Menutainment Chef: Sneak Peek

  

   Working in a college cafeteria comes with its challenges and rewards. The work life becomes more of a social life as the day progresses! From Chef to server, from cleaner to driver everyone has a role to play in this ever-growing consumer market. One may find it tricky to follow all the standards and rules especially for a clean workplace but they may soon find out it that it directly impacts food safety and cafeteria standards. Multitasking, being organised, and Vision are key skills one may learn at work. These key skills are important not only for employment but great for entrepreneurs who may want to start their own business!

   First of all, multitasking is an essential skill for cafeteria or even restaurant employees. One may have to switch from being a menutainment chef to serving burgers, hot dogs, and fries the next day. Even being a menutainment chef means one has to arrange for ingredients in the kitchen as they arrive from the delivery van. Whether its vegetables or sauce, pasta or eggs all have to be arranged. More importantly, food containers like those found at subway must be sorted and replenished with tomatoes, salad, carrots, red pepper, green pepper, onions, meat, ginger, grated Cheese and so on. If something is missing or low in quantity/volume, it has to be ordered a day before, not the day the item is served. Not to mention, one must be able to observe consumer traffic and guess the quantity of food product one might need the following day. Since sauce like pasta sauce must be prepared before serving, additional quantity may lead to waste. However, being short means one runs out of business very soon. Since the queue before and after the class times is relentless, one may even have to work on two to three frying pans at a time. Furthermore, there may be several types of burgers on the menu which means mixing them up for some customers who order them an hour before, usually ends up in a disaster. On the other hand, if the burgers take too long to grill, some customer in the queue might even ask for the supervisor. Not having enough potatoes, poutine or fries may lead to complaints. Those who can't wait for burgers usually settle for a pizza slice! Though, one might think customer satisfaction and ratings might be good for business, throwing extra burgers away to maintain fresh food standards is not always profitable. Not to mention, college cafeteria demand high service standards just like McDonald's & Subway for fast food and restaurants for catering and main meal. Also, dish washing with greasy cookware is also part of menutainment chef's job. Because of grease dishes usually don't come out clean from the dishwasher. Hence, they might need extra rinsing and scraping pre or post dish washing. Most importantly, speed is an essential element which either dictates extra hours on the time clock and profit or loss in business. Also, clean washrooms for both office staff and cafe employees are part of the clean workplace safety standards.  Finally, trash bags must be emptied in to dumpsters and replaced to keep up with the sanitation standards set by the food regulation industries which is often checked by food safety inspectors. 

  Another important skill is learning to be organised. Since the chef for the main dishes as well as a menutainment chef both have to share the same storage rooms and ingredients, clutter is not tolerated. First of all, pizza dough must be separated in advanced as frozen dough in cardboard boxes take considerable time and effort separating them. If you've ever worked in a pizza shop apart from the cafeteria, it would also mean making cardboard trays for the pizza a day before. Next, vegetables and fruits must be emptied from cardboard boxes to maintain freshness. Then, Milk and yogurt must be arranged as per their expiry dates. If milk crates with recent expiry dates go unnoticed, it could mean tremendous loss for the cafeteria and business as each crate carries enough milk to last couple of days depending on the food items being served that week. Since, milk and yogurt expiry dates are not always easy to find, crates with expiry tags may become an alternative solution. Not to mention, rotten food items not only lead to loss but also bring bad odor and possibly insects and rats with this odor. This could end up being a disaster for any business in a food market where food safety standards and clean workplace are thoroughly inspected to prevent disease, sickness and possible lawsuits. Even serving tables and buffet tables must be kept clean at all times. Finally, packaging items like plastic cutlery, dishes and bowls must be organised, sorted and replaced as per consumer demand and use. In fact, food packaging items are so extensively used in most college cafeteria that there might be an entire room for packaging storage. Hence, organisation plays an important role in the functionality of the cafeteria or any food business in general.

  Vision is another key skill in the food business. Being able to keep up with consumer trend that changes with the ever growing and diverse student population means coming up with new recipes and ideas. Many times, a new food dish would be experimented with to come up with a routine that suits students and customers from diverse backgrounds. Not to mention, surveys are often carried out to weigh dishes and selection in terms of their demand. Then, is the question of quantity and volume. Anything in excess results to wastage and loss while something short means the cafeteria staff may take several breaks throughout the day closing the counters as they do. Furthermore,  many international students and students who live on campus carry cafeteria lunch, breakfast and dinner cards. These cards are paid for as part of the tuition fees for the program. Hence, juggling between prearranged menus and introducing new items can be a challenging task not only for visionary staff but also for employees. Since there are nutrition, hospitality, as well as management programs in the college, the food and ingredient choices made by staff and chef, are often key as they reflect not only the quality of the food in the cafeteria but also the college programs, certifications, and courses. Overall, vision plays a key role in the food business.

    In conclusion, working at a college cafeteria comes with its challenges and rewards. A resume with college cafeteria experience could prove useful for future employment or business despite the challenges. Both challenges and rewards lead to growth not only as an employee or student but also as an entrepreneur.