The Restaurant Business

The Restaurant Business

1. Restaurants are organized into two sections

   • FOH ( Front of House) Dining Room
     • Maître d’
       • responsible for all aspects of service
         • specific duties include:
           • greets guests upon arrival and seats ppl
             • handles reservations
               • trains service personnel
                 • works with sommelier selecting wine
                   • may work with chef developing menu
                     • liason between front and back of house; they know what customers want and what they order, so they help improve the BOH staff
                       • similar to bellman- first face you see; should be friendly, warm and welcoming
     • Sommelier
       • primary duty is to assist guests with choosing wine; may also serve it
         • other wine duties include
           • selects
             • purchases
               • receives
                 • handles storage
                   • may also be in charge of all alcoholic beverage purchasing for the establishment
                     • ppl like to drink wine paired with specific food as part of experience- sommelier recommends wine beforep pl order their food
       • Service Staff
         • captain runs one area of the dining room
           • explains menu and any specials to guests
             • takes their orders
               • captain does any tableside cooking
                 • oversees the front and back waiters
                   • Front Waiters
                     • provide utensils, plates, and bring the food
                     • Back Waiters
                       • fill waters, bring bread/butter. clear dirty dishes
   • BOH (Back of House) Kitchen
     • Executive Chef
       • in charge of kitchen operations
         • specific duties include
           • designs menu
             • hires and trains kitchen staff
               • purchasing supplies
                 • cost controls for the kitchen
                   • sets presentation, safety, and sanitation standards
                     • he/she is often the star attraction for the property
                       • may make appearances in dining room
                         • chef's reputation alone is often enough to draw customers to sample their creations
       • Sous Chef
         • preps food during service
           • organizes, supervises operations of kitchen
         • Role of Aboyeur (Expeditor)
           • calls orders to other cooks
             • coordinates FOH/BOH
               • brings it all together to go out to the table
           • Station Chefs/line cooks (Chefs de Partie)
             • station for each type of food
               • ex) sauce station, fish station, grill station
             • Clean up
               • dish persons (steward)
                 • responsibilities include
                   • cleaning cookware for chefs throughout service
                     • clean all china, silver, glassware, etc
                       • clean floors and countertops etc
                         • take out garbage

2. F & B in a hotel

   • usually a mid-scale or casual dining chain

3. Restaurant Management

   • priorities:
     • Financial Matters- all aspects.
       • restaurants generally have low profit margins
         • maintaining quality standards in both service and food
           • anticipate trends and stay current
             • markets change quickly
               • failure to keep up loses customer base and revenue
                 • Management responsibilities
                   • day to day operations
                     • decision making
                       • contact person for everything
                         • work towards accomplishing owner's goals
                           • being the key holder means he or she often works the most hours
                             • accountable for everything in the restaurant
                               • develops operating budget
                                 • cost controls
                                   • keeps records and tracks all sales
                                     • analyzes performance of menu items
                                       • HR functions
                                         • many duties can be shared amongst managers
                                           • For example, the executive chef usually assists the manager in:•Developing purchasing specifications for the food•Purchasing of food items for the kitchen•Ensuring freshness, safety, and availability of the inventory
                                           • KEYS TO SUCCESS
                                             • keeping labor costs low
                                               • keeping food costs low
                                                 • keeping both low

4. careers

   • the life of a restauranteur not for everyone, the hours are long and the job is hard
     • relieson consumer trends and preferences
       • requires
         • someone who happily serves others
           • works well with employees and the public
             • is well organized
               • can coordinate many activities simultaneously
                 • this field is very labor-intensive and more difficult than other hospitality segments, but is quite rewarding

5. some history

   • Auguste Escoffier
     • THE french chef of the early 1900s
       • worked at the Savoy in London
         • developed kitchen staffing brigade system
           • culinary writer
             • developed multiple recipes of French cuisine
               • legitimized the culinary profession
                 • at this time, French were considered the epicenter of all things well-designed and beautiful, including culinary
                   • the French came up with Brigade system: still used in most fine dining restaurants today
                     • All different types of chefs in BOH
                       • Maitre d hotel, head waiter, captains, front waiters, back waiters, sommelier
   • hotel and restaurant industries were connected
     • meals provided by inns and taverns that offerd lodging
       • this tradition cont today- the majority of hotels have some sort of food offering
         • independent restaurants emerged in Europe and America duringt he 18th and 19th centuries
           • Rules, London
             • one of the very first fancy restaurants; very popular, historical establishment
               • extremely expensive, hard to get reservation
                 • firstformal fine dining
                   • Jamaica Wine House
                     • very first coffeehouse/bar; very historic and still operating
                       • Demonico's
                         • one of the very first fine dining restaurants in america
                           • the social and economic factors that aided hotels also created the ever-growing restaurant business
                             • the first american modern restaurants were the Union Oyster House in Boston and Demonico's in New York
                               • for a while, only fine dining existed, middle class couldnt really go out to eat
                                 • Fred Harvey
                                   • the earliest chain restaurant operator when he opened a restaurnt in the railroad station in Topeka, Kansas in 1876
                                     • had excellent food, good services, reasonable prices
                                       • Harvey's Fundamentals:
                                         • hired young girls with pretty smiles that had friendly disposition
                                           • have sincere interest in ppl
                                             • like all your daily contacts w guests
                                               • radiate cheer and make guests feel at ease
                                                 • became hugely successful
                                                   • While Castle
                                                     • most important early pioneer in the quick service segment
                                                       • opened in 1921m withceta
                                                         • established counter service
                                                           • mass production of a limited menu-- copied for chain
                                                             • strict sanitation procedures
                                                               • chain of identifcal units
                                                                 • the mcdonalds brothers adopted the white castle formula when they opened their first mcdonalds restaurant in cali in 19448
                                                                   • milkshake machine salesperson Ray Kroc
                                                                     • concinved mcdonalds to sell the franchise rights
                                                                       • kroc was the one who had idea of chains and mass production hamburger joints
                                                                         • he ended up buying them out and made history by opening mcdonalds everywhere
                                                                           • top restaurant chains by total revenue: Mcdonalds, Starbucks, Yum! brands