Serving drinks

23 min

Let's begin

At a parents' day, Senior 3 students run the refreshments. One student carries a tray loaded with full glasses at the edge and a heavy jug at one side; halfway across the hall the tray tips and four glasses smash. Another student holds each glass by its rim with her fingers inside it as she hands it over. The drinks themselves were made perfectly, but the service spoiled them. Serving is the last step of preparing a drink: the right container, at the right temperature, presented cleanly and handed over safely and politely.

Definition

Service: the way food and drinks are presented and handed to guests.

Glassware: glasses for cold drinks, such as the tumbler (a straight glass with no stem), the highball (a tall tumbler) and the stemmed goblet. Cups and mugs are used for hot drinks.

Garnish: a small edible decoration that adds colour or flavour, such as a slice of lemon, a sprig of mint or a piece of fruit on the rim.

Cover: the place laid for one guest at a table: plate, cutlery, glass and napkin.

Choosing the container

Drink	Container	Serve with
Water, juice, soft drinks	tumbler or highball; jug for refills	ice from safe water, a straw, a garnish
Smoothies, milkshakes	tall glass	a wide straw and a spoon
Tea and coffee (formal)	cup and saucer	a teaspoon; milk jug and sugar bowl
Tea and coffee (informal, many guests)	mugs; vacuum flasks to keep the drink hot	milk and sugar on the side
Cocoa, spiced milky tea	mug or large cup	a saucer to catch drips

Rules of drinks service

Clean and sound. Glasses and cups must be clean, dry and polished, with no chips or cracks; a chipped glass can cut a lip and harbours germs.
Hands off the rim. Hold glasses by the base or stem and cups by the handle, never by the rim or inside.
Ice with tongs or a scoop, never with hands or by scooping with a glass, which can break into the ice.
Right temperature. Cold drinks well chilled; hot drinks hot, but never so full or so hot that they spill and scald.
Fill to about three-quarters, so the glass can be carried and drunk from without spilling.
Serve from the guest's right, with the right hand, placing the glass above the tip of the knife (Figure 3). Clear empty glasses from the right too.
Order of service. Serve the guest of honour first, then elders, then the other guests, and the host last. Ask before refilling.
Carry a tray at waist height on the flat of one hand, loaded with the heaviest and tallest items in the centre; walk steadily and turn your whole body, not just the tray.

The Waiter's Academy: how to carry a tray of drinks. Watch how the waiter places the tray on the fingertips and palm, loads it from the centre outwards, and moves the whole body when turning. Practise with plastic cups of water first.

Worked example

Worked example 1: drinks for a parents' day. Illustrative prices. 120 guests are expected. Plan for 2 glasses of 250 mL juice each, and one 150 mL cup of tea each. Juice costs 1,500 Frw per litre to make, and tea 600 Frw per litre. Find the quantities and the cost.

Juice: $120 \times 2 \times 0.25 = 60$ L, costing $60 \times 1{,}500 = 90{,}000$ Frw.
Tea: $120 \times 0.15 = 18$ L, costing $18 \times 600 = 10{,}800$ Frw.
Total: $90,000 + 10,800 = 100,800$ Frw. Add about 10% for spills and extra guests: about 111,000 Frw.

Worked example

Worked example 2: who is served first? At a table are the guest speaker (the guest of honour), the head teacher who is hosting, an elderly parent, and two students. In what order should drinks be served?

The guest of honour (the speaker) first.
Then the elderly parent, out of respect for age.
Then the two students.
The host (the head teacher) last: the host is served after the guests.

Warning

Broken glass. If a glass breaks, warn people nearby, keep children away, and sweep up the pieces with a brush and dustpan, never with bare hands; wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up small slivers, and wrap the pieces in paper before throwing them away. If a glass breaks near or in an ice container, throw away all the ice and clean the container.

Tip

Memory hook: "Right side, right hand, right temperature; base not rim; centre of the tray."

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Practice

Name the container you would use for (a) passion-fruit juice; (b) tea at a formal lunch; (c) tea for 100 guests at a meeting.
Why are glasses held by the base or stem?
Give three rules for loading and carrying a tray of drinks.
Why are glasses filled only to about three-quarters?
A party has 50 guests. Allowing 3 glasses of 200 mL juice each, how many litres of juice are needed, and how many 1.5 L jugs is that?
Describe what to do if a glass breaks beside the ice bucket.
A server places glasses on the left, fills them to the brim, and serves the host first. Evaluate the service and correct each mistake.

Show answersHide answers

(a) A tumbler or highball glass; (b) cup and saucer with a teaspoon; (c) mugs, with the tea kept in vacuum flasks.
So that fingers do not touch the part that the guest drinks from, which would spread germs and leave marks.
Put heavy and tall items in the centre; carry it at waist height on the flat of one hand; walk steadily; turn your whole body; do not let guests take glasses from the tray themselves (any three).
So they can be carried and drunk from without spilling.
$50 \times 3 \times 0.2 = 30$ L; $\frac{30}{1.5} = 20$ jugs.
Warn people and keep them away; sweep up the pieces with a brush and dustpan, not with bare hands; wipe up slivers with a damp paper towel; wrap the glass in paper for the bin; throw away all the ice and clean the bucket.
Glasses belong on the right, above the tip of the knife; they should be filled to about three-quarters to prevent spills; the guest of honour is served first and the host last.

1Choosing the container

2Rules of drinks service

Choosing the container

Rules of drinks service