Boosting Restaurant Efficiency: Effective Training for Kitchen Staff

1. A Historical Tour of Kitchen Staff Training

2. Introduction spoon.tech is an AI-powered restaurant SaaS for process simplification and employee growth. spoon.tech provides restaurant operators with AI-powered intuitive tools to (finally) systemize processes in their restaurants and enable employee learning.

3. Taverns and inns served as common locations for tourists and regulars to come in ancient Greek and Roman eras, when hospitality was seen as a religious obligation. With a focus on providing excellent customer service and food, hospitality skills were frequently taught through practise and apprenticeship. These evolved into the tenets of restaurant customer service training that we are familiar with today. Join us as we travel back in time to examine how training for kitchen employees has changed through time, from traditional apprenticeships to contemporary culinary schools.

4. Early Traditions • Early traditions in the restaurant industry focused on the passing down of culinary skills through generations of family businesses. Apprenticeships and mentorship programs were also common, with experienced chefs taking on young apprentices and teaching them the ins and outs of the kitchen. While these methods did not involve formalized training, they emphasized the importance of hands-on experience and the development of close relationships within the industry. Despite the shift towards more formalized training in modern times, these early traditions continue to shape the way that many chefs and kitchen staff approach their work today.

5. Apprenticeships • Apprenticeships have been a traditional form of training for kitchen staff for centuries. In this traditional method, young aspiring chefs were taken under the wing of experienced culinary professionals and taught the skills necessary to succeed in the kitchen. Apprenticeships were often lengthy, with some lasting several years, and required a great deal of hard work and dedication from the apprentices.

6. Mentorships • Mentorship programs were also a common method of training for kitchen staff throughout history. In this approach, experienced chefs took on younger or less experienced cooks and provided them with guidance and support. Unlike apprenticeships, which had a structured curriculum and required a long-term commitment, mentorships were often more informal and flexible.

7. Modern Traditions Apprenticeship and mentorships were great because the learning was hands-on, people could apply it easily in real scenarios, so it was highly effective. However, during the 20th century, things were becoming more advanced and commercialized, introducing specialized equipment, such as ovens and electric mixers, as well as demonstration kitchens. As a result, restaurants were coming up with new ways to train staff, such as training manuals, equipment teaching, and demonstration kitchens. While these methods were more efficient in training many people quickly, they lacked the personalized touch that apprenticeships and mentorships provided. However, these new training methods paved the way for the development of modern-day training programs that combine the best of both worlds - the efficiency of standardized processes and the effectiveness of hands-on learning and feedback.

8. What can be done about these issues? Moving forward, the restaurant staff training must combine the best of both worlds. It should be effective and practical, and provide their employees with consistent growth and learning, while also being scalable for multiple locations and large workforces.

9. Contact Us: • www.spoon.tech • For Web • Drop us an email • hello@spoon.tech • Give us a call • +43 670 655 56 82 • Mattiellistrasse 3/28, 1040 Vienna, Austria • Come by