Best Practices
All Aboard: Get Your Dishwashers More Involved in Restaurant Prep Work and Count the Savings
Keeping your staff busy and on schedule for tomorrow's prep work is the first place to focus on cutting prep costs. Regardless of your restaurant's concept, involving dishwashers in kitchen prep work is a smart move.
When approached like a mentoring project, many hard-working dishwashers can move into prep jobs. They can perform all the busy work that puts prep-ready items into a skilled cook's hands. Peeling garlic, shallots, onions, carrots, and potatoes are just a few possible duties dishwashers can take on as part of their job. Others include preparing celery and spinach, de-veining shrimp, cleaning squid, and scrubbing clams. These are the kinds of tasks that can be delegated to the dish crew with a minimal amount of training.
The key is to keep your highest-paid cooks from wasting time. Get products into their hands in a usable form. Nothing makes a chef more annoyed than watching a $25-an-hour sauté cook peel onions. Keeping ample amounts of ready-to-use mirepoix in the walk-in always keeps cooks at the stove.
Delineate prep duties ahead of time for all station cooks throughout the shift. Certain items are better than others for prepping during service. Almost every restaurant has an off night when business is slow or finds itself with some downtime before the rush. This is quality time for small, easy-to-perform projects to keep idle hands busy. Every station has some simple prep that can be picked up throughout the shift. Picking herbs, slicing garlic, preparing vegetables, or juicing lemons are all examples of restaurant duties that keep cooks – and potentially dishwashers – busy.
Cross-training is a win–win–win situation. Trained employees win because they feel valued, the trainers win because they have had an opportunity to share their expertise, and the organization wins because employee satisfaction has increased and continuity of service has been enhanced.
– Leslie Gordan
Steer dishwashers away from time and temperature-sensitive tasks like slicing fish, making vinaigrettes, or performing chores that require cleanup. Keep prep lists typed and organized at each station and for each shift. This will help prep cooks and dishwashers prepare only what is needed. The prep list should be an updated order and inventory spreadsheet. Pars set for each item serve several purposes: they prevent staff from over-prepping items to "get ahead," they save time and money, and they keep the product at its peak for final cooking.
As cooks and dishwashers leave their station, they should fill out the prep list, taking inventory of what is on hand and what is needed for the next shift. Adjust pars on the prep list for both busy and slower times. Help your team members focus and learn what amount of product is needed for a Monday versus Friday. An organized team member will not waste time figuring out what to do and will dive right into the day's cutting and chopping.
Most importantly, do not forget to train dishwashers in restaurant food safety techniques before they assume prep duties. This includes proper hand sanitation.
Looking to cross-train your kitchen staff? Download our Prep Cook Trainer – Trainer's Notes to aid your kitchen staff in training dishwashers and new prep cooks in restaurant kitchen safety, duties, and critical job processes. Learn more about the power of cross-training by reading Could Cross Training Be Your Secret Weapon Against Labor Shortages?
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Download
Prep Cook Training - Trainer's Notes
The Prep Cook Training - Trainer's Notes is a guide to cover all aspects of the training of a new hire to empower them to provide exceptional food for your guests.
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Article
How To Select a Prep Cook
A prep cook should have a solid set of culinary skills. But hiring a prep cook on these skills alone is not enough. This article explores hands on interview techniques to help in the hiring of your next prep cook
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Article
Could Cross-Training Be Your Secret Weapon Against Labor Shortages?
Employee cross-training has its benefits, but not every employee is a good candidate for training for a new role.
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Training Video
Daily Prep Sheets: Prep the RIGHT Amount and Control Costs
A daily prep sheet is a fundamental tool in controlling food cost and ensuring that there's always enough fresh food for the day's service. When kitchen managers have the prep sheet filled out and ready to go, the back-of-house is already on a path for success. It is the responsibility of everyone working ...
