"mise-en-place"

"Mise-en-place" is a french phrase defined by the culinary institute of America, to get everything in place.This will enquire you to prepare everything beforehand, So when you need the things it is already there and you don't have to waist time doing it when you are busy. At the restaurant every afternoon, we clean and fill the sauce bottles up. We also roll the knives and forks into a serviette, so the next day when you waiter it is already done, and you can just take it to your guest.

For conferences we set the tables the day before and do everything we can, so when they arrive everything is already done and no one have to run around to get the things ready.
To do the preparations is very important for good customer care at the end of the day.

waitering

On the weekends it gets really busy at the restaurant, so waiter. When the people get there you greet them and take them to a table, introduce yourself and give them menu's. Take their drink orders then the food orders. To ensure you don't get a order wrong write everything down. Ring it on the computer system. Get the drinks ready and take it to them. Prepare a basket with all the sauces, knives and forks. when the food is ready take everything to the guests. When they are finished, clear the table and give the bill to them and do the payment.
We have other special occasions like buffets and  bring and braai. When you serve that table you only take drink orders and they will help themselves with the food.
At the beginning it was a bit nerve racking to waiter, but the more you do it the better you get at it. The lesson I learnt out of this is that if you are scared to do something, just do it, because at the end you will succeed.

Mbizi

There was a show at Mbizi, where Sondela had a stall. On Thursday night we were the caterers for a cheese and wine evening. We decorated the area where the food was served with drapes and fruit. there was a lot of different cheeses and fruit to choose from. I had to clear the table when peoples were finished eating, and later the evening I poured the wine. The evening was a great success and I enjoyed it a lot. To top it all of the elephants of Zebula were there, it was a great experience to get so close to them.

Lay out of tables

Today there was a conference of 56 people. we had to lay the tables for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Before you can lay the table you need to steam all the glasses and cutlery. then you put the table cloth and overlay on the table. after that you put the cutlery, glasses, salt and pepper and serviettes on. there are different ways to fold the serviettes, like to put it in the champagne glasses or in a fan. As the people finish eating you need to take all the plates away.

Talking on the radio

The radio is used to communicate with different departments.
When talking over the radio, you must press the button, the talk after two seconds. Hold the radio away from your mouth and speak clearly in the language you preffer, to prevent misunderstandings.
When you have to tell a person a car registration number over the radio you use the following language:
A: Alpha
B: Bravo
C: Charlie
D: Delta
E: Eco
F: Fox-trot
G: Golf
H: Hotel
I: India
J:Juliet
K: Kilo
L: Lima
M: Mike
N: November
O: Oscar
P: Peter
Q: Quebec
R: Romeo
S: Sierra
T: Tango
U: Uniform
V: Victor
W: Whisky
X: X-ray
Y: Yankee
 Z: Zulu
For example, if the number is KTG357GP, you will say: Kilo,Tango, Golf 357, Golf Pappa.

Different types of payments

The different types of payments you get is cash and credit cards.
When working with cash, you have to make sure you got the right amount from the guest, and give the right change.

When doing a credit card payment, you must check if it's a chip card or if you need to swipe it. You need to put the amount on the machine, after you swiped the card. the guest must type in their pin. There will be two slips, the first one the guest must sign, the second one you must give to the guest.
On a credit card, the card number and expiry date is very important.
When doing a authorization, for the key and breakage deposit, the R200 is not taken out of the