TYPES OF FOOD &

BEVERAGE
SERVICE
 The five Service methods :
A. Service at a laid cover
B. Assisted service – part service at a laid cover and
part self-service
C. Self service
D. Service at a single point (ordering, receipt of
order and payment
E. Specialised service or service in situ
 1.Table service:
• The customer is served at a laid cover
• Includes:
– Silver
– English
– American/Plate
– French/ Guéridon / Butler
– Russian
• Also counter Service
Service Styles : Table Service
– American (Plated) Service
– French Service/Guéridon/ Butler
– Russian (Platter) Service
– English (Family) Service
– Buffet (Self-Service)
– Counter Service

Hayes/Ninemeier: Foundations of Lodging

Management. (C) 2006 Pearson Education,
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights
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/waitress. Then the
service is done using a laid cover on the table. The
following are types of service come under this category:

1. American / pre-plated service

2. English Service
3. French service or Guèridon / Butler
4. Silver service
5. Russian service
6. Snack bar or Counter service
American Service
or Plate Service
 What is American Service?

1. It is the fastest. Least labor-intensive service style.

2. It is the most commonly used, and can vary from
somewhat formal to casual dining.
3. Less formal than the three services (French, Russian and
English)
4. Most prevalent service used in restaurant
5. Food is dished up on individual plate kitchen
What are the Advantages of American Service?

1. It save time and assures that hot food is hot

and cold food is cold.
2. The space required for such service is
minimized.
3. Many Chefs welcome American Service.
 American/Plate Service:

1. The American service is a pre-plated service, which

means that the food is served into the guest's plate in
the kitchen itself and brought to the guest.
2. The kitchen predetermines the portion and the
accompaniments served with the dish and then
balance the entire presentation in terms of nutrition
and color.
3. This type of service is commonly used in a coffee shop
where service is required to be fast.
 American/Plate Service:
3. The preparation of food is completed in the kitchen except for salad, the bread and
butter and brought to the guest ensuring fast service.
4. American Service or Plated Service – is preferred by the chef, it allows them to show
their creativity by organizing individual food items in an eye catching and appealing
style.
5. American Service- can be personalized according to situation such as breakfast,
lunch and dinner service.
6. The service requires only one server to serve the meal but with an experienced
serving skills.
7. Table setting for breakfast, lunch differs from dinner setting. For instance, breakfast
and lunch are simple meals and employ the use of limited service ware, whereas
dinner includes more food courses and more service wares.
 American/Plate Service:

8. At least 15 covers are placed on the table for a dinner

but not more than 25.
9. Number of flatware could vary according to menu but
not more than 3 on either side, they are brought before
serving the food.
10. In American Service – Coffee is sometimes served with
the meal. Some fine dining Restaurant do not allow
placing the coffee cups & saucer during the table setting.
These items are usually placed on the table just before
serving the coffee.
 American/Plate Service:
Service Procedure :
1. Serve food at the right side of the guest
2. Serve drinks at the right side of the guest
3. Bread & butter at the left side of the guest
4. Servers clear the table and collect soiled dishes course by course
at the right side of the guest. Sometimes servers need to crumb
the table before serving the dessert.
 Banquet Service:
• Four Styles of banquet service
– Standing Buffet
– Passed-Items function
– Seated Buffet
– Seat Banquet
 Banquet Service:

• Buffet
– Meal service where food is set out on tables a
guests help themselves
 Banquet Service:

• Standing Buffet
– Designed for people to socialize
– Foods served are finger food
– Beverage service provided
– Few or no tables or chairs
– Popular for cocktail parties and receptions
 Banquet Service:

• Passed-Items Function
– Designed for people to socialize
– Servers walk around with food and beverages on
trays
– Food served
– Few or no tables or chairs
– Popular for cocktail parties and receptions
 Banquet Service:

• Seated Buffet
– Tables and chairs are set
– Guests serve themselves from buffet table
– Servers clear dirty dishes
– Server may serve beverages
 Banquet Service:

• Seated Banquet
– Tables and chairs are set
– Servers serve all parts of the meal
– Everyone eats at the same time
– American or Plated Service for the Meal
 Family Service or English Service:

1. The most basic level of table service is called family service or

English service.
2. It originated in the home and is used mainly in family
restaurants or coffee shops.
3. All the food is put in dishes and bowls in the kitchen by the
food production staff and placed in the center of the dining
table by the service staff.
4. The guests serve themselves from dishes and bowls of food
placed in the center of the table by the service staff.
 English Service:

1. Food fully cooked in the kitchen

2. Plates pre-set
3. Host serves soup and passes bowls around the
table.
4. Host carves entrée, plates it and passes around
the table.
5. Side Dishes passed around for guests to serve
themselves
6. FAMILY STYLE – All foods placed on the table in
large serving dishes and guests help themselves.
 English Service:

1. -foods are place on platters

2. -heated plates are brought from the kitchen and
placed before the host or hostess at the head of the
table
3. -the host or the hostess carved the meat and dishes
up the entry on individual plates
4. -hands the plate to the waiter standing to the left and
serves the guest of honor and all other guest
5. -sauces and side dishes and vegetables are on the
table to be passed by the guests
 English Service:

1. Often referred to as the "Host Service" because the host

plays an active role in the service.

2. Food is brought on platters by the waiter and is shown to

the host for approval.
3. The waiter then places the platters on the tables.

4. The host either portions the food onto the guest plates
directly or portions the food and allows the waiter to
serve.

5. For replenishment of guest food the waiter may then take

the dishes around for guests to help themselves or be
served by the waiter.
 Silver Service:
1. The table is set for hors d'oeuvres, soup, main courses and
sweet dish in sterling silverware.

2. 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.

3. The waiter then picks the platter from the hot plate and
presents the dish to the host for approval.

4. He serves each guest using a service spoon and fork. All

food is presented in silver dishes with elaborate dressing.
 FRENCH SERVICE
• Called Tableside or Gueridon Service
• Food is prepared, finished, or carved at the
table
– Gueridon
– Rechaud
 FRENCH SERVICE
• Involves lots of employees
• Maitre D’Hotel or Captain
• Chef De Rang: Front Waiter
• Commis De Rang: Back Waiter
• Sommelier – Wine Steward
 FRENCH SERVICE
• Rules of Service
• Serve and clear food from the right with the right hand,
except bread and butter and salad.
 French Service:
1. It is a very personalized service.
2. Food is brought from the kitchen to the dining room on a
heavy silver plate and placed on a cart called gueridon
3. Food is cooked and completed at a side table in front of a
guest
4. A small stove called rechaud is used to keep the food warm
5. Food is completed by cooking, deboning, slicing and
garnishing and serve to the guest on a heated plate
6. -Employs two servers working together
7. All food is served and cleared from the right except bread
and butter and salad to the left of the guest
8. Finger bowl of warm with rise petals or lemon slice in them
is served with all finger foods at the end of the meal
9. A finger bowls is set on a doily or a small plate called
underliner
 ROLES OF WAITER

chef de rang is the principal server who seats the guest when the captain
waiter is absent. He presents the checks for payment
-commis de rang
-takes the order from the chef de rang to the kitchen
- picks up the food and carries it to the dining room as dished up by the chef
de rang.
-clears the dishes
-stands ready to assist whenever necessary
-guest receivers a great deal of attention
-service is elegant
-fewer guest maybe served
-more space is necessary for the service
-many highly professionals are required
-service is time consuming
 FRENCH SERVICE
sequence of service
1. Amuse Bouche
2. Appetizer or Soup
3. Fish course
4. Sorbet
5. Entrée
6. Salad or Cheese
7. Dessert
8. Coffee / after-dinner drinks
9. Mignardises ( Mignard- small sweet tidbits )
 FRENCH SERVICE
– Advantages
• Personalized service
• Showy, entertaining, elegant
• High check average
– Disadvantages
• Very expensive high labor and capital costs
• Time-consuming/ low turnover
• Fire Hazards
Guèridon service
 Guèridon Service:
1. This is a service where a dish comes partially prepared
from the kitchen to be completed in the restaurant by
the waiter or, when a complete meal is cooked at the
tableside in the restaurant.

2. The cooking is done on a gueridon trolley, which is a

mobile trolley with a gas cylinder and burners.

3. The waiter plays a prominent part, as he is required to

fillet, carve, flambé and prepare the food with
showmanship.
4. The waiter has to have considerable dexterity and skill.
 Russian Service:

– Also called Platter or Flying service

– Food is put on platters in the kitchen and served
to the guests from the platters.
• Definition of Russian Service
1. Russian service is a style of food service in which certain
dishes, such as roast beef, are carved in the kitchen and then
reassembled as if whole to speed service during a banquet.
2. Russian service which is mostly used for banquets is less
showy than French service, but it is quicker and no less
elegant.
3. Speed replaces showmanship, though there is skill involved.
4. The main goal of Russian or Platter service is to assure that
the guest receives fully cooked, hot food served in a swift and
tasteful fashion.
5. It is especially expedient for banquets or wherever it is
necessary to serve many people attractively presented food
quickly but without sacrificing elegance and personal touch.
1. In Russian service all food is fully cooked and
artfully arranged and garnished on large platters
in the kitchen.
2. With the server’s right hand, empty plates are
set – in from guest’s right, beginning with the
first woman seated at the hosts left. The servers
move clockwise around the table.
3. The platters of food are carried to the dining room by a server and
presented around the dining table.
4. The servers then begin with the first woman seated at the host’s
right, display the food from the left, and serve the desired portion.
The servers transfer the food from platter to guest’s plate by the
skilful manipulation of fork on the top of spoon. The servers then
continuous around the table counter clockwise. Sauces and
garnishes are served either by that same waiter or by another one
following right behind.
5. The platter is held in the left and the food is served with the right
hand. Note that service and setting – in are done from the
opposites sides of the guest, as compared with French and other
style of service. Even though the entire meal may not be served in
the Russian service style it remains common for waiters to use
Russian service to place bread on guest’s plates.
 ADVANTAGES OF RUSSIAN SERVICE
1. PERSONALIZED SERVICE
2. GRAND STYLE
3. ENTERTAINING
4. GUESTS MAY CHOOSE PORTION SIZE
5. GUEST MAY CHOOSE QUANTITY OF SAUCES
6. SERVER CAN EXHIBIT SKILLS
7. STAFF REQUIREMENT AND SKILL ARE DECREASED
8. FASTER THAN FRENCH SERVICS
9. FULLY COOKED HOT FOOD SERVED AT THE TABLE QUICKLY
 DISADVANTAGES OF RUSSIAN SERVICE

1. REQUIRES SPACE IN BETWEEN CHAIRS FOR WIDE PLATTERS

2. REQUIRE SKILLED AND PHYSICAL CAPABLE SERVERS
3. LESS PORTION CONTROL AND MAY RUN OUT OF ITEMS
4. FOOD CAN BECOME COLD AND RAGGED WHILE SERVING
5. DANGERS OF SPILLING SOUPS AND SAUCES
6. CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN SILVER PLATTER
• Service à la russe (French, literally "service in the Russian
style") is a manner of dining that involves courses being
brought to the table sequentially.
• It contrasts with service à la française ("service in the
French style"), in which all the food is brought out at once
in an impressive, but often impractical, display. The
Russian Ambassador Alexander Kurakin is credited with
bringing Service à la russe to France in the early 19th
century, and it later caught on in England. This is now the
style in which most modern restaurants serve food (with
some significant modifications).
 PLACE SETTING AND SERVICE ORDER

For the most correct service à la russe, the following must be

observed:
The place setting (called a cover) for each guest includes a
service plate, all the necessary cutlery except those required
for dessert, and stemmed glasses for water, wines and
champagne.
Atop the service plate is a rolled napkin, and atop that is the
place card. Above the plate is a saltcellar, nut dish, and a
menu.
3. The cutlery to the right of the service plate are, from the
outside in, the oyster fork resting in the bowl of the
soup spoon, the fish knife, the meat knife and the
salad knife (or fruit knife).

4. On the left, from the outside in, are the fish fork, the
meat fork and a salad fork (or fruit fork). (If both a salad
and a fruit course are served, the necessary extra flatware
must be brought out on a platter, as it is bad form to have
more than three knives or forks on the table at once, the
oyster fork excepted.)
1. Guests are seated according to their place cards and
immediately remove their napkins and place them in their
laps. Another view maintains that the napkin is only removed
after the host/hostess has removed his or hers. In the same
manner, the host/hostess is first to begin eating, and guests
follow.

2. Then the oyster plate is placed atop the service plate. Once that
is cleared the soup plate replaces it. After the soup course is
finished, both the soup plate and service plate are removed
from the table, and a heated plate is put in their place. (The rule
is as such: a filled plate is always replaced with an empty one,
and no place goes without a plate until just before the dessert
course.)
3. The fish and meat courses are always served from platters, because in
correct service a filled plate is never placed before a guest, as this would
indirectly dictate how much food the guest is to eat.

4. Directly before dessert everything is removed from the place settings except
the wine and water glasses. Crumbs are cleared now.
 An example of a twenty-one course dinner follows:
1. Palate cleanser, or amuse. This may be preceded by a refreshing, lightly alcoholic drink, if the diners are to wait or
mingle before being seated.
2. Second amuse
3. Caviar
4. Cold appetizer
5. Thick soup
6. Thin soup
7. Shellfish
8. Antipasto
9. Pasta (usually short, long pasta being more suited to informal lunches)
10.Intermezzo (Sorbet)
11.Quail
12.Wild mushrooms
13.Beef
14.Green salad
15.Puffed pastry filled with herbed mousse
16.Cheese
17.Pudding
18.Ice cream
19.Nuts
20.Petit four
21.Coffee, liquor (in a home, as opposed to a restaurant, these are properly served in the more relaxed setting of a
drawing room or salon, not at the dining table)
A typical 14-course menu for a formal French dinner in service à la russe style is as
follows:

1. Oysters or clams on a half shell. Alternatively, fruit or caviar may be served

2. Soup (each guest may choose between clear or thick)
3. Radishes, celery, olives and almonds
4. Fish, with potatoes and cucumbers with oil & vinegar
5. Sweetbreads (or mushrooms)
6. Artichokes, asparagus or spinach inside a shell of pastry
7. A roast with a green vegetable
8. Frozen Roman punch (an alcoholic fruit punch thickened with egg whites)
9. Game with salad
10.Creamed sweet (e.g. a heavy pudding)
11.Frozen sweet (e.g. a sorbet or ice cream)
12.Cheeses with biscuits and butter
13.Crystallized and stuffed dried fruits served with bonbons
14.Coffee, liqueurs, cognac, and sparkling water (at this time cigars may be
smoked)
FORMAL DINING

In formal dining, a full course dinner can consist of five, seven, eight, ten
or twelve courses, and, in its extreme form, has been known to have
twenty-one courses. In these more formalized dining events, the
courses are carefully planned to complement each other
gastronomically. The courses are smaller and spread out over a long
evening, up to three, four or five hours, and follow conventions of
menu planning that have been established over many years.

Most courses (excluding some light courses such as sorbets) in the most
formal full course dinners are usually accompanied by ("paired with")
a different wine, liqueur, or other spirit; today, craft beers and sakes
are increasingly being integrated into the pairings.
 2.Assisted service:
Customer served part of the meal at a table and is required to obtain
part through self-service (for example in a carvery-type operation)

A carvery is a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order

for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings for a fixed
price. The term is most commonly used in the U.K. Ireland and
australia , but it is also found in the U.S.
Assisted Service

In this type of category, the guest enters in the

dining area and helps himself to the food, either
from a buffet counter or he may get served partly
at table by waiter/ess and he collects any extras
he needs from the counter.

Eating may be done on either at table, standing or

in lounge area/ banquet hall.
 3.Self-service:

• The customer is required to help him or herself

from a buffet or counter
• Counters can be:
– Straight line counter with payment point at end
– Free-flow - customers move at will to random service points
– Echelon – series of counters at angles to save space
– Supermarket - Island service points within a free-flow area
Cafeteria Service:

This service exists normally in industrial canteens,

colleges, hospitals or hotel cafeterias.

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.
 4.Single point service:
• The customer orders, pays and receives the food
and beverages at a counter:

– At take away; fast food; drive thru; kiosk; food court,

vending machine
– At a bar in licensed premises
Single Point Service

In this category, the guest orders, pays for his order and gets
served all at a single point. There may be
may not be any dinning area or seats.

The different types are:

1. Take away service

2. Vending
3. Kiosk
4. Food court
Kentucky Fried Chicken
 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.

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.

Kiosks: Outstation to provide service for peak demand or in

specific location (may be open for
customers to order or used for dispensing only)
 5.Specialised service
(or service in situ):
• The food and beverage is taken to where the
customer is.
• Includes: tray service in hospitals, hotels or
aircraft, trolley service, home delivery, lounge
service, room service and drive-in
A) 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.

B) Tray service: Method of service of whole or part of

meal on tray to customer in situ, e.g. hospitals aircraft
or railway catering.
C) 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.
D) Home‐ Delivery: Food delivered to customer’s
home or place of work, e.g. Pizza home delivery
or Meal on wheels etc.
E) Lounge Service: Service of variety of foods &
beverages in lounge area.
Snack bar service
 Room Service:

It implies serving of food and beverage in

guest rooms of hotels. Small orders are served
in trays. Major meals are taken to the room on
trolleys. The guest places his order with the
room service order taker. There are 3(three)
types of Room service:

1.Centralized room service

2.De-centralized room service
3.Mobile room service
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 pantry.
Mobile Pantries/ room service:

Some hotels have pantries installed in service elevators. Orders

are received by a central point that convey it to the mobile
pantry. The pantry has to just switch on the floor and give
instant service. For the sake of information, in countries, which
have a shortage of manpower, large hotels install mechanized
dispensing units in rooms. The guest inserts the necessary
value of coins into the machine, which will eject pre-prepared
food and beverages for guest consumption.
 Guide for serving
1. Silver serve food from the left
2. Serve platter to plate from left
3. Serve plated foods from the right
4. Serve all beverages from the right
5. Clear from the right
6. Bread service to the left side of the guest to
side plate.
 Guide for general working
Use trays
Separate tasks of:
serving at table
food/drink collection
sideboard/workstation clearing
Use checklists for tasks required for clearing
after service
SEQUENCE OF TABLE SERVICE
(A LA CARTE SERVICE)

1. Welcome/greeting the guests

2. Escorting guests to their tables
3. Seating the guests
4. Offering Before – Dinner Drinks
5. Serving of Drinks/water
6. Presenting the Menu and Taking the Order
7. Placing order to the kitchen
8. Completing the table set-up
9. Picking up/ assembling the order
10. Serving food according to standard Sequence
11. 1st - Bread and Butter
12. 2nd - Appetizers
13. 3rd - Soup
14. 4th - Salad
15. 5th - Main Course
16. Clearing of Table after every finished Course
17. Offering and serving dessert
18. Offering/Serving after-Dinner Drinks/Coffee
19. Preparing/Setting of Guest Check
20. Bidding Good-bye and thanking the Guest………………………………………….All staff
 SEQUENCE OF DINING SERVICE – A LA CARTE
FINE DINING WITH WINE SERVICE

1. Welcoming / greeting the guests

2. Offering Before-Dinner Drinks (aperitifs)
3. Serving or Bread and butter
4. Presenting the menu
5. Serving before-dinner drinks (aperitifs)
6. Taking of food order
7. Placing/picking up food orders
8. Taking wine order
9. Completing the table-set-up
10. Clearing of aperitif glasses
11. Presenting and serving white wine
12. Serving appetizers, then soup
13. Cleaning of soiled dishes
14. Presenting and serving red wine
15. Serving the main course and side salad
16. Refilling red wine glass
17. Clearing red wine glass
18. Clearing soiled dishes, crumbing down of tables
19. Offering and serving dessert
20. Offering sweet cherries/sweet champagne
21. Offering/serving coffee and liqueurs
22. Presenting and setting the bill
23. Bidding goodbye/thanking the guest……………………………………………….. All staff