Pizza Today - October 2021 - 30

OPERATIONS
Smallwares, Big Results
These often overlooked items can impact your kitchen effi ciency
By Mike Bausch / Photo Pizza Today Staff
S
mallwares are an annoying detail
to any properly functioning restaurant.
Having enough of them,
the right ones, and having them all well
maintained indicates a well-run restaurant.
A pizzeria that can't fi nd a spoodle or has
to resort to the wrong-sized plastic bin
shows ownership is checked out. Th e only
alternative is they value short-term dollars
over long-term operational functionality.
When that ownership style occurs, it
shows the owner doesn't value the dollar
at all. Let's get into all the stuff you'll need
to eff ectively manage it.
Measurement Items
Th ese small and easy-to-lose items
cost a lot over time. Th ermometers, small
scales, measurement cups and spoon
measuring tools are vital to proper recipe
building. Th ey are the fi rst to disappear
when you need them most. Some of these
items go fast, but that doesn't mean you
can't get a solid amount of wear out of
them. To keep them from getting lost
or broken, keep them in a set location,
potentially on a chain or a hook of some
sort. Th is action will ensure they're always
at the ready. When they get washed, they
should go into a separate bin. Th ese items
must return to that set location each
day consistently to minimize redundant
replacement.
Bins, Lids and Tubs
Th ink of the busiest sales day you could
ever have. Th ink of all the bins of product
that you would need to get through that
day, take that amount of containers and
double it. Th at is the number of bins you
should have on hand in your restaurant. If
you do make items in bulk, then large tubs
are great for storage. Th is assumes that you
can go through it quick enough without
product quality diminishing. Never use
bulk bins to transfer to small containers
in the middle of a rush. I hate transferring
a big tub to a one-sixth bin when
everything is crazy. What's even worse is
topping off a one-sixth bin rather than
changing it out completely. Not having
enough containers leads to a lack of FIFO
(fi rst in, fi rst out) which breeds product
loss. Lack of FIFO also shows a lack of
respect for the customer experience.
Spoons, Ladles and Spoodles
Organize smallwares in labeled containers.
Never leave a bucket of " stuff "
to be where smaller items land. Spoons
in the spoon bin. Knives in the knife bin
or rack. A little investment in effi ciency
will reap the rewards quickly in a rush to
reduce ticket times. Enough sauce spoons
available in the height of a rush seems
like pizzeria 101. Having enough tools
to spread pizza sauce seems obvious, but
I can't tell you how many pizzerias I've
been in where the staff is all sharing one
sauce spoon. All the while the only other
two spoons are at dish station and that's
all they own. A few $3.15 investments in
spoons, or lack of investment, has now
crippled a rush with staff bottlenecking
their production line. Th ey can't put sauce
on fast enough because ownership was
too cheap or unaware to spend four bucks
needed to succeed.
30 / PIZZATODAY.COM / OCTOBER 2021
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - October 2021

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