Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Work Safety

restaurant training games

30 Quick Training Games for Restaurant & Cafe Staff

July 26, 2023 No Comments

Use these enjoyable and instructive games to engage your front-of-house and kitchen staff – they’re designed to prepare and run quickly. And a reminder of the old trainer saying: what we learn with pleasure, we never forget! Make sure to take photos and share on your social media channels. Designing short training games or ‘microlearning’, involves several principles to ensure they’re effective, engaging, and suitable for the purpose: Relevant to the work environment and reinforce

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ChatGPT for training

How to Use ChatGPT to Create Training Material for Restaurant & Cafe Employees

June 6, 2023 No Comments

I love using ChatGPT to develop training activities and materials for restaurant and cafe employees. I’ve used it here to brainstorm ideas for training modules for waiters, managers, cooks, head chefs, and baristas. The prompt I used is at the beginning of each section, and notice how I’ve built on one training suggestion (for tea) in the Barista section at the end, asking for the idea to be expanded. This is using the Chat in

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Staff health and wellness

Staff Health and Wellness Means More Speed and Productivity

August 14, 2022 No Comments

At a recent management workshop, a restaurant owner asked in exasperation, “Just how much do we need to be ‘mother and father’ to our staff?” This followed a discussion about staff, healthy eating and the junk food that many of them choose to consume (like cola drinks loaded with sugar). So how much? The key is to be a modern parent – supportive, not nagging, open-minded, firm but flexible. Recognise that staff want a job

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Health & Wellness Guide

Health and Wellness Guide for Restaurant & Cafe Staff – Sample

August 14, 2022 No Comments

Our employees often lead high-stress lives: long hours, heat, tension and a lack of proper breaks or time to unwind. It’s the nature of hospitality, but we can’t ignore the negative effects on health and wellness if we are going to fix the problems of staff shortages and our failure to attract career-minded people. The broader issues of health and wellness also underpin concerns about mental health – the old saying ‘a healthy body means

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Restaurant Crisis Planning

No-Crisis Planning for Restaurants & Cafes

August 7, 2022 No Comments

Crisis and drama seem to be part of daily life in hospitality – something most of us learn to put up with and live through. We often have it for breakfast! But, with a little thought and planning, you could thrive instead of just surviving. Your life would be less stressful, costs would be lower and your businesses more profitable! Effective crisis planning and management is a must. That’s if you want to stay sane

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Restaurant Employee Welcome Pack

How to Create a Welcome Pack for New Restaurant or Cafe Employees

July 19, 2022 No Comments

What’s in your Welcome Pack for a new employee? These are easy to set up, and will have you standing well above your competitors – most of them just say: ‘hello, there’s your apron and locker, now get to work!’ A great way to make a positive impression right at the start. Present the pack in a ring-binder that can have documents easily added or taken out – better than in a folder that can

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Restaurant Systems

Hospo Reset’s Product of the Week

July 6, 2022 No Comments

Every week in the Hospo Reset Newsletter, we share a product or service that’s caught our eye – for kitchen & beverage management, staffing, facilities management, marketing and overall productivity. This is not an endorsement, please do your own assessment of suitability for your business. Here’s the list so far, and it’s updated every month. Food, Menus and Kitchen Management Restoke manages back of house functions like recipes, menus, ordering, work lists, staff training, plus

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Covid Lockdown for Restaurants

Plan B for a Covid Lockdown for Restaurants or Cafes

May 9, 2021 No Comments

As COVID controls and vaccination helps businesses return to more normal operations, government policy in Australia and New Zealand now seems to be using selective lock-downs to control spot fires and coronavirus outbreaks. Planning is essential for when there’s another Covid Lockdown for Restaurants or Cafes. Your Lockdown Plan B needs to cover three critical areas, so you can move within hours to protect your business, and alert customers, staff and suppliers. First, diversify your

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Reduce Noise in a Restaurant

10 Ways to Reduce Noise in a Restaurant or Cafe – and Bring Customers Back!

January 31, 2021 No Comments

Why don’t people come back, after they enjoyed your food and the service? It could be the noise – too loud to talk with friends and feel relaxed. Here’s a bunch of ideas for noise reduction, if you have to do it after your venue opens. The fact is, most architects and designers give little thought to effective noise reduction, creating hard-surface boxes with all 6 sides reflective so the noise bounces like bullets to

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‘Respect is the Rule’ – new anti-harassment website for hospitality workers

August 31, 2017 No Comments

Respect is the Rule is a new initiative from United Voice, the union for most hospitality workers in restaurants, cafes and pubs. They don’t have much profile with our very casualised workforce, and it’s good to see they’ve jumped onto this important issue to make some impact. The website has lots of resources for staff and venues, and businesses are asked to make a pledge of support. Here’s part of one of the posters you

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