When it comes to keeping kitchen equipment running well, rules like keeping units clean and having them serviced regularly apply across all types of operators. Other advice, though, is especially important for specific operator segments to hear.
Full-service represents an incredibly broad operator category, covering everything from 24-hour diners to the finest of fine dining restaurants.
Despite this breadth, most full-service operations have much in common. Compared to their quick-service restaurant and fast-casual counterparts, full-service menus are bigger and broader, and the kitchens are bigger and broader to match. This changes how operators working in these kitchens use and maintain the equipment.
According to Thomas “TJ” Coker, director of operations for CFESA-Certified Coker Service, scheduling represents one advantage many full-service operations have. While some full-service restaurants serve all three dayparts, many offer just two. When service becomes necessary, ideally technicians can do their work when the kitchen isn’t serving customers.
To take full advantage of this scheduling advantage, though, full-service operators need good internal communication. If an operator places a service call in the afternoon and schedules the technician’s visit for during prep the next morning, the prep team needs to know the plan. Thanks to the redundancies in larger full-service kitchens, this could allow the prep team to shift its work away from the equipment the technician will service, says Coker.
“If they normally prep on the malfunctioning unit or next to it, maybe they can go do it on another unit,” he says. “If they know and can adjust ahead of time, then they won’t have to move everything or jump over a technician who's laying on the ground trying to work on a piece of equipment.”
With their broader menus and generally higher-quality offerings compared to the QSR space, full-service restaurants also often have more complex equipment, such as combi ovens and convection ovens. These units, in turn, often feature built-in, automatic cleaning functions meant to keep the equipment at peak performance. Ironically, these functions can actually be at the root of some malfunctions, Coker says, for a couple of different reasons.
One is an over-reliance on self-cleaning. Some operators act as though this feature eliminates the need for other types of cleaning or maintenance that aren’t automated. This simply isn’t the case. Belts crack, debris blocks vents, etc. A built-in spray arm doesn’t fix those issues. Planned maintenance and regular cleaning by staff do.
With this in mind, full-service operators – really all operators – should build more basic cleaning into their regular opening and closing checklists, Coker says. Simple maintenance tasks like cleaning coils and wiping down vents can help prevent many breakdowns. “Just putting that into your checklist would make it something that happens regularly. Even if they only do it half the time it's better than none at all,” he says.
The other self-cleaning-related problem runs in the other direction. Kitchen staff don’t perform the function on schedule, leading to breakdowns. “When the end user thinks it's an inconvenient time for them to do it, they bypass it. Then they bypass it two or three more times, Coker says. “Once you get off track with the cleaning function it makes it very difficult for it to get caught up and be properly done.”
The solution, in this case, is obvious. Train kitchen staff to run cleaning functions as scheduled. If they fall off schedule, they should get back on as quickly as possible.
While there’s great variation in the full-service sector, these restaurants usually have plenty in common. By communicating well and paying attention to their specific cleaning and maintenance needs, they can improve operations and avoid downtime that impacts their guests, the ultimate end-user.
