How To Stock Your Kitchen Before Thanksgiving

Ordering food for your restaurant is always of vital importance. However, when it comes to Thanksgiving Dinner, it is essential that it is done correctly. If you are open on Thanksgiving Day and you run out of food then you will have a group of disgruntled customers. How do you ensure that this does not happen? You have to make sure that you are fully stocked well in advance for all the menu items you plan on serving. Here are a few key steps to stocking up so that there is no chance of running out of food for Thanksgiving dinner. Follow them and you will have a successful day.

Estimate Guests

Obviously before you purchase any food you will need to know how much to buy. The first step is to estimate how many people you expect to come to your restaurant. Unlike a regular day, your Thanksgiving guests are likely to linger at the table for longer. While this can lead to less turnover, these diners are likely to order more food and drinks than guests would order on a regular weeknight. Therefore, you will need to make some type of estimation of guests you will be expecting.

Buffet or Full-Service?

How much food you will need to order will vary depending on what you are serving. Is there a limited menu or a self-serve buffet? The latter will cost you more as you will need to provide more food to keep the buffet well stocked. But it will also bring a larger turnover of guests, leading to more business and to more people eating in your restaurant. However, that does not mean that you won't need to stock up with lots of food if you offer full-service. Deciding which style you plan on using to serve and exactly what foods you will offer will help you determine what your needs will be. This can make it much easier to order your food and supplies in advance.

Ordering in Advance

You will get better deals and be better prepared for your Thanksgiving dinner if you order well in advance. You have to keep in mind that many restaurants are serving Thanksgiving dinner and they will also be ordering their food and supplies. If you wait then it may be harder to get the items you want in the quantities you need. Instead, order your items well in advance to ensure that you are well prepared. Another benefit in ordering early and being prepared is that you will have plenty of time to find out if you have forgotten anything. When you order what you need well in advance, and it arrives in plenty of time for Thanksgiving, you will be faced with less surprises.

Err on the Side of Too Much

You can always cook and serve excess food but you are helpless if you run out of food. In other words, it is far better to over order than it is to skimp and not have enough. When you are placing your order always round up when looking at what you need. This will ensure that you have plenty of food in stock to take care of your meal requirements. A fully stocked kitchen is the best way to start off any Thanksgiving Day.