1.2 Typical stations and responsibilities under the dining room brigade system

Station	Responsibilities
Dining room manager (or maitre d'hotel)	Trains all service personnel, oversees wine selection, works with the chef to determine the menu, and organizes seating throughout service
Wine steward (or chef de vin/sommelier)	Responsible for all aspects of restaurant wine service, including purchasing wines, preparing a wine list, assisting guests in wine selection, and serving wine properly
Head waiter (or chef de salle)	Generally in charge of the service for an entire dining room
Captain (or chef d'etage)	Deals most directly with the guests once they are seated
Front waiter or (chef de rang)	Ensures that the table is properly delivered to the table, and the needs of the guests are promptly and courteously met
Back waiter or «busser» (or demichef de rang)	Clears plates between courses, fills water glasses and bread baskets, replaces ashtrays, and assists the front commis de rang waiter and/or captain as needed

1.3 What other jobs in a restaurant can you think of? What are their duties?

2. Read the text and translate it. While reading the text find answers to these questions:

1. What two categories are restaurant operations generally subdivided

into?

2. Whose responsibility is to hold the door open and welcome the

guests to the restaurant?

3. Whose function is to rotate arriving guests among the sections or

stations?

4. What does the expression «smiling people-greeter» mean?

Front of the house

Restaurant operations are generally divided between what is commonly called front of the house and back of the house.

Duties of managers

The restaurant is run by the general manager, or restaurant manager. Depending upon the size and sales volume of the restaurant, there may be more managers with special responsibilities such as kitchen manager, bar manager, and dining room manager. These managers are usually to be cross-trained in order to relieve each other.

In the front of the house, restaurant operation begins with creating and maintaining what is called «curbside appeal», or keeping the restau­rant looking attractive and welcoming. Most restaurant chains have checklists that each manager uses. The front of the house, the parking lot, including the flower gardens, need to be maintained in good order.

Duties of hostesses

As guests approach the restaurant, hostesses may hold the door open and welcome them to the restaurant.

Once inside, hostesses, or as TGI Friday's calls them, «smiling people-greeters» (SPGs), greet guests appropriately and, if seating is available, escort them to a table. If there is a wait, the hostess will take the guests' names and ask for their table preference.

Aside from greeting the guests, one of the critical functions of the hostess is to rotate arriving guests among the sections or stations. This ensures an even and timely distribution of guests — otherwise one section may get overloaded.

Guests are sometimes asked to wait a few minutes even if tables are available. This is done to help spread the kitchen's workload.

Hostesses maintain a book, or chart, showing the sections and tables, that they use to keep track of which tables are occupied. Hostesses escort guests to the tables, present menus, and may explain special sales promotions. Some may also remove excess covers from the table.

Duties of waiters

In some restaurants, waiters are allocated a certain number of tables, which may vary depending upon the size of the tables and the volume of the restaurant. Normally, five is the maximum. In other restaurants, waiters rotate within their section to cover three or four tables.

The waiter introduces him/herself, offers a variety of beverages and/or specials, or invites guests to select from the menu. This is known as suggestive selling. The waiter then takes the entrée orders. Often, when taking orders, the waiter begins at a designated point and takes the orders clockwise from that point. In this way, the waiter will automatically know which person is having a particular dish. When the entrees are ready, the waiter brings them to the table. He or she checks a few minutes later to see if everything is to the guests' liking and perhaps asks if they would like another beverage. Good waiters are also encouraged, when possible, to prebus tables.

Bussers may clear the entrée plates, while waiters suggestively sell desserts by describing, recommending, or showing the desserts.

Coffee and after-dinner cocktails are also offered. Suggestions for steps to take in table service include the following:

1. Greet the guests.

2. Introduce and suggestively sell beverages.

3. Suggest appetizers.

4. Take orders.

5. Check to see everything is to the guests' liking within two bites of the entrees.

6. Ask if the guests would like another drink.

7. Bring out dessert tray and suggest after-dinner drinks and coffee.

In addition to the seven steps of the table service, waiters are expected to be NCO (neat, clean, and organized) and to help ensure that hot food is served hot, and cold food is served cold.

Waiters are not merely order takers; they are the salespeople of the restaurant. A waiter who is undereducated about the menu can seriously hurt business.