29 Styles of Service

S. Deena

1. INTRODUCTION

In the catering industry there are many styles in which food and beverages are served to guests. This may range from self-service cafeteria where guests have to collect their food from the counter to full silver service in luxury restaurants where dishes are served by waiters at the guest’s table using service spoon and fork. In waiter service, food and beverage is served to guest by the waiter at the table in the restaurant, in the hotel room, in the hospital, on the flight etc., The styles of service that come under this category are as follows: English Service, French Service, American Service, Russian Service, Gueridon Service and Tray Service.

2. OBJECTIVES

After completion of this topic you will be able to understand

the major styles of food and beverage service
the features of each style of service
the advantages and disadvantages of each style of service

3. WAITER SERVICE

In this type of service the guest enters the restaurant and is seated. The menu card is presented to the guest for order. The order of the guest is taken by waiter. The service is done by the waiter on the guest table using a cover that is already laid out. The styles of service that come under this category are as follows:

3.1. English Service

This style of service is also known as “silver service”. This is regarded as formal service. The cover is already set in silverware on the table for appetizer, soup, main course and dessert course. The plates are placed before the guest. The food is portioned into silver platters in the kitchen and kept warm by placing on hotplates or side board with burners in the restaurant. All the food is garnished ornately and presented in silver dishes. The waiter presents the dish to the host for approval and then serves the guests from the silver platter using service spoon and fork from the left-hand side. He presents the main dish to the host and serves each guest starting from the guest seated to the right of the guest. The waiter moves counter clockwise while serving food. He will clear the dishes from the right-hand side of the guest. He will serve beverages from the right-hand side. This type of service is seen in upscale restaurants.

Points to remember in English Service

Food should be served to guest’s plate from the platter from the left-hand side using service spoon and fork.
Beverages should be served from the right-hand side.
Clearance should be made from the right-hand side.

Advantages

The service offered is personalized
There is greater customer satisfaction
Waiters can display their service skills
The plate wastage will be less Disadvantages
Service is slow
Seat turnover is low
Labour cost is more as high levels of service skills is required
The number of staff required is more.

3.2. French Service

This style of service is also known as “family service”. This style of service is found in family pensions in France as well as in banquets where the food is presented to each guest from the left-hand side to help himself. The food is brought from the kitchen on platters by the waiter and shown to the host for approval. The food platters are then placed on the table. The host portions the food onto the guests’ plate directly or portions the food and allows the waiter to serve onto the guests’ plate. If the guests’ want to replenish food, the waiter may serve the dish or take it around for guest’s to help themselves. Alternatively food can be brought from the kitchen in dishes and salvers and placed on the table. The guests help themselves and serve the food from the dishes or salvers onto their plates. This type of service is practiced in ethnic restaurants especially Chinese and Indian restaurants. If the number of guests is than four, a side table or trolley can be used by the waiter to keep plates, service equipment and dishes. Advantages

Service will be quick
High levels of service skills is not required
Labour cost is low
Seat turnover is more compared to English service
The plate wastage will be less

Disadvantages

There is lack of personalized service, so guests may feel neglected.
Service staff cannot exhibit their service skills.
There may be spillage or burns due to handling of hot foods by guest.
More area is needed on the table.
Food may go cold.

This is also known as “plated service”. This is a simple and informal style of service. In this style of service food is portioned and placed on the guest’s plate along with the accompaniments in the kitchen by kitchen staff and placed at the guest’s cover by the waiter from the right-hand side. He should be able to carry three full plates which are dished out at one time which will help to speed up the service procedure. If the number of guests is more than three the team of waiter and assistant waiters place the plates on the table. The waiter moves clockwise while placing plated food. The dished out cups and bowls are placed on trays and carried to the guest’s table. Cups are placed on saucers and bowls are placed on quarter plates along with the appropriate spoons. He will clear the dishes from the right-hand side of the guest. This type of service will be suitable where quick and simple service is required as in coffee shops, fast food outlets and restaurants located in busy areas.

Points to remember in American Service

the plated food should be served from the right-hand side of the guest.
Beverages should also be served from the right-hand side of the guest.
Clearance should be done from the right-hand side of the guest.
Tray should be used for carrying bowls, cups, saucers and under plates.
Tray should not be used for carrying full plates and half plates.
The waiter should move clockwise when he works from the right-hand side.
The waiter should move counter clockwise when he works from the letf-hand side. Advantages
The service is quick and simple
One waiter can serve many guests at a time
Waiters need not be specially trained for service
Labour cost is low
It does not require special service equipment
Seat turnover is high
The kitchen staffs have scope for demonstrating their plating skills. Disadvantages
Personal attention given to guest is less
The showmanship exhibited by waiters is less
Plate wastage will be more.
There is chance of food getting cold.
The time and labour of kitchen staff is more.

3.4. Russian Service

This type of service can also be termed as “Sideboard Service”. This is an elaborate silver service in which display and presentation of food play a major role. In this style of service, whole joints of meat, poultry, game or fish are elaborately garnished, presented to guests and carved and portioned at the side board by the waiter. The food is then served by the waiter from silver platters onto the guests’ plate using service spoon and fork. After service, the dishes are placed on a hot plate in the sideboard to keep them warm. Each course of the menu is served from the sideboard. This style of service is not practiced much in recent times.

Advantages

Personal attention is given to guest
The service will be elegant and entertaining
Guest satisfaction will be high
Waiters can exhibit carving, portioning and service skills
Presentation will be good

Disadvantages

Highly skilled service staff is required
More number of waiters will be required
Labour cost will be high
Low seat turnover
The time taken for service will be more
The last guest to be served from the platter may see a less attractive display

3.5. Gueridon Service

This type of service can also be termed as “Trolley service”. In this style of service a dish is partially prepared in the kitchen and is completed in the restaurant by the waiter. Sometimes a complete meal is cooked on a gueridon trolley at the tableside in the restaurant. The gueridon trolley is a mobile trolley with a gas cylinder and burners. Different types of trolleys are used in restaurants. The design of the trolley varies based on the purpose for which it is used. Some of the trolleys seen in restaurants offering gueridon service are carving trolley, flambé trolley, hors d’oeuvre trolley, cheese trolley and liqueur trolley. The waiter is required to fillet, carve, flambé and prepare the food with showmanship in front of the guest for which he has to possess deftness and ability. The food is then served to the guest using service spoon and fork. This type of service is practiced in luxury and up market restaurants.

3.5.1. Types of Trolley

Hors d’oeuvre Trolley – 10 to 12 varieties of appetizers are displayed in this trolley. The containers in which appetizers are held are placed over ice. The trolley design is such that it has provision for holding ice and containers. It should have adequate cold half plates and necessary service equipment to transfer the hors d’oeuvre selected by the guest on the cold half plate. It should also have appropriate accompanying sauces. The plated food is served from the right-hand side of the guest.

Salad Trolley – This trolley has half plates and bowls, under plates, containers with prepared ingredients, salad dressings and seasonings which are required for the preparation of salads. Salad dressings can be prepared in the kitchen or on the trolley in the presence of the guest. In most of the restaurants dressings are prepared in the kitchen and the dressing of salads is done on the trolley in the restaurant.

Food Preparation, Carving and Flambé Trolleys –These trolleys have a gas burner or flare lamp is fixed to the level of the top surface. The carving trolley has a carving board which is placed over the chafing dish to retain the heat of the meat during the process of carving. The trolley may have a single or double burner. A double burner trolley is required when the finished food is to be held hot during the preparation. One burner can be used for keeping the food hot while the other burner is used for cooking.

Liqueur Trolley – The liqueur trolley is brought near the table once the guests have finished their last course. In a restaurant where profit is the main motive, the liqueur trolley should be presented to every table. It can be used as one of the best selling aids in a restaurant.

Cheese Trolley – This trolley has a variety of cheeses, cheese board and cheese knife for cutting the cheese. It also has appropriate accompaniments for cheese. The surface of the trolley is generally made of marble and has a translucent dome to cover the top. The cheese selected by the guest is portioned and plated on the gueridon trolley and then served from the right-hand side of the guest.

Dessert trolley – This trolley has a fixed cooling system and uses refrigeration gas.

3.5.2. Equipment used on a gueridon trolley

The main equipments used on a gueridon trolley are:

Gas stove
Flare lamp
Chafing dish
Suzette pan
Carving Board

3.5.3. Guéridon Service Procedure

A waiter is expected to possess certain qualities and attributes in order to carrying out gueridon service. The sequence of procedure to be followed in gueridon service is as follows:

Taking the order:

The items on the menu must be suggested to the customer with focus on the dishes that the restaurant may wish to sell. The carving trolley and sweet trolley can be used as visual selling aids.
The waiter should have a good knowledge of the menu so that he can offer good guidance to the guest about the dishes available. An important factor is recognition of the host.
The waiter should stand to the left of the host. Each guest should be able to interact with the waiter for any reference.
The waiter should not position himself too close to the guest as this may cause embarrassment.
The waiter may suggest dishes based on age of host and guest and also based on the nature of the party. This should then give you some indication as to the type of dishes you may suggest.
The waiter should take all orders through the host. The waiter should confirm the time period available for the meal in order to determine the type of dishes to be sold.
The waiter should take note as to whether the group is all male, female or female and male combined with varying age groups.
The waiter should take the order correctly in order to avoid any errors later.
A chef or commis or a steward who is also responsible for doing the service will be in charge of guéridon service.
The guéridon trolley should always be pushed and not pulled as this helps to avoid accidents.
The guéridon trolley should be kept in the same position during the service of a complete course.
The trolley should not be positioned near the service door as this may cause an obstruction to the waiter.
The waiter should hold the service spoon and fork in the same hand and leave them in the platter when he moves to the next person.
The filling or carving should be done on the carving board or hot joint plate and not on the silver dish.
The waiter should always clear the dirty plates from the guéridon trolley.

3.5.4. Selection of gueridon dishes

An exclusive list of dishes is offered by restaurants where gueridon service is practiced. The dishes are developed based on the type of customers frequenting the restaurants. The staff should be trained to prepare the chosen dishes and to standardize the procedures so that the products and services offered are consistent. The following must be standardized for each dish that is served from the trolley:

Cover and accompaniments
Appropriate equipment required on the trolley
The list of raw ingredients required on the trolley
The list of cooked ingredients to be collected from the kitchen
The list of spirits or liqueurs required for flambéing
Preparation method on the trolley
Time of cooking
Method of flambéing
Method of plating and presentation
Co-ordination from other staff

3.5.5. Safety in gueridon cooking

· Adequate precaution should be taken for safe operation on the gueridon as it involves naked flames in the dining area, especially when flambé work is done.

The burner should be checked for fuel leak and loose fittings
The fire extinguisher should be placed within reach and each staff should know how to operate it
The trolley should not be positioned very close to the guest’s table so as to ensure guest’s safety
A minimum of two feet space should be there between the trolley and guest’s table so that the waiter can attend to the table with ease
The waiter should not bend his head or shoulder when flambéing a dish (flambéing means setting alight the liquor which is added to the dish during or at the end of preparation)
The steam outlet should be positioned away from the guest while carving

Advantages

Personalized service is given to guest
Guest satisfaction will be high
Waiters can exhibit culinary, carving and service skills
This is an effective tool for merchandising
The revenue per cover will be high

Disadvantages

Highly skilled staff is required
Service will be slow
Low seat turnover
The investment on service equipment is high
More space is required in the service area
The chances of accidents will be high
The cooking in the service area may leave behind odour

3.6. Tray Service

This style of service is practiced when guests call for service of food in their rooms. In this style of service the dish that is ordered by the guest is portioned and arranged on a tray along with the required cutlery and served quickly in his room. Special trays are available which will help to retain the temperature of dishes. Small orders are served in trays whereas major orders are placed in trolleys and served in the room.

The order is taken at a central point by the room service order taker and the food is collected from the kitchen or floor pantry based on which room service can be categorized into two types –

Centralized room service in which food orders are processed from the main kitchen and sent to the rooms by waiters
Decentralized room service in which food orders are serviced from floor pantries.

A cheque is prepared by the cashier and taken by the waiter along with the food order to the guest room for guests’ signature or payment. The clearance of soiled dishes is done by the waiter from the room after half an hour or one hour. But the guest can also call the room service to request for clearance once he has finished his meal.

Tray service is also popular in hospitals where dishes for patients are served based on the recommendation of the dietitian. The dishes are arranged on trays on a trolley and taken to the room of the patient. In flights also meals are served on trays to passengers who are confined to their seats. The menu offered in flights is decided by the flight operator and catering contractor.

Advantages

High level of service skill is not required
Low labour cost

Disadvantages

Waiters cannot exhibit their service skills
There is no personalized service
If insulated trays are not used, food may go cold
More number of dishes cannot be accommodated on trays

4. CONCLUSION

The customers generally demand good quality food which is prepared and served hygienically. The food service operator should understand the expectations of the customers and provide service accordingly in order to be successful in his business. Whatever the style of menu chosen by the food service operator, it should be

Easy to operate
Contribute to guest satisfaction
Fast and efficient
Cost-effective
Exercise good control
Ensure high standards of hygiene and safety

The style of service offered in food service establishments keep changing rapidly based on the environment in which it operates. Hence, it is imperative for the food service operator to understand the environment in which he is operating the food service facility so that he can decide on the style of service to be offered.

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Bibliography

R.Singaravelavan (2011). Food and Beverage Service, Oxford University Press; New Delhi.
Vijay Dhawan (2007). Food and Beverage Service, Frank Bros. & Co, New Delhi.
Sondra J. Dahmer, Kurt W. Kahl (2002), Restaurant Service Basics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Lendal H. Kotschevar, Valentino Luciani (2006), Presenting Service: The Ultimate Guide for the Foodservice Professional, John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Web link

www.b-u.ac.in/sde_book/bsc_beverage.pdf
www.cpp.edu/~mfjones/hrt202/lectures/styleOfService.pdf
www.hospitalityinfocentre.co.uk/…/F&B%20Service%20Types.pdf
www.hospitalityinfocentre.co.uk/…/F&B%20Service%20Types.pdf
www.hospitality-school.com/food-beverage-service-types-restaurant