In my spare time, I watch a lot of television. I love to watch cooking shows and make no bones about the fact that I enjoy watching Gordon Ramsay on Kitchen Nightmares. I’ve learned quite a number of things on my own, but Ramsay has a dramatic flair for drilling the important points of hotel and restaurant management home.
Fresh Wins Every Single Time.
Every time that Ramsay gets the answer ‘frozen’ from a server in Kitchen Nightmares, you can almost hear The Price is Right ‘you lost’ sound. The next thing you see is him taking a polite bite, putting down the fork, and sending the whole thing back to the kitchen. Freshly prepared food wins every single time. Whether you are grinding your own spices, cutting your own fries, or mixing your own concoctions, the more fresh things that you have in the kitchen, the better. There are some kitchens out there that don’t make ANYTHING in house! Fresh is always best.
Cleanliness Means Higher Revenues
In the middle of nearly any episode of Kitchen Nightmares,you will see Ramsay go through the kitchens and walk-in freezer of that night’s restaurant. He will rifle through the food storage containers, pick out the most dubious thing, and ask the owner or chef what is in the container and/or how old it is. If each of the containers is clean and clearly labeled, the chef has a much better idea about what can and cannot be used. He or she is also able to make food orders with more accuracy and efficiency. More efficiency means a lot more revenue.
Simple Menus are Better Menus
In Kitchen Nightmares, you will sometimes see Ramsay come into a restaurant that has a bazillion things on the menu. These things don’t make sense with one another, like having pizza right next to the Mexican, which is right next to the meatballs. When he does the ‘miraculous’ changes, he usually eviscerates the menu and picks seven themed things for the kitchen to prepare. Reducing the number of necessary ingredients lowers the costs of running the restaurant, in turn putting money into the owner’s pockets. So, if you’re going to run a bakery, by all means run a bakery (we’ve got all the bakery supplies you need). Just try to avoid running a bakery, a Greek restaurant, a hamburger joint and an upscale American place at the same time. The juggling act that restaurant managers perform every day is nothing short of amazing. Kitchen Nightmares is a chance to learn more about the business from someone who has mastered the art of running a restaurant. It’s also a great way to see the basic mistakes that other restaurants make. Not only that, but some of the turnarounds are absolutely amazing.
