Breakfast Times - how the heck do you do it?

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JBloggs

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I have no idea how you all do open breakfast times, it is killing me.
Today just three rooms, for real reasons they needed diff breakfast times. 6am biz guest, 8am VA Tech Graduation, 9am Liberty U graduation. So I have been up doing breakfast ALL DAY for 4+ hours now and the last guests are eating main course now and then will clean up. This is only three measely rooms, HOW DO YOU DO IT!?
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We have two people, that helps. Plus we almost always have someone waiting to go right at 8, and then some who like to wait 'til later. So it helps us, because we don't have enough seats for everyone. When we have to wait for "late sitters" we try to get the next day's breakfast prepped or cookies baked for that afternoon, or laundry done, etc.
You went above and beyond today, hope it was enjoyed and appreciated by everyone!
 
You cater your menu to things that can be made quickly ie pancakes or waffles with a pre made topping and bang them out. We cook our cooked breakfast to order every day with 12 rooms and have it down to a fine art it takes 3 minutes exactly to prepare at peak we have done 19 breakfasts in 30 minutes (though that was a scream!) I totally agree some things cannot be pre cooked and kept warm or think about serving cold dishes only? Also we only serve from 7.30 to 9.30 so that bunches them up a bit better.
 
I am not talking about making the food, not talking about keeping anything warm, I can do that with my eyes closed after 8 years, I am talking about the whole day spent waiting and in the kitchen and clearing up. !! It wears me out the whole length of it all! Cambs wrote: "done 19 breakfasts in 30 minutes" I would love to do 19 in 30 minutes, that's what I'M TALKIN' BOUT! GIT R DONE!
They left the table back in there again...more clean up. haha
 
I am not talking about making the food, not talking about keeping anything warm, I can do that with my eyes closed after 8 years, I am talking about the whole day spent waiting and in the kitchen and clearing up. !! It wears me out the whole length of it all! Cambs wrote: "done 19 breakfasts in 30 minutes" I would love to do 19 in 30 minutes, that's what I'M TALKIN' BOUT! GIT R DONE!
They left the table back in there again...more clean up. haha.
Turn 'n Burn! We love that. Nice weather helps, they all want to get out and do something. It's just because you're not used to it, that is a LONG time to be serving bfast.
 
I come in the office and chat here. Spouse reads the paper. But I would not stretch the brekkie as far as you have today. 6 AM brekkie? Then the latest other brekkie would have been 8-8:30. We generally won't stretch beyond 7:30 as the first brekkie time. If we have a full weekend and a lot of the guests need 7:30, the rest get short shrift and are told brekkie ends at 9.
We can't do anything else in that time. No laundry because it sucks up all the hot water. No vacuuming because guests are asleep. And I don't want to be in the middle of something and be called away for food service, so I'll read, do my puzzles, stuff like that.
What I can't do is sit at 8 AM. If I'm sitting at 8 AM I am falling asleep. I need to be running first thing.
Otherwise, like DD said, they space themselves out and they all fit. Otherwise there's a pile up and if someone has to BE somewhere, they get grumpy.
 
We sometimes have different breakfast times but we insist that breakfast is served no earlier than 7AM and no later than 9AM-you have done that as I see-and different breakfast times are not my favorite either. When guests check in we always ask what time-if they say 6:30 (we are flexible) but if we have another guest checking in we kind of guide them to the 8-8:30 time, usually they say its fine.
I know it feels as if you are sitting around waiting for the next bunch it does exhaust me more and the enxiety level is higher. Good luck.
 
We just won't do it. We post our breakfast times on our website and say that if an earlier breakfast is needed we will arrange for a continental breakfast. For a continental, we'll place it in their fridge the night before.
Holy cow, what time did you have to get up for that 6:00am brekkie?? I'm sure it feels like you put in a full day's work already by the time they left after they ate.
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Breakfast is from 8AM to 10AM, with no extensions. If we get a special request for an early breakfast, it is continental, toasted bread or bagels, etc. We start preparing at 7AM and so coffee can usually be had from that time.
We have six spots at the table and two at the counter. If they are spread out, we can usually move the counter spots to the table. We have five rooms, but we can have as many as fourteen people. In the case of more than ten we usually set the table for eight. Today we had nine, so I had to reset one spot on the table.
In the summer when we get busy I sometimes have to ask people when they want breakfast. We limit it to 8:30 or 9:30, sometimes called early or late. We never ask them for a time because everyone will say 9AM, almost universally. We need to spread them out.
Some dishes are just easy to roll out. One of the reasons that I love blintzes is that I make the batter at 7AM and let it sit for an hour and then start the factory. But I always make a big double batch and using waxed paper, I package what's left over for another day. They freeze so well. Some people like to bake theirs, we defrost and fry them as needed on a low heat. We fill with cheese, so that can be served plain or with fruit. Sometimes we put filings of what's left over in the house, Nutella and bananas for example. And if we have someone who is gluten-free, we make a big batch of gluten-free and freeze and label the leftovers for another gluten-free guest. We can do the same by using almond milk for lactose-free or dairy-free.
 
How about one that schedules for 9 and then asks for brekkie in their room? And still hasn't checked out...
 
How about one that schedules for 9 and then asks for brekkie in their room? And still hasn't checked out....
We don't do breakfast in bed. Maybe I should offer it as an option... $20 instead of the dining room communal breakfast. Served on Chinet or Corelle? I don't want my bone china going up the stairs.
It's 11:30 here, and I have one left to check out.
And I had one call last night at 11PM because she forgot her jacket in Montreal... like I can do something about it at 11PM from my bed!
 
How about one that schedules for 9 and then asks for brekkie in their room? And still hasn't checked out....
We don't do breakfast in bed. Maybe I should offer it as an option... $20 instead of the dining room communal breakfast. Served on Chinet or Corelle? I don't want my bone china going up the stairs.
It's 11:30 here, and I have one left to check out.
And I had one call last night at 11PM because she forgot her jacket in Montreal... like I can do something about it at 11PM from my bed!
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I plated it and they took it up to their room themselves. Brought all the dishes back down and left the tray on the kitchen counter. I got the kitchen cleaned while they were eating, read the paper, didn't have to do the 'show' and now off to clean the room.
This is not a usual request for us.
 
JB, I just read on another thread that it's your business guest that is having the 6:00am brekkie and that you're trying to get more of their business. That info makes it a little more of a dilema about spreading out the breakfast times. I know you really want the business guests, but are you prepared to do this spread of breakfast times on a regular basis? Just something to think about. I think for business guests, you could still do a very lovely continental breakfast and they would be happy, certainly not as happy as you've made this guest, but heck, no matter what kind of continental breakfast is served, it would be better than at a hotel.
 
PS the word HECK was put in to say (and picture me saying it) HOW THE HECK DO YOU DO IT! as in "How can you do this all the time!" Not as in, tell me the secret because I plan to do this all the time. It was a PROCLAMATION and an EXCLAMATION!!
I don't plan on changing how I do things, just wanted to share I was in your shoes (those who have open and extended hours for breakfast) and don't know how you can do this.
whattha.gif
 
PS the word HECK was put in to say (and picture me saying it) HOW THE HECK DO YOU DO IT! as in "How can you do this all the time!" Not as in, tell me the secret because I plan to do this all the time. It was a PROCLAMATION and an EXCLAMATION!!
I don't plan on changing how I do things, just wanted to share I was in your shoes (those who have open and extended hours for breakfast) and don't know how you can do this.
whattha.gif
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Well, look at it this way...I have no idea how you plate and serve to 12 guests at the same time! We don't have the room to hot hold that much food to get it all to the table piping hot.
 
Consider changing the option for breakfast. Like, we do not provide room service [This note is put up in the rooms] & that also means no breakfast in the rooms. All guests come up to our main house for breakfast. It also gives the guests a common point to mingle & plan the day out together if they so desire.
1. After much thinking we decided to throw open our own dining room for serving breakfast & that has saved us from a lot of hassle; as it helps you to better organize the table & food layout.
2. Put up breakfast timing note in your rooms. Keep it short, don't spread it over long hours. (I got mine at 08:30-09:00, ). So far people have been considerate enough not to push for breakfast at 6 am, although we have offered them.
3. In your current case, the 08:00 and 09:00 could have been compromised at 08:30 for both. Although this is much simpler to organize if you can provide them with a common hall for breakfast.
4. Sometimes, you just have to do it. Day before yesterday our breakfast went on from 07:30 [early check-out] till 11:30 [honey moon tweeties]. But as i said before, our not providing breakfast in room & serving guests in our own dining area made it all much better.
 
Consider changing the option for breakfast. Like, we do not provide room service [This note is put up in the rooms] & that also means no breakfast in the rooms. All guests come up to our main house for breakfast. It also gives the guests a common point to mingle & plan the day out together if they so desire.
1. After much thinking we decided to throw open our own dining room for serving breakfast & that has saved us from a lot of hassle; as it helps you to better organize the table & food layout.
2. Put up breakfast timing note in your rooms. Keep it short, don't spread it over long hours. (I got mine at 08:30-09:00, ). So far people have been considerate enough not to push for breakfast at 6 am, although we have offered them.
3. In your current case, the 08:00 and 09:00 could have been compromised at 08:30 for both. Although this is much simpler to organize if you can provide them with a common hall for breakfast.
4. Sometimes, you just have to do it. Day before yesterday our breakfast went on from 07:30 [early check-out] till 11:30 [honey moon tweeties]. But as i said before, our not providing breakfast in room & serving guests in our own dining area made it all much better..
This will diverge from the topic, but I recently put up a nice little sign in the guest rooms (VERY visible) to inform guests about the breakfast time, where to find us after hours, how to use the internet access and check out time. The same guest who asked to take breakfast to their room also came back and asked what time is check-out?
It was on the registration form they signed, on the back of the door (required) and on this new, very visible sign. It is also in the room book that tells them where things are in the building.
You can't TELL them when they arrive, they're too tired to pay attention. You can't put out infomational brochures, they don't look at them. All you can do is deal with it every time it happens.
We have found that stating the breakfast times and not offering the guests to choose their own usually gets them into the dining room before we close up.
But, for every change/procedure you implement, another guest will come along who finds a way to defeat it!
 
As you know, my times are between 4 AM and 10 AM. I make one breakfast with the entree in several pans sized ny number who will be at each seating. I get up about 90 minutes before breakfast time. If there is enough time between breakfasts, I check e-mail, update records, read the paper - stuff like that. I just have to get the next entree in the oven 30 minutes before serving timw so it can bake. Depending on time between breakfasts, I might reset the table for the next ones but if they are only an hour apart, I just pre-set the table for all.
 
PS the word HECK was put in to say (and picture me saying it) HOW THE HECK DO YOU DO IT! as in "How can you do this all the time!" Not as in, tell me the secret because I plan to do this all the time. It was a PROCLAMATION and an EXCLAMATION!!
I don't plan on changing how I do things, just wanted to share I was in your shoes (those who have open and extended hours for breakfast) and don't know how you can do this.
whattha.gif
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I don't plan on changing how I do things, just wanted to share I was in your shoes (those who have open and extended hours for breakfast) and don't know how you can do this
By serving family style. No way am I plating.
 
PS the word HECK was put in to say (and picture me saying it) HOW THE HECK DO YOU DO IT! as in "How can you do this all the time!" Not as in, tell me the secret because I plan to do this all the time. It was a PROCLAMATION and an EXCLAMATION!!
I don't plan on changing how I do things, just wanted to share I was in your shoes (those who have open and extended hours for breakfast) and don't know how you can do this.
whattha.gif
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Joey Bloggs said:
PS the word HECK was put in to say (and picture me saying it) HOW THE HECK DO YOU DO IT! as in "How can you do this all the time!" Not as in, tell me the secret because I plan to do this all the time. It was a PROCLAMATION and an EXCLAMATION!!
I don't plan on changing how I do things, just wanted to share I was in your shoes (those who have open and extended hours for breakfast) and don't know how you can do this.
whattha.gif
I dunno. I just do it. I don't think about it too much. (That might get depressing...)
It's easier for me not to have more than 8 at a time. And... I'm very grateful that most of the time they are easily herded into the same (or at least approximately same) time.
But yeah, the days I have three sittings (rare, but at least once or twice a year) I'm bushed.
=)
Kk.
 
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