66 Food and beverage service areas and equipmentC h a p t e r 3

Planning of the barThere are certain essentials necessary in the planning of every bar. They are factors that should be given prime consideration when planning for a fixed bar or when setting up a temporary bar for a particular function, as described below.

SitingA major factor is the siting of the bar. The position should be chosen so that the bar achieves the greatest possible number of sales.

AreaThe bar staff must be given sufficient area or space in which to work and move about. There should be a minimum of 1 m (3 ft 3 in) from the back of the bar counter to the storage shelves and display cabinets at the rear of the bar.

LayoutVery careful consideration must be given, in the initial planning, to the layout of the bar. Adequate storage must be provided in the form of shelves, cupboards and racks, for all the stock required and equipment listed. Everything should be easily to hand so that the bar staff do not have to move about more than necessary to provide a quick and efficient service.

Figure 3.5 Back bar fitting (image courtesy of Williams refrigeration)

Plumbing and powerIt is essential to have hot and cold running water for glass washing. Power is necessary for the cooling trays, refrigerators and ice-making machines.

Safety and hygieneGreat care must be observed to ensure that the materials used in the make-up of the bar are hygienic and safe. Flooring must be non-slip. The bar top should be of a material

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suited to the general decor that is hard wearing, easily wiped down and has no sharp edges. The bar top should be of average working height – approximately 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and a depth (across the top from the bar to the service side) of about 0.6 m (20 in).

●● 3.7 Furniture

Furniture must be chosen according to the needs of the establishment. Examples of various dining arrangements are shown in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 Dining arrangements (Based on a chart from Croner’s Catering)

Type Description of furniture

Loose random Freestanding furniture positioned in no discernable pattern within a given service area.

Loose module Freestanding furniture positioned within a given service area to a pre-determined pattern, with or without the use of dividers to create smaller areas within the main area.

Booth Fixed seating (banquette), usually high backed, used to create secluded seating.

High density Furniture with minimum dimensions and usually fixed, positioned within a given service area to create maximum seating capacity.

Module Seating incorporates tables and chairs constructed as one and may be fixed to the floor.

In situ Customers served in areas not designed for service, e.g. aircraft and hospital beds.

Bar and lounge areas

Customers served in areas not primarily designed for food and beverage service.

Materials and finishesBy using different materials, designs and finishes of furniture and by their careful arrangement, often the atmosphere and appearance of the service area can be changed to suit different occasions. Various types of wood and wood grain finishes are available, each suitable to blend with a particular décor. Wood is strong and rigid and resists wear and stains. It is a popular material used for chairs and tables in most food and beverage service areas but not ideal for canteens, some staff dining rooms and cafeterias. Although wood predominates, more metals (mainly aluminium and aluminium-plated steel or brass) are gradually being introduced into dining furniture. Aluminium is lightweight, hardwearing, has a variety of finishes, is easily cleaned and the costs are reasonable. Nowadays a wooden-topped table with a metal base may be found together with chairs with lightweight metal frames and plastic finishes for the seat and back. Formica or plastic-coated tabletops may be found in many cafeterias or staff dining rooms. These are easily cleaned, hardwearing and eliminate the use of linen. The tabletops come in a variety of colours and designs suitable for all situations. Place mats may take the place of linen.

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68 Food and beverage service areas and equipmentC h a p t e r 3

ChairsChairs come in an enormous range of designs, materials and colours to suit all situations and occasions. Because of the wide range of styles available, chairs vary in height and width, but as a guide, a chair seat is 46cm from the ground, the height from the ground to the top of the back is 1 m and the depth from the front edge of the seat to the back of the chair is 46 cm. Plastics and fibreglass are now used extensively to produce dining room chairs. These materials are easily moulded into a single-piece seat and back to fit the body contours, the legs usually being made of metal. The advantages are that these are durable, easily cleaned, lightweight, may be stacked, are available in a large range of colours and designs and are relatively inexpensive. They are more frequently found in bars, lounges and staff dining rooms than in a first-class hotel or restaurant. The main considerations when purchasing chairs should be size, height, shape and even the variety of seating required, for example, banquette (fixed bench seating as shown in Figure 3.5), armchairs, straight-backed and padded chairs, to give the customer a choice. Remember when purchasing chairs that the height of the chair must allow enough room for the diner to sit comfortably at the table. A leather or wool fabric is much better to sit on than PVC or man-made fibres which tend to become uncomfortable around the back and seat.

Figure 3.6 Restaurant area with traditional seating and with banquette seating shown on right of picture (image courtesy of Dunk Ink UK)

Tables Tables come in three main shapes: round, square and rectangular. An establishment may have a mixture of shapes to give variety, or tables of all one shape depending on the shape of the room and the style of service being offered. Square or rectangular tables will seat two to four people and two tables may be pushed together to seat larger parties, or

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extensions may be provided in order to cope with special parties, luncheons, dinners and weddings, etc. By using these extensions correctly a variety of shapes may be obtained, allowing full use of the room and enabling the maximum number of covers in the minimum space. The tabletop may have a plastic foam back or green baize covering which is heat resistant and non-slip so the tablecloth will not slide about as it would on a polished wooden top table. This type of covering also deadens the sound of crockery and tableware being laid. As a guide tables may be said to be approximately the following sizes:

Square●◗ 76 cm (2 ft 6 in) square to seat two people.●◗ 1 m (3 ft) square to seat four people.

Round●◗ 1 m (3 ft) in diameter to seat four people.●◗ 1.52 m (5 ft) in diameter to seat eight people.

Rectangular●◗ 137 cm 3 76 cm (4 ft 6 in 5 2 ft 6 in) to seat four people, extensions being added for

larger parties.

SideboardsThe style and design of a sideboard (or workstation) varies from establishment to establishment and is dependent upon:

●◗ the style of service and the food and beverages on offer●◗ the number of service staff working from one sideboard●◗ the number of tables to be served from one sideboard●◗ the amount of equipment it is expected to hold.

It is essential that the sideboard is of minimum size and portable so that it may be easily moved if necessary. If the sideboard is too large for its purpose it is taking up space, which could be used to seat more customers. Some establishments use smaller fixed sideboards and also use tray jacks (movable folding tray stands, as illustrated in Figure 3.7) when serving and clearing. The material used in the make-up of the sideboard should blend with the rest of the décor. The top of a sideboard should be of a heat resistant material that can be easily washed down. After service the sideboard is either completely emptied out or restocked for the next service. In some establishments the waiters are responsible for their own equipment on their station. If sideboards are restocked after service, the sideboard will also carry its own stock of linen. Thus, in this example a sideboard has everything necessary to equip a particular waiter’s station or set of tables. The actual lay-up of a sideboard depends firstly on its construction – the number of shelves and drawers for tableware, etc., and, secondly, on the type of menu and service offered. Therefore the lay-up in every establishment will vary, each being suited to its own needs and style of service and presentation. It is suggested, however, that in each particular establishment all sideboards should be laid up in the same way. If this is done the

Figure 3.7 Example of a tray jack

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204 The service sequence (table service)C h a p t e r 6

Removal of spare covers In many instances the number of customers in a party is less than the table is laid for. The waiter must then remove the spare cover(s) laid on the table. Judgement must be used as to which cover is removed – this may depend on the actual position of the table. General considerations are that customers, where possible, should face into the room. The cover should be removed using a service plate or a service salver. When this has been done the position of the other covers should be adjusted if necessary and the table accompaniments re-positioned. The spare chair should also be removed. Where there is an uneven number of customers each side of a table, the covers should be positioned so that the full length of the table is used for both sides, by spacing the covers out on each side. This ensures that one customer is not left facing a space on the other side of the table.

Re-laying of tables It is very often the case in a busy restaurant or dining room that a number of the tables have to be re-laid in order to cope with the inflow of customers. Where this is the case the table should first be completely cleared of all items of equipment and then crumbed down. At this stage, if the tablecloth is a little soiled or grubby a slip cloth should be placed over it, or if necessary the tablecloth may be changed. The table may then be re-laid.

●● 6.4 Taking customer food and beverage orders

Methods of order taking Essentially there are four methods of taking food and beverage orders from customers. These are summarised in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1 Main methods of taking food and beverage orders

Method Description

Triplicate Order is taken; top copy goes to the supply point; second copy is sent to the cashier for billing; third copy is retained by the server as a means of reference during service

Duplicate Order is taken; top copy goes to the supply point; second copy is retained for service and billing purposes

Service with order Order is taken; customer is served and payment received according to that order, for example, bar service or takeaway methods

Pre-ordered a) Individually, for example, room service breakfast (see Section 9.2, p.000)

b) Hospital tray system (see Section 9.4, p.000)c) Events (see Chapter 11, p.000)

All order taking methods are based upon these four basic concepts. Even the most sophisticated electronic system is based upon either the triplicate or duplicate method. Checks can be written on check pads or keyed in on handheld terminals. The order is

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then communicated by hand or electronically to visual display units (VDUs) or printout terminals in the food production or beverage provision areas. The main systems used are described in Section 12.6, p.000.

Triplicate checking method This is an order taking method used in the majority of medium and large first class establishments. As the name implies, the food check consists of three copies. To ensure efficient control the server must fill in the following information in the four corners of the check:

●◗ table number●◗ number of covers●◗ date ●◗ signature of server taking the order.

On taking the food order it is written from top to bottom of the food check. Where only a table d’hôte menu is in operation the customers would initially only order their first and main courses. The set price charged for this menu would be entered on the food check and circled. A second new food check is written out for the sweet course, this being taken after the main course is finished. A third new check will be completed if any beverages such as coffee, tea or tisanes are required. The operation for an à la carte menu is similar, although customers may order course by course according to their requirements.

Back-o�ce management tools

Bar printer

Network controller

Kitchen printers

• Stock control••

Sales analysisCustomer database

• Reservation system• Revenue control

POS touchscreen with billand receipt printer

Hand-heldorder pad

Remotereceiver

Figure 6.20 Radio-controlled electronic system for order taking and communication to food production and bar areas

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All checks should be legible. Abbreviations may be used when taking the order as long as everyone understands them and they are not misinterpreted by the kitchen, as the wrong order may be prepared. When taking orders a note should be taken of who is having what order. This ensures that specific orders are identified and that they are served to the correct customer. A system for ensuring that the right customer receives the correct food is to identify on the order which customer is having which dish. A check pad design that might be used for this is shown in Figure 6.21. An electronic handheld order taking system is show in Figure 6.22.

The food check ●◗ The top copy of the food order goes to the kitchen

and is handed to the aboyeur at the hotplate.●◗ The duplicate goes to the cashier who makes out the

customer’s bill.●◗ The flimsy, or third copy, is retained by the waiter at

his or her workstation for reference.●◗ Any checks or bills that have to be cancelled should

have the signature of either the headwaiter or supervisor on them, as should checks and bills which have alterations made on them.

Duplicate checking method This is a control system that is more likely to be found in the smaller hotel, popular price restaurant and cafés and department store catering. It is generally used where a table d’hôte menu is in operation and sometimes a very limited à la carte menu. As the name implies, there are two copies of each of these food checks, each set being serial numbered. A check pad, or bill pad as it is sometimes termed, usually contains a set of 50 or 100 food checks. The top copy of the food check is usually carbon-backed but, if not, a sheet of carbon must be placed between the top and duplicate copy every time a fresh order is taken. For control purposes the top copy may have printed on it a server’s number or letter. This should be the number or letter given to a waiter on joining the staff. The control and accounts department should be informed of the person to whom the

Figure 6.21 Check pad design enabling the waiter to identify specific orders (image courtesy of National Checking Co)

Figure 6.22 Handheld electronic pad for order taking (image courtesy of Uniwell Systems (UK) Ltd/Palm TEQ UK)

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number applies, and he or she retains it throughout their employment. On each set of food checks there should also be printed a serial number. Sometimes the top copy of the set of food and drink checks is made up of a number of perforated slips, usually 4–5 in number. There is a section at the bottom of the food and drink check for the table number to be entered. The top copy sometimes has a cash column for entering the price of a meal or the dishes ordered, but if this is not the case, the waiter must enter them independently on the duplicate copy against the particular dishes ordered. When writing out a customer’s order a different perforated slip should be used for each course. The server must remember to write out the number of covers and the price of the meal or dish concerned on each slip. Before sending each slip to the hotplate, check that the details are entered correctly on the duplicate copy together with the price. Since the duplicate copy acts as the customer’s bill, the waiter must ensure that everything ordered and served is listed on the duplicate copy, charged and paid for at the conclusion of the meal. As the service of a meal commences, the waiter tears off from the top copy of the food and drink check the perforated slip showing the first course ordered. This is taken to the hotplate and the required dish is put up. As soon as this happens the aboyeur will tear off the server’s number on the end of the slip and place it with the dish concerned. This then shows which waiter the dish is for. If there is no server number at the end of the perforated slip, then the perforated slip itself is left with the order until collected by the appropriate waiter. The aboyeur will then retain the slip showing the course just served. As soon as the first course is served (and allowing time for this course to be consumed), the second perforated slip showing the main course ordered is taken to the hotplate by the waiter. Similar procedures as with the first course are followed and this dish will then be collected when required. This same procedure is carried on throughout the meal. It may happen that there are insufficient perforated slips on the top copy of the food and drink check for a particular customer’s requirements. Very often the waiter does his or her own drink service and thus takes the drink order and enters it on a separate perforated slip. When there are insufficient perforated slips, a supplementary check pad is used.

Special checks In certain instances it is necessary to write out special checks. For example:

●◗ Where it is necessary to write out more than one food check for a meal. For instance where a sweet check is written out after the first and main course has been cleared. At

Figure 6.23 Example of a duplicated order pad with perforated sections

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