Doing The Dishes

What is this task?

Placing dinnerware on the dishwasher rack and flatware in the flatware basket and sending it through the dishwasher. Replacing clean dinnerware and flatware in the Dinnerware Closet.

Why does this task matter?

Dinnerware and flatware will not come out of the dishwasher clean and food will heat dry to the surfaces.

When does this happen?

During event

Who is responsible?

Reception Crew

Flip Crew

What do you need to do the task?

Silicone spatula/scraper

Black two tiered cart

Garbage can

Dawn dish soap

Sink plug

Bus bin

Tan dish racks

Gray flatware basket

Flatware containers

Step-By-Step

1. Before dinnerware and flatware are bussed from the Main Hall, prepare the dish pit by putting a sink plug in the leftmost sink in the dishpit. Ensure the sink is clean and empty.

2. Add Dawn dish soap to the sink and fill it with hot water. Dawn dish soap is found in a crate under the dish pit. A clean bus bin from under the dishwasher should also be filled with warm, soapy water for flatware to soak.

3. Locate the silicone spatulas either in a crate under the dishpit, or in a tub labeled "spatulas" under the stainless steel counter closest to the kitchen exit door to the side porch.

4. Place the black, two tiered cart near the dish pit for bussed dinnerware to be placed on, and move a garbage can nearby. Place the bus bin with warm, soapy water on the bus bin

5. As dishes are bussed in from the Main Hall and placed on the black cart, scrape excess food into the garbage with the silicone spatula.

6. Gently place the scraped plate into the first sink with warm, soapy water.

7. Once plates are being stacked in the first sink to soak, remove them and rinse them off in the second sink by using the normal faucet, or squeeze handle faucet.

8. Once the plates have been rinsed, gently place them in the third sink for another staff member to carry over to the dishwasher.

9. At the dishwasher, begin placing dinnerware neatly on the brown dish rack.

10. Once full, push the dish rack to the middle of the dishwasher and close the doors of the dishwasher by pulling down on the angled handle on the dishwasher door.

11. A mental box below and to the right of the dishwasher will display a temperature and the cycle of the dishwasher. "Wash" then "rinse" will appear.

12. The cycle is complete the "rinse" disappears from the screen.

13. Open the door of the dishwasher by pulling up on the angled handle.

14. Let the steam clear and water stop dripping before pulling out the dish rack. The water and steam are hot.

15. Dinnerware will also be hot, so allow them to cool slightly before handling.

16. Stack the dinnerware with its matching dinnerware in the Dinnerware Closet.

16. Repeat until all the dinnerware is clean and replaced in the Dinnerware Closet.

17. As flatware is bussed simultaneously, place it in the bus bin with warm soapy water to soak on top of the black cart.

18. After soaking for about 10 minutes to loosen dried food (or whenever it's convenient), place the flatware in the gray flatware basket. Knives should be placed sharp end down, forks and spoons should be placed with handles down.

19. Once the flatware basket is full, but not overflowing, spray the flatware with the squeeze handle faucet to remove loosened food.

20. Bring the basket over to the dishwasher and place it on a dish rack, filling the remaining space on the rack with another full flatware basket or any other dirty dish.

20. Run the flatware through the dishwasher twice (steps 10-13).

21. Once the flatware have gone through two dishwasher cycles, pull the dish rack out of the dishwasher once the steam clears and water stops dripping.

22. The flatware will be extremely hot, so remove the flatware basket from the dish rack and place on the kitchen table to cool off.

23. While the flatware is cooling, go into the Dinnerware Closet and locate the containers for the flatware that need to be replaced. Bring these containers into the kitchen.

24. Once the flatware has cooled enough to handle, neatly place them in their assigned containers (salad fork in salad fork container, dinner fork in dinner fork container) in the same orientation as those already in the containers.

25. Once the flatware has been placed neatly, return the containers to their original spots in the Dinnerware Closet.

What does “done right” look like?

All flatware are lined up in their containers.

Dinnerware are stacked with the same type of dinnerware.

Common problems or mistakes?

Do not overcrowd the flatware basket- flatware will not get cleaned properly.

Run flatware through the dishwasher twice before putting them away.

Randomly placing the flatware into their containers- more pieces of flatware fit when they sit nicely on top of each other and are organized in their containers.

Putting large forks in the salad fork containers and vice versa.

Sending dirty dinnerware or flatware through the dishwasher before rinsing off excess food.

Related tasks?

Bussing Porch and Main Hall

Turning the dishwasher on and off

Anything else someone should know about this task?

The steam, water, and dishes/flatware from the dishwasher are very hot!

Be diligent- salad forks should not be placed in dinner fork containers and dinner forks should not be placed in salad fork containers