With the hustle and bustle of the holidays rapidly approaching, now’s the time to get your kitchen ready. Restocking the essentials will help prevent service interruptions, handle increased demand, and maintain food quality and safety during your busiest time of the year.
Here’s your holiday prep list of must-have smallwares and supplies, so you can celebrate the season with smoother operations and more satisfied customers.
Prep the Halls
Restocking kitchen prep supplies ahead of the holidays will help ensure efficient operations, meet high customer demand, maximize profitability, and maintain quality during your busiest season.
CUTTING BOARDS
Chopping, slicing, mincing, rolling. A busy kitchen needs enough cutting boards to keep multiple prep stations running at the same time so you can keep up with increased holiday demand.
Having separate, colour-coded cutting boards for raw meat, produce, and other food types will help prevent cross-contamination, avoid bacteria traps, and keep you in compliance with health codes.
KNIVES
Updating your kitchen knives will help your team get cleaner cuts, more consistent portions, and better food quality, so you can present your guests with beautiful dishes all holiday season. Restocking your knives will also:
- Improve safety
- Increase speed and efficiency
FOOD CONTAINERS
Stocking a sufficient supply of food containers is essential for managing higher order volumes and multiple catering events. Having the proper containers can also help:
- Maintain food safety by preventing contamination and bacterial growth
- Minimize waste by extending the shelf life of ingredients
- Streamline operations, from ingredient prep to takeout packaging
Let it Flow, Let it Flow, Let it Flow
When the service flows effortlessly, the event will go delightfully. Going into the holidays equipped with the right serving essentials will streamline dining service, enhance food quality, and help your team deliver a top-tier experience every time.
STEAM PAN INSERTS
Before the busy season begins, it’s important to restock your steam pan inserts. Not having enough inserts can create back-ups in your serving line, slowing down service, and frustrating hungry customers.
Having new, unblemished, and well-fitting inserts will ensure that food is consistently heated, set-up and clean-up is easy, and service goes smoothly.
CHAFING FUEL
During the holidays, celebrations tend to run a bit longer. Stocking up on fuels with the appropriate burn times will ensure that food stays warm for the entire event without any service interruptions.
Plus, keeping food at the right temperature will enhance safety and quality, preventing your dishes from drying out, overcooking, or getting cold.
CUTLERY
Can your cutlery collection handle the surge of diners in the days ahead? When it comes to holiday prep 101, there are several service-enhancing reasons to restock your flatware now:
- Maintain operational efficiency
- Provide seamless serving lines
- Improve food hygiene and safety
- Ensure backups for cutlery that’s lost, damaged, or thrown away
