Many foodservice students today have yet to experience fine dining. But it’s just as important to expose them to the several other service styles in the marketplace so they may excel in their careers.
By Wendy Gay, CHE
When I attended The Culinary Institute of America in the early ʼ80s, the restaurant business was divided into four types of dining: quick-service restaurants (QSRs), casual dining (brass & fern bistros), institutional dining and formal dining or “white tablecloth restaurants.” We were required to work in each of these environments. We had the diner for training in QSR and casual dining, instruction on institutional dining and three other restaurants to expose us to formal dining. By rotating through these four environments, we gained experience in each area.
By Wendy Gay, CHE
More diners demand that their tea service show an understanding of style and quality. Good news is that programs are now available for training and credentialing.
A significant trend in dining today is the re-emergence of the popularity of tea. Tea is no longer just the stuff of grandmothers. Million-dollar deals are now being consummated over afternoon teas in some of the nation’s top hotels.
Not just an alternative to coffee, tea can claim health benefits such as vitamin content and high levels of antioxidants and polyphenols, and has a history as medicine. Everywhere you look, people today are drinking more tea.
By Wendy Gay, CHE
Hosting meetings where food and beverages are the stars can provide great learning opportunities for students.
An important group will be meeting at your facility. While there, they will need breakfasts, lunches, snacks, a dinner and even a “happy hour” mixer along the way. What to do? Simple buffet service would be easiest for each of these, so that is suggested. But this visit can provide great opportunity to expand the skills of your students. What other choices might you have?
By Wendy Gay, CHE
The day of the frumpy, inattentive waiter is gone. In the current economy, properly training wait staff has never been more important.
For most U.S. restaurants, this has been the roughest stretch in memory. Reports show that numbers are down in every part of the industry. Restaurant visits overall fell 1% in the quarter ending in June, marking the eighth consecutive quarterly drop. Experts predict it will take another year and a half to recover to pre-recession levels. While high-end restaurants are being hit the hardest, the effect is trickling down to every level. What are restaurants doing to increase their numbers? The answers are extremely important to every educator as we prepare future culinary professionals.
The two key elements garnering the most attention are affordability and experience. Restaurants at every level are finding creative ways to make their wares appear more affordable to get customers in their doors and then paying particular attention to the customer’s experience once they are there.
By Audrey Heckwolf
Culinary students love learning tableside, and guests will become committed patrons if we treat them to dinner and a show.
The art of tableside service is near extinct. Few restaurants offer fresh preparations performed at a guest’s table. It seems to be isolated to cruise ships, French restaurants, catering and Sunday brunches. It is incredibly challenging to even find reliable sources on the subject that date more recent than the 1970s.
By Wendy Gay, CHE
Teach students to communicate intent, enhance impact and add value by using business-building phrases and gestures at service.
Every profession has a language. We have at least two. In the kitchen, for example, we sometimes “86” an item, saying it is not available. When orders fly in, we can be “in the weeds.” In the front of the house, language is an extremely important part of what we do. The words we speak can create business or take it away.
By Audrey Heckwolf
Why is something so beneficial often overlooked? Encourage your students to develop their own service philosophies that they can use as a guide in their careers.
Here is a riddle: What is the one thing that hugely successful service companies have in common that is often overlooked? Sure, they all have an enormous bank account, excellent branding and a honed business sense, but that is not what got them their success. The answer is an excellent service philosophy.
By Wendy Gay, CHE
Of the five most common risk factors for causing foodborne illness, three are issues for the front of the house.
One of the most important responsibilities we have in foodservice is making certain that the food we serve is safe. When teaching food safety, most of the emphasis is usually placed on the supply chain and preparation of food. But the front of the house plays a significant role in keeping our tables safe.
By Audrey Heckwolf
Why is what consumers experience much closer to ordinary than extraordinary? Are we to blame as educators?
For the past 10 years I have made my living as a chef. As a chef, I need to advocate for the importance to possess the ability to provide excellent service more than expected. Too many chefs fail to understand that service is certainly as important—maybe even more important—than delicious food.
By Wendy Gay, CHE
It’s easier to teach how to set the table and serve the guest than to teach the emotional skills of being passionate, caring, hard-working and intelligent.
Teaching front of the house to culinary students can be a very interesting proposition. Most students come to school to learn to cook, “not,” as more than one student has retorted, “to act like some kind of server.” We have some students who resent and resist being outside the kitchen. “I’m going to be a chef like those guys on TV. What do I need to know about table service?”