I.

PREPARATION FOR SERVICE

A. ORGANISING MISE-EN-SCENE

Mise-en-scene is preparing the environment of the restaurant to make it clean,

comfortable, safe and hygienic. In this activity the crew will:

 Open all the doors and windows to let in fresh air.

 Brush or vacuum the carpet i.e., if housekeeping has not done so earlier.

 Check and clean all the furniture for their serviceability.

 Switch on all lights to check for fused bulbs.

 Remove all unserviceable items to the maintenance department and prepare

maintenance orders.

B. ORGANISING MISE-EN-PLACE

Mise-en-place means "putting in place". It is a French term used for preparing a

restaurant for smooth service. The server has to ensure that his station is adequately
equipped with the service ware for service. A station is the allocated set of tables
assigned to a team of servers headed by a captain or supervisor. The crew will:

 Prepare the Food and Beverage Linen Exchange Form and requisition fresh table
linen in exchange for soiled ones from housekeeping.

 Complete the Flower Requisition Form and requisition fresh flowers for table,
buffet and restaurant floral displays, from the housekeeping florist shop.

 Prepare the Store Requisition Form and withdraw supplies such as toothpicks,
proprietary sauces, paper napkins etc. from the general stores.

METHODS OF FOOD SERVICE

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Services of food and beverage in the food and beverage operations can be carried out in
many ways. But while deciding the method of service, certain factors have to be kept in
mind while deciding type of food service includes -

1. Type of establishment

2. Location of establishment

3. Time available for service

4. Type of customers

5. Service skills available

6. Service area available

7. Type of dishes to be served

8. Turnover expected

9. Service equipment available

Some of the main methods of service are as follows:

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1. Table Service

Service to customers at a laid cover by server / waiter. It is classified as

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 A) English Service (Silver Service/ Platter to Plate Service)

This usually involves serving food at the guest table. It is a technique of

transferring food from a service platter / dish to the guest's plate from the left.
Food is placed on the serving platters by the chef and transferred on to the plate to
the guest by the waiter.

Advantages

 It is a highly personalized form of service.

 Adds to good will of the establishment.
 Gives opportunity to the waiter to showcase his / her skills.
 It gives the guest the choice of selecting and quantifying the food served.

Limitations

 Garnishes cannot be maintained.

 Portions can be miscalculated resulting in uneven distribution of food.
 It is time consuming.
 Skilled waiters are required for silver service.
 High capital investment required for equipment’s.

B) American service / Pre-Plated Service

It is the method of serving food in which the food are placed on guest plates in the
kitchen by the chef and is served to the guests by the waiter / waitress from the
right side of the guest. It is quick and simple service which involves less skill and
capital investment. Garnishes are maintained on individual portions.

Advantages

 Garnishes for individual portions can be maintained.

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  Even distribution of individual portions.
 It is less time consuming.
 Less skilled waiters can carry out service.
 Low capital investment required for equipments.

Limitations

 It is not a personalized form of service.

 Quantification of food is not possible.

C) French service (Family Service/ Butler Service)

The English word “butler” is derived from the following words:

 Middle Age English word - boteler (bottle bearer).

 Old French word - bouteiller.

 Latin word - butticula.

Gradually, throughout the 19th century and particularly the Victorian era, as the
number of butlers and other domestic servants greatly increased in various
countries, the butler became a senior male servant of a household’s staff. Butler is
involved in helping the host to conduct the service smoothly. Platters and entrée
dishes are brought on trolley and kept before the host to portion out all the items.
Often the butler and the assistants take the platters around for second helping. It is
also called family style service. It is a very private type of service which doesn’t
exceed ten to fifteen guests.

D) Russian service

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 This type of service has come from the czar era in Russia, who believed in show.
The basic element in Russian service derives from the old style of having large
joints, whole fish or birds often decoratively placed on platters with elaborate
garnishes on the sideboard visible to the guests before being served.

The food is then collected on smaller platters by the waiter and served to guest on
the table just as in silver service. This form of service enjoyed slight popularity in
Europe in the 19th century otherwise Russian service as a distinct and separate
form of service no longer exists.

E) Guèridon service

The guerdon is a movable service table, or trolley, from which food is carved,
filleted, flamed or prepared and served. This may include serving foods that have

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 to be prepared and served or simply food that is being served from the guerdon. In
other words, it is movable side board carrying sufficient equipments for the
service requirements, together with any spare equipment that may be necessary.
Flambé dishes first became popular in Britain during the Edwardian era. Crepe
suzette is probably the first flambé dish, which supposedly was invented by Henri
Charpentier, as a commis at the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo in 1894. Common
Guéridon trolleys are:

 The Flambé trolley

 The Pastry trolley

 Hors d’ oeuvre trolley

 Carving trolley

Advantages

 Display of dishes - pastries, carving, etc.

 Opportunity for the service personnel to showcase his / her skills.

 Results in impulse buying.

Limitations

 Space requirement is more.

 Safety considerations are a must.

 Initial cost is high.

 Highly skilled staffs are required.

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2. Assisted service

Combination of table service and self-service. It Includes

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 A. Carvery - Some parts of the meal are served to seated customers; other parts
are collected by the customers. Also used for breakfast service and for
banqueting

3. Self-service

Self-service of customers. It includes the following

A. Cafeteria service

In a cafeteria service food is arranged behind a food serving counter. It might

have a single or multiple point entry. There is no or little table service.
Typically, a patron takes a tray and pushes it along a track in front of the
counter where he / she is served. Beverages may be filled from the self-service
dispensers. The trays with food are then taken by the patron to a table to eat.
Institutional cafeterias generally have a common table.

B. Buffet service

The word “buffet” is a French word which means a refreshment table. In

English it means “service from a side table”. In this type of service, the food
is placed on a common table from which the guest can help themselves. It is a
method of feeding a large number of people with minimal staff in a short span
of time. The option of unlimited portion makes the buffet style popular.
Buffet service is normally carried out from a chaffing dish. The various parts
of a chaffing dish include a stand, food pan, water pan, lid and fuel pot. The
advantages and limitations of buffet service are as listed below:

Advantages

• Service is fast.

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 • Variety of dishes can be served.
• High profit and low food cost.
• Less skilled manpower required.
• Economically priced.

Limitations

• Impersonalized service.
• Standardization of dishes is not possible.
• Elaborately garnished dishes can’t be served.
• Initial cost is high.
• Breakage is more.

The following are the various types of buffets:

Sit down buffet

• Guest can sit and have food from the buffet.

• Space requirement is more.
• Dishes are displayed and guests help themselves or are assisted by waiters.
• Popular for wedding receptions.

Standing buffet

• This type of buffet is ideal where space is limited.

• People stand and consume their meal from the buffet.
• Dishes are displayed and guests help themselves or are assisted by waiters.

Fork buffet

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 • Simply where flat ware is used.
• When people stand and eat, it is not convenient to use knife, hence fork is
used.
• All items on the menu should be manageable with a fork e.g. large dices of
meat.

Finger buffet

• No cutlery is required.
• Ideal for high teas or Indian food menus.
• Popular in smaller establishments and outdoor catering.

Cold buffet

• Displays of cold cuts are served.

• Popular in the western world.
• It is generally a part of a larger buffet.

Display buffet

• Display of ice / vegetable carving, tallow sculpture, etc.

• Salad display.
• Live counters.
• Carving and flambé items.

4. Single point service

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 Service of customers at single point – consumed on premises or taken away

a. Takeaway - Customer orders and is served from single point, at a counter, hatch or
snack stand; customer consumes off the premises; some takeaway establishments
provide dining areas
b. Drive-thru - Form of takeaway where customer drives vehicle past order, payment
and collection points
c. Kiosks - Outstation used to provide service for peak demand or in specific location;
may be open for customers to order and be served, or used for dispensing to staff
only
d. Food court - Series of autonomous counters where customers may either order and
eat (as in a Bar counter, see above) or buy from a number of counters and eat in
separate eating area, or takeaway

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ROOM SERVICE

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The term room service means service of food and beverages in guest rooms. It is an
important part of f&b service of a hotel.

Main feature of a room service is 24-hours operation.

From the guest’s perspective, the key elements of a well-run room service operation
include prompt and courteous answering of room service telephone when orders are
called in close attention to all details of guest’s, orders, efficient and quick delivery of
orders to guest rooms.

The room service department is headed by the room service manager, who directly
reports to the food and beverage manager.

Features:

 The guest places their order with room service order taker (RSOT)

 The order taker writes the order on KOT and hands it over to the captain

 The captain assigns the duty of service to the waiter.

 The waiter places the order in the kitchen and sets the tray or trolley.

 The waiter picks up the order form the kitchen.

 The captain inspects the tray.

 The waiter takes the order to the room and delivers the order.

 The waiter takes signatures on guests check.

 The waiter does the clearance of the tray from the guest room.

ADVANTAGES:

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  Professional service skills are not required, hence labour costs is lowered.

 Guest satisfaction is high.

DISADVANTAGES:

 Food may get cold, as food has to be transported from the main kitchen to
guest room.

 The service may be delayed during peak hours of operations.

 Room service menus are limited so that menu can be cooked at all times
by chefs on different shifts with common skills.

TYPES OF ROOM SERVICE

1. CENTRALIZED ROOM SERVICE

 In centralized room service all kinds of room service orders are collected from
the main kitchen and sent to the guest rooms by a common set of waiters.

 When orders are received the room service waiters serve the orders,
irrespective of any floor they come from.

 Some hotels have a separate room service elevator for delivering the orders.

 The disadvantage with this system is the time taken to serve the food in
the guest room & the time taken to get one’s turn in the elevator can
result in delay.

 The challenge is to keep the food hot in transit.

 Proper planning required during the breakfast hours, as it is the busiest

time & there may be chances of serving getting delayed.

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2. DECENTRALIZED ROOM SERVICE

In decentralized room service individual floor pantries are assigned the duty to
quickly dispense the orders of tea, coffee and snacks.

Here the room service order taker at a central point takes the order from the guest and
informs the concerned floor pantry to deliver the order.

In case of lunch/dinner orders room service order taker informs the floor pantry and
places the order with the main kitchen so that the food is ready by the time the floor
pantry staff come for the pick-up Each floor or a set of floor may have a separate
floor pantry (like still room) to provide the service to the guests.

The floor pantry is equipped with a mini still room and other silverware required
for the preparation and service of light snacks.

LOUNGE SERVICE

 The lounge area generally located in lobby level of the hotel, waiting area for
hotel and outside guest.

 Where guest can have a light snacks and tea or coffee that served by the
stewards.

 Very quick and fast service given by the stewards

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