The chief steward is the head of the stewarding department. He is responsible for the whole department – the productivity of the department, the quality of the service, the relationship of the staffs of the stewarding department with each other, and the relationship of the staff with the guests. The chief steward reports directly to the executive chef, and he also works closely with him.
Here are his major duties and responsibilities:
- He is in charge of stock control and cost control of all items found inside the kitchen. As such, he is also in charge of inventorying them and restocking the items, including loss and breakage. He also controls the budget of the department, making sure that there should not be an over 5% deviation from the budget.
- He is responsible for proper dissemination of information. This is done through meetings and the information board. He has to disseminate any new information regarding the food and beverage industry to the rest of the stewarding department staff. Plus, he also has to work closely with the local health ministry in their area when it comes to health and envirionment concerns and issues.
- He is responsible for the whole operation of the stewarding department. This includes not only handling, washing, and controlling all kitchen equipments and appliances, but this also includes maintaining them. this also includes making sure that his staff are following the rules and regulations of the department as well as of the whole establishment itself.
- As the chief steward, the head of the Stewarding Department, he should also be a very responsible leader. This will include making sure that communication between him and the staff and the staff with each other are kept professional at all times. He should be able to give motivation to his staff, reinforce positive behavior, and discipline negative ones. As an effective leader, he should also be able to listen to his staff – show concern, give advices, and give assistance when these are needed. And as a leader, too, he should always have the goals of the stewarding department in mind, making sure that the daily action plan and monthly action plan are met. Plus, he should monitor his staff is they are doing their jobs and duties. This will include assessing their work performance and disciplining them if necessary.
- The chief steward plays a very active role in hiring new staff. After all, the new steward will be working under his department, so he should really hire only quality workers. For this reason, he should not only review the applicants’ papers, but he should also conduct the interviews together with the assistant chief steward. After hiring the new steward, it is also the duty of the chief steward to see to it that the new member receives training. For this reason, he should orient the new employees as to the goals as well as mission and vision of the restaurant. He should also orient them with regard to the rules and regulations of the restaurant as well as that of the department. Not only does he have to prepare the training plan, but he also has to conduct them together with his assistant and the supervising steward.
- He also has administrative duties. He keeps all the records regarding the stewarding department. These records include the daily log book, the stock inventories, and breakage and loss reports. This will also include daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly reports, especially if there had been accidents, injuries, etc. The records should also include productivity reports of the department s well as requests for restocking, purchasing, repair and maintenance, etc. Plus, he should also attend meetings and trainings scheduled by the establishment.
- As the chief steward, his major duty is to make sure that all aspects of the kitchen and the restaurant are always kept clean, and this should be done according to the health and safety standards of the establishment. He has to see to it that his stewards are properly cleaning and washing all kitchen items including dinnerware, chinaware, silverware, glassware, utensils, etc. as well as dishwashing machine, coffee machine, chillers, refrigerators, freezers, deep fryer, among others. This will also include cleaning the floors, walls, walk-in cold storage areas, counters, tables, etc.
- When it comes to garbage disposal, he has to see to it too that the stewards, especially the contractors, know how to properly dispose of the garbage. Plus, he has to make sure that they clean the dumpster areas as well as the garbage areas properly so as to avoid pest problems.
