How low can service standards go under the new hospo catch phrase the “Casualisation of Dining” – and should diners simply accept this new style of service?
We’ve long appreciated our beautiful landscape and location in the southern Pacific and we’re blessed with the ability to grow beautiful produce. We punch above our weight with the number of talented chefs we have here too.
Food, wine, craft beer and beverage production is fantastic too with a heartening number of artisans involved in making exciting, world-class products.
Food writer, critic and ConversatioNZ member Lauraine Jacobs says it’s her wish that New Zealand be taken as seriously for its gastronomy as France is, but for this to happen, all our ducks need to be in a row. But could service standards be the lame duck?
Lately I’ve been pondering how low service standards can go under the new hospo catch phrase the “Casualisation of Dining”, and whether diners should simply accept this new style of service.
A couple of experiences recently gave cause for concern. Service received at a suburban restaurant which has been described as fine dining was underwhelming. And at a popular, upmarket Auckland waterfront brasserie with great food, location and ambience (plus an internationally ranked chef designing the menu), the wait staff were delightful but some skills needed work.
It’s all about standards, and it’s surprising and disappointing when wait staff bring the meals to the table, especially at upmarket restaurants, and ask the cringe-causing question, “Who ordered the lamb?”
While I’m surmising, I’m pretty sure the very talented chef linked to this dining hot spot would cringe as well.
Hospitality wait service 101
- In upmarket venues, there’s expectation that wait staff know who ordered what
- Don’t remove plates until everyone has finished
- The diner is usually still eating if cutlery is positioned tips together, handles apart on the plate
- Timing is everything. Give diners enough time to read the menu, before approaching for orders. Conversely, don’t leave them too long without approaching them
- If vegetables or salad don’t come with a meal, ask whether the customer/s would like a side dish
