SC - A question on Servers

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

Hi from Anne-Marie

we are asked on serving methods.
Here in Madrone we've tried purdy nar everythang.  Everything has its pros
and cons.

1. formal serving, with assigned "servants" who's job it is to wait on you
hand and foot. Pros: most medieval, very flashy, food gets served in the
correct order, kitchen head can tell servers how she wants it done. Cons:
takes a long time. Some people wont get to sit and eat with their friends
cuz theyre serving. Need to actually TRAIN your crew or else it ends up
like the keystone cops.

2. "table servers", where an individal from each table volunteers to come
up and get the food for their table. They then sit and the food is consumed
family style. Pros: less time ahead of time needed, can grab warm bodies on
site, takes less time for people to get the food on their own plates. Cons:
not ver medieval. can be a three ring circus when no one knows who the
table server is, the wrong dishes get grabbed, some get missed, etc. No one
knows what the food is, or how its supposed to served. 

3. Buffet style, where food is lined up and folks file past it. Pros: no
organization needed, no time for food to get to plates, once they get to
the food! Everyone gets to eat with their buddies. Cons: Not even CLOSE to
medieval! no portion control, folks have to stand in line until they get to
the food, which might be all gone when Duke Whatsisface takes the entire
ham for himself. This can be avoided by stationing servers with large
ladles behind the food to "aid" in portion control and answer questions and
keep folks from poking the food with their fingers. Also, if you set up two
or three buffet lines, the lines are much shorter and the food gets to the
diners quicker.

we've done pretty much any combination of the three above as well, with
some more successful than others. Fully served with trained servers who
were also frustrated actors was my favorite :).

hope this helps!
- --Anne-Marie
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