Senior

Food and Beverage High

Services NCII School

Quarter 1
Self-Learning Module 6

PREPARE THE DINING ROOM/RESTAURANT

AREA FOR SERVICE (AS)
LO. 2: Prepare Service Stations and Equipment
2.5 Check equipment and prepare for service
Writer: Angelo L. Dela Cruz
Reviewer: Maria Elizabeth N. Villabroza

EXPECTATION

After reading this module, you will be able to:

a) Understand the importance and methods involved in maintenance of various
equipment.
b) Identify the place settings of tableware in a formal dining set-up.
c) Demonstrate the procedure in laying tablecloth.
 PRE–TEST

Can you identify the tableware needed for casual dining set-up? Write your
answer in the space provided.

1. ______________________ 6. ____________________
2. ______________________ 7. ____________________
3. ______________________ 8. ____________________
4. ______________________ 9. ____________________
5. ______________________

RECAP

Arrange in order the steps in manual dishwashing. Write the corresponding

number on the space provided.
___________ a. Sanitize in the third compartment. ...
___________ b. Wash in the first compartment. Wash with warm water and detergent
solution capable of removing grease.
___________ c. Rinse in the second compartment. ...
___________ d. Air Dry.
___________ e. Scrape. Scrape, sort, and pre-rinse before washing.
 LESSON

Food and Beverage Service – Preparation

Imparting an out of the world meal experience requires a lot of preparation beforehand.
Food and beverage businesses work to bring out the best possible experience for their
guests and customers to achieve maximum customer satisfaction. All operations
regarding food and beverage service need preparations by anticipating guest arrival at
any time during working hours.

Mise-en-scène
It is the activity of preparing the environment in the F&B Services establishment so that
the guests and the service staff find it hygienic and pleasant.
To prepare the environment, the staff carries out the following activities:
1. Opening all windows and doors before working hours to let fresh air and sunlight
enter the venue.
2. Ensuring menu cards and promotional material are presentable.
3. Removing the furniture that needs servicing and handing it over to the
maintenance department or any outsourced agency.
4. Vacuuming carpets if any.
5. Switching on all lamps to check the fused ones.

Mise en place
It is the activity of putting things in place to make the subsequent F&B Services smooth.
The serving staff carries out the following duties:
Removing all soiled linen and replacing them with the fresh ones.
1. Ensuring that the side board is well-equipped.
2. Replenishing condiment containers, shakers, and water jugs.
3. Polishing cutlery and glassware.
4. Replacing pale flowers with the fresh ones.

Preparing Side Boards (Dumb Waiters)

It is a piece of furniture with numerous compartments and shelves to keep
condiments, water jug or bottles, cutlery, food platters, and linens. Side boards are
allocated for every station.
To prepare the side boards, the serving staff must place:
1. The replenished containers of water,
butter, and condiments.
2. The dinner plates, side plates, glasses,
mugs, and fingerbowls in the lower
shelves.
3. The linen, napkins, and dolly papers
neatly and stalked.
4. The cutlery in the appropriate sections
separately according to the type.
5. The condiments containers and shakers,
water jug, butter dish, toothpick holders,
straw holders, on the upper shelf or
board.

A. Prepare waiter’s station

The main purpose of a waiter’s station is to
provide the service staff with a location on the
floor from which they can work.

Items commonly found at a waiter’s station will reflect the service to be provided and
can be expected to include:
 Menus and wine lists
 All main types of cutlery – usually held in drawers
 Service plates, cups and saucers
 Napkins
 Service trays
 Salt and pepper shakers
 Sugar bowls
 Docket books and pen or electronic equivalents
 Toothpicks
 Condiments – sauces, Tabasco, mustard, extra butter
 Spare glassware.

Prepare cutlery
A common procedure to polish cutlery is as follows:
1) Separate the cutlery into the different types
2) Take a handful of cutleries, holding it by the handles, and dip the ends into a bucket
full of hot water and lemon
3) Using a clean, lint-free cloth, polish the service end of the cutlery
4) Continue this procedure until all cutlery is polished
5) Place the cutlery, handles up, in the service position, either on a table or at the
waiter’s station. Polished cutlery should always be placed on an under-plate to be taken
to the table for set up
6) Do not touch the top of the item that goes into the customer’s mouth.

Certain cutlery items must be cleaned and polished according to manufacturer’s

instructions.
Prepare glassware
 Usually, wine glasses and water glasses are set on tables in the room and it may be
the waiter’s responsibility to do this, ensuring the glassware is clean of marks, chips,
cracks and lipstick.
 Hold up to light and check for water marks.
 The restaurant glassware should be polished before going onto tables. This is
achieved by placing a glass over a bucket of hot steaming water and then polishing
with a lint-free cloth.
 Clean glassware should always be handled by the stem to avoid finger marks on the
bowl and placed upright on a tray to be taken to the table for set up.
 Many types of glassware exist but it is the responsibility of the bar staff to determine
what is used for which drink. Glass can be plain or decorated.
 Variations in glass types are available for:
 Beer glasses
 Wine glasses – still and sparkling
 All-purpose glasses for soft drink, fruit juice, long mixed drinks, short mixed
drinks, shots, straight nips/spirits served on ice
 Cocktail glasses
 Liqueur glasses and fortified wine glasses
 Carafes for the service of house wines to table
 Jugs for beer, soft drink and mixed drinks
 Irish coffee/liqueur-spirit coffee mugs.

Prepare salt and pepper shakers

 Before each shift, salt and pepper shakers must be checked to ensure they are clean
and filled appropriately.
 Blocked holes should be unblocked. This can be done with a toothpick.
 The exterior of the shakers must be clean, and the tops free from residual salt or
pepper. A few uncooked rice grains are sometimes added to salt shakers to absorb
any moisture that may get into the salt.
 Check the tops of the shakers are firmly in place as some customers take delight in
loosening them to the extent that the next person who uses them will find the top
comes off and their meal is covered in salt or pepper!
Prepare condiments
 Condiments are served with a meal to enhance or complement the flavor.
 From the perspective of preparing for food and beverage service, the preparation of
condiments is confined to the preparation of „proprietary‟ condiments. These are
the bought-in, pre-prepared condiments that all venues use.
 They need to be prepared before service and, where appropriate, covered.
 Some establishments prefer to serve their condiments in the original bottle, so it is
important for that to be checked for cleanliness as well, especially around the neck
and the cap.
 Condiments include:
 Tomato and barbecue sauce
 Sweet chilli/ chilli sauce
 Tabasco sauce and mustard
 Soy and fish sauce.
Clothing Techniques

Clothing a table
With clothing a table (that is, laying a tablecloth on a table), it is important that you
use the establishment-approved method.
The following points in laying a cloth should be observed:
 Never let the cloth touch the floor, and handle the cloth as little as possible
 Make sure the cloth is laid the right side up. Check the hem to identify which is
the right side if you are in doubt
 The overhang should be equal all the way around the table. Cloths come in
various sizes and you must use the right size cloth for each table \
 On large tables it is usual to use more than one cloth. The industry standard is
that the overlap of cloths runs away from the main entrance door to enhance
presentation by „hiding‟ the join or overlap
 Creases in clothes should also run away from the door where possible
 Try to use the cloth to cover the legs of the table where possible, making the
dining area more attractive.

Tips for setting a table

The following provide guidelines that may be adopted when setting a table. Check with
individual house requirements and follow those where they differ from the following:
 Use the chair as a guide to center the cover
 Side plates should always be placed to the left of the fork
 Knife blades should always face left
 Sufficient space should be left between the knife and fork for the meal to be
placed down. This is approximately 25 – 30cms depending on the size and
shape of the main course plate
 Entrée cutlery should always be placed on the outside of the main course
cutlery
 In a la carte dining, the dessert cutlery should be placed where the main course
knife is usually positioned
 Wine glass should be placed directly above the main knife.
 After the table setting has been completed, step back and look at the overall
impression. It should look attractive, balanced and uniform.
 When setting tables ensure that all crockery, cutlery and glassware used on a table
are the same. There should never be a „mix-and-match‟ of items from different
canteens of cutlery or patterns of crockery.
 For breakfast settings, a coffee cup is placed where the wine glass is usually
positioned.

Preparing the Table

Principles of Preparing Covers
 Each table cover needs space of 24 to 30 inches wide.
 Crockery and cutlery must be placed 2 inches away from the edge of the table.
 Knives are placed on the right of the dinner plate whereas forks are placed on the
left.
 Butter knife is placed on the side plate.
 The cutting edge of the knives must be towards the plate.
 Table napkin must be neatly folded and placed on the side plate.
Setting Table for Formal Dining
This type of table setup is required for formal events like corporate lunch or dinner, or
a wedding party. The formal dining contains multiple courses and second helpings are
not offered.

This table setup looks as follows:

Pictures courtesy of Food and Beverage Service Tutorial Point pp.79

Setting Table for Casual Dining

This table setup is required for informal events like holiday parties and family
gatherings. Casual dining can contain multiple courses and service staff offers or
serves second rounds of helping when a guest request for it.

This table setup appears as follows:

Pictures courtesy of Food and Beverage Service Tutorial Point pp.79

Preparing Ice and Water
Ice and water are the preliminary requirements of any food and beverage service
establishment. Clean drinkable water is obtained from the water purifiers installed in
the service establishment. The purifiers are selected such that they can cater to large
number of people per hour.

Crystal clear ice in the shape of large cubes can be prepared in-house if the size of F&B
establishment is large enough to install the required equipment. The ice can also be
purchased from an outsourced ice-making business and stored in the freezers.

When the guests are seated, they are first served water at adequate temperature
according to the season.

Setting Up the Furniture and F&B Service Equipment

Setting up the furniture and F&B equipment is one of the major tasks involved in
preparing the service area. The following measures should be observed when setting up
the furniture and equipment:

Determine additional setup for special occasions.

• The physical setup of most establishments is made permanent. However, several
instances will require you to prepare additional arrangements for special occasions such
as setting up the buffet table and promotional devices. Doing so requires you to be
familiar with the floor plan. A floor plan shows the manner in which the tables are
arranged in the restaurant area.
• The following are also common factors that should be considered when setting up
additional service requirements:
1. Shape and design of the room
2. Immovable objects (Staircases, Waiter’s stations)
3. Shapes and sizes of furniture and equipment
4. Emergency exits and doors
5. Ease of movement for guests and personnel
6. Location of bar and toilets

Check and clean the furniture.

• The cleanliness of the tables and chairs and the comfort of sitting in the dining area
has a huge effect on the overall dining experience. Dining room furniture must be well-
maintained.
The following are some measures to undertake to make sure that guests will return to
your restaurant:
1. Use the appropriate cleaning material to wipe the furniture.
2. Make sure that tables are clean and dry before making it available to guests.
3. Clean chairs regularly to prevent small crumbs from building up.
4. Avoid using abrasive cleaners and products such as sandpapers and brushes
with hard bristles.
5. Examine the furniture regularly and report defects to the appropriate
personnel.
Prepare the equipment for service.
 • Various machines are used depending on the range of service provided by the
restaurant. Below are some steps to follow to make sure that equipment will function
well in the course of the food and beverage service session.
1. Clean and use all equipment according to the instructions provided by the
manufacturer.
2. Items that are not clean, unsafe or are showing signs of malfunction should
be removed from service and reported to the appropriate personnel.
3. Turn on machines that need to be prepared before the service starts.
4. Beverage dispensers should be inspected regularly to make sure that they
are clean and in good condition.
Check furniture for stability
Tables and chairs must be checked for stability before customers arrive to ensure that
they do not pose a danger to customers, and to ensure they are not annoying when the
customers are seated at the table.
Occupational health and safety laws impose a legal requirement on premises to take
care of the welfare and safety of their customers.
The common law concept of „duty of care‟ also requires businesses to take whatever
action is necessary to avoid causing foreseeable harm to them.

ACTIVITIES

Dress Tables

Dressing tables means putting tablecloths on the tables.

Lay the tablecloth as follows
1 Check that the table is clean, steady and in the right position.
2 There are different sizes and shapes of tablecloths. Check that you have the right
size tablecloth to fit the table, for example, 54" x 54", 54" x 72", 54" x 120".
3 As you lay the tablecloth, check that there are no stains, holes, burns or tears. If
necessary, set aside defective linen and replace.
Picture courtesy of Food and Beverage Service by High Impact Tourism Training pp.
81

WRAP–UP

The equipment to be used in any outlet can primarily be decided on the clientele it serves
and the menu it offers to its clients. There is different equipment to handle various types
of food and beverage preparations but most of the outlets prefers to go for equipment
which can play a multiple role as it saves on the money as well as the storage space.
Selecting and purchasing equipment is one of the most difficult task or restaurant
operations as it involves many critical decisions based on the capital investment and
will affect the Return on Investment.
 VALUING

Open statement:
I have learned that preparing the table for different occasion requires
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Post-Test
Identify the items place on the fine dining table set-
1. _______________________ 6. _________________________
2. _______________________ 7. _________________________
3. _______________________ 8. _________________________
4. _______________________ 9. _________________________
5. _______________________ 10. ________________________
 KEY TO CORRECTION

9. Place Card
Dinner Knife, 6. Teaspoon, 7. Soup Spoon, 8. White Wine Glass,
Post Test - 1. Napkin, 2. Salad Fork, 3. Dinner Fork, 4. Salad Plate, 5.
8. Water Glass 9. Wine Glass
4. Plate 5. Dinner Knife 6. Teaspoon 7. Soup spoon
Recap - 1. Salad Fork 2. Dinner Fork 3. Table Napkin
Pretest - a) 4, b) 2, c) 3, d) 5, e)1

R E F E R E N CE S
Books
Lilicrap, D. and Cousins, J.; Food and Beverage Service; Eighth Edition, Hodder
Education, London, 2010.
Australian Aid ASEAN William Angliss Institute. Provide Food and Beverage Services.
Trainee Manual© ASEAN 2013 (Melbourne, Australia: William Angliss Institute of
TAFE, 2012).

Pictures

Pictures courtesy of Food and Beverage Service Tutorial Point pp.79

www.tutorialspoint.com

Food and Beverage Service by High Impact Tourism Training