Custom pizza is a menu item that is sure to bring in a lot of customers. However, it is not always the easiest thing for a kitchen to handle. There are a lot of ingredients to keep on hand, and with every order being different, it's easy for cooks to make mistakes. Luckily, there are a few things you and your kitchen staff can do to keep the kitchen moving along with custom pizza on the menu.

Limit the crust options

It's important to offer normal crust and gluten-free crust. You may also want to throw in a third option, like a whole grain crust or thin crust. But beyond these basic options, there's no need to include an endless list of different crusts on your menu. Sure, guests will customize their crust if given the option, but they'll be more interested in customizing their sauces and toppings. So, limiting the crust options gives your kitchen fewer things to juggle and store without upsetting your customers.

Put the orders on standardized forms

Instead of having your servers scribble each order out on a piece of notebook paper, create a custom form for them to fill out each time someone orders a custom pizza. On this form, you can print all of the crust, sauce, cheese, and topping options. Have the server put a check next to the ones the customer orders. Your kitchen staff won't have to decipher handwriting or deal with orders that call for ingredients they don't actually have.

Keep track of what items you use and what items you don't use

Keep your pizza order forms throughout each shift. At the end of each shift, have your kitchen staff tally up how many orders included each item. For example, write down how many people ordered bacon and how many ordered the sweet sauce. Compile the totals at the end of each week. If there are some ingredients that are consistently not being ordered, you can take those off the menu, meaning your kitchen staff will have fewer ingredients to track and juggle.

Create a pizza station

Make sure there is an area in the kitchen dedicated solely to pizza making. You can then use a tabletop cooler to store the various sauces, cheeses, and toppings where they are all within easy reach. The fewer doors your staff has to open, the better.

When custom pizza is on the menu, you need to put some effort into keeping the kitchen efficient. As long as you do, things will go smoothly, and your kitchen staff and customers will remain pleased!

To learn more about customized pizza, visit a restaurant like Scittino's Italian Market Place.