Start with one service, not the whole menu
Choose a meal your team prepares regularly. Record the typical number of diners, the busiest day, serving times and the people involved. Keep separate counts for different menu requirements. Use totals rather than residents’ personal information.
- Who confirms the meal count, and when does it stop changing?
- Which jobs overlap just before service?
- Who checks that the correct meal reaches each diner?
Find the task that holds up the kitchen
Write down the steps for one dish: preparing ingredients, cooking, making sauce, portioning and cleaning. Mark the steps that need someone’s attention throughout. A prepared main or staple may change some of this work, but receiving, checking, heating and serving still need a plan.
- Record hands-on preparation time for the current dish.
- Check equipment and staff availability at the busiest time.
- Compare the complete workflow, including cleanup, before judging a proposed change.
Make a future supplier review easier
Bring a short brief: setting, meal counts, one preparation problem, required specifications and the month you expect to review suppliers. If details are still uncertain, record the questions rather than filling the gaps with assumptions.
- Who needs to approve a product or trial?
- What information is needed before a decision?
- What would make a trial useful: preparation time, portions served, staff feedback or leftovers?
Further reading: AIC: an example of reviewing the meal-service process ↗
