The Modern Man’s Guide To Restaurant Etiquette
Split shifts, doubles, back-to-backs, all-dayers, 15 days without a break – these phrases are all in a waiter’s lexicon. If it’s a busy service, there’s every chance a waiter’s working day can consist purely of 10-yard sprints for eight long hours. They will be tired. They might be frazzled. A bit of courtesy goes a long way.
Alex Zivatar
Stop Assuming I’m An Out-Of-Work Actor
“Sadly, the hospitality industry by and large is still seen as a ‘non-profession’ and viewed as a means to an end for part-time actors and students,” says Verona. “Customers know this and unfortunately exploit this to a degree. Some of us have devoted our lives to it.”
Just because you quit your job waiting tables when you left university, it doesn’t mean the person who’s about to deliver your starter is in the middle of his Bachelor of Tarts. At the top level, there’s excellent money to be made perfecting the art of service, but it takes years of practice to get there. Appreciate that it’s someone’s career choice and respect what they do.
Don’t Tweak Our Recipes For Us
“Ask for the plate to come as the chef recommends rather than making numerous changes to the dish,” says Pimentel. “Obviously we’ll account for dietary requirements, but we’d almost rather you ordered off menu than trying to change the dishes we’ve created.”
The chef and his team have spent weeks, even months perfecting a particular dish. If you don’t like one particular element on it, don’t order it. By the time you’ve swapped out aubergine for carrots and potato gratin for fries, not only have you marked yourself out as a philistine, but you’re creating a completely different dish. The flavor profiles don’t pair and any element of ingredient harmony has been lost. Unless, of course, you’re in a diner that mainly serves grease. Set Breakfast #5 can happily switch fried eggs for scrambled.
