Prepare the dining room/restaurant area for service
Reference:
Food and beverage services: Intermediate 2 nd
edition (2018). 3G E-Learning pp. 233-254
Punay, Maria (2012). Food and beverage service
manual. Books atbp. Publishing Corp. pp. 83-98
Learning objectives:
1. Take table reservations
2. Prepare service station and equipment
3. Set up tables in the dining area
4. Set the mood/ambiance of the dining area
Introduction
This unit covers the knowledge and skills
required in the preparation of the dining
room/restaurant area before the start of the service
operations.
General rules for Service
• Serve all food from the left side of the guest,
except when special circumstances (wall,
pillar).
• Serve all beverages from the right side. Fill
water glasses two-thirds full.
• Clear from the right.
• Serve everyone in the part the same course
at the same time.
Order of service
• when a man and a woman are eating
together, the lady is served first.
• When two couples are eating together, the
lady on the host’s right is served first, then the
other lady, other gentleman and the host.
1.Take table reservations
• A table reservation is an arrangement made
in advance to have a table available at a
restaurant.
• There is no right or wrong answer for whether
to take reservations. It all depends on the
type of restaurant concept, the size of your
dining room and the impression you want to
give.
The benefits and drawbacks of restaurant
reservations
• The most obvious benefit of accepting
restaurant reservations is that you now
exactly how many people you need to feed at
which times.
• Allows to plan better in the kitchen and staff
appropriately.
• The drawbacks of restaurant reservations is
that you limit the number of walk-ins you can
feed.
• No-shows cos restaurants money.
• Many restaurants require a credit card to hold
a table and charge it a set fee if the patrons
do not show up.
2.Inquiries are answered promptly, clearly and
accurately.
Inquiries may be received thru:
• Telephone
• Emails
• Internet
3.Get the complete details of the reservations
• After confirming a room to the guest, we need
to make a reservation record for every
booking made. The records can be
maintained or processed in two ways:
o Keep the original reservation form;
o Using a computerize system.
• There are some points of complete details of
the reservations in food and beverage such
as:
o Date of reservation
o Time of arrival
o Number of persons
o Name of person who will use the
reservation
o Name of person making the
reservation
o Contact details of the person
checking in and of the person making
the reservation.
o Special requirements
4.Prepare service stations and equipment
• Food preparation may be one of the most
important responsibilities of the kitchen.
• Besides providing quality food, maintaining
health and sanitary standards is a must.
• The kitchen must be fully conscious of the
portion control in order to avoid profit loss,
unnecessary waste or underserving the
guests.
• Having the right equipment and tools can also
make the preparation faster especially if there
is a number of orders.
5.Service or waiter’s stations are stocked with
supplies necessary for service
• Many waiter stations feature special
components and segmented compartments
for cutlery and serving ware.
 • Napkins – table napkins should be placed on
the left shoulder or arm; goblet and knife go
to the right, bread to the left.
• Menu folders – always check the menu.
Menus may distort as time goes on.
• Order slips – ensure efficiency in order
taking, ratio should 1:1.
• Wine list – wine lists are presented and
offered like menus and usually in conjunction
with them.
• Condiments – e.g. ketchup, mustard,
mayonnaise, salad dressing, soy sauce,
barbecue sauce, relish, salt and pepper.
• Toothpicks
• Table cloth
• Salt and pepper shakers
6.All tableware and dining room equipment are
cleaned, wiped and put in their proper places.
• For many diners, the cleanliness of a
restaurant is more important than how good
the food tastes.
• Dinnerware – dinnerware should be stylish
and functional. Plates should be oven and
microwavable safe. Check if there are no
cracks.
• Glassware – the choice of the right quality
glass is a vital element. No cracks are present
• Flatwares - different types of flatwares are
used for different establishments. Free from
rust and No deformities.
o Medium weight flatwares are used in
commercial restaurant or foodservice
operations.
o Heavy weight flatware on the other
hand are used in casual and fine
dining establishments.
o Extra heavy weight is used in finer
establishments.
• Hollowares – no cracks
7.Cleanliness and condition of all tables,
tableware and dining room equipment are
checked.
• Proper cleanliness cannot be achieved
without proper facilities. Restrooms should
always be clean and equipped with a
functioning toilet and faucet.
• Sinks must be accessible to the food
preparation area.
• Hazardous chemical must be stored away
• Equipment must be in excellent condition.
• AC must be inspected.
• Cooking are must be well ventilated with
exhaust fans.
• Garbage area must have proper lids.
8. Set up the tables in the dining area
• Table setting is one of the most useful things
in restaurant service.
• Table setting comes in different shapes, and
styles.
• A formal table setting does not have to be
intimidating. Placement of the utensils,
glasses and napkin maximize efficiency
during the meal. E.g. silverware is laid
“outside in”.
• Setting a dining table depends on whether it
is formal or informal table setting, which is
determined by the importance of the event or
guest.
Setting the table
• use a table cloth – should cover table with
about 30cm overhanging on all sides of the
table. Table cloth should be well ironed with
no creases.
Specific rules in laying up of a table:
1. the table should be wobbly.
2. The table should be clean and free of crumbs.
3. The tableware and chinaware should ½ inch
or 1 inch from the edge of the table. The
distance of the tableware and chinaware from
the table will depend on the size of the table.
4. The knives are kept with their blades facing
left.
5. The logos on the tableware should face the
guest.
6. The side plate is placed to the left of the
cover.
7. The forks are kept with tine facing up.
8. The spoons are kept with the bowls facing up.
9. The Tableware is handled by its shoulders.
10. The glassware is handled by the bottom
quarter of the glass or by the stem in case of
stemmed glass.
11. The chinaware is held by the palm of the
hand; the fingers should not encroach (to
intrude) the guest’s eating area.
12. Tableware should be place perfectly and
uniformly across all the tables in the eating
area.
Points to remembers in napkin folding:
1. The table napkin should be spotless and
reasonably starched.
2. Use folds, which are simple to make and
unfold.
3. Use folds that can be used for lunch and
dinner.
 4. For lunch, usually the cover fold is used and
for dinner, the glass fold.

Points to remembers when setting a table:

1. Always maintain a high level of hygiene.
2. Ask your supervisor or manager to determine
how your tables are set in your establishment.
3. When placing the items on the table, check
the table top, linen and all items that you are
placing on the table are clean. Check cutlery,
glass ware and plates for streaks, residue or
dullness, cracks chips or stains.
4. Place other items are required,e.g. cream
and sugar, salt and pepper, ashtrays,
centerpieces, menu cards.

Table are set according to the standards of the

food service establishment.
• The accoutrements of fine dining
establishment are table linens, china wares,
luxurious surroundings, and subdues lighting
to encourage lingering.
• Fine dining is a very slow-paced dining
experience where guest will be around for
several hours.
• The fine dining experience promises the
customer a full-service restaurant with highly
trained staff in uniform or more formal attire.
• The menu is typically extensive and features
high quality and often unsual ingredients that
require elaborate preparation.