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How many hands

Staff Planner

The brigade for your dinner: cooks, servers, bartenders and the captain, with the hours, the ratios behind them and what they cost in your market.

What it does

Service ratios exist because a plated course has a temperature window. One server per six guests is not tradition, it is the number of plates that can be carried, placed and cleared before the food changes. This planner applies the professional ratios for your service style and shows the hours as a brigade would book them.

How to use it

  • Set guests, service style and the length of the evening
  • Add a bar, a wine service or a late supper if you have one
  • Read the brigade, the hours and the cost
  • Take the list to your caterer and ask for names against the stations

Notes

  • Most markets have a four hour minimum call per person
  • One hour before and one after the event belong in the hours
  • A captain from twenty guests upwards changes the evening more than an extra server