Restaurant business
A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. The term covers a multiplicity of venues and a diversity of styles of cuisine. Restaurants are sometimes a feature of a larger complex, typically a hotel, where the dining amenities are provided for the convenience of the residents and, of course, for the hotel to maximize their potential revenue. Such restaurants are often also open to non-residents.
The term ‘restaurant’ (from the French ‘restaurer’, to restore) first appeared in the 16th century, meaning ‘a food which restores”, and referred specifically to a rich, highly flavoured soup. The first true restaurant, the Grande Taverne de Londres, opened in Paris in 1782, by Boulanger, ‘the father of modem restaurant’.
Restaurants play an important role in society. Dining out fulfills an important social need. People want not only nourishment, but also the social interaction that takes place in a restaurant setting.
The successful operation of a restaurant is dependent on a number of factors, and the most important of them are its positioning, that is a distinctive place in the market and its concept, the total impression it makes on its potential guests.
Classification of restaurants may be based on two factors: menu and services offered. According to the menu, there are two main categories: full-service and specialty restaurants. Restaurants of the first type have more that a dozen main- course items that are cooked to order. Specialty restaurants specialize in one dish (pizza, hamburger, chicken, steak, seafood, etc.).
According to the services, the restaurants are classified into occasion (also called luxury) and casual restaurants: French service when the food is arranged on platters and presented to guests, after which the preparation is completed on a trolley-like side table with a gas burner, and Russian service when the food is cooked in the kitchen, placed onto a service dish, and served to the guests individually with a serving spoon and fork. Casual dining is characterized by relaxing atmosphere, where not only Russian service is typical, but also its simplified version called American service when the food is prepared and put into individual plates to the kitchen before being carried into the dining room, and even buffet-type service (self-service).
There are some people working in a restaurant which can be divided into two groups. One group works in the dining room and serves the customers. Another group works in the kitchen and is responsible for preparing meals for the customers. The head chef comes to work at 10 o’clock in the morning and makes the menu. He works all day, often more than 8 hours a day. His responsibility is to manage the staff in the kitchen as well as to find suppliers or to buy provisions if necessary.
The restaurant manager prepares the accounts for the suppliers and organizes the work for the next week. In the morning he has to check the telephone answering machine for reservations for the next week. He manages both the dining room staff and the kitchen staff. He also effectively manages the finances of the restaurant.
Food and beverage – продукты и напитки
Dining amenities – предоставление питания
Full-serviceandspecialtyrestaurants - рестораны, предлагающие полный перечень блюд и предлагающие фирменное блюдо
Occasionandcasualrestaurants - рестораны высокого и среднего качества
A trolley-like side table with a gas burner – столик на колесика с газовой горелкой
Buffet-typeserviceобслуживание по системе «шведский стол»
Questions:
What is a restaurant?
Can a restaurant be a part of a hotel complex?
When did the term ‘restaurant’ first appear and what did it mean?
What was the first restaurant?
What does dining out fulfill?
What factors influence the successful work of a restaurant?
Name the different types of restaurants and the factors these classifications based on.
What are the two main groups of people working in a restaurant?
What are their responsibilities?
Would you