? Why?

weekly according to sales trends. Helps control/minimize waste levels

What is a large contributor to food cost?

Waste. Need to determine product levels necessary to make it through only one day to avoid having to throw stuff with a short shelf life away

What does a kitchen manager do after lunch rush?

checks to see how much product was sold and how much is left for night shift (can’t run out of food)

Why is the use of production sheets vital?

it’s important in controlling how cooks use products since production plays a key role in food cost

Why is it bad when restaurants deviate from the standardized recipe?

quality goes down, consistency is lost, and food cost goes up

Why is it important that managers have a presence in the back of house?

• assist staff in preparation of menu/other kitchen operations

• ensures staff is focused, keeping food quality consistent

• they gain more knowledge, confidence, and respect

• to ensure policies/standards are being upheld

What does employee-management interaction produce?

a sense of stability/strong work ethic among employees, resulting in higher morale and positive working environment

Why is employee recognition important?

• Creates positive work environment that motivates staff to excel and produce consistently

• Makes an immediate impact on quality of operations

Back of House Restaurant Systems

Product management systems that include inventory control, food costing, labor management, and financial reporting features

How do front and back of house systems complement each other in labor management?

FoH systems track employee working time while BoH labor management package adds ability to manage restaurant’s payroll and HR info

What do labor management systems include?

• HR module

• scheduling capacity

• payroll

• benefit administration

• insurance

What do HR modules in labor management systems include?

track hiring, employee personal info, vacation, I-9 status, security privileges, tax status, availability, scheduling capacity, etc

How do labor management systems help with distributing paychecks?

• presents actual work time and pay rates to payroll processor so paychecks can be distributed.

• Gets tips/receipts data from FoH so proper tip allocations can be reported

How do back and front of house systems help managers with financial reporting?

they both post data into relational database on central server. Restaurant manager uses these data for reporting/decision making

What reports/analyses are generated from financial reporting data?

P&L reports, budget variances, end-of-day reports, financial reports

Why is important to get financial reports during the day?

so restaurateurs can make decisions before profit is lost. Some have data on a monitor so they can always see it

Why must BoH and FoH systems be reliably linked (financially)?

so that POS food costs, labor costs, service times, guest activity can be analyzed and decisions can be made

What are the 3 most important areas to focus on for budgeting/profits?

• purchasing

• Receiving

• storing/issuing

Purchasing

Involves procuring products/services that the restaurant needs to serve its guests

What do the purchasing systems set up by restaurant operators determine?

• standards for each item (product specification)

• systems to minimize effort/maximize control of losses

• par stock/inventory

• who buys supplies

What is the best way to avoid losses in purchasing goods?

is to have chef prepare the order, manager place it, and third person that is responsible for stores to receive goods with the chef

What should a good purchasing system do when it comes to par stock?

automatically reorder when stock falls below the par stock level

How is purchasing different chain restaurants?

may have menu items/order specifications determined at the corporate office

Why is it helpful for purchasing to be done at a corporate office for a chain?

• Saves unit manager from having to order individually 

• Specialists at the corporate office develop menu and include specifications for ingredients to ensure consistency

Purchase Order

order to purchase a certain quantity of an item at a specific price. Comes as a result of product specification.

How do purchasers buy items?

• Develop purchase orders for items they need on a regular basis.

• Orders are sent to suppliers for quotations and samples are sent in for evaluation

• After comparing samples from several vendors, operator chooses supplier

What two things make a great steak?

flavor and tenderness 

Tenderloin/Filet Mignon

tenderest cut, not very flavorful. Most expensive

T-Bone/Porterhouse

similar cuts. Porterhouse has larger tenderloin, both have T-bone

Ribeye

“king of steak” due to flavor/higher fat content

New York Strip

similar to T-bone, flavorful but not as tender as ribeye/tenderloin. More affordable

Receiving

the point of control in the restaurant operation. Purpose is to ensure the quantity, quality, and price are exactly as ordered

What happens to food items once they are recieved?

some perishable items are issued directly to the kitchen while most nonperishable items go into storage

Why should items be issued from stores only by an authorized person?

because if more than one person has access, it’s difficult to know who is responsible for losses

What should all items that enter a store have?

a date stamp, and be rotated using the first in-first out system (FIFO system)

FIFO (First in First Out)

simple but effective system of ensuring stock rotation. Achieved by placing most recent purchases, in rotation, behind previous purchases to avoid spoilage

How can restaurants maintain strict controls in storing/issuing?

• Take inventory regularly

• Have receiving done by a person other than who orders

• Use a par-stock reordering system

• Use one entrance/exit for employees

• employ a good accountant

What two categories do budgeting costs fall into?

fixed and variable

Fixed costs

constant regardless of volume of business. Are rent/lease payments, interest, depreciation

Variable costs

fluctuate with volume of business.

Include controllable expenses such as payroll, benefits, direct operating expense, music/entertainment, marketing/promotion, energy/utility, admin, repairs/maintenance

Uniform system of accounts for restaurants

outlines a standard classification and presentation of operating results

Allows for easy comparison among restaurants because each expense item has the same schedule number