The restaurant industry underwent a lot of change during the pandemic. As they get ready to reopen for good, customer expectations and the overall dining experience remains permanently changed. Certain behaviors and trends will stick around. Why not train up-and-coming workers differently from the start? Some culinary schools are thinking about that.
These students are experiencing an expanded curriculum that gives them the tools they’ll need to thrive in the new market. Soon, culinary schools may all train chefs with the new, new normal in mind.
New Skills for New Workers
Off-premise ordering is more popular than before. Contactless pickup and delivery options flourished during COVID-19, and now guests often prefer them. They’re both easy ways to enjoy their favorite meals. Thus, culinary training shouldn’t focus exclusively on satisfying dine-in customers anymore.
Learn proper presentation within the confines of a to-go box. When you have limited contact with the customer, restaurants can still show off their best side.
Start recipe training in foods that travel well. Delivery radiuses vary and you never know how far someone drove for a carry-out order. Menu items that will make it home will mean a world of difference when it comes to brand loyalty.
Create signature dishes that can be eaten on the go.
Now that face-to-face interactions are more limited, service workers have adopted unique ways to represent the company in a positive light.
Learning online is a new skill in and of itself, as many classes went virtual this year. As culinary training changes, why not use this as an opportunity to prepare a new kind of worker?
Culinary Training and Personal Skills
Employees’ ability to work as a team determines your restaurant’s success. Cohesion means greater communication and staff retention, as well as customer satisfaction overall. Restaurants now know just how important this is when the going gets rough. Thus, students are learning ways to improve interpersonally as well as in the kitchen.
Discipline, professionalism, and flexibility all work together to make better employees. As customers show increasing interest in the environment and individual equity, restaurants will show their support more and more too. Expect vegetarian alternatives and more plant-based dishes to arise, which aspiring culinary stars should learn to recreate.
Soon, restaurants may start hiring chefs who graduated already well-versed in all the changes restaurants had to make to survive the pandemic. Make sure your restaurant is equipped with the best workforce management capabilities, so new hires can hit the ground running every shift.
