6 Translation

Translate the following words and expressions into your own language.

1. a. suburbs, b. off-season, c. fortnight, d. convenient

2. a. laundry, b. valuables, c. medical attention, d. personal cheque

3. a. frying, b. deep-frying, c. boiling, d. grilling

4. a. three course meal, b. dessert, c. wine list, d. set meal

5. a. grapefruit, b. grapes, c. banana, d. cucumber, e. melon, f. peas, g. celery, h. carrot, i. onion, j. garlic

6. a. roast lamb, b. boiled potatoes, c. grilled sole d. poached eggs, e. fried tomatoes, f. fresh lemon juice

7 Verbs and nouns

8. Letter writing

Write replies to the following letters agreeing to the requests.

1. From: Leonard Freeman, Apt. 7, 2092 Berkeley Way, San Francisco, California 94010, USA. Request: Double room from 7.6.82 for 4 nights. View over park.

2. From: Mrs Dobson, 46A Linfield Avenue, London N.W.2. Request: 2 adjoining singles with bath from 21.7.82 for a fortnight.

3. From: Danielle Massoni, 11 Avenue Lepic, Montpellier, France. Request: Change her booking of one single from 18.8.82 for one night to two singles for the same period. Garage space also required.

9 Description

Answer the following questions.

1. When showing new guests to a room, what are the most important hotel facilities to show them?

2. List what information is requested from an overseas visitor in your country.

3. Describe three room status systems.

4. You are working in Advance Reservations when an unknown man phones you to make a booking for later that afternoon which you are able to accept. List (1) the information you should obtain from him and (2) the information you should give him.

10 Job descriptions Complete the following organization chart using the list of job titles below.

Unit 5

Food service 2

Reading and Listening

Reading

The range of food service found in hotels and restaurants today is extensive. In the first category, there are restaurants offering the highest grade of service with a full a la carte menu. This includes dishes served by the waiter from a trolley in the dining room, and is known as gueridon service. The gueridon waiter must always be skilled, for he has to carry out procedures such as filleting, carving, and cooking speciality dishes at the table.

1 napkin 2 soupspoon 3 fish knife and fork 4 joint knife and fork 5 dessert spoon and fork

6 sideplate 7 side knife 8 wineglass 9 ashtray 10 salt, pepper

A second, less complicated, type of service is silver service where the menu can be either a la carte or table d'hote. In this system, the food is prepared in the kitchen and then put on to silver flats and presented to the guests in the dining room. A third form of table service, used mainly with a table d'hote menu, is plate service. Here, the waiter receives the meal already plated from the service hotplate and only has to place it in front of the guest and make sure that the correct cover is laid and the necessary accompaniments are on the table. Plate service is often offered where there is a rapid turnover and speedy service is necessary. It also demands less equipment for the service of the meal and is, therefore, labour-saving in such tasks as washing-up. In a fourth type of service, called self-service, a customer collects a tray from the service counter, chooses his dishes and selects the appropriate cutlery for the meal.

Today, with ever-increasing needs for economy, many establishments usually prefer a variety of types of service. Tourist hotels, for example, frequently offer a combination of self-service and plate service for breakfast and another combination of self-service and silver service for luncheon.

Reading check

1 What kinds of skills does a waiter require for gueridon service? 2 Why is plate service labour-saving? 3 What kinds of service are used with a table d'hote menu? 4 What is the difference between silver service and plate service? 5 Why is self-service often used by hotels?

Listening Mr and Mrs Drayton have entered the Restaurant Djebel, a family restaurant in the centre of Tunis. On the cassette, you will hear them order lunch.

Listening check 1 Why does Mrs Drayton prefer to sit by the window? 2 What does the set meal consist of ? 3 Why does Mrs Drayton ask the waiter to explain the menu? 4 What does Mr Drayton order for his first two courses? 5 How do the Draytons want their steaks cooked? 6 What kind of red wine doesn't Mrs Drayton like?

Language study

Preference

Study the following table

	Mrs Sobell	Mr Sobell
1 red or white wine	red	white
2 dry wine or sweet wine	sweet	dry
3 steak or chicken	steak	chicken
4 sit inside or outside	outside	inside
5 pay by cash or by credit card	cash	credit card
6 order now or later	now	later
7 the table d'hote menu or a la carte	a la carte	table d'hote
8 coffee at the table or in the lounge	table	lounge

Notice how we can talk about the things we prefer in different ways.

Example:

Do you prefer red wine or white wine? > I prefer red wine but Mr Sobell prefers white.

Would you rather have sweet wine or dry wine? >I'd rather have sweet wine but Mr Sobell would rather have dry.

Now make similar questions and answers for 3-8 on the table.

Degree Examples:

Is your steak rare enough? > I'm afraid it's too rare. I can't eat it.

Is your steak too well done? >No, it's not well done enough. I like it very well done

In a similar way, answer the following questions

1. No, .... I like .... I'm afraid .... I can't... I'm afraid .... You will. No, .... I must.... I'm afraid .... I can't... I'm afraid .... I can't... No, .... I like .... I'm afraid .... I like

   Is your wine too dry?

2. Is your couscous spicy enough?

3. Are we early enough for dinner?

4. Is the six o'clock flight too early?

5. Is your coffee strong enough?

6. Is the Hotel Park big enough?

7. Is your martini too weak?

8. Is your room warm enough?

Word order It is important in English that we pay special attention to the order of words in a sentence.

Examples:

The newspapers are delivered, (at nine o'clock, to Reception) > The newspapers are delivered to Reception at nine o'clock.

Receptionists must deal with the guests' problems, (always, politely) >Receptionists must always deal politely with the guests' problems.

The table below can help you to remember the correct order

Now place the words in brackets correctly in the following sentences

1. An a la carte menu is available, (in the evening, always, in the Dar Marhaba restaurant)

2. They ate in the hotel restaurant, (very well, never)

3. The waiter laid the table, (badly, often)

4. Sixty rooms are reserved by Johnson Tours, (in August, in the Hotel Park)

5. The gueridon waiter carved the roast beef, (skilfully, always)

6. The Night Porter was on duty, (at ten o'clock, every evening)

Listening and Speaking

Listening Mary Burton, a tour group leader, is discussing the eating arrangements for her tour party with Hassan Labidi, an Assistant -Manager at the Sousse Palace Hotel. While you are listening to their conversation, complete the table below

Speaking

Asking about preference

Study the following examples

Guest I'll have a glass of wine, please, (red or white) Waiter Would you rather have red or white wine, sir?

Guest Could we order our coffees now? (black or white) Waiter Would you rather have black coffee or white, sir?

Now do the exercise on the tape, asking about the guests' preferences in a similar way.

When you have completed the exercise, listen to the instructions on the tape. You must repeat the exercise using the expression would you prefer.

Activities Activity A Look at the following list of dishes. They are taken from the two menus below. One is from an inexpensive self-service establishment and the other is from a one star restaurant. Decide which dish is from which menu and then arrange them in the correct order of presentation.

Activity B

In the following chart, various foods and drinks are entered in the wrong box. For example, Tawny Port appears in Red Wine but it belongs in Dessert Wine. Re-arrange the chart so that the food and drinks appear in the correct boxes.

Writing

The Catering Manager of the Grand Hotel du Sahara in Sfax has received a letter from a London football club which is planning a second tour of Tunisia. The club would like to reserve the Oasis Room for a dinner for 25 people on 17 June. Unfortunately this is not possible as the room is already booked on that date. This is the letter the Catering Manager sent to the club, in which he regrets that he is unable to accept the booking.

Notice how Mr Mansour offers alternative arrangements, a different date in his own hotel or similar facilities in another hotel in the same chain.

Using Mr Mansour's letter as an example, now write letters regretting that you cannot accept the following requirements, but suggesting alternative arrangements, if possible. You are writing from the Advance Reservations Office of the hotel where Mr Mansour works. You should date your letters 29.3.82.

Word study

Word study