Working the brunch shift is hard enough, but when it’s a Mother’s Day Brunch it’s on a whole other level.
Mother’s Day Brunch has a way of sneaking up on a person – especially with all the distracting Kanye tweets and other important world events. Luckily, you still have a few days to prepare yourself mentally and physically for the mob of moms that is going to descend on your workplace this Sunday. Much like a zombie apocalypse, the danger is not with any individual mom, but with the teeming hordes of moms pressing into your dining room and mindlessly demanding mimosas. Only the strong will survive.
Here’s a few tips on getting ready for Mother’s Day Brunch
Stock up
If your walk-in isn’t full to overflowing by Friday morning, you’re in trouble. The walk-in should be past capacity with all the extra eggs, dairy, desserts and cases of cheap sparkling wine. It should also be organized correctly. The sparkling wine, for example, should be in front or (if legal in your jurisdiction) on the floor. Egg crates sitting in front of wine cases are just going to get broken by a panicked food-runner in the middle of service.
Staff up
Solidify the schedule and allow for no swapping 48 hours before Sunday brunch opens. Get extra hands in the kitchen for plating and expediting. Get extra hosts and bussers to handle the floor. The moms are going to pile up and overflow, so make sure you have enough staff to get them their mimosas while they wait for their tables.
Take reservations (or don’t)
Your restaurant should have already decided this – but it’s not too late if they haven’t. What’s important is having a policy in place and making sure anyone capable of operating a telephone knows it. If you do take reservations, specify a cap on heads per table. It’s a family holiday so you’ll be staring down the barrels of multiple 9 tops if you’re not careful. If you don’t take reservations, I strongly recommend offering mimosas to your waiting moms. Moms love mimosas.
Have a special mimosa
But not too special. The idea is to add a little strawberry puree and a couple bucks to the price and call it good. No blenders, no muddling, no multiple options. Keep this simple and straightforward. Your goal is to keep the moms just intoxicated enough for them to focus on their children and not you.
Plan your fallback
If you’re on the floor, think of ways to direct the mom energy away from you. If they start to talk to you, work in something about how you’re going back to school or getting engaged. This will remind the moms of their most disappointing child and give you a few seconds to escape. Make it feel conversational “Would you like another mimosa? My fiancé loves the strawberry one.” Boom! Now she’s back to telling her youngest they should really go to the gym or how when she was their age she had “already bought a house.”
Call your moms
Check in with your mom! She misses you. If you live close enough, take her out to breakfast (notice I didn’t type ‘Brunch’ there) later in the week. It can be a nice relaxed meal with your mom without all the chaos of Mother’s Day Brunch – especially if you have mimosas together.