How-To Adviser - Food and Drink 2

Food & Drink

Food and Drink

How to Organize a Buffet or a Dinner Service

Types of reception

Formal: French, English and Russian service

Informal: American and Buffet service

The French Service

This is the most refined type of service and should only be performed on special occasions, like weddings, anniversaries, when receiving formal people or at work situations for the president, directors or foreign guests.

The seats at the table are marked with cards, which state the name of the person ahead of where they should sit. The table must be set as shown in the picture. The tablecloth must be clean and ironed without crease. After the cold entry, a soup may be served.

The glasses should be cleaned with alcohol so they shine. They are placed on the right side of the plate, above the knives. Should it be included a glass of champagne (not present in the image) it can be placed to the right of the glasses.

There are some preparations that must be made before you invite people to sit at the table. Fill the glasses of water with water. If you’ll serve bread, use a bread dish and place the bread and a ball of butter on each one. Light the candles, if any. If you will serve a cold entry, put it on the table before announcing the dinner.

The food is partially prepared in the kitchen and completed by the Chef or Headwaiter in full view of the guest. Service of this type requires not only technical expertise on food preparation but also a good showmanship. The Chef carries out certain activities like carving meats and fishes, preparing flamboyant, and so on, with talent and showmanship in full view of the guests. The waiters must never touch or bend over the guests while serving nor touch the table.

In this type of service everything must be perfect and nothing can go wrong. The waiter must be dressed perfectly (with uniform and gloves). He begins serving the woman sitting to the right next to the host because she is the guest of honor. After that, all other women to the right must be served. The guest men must be served just after that. And finally, the host is served.

The person who serves should be to the left of each guest, both to put the dishes and to serve the food. But to place and serve drinks and dessert silverware, who serves must do it to the right. Remove the dishes on the right, unless it involves the placement of the hand before the guest. Coffee can be served at the table or in the living room. After the meal, the guests should place the napkin to the left of the plate and the used silverware parallel to one another on the plate.

The Russian Service

This type of service is quite the same as that of the French service. However, in the Russian service, the food is fully prepared and pre-cut in the kitchen and then neatly arranged on silver platters by the Chef. The waiter then shows the platter to the host as a polite gesture and serves the food to the guest’s individual plates using serving cutleries.

The English Service

The English service is often referred to as the "Host Service" as the host plays an active role in the service. Food is brought on platters by the waiter and is shown to the host for approval. The waiter then places the platters on the tables. The host either portions the food into the guest plates directly or portions the food and allows the waiter to serve. For replenishment of guest food, the waiter may then take the dishes around for guests to help themselves or be served by the waiter.

The American Service

In the American service, the food is served into the guest's plate in the kitchen and brought to the guest. The portion is predetermined by the kitchen and the accompaniments served with the dish balance the entire presentation in terms of nutrition and color. This type of service is commonly used in a coffee shop where service is required to be fast. It needs no showmanship, no personalized attention, no special equipment and the host and guests may be served in any order.

The Buffet Service

Any meal, coffee in the morning to supper, can be served in a buffet. This type of reception is indicated for meetings with a large number of people, so people are more at ease to serve themselves. But today it is quite adopted as a simple and practical way to join friends at home. But, of course, never losing the refinement and good taste to the table.

The table can be set as follows: the dishes and silverware are placed on one side of the table and the dishes with their cutlery on the other side. Food is attractively arranged on a long table, classified and arranged according to proper sequence, from appetizers to desserts. Soup is placed on a soup tureen and the hot entrees in chaffing dishes to keep them warm. If a waiter is present behind the table, the guest may request the waiter to serve him.

So, why don’t you invite some friends over and have a nice dinner?

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