Food & Beverage Service: Preparation for Service and Type of Service.

Organizing Mis-en-scene :-

It is ideal to know the component not from the beginning, but from the end because end is the beginning of preparation of new and fresh service. And this type of preparation is called as Mis-en-scene or closing duties.

In a regular dining hall where all the three meals are served with a pause of few hours, the dinner is over around midnight. At this stage, a group of staff with a supervisor carries out the following activities step by step:-

All the doors, windows are opened, curtains are withdrawn. The whole dining room is thoroughly observed and scrutinized. The scrutiny is made on following lines :

a. Check for cobwebs,

b. Check for unpolished metal surface,

c. Check for stains on the carpets , curtains and tapestry,

d. Check for all the electrical gadgets like power points , bulbs, tubes, appetizer trolley e.t.c,

e. Check for damaged, broken furniture & fixtures,

f. Also check front gate of the restaurant for any defect as locking system of door & windows.

Organizing Mis-en-place :-

It is the preparation in which part of activity may be carried out immediately and part left for the morning or an hour before opening of a restaurant. The various steps involved are:

Spread the tablecloths and all other linen as and where required like slip cloth (napperon), napkin (serviette)
Silver is laid on the table.
Glassware well polished and ready.
Plates kept hot.
Soft music is to be played.
Linen supply enough for emergency change.
Cold water jug with under liner & with napkins ready.
All jams, marmalade, pickles freshly laid out.
Sugar bowls filled up and sweeteners also ready.
Drinking straw in straw holder.
Order taking K.O.T pad pencil and carbon ready.
Bread boat or bread basket stocked with oven fresh variety ready to be offered.
Ashtrays are to be changed.
Enough service forks & spoons available.
Extra table cutlery ready.
Tooth picks ready.
Spare trays, salvers ready for use.
Keep under liner or doilies ready.
Keep the finger bowls with lemon wedges.
Any special equipment like cruet sets, corkscrew, marrow spoons, cheese knife, lobster pick and nut crackers ready.
Wine bottle opening screws always ready.
Ice cube and Ice bucket with tongs, or spoon should be always ready.
Candles with candle stand and match box should be kept ready.
Table reservations are checked.
Shut the doors and windows and draw the curtains,
Keeping the light to the brightest level set the tables chairs according to reservations if necessary or required,
The activities of back area includes:-
Washing, cleaning, wiping, sanitizing, drying & polishing of cutlery, crockery, glassware, stoneware etc.
Changing of old flowers or flower vases with new and fresh one,
In case of candelabra & candle sticks, scrap the wax, wipe, clean & polish. Less than half burnt candles are scraped, cut & fit in.
Sauce bottles are refilled to hall and clean and wipe the bottle neck,
Cruet set polished & wipe. Check the free flow & refilled to 2/3^rd for convenience in shaking,
Carry the cutlery, crockery, glassware from back area & stack them in the side boards.

I. Types of food services :-

Food & beverage industry is usually defined by it output of products, to satisfy the various demands of food & drinks of people. In today’s world, the food & beverage service industry has expanded a lot. It has spread across all walks of life. Hotel, restaurants, industrial canteen, hospital canteen, railway, airways, all are now part of food & beverage service industry.

The basic function of this industry is to serve food & drink to people, to satisfy their various type of needs. The main aim is to achieve customer satisfaction.

The needs that customer might be seeking to satisfy are:

Physiological: the need of special food items
Economic: the need for good value for the price paid
Social: a friendly atmosphere, to express feelings frankly
Psychological: the need for enhancement of self-esteem
Convenience: the desire for someone else to do the work.

These various needs plays a major role to decide the factors, responsible for defining different type of service method in Food & Beverage service industry.

The service of food and beverage may be carried out in many ways depending on a number of factors:

The type of establishment
The type of customer to be served
The time available for the meal
The turnover of customer expected
The type of menu presented
The cost of meal served
The site of establishment

Food & beverage service can be looked at from the customer’s point of view. Essentially, the customer enters a food service area, orders or selects his/ her choice and then is served (the customer may pay either at this point or later). Food and beverages are then consumed, following which the area is cleared.

Broadly we can categorize the service methods in five types:

A. Table Service

B. Assisted service

C. Self- service

D. Single point service

E. Specialized or in situ service

A. TABLE SERVICE

In this category, the guest enters in the area and is seated. Menu lists are given or displayed for orders. The orders are been taken by waiter/ess. Then the service is done. Cover is placed on the table prior to the service on the table. Following are the type of service come under this category:

Silver Service “OR” Platter To Plate Service “OR” English Service:-

This type of service is most elegant, time tested, although lately not so popular. However, this is going to be the queen of all services. The table is set for hors d'oeuvres, soup, main courses and sweet dish in sterling silverware. He serves each guest using a service spoon and fork. All food is presented in silver dishes with elaborate dressing.

In this, the highest skill of a waiter is demonstrated and also the best skill of the chef is displayed over the platter. This combined effort brings charm and grace to the ambience of the restaurant. Here, the food is decorated by the chef in the best possible art formation on glittering silver plated dish of different shapes & sizes. Which are placed at the sideboard with burners or hot plates to keep the food warm in the restaurant, waiter then picks the platter from the hot plate. The silver dish is basically placed on a neatly folded waiter’s cloth which should be spotlessly wiped. Mostly glittering pair of service spoons & fork is kept neatly on the side of the silver dish or carried in the right hand, left hand being used for bringing the silver dish. A cold or warm plate is already placed on the cover of the guest and presents the dish to the host for approval.and from the left side with great care food is transferred artistically on the plate almost replicating the same decoration as on silver dish.

There are a number of advantages of this service, if compared with other types of services are as:-

The highest skill of chef and service staff is demonstrated to the guest.
It is highly personalized and the guest feels extremely cared for which adds to goodwill.
It gives the guest, the choice of selecting and quantifying, the food served to him, therefore less wastage and embarrassment.
Unwanted accompaniments, garnishes and sauces are easily avoided.
Food not taken by one guest of a table can be served to others and vice-versa.

· There are some disadvantages of this service:-

Very high expenses on training and equipment cost, expensive service staff, high capital and high running cost.
Very time consuming in kitchen and during service, hence food is liable to get cold.
Service requires great attention and care, failing which service may become a health hazard and clumsy.
At the most 6 portions of the same item can be carried; therefore service staff needs to go for too many rounds, to and fro, i.e. kitchen to restaurant.
During and at the end of service the side board gets piled up with dishes and cutlery, it may be avoided by waiter taking more rounds to carry soiled silver platters and cutlery.

French Services: It is a very personalized service. Food is brought from the kitchen in dishes and salvers, which are placed directly on the table. The plates are kept near the dish and the guests help themselves.

Silver Service: The table is set for hors d'oeuvres, soup, main courses and sweet dish in sterling silverware. The food is portioned into silver platters at the kitchen itself, which are placed at the sideboard with burners or hot plates to keep the food warm in the restaurant. Plates are placed before the guest. The waiter then picks the platter from the hot plate and presents the dish to the host for approval. He serves each guest using a service spoon and fork. All food is presented in silver dishes with elaborate dressing.

Pre Plated Service “OR” American Service “OR” Blue Plate Service :-

This type of service is most popular method of service these days, may not be as skilful, as elegant as silver service, but it is satisfactory. This involves food decorated on plates of individual portions kept warm or made warm by salamander or microwave chamber or infrared radiators or in magnetic induction plates (only for enamel plates)…

In this type of service a waiter can with his skill carry about 5 plates fixing them between 2 hands. Although most waiters carry only 3 plates because it is easy and simple to balance and prefer taking more rounds to kitchen.

Service is done from right hand side and clearance is also done from right hand side. Plate is often held by four fold waiter’s cloth to prevent palm from burnt. The service is prevalent in mid cap restaurant, fast food restaurant, coffee shops, and discotheques, and even in some five star hotels. The service is without any paraphernalia and minimum presence of the waiter is required.

Advantages of American/ Pre Plated service…………

It is quick and simple.
There is less spilling.
Less chances of complaints.
No maintenance of silver items.
On plate, looks superb.
Strong portion control mechanism.
Standard can be set and maintained.

Disadvantages of American/ Pre Plated service………..

Food service becomes a dull and listless affair.
It cannot fetch high returns and big margins.
Food gets rapidly cold, often may need reheating.
More to and fro rounds required for fetching plates.
Uninterested, unnecessary, garnish can’t be avoided, may annoy the guest.
Too much of wastage in the plates as guest can’t quantify.
Big eaters remain hungry as they can’t share less eater’s portion.

Russian Service: An elaborate silver service much on the lines of French service except that the food is portioned and carved by the waiter at the gueridon trolley in the restaurant in full view of the guests. Display and presentation are a major part of this service. The principle involved is to have whole joints, poultry, game and fish elaborately dressed and garnished, presented to guests and carved and portioned by the waiter.

GUERIDON Service ‘OR” Side Tablr Service “OR” Cart Service :-

The most expensive and most exquisite method of food presentation and service is the Gueridon service.

Originated in France, it has spread to all exclusive clubs in aristocratic gathering. The basis of this service is bringing semi cooked food in different colorful containers giving finishing touches right before the diners and serve as per the directions of the guest who can keep directing the nitty gritty during the process of preparation and service. The grace of this service is that minimum waiters are required; one who holds the plate, the other using service set neatly places the food on the plate from the pan. The other activities include making various dressings like mayonnaise, vinaigrette, Thousand Island dressing, cutting and peeling of vegetables and fruits to make salad, carving of whole turkey, chicken and leg of mutton into delicate portions as per the choice of the guest.

Another area of excellence in this service is Flambé or Slashing alcohol over cooked food and lighting it out to create romantic effect in moderately dark surroundings. The patronage for such restaurants is only possible from high society who has the leisure of time and appreciation to understand and pay for same.

The demerits of this serviced are lot of space is required for carrying, carting and moving the trolleys. Smokes of fuel, alcohol and aroma of food may be offensive to few guests. At tines restaurant looks smoggy. It is expensive and time consuming. Although, it does not have many takers as it involves cooking in the restaurant which at times is offensive to diners, requires too much of space, extensive training and skill of the service staff. Not many skilled staff is available to replace. Cooking can never be so good in the restaurant unless chef gives finishing touches.

Snack-bar Service: Tall stools are placed along a counter so that the guest may eat the food at the counter itself. In better establishments, the covers are laid out on the counter itself. Food is either displayed behind the counter for the guests to choose from, or is listed on a menu card or common black board.

B. ASSISTED SERVICE

In this type of category, the guest enters in the dining area and assisted himself for getting the food, either from buffet counter or he may get served partly at table by waiter/ess and the extra need to be collected from counter by self. Consumption may be done on either at table, standing or in lounge area/ banquet hall.

Buffet Service/Catering :-

Buffet is a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area, where the diners generally serve themselves. It is a popular method for feeding a large number of people with minimal staff. Buffets are offered at various places including hotels and many social events.

Buffet service/catering generally allows an excellent way to serve the guest by offering variety of options arranged out for every single guest. It also offers good value for money and also in terms of quality. It can easily fit within the budget of the organizer as well as that of the catering service provider.

It looks to be more disciplined form of offering feast to different guests. It allows guests to try all the available food-items as many times and as much in quantity as possible, so in a way, most guests could feel satisfied at the end of the party.

Apart from the above-mentioned advantages, there can also be some few main disadvantages of having this type of catering service. It is often to manage a buffet arrangement, because it involves lot of effort on the part of both organizer and caterer. In order to set up a buffet catering, one needs to have enough space to place long tables in order to keep the different dishes; it needs to have more waiters to serve the guest at each food item.

Sometimes, it may be embarrassing for certain guests to stand in the queue with plates in their hands, waiting to be either served by waiter or getting self-served. At times, it becomes difficult for the older guests to hold the plate in their hand at a stretch.

C. SELF SERVICE

In this type of service, the guest enters in the dinning area, selects his own tray or from the food counter and carries food by himself to his seating place.

Cafeteria Service

This service exists normally in industrial canteens, colleges, hospitals or hotel cafeterias. Food is attractively arranged in proper sequence on counters. The guests start at one end of the counter holding plates in hands. To facilitate quick service, the menu is fixed and is displayed on large boards. The guest may have to buy coupons in advance, present them to the counter waiter who then serves the desired item. Sometimes food is displayed behind the counter and the guests may indicate their choice to the counter attendant. The food is served pre-plated and the cutlery is handed directly to the guest. Guests may then sit at tables and chairs provided by the establishment. Sometimes high tables are provided where guests can stand and eat.

During this type of service less skilled staff is required; also the labor cost is lesser. As under its demerits if the counters are not properly arranged, it may lead to congestion. Also food may get cold after a short span of time.

D. SINGLE POINT SERVICE

In this category, the guest orders, pay for his orders and get served at single point. There may be may not be any dinning area or seat-outs.

The different types are:

Take Away: Customer orders and is served from single point, at counter, hatch or snack stand; customer consumes off the premises.

Vending: Provision of food service and beverage service by means of automatic retailing.

Kiosks: Outstation to provide service for peak demand or in specific location (may be open for customers to order or used for dispensing only)

Food Court: series of autonomous counters where customers may either order and eat or buy from a number of counters and eat in separate eating area, or take-away.

E. SPECIALISED SERVICE

In this category the guest is served at the place, which is not meant or designated for food & beverage service (i.e. guest rooms or any special area).

Grill Room Service: In this form of service various meats are grilled in front of the guest. The meats may be displayed behind a glass partition or well decorated counter so that the guest can select his exact cut of meat. The food comes pre-plated.

Tray service: Method of service of whole or part of meal on tray to customer in situ, e.g.hospitals aircraft or railway catering.

Trolley service: Method of service of food and beverages form trolley, away from dining areas, e.g. for office workers, in aircraft or on trains.

Home- Delivery: Food delivered to customer’s home or place of work, e.g. Pizza home delivery or Meal on wheels etc.

Lounge Service: Service of variety of foods and beverages in lounge area.

Cafeteria Service :-

This kind of service is generally followed in industrial and institutional cafeterias. Food is attractively arranged in proper sequence on counters. The guests start at one end of the counter holding plates in hands. They move along the counter picking their choice of dishes. The cashier who sits at the counter makes a bill for the items that are collected by the guest. In a few operations, the meals are pre-paid.

Room Service:

As it is pre defined by its name that, service of food and beverage in guest rooms. It takes place when the guest places their order with Room Service Order taker (RSOT). The waiter receives the order and transmits the same to the kitchen. In the meanwhile he prepares his tray or trolley. He then goes to the cashier to have a cheque prepared to take along with the food order for the guests’ signature or payment. Usually clearance of soiled dishes from the room is done after half an hour or an hour. However, the guest can telephone Room Service for the clearance as and when he has finished with the meal. There are two types of Room Service:

Its main advantage is highest guest satisfaction and fewer skills are required. But its main disadvantages includes that, food may get cold, as food has to be transported from kitchen to rooms. Also service may be delayed during peak hours of operation.

Centralized room service: Here all the food orders are processed from the main kitchen and sent to the rooms by a common team of waiters.
Decentralized room service: Each floor or a set of floor may have separate pantries to service them. Orders are taken at a central point by order-takers who in turn convey the order to the respective floor pantry. Only snacks and beverages are served from this place, and other main items are served from the main kitchen only.

Room Service is very important because the actual service is done without any supervision and if there is anything done wrongly or not brought at the first time, then there are no chances of any correction of the mistake. Therefore everything should be checked in the beginning itself.

In room service department, the task of order taking is most important as:

The guest is talking to the order taker through phone, not in person.
This task reflects/improve the image of the hotel.
This task can increase the revenue sale of food & beverage service dept. by a great margin.
This task can make the guest a satisfied and delighted guest and thus can convert him in a repeat clientele.

Guidelines for a professional and effective room-service:

Many times guests look forward to room service as one of the pleasures and privileges of their stay in the hotel. Hence you must:

Know your menu very thoroughly.
Try to create a mental picture with the help of your recommendations.
Use power of suggestion like, “would you like to try our Biriyani”.
Put enthusiasm in your voice.
While taking the order or suggesting, consider time, number, type of the facilities available for service in the room etc.
Room service is the right food at the right time in the right room.
There are no chances of any correction later, therefore be particular and check every detail in advance.
While in the room, be alert and sensitive to the mood of the guest.
Knock with your hand and say “Room Service”. Enter only after permitted, greet guest, serve or leave the food as per guests wish. After service do not linger, but present the check, take signature, ask when you can come for clearance, say “enjoy your food”. “Thank you” and depart.
Come out and close the door silently.
Do the clearance on time.
Show team spirit and clear any tray lying in the rooms or corridor, but inform the R.S.O.T. otherwise guest will be disturbed again.
Sequence of order-taking in room Service:
Step 1: receive telephone for room service:

Smile when you talk. A smile helps you sound more relaxed and pleasant.
Speak clearly to the receiver. Avoid slang (bad words), technical terms, or hospitality words that callers may not understand.
Use proper grammar and diction. Avoid “yep,” “uh-huh,” and “ok.” Instead, use “yes,” “certainly,” or “absolutely.”
Answer the phone within three rings. A phone that rings more than three times gives a caller the impression that you don’t want to take the call.
Always tell your name, and the name of department.
Give the caller a friendly greeting, such as “Good Morning” or “ good Evening,” and ask how you may help him or her.
Give the caller your complete attention. Pretend he or she is standing right in front of you.
Talk only to the person on the phone, not to any one else around you.

Step 2: Get order and enter it into the order taker book or form.

Ask the person giving the order for:
Name of the dishes
Quantity/ portion of the said dish.
If possible, give details about the dish, i.e. this is made of beef or chicken etc.
Ask any special request for different preparation or accompaniments etc.
For difficult or unusual names, refer the room service menu. Repeat all information back to the guests and thank them for giving the order.
Under the correct spelling of the name of dish, write it the way it sounded when it was pronounced.
Write your initials next to the order.

Step 3: Make suggestions

If a caller asks what’s on the menu, describe several entrees.
Tell them the specialty of the house.
Describe them the important ingredients of any dish, which may be special for him/her.
Try to sell more than he orders, inform of best accompaniments with his said order.
Describe him the alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, which can go along with his/her order.

Step 4: Thanks guest for giving the order. Tell him the approx. preparation time required.

Step 5: Give the order slip to the room service boy allotted for the floor.

Step 6: make the guest bills as per house rule and handover it to the concerned room service waiter/waitress.