Supplement 4: Production and Service
Pauline Milwood
Showtime!
– Pauline Milwood
Learning Objective
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to do the following:
- Reflect on key principles driving your restaurant team decision-making during research and development, and relate these to successful execution of the pop-up restaurant
- Reflect on tangible and intangible aspects of desired restaurant outcomes, and relate these to successful execution of the pop-up restaurant.
- Successfully produce a high-quality dining pop-up experience as a hospitality management team
As a team, watch the following video entitled, “Gordon Ramsay: This is My Philosophy on Restaurants”.
After watching the video, engage in a short (5- to 10-minute) discussion on which elements of the video you found most interesting as you prepare to stage your own pop-up restaurant. The following guiding questions may help as you watch the video:
- What is the “philosophy” behind Restaurant Gordon Ramsay?
- How does the narrator describe his team members?
- Who are some of the key “touch-point” restaurant personnel mentioned?
- Which elements of the menu depict British culture?
- What are the pros and cons of eponymous restaurant naming?
- What are your views on the statement, “You’re only as good as your last plate”? How does this relate / not relate to your upcoming pop-up restaurant?
It’s finally here—the day of the pop-up restaurant has arrived! Congratulations!
In the production and service implementation phase, there will be a “coming together” of the various project items, plans, and tasks featured in the conceptualization and development phases. Production schedules for food and beverage and labor should be posted and distributed among kitchen-production team members. Service schedules for reservations, seat turnover, and special requests should be posted and distributed among dining-area team members.
It is during implementation that the role of the hospitality manager or popupreneur becomes similar to that of an orchestrator of a symphonic performance. For the successful implementation of the pop-up restaurant, the hospitality manager will rely on the following skills, abilities, and mind-set:
- Leadership and motivation of the production and service teams
- Decision-making “in the moment” and with short lead times
- High-quality, interpersonal skills to engage guests and employees
- Adaptability to sudden and unanticipated changes in production and service schedules
- Problem-solution mind-set in identifying, anticipating, and responding to emergencies
- Confidence in the ability of production and service teams to work together
Pop-up Project Task
- By this point, you have conceptualized and developed a winning pop-up restaurant business plan. It is now time to successfully implement a high-quality, four- to five-course, haute cuisine dining experience. Showtime!
Resources
Chapter Reference
Ramsay, Gordon. 2018. “Gordon Ramsay: This Is My Philosophy on Restaurants.” Last modified May 17, 2018. YouTube video, 3:26. https://youtu.be/fT9ueBsGDkU.
