Hotel Food & Beverage

Hotel Food & Beverage The Banquet Department Risa McCann

Hotel Food and Beverage Services • Most lodging properties offer some kind of food and beverage service • They range from simple offering of coffee and sweet roles in the lobby to a full-service fine-dining restaurant

Organization • Some hotels have a full-service restaurant that is independent of the hotel • Many hotels manager their own foodservices. Cocktail lounge, a full-food service dining room, a banquet department and room service

Organization cont. • The manager in charge of all the food and beverage services in the hotel is call the Food and Beverage Director • The food and Beverage director is usually responsible for five departments: beverages, dining room, kitchen, banquets and room service

Organization cont. • The hotel restaurant dining room usually offers 3 meals a day and is open 7 days a week. • In the hotel the Executive Chef will be responsible for all the food services in the hotel, (dining room, coffee shops, snack shops, banquet, and room services.)

Banquet Department The banquet department handles all special food events at a hotel. • A banquet is food served in honor of a special occasion. Banquet also means receptions. • There are two types of banquets: • Business Banquet • Social Banquet

Banquet Department • Business banquets are often planned during conventions and business meetings. • A convention is a large meeting, usually sponsored by a group for its members.

Banquet Department • During a convention, banquets are held for business meetings, awards ceremonies, receptions, networking, and socializing. • Social banquets are held for a variety of celebrations. Weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, special birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, school/family reunions, proms, and charity events are commonly celebrated by a banquet at a hotel.

Booking a Banquet • A banquet is booked through the sales department. • The sales department is sometimes called Sales and Marketing or Sales Catering.

Booking a Banquet • In a Single Event Banquet, the purpose is the banquet. • Single events usually do not require sleeping rooms. These events are booked by the Catering Manager. • Single events can be business or social

Booking a Banquet The Catering Manager works with the client to reserve the banquet and to arrange all the details. • Banquet customers are often called clients. • In a Meeting Banquet, the banquet is a part of a larger event. • The larger event requires sleeping rooms and meeting rooms, as well as one or more banquets

Booking a Banquet • One of the jobs of the Sales Dept. is to sell the hotel’s meeting and banquet services to professional associations and to the general public. • In order for a banquet to take place, the hotel needs to know all of the details of what the client wants.

Booking a Banquet • The Catering Manager (for single events) and the meetings and Banquet Manager (for Conventions) meet with their clients to work out all of the details.

Booking The Banquet The details include: • The number of people • Time of banquet • Type of service • Choice of foods • Timing of courses • Room setup • Décor • Audiovisual needs

Booking a Banquet • Once these decisions have been made the hotel representative will write up a banquet order form for each banquet. • The banquet event order(BEO) is a written record of all the decisions that have been made about what the client wants during the banquet.

Booking a Banquet • A copy of this order is then sent to the Food and Beverage Director, the Executive Chef, the Beverage Manager and the Banquet Manager. • All the members of the food and beverage division must work together to make the banquet a success.

Banquet Event Order • Daily BEO meetings are held to go over the banquet event orders, plan and handle changes

Banquet Department Staff • Once the banquet event order is submitted to the banquet manager, the banquet department is responsible for making sure that all the details are handled and that the banquet runs smoothly. • The staff includes the banquet manager, servers, setup staff and audiovisual staff.

Banquet Department Staff • The banquet chef is a critical part of the team; however, he or she is technically part of the kitchen staff.

Banquet Manager • The banquet managers is responsible for: • Making sure that all aspects of each banquet run smoothly • Making sure the instructions from the sales dept. and clients are carried out • Hire and schedule workers. The # of workers needed varies with the number of banquets/conventions scheduled.

Banquet Manager cont. Responsibilities cont. • Make sure the client does not have to worry about anything related to the event Tasks of the banquet manager: • Prepare a timeline for the event. The timeline is helpful to make sure that all tasks are performed in a punctual manner.

Banquet Chef • The banquet chef is a member of the kitchen staff • The banquet chef is responsible for feeding all large groups in the hotel. • They are also prepare any show pieces such as ice sculptures. • Banquet size can range from 30 – 3,000 people. The average is 250.

Banquet Chef cont. • The banquet chef supervises the organization, preparation, and timing of the banquet service. • The number of banquet chefs depends on the number and frequency of banquet functions at the hotel.

Banquet Department Staff The banquet servers are responsible for: • serving food and beverage during the banquet • they set the table before the banquet • asked to handle last minute requests

Banquet Dept. Staff Banquet Setup Staff is responsible for: • Moving and arranging the room dividers, tables, and chairs • Setup staff will get a diagram that shows them where all the items belong • Often the same ballroom must be rearranged several times a day to meet the needs of several different meetings or banquets

Banquet Dept. Staff • Hotels often use an outside audiovisual company to handle all the audiovisual needs. • Sometimes there is an in-house audiovisual manager. • They are responsible for: • Projection screens • Overhead • Data projections • Microphones • Public address system • Music equipment

Types of Service There are four styles of service • Standing buffet • Passed-items • Seated buffet • Seated banquet

Types of Service • Buffet is the general term used for meal service in which the food is set out on tables and guests help themselves. The location in the room where food or beverage is found is called a station. • Function is another term for special event.

Standing Buffet • Standing buffets are designed so that people will socialize. • The food served is finger food, that is, food that is easy to eat with your fingers. • Ex. cheese and crackers, vegetables and dips, cocktail hotdogs

Standing Buffet • Usually food stations are scattered around the room to encourage mingling. • Usually there are no tables or chairs, or maybe a few scattered around the edges of the room.

Passed-Item Functions • The passed-items function is a type of standing buffet. • Servers walk around the room with food and beverages on trays • Food served is finger foods • Ex. Miniature quiches, potato pancakes, fancy hors d’oeuvers

Seated Buffet • At a seated buffet, tables are set and guests choose or are assigned to table. • Guests serve themselves from a buffet table, then return to their seat to eat. • They range from simple lunch to an elaborate dinner.

Seated Banquet • At a seated banquet tables are set and guests choose or are assigned a place at a table. • Servers serve all parts of the mal. Usually the food is plated in the kitchen and brought to guests be servers • Everyone eats at the same time.

Selecting the Type of Service A seated banquet is usually less expensive than a buffet. In a seated banquet, you know the exact number of guests and each guest is served the same amount of food.

Décor and Table Setting • The theme of the event and the color scheme are usually chosen by the client, with advice from the catering or meeting and banquet staff. • Buffet table and food stations are decorated to make the food look appetizing. • Great effort is devoted to table décor.

Décor and Table Setting • Many banquets have elaborate centerpieces that match the theme of the event. • Table linens such as tablecloth, napkins and table skirting also add to the ambiance of the room. • Skirting is a table linen placed around the buffet tables to hide the table legs.

Décor and Table Setting • White skirting is used for weddings, silver skirting is used for anniversaries and New Year’s celebrations and colorful is used for holiday and birthday parties. • Linen must be cleaned and properly ironed. • Place settings are designed based on the menu that will be served.

Décor and Table Setting • Flatware, glassware, and plate ware should be chosen that match the food that will be served.

Hotel Food & Beverage