In a situation where a chef and server clash over a dietary request, effective mediation requires balancing both the kitchen’s capabilities and the customer’s needs while maintaining a smooth working environment. By fostering clear communication, empathy, and problem-solving between the chef and the server, the team can work together to ensure both a positive internal dynamic and an excellent customer experience.

Focus on customer needs Start by reminding both parties that the primary objective is to ensure the customer’s satisfaction and safety. Highlight the importance of teamwork in delivering excellent service and maintaining the restaurant’s reputation. Implement a compromise Propose a solution that aligns with both the chef’s expertise and the customer’s request. For example, if a specific dish can’t be altered due to technical or quality reasons, suggest offering a suitable alternative that meets the dietary need while showcasing the chef’s skills. This approach respects both the customer’s requirements and the chef’s standards. Maintain a calm and professional tone throughout the discussion, ensuring all parties feel heard and valued.

In such events between chefs and servers, my Executive Chefs and I take the following steps to resolve the issue and ensure customer satisfaction: - Acknowledge concerns and listen to both parties. - Prioritize customer satisfaction and find a solution that meets their dietary needs. - Offer compromises that satisfy both the chef's concerns and the customer's requirements. - Communicate the solution to the customer and ensure their concerns are addressed. - The follow-up to ensure implementation and customer satisfaction. - Debrief with staff to discuss lessons learned and improve future conflict resolution. Additional tip: Events like this sometimes occur in hospitality; we just need to restore order to the chaos.

For starters, server are educated about foods their restaurant served. If there's clash between server and chef, Chef in charge should be personally meet the guest to confirmed him/her dietary requests. This will enable Chef in charge to suggest some ingredients to the respected guest. After this matter settled, this new knowledge can be shared to the whole team thus improving team's performance in the near future.

Encourage Team Collaboration Foster teamwork to find a mutually agreeable solution. Highlight resolving the issue collaboratively reflects well on the restaurant. Always follow-up. After the resolution, check back with the staff and the customer to ensure satisfaction. Use this as a learning opportunity to prevent future conflicts.

Resolving Kitchen vs. Front-of-House Clashes: The Key to Guest Satisfaction As a mediator, focus on the guest's needs while fostering team alignment: Pause and Listen: Hear both sides calmly to identify the root issue—miscommunication or differing priorities. Reaffirm the Goal: Remind everyone that the guest’s satisfaction is the top priority. Find a Solution Together: Collaborate on how to meet the dietary request quickly and efficiently. Debrief Later: Address team dynamics post-service to prevent future conflicts. Great service isn’t just what happens at the table; it’s the harmony behind the scenes.

A chef follows product recipes/descriptions & order notes. A server adds the notes that are taken from the customer and share them with the kitchen, which means if a dietary request has been communicated to the kitchen, this would be the customer's wish, so a clash would happen in one of the two situations, either that the customer's request is not possible since the product that the chef is using is simply not possible to alter to customer's request and a chef blames a server of how he can promise the customer to have that item served, Or the chef is overwhelmed and he doesn't want to spend a lot of time just to follow the instructions shared by the server to meet customer's dietary request.

Facilitate open communication: always make sure front and back of house our on same page communicate communicate communicate. Focus on customer needs: Remind everyone that were there for the customer and with out the customer were not there. Implement a compromise: it's not a compromise giving customer a great experience dietary restrictions or not.

At the end of the day the guest is the priority. The 'clash' needs to be put aside and the issue (dietary requirements) needs to be understood. After the information is received, send the waiter away and ask them to come back to collect the appropriate meal.

First and foremost if it wasn't for the customers we would not be working. So take the time to have allergy list for each dish handy, it will make it easy for everyone. Then pay attention to allergy request and make sure you clean and sanitize any area that might be contaminated and change your gloves and wash your hands.