In this post we See what is mean by Gueridon service, and different types of trolleys used in this service also I will tell you what is the Advantages and Disadvantage.
What is Gueridon service?
Gueridon means ‘movable service table’ or ‘movable side table’ or trolley, from which food may be served. Gueridon service naturally means side table service in full view of guest.
This may include serving foods that have to be carved, jointed or filled, foods that have to be flambéed, foods that have to be prepared & served or simply food that are being served from the Gueridon. By another Definition, the service is known for its uniqueness, in that service food is partly prepared and finished in front of the guest.
This kind of service demands highly skilled people to prepare as well as in a restaurant it would optimize revenue to the greater extent. In this service may include several activities such as salad making, beverage mixing, meat carving, cheese offering, and flambéing.
It s very expensive and require very high skills people so this reason Gueridon service found in only few Fine-dining restaurants.
So the you understand by the Gueridon service mean food is partly prepare in front of the guest. Now we see history of the service.
History of Gueridon Service
The term ‘Gueridon’ is from French language. Not only the term Gueridon, but the service style is also imported and extensively used in England.
Guerido was a piece of furniture that was found in French homes, similar to what we might call a sideboard. This would be positioned in the dining room of a home and would hold most of the equipment used at the table, i.e. crockery, cutlery, glassware etc.
Gueridon service was originally known as ‘Russian Service’ and involved serving large joints of meat, poultry, game and fish.
This food would be displayed on a sideboard or side table, then carved or portioned by service staff allowing guest to have as much or little as they wished.
During the nineteenth century service service became more popular especially in the more ‘up-market’ establishments. By the turn of the century Gueridon was an established part of fine dining.
Nowadays, we find this fascinating style of service in the rest of Europe and Western countries as well.
In above you understand by what is Gueridon service mean now we see which factor consider while making the preparation of this service
- While presenting the service a great deal of coordination is required between both departments. That is Kitchen and F&B department.
- In this service the preparation trolley must move around the tables, and a considerable amount of extra space is required in the restaurant.
- A clear and accurate market survey is required for potential guests as it still has a lean market segment.
- It requires special design of ventilation system.
- Keeping the trolley clean and hygienic all the time is a challenge.
- Consider safety while serving from the trolley.
How to do Gueridon service?
While doing Gueridon service, you will need to follow these steps
1. Greet the guests and introduce yourself.
2. Place a white tablecloth on the Gueridon cart and set up the necessary equipment and utensils, such as a hot plate, chafing dish, carving knife, and serving spoon.
3. Prepare and plate the dishes that will be served tableside, such as carved meats, sauces, and vegetables.
4. Present the dishes to the guests and describe each one in detail, including the ingredients and cooking method.
5. Serve the dishes to the guests and refill their drinks as needed.
6. Check in with the guests throughout the meal to ensure that they are satisfied and to answer any questions they may have.
7. Clear the table and reset the Gueridon cart when the meal is finished.
It is important to be professional and attentive when doing service, as it is an integral part of the dining experience. You should be able to anticipate the guests’ needs and be able to adapt to any changes or requests.
Advantages and Disadvantage of Gueridon service
Advantages
- More guest satisfaction
- It creates good will & gives high-quality impression..
- Provides visual appeal to the guest.
- Less chances of guest complaints
- Preparing food besides the guests table attracts many observers.
- The aroma of the food stimulates the appetite of the other guests.
- Attracts high end or elite class customer.
- Gives the staff a chance to pay personal attention to each table.
- Food is prepared and presented in the front of the guest.
- It is a kind of entertainment with dining.
- Chances of maximum interaction with the guest.
- Ceates impulse buying or tempted buying & can be used as a marketing tool.
- Make the restaurant atmosphere more luxurious.
- Increase profitability by increasing contribution margin of a dish.
- Helps in enhancing the presenting skills and creativity of staff members.
Gives an opportunity to F & B service personnel to exhibit their skills & showmanship
Disavantages
- Requires more space and special planning.
- It increases labour cost as it requires highly skilled persons.
- Time consuming.
- Low seat turnover.
- Age group of customers, since dishes made of liquors can’t be given to underage customers.
- It requires a lot of efforts for innovation in recipes.
- Special license need to be acquired.
- Chances of accidents are more.
- The service is expensive due to costlier cooking equipments & ingredients.
- Getting right ingredients would be difficult.
- It is not possible in all decors.
- Special attention is required on safety.
- Only available at high class à la carte establishment.
- Cooking in the service area may leave odour.
We see advantages and Disadvantages of the Service and now we see Different types types of Trolleys which is used for preparation of the Gueridon service
Different types of Trolleys used in Gueridon service
1) Flat Work Top Trolley
It is mainly used for making simple salads and serving cheese. It is a basic trolley with two levels-the top level is for preparation and presentation purpose and the bottom level is to carry necessary crockery and bottles.
2) Salad trolley
For health conscious people a collection of ingredients are presented & tossed as per requirement from this trolley. It has provision of crockery (half plates & bowls, underplates), container with prepared ingredients, salad dressings & seasonings that are required to prepare the salads.
Salad dressings may be prepared on the trolley in the presence of guests or in the kitchen. Most restaurants prepare the dressings in the kitchen & the dressing of salads is carried out on the trolley in the restaurant.
3) Cheese trolley
It has variety of cheeses, cheese board & cheese knife for cutting the cheese & appropriate accompaniment for cheese. Cheese selected by the guest is portioned & plated on the trolley & then served to the guest.
4) Trolley with Hot Plate
This trolley has provision of a hot plate which is used to keep the finished food hot. Sometimes vegetables and potatoes are kept on the hot plate until service. This trolley cannot be used for flambéing.
5) Beverage Serving Trolley
This trolley is extensively used for preparing drinks and cocktails. This is also called liquor trolley. This trolley has provision to hold bottles, glassware, ice buckets etc.
6) Liqueur trolley
In this trolley only liqueurs are served from this trolley in a neat form.
7) Carving and Presentation Trolley/Carving trolley
This is used for jointing or carving of meats. This trolley is equipped with a wooden carving board on work top along with a set of carving knives. This can have hot case to hold the meat and vegetables. Meat is carved in front of the guest and presented.
Some carving trolley has carving board which is placed over chafing dish during carving to retain the heat of the meat.
8) Flambé Trolley
This trolley is mainly used to make sauces and flambé dishes. This is equipped with a flare lamp or gas burner and a bottle rack.
9) Hors d’oeuvres/ Hors d’oeuvres variés trolley
This trolley is used to set hors d’oeuvre platters in an attractive way for easy identification by the guest. The trolley is designed in such a way that it has provision for holding ice & containers.
It has adequate cold half plate, necessary service gear to transfer the hors d’oeuvre selected by the guest on the cold half plate & the appropriate accompanying sauces.
If you don’t know what is mean by Hors d’oeuvres you can read my article Horsd’oeuvres Course & Classification
10) Pastry/Dessert/sweet trolley
The pastry trolley generally consists of three tiers/racks. The top may be covered by either glass or fibre glass.
This enables the guest to see what is on offer in hygienic conditions. The second tier can also be used for pastries & the bottom tier is used for storage of cutlery & crockery.
For Preparation of Service you can refer following Dishes