Professional Documents
Culture Documents
HRM II-2
to: Mrs. Loida Banzuelo
MeMbEr
Benjie Pinto
Laurence C. Capicio
Meliza Chiu
Sharon Rubio
Setting the Mood/Ambience
The total dining experience for the guests is much affected by the atmosphere created by
management. The mood, or the dinning environment should reflect the time of day and the
location, and create an atmosphere that is consistent with the desired character of the
establishment.
Key point to be considered by management or staff in setting the dinning atmosphere are:
Lightning: daylight or bright lightning is preferred for daytime meal services. Subdued light is
more for evening dining.
Views: tables should be set to take best advantage of the views from dinning-room (subject to the
limitations of space.)
Music: background music may be appropriate in establishing a mood.
Decor: the décor should be consistent and create a harmonious atmosphere. Colour selection plays
an important part in the dinning experience.
While individual waiters may have no control over the colour and general décor of the dinning-
room, they are often responsible for the details. Live plants and fresh flowers, for example, make a
major contribution to the overall presentation and to the mood a room encourages. They must be
carefully placed, well presented and well maintained.
How to cloth a table
Many different size and styles of table and tablecloths are used in the industry, and different ways
of folding tablecloths are adapted by the different laundries. There can therefore be no one correct
technique of clothing tables. The tablecloth fold used in the following procedure for clothing a
table is called a concertina fold. It is one of the more commonly used folds. The procedure as
described assumes that the table has four legs, placed at the corners of the table.
Re-position the horizontal crease of the cloth in the centre of the table
Release the hold on the centre fold and draw the top fold towards you.
Having centered the cloth should now be positioned with an equal drop all round, with the folds of
the cloth covering the legs.
How to lay cover
A ‘cover’ may be defined as:
A place setting for one guest, laid to suit the type of menu offered.
The number of guests to attend a function-“There will be 75 covers at the Rotary dinner, or to
indicate the seating capacity of a dinning area-‘The Lawson Room seats 50 covers,
There are two principal types of cover and set menu cover. The difference is explained below.
Whatever the type of cover or shape of table to be laid, the following rules apply.
All cutlery and glassware should be cleaned and polished before they are placed on table.
The main knife or fork should be positioned 1cm from the edge of table and 25-29cm apart
(depending on the size of the establishment’s dinner plates.)
Side plates are always positioned to the guests left.
Side knives are placed on the side plate, to its right hand side and parallel with the main knife of
fork so that a bread roll can be placed on the plate.
The blades of all knives on the cover should face left
The first only wine glass is positioned 2.5cm from the tip of main knife. Additional glassware is
positioned a 45 angle to the left of the first glass.
A folded napkin is placed in the centre of the cover.
Types of cover
A la carte/basic cover
An a la carte features a variety of dishes individually priced. The guests select the dishes they would like,
usually up to and including the main course .
The basic a la carte cover-the lay-up performed before the guests arrive-is for a main course only. After the
guests have ordered, this basic cover is then corrected to suit the customers actual orders.
An a la carte covers includes:
Main knife and fork
Side plate
Side knife
Table centre items(including bud vase or candlestick, cruets, astray, tent card and table number.)
Wine glass
Napkin
Set Menu Covers
A set menu features prearranged items at a fixed price for the whole meal. Because it is known in advance
what will be served to the guests, the cutlery and glasses for the whole meal are laid in advance. The cover
illustrated is for a set menu offering a plated appetizer, soup, a fish entrée and a main course.
CYCLE MENU
A cycle menu is a group of menus which are rotated on a set cycle. Cycle menus are usually used in
the institutional sector of the industry- for example, in hospitals and prisons, on airlines and in employee food
service- operations (works canteens, etc.).
The cycle menu is used to avoid boredom for both costumers and staff, and also to ensure that the
diet of the people in the institution is sufficiently varied to be healthy. In the hospital, for example, the cycle
would be set to fit the average length of stay of the patients.
Menu should not be designed to a seven-day cycle day as this results in the same items always being
served on the day of the week, producing a boring predictability.