Operating procedures help keep a restaurant running smoothly in a hectic environment. The operating procedures for each function of your restaurant can be found in the restaurant's operations manual. It gives all employees of the restaurant consistent instructions so that your guests can enjoy a professional and tasteful dining experience.
Alcohol and the Menu
Serving alcohol may play a factor in the location of your restaurant because some areas may not permit the sale of alcohol. Once you have established a location, it should be included in the operational plan with procedures on obtaining permits and serving alcohol. Depending on whether you are serving breakfast, lunch or dinner, the process of menu changes should also be included in the operational procedures of the business plan.
If food is prepared on the premises, procedures for food safety and sanitation, and kitchen management should be detailed in the operating procedures. For safe food, procedures must state that food is purchased from approved suppliers with safe drinking water used for cooking; the kitchen is sanitized with no contamination from raw animal foods; and hand washing sinks are accessible and equipped with soap and paper towels.
Operating procedures for serving food or drinks is important in the training of servers for quality control. The procedures instruct servers to serve food hot, in the right portions and with appropriate condiments; drinks are served with attractive garnishes where required; and dishes, glasses, cutlery and napkins must be clean. As part of your operating procedures, you may want to encourage employees to "eat with their eyes" before serving the dish. If it does not look right, it should not be served.
Putting together the operating procedures for your restaurant enables the restaurant to function without you. To help you with the process, employees can assist by preparing a detailed description of their jobs, listing everything they do. Add to the role any forms and checklists with instructions on how each task of the role should be performed. Breaking the tasks down can help to make the process more manageable.