TOPIC 1.2.

1
Waiter Station Supplies
Learning Objective:

After reading this information sheet, you are able to

sustain waiter station supplies.

Introduction:

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.
● 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 condiments

Condiments are served with a meal to enhance or complement

the flavour. 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.
Prepare butter and lemons
Butter is also a condiment and it is usually the responsibility of
waiting staff (not kitchen staff) to prepare the butter for
service. Butter can be served in:
Cubes
Curls
Triangles
Butter pots.
Some premises use the pre-packed, portion-controlled, foiled
rectangles. Service staff may also be responsible for:
Slicing lemons for cups of tea or bar drinks
Making lemon wedges to accompany the service of fish
dishes.
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.
A napkin, serviette or face to welette is a rectangle of
cloth used at the table for wiping the mouth and fingers
while eating. It is usually small and folded sometimes in
intricate designs and shapes. The word comes from
Middle English, borrowing the French napped—a cloth
covering for a table—and adding -kin, the diminutive
suffix.
Order slip- The document, bill or invoice which
shows the details of your order: Item, Item
number, size, color, amount (how many you
ordered) price, shipping instructions, etc.
Menu folder
A folder where a designed paper which contains all the
food and beverages sold in a restaurant and is place on
each table for people to make an order of what the want
to eat or drink.
A wine list is a menu of wine selections for
purchase, typically in a restaurant setting. A
restaurant may include a list of available wines on
its main menu, but usually provides a separate
menu just for wines. Wine lists in the form of
tasting menus and wines for purchase are also
offered by wineries and wine stores
Docket book

A book use to write up orders and ensure a smooth

process between wait staff, kitchen, ...
 INFORMATION SHEET 1.2.2
Tableware and Tent Cards

Learning Objective:
After reading this information sheet, you are able to
identify tableware and tent cards and their uses.

Introduction
Tableware is dishes or dish ware used for setting a
table, serving food and dining. It includes Dinnerware,
Glassware, Flatware/Silverware serving dishes and
other useful items for practical as well as decorative
purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of
objects vary according to culture, religion, number of
diners, cuisine and occasion. Special occasions are
usually reflected in higher quality tableware.
Cutlery
A wide range of cutlery can be used in a food and
beverage facility: the following are commonly used
items:
A common procedure to polish cutlery is as follows:
1) Separate the cutlery into the different types
2) Take a handful of cutlery, 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
Place the cutlery, handles up, in the service
position, either on a table or at the waiter’s
station. Polished
1) cutlery should always be placed on an
under-plate to be taken to the table for set up
2) 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.
Crockery
The type of crockery used by an establishment can vary
depending on the menu items offered, the style of service
provided and the required image the property wishes to create.
Crockery may be ‘badged’ with the name of the venue, or be
unbadged.
Traditionally, crockery is white, but many colour options exist
that can be used to blend with a theme.
Standard types of crockery are:
How to Clean Crockery
1. Remove visible food debris, for example, scrape the plates.
2. Rinse with warm water to remove loose dirt.
3.Wash with a detergent.
4.Rinse again to remove the detergent and debris.
5.Apply a sanitizer. Sanitizers are chemicals designed to kill
bacteria.
6.Rinse to remove the sanitizer.
7.Allow to air dry.
Plate (dishware)
A plate is a broad, concave, but mainly flat vessel
on which food can be served. A plate can also be
used for ceremonial or decorative purposes.
 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.
Tent Cards
Tent cards are an eye-catching marketing tool that
you’ve likely come across while dining out at
restaurants. They give you something to browse while
you’re waiting for your meal, and if designed
effectively, can communicate specials or promotions
your customers will be interested in. Adding special
details such as custom cutting or lamination can
really help your restaurant stand out from the
competition!
 TOPIC 1.2.2
Restaurant Equipment
Learning Objective:
After reading this information sheet, you are able
to identify restaurant equipment, their uses and check
cleanliness.

Introduction:
Most full-service restaurants will have a mixer, a slicer,
preparation sinks, hand-washing sink(s) (check with your
local health department for minimum requirements), a portion
scale, a food cutter, baker's bins and tables, a meat grinder,
a blender, a griddle-top range with an oven, a convection and
more.
 RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT

Gueridon trolley
Gueridon Service is a term used
in the restaurant business to refer
to “trolley service.” Food is
cooked, finished or presented to
the guest at a table, from a
moveable trolley. Dishes
typically served like this include
Crepes Suzette, Caesar Salad,
Cherries Jubilee, Banana Flambé
and Steak Tartar
Cake display
Cake display fridges or
refrigerated cake display as
they are also known are a
great way to visually entice
customers into purchasing
that sweet treat, sandwich
or patisserie. Essentially all
cake display fridges need to
showcase your cakes and
pastries in the most
attractive light possible.
A refrigerator (colloquially
fridge) is a common
household appliance that
consists of thermally
compartment and a heat pump
(mechanical, electronic, or
chemical) that transfers heat
from the inside of the fridge
to its external environment so
that the inside of the fridge is
cooled to a temperature below
the ambient temperature of the
room.
A chiller is a machine
that removes heat
from a liquid via a
vapor-compression or

absorption refrigerati
on cycle
. This liquid can then
be circulated through
a heat exchanger to
cool air or equipment
Coffeemakers or coffee
machines are cooking
appliances used to brew
coffee. While there are many
different types of
coffeemakers using a number
of different brewing
principles, in the most
common devices, coffee
grounds are placed in a paper
or metal filter inside a funnel,
which is set over a glass or
ceramic coffee pot, a
cooking pot in the kettle
family.
Point-of-sale (POS) is the
place where a retail
transaction is completed. It is
the point at which a customer
makes a payment to the
merchant in exchange for
goods. At the point of sale the
retailer would calculate the
amount owed by the customer
and provide options for the
customer to make payment.
The merchant will also
normally issue a receipt for
the transaction.
A wine accessory is
generally any equipment
that may be used in the
storing or serving of wine.
Wine accessories include
many items such as
wine glasses, corkscrews,
and wine racks.
Bain-maries
The bain-marie is used to
keep hot food at the right
temperature during the
service period. It must keep
the hot food at 60°C or above.
It is the hot water and rising
steam that keeps the food hot.
Toasters
may be used during any shift, but
particularly during breakfast.
Toasters should be clean and free
of crumbs. Crumbs can smoke
and may even catch alight
causing alarm to customers.
Before service, toasters should be
checked that they are in good
working order, with special
attention paid to electrical cords
to ensure they are not frayed or
do not have any wires exposed.
Once
Checking Tables, Tableware and Dining Room
Equipment
Checking cleanliness and checking tables prior to service
Cleanliness and the condition of the tables and the table
items must be checked prior to service to ensure the guests
enter a proper and correctly prepared room.
Checking may involve walking around and scanning each
table to ensure all is correct. Waiting staff may be required
to do this where waiting staff are asked to check the tables
of other waiters rather then check their own tables, or it may
be the job of the supervisor.
Things to look out for in this process include:
● Crumbs on chairs left from the previous session. Cleaners
will clean the floor of the room but rarely be required to
clean chairs
● Lop-sided, creased, dirty or otherwise unsuitable
tablecloth
● Missing items from the cover or table – crockery, cutlery,
centre pieces, glassware, napkins, tent cards
● Missing, damaged or unstable tables and chairs Incorrect
covers set on a table. The covers must reflect the number
of guests for each table as indicated on the floor plan.
Where tables exist that do not have bookings, most
venues will prepare tables to suit the size of walk-in
parties that can be reasonably expected.
Things to look out for in this process include:

● Crumbs on chairs left from the previous session. Cleaners

will clean the floor of the room but rarely be required to
clean chairs
● Lop-sided, creased, dirty or otherwise unsuitable tablecloth
● Missing items from the cover or table – crockery, cutlery,
centre pieces, glassware, napkins, tent cards
● Missing, damaged or unstable tables and chairs
● Missing items from the cover or table – crockery, cutlery,
centre pieces, glassware, napkins, tent cards
● Missing, damaged or unstable tables and chairs
● Incorrect covers set on a table. The covers must reflect the
number of guests for each table as indicated on the floor
plan. Where tables exist that do not have bookings, most
venues will prepare tables to suit the size of walk-in parties
that can be reasonably expected. This means they may set
up a number of tables for two, some tables for four people
and some for perhaps six or eight people
● That the actual table positions reflect the set floor plan
● Rubbish on the floor, in pot plants etc.

● Flies or insects – alive or dead – with special attention

being paid to window ledges. Establishments always want
the dining area set up before the advertised service time,
so problems can be sorted out before guests arrive.
 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 safety and health 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.