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Step 4 Foodservice

  • Read and translate the text Consult the dictionary if necessary.

  • The range of food service found in hotels and restaurants today is extensive. In the first category, there are restaurants offering the highest grade of service with a full a la carte menu.

  • This includes dishes served by the waiter from a trolley in the dining room, and is known as gueridon service.

  • The gueridon waiter must always be skilled, for he has to carry out procedures such as filleting, carving, and cooking specialty dishes at the table.

  • A second, less complicated, type of service is silver service where the menu can be either a la carte or table d’hote. In this system, the food is prepared in the kitchen and then put on to silver flats and presented to the guests in the dining room.

  • A third form of table service, used mainly with a table d’hote menu, is plate service. Here, the waiter receives the meal already plated from the hotplate and only has to place it in front of the guest and make sure that the correct cover is laid and the necessary accompaniments are on the table.

  • Plate service is often offered where there is a rapid turnover and speedy service is necessary. It also demands less equipment for the service of the meal and is, therefore, labour-saving in such tasks as washing-up. In a fourth type of service, called self-service, a customer collects a tray from the service counter, chooses his dishes and selects the appropriate cutlery for the meal Today, with ever-increasing needs for economy, many establishments usually prefer a variety of types of service. Tourist hotels, for example, frequently offer a combination of self-service and plate service for breakfast and another combination of self-service and silver service for luncheon.

  • Please, note: many terms related to restaurant business and meals are of French origin!

    1. a la carte menu - ресторанное меню с указанием цены каждого блюда

    2. gueridon service - обслуживание у столика; приготовление блюд непосредственно на виду у посетителей

    3. gueridon, фр. - круглый столик на одной ножке

    4. table d’hote, фр. - общий обеденный стол; табльдот; комплексный обед

    5. hors-d’oeuvre, фр. - закуска; добавочное блюдо

    1. Task 1. Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions from the text

    1. extensive range of food service;

    2. dishes served from a trolley;

    3. filleting and carving;

    4. the meal plated from the service hotplate;

    5. the necessary accompaniments;

    6. a rapid turnover;

    7. labour-saving;

    8. washing-up;

    9. to select the appropriate cutlery;

    10. ever-increasing needs.

    1. Task 2. Answer the questions

    1. What kinds of skills does a waiter require for gueridon service?

    2. Why is plate service labour-saving?

    3. What kinds of service are used with a table d’hote menu?

    4. What is the difference between silver service and plate service?

    5. Why is self-service often used by hotels?

    1.