How to Create an Organized Stewarding Department

To create a very organized stewarding department, one needs to make sure that all the very important details are covered so as to provide a smooth flow in the stewarding department, a flow that synchronizes very well with the rest of the food and beverage department.  After all, without an organized stewarding department, there would be chaos inside the kitchen.

Importance of an Organized Stewarding Department

To have a smooth flow in the restaurant, it should start with a very organized stewarding department.  It is important for the following reasons:

1. To achieve the goals of the restaurant which is to provide an excellent professional service to its guests.
2. To give the restaurant a good name and image.
3. To help the restaurant grow.

Points to Cover in Creating an Organized Stewarding Department

It is the duty of the head of the stewarding department, its chief steward, to set up the plans and steps needed for an organized stewarding department.  Here are some of the points that the chief steward should cover.

1. The stewarding department has different shifts to cover all hours that the restaurant is open.  Now, it is the chief steward’s duty to make a detailed plan, including the manning guide, of the shifts.  He has to make sure that these shifts cover not only the opening hours but also the whole area of the kitchen as well.  This should also include the working as well as cleaning schedules of the stewarding department.
2. Once done, he should then prepare the detailed plans for the training of his staff.
3. Because the chief steward is in charge of all the activities of his department, he should set up the par stock level of all the things and materials that are needed for the operation.
4. Aside from the par stock level, the chief steward should also set up the organization of the stores.  This includes not only the stores for the kitchen items, tools, equipments, appliances, units, etc., but this should also include the stores for the chemicals as well as other small materials such as garbage bins, garbage bags, mops, etc.
5. After this step, he then has to determine who the suppliers will be.  Of course, he has to work with the restaurant management in this regard since the corporate contracts and suppliers need to be considered.  Aside from this, he also has to set up the training plans to coordinate his staff with the suppliers.
6. The next step is to evaluate the staff.  This should be done with the policies of the human resources in mind.  He should also think about the general policies of the management when it comes to hiring and evaluating the staff.
7. The chief steward also has to set up the on-the-job training of his staff by his department’s supervisors, making sure that he closely supervise the training so as to assure quality training and outcome.
8. To make all these work, the chief steward needs to create a checklist of all the duties and responsibilities of his department.

These are just some of the steps on how to create an organized stewarding department.  It should be noted though that restaurants differ in some of their rules and policies, so it is imperative that the chief steward work closely with the management to come up with the plan.

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