On The Job Report

Report for the Position:

Name: Atharva Kardile Position: Steward
Location: Comorin, Gurugram Area of Work: F&B service
Date of submission: 12th April 2019 reporting to: Asst. F&B Manager
Duration: 8-9 weeks
Scope of the position: Steward
 The main responsibility of a steward is to hold the station and the take the
accountability of anything that happens in the section.
 The steward is responsible for taking the food and beverage orders from the
tables that fall under his/her section.
 The steward bills all the tables and co-ordinates with the kitchen for the orders.
 The steward replenishes the side stations with cutlery, crockery and refills the
cruet sets, tooth-picks in the station.
 The steward is also sometimes responsible for the guest drinks pick up.
 The steward opens the stations for the operations and also closes the station after
the restaurant is closed.
 The steward ensures smooth functioning of the section by indulging in the
overall guest experience.
 Another important responsibility that a steward works on is the helping the
captains with the restaurant inventory and retail reports.
 As the restaurant is new and has a lot of scope of improvement, a steward can
help the management and the team itself by teaching and training the staff that is
newly hired through buddy system.
Opening Duties:
 First thing in the morning that a steward does is wiping all the tables and
alignment of all the chairs and tables.
 Checking with the hostess and joining or aligning the tables according to the
requests for the following lunch.
 Setting the food and drinks pick up pass with required cutlery, crockery and
salvers.
 Setting up the green room.
 Mise en Scene that is tuning on the music and ambient lights, switching on the
AC and informing the housekeeping for lighting the essence sticks before the
guest arrives.
 The most important opening duty of steward is of setting his side station with
adequate cutlery, crockery, water bottles, bill folders etc.
  Switching on the POS system and running a kitchen and a bar trial KOT/BOT.
 Wiping all the retail elements and placing them correctly after the inventory is
done.
 Checking if all EDC machines and POS printers are working accurately.
 Turning on the fridge lights of all retail items.
 Setting up the Patio and the patio side station.
 Attending the briefing at 11:30AM and briefly discussing all the important
issues of the restaurant.
Closing Duties:
 Closing the Patio station by putting all the items in the side station and
distributing all the cutlery, crockery from the patio to the other stations.
 Switching off the fridge lights and also the showcasing lights in the retail.
 Batch settlement of all the EDC machines and giving the handover of the same
to the captains.
 The steward closing his respective station by replenishing the cutlery, crockery
and other items in the station.
 Steward also takes a count of all the cutlery and crockery and submits it to the
closing steward.
 Switching of the signage board and lights of the restaurant.
 Clearing the food and beverage pick up pass and wiping the area clean and dry.
 The green room needs to set clean and accurately.
 Wiping all the table tops and aligning all the chairs.
 Replenishing all the wiped cutlery, crockery and equipment in the side station.
 Stacking all the menus and bill folders.
 Switching off the main AC unit and locking the main entrance.
Shifts Covered:
 The Shift that I covered was mostly 1PM to 12:30 or sometimes till the closing
of the restaurant.
 Shift timing was sometime also adjusted to 12:30PM as per the need.
 We were regularly given a break of one hour thirty minutes.
Key Learnings:
 Upselling of food and beverages as there’s lot of scope to do so during taking the
orders.
 Suggestive selling of food and beverages as the menu is a bit elaborate to
understand and this is the point where the steward can actually suggest and sell
the required items.
  When I came to Comorin I had zero knowledge about the Shawman POS system
apart from punching orders. But by the end of my steward phase I had leant the
POS skills of an actual manager.
 Station and Section handling. In Indian Accent we were just running for the
station but in Comorin I got the opportunity to hold the section and run it all by
myself.
 A bit of training experience I learned as I got to train the new fresher’s that were
hired and teach them the basic fundamentals of F&B service and operations.
 The cross training in bar helped me on the tables to suggest better drinks to the
guests and improve the overall experience.
 I got to learn about the difficulties of opening a new restaurant and how things
eventually fall into place and suddenly start making sense.
 Learned about how SOPs are set and challenges a pre-opening restaurant faces
ops wise and also management wise.
 My overall food, beverage and tea/coffee knowledge improved after working in
Comorin for almost 4 ½ months.
 I also learnt a lot about situation handling and guest handling as there’s no guest
relation executive to look after guest related matters.
Observations and Suggestions:
Firstly, I would like to mention the suggestions I had presented to SLT of Ekatra and
the suggestions that actually got implemented into the system.
 Periodical training sessions started in Comorin on every Tuesday and Friday.
 The Eureka refrigerator is going to be placed in the bar for storage of wines.
 The sous bar is going to get customised according to the bartender’s
requirement.
 AC unit in the liquor store room is already in the loop of getting fixed.
 Showcasing the talent of skilled staff in front of the world.
o Ref. Abhishek Tiwari recently got selected as one of the finalist for the
Corraleyo Tequila Bartending Competition.
Suggestions:
 Staff needs to get really well acquainted with the retail products.
 Briefings must be based on more of operations, challenges faced by the
restaurant, teamwork, product teachings, tastings, staffing and important guests
for the day.
 Bartenders are not trained in the food menu and are not confident enough to
handle the bar tables and take orders.
  Only drinks must be served in the lounge area and food must be served to the
guests once they move to the allotted table. It spoils the guest experience as well
as creates difficulty in service for staff.
 Tables placed in front of coffee area are for enjoying teas and coffees and should
not be used for serving full course meal to the guests.
 Ashtrays and lighters must be provided to the guests smoking in the patio.
 Table meant for 2 must not be used to serve 3 or more guests.
Summary:
I believe that Comorin was an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget. I got to
experience a pre-opening restaurant just after 5 months of my commencement into the
world of hospitality. I gained a lot from Comorin in terms of my soft skills as well as I
also grew as a professional. My service skills got better and I also started to understand
what it takes to open a restaurant and the initial challenges it faces in terms of service,
guest experience, and management & of course man power planning. Comorin had its
share of ups and downs and it grew as a restaurant and with the people making each
and every day possible for Comorin. Comorin concept is a hit and has been very well
received by the masses and already started to draw attention of the influential people
not just from the Millennium city but also from the Capital. It still has a long way to
go and some issues that need to be resolved but it has successfully to put a mark on the
map of hospitality by bringing a concept that India had never seen and I am really
grateful to be a part of this.

Atharva Kardile.