A day in the life of a Restaurateur

Wharenui

Its 8.30am and I’m quietly sitting having my breakfast thinking about the day ahead. I woke at 6.00am as per usual but remembered it was the start of our working week and we won’t finish until 11-12 tonight. I roll over for another hours sleep.

We have got into the habit of having a large breakfast as sometimes the next meal is yoghurt and muesli after we have ridden back home on our bikes. 

The working week goes from Thurs-Mon with Tuesday and Wednesday off.

Thursday is always a messy day because the supplies for the week arrive at noon just as we open for lunches. Chaos reigns until all produce is stowed, the wine racks loaded and the dry good containers are filled. Hopefully it will be fine and the first customers will sit on the tables outside.

It usually isn’t a particularly busy day in the restaurant itself but this is the day that a lot of the food is prepared for the evenings and because this coming weekend is Bank Holiday we are stocking heavier than normal.

 I’ll pack some old clothes in case things are quiet. The garden out the back of Wharenui has been badly neglected and needs attention. I’ve already cleared the lower terraces and now want to attack the blackberry, bracken and trees in the upper area.  

The usual chef, Seus is away on holiday for a month and Claire, the other permanent employee has taken off in their VW combi with the kids for a fortnight.  Verity has stepped up into Seus’s role, Bronni is the sous chef and I’m front of house. Casual staff are called in to help as required.

The restaurant can seat 24 inside and another 12 outside. It has pitched itself as a step up from the pubs but a step down from the silver service of Martins Restaurant “Embers”. Wharenui is a historic trust building with stone floors, walls and low door lentils. Verity’s artistic flair has created a homey ambience with flowers, books and art. During the day the table clothes are removed so the natural wooden tables can lighten the room and it feels like Grandma kitchen. At night, dark soft table clothes are fitted and the tables set to reflect the dimmed lights, oil lanterns, candles and fire. The restaurant consists of two small rooms with the fire in the wall between; allowing for a degree of intimacy in a friendly atmosphere.   

 This restaurant does not particularly appeal to the toffs and the prices usually chase away the bums. The clientele is a fare mix of locals and visitors who are attracted to the environment with a kiwi twist.  

The kiwi twist is not an absolute mantra of the restaurant. The mains have been called Rainbow Warrior, Buller River and Tasman Bay. There are NZ wines available but they also offer French, Chilean and Australian alternative. The food is very nice local-Med mix and well presented.

 It now 11.00 o’clock and we better get on our bikes. I’ve go to open the restaurant, put the tables out on the road, warm up the coffee machine, and generally get the place ready.  Bronni has to get creative so we can update the specials board.   

The 12 oclock mayhem quickly arrived with a flood of customers coming in as we carried in the supplies. There’s the local farming couple wanting some scones and tea, the 7 asian boys trying the ever popular kiwi burgers, the grandmother with her grand daughter looking for tea, hot chocolate and food and then there was the 2 lactating mothers with 5 kids under 5, stretching a cup of tea over a 3 hrs gossip session occupying 8 seats while the kids spread food all over the place. ( No wonder restaurants don’t really want children). Both inside and outside were full and the tables continued to turn over for 3 hours solid. ……. And then it suddenly stopped. The place emptied. The dishes were done. The floors were mopped where the kids had been. We polished the glasses and cutlery. Verity went off to her house to do some painting. I got changed and went out in the garden. ….. and no one else came that day…. period

There were no bookings for that night and at 8.00pm with no walk ins we called it a day and rode home. A bit of a let down really considering that last week all nights from Thur-Sunday were packed and I really wanted to tell you about a packed night in this blog.

Not only does packed = success (for clarity Wharenui is successful) but there is a real buzz when you have a full house requiring drinks, starters, mains, more drinks, desert, cheese boards and coffee and it runs like a clock. On Sunday night there was just Verity Bronni and myself and we had 24 customers. We were kinda lucky because the first group was seated by 6pm and the last ones came in about 8.30pm with a reasonable even spread throughout the evening. The “front of house” role is everything other than preparing the food; Taking orders, setting tables, serving drinks, (haven’t really mastered the Lindeboom larger without getting too much head) delivering the food, clearing tables, doing the dishes(must keep on top of the dishes otherwise you’ll be swamped) making sure we get paid and chatting to the customers.   

 Things can easily go pear shaped and I’m only just getting the hang of what and where everything is. That a Peroni is a beer, J20 an Orange drink and a black sheep has nothing to do with the King Country Lamb on the menu but is a bottled ale. That the corner table beside the window is called flowers (although every table has flowers); the table in the back corner is called door and the table beside the door is called window. Go figure…

Unfortunately artist are not particularly strong on logical systems. I’m thinking a Toyota lean system could be a benefit here. (I sorted out the drinks fridge after a pile of wine bottles came charging out onto my lap with one smashing on the floor.)

Groups greater than 4 can also hemorrhage the process because they like synchronisation of the meal which places very high demands on the team.  The other problem with groups is the “grandstander” (usually women) who just wants to show everyone how important they are. The object of their attention will be something negative about the place. The range of wines, the limited menu, the food, the temperature, the timliness of service or the inability to accommodate their designer illness (we had someone ask for a desert without fruit or diary products)…..and then the rest try and compete.

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This is more of a problem at Embers than Wharenui but it is probably a reflection of the clientele. We’re a homey lot and the majority are pretty happy. On Sunday night we managed to get £15 each in tips but this paled to the record they made on Saturday night of £22 ea.(in a country where tipping is not customary)

Tipping is a funny business and is very much like bonuses at work. If you get tipped twice in a row you begin to expect it every time. There is little correlation between effort and service with the tip. The payment and size of the tip is a reflection of the payer’s personality and mood at the time he/she pays.  

………..and then we put on the bike clothes and ride home. Latest night ride. 1.30am

Lets hope tomorrow is better.

Would anyone like Starters?