young asspiring cook needs some help....

Names jack and im 16. last summer an opportunity came by to be able to work at a local pool "snack shack" with a real basic step up. 1 flat grill 1 deep fryer 1 oven and a good amount of storage space frozen and refrigerated. Walking in on the 1st day the place was a reck ! describing every minute detail would take ages but just a few major problem were...the deep fryer had the oil left in it alllll winter -________- how someone could walk out of there and leave a deep fryer full of old nasty oil had me speech less and the fryer itself in my opinion was never cleaned it had grease caked on everywhere. the grill was another catastrophe it to most likely was never cleaned properly, if at all. my father and i spent days trying to get the place back in order but we just didn’t have enough time to make things perfect. the pool opened a few days later and it was time to start cooking....i thought that’s all i would be doing. mind you im only 16 so flipping burgers and frying fries was the only thing I thought I would be doing, turns out that’s not what i had gotten my self in to. in the simplest words possible....i ended up running the whole show…one man. i was cooking everything, handling the cash register, shopping, and fixing anything that broke or needed repair IT WAS MY OWN SMALL BUSNESS !. i had NO experience in the restaurant business but i knew damn well that i didn’t have the experience or know how to make this place run like a well oiled machine...somehow i pulled it off. my mother, father and i put in hundreds of hours of work into serving the 65 or so "cabanas" (avg of 8 people per cabana) i had a HUGEEEE demand and i met it....but just my the skin of my teeth. Well fast forward 6 months and now I’m 3 months away from opening again and i can’t wait to get back in there and turn that place into a REAL snack shack. But its still border line a **** hole. Now here is where need your help....
 
the fryer needs to be cleaned top to bottom
the grill too
i need to know how to keep an inventory list
how to figure out prices based on what i buy not just pulling numbers out of my ass, which is what i did last year.
i need to know what kind of equipment i need to cook/prep/and maintain a clean and organized kitchen
 
and anything else you might think i need to know would be an enormous help. i really do have a huge passion for cooking and I’m not a half ass-er I’m willing and i easily can see myself putting in 1 maybe 2 hundred more hours then I did last year into that place and i want to ! i want to have people coming that aren’t members because they know that theres a damn good burger waiting for them i want to put an add in local newspapers "kick ass burgers ! right in riverdale !" so pleaseeee anything you can tell me would get me closer to the most successful summer that snack shack has ever had. thank you

Wow what a great attitude. Just don’t burn yourself out at 17, I hope your making some good money and saving it for a future school…… food related maybe. There is a ton of information on this forum both in the pro section and in the trip reports so attack it using the search feature just like you attacked your cleaning and serving duties last summer.

the fryer needs to be cleaned top to bottom
the grill too

i need to know how to keep an inventory list

how to figure out prices based on what i buy not just pulling numbers out of my ass, which is what i did last year.

I need to know what kind of equipment I need to cook/prep/and maintain a clean and organized kitchen

You asked a lot of questions and someone would have to write a book to answer them all in detail.

But here are some quickie answers:

the fryer and grill needs to be cleaned top to bottom

I have to ask why you left them less than spotless last fall but what ever go to your local Sam’s Club and get some ProForce grease fighter and do a search here on how to clean a deep fryer. There are numerous threads on that topic. But ProForce is the best grease cutter I have found.

In fact the thread on how to build a concession trailer 3 or 4 below this has a picture on page four.

Use a grill brick from a local food service company to clean your grill but first do a search here on
“How to clean a flat top Grill” you’ll find an entire thread on the how tos.

Your inventory list is easy list everything you need to run your business, food and nonfood items and as you put it together note what each item cost and where you bought it. That information will come in handy later on.
 
I need to know what kind of equipment I need to cook/prep/and maintain a clean and organized kitchen

You only need what you have to start, you have to remember your just a 3 month out of the year business, otherwise you’d use all your profit to buy equipment and at the end of the season have nothing left. What you do need is to learn how to do more with what you have and that is great training for the future. And as a last resort  borrow something from someone in the business if you have to BUT return it in better shape that it was when you picked it up.

how to figure out prices based on what i buy not just pulling numbers out of my ass, which is what i did last year.

The norm is 3 times what the product cost, but that doesn’t account for spices and a lot of other things. And here is where it gets to be real work (the kind I hate) you need to figure out how much each item cost you down to the splash of salt you put in a pan of water when you boil potatoes. I think  (not sure) I may have a spread sheet that helps in doing that send me an IM, with your email address  if you want it but I doubt you’ll use it. A real pro will but most run of the mill cooks don’t bother they just guess at it. And that means they have no clue what a dish cost them.
 
Good luck lots of good people here and if you spend the next 5 days reading the past post you’ll learnas much as you learned last year and it’ll make this year a piece of cake.
 
Jack
 

WOW, I have 30 & 40 year old cooks that don't have the passion you have. You already have the most important things going for you. Passion, and good work ethic. you already know how to swear, that's good at 16 years old, and very important in the Restaurant Business. Knowledge of proper food handling is also important, Temp on burger, proper temps to cook too. Proper Handling money and food, wearing gloves and looking like a Cook/Chef in the concession. In most cases you will not get a  kick ass burger using a frozen, preformed patty. If you want it to be kick ass, then get a good ground chuck and find a baker in town that will make you a good burger bun that will fit the size of your burger. Quality in bother bun and burger is important. Good topping are Bacon, sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, I think in most cases those would be the top 3 choices. I would also do a Meatball and Mozzarella melt Grinder, Italian meat Grinder and a Sausage and pepper Grinder. Hot digs and Chili are easy......If you need info on Costing a menu, E- mail me, and I could call you and have up to snuff in no time...........Hipchef99@aol.com...........take care.....Billyb

Are your parents involved with and have a interest in this shack, or are they just being helpful? Will they be helping you again this season?  You are lucky either way. You do not mention any days off.  If you are working every day, that is impressive. 65 cabanas X 8?  That is incredible.

This is where I see one problem, as cooking and handling money has a set of problems. There are more germs on the cash than on your floor. I feel that you need a second person to be involved, but one that does not require a paycheck. Cash only. Come to think about it, how do you get paid or make a profit?
If you were tested last summer, and want to and expect business to increase, you cannot do everything...well. It is impressive that your goals are to become even better.

I am going to disagree with BillyB on his suggestions about fresh hamburgers and bakery buns. The only reason is that you are a business based on weather conditions. Three days of bad weather will create stale buns and gray burgers. You could not take a temperature as the meat is completely gray inside, no pink.
How is your refrigeration and cold storage?
How will you hold your hot toppings during business?

While you still have time, I would go to a wholesale meat distributor and introduce yourself. Tell them you are seeking a quality 1/2 lb frozen burger that looks like handmade and can defrost quickly during unexpected business. Something that does not look like the ones that everyone buys at Sam's Club or Costco.  You would be able to get hotdogs , sausage and whatever from him too.
The way things sound, you might as well develop a good relationship with folks like them as the way you are going, someday you may become a big and important customer.....

BillyB's point about buns is correct in that you do want something unique. Something that does not come from the supermarket shelves.  If you can find a local bakery that can produce 'shelf stable' buns, then go for it.  However, I feel that for you, using a commercial brand that is sturdy is the way to go. You do not need the headache of dealing with spoilage of burgers and buns.

Keep coming back here, you will find that there are many folks who would really love to assist you in becoming successful.

mark

jackster -- you got some amazing advice, you are very lucky!  I would also recommend reading: "The Professional Chef" from the Culinary Institute.  This will help you with stocking and food handling/safety issues.  I would also strongly recommend that you document this journey.  Take lots of pictures, create a blog, twitter and get your experience documented.  Whether you go off to CIA, business school or wherever after high school, this experience is golden!  Also, twitter and a blog will bring in the non-member crowd, and you don't have to pay for advertising....which may not be cool with whomever owns the pool. 
Good luck!  lynn

If this business is owned by your parents....that is one thing.

If there is a very absentee owner/operator who passes the responsibility of all this to you...be careful. There are too many more productive learning experiences for you at your age than to be worrying this much as your first job. Then there is the what happens if something not so good happens...like if someone is not getting paid (especially in the Bronx where Farmer Brown is not the one who might be paying a call) something breaks and you get injured...money is "missing" etc.

Hey Jr,
Here's some suggestions for you. Develop a great menu.
Hamburgers - buy a patty press and make your own burger. Try mixing ground beef with ground pork. 3/1 beef to pork. You will get a very flavorful burger. Come up with a variety of burgers by adding toppings. South west add pepper Jack cheese with peppers and onions, Tex Mex pepper jack with BBQ sauce, pizza burger mozzarella n tomato sauce.
With the same meat mixture add breadcrumbs eggs basil oregano garlic n onion powder salt n pepper and a little sugar. And make meatballs and meatloaf
Meatballs
Use about 25% breadcrumbs. I add 2eggs for each pound of meat. Add seasonings and mix thoroughly. Take a cake pan and fill it with the mix flatten it then outline with a knife equal portions. Scoop out a portion and roll it. This will help you keep evenly sized meatballs. Place on a baking sheet that has been painted with olive oil. Bake until browned
Serve on a hoagie sandwich, with pasta and marinara sauce. And as Swedish meatballs over egg noodles. Swedish sauce 32oz of brown gravy with 16oz of sour cream mix well.
Meatloaf.
Use a loaf cake pan. Add mixed meat. Here's a real tasty sauce to put over the top, take 16 oz of ketchup to 4oz of sweet teriyaki sauce mix well then apply generously. You may also want to mix the meatloaf sauce directly into the meat mixture

Other menu suggestions. Fried Ravioli. Hotdogs with toppings like sauerkraut chili n onions
Sweet potato fries, waffle fries, chicken nuggets

Good luck