In the restaurant industry, it doesn't get much better than a busy kitchen during a rush, humming along like a well-oiled machine, sending out dish after dish to excited guests.

Every single job in a restaurant kitchen is vital in maintaining standards of quality and ticket times. If any position falls behind, runs out of prepped items, or just gets slammed, even a normally well-oiled kitchen machine can quickly turn into a train wreck.

Here's a way to promote teamwork and a culture of efficiency, quality, and cooperation in your kitchen.

It's called "take five" and it was brought to our attention by a long-time RestaurantOwner.com member. In their restaurant, every team member in the kitchen is encouraged to help another team member with their work at least once during every shift.

Say someone finishes their station set up a little early. That team member can then take five- and help someone who is running behind. This is a great way for everyone to do some cross-training on the fly and learn more about the other workstations.

Another situation could be during the rush when one station gets disproportionately slammed with orders. Someone at a slower station notices and "takes five" to restock their teammate's cold well, whips up their area and/or refills sauces or products running low.

Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
— Vince Lombardi

That little bit of help at critical times can help someone stay out of the weeds, keep ticket times on track and promote a productive, supportive and positive working climate in the kitchen.

Promoting teamwork through the practice of "Take Five" will increase the efficiency of your kitchen, improve the quality of the product that reaches your guests, and promote cross-training in the back-of-house. You'll very likely see improvements in your kitchen immediately.

Source: RestaurantOwner.com