Whilst the kitchen and service team are united by food and drink and work under the umbrella of the F& B department, there are times when they are defiantly at odds. Inter-dependent in reputation and work flow the two departments have to work hard to over come communication and work style differences to bridge the growing divide between them.

The cross over of skills and joint invested interests is less apparent in many establishments today than in the past. Somewhere in time the one restaurant department split and became two. Service and kitchen teams have become segregated rather than inter-linking.

Whilst specialising in either the kitchen or service department has no doubt raised standards of quality and allowed for more unrestrained diversification in menus and restaurant style, there is now an increased need for cross training to encourage greater inter-department appreciation.

The pressure is on both sides of the counter and the kitchen and restaurant have different work conditions and different stress factors. Hot headed and prone to shouting, not only do chefs shout to be heard above the noise of extractor fans and dishwashers but also to get the attention of service staff on the other side of the counter. Whilst there is a lively and at times antagonistic banter between the two teams,  there are other definite moments of conflict and communication errors.
For example, the system of communicating at the hot plate. It is the last frontier and dividing line between the two departments. Orders are placed, meals taken away and complaints or returned meals deposited. The orders still frequently come in, illegibly written on order pads with missing details of how the steak is to be cooked.

To reduce the initial hot plate conflict the emphasis has been placed on clearly written orders. Number systems have been tried as they work well, particularly in Chinese take-away establishments and could help in a la carte restaurants. Computer systems have been designed to allow the restaurant staff to enter the table number, order and then hit a button to zap the order through to the kitchen within an instant. The head chef's calling point has also been set aside to make a focused point of communication and to avoid conflict with other members of the kitchen team.

Sparks fly when  too many orders come on at one time. On a busy evening, a member of the service team will feel the pressure to take an order and then welcome a newly arriving guest before placing the recorded order in the kitchen. Stored up orders are rarely understood by chefs; vital time has been lost in cooking and the rush creates pressure.

The second bait for conflicts at the hot plate are service staff calling for the next course, then disappearing to save time by pouring wine or welcoming newly arriving guests. Upon return they are confronted with a hot angry chef looking at sauces that are skimming over and veggies that are going cold. The Chefs are aware of timing needed to cook and serve to perfection and the service staff are aware of customer timing.

What is noticed by both departments is that guests are more likely to complain and send wine or a meal back. They are more experienced diners. Returned food and beverages throw the kitchen and service staff into united frustration, or at odds with each other. In addition, when the restaurant is full, alterations to the menu by guests due to preferences or allergies, make the orders complicated and very individual.

When desserts or the cheese board are placed out the front, service waiting time of some elements of the meal is reduced. This reduces order writing but does rely on a minimal skill level in food handling and in many countries a hygiene certificate. It is rare to see a crepe made at a customer's table and less often to see a full cheese trolley presented. A revival of one or two food handling skills could bridge the gap in appreciation.

On the other side of the fence, when behind the scenes the visual capacity to see where the guests are at in their meals is impossible for the chef. Opting for open fronted kitchens have become an option. Visibility has proven to help communication. The counter effect of two way visibility means transparency. Unethical behaviour, unnecessary shouting or treatment of staff, poor hygiene and anything less than a professional manner can be seen. The standards are raised some more but some kitchens find it too intrusive. Mirror fronted windows are reported to work well though.

A more usual tried and tested method to bridge the service and kitchen gap are to organise a staff exchange. Placing a member of the kitchen staff in the restaurant to serve behind a dessert counter has helped to understand the challenges of the restaurant. Placing a member of the service team at the service hatch to serve from the kitchen for an evening, is a way of experiencing the difference.

SpotLight is the weekly column exclusively written for 4Hoteliers.com by Sarah Muxlow, it is highlighting the challenges and issues which the global hospitality is facing today.

Sarah is writing for hotel and restaurant owners, hotel chain managers, producers/growers/sellers of food & beverage, restaurant associations, governing bodies and hotel schools. She is looking at the problems they face...competition, trends of branding, staff shortages, unskilled staff, turning out students who are looking for good in-house management training schemes with hotel chains, what makes a good quality training course at a hotel school and more... 

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