[iconoclast]

could someone explain to me what a staff meal is or the purpose of it??? how common are they? do all restaurants have this?

[shyartist]

its just food that the chef lets u eat for free, or sometimes messed up orders, or whatever is about to die in the walk-in....the purpose is just to feed you...so u have enegry to work or could even be seen as part of your pay...its just common curtosy....not all resturant do it though...usually just family resturants or small businesses...some fanchises will have a "no eating food at all or your fired" rule,with camera watching you....which is lame considering how much food gets thrown away...but whatever at atleast thow in reduced cost on lunch break

[adamm]

the hotel i work at provieds a free employee meal for all employs that the kitchen has to prepare every day. Its sucks espcialy when we do somthing like chicken fingers and the housekeeping staff takes out heaping platfulls and takes it home to there family. the way i see it is it there to feed you so your not starving the rest of you shift, not feed you for a week.

[Jim]

The Staff Meal (also known as Family Meal) is a meal provided by the foodservice outlet for the staff. In doing so, the hope is that the crew is sated before the shift and will not need to eat during a shift. Additionally, there is the by-product of building camaraderie by sharing a meal. Also, it is an opportunity to try new dishes, 'fast track' some items that may not be moving and discourage the production of 'mistakes' as the shift progresses. The types of operations that provide this run the gamut; there is no particular industry segment that exclusively provides this.

[iconoclast]

thank you... for some reason i thought it was experimental dishes, or if items have changed on the menu to educate the staff so they can explain to customers if they have questions...

[shyartist]

yeah experimental dishes is another thing....it can help the chef get honest feedback on the food he puts out there

[aktomkins]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

could someone explain to me what a staff meal is or the purpose of it??? how common are they? do all restaurants have this?

from my experience, once you start giving floor staff meals a few nights, they expect it every night. And they will usually complain if you give them something they don't like much.

The thing they don't understand is that chefs don't care that they have done 3 hour shift from 6pm - 9pm. thats not a days work... so don't try and make me feel sorry for you... :P

[sierra11b]

For me, Family meals are designed for my kitchen only as dinner first, inspiration second. Sometimes they get a real treat, sometimes it's BFD, sometimes it's something as simple as pasta or mac and cheese with leftover sausages. Either way, if any FOH staff wants the meal they need to see me or a senior member of the line, ask how it should be rung in depending on ingredients (as a soup or salad or employee chef meal which is more expensive), then ring in their order 30 minutes before close.

[Rambo]

This varies from restaurant to restaurant group: Some places tell you only order off the menu, 50% off. Others: you get what we feed you, free. Either way, it is a gift from the kitchen staff (owner) to the front of the house. Mainly because the kitchen staff is taking valuable time away from prep to provide a meal. It is rare that you will catch a decent cook eating more than a few bites of this group (FOH) accomodation. It is normal to hear unprofessional griping about the lack of meat, lack of variety, I didn't get seconds, ect. My position is that cooks eat before or after a shift. Whether it's 6 or 16 hours long. Servers tend to want to eat before a shift, scavange during their shift, then order food while we're trying to clean. This is not relegated to mediocre spots, either. Anyone that starts at 4 pm and is done at 10 pm can find a moment in the other 18 hours of the day to eat. Just a little BOH angst there, but come closing time, I go home and make myself something to eat, as opposed to counting tip money. Servers that appriciate the staff meal are few and far between, and restaurants that allot cooks time to eat are even fewer. If you find yourself in either of these situations as a pro cook, consider it a bonus to your position- and throw in some extra meat when chef isn't looking.

[ED BUCHANAN]

In most places, it is a great way to get rid of leftovers, and management writes it off on his yearly taxes.

[shroomgirl]

my staff eats well......normally what we're serving. They should know what they are serving.

in college I worked at a continental restaurant....mainly french......and we'd make BBQ with temderloin scraps or chinese, so funny to smell different cuisine from a kitchen.

[chefhow]

I used to do family meal every day and it was a way to feed the staff both FOH and BOH, it was usually leftovers thrown together(yesterdays mash, some leftover veggies and a protien) about 45 minutes before service started and since it was cooked by the BOH staff the FOH had to clean it up. I dont think I can remember hearing someone complain more than once, if they did they were in the kitchen making it for a few days on their own time.

[Harpua]

i love family meal. I see no problem with someone throwing together food BOH and FOH before service. A shift from 3-11 means that people are going to be hungry, and you don't want to be hungry when it gets busy.

I also like the idea of a communal meal with my coworkers.

[SmokeyUST]

I think all kitchen staff deserve on email per shift, as long as they work 6+ hours, FOH can have 50% off. But for the actual hands on foodies we (me I guess) are constantly tasting and trying everything all night so very rarely do I want to sit down and actually eat a meal. Mistakes can be given for the staff but obviously not during peak, that just screws everyone.

Food cost being an ever increasing issue, we have made it known that nobody is getting scallops, lamb, and so on...

[chef.ESG.73]

A staff meal is a good way to say, hey we care about you and apreciate all your efforts. Not all places give their staff this option.Most corporate resteraunts give a discount. The nicer high end places will normally prepare a family meal. Iworked at a private country club for extra money at one time. They hired someone 8 hrs a day just to prepare family meal for day ad evening shifts. I thought it was crazy, but had to respect the idea and staff stayed there for ever no turn over @ a place which the upper managment took such great care of their staff.