When you sit down for a good meal at a great restaurant, you’re probably mostly paying attention to the food. That’s the goal, but there’s more going on than you think, and making a restaurant functional, popular and successful takes a lot of hidden skills and talents. You can learn for yourself in our Culinary Management program, taught in our kitchen labs and teaching restaurant at our Culinary Arts Centre, and augmented with a 14-week field placement. The program teaches you both how to cook, and gives you the leadership skills to manage others who cook, and business skills to let you dig into the numbers of the restaurant business. There’s been a lot written about what a restaurant needs to truly be successful. Here’s what sources like Entrepreneur, Grubhub and Laurel K have to say, and what this program will teach you about:
The food has to be good
That’s why the program still teaches you cooking skills, after all. You can have the most effectively run, beautifully presented restaurant in the world, but if the product you’re giving your customers isn’t up to par, this is all going to be pointless. A customer that loves your food is a customer that’s going to come back, full stop. That food also needs to be consistent, so that customers will know they can expect the same quality at every visit.
The service has to be attentive and pleasant
The simplest way of putting it is that you shouldn’t have to ask for something that’s supposed to be taken care of, including being seated, having drinks refilled, not having the full set of utensils, and other issues. As a manager, it falls on you to make sure these needs are fulfilled. At the same time, it has to be pleasant service, or the mood will spoil the whole meal.
Modelling behaviour starts with you
As a manager, this is a mood and behaviour you’ll need to model. Displaying a positive attitude will set the tone for the people working with you, and will filter down to the customers. You’ll also need to be a model of stability and consistency, especially when things inevitably go wrong, which you’ll need to be able to roll with.
The business has to be focused on the customer
No matter how much effort you put into the concept of your restaurant, you need to check your ego at the door, because it’s all about putting the people that come through it first. While every restaurant will occasionally have customers that have a bad time, your real job is to keep that number at a bare minimum and make sure as few people leave hungry or unhappy as possible.
The whole operation has to be streamlined
Zagat describes a restaurant as a combination of a factory and a retail store, so you need to make sure that you’re managing two components: Cranking out that delicious food, and keeping the experience efficient and pleasant for the people buying it. Never get distracted from these two facts, no matter what happens!
You need to be physically fit
Staying in a restaurant from opening to closing can be physically taxing, so you need to be able to stay on your feet all day, and help out wherever there’s a gap in the service, as needed.
Attention to the details is a must
Details are what will make you stand out. They could be candles, or a cookie at the end, or a simple, quirky gimmick. Paying attention and being detail-oriented could be the key to success even if they take place behind the scenes, invisible to the customers. We all want to be doing the creative work, like creating the menu, wine list, and design, but those other, quiet details are equally important. On top of that, there’s the business angle, too, which includes finances, insurance, payroll, and human resources. You also need to make sure you’re aware and in compliance with the rules and regulations for food, safety, and licensing.
Be a planner
Problems are going to happen, and customers are going to have special needs. Assuming things are going to go wrong, and planning accordingly, is an important element of success.
By Anthony Geremia