Success in the kitchen is more than just serving quality meals. Mastering the art of time management is key to optimising cooking times, stock control, prepping and staff rostering.
1. Preparation
Your prep time is your opportunity to organise your work area so you’re ready to focus on serving your final dishes. Not only are there veggies to dice and sauces to prepare, think ahead about each stage of plating.
Preparation skills and foresight are key when it comes to menu planning and ensuring your orders are manageable when they begin to flow in during peak service times.
2. Organisation
Planning for your day can start as early as the week before, including ordering from your wholesale supplier and planning prep.
When it does go wrong, and you find yourself behind the step, after your day has completed, make sure you write down notes about what you can improve on next time
3. Delegation
Sometimes it’s hard to let go, and escape the ‘it’ll be faster if I do it’ mind set. You need to use your team to execute your meals successfully and that means delivering clear and concise instructions.
Your team looks to you as their leader, and to be a successful leader you need an organised and happy work environment. This all takes time, so be patient and learn from your mistakes.
You need to be disciplined, organised and always thinking ahead. If you’ve got these skills mastered, it will flow on to your team and the quality and professionalism of your cafe or restaurant service.
4. Work space preparation
Utilise precious kitchen space to organise into stations. When your tools and elements are easy to locate, the kitchen can run smoothly and focus on presenting exceptional food. As a chef, you’ll get the feel of how you want to set up your work stations for your own kitchen success.
5. Documenting processes
What happens when you’re off sick or away on leave? Having your work processes locked away in your head isn’t going to help anyone when you’re not around.
Having a documented process also helps your kitchen get ahead for the next day with ordering, cleaning and prep processes.
Summary
We hope you found these 5 simple steps useful to assist you in better managing your time. And remember, it’s a learning process and give yourself the space to improve and excel at your chef role.