If restaurants are a team sport, Father’s Day is a bit like a preliminary final….
It’s Father’s Day, again.
And for many, that means a slightly different kind of Sunday… maybe breakfast in bed, a gift for Dad, probably a few calls to loved ones elsewhere and doing something special for lunch… but in the restaurant business, it means business.
While any Sunday at Rústico means stepping things up a bit over the usual weekday pressure - today we have 130 confirmed “covers” booked with the pleasant inevitability of a few walk-ins to factor in – occasion days like this come with just that little bit of added intensity. Expectations are higher, special menus throw a curve ball to both the kitchen and service team, and it’s a great opportunity to show both regulars and first-timers that we do occasions, and totsl restaurant experiences, really well.
There’s the frisson of something out of the ordinary to unite and energise the team.
Father’s Day is special, to be sure, but in many respects it’s also typical of any busy weekend at Rústico, a seven-days-a-week food and beverage machine: create the veneer of calm while beneath the surface, a lot of hard work and sticking-to-systems brings it all together seamlessly. Usually.
Today, responsibility for running the kitchen falls on the shoulders of sous chef Lauren Gaunt (her boss, head chef Mike McAllister, is away on a management course) and like any good chef, she knows the only way to stay ahead of the curve is to be prepared.
Despite an unseasonally wet early Spring, meaning it’s not much of a day to get to work early by our own glorious Margaret River standards, Gaunt and five of her kitchen team are already hard at it by eight am.
In addition to the standard degustation menu - in itself a five-course/ten-dish procession with a host of options/variations and wine pairings to consider – there’s a separate Father’s Day set-menu today for the kitchen to produce and front-of-house team to manage.
A good chef is nothing if not a logistics manager.
Good thing then that, as well as being a great cook, Gaunt has worked is some seriously busy Melbourne restaurants honing her kitchen management craft.
By nine am her full team of 10 is at hard it: baking bread, stuffing Spanish peppers, making rice pudding, portioning fish… The list of tasks in a commercial kitchen is endless, and indeed lists are what a kitchen like Rústico's depends on... Ordering, checking, storing, refrigerating, prepping... And of course it’s never a day- by-day scenario. At the back of her mind, Gaunt is always thinking beyond today’s “service” to the week ahead. What needs to be ordered; what needs to come off the menu and what will replace it; what’s in season and how best to use it; does she have the staff she needs; and always, what will the guests think/like/want?
A restaurant that opens (nearly) every day of the year is a continuum, a wheel that never stops turning. Being able to create a dish and execute it is just the start of a good chef’s skillset.
Father’s Day, for example, began with a menu plan three weeks prior, ordering of supplies to arrive six days in advance, and prepping throughout the week.
“And we nailed it says Gaunt,” a chef who takes considerable pride in setting a plan and following it through. That means anticipation; a certain informed stab at what will be required on the day and wriggle-room for variations. It means minimising wastage, too, which is obviously good for the bottom line but good for the planet too.
Given the day, then, little wonder assistant restaurant manager James Philpott is in early too. A veteran of eight years at Rustico at Hay Shed Hill, Philpott – a rusted-on hospitality industry stayer – is today conductor of an orchestra of 12 that must balance the art of hospitality with the discipline of service.
When it’s right, it’s a symphony. But if it’s wrong …. and we try to ensure it never is… it’s a cacophony. Good restaurants have a rhythm of contentment and relaxation you can actually hear, and it’s a beautiful thing.
By nine am, Philpott has six of his ultimate team of 10 on deck; setting tables, printing menus, preparing cocktail specials, polishing cutlery and glassware… There are so many little things a customer should take for granted that we cannot, and they need to be done by a pair of - or several - hands. Hospitality is about creating experiences AI will never replicate, and it’s all about completing a set of small but pivotal tasks, and attention to detail, to build a whole.
By 10.45 am the day’s entire service team is on board and Philpott can run the all-essential daily briefing: bookings, menu changes, special menus. How to deal with special orders and dietary requirements. What are the beverage specials for the day (it’s actually a craft beer pairing for Dads). And all communicated via a new digital ordering system, the essential conduit between front-of-house and kitchen. Ultimately, of course, it will make everyone’s life easier and provide management with invaluable data but like anything new, it takes some getting used to.
And finally, a tasting of the Father’s Day menu for all the floor team. Every waiter must know each dish, how it’s made and what’s in it. It’s not just about culinary preference, but safety too. And with the right playlist selected, the crew up to speed on their day ahead, the first table of three arrives for an 11 am booking… 15 minutes early.
The Sunday service has begun. Everything clicks up a gear.
For us, the guests are the focus, our entire raison d’etre. For our service team, there’s a genuine pleasure at meeting, greeting and looking after the folks who come through the door, from penthouse to pavement, princes to paupers. Rústico has always attracted a very broad cross-section of humanity.
And for the kitchen team, there is no greater buzz than that coming from a satisfied dining room with everything in its right place, the systems operating as planned. Happy customers, happy crew.
By 12.30, the Rústico mill is thrumming; most of the tables are full and the first of our Rústico Ride customers have arrived, taking advantage of our dedicated transport service to enjoy a relaxed lunch without getting behind the wheel. A semi-retired couple from Brisbane staying at Smiths Beach Resort – one of our resort partners – they’ve enjoyed a complimentary tasting at Hay Shed Hill before settling in to a Sunday feast without a care in the world.
And the Father’s Day menu is a hit.
Five different Spanish-inspired dishes to start, another five mains on a similar theme and a dessert of sticky date pudding, creamed rice and miso caramel. It’s typically generous but possibly a little less time-consuming than the “dego” we’re renowned for. And it’s worked; a majority of the day’s guests choose it.
More importantly, our customers are happy.
Numbers wise, it peaks around two pm with nearly every table in the restaurant full; by 2.30, guests have started to head off, and so it progresses until well after five; the last reservation was for 3 pm.
The couple from Brisbane will leave for Smiths Beach, and possibly a little siesta, around four pm. The last dessert will go out around 4.45 pm; but for the kitchen team, preparation for the following day, and week, has already begun before a single Father’s Day guest arrives.
“Ideally,” says Gaunt “prep for the next day begins as soon as we’re set up for service... “In the kitchen, we’re always thinking ahead. You just have to.”
But it’s customers on the day that count.
By closing time 135 “covers” have been done; a lot of food, a lot of service, a lot of drinks, a lot of looking after guests which, naturally, means cleaning up after them. Part of the brief. About 60 per cent of them chose the Father’s Day Feast and the balance our Winter Degustation menu. Nearly half the guests chose a cocktail; we celebrated five birthdays and two anniversaries.
Plenty could have gone wrong... but didn’t.
“We had a few chunky waits on some tables right at the peak of service,” says Philpott “but none of the customers minded; they could see we were busy and the quality of the food coming out today made up for any waits. And by 2pm all food was flowing fast again and we were set and ready for our second sitting.”
For most of the team, Monday is already the focus. The last guests finish lunch around 5.30 pm and by six, all the cleaning and setting-up for next day is done; for key staff who’ve worked through, it’s the end of a big day.
“Running a busy restaurant on Father’s Day, especially serving two menus, is an incredibly challenging yet rewarding experience,” says Gaunt “but the atmosphere and appreciation from the families dining with us made every effort worthwhile.”
Philpott gets his professional nutrition from the face-to-face contact with guests; busy, successful days are a big vitamin pill.
“Especially the surprise on the dads faces when we gave them a little gift from us, their Rustico Multi Tool as an extra little something from us... Seeing our guests enjoy their special day added a deeply satisfying feeling to the busy hours. It’s services like these that remind us why we love what we do and keep us coming back for more.”
Thinking about getting your Christmas Party sorted?
Let us take care of your end-of-year celebrations. With our full package – jump on board The Rústico Ride , enjoy a wine tasting with Hay Shed Hill in their cellar door, before enjoying a long, relaxed Lunch at Rustico – everything you need for the perfect festive get-together.
