Stewarding department

POSITION SUMMARY:
This position maintains all Stewarding functions. Responsible for cleaning of all china, glass, silver and serving equipment; facilitating all plate-up and delivery of all food the prospective functions; set-up and breakdown of all Banquet buffets; cleaning of all Food & Beverage food prep and servicing areas, to include main kitchen, concessions kitchen and back hallways.
POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Delivery of all food to prospective functions.
• Delivery and set-up and breakdown of all equipment to prospective functions
• Other duties as assigned.
• Cleanliness in both kitchens.
• Position is very hands on with excessive interaction with staff.
• Running and maintenance of the main dish machine.
• Must quick with counting and simple arithmetic.
Changing trends
Earlier it was the onus of the chef to plan the menu, keep the kitchen clean, manage costs and budget, look into aspects of hygiene and, of course, cook.
But with the increasing thrust on different cuisines, the role of chefs became more specific leading to a growing need to hire cleaners to do the job. Supervisors were later required to oversee the work of cleaners. Slowly, they evolved to become stewards, taking care of every aspect of the kitchen from maintenance, cleaning, tracking inventory, keeping an eye on the temperature in which utensils, pots and crockery are washed, refrigeration of food and monitoring the work of the cleaners.
Today, a kitchen steward complements the role of a chef and the F&B manager. He helps the chef purchase the necessary ingredients and stocks the food the right way and at the right temperature, while helping the F&B manager control the inventory and checking breakages. The kitchen steward has lent professionalism, dignity and technicality to what was previously considered a menial chore.
Some of the broad roles of a kitchen steward
•    Cleaning and organising dishes including buffet
•    Controling inventory
•    Monitoring the use of machines for different kinds of utensils like pots and crockery
•    Maintaining hygiene and quality in the kitchen and different equipment used there
•    Keeping a tab on breakage and missing cutlery


Layout of stewarding department

stewarding layout

Here is a sample of a daily sanitation schedule for the kitchen area
After Each Use and at the End of the Day
The things and areas in the kitchen that need to be washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use include:
1.    Preparation areas.
2.    Tilt skillet.
3.    Rotisserie skewers and the tines.  These also need to be degreased at the end of the day.
4.    Slicers and stand.
5.    Three-compartment sinks.
After Every Four Hours
There are also some areas in the kitchen as well as kitchen items that need to be washed, rinsed, and sanitized every four hours.  These are the:
1.    Counters, especially the prep area counters.  They should also be washed, rinsed, and sanitized in between products.
2.    In-use utensils.  Like the counters, they should also be washed, rinsed, and sanitized in between products.
3.    Scales.  They should also be washed, rinsed, and sanitized between each use.
4.    Hand sink handles.
5.    Ice carriers.
6.    In-use wiping cloths.  Be sure to place them in their appropriate linen bag before they are sent to the laundered.
7.    Knife holders.
Throughout Shift and as Needed
Some areas and kitchen equipments that need to be washed and wiped clean all throughout the shift and as needed include:
1.    Front doors.
2.    Pizza oven.
3.    Floors.
Before and After Each Shift
Each stewarding department shift should make it a point that all these areas are taken care of before and after each shift:
1.    Bathroom mirrors should be spotlessly clean.
2.    Bathroom should be restocked with hand soap as well as paper towels.
3.    Hand sink areas should be washed, rinsed, and sanitized.
At the End of the Shift
At the end of each shift, it is the stewarding department’s duty and responsibility to wash, rinse, and sanitize these areas:
1.    Front counters and shelves.
2.    Countertop coolers and shelves.
3.    Delivery counters.
4.    Hood filters.  They should also be degreased and air dried.
At the End of the Day
Before closing the restaurant, here are the areas in the kitchen and kitchen items that the stewarding department needs to address:
1.    Bathroom equipments and surfaces, including the bathroom floor and tiles as well as bathroom mirrors.
2.    Condiment containers need to be washed, rinsed, and sanitized.
3.    Cooling racks.
4.    Dish racks.
5.    Drain covers.
6.    Freezers.
7.    Ice-cream dipper well.
8.    Line drawers.
9.    Line inserts.
10.    Mixer base and exterior.
11.    Pizza oven.
12.    Pizza oven tiles.
13.    Product storage containers and bins.
14.    Reach-in handles.
15.    Reach-ins and wells.
16.    Rotisserie, its holding drawers, and its exteriors.
17.    Walk-in freezers and chillers.
18.    Dry storage areas.
19.    Mops and brushes.  These should be washed, rinsed, sanitized, and hung upside down so as to allow the excess liquid to drip down and for the mops and brushes to dry.
20.    Trash receptacles.
21.    Exterior premises of the restaurant.

Garbage disposal
Among the many duties of the stewarding department is the proper disposal of garbage and other waste materials.  This is very important because one of the responsibilities of the kitchen steward department is to maintain the cleanliness of the restaurant kitchen in order to safeguard the health of its diners.  A dirty kitchen can ruin the reputation of a restaurant, however good its name may be.
Proper Location of the Garbage Area
The garbage area should be situated far from where the food and ingredients are kept.  In fact, it should never be situated near the vicinity of the food production area where food is usually prepared.  It should also be kept well away from the cooking area so as to avoid contaminating the food with anything harmful to the body.
Common Guidelines in Proper Garbage Disposal
Each restaurant has its own guideline for proper garbage disposal that its Stewarding Department uses.  However, here are some of the most common ones that restaurants and their kitchens should follow.
Garbage bins should be placed in all parts of the kitchen, except those mentioned above, and these garbage bins should be lined with plastic liners.  The stewarding department has to clear the garbage bins at least four times a day so as to avoid piling up of garbage, and the garbage and waste materials should be transferred to its appropriate garbage trolleys.  Of course, the plastic liners should always be changed each time the garbage bin is cleared.
When it comes to proper garbage disposal, you should always make it a point that you are wearing disposable gloves so as to protect your bare hands from coming into contact with the garbage.  You should also make sure that the opening of the garbage bin plastic liner is tied shut.
After disposing of the garbage bags properly, it is recommended that you thoroughly wash and sanitize your hands before moving on to the next task.  This is very important especially if you are going to be working near the food preparation area or working with food products itself.
Dry Versus Wet Garbage
Before anything else though, the kitchen stewards assigned to garbage disposal should know the difference between dry and wet garbage.  In a nutshell, dry garbage materials are those items that can be recycled.  They are inorganic materials such as plastic, papers, cardboard boxes, etc.  When it comes to dry garbage materials, the kitchen stewards should also know how to properly segregate the items.  Plastic items should have one container, and so do cardboard boxes, glasses, papers, etc.  On the other hand, wet garbage materials are the organic items that can be decomposed and used for fertilizer.
It is very important that the restaurant has appropriate guidelines when it comes to garbage disposal.  Not only will these guidelines prevent the contamination of food with harmful substances, but this will also protect the diners as well as the staff from these harmful substances.  Remember, dirty kitchen increases the risk of food poisoning, so preventing this is one of the biggest and most important duties of the stewarding department.

The kitchen stewarding is basically divided into two areas:

a) Wash up area-

It is an important service area and should be ideally situated so that the brigade can work speedily and efficiently while passing from the food service area to the kitchen. The waiter should stack the trays of dirties correctly at the side board with all the same sized plates together and all the tableware stacked on one of the plates with the blades of the knives running under the arch of the forks. All glassware should be stacked on separate trays and taken to a separate wash up area. Wash up section should be the first place when the waiter enters the back area.
Hygiene is of utmost importance at the wash up area, as all sorts of germs can originate from here and can contaminate the food. This section is normally in the charge of the stewarding supervisor who may in turn have number of wash up boys as per need.

Dishwashing Methods:
There are two main methods used for dishwashing for foodservice operations-
1. Manual (tank) method- 
The dirty crockery is placed in a tank of hot water containing a soap detergent solution. After washing, these are placed in wire racks and dipped into a second sterilizing tank containing clean hot water at a temperature of approximately 75˚C (179˚F). The racks are left for two minutes and then lifted out and the crockery left to drain. If sterilized in water at this temperature the crockery will dry by itself without the use of drying up cloths. This is more hygienic. After drying the crockery is stacked into piles of the correct size and placed on shelves until required for further use.

2. Dishwashing machine- 
Most commercial and welfare catering sectors use washing machines to wash service equipment. Washing machines of different efficiencies, sizes, and cost are available, allowing operators to select according to their need and budget. These machines save labour and time and ensure sterilized service equipment.

The three main types of machines are
1. Spray type: Dishes are neatly stacked in racks which slide into the machines where they are sprayed with hot water and detergents (48°C-60°C) from above and below. The rack then moves to the sterilization section where the dishes are subjected to a hot water shower (of 82°C). Dishes sterilized at this temperature dry quickly when passed out into the air.
2. Brush type: Dishes are scrubbed in hot detergent water (48°C-60°C with revolving brushes. Then they are rinsed and sterilized in another section of the machine.
3. Agitator water machines: In this method, baskets of dishes are immersed in deep tanks and cleaned by mechanical agitation in hot detergent water (48°C-60°C). The baskets are given a final hot water rinse for sanitization (82°C).
These machines are usually operated by two people, one to sort soiled items and feed the machine and the other to collect the clean ware.
It is important to follow the instructions of the manufacturer with regard to use and maintenance of the washing machine.
Great care should be taken while washing glassware. There is a wide range of glass washing machines available.

Used in larger establishments. Debris should be removed from the crockery before it is placed into the wire racks. The racks are then passed through the machine, the crockery being washed, rinsed and sterilized. Having passed through the machine the crockery is left to drain for two or three minutes and is then stacked and placed on shelves until required for further use.

b) Silver room/ plate room-

In larger establishments the silver room or the plate room, as it is sometimes known, is a separate service area controlled by the kitchen stewarding supervisor. They take care of all the silverwares and the china wares stored in the silver room and are also responsible for silver polishing. The silver room should hold the complete stock of silverware required by the different department to meet the day to day requirements along with a surplus stock in case of emergency.
While stacking, large silver ware, like salver, flat platter etc. should be stored on shelves. When stacking heavier items should go on the shelves lower down and smaller and lighter items on the shelves higher up to prevent accidents. Flatware and cutlery should be kept in drawers lined with baize cloth to prevent them from moving about in the drawer and getting scratched or marked.

The burnishing machine
 It consists of a revolving drum half filled with small ball bearings. It may be divided into compartments to bold silver articles of particular kinds. The silver to be cleaned is placed inside the drum, which is then half filled with water and a certain amount of special detergent and closed tightly. The machine is switched on and slowly rotated for about 10 minutes. As the drum revolves, the mixture of water and detergent acts as a lubricant between the silver and ball bearings and gently removes any tarnish on the silver without leaving any scratches. The silver should be thoroughly rinsed and dried manually after removing from the drum. The drum is lined with rubber to avoid any damage to the silver during the cleaning process.
This method is not suitable for cleaning forks and knives as the prongs of forks are not cleaned properly and continuous use may damage the cutting edge of knives.

The polivit method-
The polivit plate, which is made of aluminium, is placed in a container together with washing soda. The silver to be cleaned is placed in such a way that at least one piece of silver is in contact with the polivit. Piping hot water is poured to cover the silver. Chemical action of soda and aluminium removes the tarnish. After a few minutes, the article is thoroughly rinsed in boiling water and wiped dry with a clean cloth.
This method is suitable for large pieces of silver such as salvers, trays, entree dishes, jugs, etc.

The plate powder–
 Tins method is ideal for articles that cannot be cleaned by the above method,  Typical items cleaned by this method are cruets, toast rack, parts of trolley, etc. The articles to cleaned must be free from grease. Plate powder, winch is pink in colour, is mixed with spirit and sobbed over die surface of article to remove tarnish. If spirit is not available, water may be used, Once the paste has dried, it is rubbed with a clean piece of cloth. A small brush may be used remove the paste that may have lodged into the engravings. It is then rinsed well in hot water and dried with clean cloth. This method demands more time and labour. Readily available metal may be used to clean articles in the same way.

Silver dip-
The silver to be cleaned is kept in a wire basket and immersed in the silver dip, which is a pink-coloured liquid. It is left in the solution for a very short period, removed, rinsed in warm water, and wiped dry with clean cloth. This method is quick but may damage the silver due to chemical reaction between silver and solution.

Quick dip method-
 This method is quick and simple to follow. Hot water, crushed aluminium foil, lemon juice, and salt are placed in a container and stirred. The tarnished silver is dipped in this solution for about 2-3 minutes. The chemical reaction removes the tarnish. Silver is removed, rinsed in hot water, and wiped dry.
Stainless steel is cleaned with a detergent product specially meant for it and treated with de-liming agent once a week to prevent build up of haze and film on the surface. It is a solution of low foam acid detergent designed to remove lime scale, iron stains, and other tough deposits of hard water.
The plate room is controlled by the head plate room man who is assisted by skilled and semi¬skilled staff.