Unit 2. The Restaurant: Meet the Staff (B) Flash on English for Cooking, Catering and Reception

 

Flash on English for Cooking, Catering and Reception Unit 2. The Restaurant: Meet the Staff (B)

 

6 Read the text about front-of-house staff and decide if the sentences below are true (T) or false (F). The kitchen staff team plays a vital role in ensuring that diners enjoy their food, but it is the front-of-house team who interact directly with customers and determine whether they enjoy their culinary experience. To do this, they need to be polite, friendly, helpful and skilful. In hotels or important restaurants there is often a maitre d'hotel, responsible for managing bookings, finding tables for customers, assigning serving areas to waiting staff and supervising their work as well as dealing with any customer complaints. The head waiter is second in command and supervises service in a particular area of a restaurant, but in smaller restaurants carries out the tasks of the maitre d'hotel. The captain, also called the chef de rang, is usually responsible for running one area of the restaurant and supervising the work of two or three staff members. In particular the communication between the kitchen and the front-of-house, allocating tasks and monitoring service. Waiters/Waitresses serve the customers during their meal by taking orders, setting the tables and bringing out food when it is ready. In addition in larger restaurants there are busboys and busgirls, who do basic tasks such as clearing tables or bringing bread and water to the tables. There are also some specialist roles front-of-house. There is often a food and beverage manager who is responsible for the overall running of a restaurant: planning the menu with the chef de cuisine; creating the right atmosphere and ambiance; hiring staff; managing bookings; and meeting and greeting customers. This last task can also be the responsibility of a host/hostess, who takes bookings, welcomes customers to the restaurant and shows them to their tables. The wine waiter or sommelier, usually only present in more formal restaurants, is responsible for choosing wines, recommending and serving them to customers. The bartender prepares drinks for customers during their meal, giving them to the waiters to take to the tables. When there is no sommelier, the bartender may be responsible for a restaurant's wine stock.   1 Kitchen staff, not front-of-house staff, determine whether customers enjoy their culinary experience. F 2 Front-of-house staff must be friendly and polite.   3 The maitre d'hotel is responsible for dealing with customer complaints.   4 All restaurants have a maitre d'hotel and a head waiter.   5 The captain is the manager or the owner of the restaurant.   6 He/ She supervises communication between the kitchen and front-of-house.   7 Waiters and waitresses do not take orders from customers.   8 Busboys and busgirls clear tables and bring bread and water to the tables.   9 The restaurant manager or the host/hostess can manage bookings and greet customers.   10 The bartender is never responsible for choosing wines for a restaurant.     7 CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD AUDIO Complete the conversations below between customers and different front-of-house staff with the expressions from the box. Then listen and check your answers. Conversation 1 booked a table for two I’ll call you Madam what’s your name Would you like to have   Hostess: Good evening (1) ___Madam ___. Good evening Sir. Man and woman: Good evening. Hostess: Have you (2) _________? Man: Yes, we booked a table (3) _________. Hostess: (4) _________, Sir? Man Mr Kilburn. Hostess: (5) _________ a drink at the bar and (6) _________ when your table is ready? Man and woman: Thank you.   Conversation 2 you’re welcome a glass of dry white I’ll have some drinks take a seat     Bartender: Good evening. Would you like to order (7) ____some drinks____? Woman: Yes, please. I'll have (8) _________ wine, please. Man: And (9) _______ a pint of lager, please. Bartender: Please (10) _______ and I'll bring your drinks over. Man and woman: Thank you Bartender: (11) _______   Conversation 3 meat dishes recommend the fish there is a very good we’d prefer     Woman: What would you (12)___ recommend____? Wine waiter: Well, if you are having (13) ______ I recommend a white wine like Sauvignon Blanc. Man: No, I think we're both having (14) ______. Wine waiter: In that case, (15) ______ Merlot or a Shiraz. Woman: (16) ______ the Merlot, please   Conversation 4 here are the menus to take your orders your table is ready     Hostess: (17) ____Your table is ready____. Would you like to follow me? Man and woman: Thank you. Hostess: (18) ____. The waiter will be here (19) ______ as soon as you are ready.   8 Work in pairs. Look at the information below and role play similar conversations in a restaurant. Use the conversations in exercise 7 to help you. Conversation 1 Student A: you are a host/hostess - there are no free tables so ask the customer to wait at the bar. Student B: you are a customer - you booked a table for four at 8 p.m. Conversation 2 Student A: you are a customer - you want a glass of mineral water. Student B: you are a bartender - ask if the customer wants still or sparkling water. Conversation 3 Student A: you are a customer - ask the wine waiter to recommend some wine. You want to eat fish. Student B: you are a wine waiter - recommend two red wines, then two white wines. Conversation 4 Student A: you are a waiter/waitress - invite the customer to follow you to the table and ask if he/she is ready to order. Student B: you are a customer - say you want to wait for your friends to arrive.

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