Be floored by fantastic food, boast about fine service

Emma Sharp, Contributor

There's nothing quite like going out to a restaurant that dishes up fabulous food, being treated like royalty knowing that although you'll have a bill to pay at the end, at least you've had nothing to do with the preparation or clearing up of it all. However, this is not the experience one tends to have in Jamaica, where our laid-back attitude interferes with our delivery of service in general.

It's time to change all of that now, though. If we insist on moving forward with trends, such as fashion, music and home décor of other Western countries, then we must also step up our service game. Just as Usain Bolt impresses the world in his Puma spikes, so Jamaica should be dazzling tourists, and locals, at the dining table.

I am willing to bet that every eatery in this country can be singled out as having incompetent service. Even if customers are pleased one evening, the next could be a complete disaster.

'Inconsistent' is a word I hear people use to describe most restaurants. It's as if a different set of staff runs the kitchen each night, or they simply don't care, so they strive for mediocrity and not perfection. Shame on them!

Diners will sit and complain, gossip about this place being bad at that, and that place falling short of this, but no one is coming up with a solution. Sure, advice on how to fix the situation is freely passed along the table, but it's usually coming from people who have no clue about the culinary industry, and the little intricate details which help it to run efficiently.

Organisation is key

The bottom line is the lack of organisation and responsibility. For any corporation to be successful , these two factors must exist and be practised. Ask the chief executive officer of any bank, insurance company or hotel and I'm certain they'll agree.

In the restaurant business, organisation is called mise en place, meaning 'put in place'. The responsibility lies in the wish for each person working there to meet all the expectations of diners, and create an experience which will bring them back. To ensure this, of course, someone must run the show and divvy up the chores, by forming a production line of sorts, among his or her underlings who, in turn, should be constantly reporting back.

None of this is easy, mind you. One is likely to come across many stumbling blocks, like supply problems and an unwilling staff. The latter is easy to dispose of, and trust me when I tell you that there are thousands of people looking for employment. Food supplies, on the other hand, are not so easy to control. They are inconsistent (there's that word again), and when one is dead set on having fresh cilantro in one of the items on a menu, one may not always be able to get it. In such cases, the menu must be altered. Sometimes, the beef fillet that was ordered is just not up to par, and it's too late to source it from elsewhere, What can one do? Remove it from the menu altogether, or quickly come up with an alternative way in which the beef can be prepared and cooked nicely.

Working for a restaurant is a tough job. It's physically exhausting, and the hours are horrendously long, but the rewards are great. I have been in the industry for 12 years now, and nothing gives me more pleasure than a client who is floored by fantastic food, and who boasts about the fine service they've enjoyed.

emma@sharpactionfood.com