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Introductory Training for Line Cooks
Banzo of Madison
Training Project for MGMT 5153
Derek Combee, James Schmitz, Kenon Thompson April 18, 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPIC PAGE
Introduction 3
Needs Assessment 3
Organizational Analysis 4
Person Analysis 5
Task Analysis 8
Training Objective 10
Transfer of Training 10
Detailed Lesson Plan 12
Training Methods 15
Evaluation Plan 16
Conclusion 17
Appendix
Appendix 1 – Banzo Kitchen Layout 19
Appendix 2 – Concept Maps 20
Appendix 3 – Graphic Plating Aids 22
Appendix 4 – Training Response Form 23
Appendix 5 – Draft Employee Goal Setting Sheet 25
and Evaluation Form
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Introduction
Banzo of Madison started life in 2011 as a food cart owned and operated by Aaron
Collins and Netalee Sheinman. Serving Israeli-style falafel and sliders, they quickly added head
chef Dan Schmitz (brother of author), rave reviews, and a Best of Madison Award. The Banzo
Empire has expanded to a second cart, a café, and delivery service, requiring long hours for
everyone involved. Additionally, Aaron and Netalee want to start a family. Faced with these
issues and employee turnover in the kitchen, Banzo presented itself as a business in need of a
cohesive training program linked to their business strategy.
Our project began with a needs assessment consisting of organizational, people, and task
analyses. We then developed training objectives, selected training methods to ensure transfer of
training, and evaluation methods to determine the effectiveness of training and identify areas for
improvement.
Needs Assessment
The needs assessment was primarily conducted using interviews with the owners and
head chef of Banzo. These members are considered our subject-matter experts (SMEs). The
interviews indicated a need to develop and conduct training for their two new cooks, starting in
the kitchen and potentially moving into their food cart operations. To better identify training
needs, an organizational, person and task analysis was undertaken with the assistance of Banzo
personnel. The frequency of training would be based on turnover, which is currently about one
cook a year. When looking for new hires, Banzo would look for people with at least one year of
previous cooking experience or basic culinary training at the tech school level.
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Organizational Analysis
Banzo’s mission is to provide high-quality, healthy food for Madison, Wisconsin. In
addition to running the carts and café, their vision is a 3-year plan to market their hummus,
invest in a bakery, and open franchises outside of Madison. Banzo values their local relationships
with suppliers, the family atmosphere between employees, and the quality of their product. An
internal analysis reveals their strengths: their positive atmosphere, great food, and a loyal
following. Their weaknesses are: current location (site of several failed restaurants), the capacity
of their current kitchen, relative inexperience in running a restaurant, and their family
atmosphere, which sometimes creates problems with managerial issues and leadership. The
results of an external analysis showed two opportunities: selling their products in local
supermarkets and expanding their dine-in business. Their main threat is new competitors in the
expanding food cart scene. Their strategic choice was to serve Israeli-style falafel out of a cart
and begin expansion from there.
Banzo’s current business strategies are concentration and internal growth, emphasizing
increasing their market share, developing new markets, and product development. They will
accomplish these goals through delivering quality products and customer service, improving
productivity, adding distribution channels, identifying and developing managers, and eventually
expanding into new markets. Their key issues are the development of their existing workforce,
creation of new manager jobs, and talent management. The implications of their strategies are the
need for on-the-job training (OJT), technical competence, and manager training.
Since only Aaron, Netalee, and Dan can perform the duties of managers and head chef,
respectively, Banzo currently has a performance gap. There is not enough time for them to
perform their current jobs and pursue all of the business strategies necessary for continued
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success. For this training program, we will be emphasizing OJT to improve technical
competence.
Currently, Aaron, Netalee, and Dan have no formal education in training and
development of personnel. The process of developing training for line cooks will give Aaron,
Netalee, and Dan the tools to develop similar training programs for servers and managers, and
this intent is shown in several of the included products. Developing their current and new
employees will give them the ability to start reducing their hours at the restaurant, which will in
turn allow them more time and energy to pursue strategic and family goals. In turn, employees
will have the opportunity for positions of increased responsibility and pay.
The support of managers for the training is high. Aaron, Netalee, and Dan all expressed
enthusiasm for the idea in our first interview. Likewise, cooks that have worked on Banzo’s carts
have voiced concerns due to the lack of familiarity in its deployment.
Banzo does not have a large budget for conducting outside training or hiring a consultant.
They do have the internal expertise to train technical skills. They will be developing their own
program and training resources with our assistance.
Person Analysis
The Banzo team expressed concerns for the initial skills of their two newly hired line
cooks, despite their having some previous cooking experience. Since cooks can specialize in
many different cuisines, and equipment in kitchens may vary, they have found the new cooks
possess varied knowledge and skill bases due to their varied past experiences. Similarly, some
cooks will arrive with little knowledge of safety codes and health requirements, so this will also
need to be considered. All cooks will require training in the specific recipes and equipment for
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Banzo, regardless of previous experience. The time needed to complete training will vary based
on the individual cook’s competency as determined by the head chef.
Person Characteristics
Banzo is looking for skilled and motivated cooks who have a passion for what they do
and for their community. The new line cooks should have a working knowledge of all common
kitchen equipment and procedures, a good attitude, and strong communication skills. Since
Banzo values a “family and community atmosphere,” it is important for the new cooks to be able
espouse the same types of values and attitudes. The culture within Banzo displays a high
motivation to learn, and thus provide modeling that can be transferred to the new cooks.
Additionally, the cooks must be able to have strong communication and interpersonal
skills – interactions with other employees and customers are a significant part of the business and
can have profound effects on the success or failure of the business. Interpersonal skills may be
most important for those cooks who are placed in the food carts. They will not only be required
to set up the food carts, but they must also maintain their own “kitchen” on wheels and serve
delicious food in outdoor settings. The food cart cooks must have mastered the basic skills of
cooking Banzo’s full menu, and have the cognitive abilities, interpersonal skills and time
management skills to present the image and great food that Banzo has quickly become known
for. These cognitive abilities and language skills must be refined to a level that will enable the
cooks to manage a kitchen or cart service during lunch rush and Friday dinners, which are most
stressful and demanding for Banzo. This is a daunting task, yet a comprehensive and robust
training program will ensure success for the cooks at Banzo.
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Input
The leadership at Banzo has identified the need for a training program, and will provide
new cooks with all the necessary equipment and information to perform their jobs. The
information provided is the recipes for each dish, the location of supplies, and expectations of
performance measures. The equipment is provided at Banzo’s kitchen. This includes all cooking
equipment (oven, stoves, fryers, etc.) as well as all utensils (knives, ladles, spatulas, mixers,
strainers, etc.) Key menu items will have presentation and proportion standards that are clearly
defined. Order tickets will be the primary stimulus for action in the kitchen. Customer interaction
will be a key skill that cooks will need to be trained in prior to working in the cart. However, the
development of this aspect is beyond the initial training of line cooks.
Output
The line cooks in training will be required to produce menu items for the Banzo staff and
customers. Banzo has detailed the ingredients and preparation of each menu item in a recipe
book. This includes dish presentation and aesthetics in the form of laminated graphic aids hung
in the kitchen which assist in training transfer. The head chef will be able to gauge the cook’s
level of proficiency during the training process. Detailed lesson plans for food safety and health
code requirements still need to be developed. This will part of the employees’ initial training,
and it will be evaluated on a continual basis.
Consequences
Although Banzo employees do not have any immediate incentives to perform well in the
kitchen other than the threat of being released, great food will continue to increase business, and
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adhering to food preparation and safety requirements will allow the restaurant to continue to
operate unimpeded. Mastery of the recipes and a demonstrated ability to lead others can result in
being selected as a lead cook or chef.
Feedback
During training, new cooks will be provided constant and immediate feedback from
Banzo’s head chef or lead cook due to the close proximity and high tempo of food preparation
during meal services. Once a cook has completed training, they will continue to receive periodic
feedback from the head chef, Banzo leadership, other employees, and from the customers
themselves. This may be direct feedback (from a compliment during dine-in) or indirect
feedback from an online review or comment of the customer’s experience.
Task Analysis
After training, cooks must possess a basic set of knowledge, skills, abilities and other
considerations (KSAOs) to perform their duties as expected by the Banzo staff and, ultimately,
the customers. We developed our KSAOs by having Chef Dan create a concept map (Appendix
1) that was validated through a review by the current line cooks.
Knowledge:
- Cooks must have knowledge of the Banzo recipes and each of the cook stations as described in
the concept map (Appendix 2).
- Cooks must have knowledge of health and safety standards for the foodservice industry
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Skills:
- Cooks must be able to prepare all sauces, vegetables and other kitchen items for service
- Cooks must be able to operate all kitchen equipment
- Cooks must be able to prepare all Banzo recipes to standard
Abilities:
- Cooks must possess the ability to manage kitchen supplies while simultaneously preparing
food for service
- Cooks must be able to manage multiple dishes simultaneously
In order to work as a cook in the cart, employees will need to demonstrate these additional
abilities:
- Cooks must be able to tow a cart with a SUV or truck
- Cooks must be able to set-up and tear-down the cart
- Cooks must be able to take orders, prepare food, and maintain the cash box
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Training Objective
Given the Banzo kitchen or cart, recipe book and necessary ingredients, cooks will be
able to prepare all menu items to the presentation and portion standards outlined by the Banzo
recipe book. Standards must be maintained under conditions of extreme heat and cold and
limited time to perform the tasks.
Transfer of Training
The Banzo training program will use rehearsal to ensure cooks retain the required
content. We will use repetition through massed practice to master skills throughout the kitchen.
This will be done by placing new cooks on certain equipment or stations until they have
mastered the skills required. Banzo’s current situation does not allow for training outside of
normal business hours. Some techniques can be demonstrated and practiced during preparation
times and slow periods of service, but the majority of learning will be done under pressure. The
head chef is responsible for maintaining service and quality standards during the training times
and there are 3 cooks, including the head chef in the kitchen during lunches and Friday dinners.
Cart operations are run by two people. While cooks are learning new equipment we will
encourage them through positive reinforcement to increase their motivation. This will mainly be
done through verbal reinforcement from peers and leadership, but may also include customer
feedback. As new cooks master simple tasks at the cold station, they will move onto the sauté
and fry stations, which have increased overall task complexity. This includes the mastery of
small skills first (part practice) that are required, followed by mastering the entire process for
preparing the menu item (whole practice).
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To further increase performance, the head chef and lead cook will use verbal persuasion
to encourage mastering new tasks, model appropriate behaviors such as time management and
professional demeanor, and logical verification to help transfer past learned skills into learning
new station tasks and menu items (i.e. indicators of doneness). These concepts will be most
beneficial while preparing for cart operations since it involves skills that cooks may not have
encountered in previous work experience.
Whether in the kitchen or on a cart, on-the-job training (OJT) will allow for flexible, yet
immediate feedback to occur from the head chef/lead cook to the trainee, and is the only
available method at this time. Training begins upon the hiring of the employee and is conducted
during normal business hours by the head cook. This will also allow for the “culture” to transfer
to the new employee and to ensure the new cook to become a part of the Banzo family. This will
ultimately produce better line cooks and a better business.
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Detailed Lesson Plan
Course title: Hot Side Operations
Lesson title: Fryer/Sauté
Lesson length: 5 hours (one shift) or broken up as needed to accommodate the day’s orders
Learning objectives:
1. Accurately describe portion sizes, cook times, and doneness indicators for fryer items
2. Demonstrate ability to properly cook fryer items
3. Accurately describe portion sizes, cook times, and doneness indicators for sauté items
4. Demonstrate ability to properly cook sauté items
Target audience: Line cooks
Prerequisites:
Trainee: basic kitchen experience
Instructor: Mastered the hot side of the Banzo kitchen (Chef or experienced line cook)
Room arrangement: Banzo Kitchen
Materials and equipment needed: Fully prepped hot side, portion/cook time/indicators
handout, posted pictures of finished items
Evaluation: Trial by fire: After the trainee has been shown have to correctly make all fryer and
sauté items, he/she will be expected to start making food to order under close supervision by the
Chef/Instructor. This will last the remainder of the shift and the trainee will be under supervision
for at least one more shift or until they have demonstrated sufficient skills to work alone.
Lesson Outline Instructor Activity Trainee Activity Time
Self-study Provide handout Self-study (off-duty) Self-directed
Introduction to fryer Demonstration and Observation and 30 min
explanation listening
Hands-on fryer Observation and Practice and skill 30 min
feedback demonstration
Introduction to sauté Demonstration and Observation and 30 min
explanation listening
Hands-on sauté Observation and Practice and skill 30 min
feedback demonstration
Trial-by-fire Observation and Application and skill 3 hours
feedback demonstration
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Instructor Notes
Provide trainee with the handout prior to this shift and have them learn it.
Introduction to the fryer: The instructor will go over all fried items: falafel, fries, schnitzel, and
eggplants. Portion sizes - falafel: 4 balls, fries: 1 hand-full, schnitzel: 1 pre-portioned serving,
eggplants: 1 inch thick slice cut in half. Use verbal questioning to ensure the trainee understands
the portion sizes. Review cook times for each item and indicators for doneness (color and
texture).
Trainee will be observing and listening to the instructor and be expected to demonstrate proper
cooking of fryer items at the end. Emphasize techniques on the use of frying equipment,
doneness indicators and safety. Provide opportunities for the trainee to ask questions and discuss
any areas of concern. Allow cook to practice techniques and provide feedback.
Introduction to sauté: Instructor will go over all items to be cooked on the range: chicken,
burgers, phillys, and searing eggplant. Portion sizes - Sliders: 4 burgers, Philly: 6 oz. of meat and
small handful of peppers and onions with 2 sliced mushrooms, chicken: full pan (can be held in
steam table so portion is not important on this side). Review cook times for each item and
indicators of doneness (i.e. color and texture); also stress the importance of tasting to insure that
seasoning and temperature of items is correct.
Trainee will be observing and listening to the instructor and be expected to demonstrate proper
cooking of sauté items at the end. Emphasize techniques used to prepare each item, doneness
indicators and safety. Provide opportunities for the trainee to ask questions and discuss any areas
of concern. Allow cook to practice techniques and provide feedback.
Trial by fire: After the trainee has been shown how to correctly make all fryer and sauté items,
he/she will be expected to start making food to order under close supervision by the
Chef/Instructor. This will last the remainder of the shift and the trainee will be under supervision
for at least one more shift or until they have demonstrated sufficient skills to work alone.
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Trainee Handout
Fryer Items
Item Portion Size Cook Time/
Safe Temp
Doneness Indicators
Falafel 4 balls TBD Color, texture
Fries 1 handful TBD Color, texture
Schnitzel 1 pre-portioned serving TBD Color, texture
Eggplants 1 inch thick slice, cut in half TBD Color, texture
Always taste it!!
Sauté Items
Item Portion Size Cook Time/
Safe Temp
Doneness Indicators
Chicken Full pan TBD Color, texture
Burgers 4 sliders TBD Color, texture
Phillys 6 oz. meat, small handful peppers &
onions, 2 sliced mushrooms
TBD Color, texture
Seared
Eggplant
TBD TBD Color, texture
Always taste it!!
TBD Items were not available from Banzo at time of submission
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Training Methods
Due to the training objective of this program, and resulting knowledge, skills and
abilities, the primary focus for training will be a hands-on method. Training handouts are
provided as shown in the detailed lesson plan, and testing will be done verbally by the head chef
and managers. More formal evaluations of training are unnecessary at this time.
On-the-job training will be the primary focus of this training program due to the identical
skills theory. This will ensure the required skills and knowledge are transferred from the trainer
to the trainee. The lesson plans will be conducted during actual meal preparation and service, and
allow the new cooks to observe a demonstration first, followed by practice, and finally perform
and produce the menu items. During practice, the new cooks can ask questions and receive
feedback at will (i.e. “Is this done?”) This serves the same purpose as more formal question and
answer periods and discussion of the topics.
Group building methods provide the opportunity for exercising interpersonal
communication and team building. As trainees acquire basic skills and knowledge, they are also
learning how to interact with the other cooks in the kitchen. Once skills are mastered at one
station, they will move on to other stations. Cross training on other stations will provide trainees
with the necessary skills to operate the kitchen independently, and ultimately prepare them to
excel when serving in Banzo’s carts.
Role plays will also help refine trainees interpersonal skills by providing them practice to
employ what they have learned, and provide a means for the trainer and staff to provide feedback
on their performance and discuss future expectations. These skills are important for working in
teams and managing the kitchen.
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Evaluation Plan
Banzo’s training program is designed to help improve the quality of cook and consistency
of product that comes out of the kitchen. In order to judge the program’s training effectiveness,
Banzo’s trainers or head chef will have to evaluate the students. The training program as a whole
also needs to be evaluated. These results will be used to determine the training program’s benefit
to the organization.
According to Kirkpatrick’s Four-level Framework of evaluation criteria Banzo’s
outcomes of the training program will focus on level one: reaction outcomes; level two:
acquisition of knowledge and skill; and level four: business results achieved by training.
After the training is complete and the cooks have finished their examination Banzo will
be able to use an evaluation sheet to measure the trainee’s reactions to the course. Monitoring
these reaction outcomes will allow Banzo to identify what the trainees thought of the training,
the trainers, and how the course could be modified to help the learning environment. This will
allow Banzo to periodically review the training program and decide if the training and evaluation
process need to be updated or changed.
The evaluation of the trainees will focus on behavior and skill-based outcomes as well as
some cognitive outcomes of the training. Skill-based outcomes will be used to assess the level of
technical expertise that has been gained by the new cooks. Due to the nature of cooking and the
expense of operating a kitchen the evaluation will take place based on observations made by the
head chef during normal business operations. Observing the trainee perform the correct food
preparation, cooking and plating of the items will be the best way to ensure proper skill transfer
has taken place.
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Trainees will also be subject to a verbal examination of cognitive outcomes. These
questions will allow the trainer to ensure the trainee is familiar with proper cooking principles,
techniques and procedures. Information that will be discussed includes food safety practices,
cooking temperatures, serving sizes and plating. An evaluation based on a combination of
cognitive questions and observation of skills should show Banzo’s head chef tangible results that
are measurable and repeatable.
Finally, Banzo will have to evaluate the effects of the introductory training on their
business results. As stated in the organizational analysis, Aaron, Netalee, and Dan need more
time to pursue additional strategic goals. By successfully implementing the training for line
cooks, Banzo will gain experience in training and development that they do not previously have.
This will allow them over the next five months to construct training programs to develop a lead
cook, new servers, and managers. This enhanced workforce will lighten Aaron, Netalee, and
Dan’s workload and give them the room to grow the business.
Conclusion
Banzo is a business that needs a solid training program in order to reach its full potential.
Their strategic business goals require the training and development of incoming employees using
on-the-job training. This training will develop the line cooks’ ability to work on every station in
the kitchen, and eventually give them the skills to work in one of the restaurant’s carts. After
evaluating the program, the owners will have a newfound ability to develop other employees.
This leads to Banzo having responsible and trustworthy lead cooks and managers that will shift
Aaron, Netalee, and Dan’s efforts from maintaining the business to growing the business.
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Appendix 1 – Banzo Kitchen Layout
This is the view from the corner,
showing the small size of the Banzo
kitchen. To the left is the cold station,
to the right are the sauté and fryer
stations.
The cold station
The hot station
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Appendix 3 – Graphic Plating Aids
Laminated copies of these pictures are placed in the kitchen to assist cooks with consistent
plating of finished dishes.
Hummus Side Platter
Hummus Plate
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Appendix 4 – Training Response Form
Thank you for completing this confidential evaluation questionnaire. Your anonymous feedback will be used in
planning future courses.
1. Training course objectives
Please tick to what extent you feel the training module objectives were achieved.
1=not achieved 2=to some extent 3=fully achieved
1 2 3
1.1 Food safety
1.2 Food prep, to include timing, amount of ingredients, and proper preparation of
ingredients
1.3 Plating techniques
1.4 Evaluate course effectiveness
2. Apart from these formal objectives, did the training course meet any of your other personal learning goals?
3. What did you like best about the training course?
4. Cooking Instructor
The following people led training sessions and made presentations during the course. Please indicate your
satisfaction with the quality by ticking the boxes.
1=Very dissatisfied 2=Fairly dissatisfied 3=50/50 4=Fairly satisfied 5=Very satisfied
1 2 3
<Presenter’s Name Here>
4.1 Establish a climate to facilitate learning
4.2 Professionalism
4.3 Training/Presentation technique
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5. Training administration
Please indicate your satisfaction by ticking one box for each item.
1=Very dissatisfied 2=Fairly dissatisfied 3=50/50 4=Fairly satisfied 5=Very satisfied
1 2 3 4 5
5.1 Information provided before the course
5.2 Timetable of the training course
5.3 Length of the training course
6. Please make suggestions about other ways the training course could be improved.
Thank you for your feedback.
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Appendix 5 – Draft Employee Goal Setting Sheet and Evaluation Form
SMART goals – leaders must set goals for their employees to achieve. Use the acronym
SMART to set good goals. Examples of good/bad goals are shown below:
1 Specific – learn all portion sizes / be a good line cook
2 Measurable – learn portion sizes in 2 days / learn all portion sizes
3 Attainable – Have fryer orders ready in eight minutes / Have fryer orders ready in three
minutes
4 Relevant – Learn Banzo’s recipes / Cook McDonald’s burgers
5 Time-oriented – Master hot stations in 1 week / master hot stations soon
Training Topic _________________
Goal - Include training content (knowledge, skill, behavior, competency, etc.) and application
(project, problem, etc.)
Strategies for Reaching Goal
Modifying behavior (What will I do differently?)
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Resources needed (Equipment, financial)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Support from peers and manager (Be as specific as possible.)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Strategies for Receiving Feedback About My Progress (Include meetings with peers and
managers, self-monitoring of progress, customer reactions, etc.)
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Expected Results (When I reach the goal, what will be different? Who will notice the
difference? What will they notice?)
What will be different?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Who will notice?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
What will they notice?
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Progress Date Checks _____________ _____________ _____________
