Serving Up The Perfect Work Environment In The Kitchen

The secret behind a well-managed restaurant kitchen is a well put-together team. To create the ideal working environment however, is anything but easy. Listed below are five tips to ensure a professional working environment for commercial kitchens.

Establish a good information flow system 

If there's one thing all good kitchens have in common, it's a kitchen expeditor (or someone who holds a similar post).

Expeditors are responsible for relaying information from the front house staff to the kitchen staff, where they ensure that each table receives the right set of orders. This helps to eliminate all forms of miscommunication, which helps to keep the kitchen moving as the wait staff will no longer have to worry about what's happening in the kitchen while the kitchen staff can focus on their work. 

Avoid micromanagement

Empower the head chef with the ability to coordinate the activities of the kitchen and to delegate tasks accordingly. It is important to trust the your team in order for them to bring out their best work. In addition, be prepared for unforeseen situations such as the sudden absence of a staff by training your team to expect them. 

Reward teamwork

Especially so on busy nights, never forget to praise your kitchen staff for a job well done. Also, be on the lookout for exemplary employee and never let their extra efforts go unnoticed. By showing gratitude for employees who go out of their way, you create a positive workplace culture where people are prone to helping the other out. This will result in the nature rise of teamwork.

Invest in equipment

Nothing motivates a kitchen team more than good equipment. For the best results, it is advisable to invest and maintain the restaurant’s equipment. Not only will badly equipped kitchen lower the morale of your team, hygiene standards will also be affected. As Singapore’s restaurant industry has very stringent guidelines on hygiene and kitchen equipment, do conduct regular maintenance, to avoid incurring any penalties. Kitchens should arguably be the cleanest place in your restaurant. If this means investing in a new set of restaurant cooking equipment, we’d say to go for it.

Just like every dish, every step of the creation is important and together, they help create a product that's well-worth paying for. In addition to the working conditions, do also note the layout and space of the workspace, that it is capable of accommodating your team.