Exploring the Art of Beverage Service: From Casual to Fine Dining

• Hospitality
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Exploring the Art of Beverage Service: From Casual to Fine Dining

Amy Brown

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

• Understand the range of beverage service styles and standards within different types of hospitality operations.

What do you already know about different types of beverage service styles in the hospitality industry?

Introduction

In this lesson, we will explore the various beverage service styles and standards found in different types of hospitality operations.

Self Service

Casual dining establishments typically offer self-service beverage stations and a limited range of drink options.

Some examples include fast-food chains McDonalds and Subway.

Counter Service

Fast casual restaurants often have counter service and self-serve beverage stations. They may offer a wider range of drink choices compared to casual dining.

Some examples include Costa Coffee and Starbucks 

Cafes and Coffee Shops

Cafes and coffee shops serve a variety of coffee-based beverages, teas, and other non-alcoholic drinks. They focus on creating a cozy and relaxed atmosphere.

Bar Service

Bars specialise in beverage service and often offer a full range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Bartenders play a key role in providing personalised service.

Table Service

Fine dining establishments provide extensive beverage menus, often with sommeliers to assist with wine selections. 

Tableside service and attention to detail are key.

Hotel Beverage Service

Hotels offer a wide range of beverage services, including in-room dining, lobby bars, and specialty restaurants. 

They aim to cater to diverse guest preferences.

Tray Service

Drinks reception. 

Pre-poured beverages ranging from wine, beers. champagne & cocktails are some examples are offered from trays as event staff circulate the venue.

These drinks are free of charge to the guest, but have been pre-paid through arrangement by the event organiser.

Beverages 

Payment & Billing

Hosted Bar

The term “hosted bar” means that the person paying for the wedding is picking up the tab for all the drinks. You are essentially “hosting” your guests with bar service. Costs for this depends on the venue, number of guests, and types of alcohol.

 

Open Bar

Open bar as the same as a hosted bar. In industry terms, you pay ahead of time-based on an estimate of how much your guests will drink. This is calculated based on number of guests and time of event.  You can decide if the open bar will be limited to wine and beer, or if you want to include spirits. If you do decide to add spirits, you can usually choose a level from 'house' through to 'top shelf'.
 

Cash Bar

Guests will be charged each time they purchase a drink. 

They can choose to open a tab (in some establishments) or pay per drink.

 

A cash bar is common at any public bar. 
 

Conclusion

Understanding the range of beverage service styles and standards in different hospitality operations is crucial for providing exceptional guest experiences.

The standard of the establishment tends to be an indicator for the type of service you will receive. 

Written Task 1.2

Unit: Food & Beverage Service Skills

Research a business to discuss their beverage service styles

Briefly explain what type of business their are, their purpose, star rating and types of guests/customers

What type of service are you going to discuss, based on the types of beverages discussed earlier in the slides

Describe the area and setup from a customers perspective 

Describe and explain how the customer orders e.g. menu, products on offer able to be viewed, sommelier explanation and where/how do they order

Describe and explain who/how the drink is served. 

Describe and explain where the beverage is consumed by the customer/client e.g. sitting at a table where they also will consume food, standing at the bar etc.

Describe and explain who clears away the used glasses, cups, saucers, condiments. Where do they go and how are they cleaned (if known)

Describe and explain the method of payment and when during the service sequence is payment taken

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.