Final answer:
Restaurant managers should use problem-solving strategies to address kitchen efficiency issues by identifying bottlenecks and employing solutions, such as specialization within the kitchen team. Specialization allows chefs and bakers to focus on their strengths, increasing productivity and the restaurant's ability to serve customers quickly.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a restaurant's kitchen is struggling to keep up with the pace of orders, restaurant managers should employ effective problem-solving strategies to rectify the situation. This initiative involves identifying the bottleneck in the kitchen workflow and developing suitable solutions. A similar instance occurred at Gavi's Fast Food Restaurant, where the lunch-hour manager used critical thinking and feedback to address customers' complaints about the confusing payment lineup by implementing floor markings for better queue management, leading to improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. This approach can similarly help to manage the kitchen's workload by organizing processes and possibly adopting a division of labor where kitchen staff like chefs and bakers focus on their particular areas of expertise to increase productivity.
The concept of specialization within a kitchen team can be illustrated by envisioning a team of two workers: a baker and a chef. If each worker specializes in what they do best, the kitchen can produce more meals in a given time compared to a scenario where each worker attempts to perform all tasks from appetizers to desserts. The chef can focus on preparing main dishes while the baker concentrates on breads or desserts, thus reducing the time and complexity involved in meal preparation, and ultimately enhancing the restaurant's capability to serve more customers efficiently.