The foodservice industry is steadily regaining labor – according to Statista, the number of employees in the restaurant industry in 2022 was up to 12.5 million, close to pre-pandemic levels of 13.49 million in 2019¹. 

Although there is progress, the path to recovery is still in process, and simplifying back-of-house products and labor is a continued effort. 

So, what do we do in the meantime? Here are a few tips to help ease prep and improve efficiencies across the board. 

1. Consider using speed scratch ingredients on your menu to help reduce prep time BOH and increase prep consistency for your staff. Examples include pre-chopped vegetables and pre-marinated and pre-seasoned proteins. 

2. Try fully cooked proteins on your menu to reduce cook and prep time in the kitchen and help all workers — regardless of skill — create entrees quicker and more efficiently. 

3. Consider investing in new technologies, equipment, or innovations to implement back-of-house that will save time in the long run. 

4. Make sure you have standard operating procedures in place to help new workers feel confident in the BOH routine and processes. 

5. Layout your kitchen efficiently. For instance, if you’re fast-casual, make sure workers can crank out orders at high volume. If you’re fine dining, you may want an open kitchen to show off as many plates as possible. Either way, you want to set up your staff to move swiftly and effectively. 

As consumers are dining out more frequently again, we hope these tips help and create more efficiencies for your kitchen. 

Content courtesy of Burke Corporation

 

¹ Statista 2023 (here for reference: https://www.statista.com/statistics/203365/projected-restaurant-industry-employment-in-the-us/)