What Goes on Behind the Scenes in a Popular Restaurant

When you step foot into a restaurant, you're looking for a relaxing night out with food that impresses and delights. You want good service and zero complications. Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes that helps give you that experience? What goes wrong when your meal doesn't come out right, or on time?

In this article, we'll show you what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite restaurant before your (hopefully) perfectly cooked steak shows up at the table. It's not as easy as you might think. Let's take a look.

Chaos in the Kitchen

The kitchen is where most of the action is. It's an area that's mostly out of sight of customers, and with good reason. A lot is going on in there. Imagine it's a Friday night and 15 orders from the menu come flooding into the kitchen within ten minutes. How would you even begin to handle that volume? Let alone in a way that'll make every customer happy? There's a lot of controlled chaos that goes on inside the kitchen. From lead chefs to sous chefs to dishwashers. There are a lot of moving parts involved with your meal. Don't take it for granted.

Demanding Waitresses

Waitresses get paid mostly on the tips you give them. They don't control the quality that comes out of the kitchen, but often they are judged by it... and tipped less if it's poor. Waitresses put on the best face for their customers, but are much more demanding when it comes to kitchen personnel. Their livelihoods depend on fast and accurate delivery of the orders they bring into the kitchen.

Potential Rodents (Yikes!)

In restaurants, rodents can be hard to fend off. Rats are everywhere that a free food source exists. Rats can enter from anywhere in the kitchen because they are looking for a free food source. Restaurant owners might even find a roof rat trying to enter from above. If you see any sign of rodent infestation in a restaurant you report it immediately. It may not be the owner's fault, but it needs to get taken care of before more customers are served.

Demanding Managers

Restaurant managers are judged by their bosses by how many tables get served in a night, and what the profit was from each. Slow or inaccurate service will drive a restaurant manager out of a job before you can say, "check, please." Because of this, a lot of restaurant managers might come across as rude or abrasive to other personnel. But it takes a lot to keep a staff of dozens motivated and all on the same page.

New Cooks Looking For Experience

Working as a professional chef won't make a person rich. But the dream of being a chef is still a very high priority to many people who love to cook. You might walk into your favorite restaurant on a Tuesday night, not knowing that there are several new cooks working in the kitchen. Your meal might not be quite what you expected or are accustomed to. There's a good chance that a new cook prepared it. Just remember that they are trying to make a living pursuing their dream. They will get better.

Mistakes

Mistakes are bound to happen in the restaurant business—just like any other business. Remember to try not to punish your wait staff for these mistakes. They are more than likely doing the best they can for you.

Try not to take for granted what goes on behind the scenes at your favorite restaurant. There's more going on back there than you know. Now that you've gotten an insider's look, it should help you put past experiences into perspective. Happy dining!