F & B Service Equipment:-

 Familiarization & Selection factors of: Cutlery, Crockery, Glass-ware, Flat-ware, Hollow-ware, All other equipment used in F&B Service, French terms

Food and Beverage Service Equipments

A customer’s first impression on entering the service area is of great importance and their business may be gained or lost on this alone. The creation of atmosphere by the right choice of decor, furnishings and equipment is therefore a major factor that contributes to the success of the food service operation. A careful selection of items in terms of shape, design and colour enhances the overall decor or theme and contributes towards a feeling of harmony. The choice of furniture and its layout and the linen, tableware, small equipments and glassware will be determined by factors such as:

·         The type of clientele expected

·         The site or location of the establishment

·         The layout of the food and beverage service area

·         The type of service offered

·         The funds available

The general points to be considered while purchasing/selecting equipments for a food and beverage service area:

·         Flexibility of use

·         Type of service being offered

·         Type of customer

·         Design

·         Durability

·         Ease of maintenance

·         Stack ability

·         Cost and funds available

·         Availability in the future-replacements

·         Storage

·         Rate of breakage, i.e. crockery

·         Shape

·         Psychological affect on customers

·         Delivery time

  Food service equipment includes all pieces of equipment of furniture, linen, cutlery, crockery, glassware, and so on, used by the guests and the staff in the service area. The following are the basic categories of equipment found in any food service operations:

Category

Examples

Furniture Linen Crockery Glassware Tableware Miscellaneous equipment Disposables

Tables, chairs, sideboards. Tablecloth, buffet cloth, napkins (serviettes), tray cloth, waiter’s cloth, slips cloth, satin cloth. Quarter plate, half plate, full plate, soup plate, soup cup, soup bowl, cup and saucer, demitasse, breakfast cup and saucer, and so on. Water goblets, wine glasses, champagne tulip, beer mug, cocktail glass, Tom Collins, old-fashioned, highball, Pilsner glass, and so on. Flatware: spoons, forks Cutlery: knives Hollowware: coffee pots, tea pots, water jugs, entrée dishes, sugar bowls, creamers, butter dish, and so on. Bud vase, table number, menu stand, cruets, ashtrays, toast rack, sauce boats, asparagus tongs, caviar knife, oyster fork, corn on the cob holder, snail dish, and so on. Paper napkins, disposable plates, cups, table mats, doilies, coasters, table rolls, gloves, spoons, forks, knives, and so on.

Tableware (flatware, cutlery and hollow-ware)

Tableware includes all items of flatware, cutlery and hollowware and may be classifies as follows:

·         Flatware in the catering trade denotes all forms of spoon and fork, as well as serving flats.

·         Cutlery refers to knives and other cutting implements.

·         Hollow-ware consists of any other item, apart from flatware and cutlery, for example, tea pots, milk jugs, sugar basins and serving dishes.

Traditionally flatware includes spoons, forks and cutlery referred to knives in the modern usage of these terns changed. All spoons, forks and knives used as eating implements are now referred to as cutlery.

The majority of food service areas use either plated silverware or stainless steel. Once again, the points mentioned previously concerning purchasing should be borne in mind. In addition, when purchasing/selecting flatware and cutlery it is important to consider:

·         The type of menu and service offered

·         The maximum  and average seating capacity

·         The peak demand period turnover

·         The washing up facilities and their turnover

Silver

There are three standard grades of silver plate-full standard plate, triple plate and quadruple plate.

In silver-plated table ware two grades have been specified:

1.      Standard for general use.

2.      Restaurant thicker grade for restaurant use and marked with an ‘R’.

The minimum thickness of silver plating quoted should give a life of at least 20 years, depending on usage. The hallmark on the silver indicates two things: the symbols represent the standard of silver used and the Assay office responsible. The two letters are the makers mark and the date letter.

Plain cutlery and flatware is more popular than patterned for the simple reason that it is cheaper and easier to keep clean.

Silver cleaning methods

All the service silver should be clean on rota basis. It is the duty of the head plate person to ensure that this is carried out and that all silver is cleaned regularly. The head plate person will also put on one side any articles that are broken or that require buffing up or re-plating, so that they may be sent to the manufacturer for any faults to be corrected.

There are many methods of silver cleaning and the method use generally depends on the size and class of establishment.

Method	Description
Silver Dip	Items to be cleaned are completely immersed in dip in a plastic bowl for a very short time, rinsed in clean water and polished with a tea cloth. This is a very quick method but is hard on metal if left in dip too long.
Burnishing Machine	Items to be cleaned are placed in a drum containing ball bearings, soap powder and water. The drum rotates and the tarnish is rubbed off. All items are rinsed in hot water and dried with a tea cloth.
Polvit	Items to be cleaned are placed in a enamel or galvanised iron bowl within which is the Polvit aluminium metal sheet containing holes, together with some soda. At least one piece of silver needs contact with the Polvit. Boiling water being poured in the silver being cleaned. A chemical reaction causes the tarnish to be lifted. After three of four times remove the silver and rinse in boiling water. Drain and then polish with a clean, dry tea cloth.
Plate Powder	Pink powder is mixed with a little methylated spirit to a smooth paste. The smooth paste is rubbed well onto the tarnished silver with a clean piece of cloth. The article is left until the paste has fried which is then rubbed off with a clean cloth. The article must be rinsed well in very hot water and given a final polish with a clean dry tea cloth. For a design or engraving use a small toothbrush to brush the paste into the design and a clean toothbrush to remove it. This method is both time-consuming and messy, but produces very good results.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel table ware is available in a variety of grades. The higher priced designs usually incorporate alloys of chromium (which makes the metal stainless) and nickel (which gives a fine grain and lustre)

Stainless steel is finished by different degrees of polishing:

·         High polishing

·         Dull polish finish

·         Light grey matt, non reflective finish.

Stainless steel resists scratching far more than others metals and may therefore be said to be more hygienic. Although it does not tarnish it can stain. Special cleaning products for stainless steel can be used to keep stainless steel looking clean and polished, for example there is a commercial powder that is applied with a wet sponge or cloth and rubbed on the surface before being rinsed off. Table knives require attention to keep the sharpness of the blade.

Cutlery

Table wares are available in various designs in silver, plated silver, and stainless steel material. Silver and plated silver are expensive, suitable for high-class dining operations that cater to elite customers but maintaining this type of cutlery is expensive  and consumes more labor for polishing.

Stainless steel cutlery is available in many grades of quality and finish. The two best qualities are those marked 18/8 which means a composition of 18 per cent chromium and 8 per cent nickel, and 12/12 which is 12 per cent chromium and 12 per cent nickel.  It is a available in matt or shiny finish.

Cutlery

Uses

Soup spoon Dessert spoon Service spoon and fork Tea spoon Coffee spoon Egg spoon Side knife Fish knife and dish fork Small knife and fork Steak knife Dessert spoon and fork Fruit knife and fork Large knife and fork Dessert spoon and table fork Sundae spoon Ice cream spoon

For thick soups. For thin soup, breakfast cereals. Transferring of dishes from the container onto the guest’s plate. Tea, coffee, juice served with accompaniments, fruit cocktails, sweets served in coupes or glass bowls. For coffee served in demitasse after lunch or dinner. Use with boiled eggs (smaller than tea spoon and bigger than coffee spoon; tea spoon may be used in place of egg spoon). Placed on the side plate for bread, toast, rolls, cheese. For all fish dishes, hors d’oeuvre varies. Vegetable, savoury, and meat dishes if not served as the main course. For steaks (serrated edge). For all pastas and rice except spaghetti, for sweets. For dessert (small knife and fork may be used in place of fruit knife and fork). Main course. Spaghetti, spoon is placed to the left and the fork to the right. Ice cream or any shakes with ice cream served in tall glass. For ice cream served in coupes, most hotels use teaspoon in place of ice cream spoon.

Specialised service equipments

This is an almost unlimited range of flatware, cutlery and hollowware in use in the catering industry today.

Items of specialised equipments and their use

Equipment	Use
Asparagus holder	Use to hold asparagus spears when eating
Sugar tongs	Required for cube sugar
Pastry slice	Sweet trolley-serving portions of gateau
Oyster fork	Shellfish cocktail/oysters
Pastry fork	Afternoon tea
Corn on the cob holders	One to pierce each end of the cob
Lobster pick	To extract the flesh from the claw
Fish knife	To break the fish and push it onto the fork
Sauce ladle	Service from sauce boat
Fruit knife and fork	Dessert-cover
Nutcrackers	Dessert-fruit basket
Grape scissors	To cut and hold a portion of grapes
Grapefruit spoon	Grapefruit halves
Ice cream spoon	For all ice cream dishes served in coupes
Sundae spoon	Ice cream sweets in a tall glass
Snail tongs	Used to hold the small shell
Snail dish	Dish is round with two ears, having six indentations to hold a portion (6) of snails
Snail fork	Used to extract the snail from its shell
Cheese knife	Cheese board
Stilton scoop	Service of stilton cheese
Butter knife	To serve a butter portion
Gourmet spoon	Sauce spoon for cover
Preserve spoon	Used with preserve/jam dish.

Storage

In large establishments the silver room (also known as plate room) is a separate service area in which a complete stock of tableware required for the service of metals, together with a slight surplus stock in case of emergency, is stored.

Large tableware items such as flats, salvers, soup tureens and cloches are often stored on shelves, with all the flats of one size together and so on. All shelves should be labelled showing where each different items goes. This makes it easier for control purpose and for stacking heavier items should go on lower shelves and smaller and lighter items on higher shelves as this helps to prevent accidents. All table ware, together with the smaller items such as cruets, butter dishes, special equipments, table numbers and menu holders, can be stored in drawers lined with green baize. This helps to prevent noise and stops the various items sliding about the scratching when in the drawer.

Crockery

The crockery must blend in with general décor of the establishments and also with the rest of the items on the table. An establishment generally uses one design pattern of crockery, but when an establishment has a number of different service areas it is easier, from the control point of view, to have a different design in each service area.

When purchasing/selecting crockery the general points should be borne in mind:

·         Every item of earthenware should have a complete cover of glaze to ensure a reasonable length of life.

·         Crockery should have a rolled edge to give added reinforcement at the edge.

·         The pattern should be under rather than on top of the glaze will wear and discolor quickly.

·         Crockery must be dishwasher proof.

Crockery that is produced as being suitable for the food service industry is often referred to as ‘hotel ware’.

Food service crockery

There are various classifications of food service crockery. Although referred to as crockery here, all glazed tableware was traditionally referred to as china. Items include:

·         Flatware, for example, plates and saucers serving flats.

·         Cups and bowls, for example, tea and coffee cups, soup and sweet bowls and serving dishes.

·         Hollowware, for example, pots and vases.

Types of crockery

Bone china

This very fine, hard china is expensive. It can be made to thicker specifications for hotel use. Metalized bone china has been developed specially for the hospitality industry. It contains added metallic oxides to make it much stronger than bone china.

Hotel earthenware

Vitrified (or vitreous) earthenware is the cheapest but least durable hotel ware although it is much stronger than regular domestic earthenware. There is a standard range of designs and patterns in varying colours.

Stoneware

This is natural ceramic material traditionally made and fired at a very high temperature, about 2200° F. It is shaped by traditional handcrafting technique so there are a wide variety of shapes and finishes are available, made from matt to a high gloss glaze.

Porcelain

This is of a different composition with a semi-translucent body, normally cream/grey, and has a high resistance to chipping.

Selection of crockery

The crockery chosen should be attractive and must blend with the décor of the service area. From the most expensive bone china to the cheapest earthenware is available in the market to suit the pocket of various food service operators. If a hotel has many restaurants, each outlet may have crockery of different colours and patterns to suit their décor, provided there is a guarantee for availability of the same designs for replacement in the future.

While selecting the chinaware, the following points should be considered:

1.      Plates should have complete and even glaze.

2.      Pattern or design should be under glaze so that it is protected and does not wear out with repeated washing.

3.      Suitable for multiple purposes, for example, using bowls for soups and breakfast cereals, half plate for appetizer, fish, vegetables, savoury, and sweet.

4.      Stackable up to 30 plates or saucers in one pile.

5.      Suitable for machine washing

6.      Plates should have rolled edge to resist chipping.

7.      Light weight.

8.      Suitable for microwave application.

9.      Resistant to high  temperatures of 85^o C

Note: It is advisable to go for simple design or plain crockery as it does not get outdated and replacing will be quick without any problem or huge investment.

List of items of crockery, their sizes, and uses:

Name	Size	Uses	Notes
Quarter plate Soup plate Soup cup Soup bowls Half plate Full plate Breakfast mug Tea cup and saucer Demitasse and saucer	6” 8” 250ml 250ml 8” 10” 250-300ml 200ml 100ml	Bread, cheese, under liner for bowls. For thick soups and breakfast cereals. For thin soups, also known as consommé cup. For thick and thin soups, breakfast cereals. For appetizer, fish, pasta, entree, vegetables, sweet, and as under liner for soup plate. Main course. For all tea and coffee served during breakfast. For tea and coffee served during the day (except breakfast and after lunch and dinner). For coffee served after lunch and dinner.	Also known as B&B (bread and butter) plate, cheese plate, under plate, side plate. Half plate is used as under liner when soup plate is used. Has two handles Most restaurants use soup bowl for serving all kinds of soup instead of soup plates & soup cups. Also known as fish plate, sweet plate, and dessert plate. Dinner plate, joint plate, large plate, and meat plate are the other names.

Storage

Crockery should be stored on shelves in piles of approximately two dozen. Any higher may result in their topping down or damage to plates at the bottom of the stack because of the weight bearing down on them. Crockery should be stored at a convenient height for placing on and removing from the shelves without fear of accidents occurring. If possible crockery should be kept covered to prevent dust and germs settling on it.

GLASSWARE

Well designed glassware combines elegance, strength and stability, and should be fine rimmed and of clear glass. All glassware should be cleaned and well polished. Food and beverage service outlet use variety of glasses for different types of drinks. Glasses are named by the drinks served in them. Thought there are many glasses for different drinks, it is better to go for limited types of glasses that may be suitable for all kinds of drinks.

Glassware is classified into the following three types according to their parts:

Tumbler: It is basically a bowl without stem or foot. Its sides may be straight, widened, or curved. Examples: Rock glass, old-fashioned, highball, Collins, Juice glass, and so on.

Footed ware: in this type, the bowl sits directly on a base of food without the stem. Bowl and base may come in a variety of shapes. Examples: brandy balloon, beer goblet.

Stemware: It refers to glasses that have all three parts-bowl, base, and stem. In this type, the stem connects the bowl with the base or foot. Examples: red wine glass, white wine glass, champagne saucer, champagne tulip, cocktail glass, and so on.

Consider the following points while purchasing/ selecting glasses:

·                Should be free from air bubbles

·                Should have a smooth, transparent, and even finish

·                Should be relatively heavy and durable

·                Should be resistant to impact and thermal shock

·                Should be easy to replace

·                Should not be cracked or chipped

The capacity of the glasses is either measured in ‘oz’ (ounce) or in ‘ml’. In practice, it is measured in ml.

Name of the Glass	Uses
Cocktail glass	For cocktails generally & smaller: for pink lady and white lady.
Saucer	For champagne cocktails & daisies, not really used much now.
Tulip	All champagne cocktails & sparkling wines also buck’s fizz and the grasshopper.
Flute	For sparkling wines generally & also for Brandy Alexander & Kir Royale
Paris Goblet	In various sizes used for wines, water & beers. Also used for cobblers, pina colada and green blazer
Worthington	For bottled beers, soft drinks and for pimms, coolers and long drinks such as Fruit Cups
Rocks/Old Fashioned	Also known as whisky glass, often used for any spirits and mixers. Also used as drinks such as Old Fashioned & Negroni
High Ball/ Collins glass	Used for spirits and mixers, for high balls, john Collins, tom Collins, mint julep, tequila sunrise and spritzers.
Brandy balloon	Small for brandies, for b&b , liqueur based cocktails, for frappes and for liqueurs. Larger for long drinks such as pimms
Sour glass	For spirits and mixers and for sours as an alternative to rock glass
Martini	For dry, medium and sweet martinis & manhattans but also used for other cocktails
Slim jim	For spirits and mixers & for sour as an alternative to highball glass
Copita (sherry)	Mainly used for sherry, also used for sweet wines.
Elgin	Traditional glass used for sherry in single and double measure (schooner) sizes. Also in smaller version used for liqueurs.
Port or sherry (dock glass)	Used for both ports and sherries and also for sweet wines.
Lager/pilsner	Different sizes used for bottled and draught lager beers
Beer (straight)	Traditional beer glass in different sizes for half and full ,measures of any beers and also beer based mixed drinks like shandy
Beer (dimple)	Traditional beer glass in different sizes for half and full measures of any beers and also beer based drinks including black velvet.

Types and sizes of glass wares

Glass is produced from sand (silicon dioxide), which is combined with other substances to produce particular characteristics properties. The mixture is heated to a very high temperature which forms a molten mass. This glass is either blown or moulded to different shapes and then allowed to cool and solidify. The various types of glass used in the hospitality industry are described below.

Glass	Size
Wine goblets	5-10 fl oz
Flute/tulip	6-8 fl oz
Saucer champagne	6-8 fl oz
Cocktails glasses	2-3 fl oz
Sherry, port	1.75 fl oz
High ball	9-10 fl oz
Low ball	6-87 fl oz
Worthington	10-12 fl oz
Lager	10-12 fl oz
Brandy balloon	8-10 fl oz
Liqueur glass	0.88 fl oz
Tumbler/ slim jim	½ pint
Beer	½-1 pint

Soda lime glass

This glass contains sand, soda ash and limestone as the principal ingredient. It is used for everyday relatively inexpensive glassware.

Lead crystal

This form of glass includes sand re lead and potash, which produces a slightly softer glass of high brilliance. The surface can be left plain or can be cut to produce prismatic effects and sparkle.

Borosilicate glass

This is a glass made with the addition of borax, which increases its hardness and heat resistance. This type of glass is used for flame ware.

Tempered and toughened glass

This glass has additional treatments to make it more resistant to the effects of heat. It mostly used as oven glass, but the treatment is also used to produce glassware that needs to withstand heavy usage.

Storage and cleaning

Drinking glasses are normally stored in a glass pantry and should be placed in single rows on thin plastic grid matting, upside down or to prevent dust settling in them. Plastic racks made specifically for the purpose of stacking and storing glasses are another alternative. Such racks are also a convenient method to transporting glassware from one point to another, reducing breakages. Glass decanters should be hand washed. These can be cleaned using a proprietary decanter cleaner. 

FURNITURE

Dining room furniture is available in many shapes, sizes, material, colour, texture, and design. All of these must be taken into account while selecting them, so that the furniture blends with the decor of the food service areas. The common items of furniture found in food service are tables, chairs, and sideboards.

Restaurant tables: They come in an assortment of sizes and shapes, of different materials such as wood, mica, glass, stone, and so on. The standard table top shapes are rectangular, square, and round. Wooden tops are used in upscale restaurant as they look elegant and rich. Wooden table tops, especially in fine dining restaurants, are permanently covered with thick woollen cloth which is known as ‘baize cloth’. The purpose of baize cloth covering is to.

1.                  Deaden the noise of cutlery and crockery while placing them on the table.

2.                  Protect table top from heat from the dish.

3.                  Give grip to the tablecloth and to prevent it from slipping.

4.                  Protect the wrist of the customer while dining.

Note: Baize should never be exposed to the guests. It must always be covered with a clean tablecloth.

The following are the different shapes and capacities of restaurant tables:

Size in Inches (Table Top)	Shape	Covers
30 36 48x30 72x30 36 Diameter 48 Diameter 60 Diameter	Square Square Rectangle Rectangle Round Round Round	2 4 4 6 4 5 8

    

Restaurant chairs: Wooden chairs are preferred in restaurants. They can be with arms and without arms. Standard size of chairs is as under.

·                       Height of the chair (from floor to the seat): 18”

·                       From floor to the top of the chair: 39”

·                       Depth of the chair: 18”

Sideboard: Food service personnel will not be able to extend quick service and work efficiently without sideboards. It holds all the necessary cutlery, crockery, hollowware, menu cards, check pads, accompanying sauces, and so on, that are required during service. It is also termed as a dummy waiter. It is equipped with drawers, compartments, and shelves.

The following items are kept in the sideboard:

o  Side knives            o  Soup spoons o  Fish knives and forks o  Dessert spoons and forks o  Large knives and forks o  Service spoons and forks o  Tea spoons and coffee spoons o  Underliner

o  Glassware (water glasses and wine glasses) o  Napkins, tray cloth, waiter’s cloth o  Sugar pots with tongs, cup, and saucers o  Cruets o  Ashtrays o  Paper napkins o  Candle stand o  Trays

Hollowware, crockery, and linen required during service are stored in the lower shelves. It is better to keep the shelves closed for a better appearance.

Items from the sideboards used during service should be replaced either at the end of the shift or at the beginning of the shift by the waiters.