Front- and Back-of-the-House

6 Front- and Back-of-the-House

Objectives • Describe the responsibilities of the general manager. • List the six functions of the front-of-the-house. • Contrast the members of the front-of-the-house staff and the back-of-the-house staff. • Describe the responsibilities of the restaurant manager. continued

Objectives • List the seven functions of the back-of-the-house. • Describe the responsibilities of the executive chef. • Assess the importance of the work of the steward and dishwashing crew.

Restaurant Areas • Front-of-the-house: areas guests usually see • entrance • host/hostess stand • dining room • Back-of-the-house: areas guests usually do not see • kitchen • receiving and storage areas • business offices

The General Manager • Has overall responsibility for front-of-the-house and back-of-the house operations • Hires and supervises managers • May also be the restaurant owner • In a chain restaurant, is responsible for communications with corporate headquarters

Front-of-the-House Functions • Seating guests • Selling food • Transmitting orders to the kitchen • Serving customers • Bussing tables • Obtaining payment from customers

Seating • Reservations are the promise of a table in a restaurant • Customers book a reservation when they call ahead to reserve a table for a specific number of people at a particular date and time • Walk-ins arecustomers who do not have a reservation • To make up for guests who make reservations but don’t show up, many restaurants overbook continued

Seating • Open seating is used when restaurants seat customers on a first come, first served basis • Residence time is the time it takes to eat a meal, pay the bill, and leave the restaurant • Call-ahead seating is used when customers call ahead to have their names placed on a waiting list

Sales • Selling occurs when the server takes the customer’s food order • Sales may be increased by suggestive selling such as • server’s recommendations • unopened bottle of wine left at the table • samples for sale • displays of desserts

Transmitting Orders • The server takes the order from the customer • The server transmits the order to the kitchen, sometimes using a point-of-sales system • The culinary staff prepares the food • The completed food order is checked for accuracy and appearance • The server picks up the order from the pass-through and brings it to the customer

Serving • The prime responsibility of the front-of-the-house staff is quality service • Quality service means anticipating and fulfilling guests’ needs

Bussing • Tasks include • setting place settings on the table • clearing dirty dishes from the table • sweeping under and around the table • assisting the servers as needed

Payment • The check should be presented after dessert and additional beverages have been served • The payment may be handled by the server or by a cashier • Some restaurants accept only cash; others accept credit and debit cards

Front-of-the-House Staff • Managers • Host or hostess • Servers • Bussers • Cashiers • Trainers (in large restaurants)

Managers • The restaurant manager • is responsible for hiring, training, and supervising front-of-the-house staff • schedules staff • handles guest relations • oversees quality of service • is responsible for front-of-the-house cleanliness, cash management, and coordination with the back-of-the-house

Host or Hostess • Most tasks involve managing the flow of customers in the dining room, such as • welcoming and seating customers • keeping track of which tables are occupied, ready, or almost ready • making sure customers are distributed so no one server is overloaded • Additional duties may include serving beverages and bread

Servers • Servers • are representatives of the restaurant to the customer • sell the dining experience to the customer • deliver the dining experience to the customer • may be responsible for collecting payment from the customer

Bussers • Bussers • assist the servers • are responsible for setup, clearing, and resetting of tables • keep the area under and around the table clean

Cashiers • Cashiers • handle the payments for the meals • prepare the change fund • report the receipts • may prepare the bank deposit

Back-of-the-House Functions • Food production • Purchasing and receiving • Marketing and sales • Human resources • Accounting • Security • Engineering and maintenance

Back-of-the-House Staff • Back-of-the-house functions related to the kitchen and food production require • one or more managers • staff responsible for cleaning and maintaining plateware, flatware, glassware, and utensils • food production staff

Managers • In independent restaurants, an executive chef manages menus and operations • The executive chef may have an assistant, called a sous-chef • Chain restaurants have a corporate executive chef to manage menus • Each unit of a chain restaurant has a kitchen manager to oversee operations

Steward • The steward • supervises dishwashing, pot washing, and cleanup • purchases and keeps track of glassware, flatware, and plateware • is responsible for the general cleanliness of the kitchen • The dishwasher operates the dishwashing machine and washes large items

Food Preparers • A chef is a professional cook • A cook is someone who prepares food for eating • An expediter transmits the orders from the servers to the chefs or cooks, organizes and monitors timing of the orders, and checks the orders before they are picked up

Chapter 6 Review • What is the distinction between front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house? • Front-of-the-house includes areas guests usually see. Back-of-the-house includes areas guests usually do not see. • Who has overall responsibility for front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house operations? • the general manager continued

Chapter 6 Review • Front-of-the-house functions include seating guests, selling food, transmitting orders, serving customers, bussing tables, and _____. • obtaining payment from customers • Who has responsibility for managing the flow of customers in the dining room? • the host or hostess continued

Chapter 6 Review • Food production is a _____ function. • back-of-the-house • Who supervises kitchen cleanup? • the steward

Front- and Back-of-the-House