Serving food which side

To place side dishes such as vegetables or dinner rolls 3. To clear the side dishes that were placed from the left. The reason most often given for this is that most people are right handed. So, for example, when a waiter must use his right hand to serve from a platter, it is least intrusive if he stands to the left.

And, in the case of placing side dishes, it makes most sense to put them to the side that is less in focus, leaving the right side free for the main dish. Today, it is rare for guests to be presented with service trays; but on such occasions, guests should expect to be served from the left, and they should lean ever so slightly to the right upon the approach of the server, allowing him to place the food onto the plate without incident. When the guest must use the serving utensils to serve himself from the presented platters, he should take the serving spoon in his right hand to scoop up the desired portion, then use the serving fork if one is provided , held in his left hand, tines pointing downward, to hold the food in place on the serving spoon as he transfers the food to his plate.

At less formal, private meals, where dishes are being passed around the table in order for guests to help themselves to the desired portions, the dishes should be passed counter-clockwise so that each guest is presented with the dish from his left side, thereby allowing him to properly extend his right arm to serve himself, assisted by the left when necessary. When dishes are being passed around a table, diners help themselves when the dish arrives, thereafter holding the dish in order for the person to his immediate right can serve himself.

And after serving himself, the courteous guest will place the serving utensils with their handles to the right side of the service dish so that the next guest may reach them without having to reach across the dish to retrieve them. Ladies are especially appreciative of this courtesy since they are oftentimes dressed in garments with sleeves that may become food-stained if they must reach across the dish to retrieve the service utensils.

But times change…and so do the rules of etiquette. Consequently, there is a new line of authority that is of the opinion that kitchen-prepared plates should be presented from the right side, not the left, since the logic that justifies presenting dishes from the left does not apply to pre-portioned plates.

Many staunch conservatives, however, maintain that there should be one, simple rule with the necessary exceptions, of course : Serve food from the left; retrieve dishes from the right.

The simpler, the better, they argue, and most people seem to agree. Traditionally, in Western and Western-influenced cultures, a servant places a dish onto the table with his left hand, his right hand behind his back. Toggle navigation search. Log In. Download Our Resources! Resource Gallery. Check out the Restaurant Software Guide from Storekit.

This is where your best judgment needs to be on display. Does the customer seem like they want to chat , or should you just seat them and leave them be? If they want to chat, keep questions light — how their day has been, how the weather is outside. Try not to bring yourself into the conversation too much. Your physical appearance is almost as important as your demeanor in representing the venue.

For many venues, setting the table will occur before a customer is seated. Some venues will just offer up basic cutlery and side plates, while others will have a full silver service set up. When laying out your cutlery, forks go on the left, knives and spoons on the right.