Rooftop season: staffing for wind, heat and four hundred guests

From the guest's seat, a rooftop is all skyline and ease. From the team's side, it is wind, heat and a very long walk from the kitchen.

Altitude changes everything

Wind lifts napkins, topples candles and snatches menus. Heat wears a team down long before the last course. Every plate travels further, and there is rarely a quiet corner to reset. Four hundred guests on a roof need a plan that a ground-floor dining room has never had to make.

• Glassware, menus and decor anchored against the wind
• Water, shade and breaks written into the rota
• Stations placed to shorten every walk
• Dedicated runners for the long haul from kitchen to floor

Hire for the last hour

Anyone can look polished at the start of the evening. What matters is hour six, in the heat, with a full terrace. We select for stamina and composure alongside service skill, and we set shift lengths and rest patterns in advance, so the team is still sharp when the guests are at their most demanding.

On a rooftop, the weather is part of the guest experience. Our job is to make it the best part.

Agree the fallback before you need it

The wind will shift. A section will close. A late wave of guests will arrive. We agree the response with the client in advance, so when conditions change, the team is already moving.