There is no doubt that, as professionals, we want our business to run as smooth as silk. We spend outrageous amounts of time, energy and money in its procurement. And once we get there, it is even more of a battle to stay on top of it all. Building such an establishment requires time, knowledge, skill and, above all, a lot of patience. That is why it takes an exceptionally special person to work and be very effective in our industry.
As another on going topic of discussion, I would like to cover what I believe are ways in which we all can improve the daily operations of our facilities. And, as always, I welcome any kind of feed back as far as future topics or questions or concerns that any of our readers might have. Topics such as equipment and upkeep, employees, management techniques and many more, that can help us all get a better hold on our industry and its ever changing world.
One of the most natural places I feel to start is with the equipment that we choose to place into our facilities, simply because without that equipment we will not have much of a facility. And whether it is for the bar, the kitchen or anywhere else, we have got to not only buy quality equipment but also, keep them in top condition for as long as we can. Whether you are buying all new equipment for a soon to open facility, or replacing old, tired or worn out ones, there is a lot to consider. With all of us connected via the web, there is a wealth of access to the top name equipment that the world has to offer. As a student at the Culinary Institute of America, I was lucky enough to work with some of the best equipment money could buy. Since then, I have worked on almost everything in between. And, to tell you the truth, for the most part, they all perform the same. Granted there is a lot of difference between the top of the line and a less costly model. But they all still to perform the same functions and its up to the worker to use it properly. You can spend all the money in the world on the best equipment, but get nowhere with substandard staffing.
Define what your needs are going to be
The worse thing we can do is to either underestimate or overestimate the needs of our equipment, or buy the wrong equipment for the intended use. Not only do they have to fit into our facility ergonomically and financially, but meet the needs of your style of facility as well. Buying a large 8 top burner stove for a small 20 seat restaurant may not be a good investment choice if a 6 will work just as well! Research is more crucial now then ever; it pays to look deep into every aspect of the equipment you are about to purchase. And a lot of this has legwork has been done for you by the fine people here at HoRes, equipment information and more. If you have not visited their website, I strongly suggest you to do. Three simple words come to mind: compare, compare, compare. See if there is any way you can try one out somewhere. When and if you can get to see them first hand, give them a good going over. Test the quality of their work and make sure it will stand up to the punishment your kitchen will put it through. Most of the big names you may already know have high standard, so this might not be as important as with smaller companies. Once you have found the right equipment, buy as much of it as you can from the same supplier - most of them will offer good discounts if you buy a lot of your equipment from one supplier. In the same time, its a lot easier to have only one or two repair contracts. Remembering to get the most guarantees that you can for you money. You are paying a lot for the product, the least the seller can do is to offer a guarantee on their products that you can agree to. A real helpful reminder is to keep the service guarantees in a safe place, so that they are easily accessible. Keeping to your budget is also an area worthy of talking about here. You dont always need the newest state of the art kitchen to get the job done. Our industry has been around for a long time and there is always someone trying to reinvent the wheel. Most of the time, its over priced equipment that we really do not need. There can also be something said for used equipment if it been treated well and been taken care of.
Good working condition
Keeping your new equipment in good working condition is one of the biggest steps you can take to make sure your kitchen continues to run smooth well into the future. This holds true for me as a firefighter and even more so as a chef. The small steps you take each and every day may very well save you lots of money and headaches, whether it is a large fire truck or a gas stove. Scheduling regular cleaning both inside and out, which means pulling them out from the wall to clean behind, is, in my mind, one of the most crucial. It can be very embarrassing to have the repairman give you a nasty look as you pull out the oven to get work done and grease lines the back and the wall behind. A real simple clean up tip: line the catch pans that slide in under your range top with aluminum foil. This pulls out great for the weekly cleaning and takes a lot less time then scrubbing any burnt on food off. Taking the time at least once a week to take the same range top apart will also add years onto your equipment. Another hint that helps: keep two of the units together and place the supply heads of the ones that have troublesome burnt on food on top and down inside over them to burn it off. After that, a good strong stiff wire brush will remove what is left. There are also a number of good degreasers that you can soak them in over night and use the brush on in the morning.
On all your refrigeration units keeping the seals both clean and damage free prolongs the life of the entire unit. Cracks in them let air out and force the system to work harder and longer. A good daily cleaning and check is all it takes to prevent having to replace the system earlier than planned. Keeping containers, boxes and food from piling up in from of vents and fans can also help keep them from over heating and burning out. As a firefighter, I have seen many fires started from clogged fans that became hot and caught fire. Even something as simple as closing the walk-in refrigerator door can make a difference. This holds true for any equipment that has vents or fans, not just kitchen equipment. Even the small act of closing the door to the walk-in refrigerator behind each worker will save you big! You will see the savings in the costs of your electricity usage bill at the end of each month. Pulling out the fryers and removing all the grease that collects, there is another helpful hint that all to often goes unchecked until its too late with a fire! Remembering that inside of the fryer can also collect grease. Floor drains can be a real headache if they become clogged with grease. So, a monthly treatment of cleaner maybe all it takes to prevent future flooding. Passing the cover through the dish sink or machine can also never hurt. Even a simple few milliliters of bleach solution down the drain every few weeks can prevent unwanted odors or pests from creeping in. Most maintenance contracts should include scheduled preventive maintenance. It is well advised that if its not included try to get one.
Sanitization
The best maintenance is the preventive kind. I have learned, and so have many of us, that sanitization is crucial in our line of work. One place that is often over looked, I have found in America, is the cleaning of the lines for beer taps. That really bad headache one gets, not after an all night of drinking but simply after one or two, is due to microorganism that can build up in the lines. There are companies that offer cleaning of the lines and it is well worth it. Your beer tastes as fresh as it should and your customers will love you for it in the long run. Well, unless it is some of our American beer and maybe that might help it taste a little better. I am sure it is worth mentioning that it is well worth the effort to always double check our employees work before they leave, I myself have been made a fool for believing that the work was all done, when, in reality, there were short cuts taken! Getting the work done right requires training your staff to do it right the first time, each and every time. With good effective leadership you will not even have to ask them to do it; it will already be done for you.
This is just the start of the story. I am sure that many of you have just as many tips to share that you have found along the way. And I again invite you to share them with all of us. The more we can help not only ourselves, but each other, the better off our industry will grow and prosper. We depend on our equipment to keep us in business, so it is natural that they need us to keep them in the best working order that we can. With a little bit of luck we can keep the high priced equipment that we took so long to decide on running for years and no need for over priced calls to the repairman!
