Gueridon Service

There are three types of gueridon service.  Simple gueridon service, Russian gueridon service, and French gueridon service.

I will explain, but this service requires a service trolley on wheels that has at least one heating element with a gas burner source.  A flame burner is important for flambe.  This is the "gueridon".

Simple gueridon service is just using the gueridon as a tray stand.  Platted food is brought out from the kitchen and placed on the gueridon next to the table being served.  The service is from the right.  If there is a food cover or cloche, then these are removed at the same time only after the entire table is served.

Russian gueridon service uses the gueridon to keep the food warm.  The gueridon is moved near the table to be served and the gas is lit.  Heatable stainless steel platters are brought out from the kitchen with food for the service as well as heated plates.  The server presents the platters to the host from the right for approval and once approved then proceeds to plate the food on the gueridon with a similar position of protein and vegetables.  Then the plated food is served from the right.  The remaining food is kept on the gueridon for second helpings over a low flame to keep warm.

French gueridon service is the most attractive and requires the most knowledge and abilities to perform.
This type of service can include carving, de-boning, cooking and flambeing or finishing and dressing.

Much skill is required with this traditional french cuisine service, but most of this is considered old school.  Although the essence of French gueridon is romantic and still is used to enhance the dining experience as it provides a show and even drama with potential explosions for fire.

Here as in all gueridon service, the gueridon is brought to the table side for the service.  The service can be varied as mentioned above.  The gueridon is stocked with the essential ingredients and equipment for the service required.  This is called the "mise-en-place".  The plates could be either heated or cool depending on the food to be served.  The server could be making a caesar salad.  First, make the dressing from scratch.  Adding the romaine and finishing it off with the bacon and croutons.  Then there could be a pepper steak which needs to be cooked 1/4 more to the desired colour (rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, or well-done) and flambeed, then the sauce is made after the steak is off the pan and nappeed on to the steak.  Desert is also made this way with cherries jubilee or crepe suzette which are both flambeed.  The customer is served on the right after the show-boating skills of the server.

Platter Service

There are two basic platter type of service.  The English platter service (also known as Silver Service) and French platter service (also known as Butler Service).  Both require a heated plate placed on the table in front of the customer.  In both cases, the host has presented a platter of food for approval from the right side.  Once approval is made the guests are served from the left.  The only difference is the English platter service is the food is served and plated by the server using service gear for the customer, but with the French platter service, the customer uses service gear to self serve what they want of the platter.

Food Service Types

Eating out and the art of dining both involve food and beverage, but the service method to be used will depend on the type of establishment, customers' expectations, the type of menu offered and how fast customers come.

There is a broad range of foodservice types.  They are table service, assisted service, self-serve, single-point service, and specialized service.

In general, the topics which will be discussed are table service and assisted service which is most related to restaurant dining.

In table service, both food and beverage are brought to and served to the customers.  This type of service has several variations:

American plated service
English platter service
French platter service
Simplified gueridon service
Russian gueridon service
French gueridon service
Family service

All or some combination of these types of table service may be used in a restaurant.  It is all based on the type of dining and menu offered.  Some items may require table side gueridon service like de-boning Dover sole or making a caesar salad tableside.

For the most part in Canada, the United States and Europe we are a custom to American plate service.  This is where the chef and kitchen staff plate all the food in the kitchen ready to be delivered by the service staff to the customers.  The delivery is made from the left or the right side depending on how the table is oriented in the room.  Thus, the American plate service is the easiest and most widely used.

When it gets fancy we get into the more delicate platter type service and gueridon type service.  This will be discussed in the next article.