A Busy Kitchen Doesn't Move — Dishes Do

“Putting his experience to good use, René reorganizes the kitchen from top to bottom and applies a simple principle, which will become a model for his future rotisseries: “A busy kitchen doesn’t move!” Everyone stays at their station and no one crosses paths. It is the dishes, the food, that move, not the staff. Also, each employee is assigned two or three specific tasks that do not require them to roam around. The buzzing and anarchic hive is replaced by an orderly assembly line. Within a few days, everything falls into place. In the dining room, Hélène feels energized. This time, she’s sure, the rotisserie is here to stay.”

“Without knowing it, René Léger invents a concept of modern dining, ensuring quality on a large scale. The Expo episode proves it: St-Hubert Bar-B-Q serves “real” full meals at the same speed as hamburgers. To save time, chicken is served on aluminum plates with plastic utensils. So, no dishwashing, since everything is thrown away after use. Since frying is prohibited on site to prevent fires, fries are replaced with mashed potatoes, which also allows them to be prepared in advance. Space is saved on the plate by pouring the sauce into a “well” dug in the middle of the mashed potatoes. To speed up service, each employee performs a single task, unlike the protocol in use at other rotisseries where one person is responsible for two or three operations.”