As towns and cities have grown up all over the world, so has the work for food service workers grown into an exceedingly large and respected occupational group. It is only in comparatively recent times, however, that waiting on customers in public eating has become recognized as a separate occupation. In ancient and medieval times, inns were established along main highways to provide food and lodging for travelers. Usually, the innkeeper and his family, and perhaps a few servants, were able to look after all of the traveler’s needs. Wealthy people did almost all of their entertaining in their own homes, where they had large staffs of servants to wait on their guests.
Improved roads and means of transportation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries led to an increase in travel, especially for pleasure. Inns near large cities, no longer merely havens for weary travelers, became pleasant places to dine on day excursions into the country. The rise of an urban middle class created a demand for restaurants where one could enjoy good food and socialize in a convivial atmosphere. More and more waiters and waitresses were needed to serve the growing number of customers. In the great hotels and restaurants of Europe in the nineteenth century, the skills of serving elegantly prepared food in a polished and gracious manner was raised to a high art.
In the United States, the increasing ease and speed of travel has contributed to a very mobile population, which has increased the great demand for commercial food service. People are eating out more and more for a variety of reasons. Today, the food service industry is one of the largest and most active sectors of the economy.
Food service workers have varied jobs in food service and duties, depending on the size and kind of food establishment in which they are employed. In small restaurants, sandwich shops, and grills, and at food counters in drugstores, diners, fast-food outlets, and cafeterias, customers usually demand quick service. Informal waiters and waitresses and lunchroom or coffee-shop counter attendants give their attention to meeting this expectation. They take customer’s orders, serve food and beverages, make out bills, and sometimes collect the money. Between serving customers, waiters, and waitresses in small establishments may prepare salads and beverages, replenish supplies, and set up table service for future customers, and spend some time cleaning equipment and the surroundings. Counter attendants often do some simple cooking, make sandwiches, salads, and cold drinks, and prepare ice cream dishes. They also may have to help with such tasks as cleaning kitchen equipment, sweeping and mopping floors, and taking out the trash. Other workers in this category include cafeteria counter attendants and supervisors, canteen operators, and fountain servers.
In large restaurants and in those where dining takes on a more formal atmosphere, formal writers and waitresses may perform essentially the same services as in the smaller establishments. However, the food service job may be extended to include other courtesies. These may include presenting menus to the customers after they are seated, assisting in suggesting choices from the menu, informing the customers of special preparations and seasonings of food, and sometimes suggesting beverages that would be complementary to the meal. They check to see that the correct silver service is on the table and try to attend to any special requests the customers may have to make their dining more pleasurable. Waiters and waitresses in these establishments follow the more formal and correct protocol procedures for serving food. Captains, headwaiters, or head waitresses may greet and seat the guests and supervise the service of the waiters and waitresses. Wine stewards assist the customer in selecting wines from the restaurants available stock.
Dining room attendants, once called bus boys and bus girls, are waiters’ and waitresses’ assistants. They may clear and reset tables, carry soiled dishes to the dishwashing area, bring in trays of food, and clean up spilled food and broken dishes, thus giving waiters and waitresses more time to serve customers. In some restaurants, they also serve water, bread, and butter to customers. During slow periods, they may also fill salt and pepper shakers, clean coffee pots, and do various other tasks. Part of their food service careers, cafeteria attendants clear, wash, and set tables, and they also carry trays of dirty dishes to the kitchen, and may also serve coffee to customers.
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