1. Styles of Service
Chapter 2

2. Learning Objectives
Learn and understand how the history and traditions of table service affect service today.
Trace the evolution of etiquette in Western dining from Greeks and Romans up to the present day.
Describe the rise of modern restaurants and table service.
Understand the sequence of courses in a menu.
Define and describe various types of menus.
Explain the classic hierarchy found in the front of the house.
Define and describe various styles of service.
Explain the term house style.

3. The History and Traditions of Table Service
Western-style dining is found in the Bible, as well as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
Formal dining, as we know it today, was reserved for wealthy men.
Meals were divided into three courses: small savory meat dishes, followed by a hearty course, and desserts.
Symposiums commonly followed the meal, with a mix of literary and philosophical discussions, music, acrobats, and dancers.
Their dining rooms contained couches for the guests, rather than the tables and chairs we see in formal Western dining rooms today. A small table with a basket containing a selection of breads made of wheat or barley was placed in front of each couch.

4. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
Unlike the Greeks, Roman families often dined together.
Being invited to dine signaled social recognition that was much sought after.
Guests had their positions assigned according to status.
This is echoed today in the tradition of seating the guest of honor to the right of the host.
A Roman dinner, like its Greek predecessor, consisted of three courses.

5. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
The Evolution of Etiquette and Table Manners in Europe
In Anglo-Saxon times, the first item placed on the table was the salt cellar.
This determined the status of diners: high-status diners ate “above the salt.”
In the late fourteenth century, people began to think of food and its service as art forms.
During the Renaissance in the fifteenth century, dining and service became more elaborate.
Some historians trace the origins of classic fine dining to the Medicis of Florence, sixteenth-century aristocrats.

6. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
The Evolution of Etiquette and Table Manners in Europe (cont’d)
With Elizabeth I (1533–1603), table manners came to be expected of refined diners.
Braithwaite’s Rules for the Governance of the House of an Earl (1617) listed spoons and knives as essentials, but did not mention forks.
The dining room began to be a place of pomp and protocol.
The brigade system was introduced in the dining room.
The term amphitryon is used in place of the old term officer of the mouth, now known as the host.

7. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
The Rise of Modern Restaurant and Table Service (cont’d)
After the French Revolution, chefs were artists as well as entrepreneurs.
In 1782, A. B. Beauvilliers opened the first modern restaurant, Le Grand Taverne de Londres in Paris.
American dining grew out of the necessity to feed many people spread out over the continent.
Evolved during the Industrial Revolution.
In 1900, the first edition of Le Guide Michelin in France reflected the changes in modern society.
Guide Michelin also reflected the food-service industry’s increasing awareness that the guest’s satisfaction was paramount. These modern concepts did not originate in France, the world capital of fine dining. They came from the New World, and they were generated by forces that could never have been imagined by the likes of Taillevent, La Varenne, or Carême.

8. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
Menus and Sequence of Courses
The basic sequence of courses in most Western menus is based on that of the ancient Greeks.
The meal should build to a climax at the main course, then gradually relax to lighter foods.
Cold foods before warm; light foods before heavy.
Three courses: entrée, relevés, entremets.
The Greeks believed that in order for each course to be enjoyed, it must not be overpowered by the preceding course.
- The relevés, or removes, was the second course; this course replaced the “removed” items of the first course. It, too, included an astounding number of dishes. And the final course of the meal was called the “entremets,” which corresponds to our dessert course. It included not just sweets, but also fruits, a savory item, and a cheese selection. French service was originally family-style.

9. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
Types of Menus
The table d’hôte menu offers a multicourse meal for a set price and typically offers a few choices for each course.
The prix fixe menu differs in that there are no options on the menu.
© 2014 The Culinary Institute of America

10. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
Types of Menus (cont’d)
Beauvilliers contributed the à la carte menu (literally, “from the card”).
Guests order individually priced items and structure the meal how they choose.
This type of menu may be presented as part of the restaurant’s regular offerings, as a special or seasonal offering, or it may be the response to a special request from a guest.
It is not unusual for the chef of a fine restaurant to receive a special request in advance for a menu dégustation—often with recommended wines to accompany the dishes.
© 2014 The Culinary Institute of America

11. The History and Traditions of Table Service (cont’d)
Types of Menus (cont’d)
A dégustation (“tasting menu”) consists of small portions of numerous items to compose a five- to ten-course meal.
Allows chefs to exhibit their skills creating an extensive and varied meal.
This type of menu may be presented as part of the restaurant’s regular offerings, as a special or seasonal offering, or it may be the response to a special request from a guest.
It is not unusual for the chef of a fine restaurant to receive a special request in advance for a menu dégustation—often with recommended wines to accompany the dishes.
© 2014 The Culinary Institute of America

12. Classical/Historical Structure
Dining Room Brigade
Classical/Historical Structure
Maître d’hôtel
The manager of the house or the entire operation is also known today as general manager.
Réceptionniste
The receptionist greets the guests, takes phone reservations, and looks after the needs of the front desk area.
Chef de rang
The captain is in charge of service in a particular station of tables.
Sommelier
The wine steward is responsible for the recommendation of wines to guests, and the wine service itself.
The captain has more interaction with the guests than any other service staff position and may be called upon to perform a wide array of dining room and tableside presentations and preparations.

13. Dining Room Brigade (cont’d)
Classical/Historical Structure (cont’d)
Head waiter
The head waiter may have the responsibilities of the maître d’hôtel, or act as the captain of a dining room.
Commis de rang
The front waiter works to assist the captain in managing a station.
Commis de suite
The back waiter generally assists the front waiter.
Commis de débarrasseur
The bus person is often an apprentice or trainee.

14. Dining Room Brigade (cont’d)
Organization Charts (cont’d)
One way to better understand the hierarchy of the restaurant as a total unit is to use an organization chart.
The more casual the restaurant, the fewer staff members are needed to provide good service.
In a casual restaurant, the server would do the duties of the captain and front and back waiters.

15. Dining Room Brigade (cont’d)
Organization Charts (cont’d)
Fine dining restaurants have staff to fill most, if not all, of the traditional dining room brigade positions.
© 2014 The Culinary Institute of America

16. Dining Room Brigade (cont’d)
Organization Charts (cont’d)
In France, a typical bistro would have no captains.
Service positions would include chef de rang, commis de rang, or demi-chef de rang.

17. Dining Room Brigade (cont’d)
Organization Charts (cont’d)
Chain restaurants may have fewer positions as part of their overall dining room brigade.
Service is generally more relaxed than a fine dining restaurant.

18. Styles of Service French Service
Today’s formal service style has its roots in service à la française.
Formal French service typically requires a sommelier, captain, front waiter, back waiter, and busser.
This style can be prohibitively expensive for restaurants.
The traditional outfit for servers performing formal French service is black tie and white gloves.

19. Styles of Service The Guéridon
In formal service, the guéridon is center stage in the service act.
It might be used for mixing salads, deboning fish, or carving meat.
Guéridon service is very similar to formal service, except that some items are fully prepared tableside.
It is often equipped with a réchaud (a heating element) and a large silver dome or cloche for covering food.

20. Styles of Service (cont’d)
Voiture and Trolley Service
A voiture is a decorative cart, also known as a “trolley,” equipped with a heating unit and a hinged cover.
Voitures are larger than guéridons and can hold an entire roast.
Voiture service refers to the plating of a precooked main course, at the guest’s table, from a voiture.

21. Styles of Service (cont’d)
Russian, or Platter, Service
All food is fully cooked and artfully arranged and garnished on large platters in the kitchen.
The platters are carried to the dining room and presented by a server, who then transfers the food to the guests’ plates.
Russian (French) service is mostly used for banquets today.
It is common for waiters to use Russian (French) service to place bread on guests’ plates.
The server transfers the food from the platter to the guest’s plate by the skillful manipulation of a fork on top of a spoon.
The main goal of Russian or platter service is to ensure the guest receives fully cooked, hot food served in a swift and tasteful fashion.

22. Styles of Service (cont’d)
Butler Service
Often used today when passing hors d’oeuvre or cocktails for guests during a cocktail hour.
Hold the filled tray/platter in the left hand, leaving the right hand free to offer napkins to the guests from a small plate.

23. Styles of Service (cont’d)
English Service
The host, or perhaps the maître d’hôtel, offers the food from platters, bowls, or tureens from the guest’s left.
The guests take the food themselves as in Butler service.
Server moves counter-clockwise around the table.
Another form of English service:
The host serves the food onto the plates at the head of the table, then hands filled bowls or plates to the nearest diner, who then passes them along the table.
Traditionally, the server would offer the food to the eldest woman first, then other women- the host is served last.

24. Styles of Service (cont’d)
Family Service
All or some of the foods are placed on the table in large serving dishes, and guests help themselves.
Serving utensils are required in each bowl or platter.
Customers enjoy the chance to serve themselves. This can lighten the burden in both the dining room and kitchen, and it can lower labor costs.
Variations on this less formal style of serving are becoming popular in the United States, especially at new American restaurants and grills that want to create a more family-like ambience. It is also seen at resorts, on cruise ships, and at banquets. 24

25. Styles of Service American Service Most widespread style.
Food is plated in the kitchen and served to the guest at the table.
© 2014 The Culinary Institute of America
Some chefs prefer American service because plating the food in the kitchen allows them to showcase their creativity in food presentation.

26. Service Styles Review Quiz Name the style:
Styles of Service
Service Styles Review Quiz Name the style:
A restaurant could use several styles during the same service. 1.) Some plates could be plated in the kitchen.
2.) Some plates could be prepared or plated tableside.
3.) Butter could be offered on the table for guests to serve themselves.
4.) The server could place bread onto the guest’s b&b plate from the guest’s left moving counter-clockwise around the table.
5.) A small bit of food (amusé bouche) offered to the guest after the order is taken for the guest to take herself. _______
1.) American ) French (originally Russian) ) Family-style
4.) Russian (originally French) often referred to as “French the bread” ) English 26

27. House Style Restaurant Types Fine Dining
Type of Restaurant
Description
Fine Dining
Upscale, luxury, three-, four-, and five-star, “white-tablecloth” restaurants.
Examples: Jean-Georges, Nobu, The French Laundry
Bistro/Tra ttoria
Grills, cafés. All have less ceremonious approaches to food service.
Examples: Da Silvano, Lulu, Spago, Wild Ginger
Casual/F amily
Family-style restaurants
Examples: Olive Garden, Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday