Back-of-the-House Solutions Will Help Get Workers Back in the Kitchen
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic hit the restaurant industry hard—to the tune of losing 2.5 million workers.
More specifically, as of March 2021, restaurants employed 10.5 million workers, about a million fewer employees year-over-year, and 1.8 million fewer than February 2020. Further, as of May 2021, unemployment rates in the food service industry were still nearly double the national average.
Yet not all the food service labor losses are attributable to the pandemic. The shortages began before the shutdown due to the shrinking number of teens in the workforce overall and specifically seeking restaurant jobs combined with the greater attraction of other industries.
For restaurant owners reopening after the shutdown, this worker drought could mean the difference between sink and swim. To cope, many eateries are being forced to reduce hours by closing early, opening late, or not opening at all on days when business may be slower.
While the shortage of workers impacts all sectors of the industry, the back-of-the-house has been hit the hardest. For example, a year ago, only 10 percent of full-service restaurant companies reported their kitchens to be fully staffed, a percent that has seen little upward movement since.
Back-of-the house worker shortages are resulting in:
Fewer and less diverse menu offerings—just when customers are craving dishes they couldn’t or didn’t want to fix at home
Higher turnover of the existing workforce due to increased workload
Higher recruitment and training costs and times
Diner dissatisfaction from longer wait times
Revenue loss from customer churn
What are restaurant owners to do?
High-quality frozen seafood can’t solve labor shortages. However, it can help restaurant owners and managers overcome some of the associated challenges.
BACK-OF-THE-HOUSE SAVINGS
Speed. When a restaurant kitchen is short-staffed, time is of the essence. Anything that can be done to speed things up without sacrificing quality should be a priority. Top-quality frozen seafood such as lightly dusted calamari that can go from freezer to fully cooked in 75 to 90 seconds can prove to be a superpower. These offerings significantly reduce cooking and prep time, which means faster output and more time to create other dishes. It also can expand menu options without additional work or inventory. Calamari’s firm texture makes it ideal for appetizers and salads, while its subtle taste and high protein content make it suitable for a wide variety of exciting entrees.
Value-added. Other seafood offerings that can reduce prep and cooking time are value-added options with most of the prep work already done. Value-added seafood, such as crispy wrapped shrimp, produce delicious dishes in far less time and without the prep time and expense of the additional required ingredients. Similarly, seafood combinations, such as seafood medleys, save time and money compared with purchasing each type of seafood separately.
Training. Reduced training of new employees is another back-of-the-house labor benefit afforded by quality frozen seafood. The lightly dusted calamari, for example, is ideal to get new hires quickly up to speed, It comes in single-portioned packs that can be tossed into the fryer and come out golden brown and plate-ready in 90 seconds. It doesn’t get any easier.
Confidence. A reason many, newer kitchen workers don’t stick with the profession is a lack of confidence. Perhaps the first things they tried came out underdone, burnt, or otherwise unusable and not tasty. Quality frozen seafood that is fast to fix and cook and is virtually foolproof gives new cooks the confidence they need, which can mean less turnover.
Special orders. Despite being short-staffed, kitchens are keeping up—until they get that special order for the current rage—gluten-free. Increasingly, customers are requesting specific ingredients and special, health-oriented dishes. Orders start backing up. Customers become impatient and servers become stressed. Having a tasty, fast-cooking, gluten-free frozen seafood option like gluten-free calamari on hand will help avoid this increasingly common challenge.
The labor shortage in food service is real. Many believe longer-term steps can be taken to make the industry more attractive for workers. One step that restaurants can take immediately is to make work more efficient and manageable by serving top-quality, fast from freezer-to-plate frozen seafood that is easy to prep and includes healthy, delicious options.