How To Prepare Your Kitchen For Thanksgiving Day

Getting your restaurant ready for Thanksgiving Day takes a lot of preparation. The more time and effort you put into the planning before hand, the smoother the day will go. While many restauranteurs may want to focus on the front of the house because it is the area that the customers will see, the functioning that occurs in the back of the house is even more important. If the kitchen is not set up efficiently then service could be slow and customers will be left unhappy. So you want to spend some time working on the kitchen to ensure that it is ready for the big day long before it arrives.

Stock Up on Supplies

The first goal is to ensure that your food inventory is stocked for the demands that Thanksgiving Dinner will bring. There are a lot of things that you find will go very fast. To avoid a situation where you run out of any item you can stock up early and make sure to have plenty. It is much better to buy too much than to have too little. You can always create new dishes from your Thanksgiving surplus and sell them on the days following Thanksgiving, than it is to run out on Thanksgiving day. But it is also important to remember that stocking up goes far beyond simply having enough food.

Kitchen Utensils

Kitchen staff members will need utensils for their specific Thanksgiving food prep tasks. Because you will have extra staff working in the kitchen, you may need several sets of utensils. Unlike normal days where each staff member may do a different job, on Thanksgiving you may have several people working on one task. Go through the utensils that you have in stock and make sure that you have enough for each staff member to use, for any task that could arise. Knowing which utensils you will need will come from studying the menu and determining what you will need to make each item. Then anticipate the amount of staff you will have and make sure that you will have enough utensils for each of them to work with.

Staff Requirements

Having adequate staff is another way to prepare your kitchen for the Thanksgiving rush. You will most likely need more staff than you typically employ and understandably this will increase your budget and decrease available kitchen work space. Analyze the business you expect to draw; the hours you plan to be open; and how much staff you will need to keep everyone that comes to dine in your restaurant satisfied. Then work out a schedule that ensures that whenever possible, no one has to work all day. This will keep your employees happy which will lead to a more satisfied clientele.

Kitchen Set Up

Once you have the above details sorted out it is time to set up the kitchen. Organize the work stations that you will need for the many tasks that come with Thanksgiving Dinner. Place needed tools and utensils near each work area and organize your food inventory to ensure easy access. Prepare anything in advance that you can in order to save time on the big day. Make sure to clean up early so that you do not have to worry about it during the big rush. Assign each of your staff members a work area and a task and have them prepared to handle anything that comes their way. You will find that things go much more smoothly when your kitchen has been properly prepared om advance.