It's about 30 days before Christmas and if you haven't put up christmas decorations in the restaurant, you should do it now! A lot of restaurants seem at a loss as to how to set the mood for the holidays. Take note, setting the mood does not only mean putting up christmas decorations but making guests feel, taste and smell Christmas when they enter your restaurant.
Aside from decorations, your menu should have the Christmas "feel". Nope, you don't have to redo your menu or replace it temporarily with a Christmas-inspired menu. This is one of those times that the adage, the simpler, the better, really makes sense. The key is putting in a little effort yet seemingly simple to do.
One of my favorite simple Christmas treats for dining guests is giving them free Christmas cookies. Guests would love it! Serve the cookies, about one to two pieces per guest, once the guests are seated and voila!, you are setting the mood. Just make sure that the cookies have Christmas'y taste or look to them and that the waitstaff explains that they are special free Christmas cookeis for guests. Don't have Christmas cookie recipes? Don't worry. The world wide web makes it easier now to search for recipes. Just give it a little twise and make it your own version.
Another would be music. How simple could it get! Choose Christmas songs that are suited to the theme or ambience of your restaurant. Note that not just any song will do. If you have a fine dining restaurant, go for instrumentals or piano Christmas classic. If the place is upbeat, go for pop versions.
Insert one or two special dishes exclusively for the Holidays. You may have a main dish and a dessert or two main dishes or two desserts. Sometimes, just playing around with colors of food does the trick. Of course, keep in mind healthy cooking for the Holidays.
Christmas is around the corner. Surely other restaurants are cooking up their gimmicks. So should you!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Basics your waitstaff should review
Sometimes, in a restaurant's desire to advance things or upgrade service, the basics are the ones mostoverlooked or forgotten. Most successful restaurants have great waiter tableside manners aside from great food.
I personally believe that while it is good to up the level of service in your restaurant, the basics should be adhered by all means.
UTMOST COURTESY. I love restaurants whose waitstaff make you feel special. There are restaurants wherein you feel like you owe them for coming to dine. Waiters should be courteous, friendly and sincere. THey should know how, when and what to communicate to guests. They should be on-hand to wait on guests but not to near as to suffocate guests.
EXCELLENT KNOWLEDGE. ABOUT MENU AND RESTAURANT. Every waiter, whether regularly employed or on-call, should be adept with everything there is to know about the restaurant and the menu. No waiter should be let out into the dining room without great knowledge of how the food tastes, ingredients, house specialties and management. At the same time that they should know what to answer guests, they should also know what NOT to tell guests and how to dodge the question. (There are things that guests cannot know.)
BAISC TABLE SERVICE. Your waiter should know the kind of table service used in your restaurant,whether it be french, russian, buffet, etc. But train waiters as well in the different types of table service even if they are not used regularly in your restaurant. Teach waiters what to do on certain occasions and circumstances they might encounter during service.
Waiters are your major frontliners. What they say and do are representative of your restaurant even those they do unintentionally. Therefore, all measures have to be taken to ensure that they represent you well.
Need restaurant checklishts? Click here.
I personally believe that while it is good to up the level of service in your restaurant, the basics should be adhered by all means.
UTMOST COURTESY. I love restaurants whose waitstaff make you feel special. There are restaurants wherein you feel like you owe them for coming to dine. Waiters should be courteous, friendly and sincere. THey should know how, when and what to communicate to guests. They should be on-hand to wait on guests but not to near as to suffocate guests.
EXCELLENT KNOWLEDGE. ABOUT MENU AND RESTAURANT. Every waiter, whether regularly employed or on-call, should be adept with everything there is to know about the restaurant and the menu. No waiter should be let out into the dining room without great knowledge of how the food tastes, ingredients, house specialties and management. At the same time that they should know what to answer guests, they should also know what NOT to tell guests and how to dodge the question. (There are things that guests cannot know.)
BAISC TABLE SERVICE. Your waiter should know the kind of table service used in your restaurant,whether it be french, russian, buffet, etc. But train waiters as well in the different types of table service even if they are not used regularly in your restaurant. Teach waiters what to do on certain occasions and circumstances they might encounter during service.
Waiters are your major frontliners. What they say and do are representative of your restaurant even those they do unintentionally. Therefore, all measures have to be taken to ensure that they represent you well.
Need restaurant checklishts? Click here.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Enhancing Family Style Dining
One of my faorite type of restaurant services is family dining. I guess because of my personal attachment to my family and because of the easy of how to set one up.
Family-style dining is a great idea for restaurants located near neighborhoods or villages and in malls. It's a good way to showcase your food since the quantity of the food gives your food a look of abundance and height if presented beautifully. It is also a good way to save on ingredients and other operating expenses. Why? Because the quantity of the food, which is around 3 to 5 persons per order, brings savings and uses ingredients more economically compared to single person servings. It brings the restaurant savings on fuel, labor, water, electricity and effort. There are also savings on ingredients that are packaged in bulk compared to single servings like what is needed for single person savings.
If you are planning or is currently running a family-style restaurant, here are some tips for you:
Think of the entire family when you plan your menu. Your guests range from very small children to senior citizen. The tendency is thinking only of food for chldren and adults. But most of the time, we forget menu or service suited for older people who might be on certain diet restrictions or motion difficulty. Put together a versatile menu but not one that tries to hit all. You may stick to your theme but vary the nutritional content and the ingredients.
Be consistent. If it's a family restaurant, make sure that the utensils, tables and chairs and the service match.
Maintain a family homey atmosphere. If you want to invite families to your restaurant, have an ambience akin to dining at home, that is, warm, homey, cozy and comfortable. Train your staff about dealing with fussy children, senior citizen and everything in between. Keep in mind that there are certain antiquities about eating at home and your staff should understand those.
Need some help with your restaurant? Click here!
Family-style dining is a great idea for restaurants located near neighborhoods or villages and in malls. It's a good way to showcase your food since the quantity of the food gives your food a look of abundance and height if presented beautifully. It is also a good way to save on ingredients and other operating expenses. Why? Because the quantity of the food, which is around 3 to 5 persons per order, brings savings and uses ingredients more economically compared to single person servings. It brings the restaurant savings on fuel, labor, water, electricity and effort. There are also savings on ingredients that are packaged in bulk compared to single servings like what is needed for single person savings.
If you are planning or is currently running a family-style restaurant, here are some tips for you:
Think of the entire family when you plan your menu. Your guests range from very small children to senior citizen. The tendency is thinking only of food for chldren and adults. But most of the time, we forget menu or service suited for older people who might be on certain diet restrictions or motion difficulty. Put together a versatile menu but not one that tries to hit all. You may stick to your theme but vary the nutritional content and the ingredients.
Be consistent. If it's a family restaurant, make sure that the utensils, tables and chairs and the service match.
Maintain a family homey atmosphere. If you want to invite families to your restaurant, have an ambience akin to dining at home, that is, warm, homey, cozy and comfortable. Train your staff about dealing with fussy children, senior citizen and everything in between. Keep in mind that there are certain antiquities about eating at home and your staff should understand those.
Need some help with your restaurant? Click here!
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