Essentials for Successful Food Service

Most publicans, landlords and bar owners will tell you that the hostelry industry has been suffering these past few years. With economic recession, government cuts and the smoking ban, many drinking establishments have had to close the doors.

In the UK, nearly three pubs a day close their doors for the last time and many traditional pubs are disappearing from our town, cities and villages leaving a social gulf with nowhere for local people to congregate and socialise.

The pub or local bar is an important aspect of any local community but even for those struggling in the current times, there are things you can do to ensure you keep your doors open

Serving food is one way of boosting an income and generating enough money to pay the bills and stay open. More and more people now visit pubs for the food rather than the drink so it can be very short-sighted not to want to take advantage of such custom.

One thing that puts people off is the need to buy all those catering accessories and equipment and retrain staff to deal with food. However, the time and investment is often worth it as a pub can make huge leaps in revenue by offering food.

However, quite often pubs fall into the trap of failing to plan their service properly which can lead to blockages in the kitchen, disgruntled customers and all the investment that's gone into serving food becoming a waste.

With any food service a system of four steps needs to be put in place: First menus. Providing a form of menu is essential fo customers to peruse, and not just indoors either, all food establishment need to provide a menu outdoors to entice people in through the doors. The most efficient method for providing a menu, is to use chalkboards or menu-boards which can be altered at will, this does away with the need to get menus printed for each table.

The next step in the food service system is taking the orders. Most pubs do this electronically with the tills behind the bar hooked up to screens in the kitchen, but it can be done manually on appear but it is always best to request food orders at the bars at it reduces the number of service staff required.

The next step is service. Bringing the food to the table and ensuring customers have the relevant cutlery and condiments.

Finally, removal of empty plates needs to be done efficiently, otherwise blockages of washing up can halt the kitchen. It is recommended that you invest in a good selection of trays and a tray stacker or trolley, this will allow empty plates to be stacked neatly and not clutter up the kitchen.