Introduction

1. Introduction At Supper Club, we like to serve each guest his or her meal at the table, instead of “cafeteria style.” It is a little more personal. As a result, we have 3 teams involved in serving each meal. The meal preparers, the tray runners, and the servers on the floor.

2. Introduction At Supper Club, we like to serve each guest his or her meal at the table, instead of “cafeteria style.” It is a little more personal. As a result, we have 3 teams involved in serving each meal. The meal preparers, the tray runners, and the servers on the floor. Meal preparers are on stage, creating each plate for each guest.

3. Introduction At Supper Club, we like to serve each guest his or her meal at the table, instead of “cafeteria style.” It is a little more personal. As a result, we have 3 teams involved in serving each meal. The meal preparers, the tray runners, and the servers on the floor. Tray runners carry a tray full of meals out to the tables on the floor.

4. Introduction At Supper Club, we like to serve each guest his or her meal at the table, instead of “cafeteria style.” It is a little more personal. As a result, we have 3 teams involved in serving each meal. The meal preparers, the tray runners, and the servers on the floor. Meal servers take meals from the trays and give them to the guests, with a friendly, welcoming smile.

5. Meal preparers Meal preparers serve up each meal, preparing it for every guest. There are two important points for the prep team (in addition to sanitation and safety): maintaining portions, and “presentation.”

6. Meal preparers Meal preparers serve up each meal, preparing it for every guest. There are two important points for the prep team (in addition to sanitation and safety): maintaining portions, and “presentation.” Food safety and sanitation are critical in every step of serving food. Getting sick from food poisoning is awful for anyone, but many of our guests have limited access to healthcare and bathroom facilities. Therefore sanitation and safety are especially important at Supper Club. For more information see the sanitation guidelines in the volunteer instructions.

7. Meal preparers Meal preparers serve up each meal, preparing it for every guest. There are two important points for the prep team (in addition to sanitation and safety): maintaining portions, and “presentation.” To ensure we have enough food for all of our guests, the portion sizes must be maintained. The floor manager and lead cook will work out portion sizes. The prep teams need to maintain them while serving. In food service “presentation is two-thirds” of the meal. A delicious meal that doesn’t look good won’t taste good. So as the prep team sets out the starch (pasta, rice, etc.), protein (chicken, beef, etc.), vegetable (mixed veggies, etc.), and bread, they should try to make each meal look as attractive as possible.

8. Tray runners Tray runners carry the full tray onto the floor to the meal servers. The tray runners also need to be careful of sanitation and food safety, and also need to keep the “flow” of meals onto the floor steady. At restaurants, the servers and cooks are careful to serve all of the meals at the same time. This is because it is rude to eat when others at the table haven’t been served, but they also don’t want the food to get cold. At Supper Club, each tray should have seven meals on it. That way, each table of seven people will be served at about the same time. This will also maintain a constant flow of meals from the stage to the tables, and ensure the food is still hot when it is served.

9. Tray runners Our guests are used to the way we serve. We always serve in the same way, that way people know what to expect and don’t feel like anyone is getting preferential treatment. So we always serve all food in the same order – meals, seconds, desserts. From the tables closest to the door to the farthest. 1

10. Tray runners Our guests are used to the way we serve. We always serve in the same way, that way people know what to expect and don’t feel like anyone is getting preferential treatment. So we always serve all food in the same order – meals, seconds, desserts. From the tables closest to the door to the farthest. 1

11. Meal servers Meal servers are the “face” of Supper Club to the guests. They need to maintain food safety and sanitation standards while delivering each meal with a friendly, welcoming greeting and smile. As we serve each meal, servers need to remember that part of our goal is to treat each other and guests with respect and dignity. A friendly hello and welcoming smile help set the “mood” for everyone at Supper Club.

12. Meal servers Meal servers are the “face” of Supper Club to the guests. They need to maintain food safety and sanitation standards while delivering each meal with a friendly, welcoming greeting and smile. As we serve each meal, servers need to remember that part of our goal is to treat each other and guests with respect and dignity. A friendly hello and welcoming smile help set the “mood” for everyone at Supper Club.

13. After all of our guests have been served, we like to create a tray of extra meals for guests who come in late. Once this extra tray is done, volunteers on the prep, tray running, and serving teams can pick up a coffee pot, milk, or water pitcher and help serve coffee or water. If we have enough food, volunteers are also welcome to sit down in the auditorium with guests and have supper themselves. Having dinner with guests is a great opportunity to get to know them on a personal level. Often, the friendships developed with guests become the most rewarding part of the volunteer experience. We all need to keep busy and help out wherever needed until the meal is done and the auditorium cleaned up. If you’re not sure where you can help out, ask the floor manager for an assignment.