TYPES OF SERVICE

The quality of food service in a restaurant is an important as the food itself. Thus to ensure
the successful running of a restaurant, the style of food service to be adopted must be
carefully chosen keeping in mind the following points.
o Standard of the establishment
o Standard of the guests.
o Time available for service
o Turnover of guest
o Type of menu
o Cost of the meals served
o Location of the establishment
o The number of staff employed
o The amount of money involved in use of different equipment.

Service of Food & Beverage in the hospitality industry is broadly classified into three
segments.

1. Table Service
2. Self Service
3. Assisted Service
1. TABLE SERVICE:
It means service to the customers at a laid cover. This type of service is also divided into
seven categories. They are as follows:
 Platter to plate or Silver service
 Family service
 Pre plated or American service
 Butler service
 Russian service
 Gueridon or flambé service
 Bar counter service

 PLATTER TO PLATE OR SILVER SERVICE:

DESCRIPTION Presentation and service of food by the staffs from oval,
flat dishes or portion bowls from the left hand side.
USES High-class establishments, cruise liners, first class travel
catering and formal banquets.
ADVANTAGES Dishes look good and the service is of very high class by
the skilled staffs.
DISADVANTAGES Required skilled staffs, cost are increased, service is
slow and lots of cutleries and crockery are used.

 FAMILY SERVICE:
DESCRIPTION Main courses are plated with vegetables, placed in multi-
portioned dishes for customers to help themselves.
Sauces are offered.
USES Some functions, private parties, clubs and institutions.
ADVANTAGES Staff requirements & skills are decreased. It is
timesaving. Customers can decide portions and
accompaniments.
DISADVANTAGES Service is impersonal and wastage may occur.
 PRE-PLATED OR AMERICAN SERVICE:
DESCRIPTION Service of pre-plated food direct from the kitchen.
USES Semi-formal outlets, café, coffee shops, fast-food
outlets.
ADVANTAGES Economy of equipment, speed & simplicity, saves
labour, increases turnover, labour may be semi skilled
but it reduces cost.
DISADVANTAGES Kitchen timings & staffs are increased. Appearance may
be affected due to over crowding of plates.

 BUTLER SERVICE:
DESCRIPTION Presentation of food & beverage by the highly skilled
staffs to the V.I.P. resident guests in their room or in
the V.I.P. lounge.
USES High class establishments and in Royal functions
ADVANTAGES Personalized and good presentation.
DISADVANTAGES Required highly skilled staffs, increases costs, suitable
for small gathering.

 RUSSIAN SERVICE:
DESCRIPTION Table is laid with food for guests to help themselves.
USES At functions and private parties but limited use.
ADVANTAGES Staff requirements & skills are decreased. It is
timesaving. Customers can decide portions and
accompaniments.
DISADVANTAGES Service is impersonal and wastage may occur.

 GUERIDON OR FLAMBÉ SERVICE:

DESCRIPTION Food is served from the side table or trolley, may
include carving, cooking and flambéing, preparation of
salads and their dressing.
TROLLEY TYPE Gueridon or flambé, horsd`oeuvre, salads, sweets or
pastries, deserts, cheese, wines & liqueur, cold cuts.
USES Specialty restaurants, high-class establishments,
nightclubs.
ADVANTAGES Help in merchandising, foods are spectacular and classy.
DISADVANTAGES Required highly skilled staffs, time consuming, special &
costly equipments, Portion control is difficult.

 BAR COUNTER SERVICE:

DESCRIPTION Service to the customers at bar counter. Seated on bar
stools.
USES Bars, pubs & nightclubs.
ADVANTAGES Quick and personalized service.
DISADVANTAGES More pressure on staffs, staffs need to be efficient.

2) ASSISTED SERVICE:
It is a combination of Table & Self service. It is of two types.
 Buffet Service
 Carvery Service
 BUFFET SERVICE:
DESCRIPTION It is a service where guests select food & beverage from
the display; consumption is either at the table or
standing or in the lounge area.
USES Banquets, private parties.
ADVANTAGES Staff requirements are low.
DISADVANTAGES Possible queue, delays and erratic food control.

 CARVERY SERVICE:
DESCRIPTION Some parts are served and some are to be self-served.
Also used for breakfast service.
USES Banquets, private parties.
ADVANTAGES Staff requirements are low.
DISADVANTAGES Possible queue, delays and erratic food control.

3) SELF SERVICE:
It is a service by the customers themselves. It is also known as counter service or cafeteria
service.
 CAFETERIA OR COUNTER SERVICE.
DESCRIPTION The guest’s queue passes by a service counter, select
their menu requirements and pay the cashier at the end
of the counter.
USES Institutional catering, fast food establishments.
ADVANTAGES Clean, quick and economical for the staffs.
DISADVANTAGES Speed depends on the cashier and the back up staffs,
cost of equipment is high.

 FRENCH OR SILVER SERVICE

The fundamental of true French service is that here the guest gets the opportunity to be
helped to the restaurant staff. To the dishes. In French service the waiter fulfils the rule that
is he serves the food and divides the potion for the guests. Generally French service is also
known as silver service. The portion are individually served from electroplated silver or
earthenware containers and served on the plates placed on the table before the guest.
This form of service can also be done from a gueridon trolley. In this case the waiter places
the dishes on the cover immediately after it is prepared. Sometimes flambé dishes are also
served from the gueridion trolley.
For this type of service movement space is required inside the restaurant, which adds to the
luxury. It requires more number of waiters hence this is a very expensive type of service.

 ENGLISH SERVICE OR HOST OR FAMILY SERVICE

The basic of the English service is that it gives the opportunity to help themselves to the
service of the dishes. This form of service originates from the English tradition of the master
of the family or the host carving and portioning at the table. For large parties certainly, for a
family of four or more, a sideboard should be used. But for a small party the food may be
placed directly on the table. In this case the waiter brings the plates and dishes to the
sideboard or to the table and sets them in front of the host. The host then portions the food
and distributes it. Sometimes this service is also known as the carving and the service of the
food is the responsibility of the host.
Note:- It is interesting to note that silver service is claimed to be of French origin by the
British as well as the French people and hence is the point of controversy regarding the
actual origin of silver service.

 RUSSIAN SERVICE
The basic element in Russian service is derived from the old Russian style of having large
joints, whole fish or whole birds, often decoratively treated in dishes with their elaborates
garnishes kept on the side board visible to the guest to help themselves as an English
service. The Russian service is still seen for the service of whole birds, meat joints and whole
fish to be presented in large portion after carving from the sideboard. Otherwise Russian
service as a distinctive and separate form of service of this style no longer exists.

 AMERICAN SERVICE
Fundamentally, this is a simplified form of service evolved in recent years
(Depending upon the pre plating and pre setting of tables with the silver needed throughout
the meal). Plated food is brought from the kitchen by a waiter on a tray, which is then placed
on a tray stand, beside a guest’s table.

 PLATE SERVICE
This service cuts down the cost of labour (and there by its high priced). The clients or guests
here get pre-plated food. The food is directly served from the kitchen. This is also a form of
personalized service as waiters serve the guests. This kind of service is usually used in
canteen, boarding houses and fast food restaurants and coffee shop.