Question:
Any advice on how to prevent/minimize the chef and the kitchen from eating portions intended for guests? I understand they have to taste the food for quality control, but sometimes they go overboard resulting in obviously small portions, and sometimes result in guest complaints.
– Steven Vea, Owner-Manager, Titos Resto and Grill, Malay, Philippines
Answer:
This is a problem with a simple solution: implement a staff meal. If staff are hungry, they will eat anything and especially delicious high-cost food. I’ve even seen hungry staff eat off half-eaten plates at the dish station or sneak handfuls of food from the walk-in.
Eating—rather than tasting—on the line is expensive, unprofessional and unsanitary. Single-use tasting spoons are more than adequate to give a sense of seasoning and flavor—anything beyond that is unnecessary in production.
It sounds like you have a chef who is not taking food cost seriously and not providing a cost-effective and filling staff meal before service. It should be an easy fix.
More on staff meals here.