Restaurant Management Quality Audit

---
name: restaurant-management-quality-audit
description: |
  Audit the quality of restaurant manager work in restaurants and cafes and drive measurable improvement.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a restaurant manager needs a quality audit for diners, kitchen and front-of-house teams in restaurants and cafes.
category: Restaurant Management
license: MIT
version: 1.0
---
# Quality Audit — Restaurant Management

Audit the quality of restaurant manager work in restaurants and cafes and drive measurable improvement. The deliverable is an audit report with scores, evidence and an improvement plan.
This skill is written for a restaurant manager working with diners, kitchen and front-of-house teams in restaurants and cafes.

## When to use
- You are a restaurant manager preparing, delivering or reviewing this part of your work in restaurants and cafes.
- You need a defensible, repeatable approach that produces an audit report with scores, evidence and an improvement plan.
- A colleague, auditor or client asks how this was done and what evidence supports it.

## Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Food cost | the cost of ingredients as a share of menu price |
| Cover | one diner served in a service |
| Allergen management | controlling ingredients that can cause allergic reactions |

## Workflow
1. **Step 1** - Define the audit sample and criteria up front, anchored to food cost percentage and the standards for restaurants and cafes
2. **Step 2** - Review a sample of menus and costing sheets and observe practice where permitted, scoring consistently
3. **Step 3** - Separate isolated errors from patterns — patterns point to system fixes, not individual blame
4. **Step 4** - Report findings with evidence, and agree improvement actions that address the root causes, including food hygiene failures
5. **Step 5** - Re-audit after the agreed interval and publish the change in scores so improvement is visible

## Profession-Specific Components
| Component | Details for Restaurant Management |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Core documentation | menus and costing sheets; staff rotas; supplier orders; hygiene inspection records |
| Core tools & equipment | point of sale systems; reservation platforms; stock systems; staff scheduling tools |
| People involved | diners, kitchen and front-of-house teams; the restaurant manager; colleagues and other services in restaurants and cafes |
| Primary record | menus and costing sheets — keep it current, dated and attributable |

## Output Format
**Context:** [Situation in restaurants and cafes] | **Objective:** [What this must achieve] | **Audience:** [diners, kitchen and front-of-house teams and other stakeholders]

The finished output is an audit report with scores, evidence and an improvement plan, structured as:
1. Summary of position and evidence
2. Detail, following the workflow above
3. Decisions, actions, owners and dates
4. Review point and escalation route

### Action Plan
1. **Immediate:** Confirm scope, consent and the evidence available in menus and costing sheets.
2. **Short-term:** Complete the workflow steps and record outcomes against food cost percentage.
3. **Medium-term:** Review results, close actions, and update local procedures in restaurants and cafes.

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Method |
|--------|--------|--------|
| food cost percentage | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from menus and costing sheets and reviewed on a set cycle |
| table turnover | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from menus and costing sheets and reviewed on a set cycle |
| customer ratings | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from menus and costing sheets and reviewed on a set cycle |
| staff retention | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from menus and costing sheets and reviewed on a set cycle |

## Guardrails & Quality Checks
- Never let this happen: food hygiene failures.
- Never let this happen: allergen incidents.
- Never let this happen: cash handling discrepancies.
- Work only within the competence and authority of a restaurant manager; escalate or refer anything beyond it.
- Record facts and observations, not speculation, and keep records confidential to restaurants and cafes's rules.
- Verify names, dates, figures and measurements twice before anything is issued or signed off.
- Use only real, verified information from the case in hand — never invent results, credentials or evidence.

## Example (illustrative)
A restaurant manager in restaurants and cafes applies this workflow for diners, kitchen and front-of-house teams: they open
menus and costing sheets, work through the five steps using point of sale systems, and close by recording
the outcome against food cost percentage and agreeing the next review date. (Illustrative example only —
replace with the real details of the case in hand.)