RESTAURANT’S OPENING & CLOSING DUTIES

MISE – EN – PLACE AND MISE – EN - SCENE

An excellent Food and Beverage Outlet must draw an interest their potential customers and also should try to make them their regular or privileged customers. The type of menu, the fascinating name of the place or ambience within the food service area all works in building up the customer’s interest in any food outlet. As always said that the “First Impression is the last impression”, it becomes very right in terms of opening, activities that are related to prior service, as well as performing the closing duties effectively. The preparations done prior to the service are known as Mise-en-place which creates the right and pleasing ambience by adjusting the temperature of a room, dim or bright lighting and setting up of equipment.

ORGANIZING FOR SERVICE

As every little thing needs planning and then the action comes, in the same way, for providing the best services in food and beverage, organizing the Mise – en – place and making other arrangements comes in the Planning stage.

Ø  Pre - Preparation Activities: -

The service staff should check the following before service:

i) The tables and linen are clean.

ii) Tablecloths are properly spread on the table.

iii) Chairs are clean and properly arranged.

iv) The tables are set appropriately and are pleasurable.

v) The Silver is polished and the China and Crockery are spotlessly clean.

vi) Cruets, sugar bowls and flower vases are filled and placed on the table suitably.

vii) The floor / carpet are clean and dry.

viii) The side station is fully equipped for service and the following should be checked:

·         Condiments tray is cleaned and refilled.

·         Napkins are folded and kept handy for the particular session.

·         Salvers, extra linen, cutlery and service equipment necessary for the session are stacked up.

·         Water jugs and ice buckets are filled and kept ready.

·         Coffee pots are kept ready with freshly brewed coffee / tea.

·         Sugar cubes, butter and butter plates ready.

Ø  During Service Preparations: -

i) Greet: When the guests arrive greet warmly, by wishing them according to the time of the day.

ii) Escort: Escort the guests to the table and seat them promptly by pulling the chairs out to ease seating. If need be, the table should be moved so that very little inconvenience is caused to guests when they seat        themselves.

iii) Ensure: Ensure that children have high chairs and special attention is paid to the elderly.

iv) Remove: Remove extra covers, if any.

v) Serve water and present the menu card, if the captain is busy.

vi) If the order has to be taken, offer suggestions to the guests on the choice of food and beverages and repeat             the final order to avoid possible errors.

vii) Do not leave the station unattended

viii) If the table cloth has to be changed during service, the table top should not be exposed. Any articles on            the table should be cleared to the side station and not placed on chairs or on the next table. The       soiled cloth should be brushed using a service cloth and a crumbing tray or plate.

ix) Do not neglect little things such as lighting a guest's cigarette, responding to a request and            showing interest in the guest's needs.

x) Ensure fast service, efficient and pleasant.

xi) Before serving dessert, clear and crumb the table.

Ø  Preparation After Service: -

i) Pull out the chairs or the table to enable guests to move out comfortably.

ii) Wish them warmly and request them to visit again, saying - Do visit again, sir / madam.

iii) Clear the table immediately and reset for the next guest.

iv) Have the side station cleared and restacked for the next sitting.

MISE-EN-SCENE

Mise-en-scene, the French term means to prepare the ambience of the outlet before service in order to make it pleasant, comfortable and hygienic. Before each service session, the restaurant should be made presentable enough to receive the guests. The supervisor or team of waiters should ensure the following mise-en-scene:

·         Carpets are well brushed or hovered.

·         All tables and chairs are serviceable and properly placed.

·         Table lights or wall lights have functioning bulbs.

·         Menu cards are presentable and attractive.

·         Tent cards or other sales material are presentable.

·         Doors and windows are thrown open for some time to air the restaurant. This should be followed by closing the windows and doors and setting the air-conditioning or heating to a comfortable temperature.

·         Exchange dirty linen for fresh linen from Housekeeping.

·         Table cloths and mats are laid on the tables.

·         Replace wilted flowers with fresh flowers.

MISE-EN-PLACE

Mise-en-place, the French term means to “putting in place” is attributed to the preparation of a work place for ultimate smooth service A station comprises of a given number of tables which are attended by a given team of waiters. Thus a restaurant may have several stations, each with a team of waiters. In a large restaurant, each station may be headed by a Chef-de-rang.

Mise-en-place involves:

·         Side stations should be stacked with sufficient covers for resetting the restaurant after the first sitting is over. Extra linen, crockery, cutlery, glassware and ashtrays should be kept handy so that they are readily available for use.

·         Cruet sets should be cleaned and filled on a daily basis.

·         Sauce bottles should be filled and the necks and tops of the bottles wiped clean.

·         Butter, condiments and accompaniments for service should be kept ready for use when needed.

TABLE SETTING

Table setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware - such as eating utensils and dishware - for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. The rules are followed to facilitate dining and making the table neat.

The basic rules for laying the tables are given below:

1)       Table Linens: Table linen has to be laid properly. A white cloth is preferred but not mandatory.

2)       Napkins: Linen napkins should be folded elegantly and placed in the center of the dinner plate.

3)       Silverware: Silverware is to be placed in order of use. In other words, the diner will start from the outside and work his way in. The first course will use silverware farthest from the dinner plate, while the last course will utilize the silverware closest. Place all silverware an inch from the table's edge.

4)       Knives: Set knives on the table to the right of the dinner plate. Technically, one should only use a knife if one is cutting meat; however, up to three knives can be placed on the table, in order of use. Blades should face inside, towards the table setting.

5)       Forks: Forks are to be set to the left of the dinner plate in order of use. In most cases, there are three: one each for seafood, the main course and the salad. When dining formally, salads are generally served at the end of the meal.

6)       Spoons: Spoons are set to the right of the knives in order of use. If there is a dessert spoon, this will be set above the plate. Coffee spoons are set on the saucer when it's time for dessert.

7)       Glasses: Glasses are set above the plate to the right in order of use. From left to right: Water glass, red wine glass, white wine glass, champagne flute (if ordered).

8)       Dessert: Dessert plates and coffee / tea cups will be set out after dinner. If a fork is to be used with           dessert, this will be placed on the dessert plate. A dessert spoon should have already   been set above the dinner plate.

Points to Remember When Laying a Table

1) The table on which a tablecloth is to be spread should be first covered with a baize base cloth, for     the following reasons:

a. To protect the diner's wrists and elbows from the table's sharp edges.

b. To keep the tablecloth firmly in place.

c. To protect the surface of the table and prevent the rattling of crockery and cutlery.

d. To absorb moisture in case liquid spills on the table.

2) Based on the size of the table, appropriate linen should be used. The central fold of the tablecloth should             be in the middle of the table and all the four edges should just brush the seats of the chairs. Soiled   or torn linen should not be used. Three types of tablecloths namely cotton, linen and damask    are used. Of these, damask is the best.

3) If a bud vase is used as a central decorative piece, it should not be very large or tall as that obstructs            the view of guests sitting opposite each other. Heavily scented flowers should be avoided, as they      affect the flavor of the food.

4) Only the required cutlery, crockery and glassware should be placed on the table. On a normal dining        table, the space required for one cover is 60 cm x 38 cm. The cover on the opposite side         should             be exactly similar, so as to give a well-balanced look.

6) Cutlery should always be laid from the outside of the cover to inside, since the order of       sequence in which they are to be used is always from outside to inside.

7) Knives and soup spoons should be placed on the right-hand side of a cover, while forks should    be placed on the left-hand side. Dessert spoons and forks should be placed on top of the         cover. The side knife should be placed on a quarter plate and kept on the left side of the cover. The cutting edge of all knives should face to the left.

8) Water tumbler should be kept to the right of the cover, at the tip of the large knife.

9) Napkins should be placed in the centre of the cover, in between the cutlery. Normally during a dinner   session, napkins are arranged in empty water tumblers.

10) Cruet sets, a butter dish, an ashtray, meal accompaniments and a bud vase should be placed in     between the covers at the centre of the table.

11) Crockery and cutlery should be spotlessly clean and the glassware well-polished.

12) Chipped or cracked equipment should not be used. The hotel's monogram should be visible to   the guest.

13) All cutlery and crockery should be placed about an inch from the edge of the table so that they    are not accidentally tipped over.