Breakfast Work at Boulder's B&B

Introduction

The breakfast staff person is responsible for preparing, serving, and cleaning up breakfast, as well as answering the phone and handling guest check-outs during their shift. If there are fewer than 12 guests eating breakfast one employee will be scheduled to work breakfast. When there are more than 12 guests for breakfast another employee (referred to as "b2")will be assigned to work as well during the time of serving. During the week the breakfast staff arrives at 6am and works until 10am. Guests are able to eat breakfast from 7am until 9am. On weekends the schedule is delayed by one hour with the breakfast staff arriving at 7am and working until 11am, and guests eating between 8am and 10am. It is imperative that the breakfast staff arrive on time in order to completely prepare for breakfast in only one hour. The breakfast staff can also expect guests to occasionally come into the kitchen before 7am to request coffee or tea.

Upon Arrival

Since the breakfast staff is the first to arrive for the day you will need to unlock the building. When you arrive for your shift unlock the front door and take the "CLOSED" sign from the door. Make sure to collect the newspapers from the front stoop and arrange them on the newspaper table in the hallway. Day old newspapers should be recycled or kept in the basket next to the main fireplace for kindling. If there is already sufficient sunlight you should now turn off the exterior lights and the lights in the living room and west wing. When you get to the kitchen turn on the kitchen lights and unlock the sunporch door. Next, boot up the computer and open RezOvation, and the staff log. Read the note left by nightshift and any other notes you may have missed since your last shift. This is important because the log may have special dietary requests as well as “breakfast in bed” requests that you will have to fulfill.

Breakfast Preparation

Staying organized and preparing thoroughly will make the rest of the breakfast shift go more smoothly.

The first thing you should do is make a pot of coffee. Since guests will often come to the kitchen before breakfast officially begins it is important to be prepared if they request coffee. If there are many guests for breakfast you may want to make up to three pots of coffee in the first hour of your shift to prepare for a busy breakfast with lots of coffee drinkers.

The next two steps of breakfast prep can be completed in the order of your choosing: Setting out extras for the table, and making fruit salad.

The breakfast staff can expect the night shift to have set the table, and put out salt, pepper, sugar, honey, and sweeteners. It is the breakfast staff's responsibility to place the following extra items on the table in an organized manner:

Half and half (1 small pitcher per 4 place settings)
Butter urns (1 per 4 place settings)
Apricot and Berry Jams (1 ramequin of each per 4 place settings)
Bread or muffins (1 basket per 4 place settings)

The fruit salad must be prepared and scooped into the small glass bowls set out by the night shift. Each place setting should have a bowl of fruit salad placed in the center of the plate. One portion of fruit salad is just enough cover the bottom of the bowl completely. Use the large, blue plastic bowl to hold the chopped fruit before transferring it to the small glass bowls. Try to prepare enough fruit to serve the number of people who will arrive for breakfast plus 1 or 2 extra servings in case someone asks for more or unexpectedly brings a friend or relative to breakfast. Half of the blue plastic bowl will be enough to serve around 10 people. Filling the bowl almost completely will serve up to 20 people. While it is not an exact science it is important that the breakfast staff attempts to prepare the correct amount of fruit salad to avoid waste. You may choose to use whatever combination of available fruits and berries you wish while always striving for a variety of pleasing flavors and colors. Sharpening one of the chef's knives hanging above the sink before beginning the salad will make the preparation faster and safer. You may also wish to use the apple corer that is found in the drawer to the right of the stove.

Saute Vegetables

Once the fruit salad is made and the extras set on the table it is time to begin sauteing vegetables for eggs, or preparing batter for pancakes (Mondays), waffles (Wednesdays), or french toast (Fridays). There are recipes available on the Briar Rose web site to help you prepare pancakes, waffles or french toast. Preparing vegetables for eggs is important regardless of what day it is since guests will often ask for eggs instead of the other options. Simply choose three or four of the available vegetables you would like to serve and chop them into bite size pieces and sautee them in either butter or olive oil. Mushrooms should always be sautéed in butter for flavor.

Final Preparation

The final steps for breakfast prep involve setting out yogurt, bread for toast, and setting up a station for making eggs. One container each of French Vanilla, and plain yogurt should be set out, as well as the tupperware containing raspberries next to the coffee machine. The breads for toast can be placed on any free counter space, the space under the microwave being the most likely. A glass bowl, a whisk, a carton of eggs, a jar of half and half, and any vegetables you will serve should be placed on the counter next to the stove for making scrambled eggs or omelets.

Serving

Offering kind, prompt service is essential to keeping guests happy during breakfast. When guests arrive they should be asked to sit where they would like and offered tea or coffee. Once these have been provided you should offer water or orange juice. When the guests have received all of their beverages you can offer them their choice of french vanilla or plain yogurt. After this you may ask if they would like eggs. If it is Monday, Wednesday or Friday you should offer them the special dish for that day. When serving breakfast you must make sure that you take care of all the people sitting at the table. Each guest must be offered everything so they don't feel left out.

Clean Up

Cleaning should be done throughout the breakfast shift so that it is not all left until the end. If all guests have eaten by 9am, or 10am on weekends breakfast should be cleaned up within the next hour. Washing dishes as they come into the kitchen and keeping the counters clean go a long way towards accomplishing this. Once all of the guests are finished eating you may begin to completely clear the table. When the table is clear wipe it down with a rag moistened with furniture polish. After the table has been wiped you must clean the dining room rug using the red, battery operated "swiffer sweeper" The kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned with all dishes going into the dishwasher, or rinsed and set on the counter above the dishwasher if it is already full. Teapots need to be rinsed and set to dry on the rack to the right of the sink. The stove and counters should be wiped down thoroughly and the compost buckets emptied.