8 Tips to Prepare Your Restaurant or Kitchen for the Holidays

The holidays can be a hectic time for the food industry. Unpredictable weather, employee time off, menu changes, and heightened customer expectations may lead to a stressful time for your restaurant and kitchen staff. The good news is that a bit of planning can prepare your restaurant for the holidays and reap the benefits of customer holiday spending. We’ve compiled a checklist of things you can address before the stress of the festive season is in full swing.

1. Start with the Basics: Inventory Dishware and Cutlery

Every kitchen manager’s nightmare is running out of essential ingredients, serving pieces, or other necessary supplies during a busy time. Make sure your restaurant or kitchen is prepared for the holiday season! Stock up before it becomes an issue.

Most restaurateurs recommend having 2 or 3 times your seating capacity in silverware inventory. For example, if you have 100 seats, you’ll want to keep 300 forks, knives, and spoons on hand. A similar rule of thumb applies to dishes and glassware — 1.5 – 3 times the number of plates or glasses, depending on how specialized the dinner piece is. Now is the time to inspect all silverware, dishes, and glasses for damage and to order replacements.

Steelite and Libbey offer high-quality dishes and glassware options at any price point to help your restaurant prepare for the holidays.

2. Cocktail Creativity: Holiday Drink Specials

Plan to serve a unique holiday cocktail or mocktail specials or create a new holiday drink menu. Have all necessary supplies handy, including Sure Shot pourers and shakers. Consider unique specialty glassware to highlight your creation, and don’t forget the ice.

3. Service and Upgrade Appliances

Confirm all appliances, including ovens, hoods, coolers, walk-ins, and ice machines, are in top-notch condition by ensuring all are clean, serviced, and fully functional. While the oven may be the heart of the kitchen, don’t let dishwashing slow down your kitchen.

Consider upgrading or adding burners with induction technology from Garland. These powerhouses are three times more efficient than gas burners while reducing the heat released into the area, saving you money in air conditioning costs.

INSTINCTTM Induction Griddles	Champion Moyer Diebel Nexus Undercounter Dishwashers

4. Everyday Essentials

Stock up on essential cleaning supplies, including mops, cleaners, and hand sanitizers. Keep everything organized and easily accessible with Rubbermaid cleaning carts. Christmas Eve is the wrong time to run out of toilet paper!

5. Keep Caffeinated

Take a moment to review the quantity and quality of your coffee and water stations. Deep clean and take stock of carafes, cups, and sugar servers. Don’t forget to check mugs, saucers, stirrers, and sugar spoons for damage.

6. Plan for Volume

Buffets require specialized equipment like food warmers and rethermalizers. A drop-in food warmer seamlessly aligns with your countertops, letting the visual appeal of your dishes shine through. Rethermalizers are another excellent option for soups and stews. From freezer to serving temperature, safely preserve the delicious flavour of your creation. The same tools that power buffets can also allow you to prep in bulk for fine dining holiday parties.

Don’t let your restaurant get caught unprepared for the holiday rush with inadequate food prep. A commercial food processor enables you to slice, dice, and prep up to 850 servings in three hours or less.

Hatco Induction Drop-in Food Warmer	Vollrath® Cayenne® Twin-Well Rethermalizer w/ Accessory Kit, 7 qt	Robot Coupe® Food Processor – R2DICE

7. Streamline Transport

Be prepared for potential staffing shortages in your restaurant during the holiday season. Look at scheduling well in advance of upcoming holiday shifts. Ensure smooth and efficient transport of prepared meals across your facility. Equipment like the Cambro Pro Cart Ultra and the Rubbermaid Motorized Cart can help reduce labour by allowing one person to do the job of two or more. Consider using the Cambro Pro Cart Ultra Advanced Food Transport to minimize effort and maintain hot and cold temperatures.

8. Start Holiday Preparations Early

It’s never too early to start planning your holiday menus and events. Make the most of in-stock inventory and feature sales. Take advantage of deals and get a head-start on holiday preparations.

Prepare Your Restaurant to Stay Ahead of Holiday Madness

It’s easy in busy restaurants to let holiday preparations fall by the wayside. Contact your local RH rep to discuss these preparation points and address any other concerns about getting ready for the holiday rush.

Thinking through inventory, appliance service and upgrades, everyday essentials, coffee service, buffet planning, and other holiday considerations will help you and your team have a low-stress (and profitable) season. Russell Hendrix is here for you every step of the way.