AI for the paperwork, not the cooking

Give the AI the real ingredients and method, ban the clichés, and ask for three options from plain to playful.

Why it worksGuests choose from the two or three ingredients they notice first. Listing what is really in the dish and banning words like mouth-watering forces specific copy instead of filler.

Honest caveatAI likes to add ingredients that sound right, such as a sprinkle of herbs or a squeeze of lemon. Check every word against the recipe, because guests with allergies read menus literally.

Paste the review and the facts you know, then ask for a short reply that names the problem, makes no excuses and moves the conversation to email.

Why it worksYour reply is read by future guests more than by the reviewer. A short, specific, unruffled answer shows them how you handle problems; a long defence does the opposite.

Honest caveatThe AI does not know what happened on the night. Never let it guess facts or apologise for something you have not checked, and do not paste guests' full names or contact details into the chat.

List each day's special with its price and times, describe your voice in a few words, and get every caption for the week at once.

Why it worksBatching is the real time saver: one quiet half hour replaces five rushed posts written between services, and the voice stays consistent across the week.

Honest caveatCaptions come out confident even when a price or time is wrong. Read each post against your specials board before scheduling, and change anything that sounds like nobody you know.

Give the AI your opening hours, the cover you need, each person's limits and your fairness rules, and ask it to list every rule it could not meet.

Why it worksWriting the rules down once turns the weekly puzzle into a check. The list of broken rules shows exactly where the week is short before anyone has to swap shifts.

Honest caveatLanguage models are unreliable at adding up hours across a big table. Recount totals in a spreadsheet, check rest breaks against your local working-time rules, and share only the staff details the rota needs.

Paste your current allergen matrix and tell the AI to answer only from it, and to say so when the chart does not cover the question.

Why it worksYour chart is the only reliable source for your kitchen. Forcing the model to quote it and admit gaps makes drafting fast without letting it fill holes with general recipe knowledge.

Honest caveatNever let an AI reply to a guest about allergies on its own. A member of staff checks every answer, the chart must match today's menu and suppliers, and the AI cannot know about cross-contact in your kitchen.

Give the facts and order numbers, say exactly what you want, and ask for one clear question with a reply-by date.

Why it worksSuppliers answer specific requests quickly. One question, an order number in the subject line and a deadline leave nothing to discuss on the phone, and the email becomes your record.

Honest caveatCheck every amount and date before sending: the AI copies numbers well most of the time, not every time. Keep the tone your own if you have a long relationship with this supplier.

Paste your existing checklist and ask for the same steps in the same order, each with one line on why it matters and food-safety steps marked.

Why it worksNew staff skip steps they do not understand. A one-line reason per step makes the checklist stick, and marking the critical steps shows where mistakes really matter.

Honest caveatThe AI can mark the wrong steps as critical or miss one. Your food-safety lead must check the sheet against your food-safety plan before it goes on the wall.

Give the real pay, hours and a description of a normal shift, and tell the AI to put pay and hours in the first three lines.

Why it worksThe people you want are comparing ads on their phones. Pay, hours and weekend shifts up front put off people who cannot do the job before they apply, not after an interview.

Honest caveatThe AI does not know your local employment and equality rules. Remove anything that hints at age, gender or nationality, and make sure the pay is stated the way the law in your area requires.

Give the recipe with quantities and invoice prices, and ask for each ingredient's cost on its own line with the working shown.

Why it worksShowing the working makes mistakes visible, and the line-by-line view often reveals one ingredient, a bun or a garnish, that costs far more than you thought.

Honest caveatDo not trust model arithmetic for pricing decisions. Copy the numbers into your spreadsheet and check them there, and use invoice prices, not remembered ones.

Ask for a precise translation that keeps local dish names, leaves prices and allergen markers untouched, and lists every word the AI was unsure about.

Why it worksThe uncertain-word list turns a risky translation into a short, specific question for a native speaker, instead of a full proofread you will never get round to.

Honest caveatIngredient names, cuts of meat and cheeses are where translations go wrong, and an allergen marker in the wrong place can hurt someone. Have a fluent speaker check the flagged words and every allergen line.