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food managers enjoying meal benefit

The Most Astonishing Food Manager Debate About Meal Benefits

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One of the perks of working in the food industry is being around creative professionals. This often means occasionally sampling some of the great cuisines your restaurant has to offer. Many restaurants offer their employees free or discounted shift meals, while others prefer employees to bring in their meals. We want to examine three different schools of thought on meal benefits we’ve heard discussed in our food manager certification courses.

Food managers enjoy their inhouse meal benefit
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Food Manager Debate Shift Meal Benefit 

When it comes to providing employee meal benefits in the restaurant industry, kitchen food managers have several options. Here are what we have found to be the top three prevailing systems:

  • Employees should be on their own and eat at specified breaks
  • Employees can order menu items at a discount
  • A special employee meal is served before or after service

One idea we hear from time to time is that restaurant professionals should be treated like professionals from other industries. Why should a restaurant owner use their profits to offer free meals to employees that are not typically available in other professions? Especially when they already provide all the standard benefits associated with different jobs? The downside of this option is that many restaurants choose to provide meals or discounted menu items for their employees. We’ve heard that this system may reduce employee morale when staff members compare the no-meal policy with other restaurants’ treatment.

Some outlets allow employees to order off the menu at a discount when they are off the clock. This allows the staff members to eat at a reasonable price and sample the cuisine served at their workplace. Restaurant managers often choose this meal perk to find a middle ground between making employees pay for their meals and providing a complimentary shift meal.

The Safe Food Training Favorite

Our top choice is the family-style staff meal served before or after shift hours. This brings employees together and may be a great time to test specials and explore new menu concepts. If you choose this method of providing meals for your employees, keep in mind that it could also offer the opportunity to reduce waste by repurposing some of your inventory surplus. We also find that a well-fed employee tends to be a satisfied employee.

If you’re a restaurant owner or food manager, we’d like your thoughts on meal benefits. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Balancing a CFPM Career and Personal Life

Balancing A Professional CFPM Career And Personal Life

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The life of a certified food protection manager can be stressful and time-consuming. This becomes more evident and taxing during the hot summer months. Happy couples flood their favorite air-conditioned restaurants to celebrate the freedom of summer. At the same time, food service workers spend long hours in hot kitchens, ensuring every guest has the best experience possible. We’ve often heard it said that restaurant management is a single person’s game, but we feel that a CFPM should be able to enjoy a career and have a personal life beyond the kitchen.

Balancing a MN Certified Food Protection Manager Career and Personal Life

Achieving Work-Life Balance as a CFPM: Managing Your Career and Personal Life

A quick Google search on divorce rates in the food industry will reveal that bartenders, chefs, and restaurant managers all rank in the 25 worst professions for relationships, according to numerous sources. While we offer food safety training, not couples counseling, we engage in conversations during class breaks and after testing sessions. We feel that there should be a chance for both a successful career and a healthy relationship, and we have a few ideas that have been shared by some professionals that we have talked to who have been able to achieve a successful balance.

  • Go out of your way to make time for a personal life outside of work
  • Trust your staff to get the job done in your absence
  • Choose non-peak dates for special occasions

It may sound impossible, but you must make time for both to keep a healthy balance in your professional and personal life. Hearing stories of an 80-hour workweek makes us cringe. If you’re looking for ways to trim your hours to spend more time at home, you may want to rely on your staff to take on some extra responsibilities. If you’ve trained your employees well, you should have no problem trusting them to handle more responsibilities in your absence. Train your sous chef to take on some ordering or inventory duties, count on an assistant manager to help with scheduling, or train a trusted employee to receive and stock your weekly supplies.

Celebrate The 4th On The 9th

For our last tip, we’d like to offer an alternative to celebrating events such as Independence Day on the same day as everyone else. Don’t feel tied down to what the calendar says. Many restaurant professionals celebrate the 4th of July on a day before or after the holiday and go to their favorite restaurants during the week rather than on hectic weekends.

Maybe you’re one of our readers who is a certified food protection manager who has managed to balance a home and professional life. We’d love it if you could leave your tips in the comments below.

Valuable Health Advice For Tired CFPMs

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Food management professionals take on a lot of responsibility, often to the detriment of their own well-being. We have critical health advice to help hardworking, dedicated CFPMs moderate stress levels and provide the healthy energy needed to survive the day.

Valuable Health Advice For Tired CFPMs
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Certified Food Protection Manager’s Guide to Staying Healthy on the Job

  • Eat healthy on the job
  • Make an effort to take a break
  • Replace coffee or soda with water

Maintaining a healthy diet at work can be difficult, especially for busy food industry workers. Often, the most convenient options for a quick bite are not healthy. During their snack and lunch breaks, workers frequently consume unhealthy leftovers from deep-fried dishes, yesterday’s specials, or low-quality cuts of meat instead of choosing fresh fruits or light salads, which are the healthier choices. Consuming these foods alone can cause a dip in energy levels, leading to a lack of focus and motivation. Pack fresh fruit or snacks for quick, healthy meals.

Certified food protection managers in food production facilities and restaurants often work through their allotted break times. While we understand that there is always something that needs to be done and that certified food protection managers have many responsibilities, taking ten minutes to pause, breathe, and refresh your mind will be beneficial in the long run. It’s important to remind yourself that you have trained your staff well, and you can trust that your operation will not collapse if you step away for a few minutes.

Drink Water

Overloading on coffee or soda can elevate your heart rate and lead to anxiety. When you consume multiple cups of coffee or soda during a shift, there will always be the inevitable caffeine and sugar crash that can only be avoided by grabbing another cup before it hits. We suggest that you balance out your caffeine fix by consuming plenty of water. Water will keep you better hydrated than coffee or sugary drinks and help provide the natural energy to get you through your shift.

While not every CFPM’s daily routine is the same, most have dedication and the drive to succeed in common. Don’t let that drive cause you to ignore your physical and mental health on the job. You can decrease stress, increase energy levels, and keep your facility running smoothly and safely by taking small steps.

Leave a comment! How do your co-workers picture you? How do you moderate stress levels? What tips do you have for staying healthy while at work?

certified food manager staffing a new location

Confidential Tips For Certified Food Managers Launching A New Facility

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Your business is booming, and you’ve decided that you’re ready to expand. You have your new facility leased or purchased, with equipment installed. Now, all you need is staff to begin operations. But what is the best way to staff a second outlet without too many complications? While there are many theories on this subject, we have a few tips for certified food managers to help launch a new facility.

certified food manager staffing a new restaurant
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Keys That Certified Food Managers Can Use When Staffing a New Restaurant

We think three essential staffing procedures should be in play before you open a second outlet.

  • Management dedicated to the new site
  • A quality mix of new and transferred staff members
  • Quality training system in place

All too often, we see restaurants expand and expect their chef, certified food manager, and front-of-the-house managers to take on a more significant role during the transition. We feel that this is a mistake. Experienced management personnel can be temporarily transferred, but each location should have a qualified manager on duty.

Current state regulations require that each outlet have a certified food manager. Certain jurisdictions may also need a qualified manager to be on-site during all hours of operation. It may be prudent to check with your local health department to ensure your new facility has the appropriate certified management coverage.

Besides transferring management personnel, moving a few essential kitchen, production, or service staff members to the new location can give your new facility an edge in experience and open up opportunities to train new staff at your current location. This process also provides an opportunity to evaluate current employees who may deserve promotion.

A Detailed Training Plan

The third item on our list should be obvious, but many times, training is overlooked during expansion. Management and staff often become accustomed to their current facility’s routine and neglect to establish comprehensive training protocols at the new site. Having a member of your food management team design a detailed training plan will inevitably lead to success, and incorporating site-specific training procedures should never be left on the back burner.

With a well-thought-out strategy, you could be looking at even more success in the future. Even the largest chain had to endure the initial growing pains to become what it is today.