The Slam

It's been a great two weeks up in KL, learning the ins and outs of the restaurant.  I've been focussed on the prep are, getting a feel for the foods that we make.  It's a different world when preparing for 1 hundred people, compared to a family.  Best memory was mixing in 4 kg of butter for a cake mix!

The other area I have been focussing on is the expediter, or "expo" area.  This person's role is to prepare all the food, and make sure that they quality of the presentation (plating, condiments etc) is done according to the specification of the menus and procedures.  In essence, it's the link from front of house to the kitchen.

Generally this job is quite simple, but it starts getting complex due to the sheer number of orders that can come through at once, especially in a large restaurant.  I experienced the "slam" on Friday when I was the expo.  I've never had that feeling before, when my brain half shut down, I just could not process the information that was coming at me.  All I saw were plates of food in front of me, I didn't know what had or had not gone out, it was a mess.  Another one of the chefs had to tae over my position and do the rest of the expo for that lunch.

But it's the only way to learn, and the only way to appreciate the intensity of some of these F&B jobs.  Perhaps it just gets easier with more practice, but either way it's still tough when everyone comes in to the restaurant at once.  Of course, as an owner, that's what we all want all the time!

Organisational Plans

Going into the Unilever kitchens was an experience.  So much kitchen gear, so little of it is used!  I am still in dire need of understanding the food preparation side, to appreciate the quality of the foods.  When the rubber hits the road ie when I'm in my own kitchen, that may be the time where the learning really starts.

Talking to Tham, he provided some good suggestions regarding the organisational structure.  He argues that at the end of the day, the duty manager (one of the restaurant managers or myself) should have the final say for the whole restaurant, including the kitchen.  In essence, the customer, that the restaurant manager represents, is the boss.  I think this system has value, as ultimately the customer is the one bringing in the revenue.  What it does imply is that the kitchen cannot be an independent area, with its own rules.  What it also implies is that all our restaurant managers need to have a working understanding of the kitchen, how it works, what is required to run it.

It was also good to have Tham do a review with the shortlisted candidates.  He provides a much more structured way of interviewing staf, more so than how we did the first round of interviews.  Some good questions he asked were: who was your ideal boss and why; how do your staff see you; what analytical awareness do you show, especially in terms of costs and profits etc.