Setting up and preparing for service correctly is crucial for a successful service to your guests in the restaurant. This preparation is often called “mise en place” or a place for everything. It ensures that all items needed for service are available and in easy reach of the waiters in the restaurant. The Maître d’ is responsible for ensuring that mise en place is carried out correctly. The duties of the Maître d’ can be found in the relevant section. You will also find a number of standard operation procedures (SOP) relating to the setting up of the restaurant in this area of the site.
Preparations duties can include the following
- Checking reservations
- Making out seating plans
- Assigning waiters to stations
- Cleaning the restaurant,
- vacuum carpets
- polishing tables
- dusting chairs
- Preparation of tables and chairs for setting up of tables
- Collecting linen for tables and polishing
- Polishing all crockery, cutlery and glassware required
- Setting up of side stations
- Filling salt and pepper cruets
- Preparation of butter
- Restocking the bar
One of the most important elements of mise en place is getting the tables set. Depending on the specific standard of the restaurant this can be a basic table setting. Many restaurants opt for a very minimal set up as it reduces the amount if time it takes to polish and prepare the cutlery. In the college restaurant the standard setup is a table d’hôte cover. This includes the following items:
- Joint Fork
- Joint Knife
- Soup Spoon
- Starter Fork
- Starter Knife
- Dessert Spoon
- Dessert Fork
- Side Plate
- Side Knife
- Water glass
For detailed instruction on how to set a table check out the relevant SOP in the Food and Beverage Notes section or watch the short video below which outlines how to cloth a table, change a cloth and set a standard cover.
Setting a Table
Napkin Folding
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