There are multiple facets to making a restaurant visitor keep coming back to your establishment. But all of it takes the back seat when it comes to food quality. Based on a survey, out of all the factors that impact the experience of a customer at a restaurant, the quality of food was ranked as the most important. 58% of restaurant visitors consider food quality more important to them than price, service, and menu variety. Therefore, you must invest in hiring cooks who will uphold your restaurant’s value and shell out great dishes to keep your customers coming back for more.
Hiring the right cook is already a task that’s challenging enough. And hiring a cook for rush hours in your restaurant is daunting. We have compiled a list of helpful tips to help you hire right for your kitchen in the UAE.
4 Tips To Hire Cooks For Rush Hours In Your Restaurant In The UAE
Hiring restaurant staff, especially cooks, is one of the most significant costs involved while running a restaurant. Labour costs are generally one of the highest restaurant expenditures and make up a significant portion of total revenue. So it is crucial to hire less but hire right.
1. Hire A Cook Who Can Lead The Herd
The executive chef position is the dream job for those who pursue a passion in the culinary industry. You will need some who will be the head of the kitchen. Usually, there is just one executive or head chef in a single restaurant. They are the ones who have the decisive power for the price of food, the recipes, checking the quality of the food, and finalizing the menu. They are also the face of your restaurant and the point of content between the restaurant owner/management and the kitchen.
But when you’re bringing somebody of this capacity to your restaurant, you will also need to ensure that they are a natural leader.
Why? Rush hours in restaurants, be it fine dining, a casual bistro, or a fast food outlet, are no joke. Pushing out quality food with speed is a skill many cannot master, even with years of experience.
In a kitchen during rush hours, things can go out of hand at any moment. So, you will need a chef willing to take ownership and drive those working with and under him in the right direction with the right speed.
How do you know somebody is the right fit for this position? Apart from qualifications and experience, hire chefs who are great teachers, learn about kitchen equipment at the drop of a hat, and train new chefs to become future leaders. This directly impacts the productivity of your kitchen staff and food quality.
2. Time Management Should Be A Must-Have On Their Resume
You need to hire cooks for rush hours who are pro-people in their time management skills. They need to divide their time behind each dish that they are preparing, produce high-quality dishes, and ensure that customers are not waiting for long without food on the table.
You will also need chefs who constantly innovate and actively add new items to the menu according to what’s selling in the market and based on customer feedback. Your chef’s job is to finalize the restaurant menu and order inventory. With the right technology, inventory and, subsequently, cost management can be a breeze. They can easily have a detailed record of the available stocks and do not over-order or deplete their stocks without enough backup to get by.
So with time management, you must also be on the lookout for someone who has an eye for detail.
3. You Need Cooks Who Can Work Under Pressure
Hiring for the rush hour has intense pressure written all over the job opportunity. The restaurant kitchen during rush hour is a battlefield and can be an absolute disaster if you do not hire trained chefs who can work under pressure.
Everything happens simultaneously. You have multiple orders coming your way and need to be on your toes every minute. But you cannot serve undercooked or burnt food to your customers. So the best way to deal with this is to have enough specialized chefs and sous chefs on the team to equally divide all the tasks be it during rush hour or a quiet day at the restaurant. And hire chefs who can work during the rush hour with patience and manage crises with a calm temperament.
4. Quality With Speed Should Never Be Off The Table
Whether you’re hiring an executive chef or a sous chef, always hire someone with a detailed eye for food quality. To maintain this quality, your chefs must also be well acquainted with working on a budget. Even if you’re quickly serving your customers, your guests will not be coming back if your dishes are not up to the mark.
So, while you hire cooks for rush hours in your restaurant, look for
- Cooking skills and specialties aligned with your restaurant cuisine and theme
- Speed, time management, and hands-on experience with technology
- Somebody who can work under pressure and has an excellent eye for details regarding quality and food experience.
While hiring, ensure that you’re just not hiring people who look good on paper or who fit the theme of your restaurant. Build a team that can shoulder the heat, both in and out of the kitchen, and serve your customers food that makes them want to visit your restaurant again.
