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Amateur going professional - advice needed

post #1 of 10
6/16/08 at 9:57am
Thread Starter 
Hi guys,

I'm taking the plunge from being an amateur to running my own restaurant kitchen with 50 covers.

I'm not worried about the food but what I really need help on is how to run the kitchen i.e. what systems are used to know which order has gone out, how are slow cooked foods stored and used on the night i.e. are they frozen and then put in a water bath etc etc

Any advice or tips on books to read would be great.

Cheers !
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post #2 of 10
6/16/08 at 10:37am
We keep a wire clothsline over the grills. When the waitress comes in the exec chef & I get a copy. One of us will put it to the left side of the clothsline & call it out. When the apps are out one of us will check mark them then get the main course ready to fire. Another ticket coming in goes to the 1st ticket's left, moving the 1st one a bit to the right. We check off the items with a sharpy as they are done. Prep cook gets a copy too just so she can keep track of what the boys are using .. just in case she needs to load us up with more veggie skewers or something.

When a table is compleatly finished & in the window, Chef (and only Chef) will pull the ticket off the clothsline & toss it.
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post #3 of 10
6/24/08 at 10:46am
Do you have anyone else helping you???An accountant, a FOH manager ,chef etc.

Its one thing to think that the food is all you need to run a great place . It is another to actually be knee deep in A lot of wonderful and talent chefs have open place only to realize a year down the road they are clueless.


You will need basics like savings for 6 months so that you can survive without much income till you build a reputation. Budgets ETC.

There are many great books that cover things like FOOD COST, staffing budgets. I would invest in a program that helps with inventory and food cost. There is one online somewhere)it is expensive..$400 orsomething like) one is called Recipe Manager . Another is Cost Guard(my fav) which i believe can tie into your POS system.

Depending on the size of the kitchen i would have a dual dupe system for both the chef and say the garde mange section..assuming you only have three ppl in the kitchen ..> chef, sous chef and GM.
They make dupe holders that slide the dupes along. SOME ppl like the clothes line thing..which is also good and cheap.


Good LUCK!!!!!!:D
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post #4 of 10
6/25/08 at 4:59am
Besides of having a excellent cooking skill, you must also pay attention for these following factors, if you want to manage a successful restaurant:
  1. The Location
  2. The Budget
  3. Fresh/raw food suppliers
  4. Strategic to expand or opening more franchises
You must carefully planning, before you bring your dream to live...
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post #5 of 10
6/27/08 at 4:50pm
I notice you are in England. Too much to say in one post, PM me if you want to have a discussion.

Good luck :talk:
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post #6 of 10
6/27/08 at 8:21pm
Holy shnikies! Where to start?
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post #7 of 10
7/4/08 at 7:15pm

Owner's Syndrome And Other Medical Anomalies

Do yourself a favor and read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Pay special attetion to the Owner's Syndrome chapter. That's the best advice you'll get from anyone.
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post #8 of 10
7/6/08 at 5:18am
First, remember you can do this.

The best thing I did was ask for help and advice, as you are.
Becarefull who you ask it from, ask business owners.
I wouldn't go to a foot docter for a heart surgery..

I hired a business advisor, marketing advisor, and finacial advisor.

A good IT guy can set you up a good system for your waitresses/chefs communication.
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post #9 of 10
7/6/08 at 9:18am
having worked as a manager at a pizza shop for a long time and now working as a cook...
my advice is to (not overspend yourself)...but invest in computer programs (POS systems) that will make your life easier and in the long run save you lots of time and money ...esp with food cost.
Something that keeps track of your inventory, schedule and something that itemizes the orders as they come in.
Many of these programs you can even finance...just view it as another piece of equipment you have to buy just like the other things in the kitchen.

I work at a chain as a cook and the server punches the order into the computer and we get a ticket on the cooks line...we hang them in order over the one grille and call them out (teamwork, communication is vital in running a kitchen...get a system going and establish areas so everybody isn't running around cooking the same plate 10 times)

I honestly can't imagine doing things the old fashioned way...handwritten checks and long hand accounting books and inventory control lists...
yuck...*shudder*

Sure, you can do things this way but why make things harder on yourself?

good luck :)
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post #10 of 10
7/8/08 at 3:01pm
Firstly best of luck. Having run 4 succesful restaurants in the uk I have plenty of knowledge on the subject so e-mail me for advise. Do not forget to be a good chef you must know how to cook well to be succesful in the restaurant business you must know how to run a good business. The two things are a million miles apart and only those able to combine the two, with a lot of luck will be succesful.
Steve www.masterchefinfrance.com
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