anyone a decent waiter?

[crisgal]

when i was waiting on, many years ago, the absolute rule in the dining room was:
take from the right and serve from the left. Always. If the head waiter saw any different you wouldn't half be in trouble.
On masterchef the pro's (and i've seen it on other programmes) they were serving Albert Roux and other famous chefs from the right!
has it changed?
Was I doing it wrong all those years ago?
My dad served on cruise ships in his younger days and he was taught the same as me.

[plato888]

Hi Crisgal, interesting question... I have a degree in Hotel Management and studied restaurant protocol in detail ! you and your father are absolutely right, i'm afraid masterchef got it wrong ! aside from etiquette, there is a practical reason for following the serve left/take from right in that if all the waiters follow that pattern the workflow to and from the kitchen follows a strict pattern which should help to avoid collisions and give the diners a sense of good, smooth running organisation within the restaurant !

I have worked in very small establish where the seating/tables arrangements were very intimate, shall we say, meaning that the rules could be slightly flexible, so it really does depend on the situation. I completely agree with you, however, that a head waiter worth his salt would quite rightly blow a gasket if the staff did not follow the correct manner of service. Masterchef, in a massive studio/restaurant really have no excuse for such mistakes. You should write to them......they may offer you free dinner, or a bottle of bolly at the very least !!

[crisgal]

ha ha fat chance I should think!

We were also told that, when serving, it left the right side free for the wine waiter.

tut tut, things aren't what they used to be eh?