Behind Closed Doors
What really happens when people go out to eat.
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Walking into a restaurant, a family of five is seated at a table. They are given menus, glasses of water and proceed to put their napkins on their laps. Their waitress walks up to their table bringing the family bread and butter; she takes their drink order and writes down their appetizers. As time passes by, the family has just finished their main course and has chosen the red velvet cheesecake for dessert. The family finishes every last bite of food and leaves the restaurant with smiling faces and happy stomachs. In the car ride home the child asks how their food was prepared, and the rest of the family is puzzled, not knowing the real answer.
Going out can be fun, trying new food and enjoying the company of all the people in the restaurant. Some people are so caught up in the great time they are having, they do not realize the amount of effort the restaurant is performing to bring the food to the table. There is no “I” in team, and restaurants need all the help they can get to keep a place running.
“[Running a restaurant] is a system of lots of people doing small tasks,” junior Evangeline Swanson said. “If one person is not doing their job, it will not work out.”
Before the family stepped foot into the restaurant, a busser was cleaning the table making sure the dirty dishes from the party before were removed and every last crumb was wiped leaving the place spotless. They set up the silverware and made sure the folded napkins were perfectly in line. As the family walked in, a hostess became their greeter and walked them to their clean table where she handed them each a menu. Their waitress was the one who took their order and gave it to the kitchen staff to cook. In the kitchen, the head chef was giving out orders making sure all the meals that were being presented were ready for showcasing. The rest of the kitchen staff was quickly cooking the food with elegance, adding the perfect amount of oregano and not leaving the pasta to overcook. As the family left, the working staff put the dishes in the dishwasher ready to start the process all over again.
Working in a restaurant is a lot of work and everyone is needed to make a family have a great experience.
