A Formal Dinner night is a formal occasion where the Host dines their family members and their guests.

The guests will spend the majority of the evening at the table, so the most important part of the evening is the meal. the last thing that the guest or customer wants to see, is a meal that is a poorly presented set of courses, that's limp and thrown together at the last minute.

When planning a menu for this type of function there should be a harmony of colours, tastes and textures.

Service style

There are many styles of service that one can employ during a Dinner night. The most common of these styles are the Silver Service and the Butler Service.

The Silver service can be served two ways, first is where the waiter or host serves the guest, from the dish. The second method is when the waiter or host offers the dish to the guest and they help himself.

Butler Service is when the dishes are laid out on the table or sideboard and the guests help themselves to the food. One point of note; make sure that if you employ the latter, then have extra portions, as portion control is limited with this type of service.

Traying up

The meal that you have turned into a harmony of colours and textures, needs to be presented to the guests in the best possible manner. It would be a mistake to slap it onto a bent and tarnished salver, so you must ensure that you have the best service salvers available to present your meal. Stainless Steel is a second best choice for serving food on but if it is in good condition then it will suffice.

When you are traying up onto silver, do not do it too early, as the food will tarnish the dishes (rice, peas and eggs are the worst offenders for this). If there is a necessity to tray up early, then keep it hot in a hot cupboard, covered to prevent the food from drying up. Do not keep food hot in an oven as it will dry out to quickly and the dishes will be too hot to handle by the waiting staff.

Dishes that are to be plated up prior to service, (for cold starters or sweets) are best served on a plain white plate, the reason for this is simple; people will look at food and not at the pretty flowers around the edge of the plate. It will be obvious to most, that to use chipped or cracked crockery is to be avoided at all times.

Garnishing the dishes

The garnishing of dishes must be correct and should not be repeated, Potatoes should be only named on the menu once, but may be used in moderation on other courses. For example, Pommes Duchess may be piped around the edge of dishes used for fish.

Never over garnish the dish, to the extent of making the dish over bearing and top heavy. A simple garnish in the middle of the dish will suffice.

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A Top Table lunch can be of many formats and the menus should be written accordingly. Most Top Table lunches are laid on for visiting VIP's and the visitors timetable is a deciding factor on the type of menu selected.

Menu formats

The normal menu format is the following; a cold starter, (already on the table, to speed up the service time), a light entree, followed by a sweet or cheese board and coffee. The afore mentioned type of menu format is the most common of formats that I have come across in the last 20 years. You don't have to stick to this type.

One rule that I always stick to, and that is never put the same menu on twice. The reason for this is two fold, even though the last one was a roaring success, this time, you might not get it right. Also the customer might think that this menu is the only thing you are capable of producing.

The favourite Types of starters for these types of lunches are; Cold Fish dishes, Pate, Chilled Soups or Assorted Hors D'oeuvres.

The favourite types of choices for the main course are as follows; Steaks, poultry and all types of butchered cuts of meats.

For the sweet, a light type sweet, like creams, mousses and light type pastries can be served.

All Lunch Menus should be light, so it will not lay heavy on the stomach in the afternoon.

When catering for the International guests, it is inadvisable to copy their national dishes. The reason for this is two fold; one, you might make a mess of the dish. Two, the last thing that the international guest wants is to eat his own native food, when he might be looking forward to trying out something different from another country. In all cases make sure from your sponsor, what limitations there are to feeding your International guests.

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The term "Buffet" is a fairly loose term, which is applied to many types of occasions. At one end of the scale, it could be a small finger buffet, serving Sandwiches and small savoury items. whilst at the other end it could be a full blown elaborate meal of many courses.

A Buffet can contain Hot and cold dishes, the food can be served by the waiting staff or the customer can help them selves. A Buffet is not necessarily less formal than a dinner night. Therefore it is necessary to outline some of the different types of buffet.

Full Buffet

A full buffet is a main meal, only distinguished from a dinner or luncheon by the fact that the food is displayed in the dining room.

The food is displayed on the table, which is covered to the ground with a white table cloth, so the chef or host has the chance to display their talents and skills of decorating and garnishing.

When displaying a full buffet, a rule of thumb is to adopt the following format; keep it plain and simple and you will succeed in displaying a good buffet that will please the guests.

Whenever possible, let your guests inspect the buffet, to see your display before they eat.

If you have a starter on the menu, then it best laid out on the tables prior to service. Also a bread roll and butter on a side plate should be offered on the diners table.

Display type buffet

Most hosts at some time or other will serve a full type buffet. So to enhance the buffet, there should be a display of some sort. This display can consist of anything appertaining to the theme of the function. The list is limitless; a centre piece of silver, a large flower display, a decorated fish or meat dish, a wagon wheel or any other artefact that will enhance the function.

Fork type buffet

A "Fork Buffet" has been defined as, "A meal that can be eaten standing up with a plate in one hand and a fork in the other". These events are best suited for occasions when space will not permit tables and chairs for everyone to sit.

A "Fork Buffet" can look just as attractive as a full buffet, only the range of foods that can be offered are limited. For example; cold sliced meats should be avoided, as people would find it extremely hard to eat with only a fork.

Hot dishes that can be served for a fork type buffet are; curries, most Chinese dishes, goulash, sautés and many entree dishes. Cold dishes, would be mostly salad type buffets.

One point that I wish to raise is to have plenty of napkins and finger bowls for the guest to use.

Buffet themes

Buffet themes are normally dictated by the host. You must always try to emulate that theme and make sure that you give adequate cover to enhance your buffet.

Some ideas on themes are covered in the recipe area under Buffets

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03/01/2002 21:50

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