Food Service Tools and Equipment

• This module covers food service tools and equipment.
• The customer's first impression when entering the service area is significant.
• Careful selection of items enhances the overall decor and contributes to a feeling of harmony.
• Food service equipment includes furniture, linen, cutlery, crockery, and glassware used by guests and staff.

Equipment Classification

• Fixed equipment includes furniture, floors, walls, and ceilings.
• Mobile equipment includes trolleys or carrying stations.
• Circulating equipment includes linen, glassware, chinaware, and tableware.

Equipment Categories and Examples

• Furniture: Tables, chairs, and sideboards.
• Linen: Tablecloths, buffet cloths, napkins (serviettes), tray cloths, waiter's cloths, slip cloths, and satin cloths.
• Crockery: Quarter plates, half plates, full plates, soup plates, soup cups, soup bowls, cups and saucers, demitasse, and breakfast cups and saucers.
• Glassware: Water goblets, wine glasses, champagne tulips, beer mugs, cocktail glasses, Tom Collins glasses, old-fashioned glasses, highball glasses, and pilsner glasses.
• Tableware: Flatware (spoons, forks), cutlery (knives), and hollowware (coffee pots, teapots, water jugs, entree dishes, sugar bowls, creamers, and butter dish).
• Miscellaneous Equipment: Bud vases, table numbers, menu stands, cruets, ashtrays, toast racks, sauce boats, asparagus tongs, caviar knives, oyster forks, corn on the cob holders, and snail dishes.
• Disposables: Paper napkins, disposable plates, cups, placemats, doilies, coasters, table rolls, gloves, spoons, forks, and knives.

Furniture

• Restaurant chairs are available in wood, metal, and PVC.
• Restaurant chairs are available in styles with and without arms.
• Wooden chairs are favored in steak houses and fine dining restaurants.
• Metal chairs provide a modern and sleek look and are available in colors.
• Moulded PVC chairs are suitable for cafeterias and low budget eateries.
• The standard height of a dining table is 30 inches.
• The standard size of the cover is 24" x 15".
• Standard Chair Size: Height of the chair (from floor to seat) is 18", from floor to the top is 39", and depth is 18".
• High chairs and booster seats are for children.
• They are available in a variety of finishes and colors.
• Banquet tables are used in function catering and are available in many shapes and sizes.
• The common sizes of long banquet tables are 6 x 2 ½' and 8 x 2 ½'.
• Other shapes of banquet tables are quarter round, half round, and serpentine.
• Banquet chairs are used during functions and can have arms or no arms.
• Banquet chairs should be stackable, comfortable, strong, and sturdy.
• A sideboard holds all necessary cutlery, crockery, hollowware, menu cards, check pads, sauces, etc., and is also called a 'waiter-dummy '.
• A guéridon is a movable service trolley from which food can be carved, flambéed, or prepared and served.

Glassware

• Refers to glass and drinkware items.
• The term refers to drinking vessels, unless the dinnerware is made of glass.
• Glassware is classified into types based on its parts.
• A tumbler is a bowl without a stem or foot, and its sides are straight or widened; examples include Rock glass, Collins, highball, and juice glass.
• Footed ware has a bowl attached to the base/foot without a stem; examples include Brandy balloon and Beer goblet.
• Stemware has three parts, stem connects the bowl with the base; examples include red wine glass, white wine glass, and Champagne saucer.
• Collins Glassware: A Collins glass is a glass tumbler, holding 350 ml, used to serve a mixed drink, named after Tom Collins.
• Highball Glass: A highball glass is a glass tumbler, holding 240ml, used to serve a mixed drink, taller than an Old-Fashioned glass, and shorter than a Collins glass.
• Shot Glass: Designed to hold/measure spirits or liquor served straight or poured into a cocktail.
• Pint Glass: A drinking vessel holding an imperial pint (568 ml), usually for beer.
• Three pint glass shapes: conical, jug, flared top.
• Pilsner Glass: Used to serve light beers and smaller than a pint glass, usually in 250 ml or 330 ml sizes.
• Beer Stein/Mug: A traditionally German beer tankard or mug.
• Flute Glass: Preferred serving vessel for sparkling wines and fruit beers.
• The narrow shape helps maintain carbonation.
• Beer Goblet: Large, stemmed, bowl-shaped glasses for serving heavy beers, such as Belgian ales and German bocks.
• Tulip Glass: Traps aroma, maintains large heads and creates a visual effect.
• Cocktail Glass: Used to serve cocktails such as Martinis.
• Red Wine Glasses: Characterized by a rounder, wider bowl.
• White Wine Glasses: Generally narrower than red wine glasses.