The Kitchen Think

Food Business Coach

starting out

8 Timeless tips for buying plates!

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I know a lot about buying plates. It all started when my clients started asking me for input and advice while they were shopping around and I had some opinions. Fortunately for you, I’ve made the mistakes so that you don’t have to.

The following points are the most important things to keep in mind when you buy plates for your restaurant or lodge. Remember – commercial kitchens are completely different from home kitchens. Glassware and crockery are going to get broken and chipped, and cutlery will get lost.

Avoid buying from retail stores. 

These plates look fantastic but are usually available for a season or two and aren’t as durable as commercial grade. When these break you can’t replace them, and you end up with a mish-mash of styles or having to replace everything. 

Always try to buy from catering and restaurant commercial producers 

Restaurant kitchens and dish pits are fast-moving, sometimes frenzied places. You want a plate that can handle a bit of bashing and isn’t going to chip when it gets knocked against a table. You want commercial grade, made for the restaurant industry crockery. There are many companies that specialize in this range of cutlery and crockery. Most restaurant and catering supply stores will order plates for you. They’ll either have an in-store showroom where you can browse or a selection of catalogues to look through. 

Get samples

Once you’ve made your selection ask for samples. Colours and textures show up differently in print than in reality, so what you think you’ve ordered can be quite different from what is delivered. Sizes also differ due to depth and rims and are definitely worth seeing in person before you’ve dropped some money. Most restaurant and catering supply stores will be happy to arrange samples for you or to have you drop past their showroom to make a selection. 

Have a standard, simple plate as your base and supplement with accent plates

If everything on the table attracts the guest’s attention, then nothing does. Unique plates need something uncomplicated to stand out against. I start with a classic white coupe plate and build from there. Rims and ridges can also act as an accent, even when white. You want a good surface area to showcase the food.

Be honest and specific about what you intend to use the plate for when explaining it to your supplier

I once had a supplier tell me I couldn’t buy a plate! I’d chosen a metallic glaze and she correctly said, “Not for food.” 

My crockery suppliers can tell me if what I’ve chosen is suitable or not. Certain glazes will scratch over time, which isn’t ideal when you have lots of people using knives on the plates. Porous materials can stain and absorb oil, so shouldn’t be used for fries, dressings, or beetroot. Beware of metal trim paints and glazes. Anything acidic, and citrus (even a lemon dish wash) can tarnish this. 

Expect plates to break and keep extras on hand

You know how I told you kitchens are busy? Plates are going to break. Restaurants need stable cash flow to survive and the first few months will be a drain on that. Rather invest in more plates than 1 per setting at the start, than having to dash out during a busy service because you have nothing to serve off. Having backup stock in a storeroom is a huge relief when you pull 4 plates off the pass because they’re all chipped. 

Know your materials

Porcelain is usually the most durable, having been fired at the highest temperature. Ceramic and stoneware are usually only fired once and are more fragile because of that. Use a porcelain plate as your simple base plate and supplement with smaller (and less expensive) dip bowls, side plates, and dishes. 

Be careful of how you wash and dry porous items like terracotta, earthenware, and wood. Because these are porous, they hold moisture and when they are stacked on top of each other mould can grow. Make sure you have a training procedure in place for new staff on this so it always gets practiced. 

Check that it can hold up to extreme washing and heating

If after this you do choose to buy from retail stores, then dishwasher and microwave friendly are non-negotiable. Sure, you might not have a microwave, but the plates are going to be exposed to big heat differences. I’ve had plates crack as I was plating food. It’s annoying and wasteful – and avoidable. 

While it’s important to pay attention to look and feel, you don’t want to make mistakes that will cost you in the future. Plates might seem a huge part of what you’re offering but simple changes here and there will save you worry. Set yourself up properly from the beginning and focus on the longer impact of how you spend your budget.

How to make checklists that your team will actually use

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What do you actually have to do to get people to use checklists? It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You put all that work in, nobody follows them, and things still get forgotten and not done.

It’s no secret that I love checklists. So much so, that they make my top tools for kitchens – twice. They’re great because when you use them you don’t have to rely on memory. If you’re like me, distraction is a real problem. Even the best knowledge needs a backup. 

But when I suggest checklists, most of my clients say “We tried them. They didn’t work.” Well, they’re right. Some checklists don’t work. Those are what I call bad checklists. (Sorry.)

Bad checklists have 3 things in common

  • They’re all over the place
  • They’re vague
  • There is no reason to follow them

These 3 reasons are why your team isn’t using your checklists and why you’re frustrated every day. 

If you really want people to actually use your checklists, here’s how.

1. Make them simple

As I’ve mentioned, brains are terrible for remembering things. Brains look for patterns, and when there aren’t any, or they aren’t intuitive, we discard the information.

If checklists don’t have a sequence, tasks seem randomly scattered, and difficult to follow. You need to follow the order tasks will be done in. 

A checklist laid out like this:

won’t be followed. Do you see how the tasks are scattered? You’re expecting someone to go from wrapping food, to the windows, then to the back of the kitchen, and finally to the fridge. This means that either they’ll have to remember where they were, and what they did or they have to search through the checklist to check off what they just did. That leads to tasks being checked off without actually having been completed. It’s confusing and muddled.

Avoid this chaos by batching areas and tasks together. The idea is to separate sections so that one task flows on to the next.  For example

This way, it’s a helpful list. The person using it doesn’t have to rely on their brain to remember the flow. Instead, it’s a walk through a series of tasks, building muscle memory.

2. Get very specific

A good checklist never leaves much up to interpretation. Rather than vague, ambiguous tasks

good checklists have clear, direct instructions.

Vagueness is the enemy of direction. If you suspect this is the reason your checklists aren’t followed, ask

  • Is it clear what done looks like?
  • Will the tasks be completed to the same quality if I am not around?
  • Does this need any further explanation?

If you answer No to any of these, reword the direction.

3. Give a reason to use them

What is your plan if checklists aren’t followed? If there is no follow-up and action from management, then the kitchen team has no cause to use them. All people eliminate tasks to make things easier. Your kitchen team is no different. Provide a reason for checklists to be used.

For this reason, checklists should always have a double-checking feature, most likely a space for a manager or team lead to sign off.

You’ll have to get comfortable with following up when they aren’t applied. If a task is marked as completed but is incorrect, schedule extra training on that task. 

Training is teaching systems. If things aren’t done to your standards, don’t let it slide. Show what to do, have your staff do it, and coach and correct while watching them. It might be frustrating, and you’ll wonder why you have to keep doing it, but eventually, it will become natural to your team and you’ll be grateful that you put in the effort.

If you need kitchen checklists, have a look here. I’ve put together a bunch that you can print and use immediately in your business.