Learning Outcome 3: SET UP TABLES IN THE DINING AREA

Learning Information 3.
Setting Tables in Accordance with the Standards

All members of the front-of-the-house should be knowledgeable on the

correct table setting. Each member will be assigned a certain number of tables.
This is called your station. Every table on your station must be properly set
before service is given. This includes clean linen, polished silverware, shining
glassware, and spotless china.

Cover
The cover is the space where one place is set. A
place includes linen, silver, china, and glass. It measures
about 24 inches by 15 inches.
The menu and service style determine the type
of table cover. The cover can be a simple napkin and
bread and butter plate,
or it can be an elaborate arrangement of show plates, cutlery for each course, water
glass, and three wine glasses. Table linens add to a sense of elegance and
formality, and also help reduce noise.

There are two major types of cover: the a la carte cover and the table d’hôte
cover.

A La Carte Cover

The term ‘a la carte’ means ‘from the card menu.’ This suggests that
items on the menu are individually priced. Usually, menu items are classified as
entrees, salads, mains, and desserts.

In this type of cover, the cutlery and flatware to be used are laid before
the course in which they are needed. For example, a salad plate and a salad
fork will only be laid on the table by the time the salad will be served to the guest.
The dinner plate will only be laid when the entrée will be served. As a result,
there will be no cutlery or flatware on the table that will not be needed by the
guest at any specific time.

The following items are needed for this type of cover.

■ dinner knife ■ dinner fork

■ bread and butter plate ■ butter spreader
■ wine glass ■ napkin
■ centerpieces (salt and pepper shakers, table numbers, vases, or tent cards)
An a la carte cover is very simple because of the nature of service. The
server does not know what the guest would order. The server
can replace some of the items in the original setup when needed
based on the order of the guest.

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 Table d’hôte Cover

Table d’hôte means the table of the host. This type of menu has a set
price for a defined number of courses. The menu usually consists of two to four
choices for entree and main course and two choices for dessert. Hence, even
if the guests do not consume all the dishes included in the menu, they must
still pay for the indicated price.
This cover is considered as the more elegant type. In this type of cover,
cutlery and flatware for the entire meal will be laid before the start of the meal
or the first course. The server removes the used and unnecessary items from
time to time. In the list below, the spoons, forks, flatware, and glassware will
be removed as soon as they are already used and no longer needed in the
service. The flatware and cutlery included in the cover are predetermined
because of the set menu the foodservice establishment offers.

The service wares included in this cover are the following:

■ dinner knife ■ dinner fork

■ entrée knife and fork ■ dessert spoon and fork
■ a side plate and side knife ■ wine glass
■ napkin
■ centerpieces (salt and pepper shakers, table numbers, vases, or tent cards)

Table Set-Up

The standard setup of restaurant and function rooms varies depending on the type of
service and the requirements of customers. Fine dining usually requires a pre-setup of
tables before the service begins. This may not be practical for casual dining cafeterias. For
banquets, a complete setup is required before the start of a function while the food is pre-
ordered. Requirements for a banquet setup are stated in an event order that is prepared
by the banquet office.

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Standards of Table Set-Up

1. Completeness
o All needed utensils, such as tableware, glasses, and other equipment, are
set up on the table before serving orders.
o Coffee or tea must go with sugar and milk/creamer.
o Placemats are set up when the table is not covered with a tablecloth.
o Any required conditions are set up before services.
o Client requirements as stated in the event order are available and properly
installed before the start of the function.
o If pre-setup is required, the additional cutleries are to be added to the setup
once the order has been taken. This must be done before serving orders.

2. Cleanliness and Condition of Equipment

o All pre-set equipment must be immaculately clean, sanitized, wipe dry, and
free of spots or watermarks.

o There should be no wobbly tables and chairs.

o There should be no chipped, cracked, or stained glassware.
o No damaged, broken, or distorted cutleries are set up on the table.
o Linen is fresh, clean, and ironed, without holes, spots, or stains.
o Placemats are clean and without foul odor.

3. Balance and Uniformity

o There is even spacing between chairs and covers.
o Cutleries are spaced at least ½ inch from the edge.
o For the same order of drink or food, set up the same glass and cutleries in
all tables.
o Cutleries are aligned properly equidistant from the edge.

4. Order
o All service equipment is placed on the appropriate side of the cover.
o Glasses, cups with saucers, spoons, knives, and cocktail forks are placed
on the right side.
o Forks and side dishes are placed on the left side except for the cocktail fork.
o Folded paper napkins are placed on the left side underneath the fork.
o Water glasses are set up on the right side, about an inch on top of the dinner
knife.
o Required condiments and flower vases are placed at the center of the table.
o The cutleries are arranged in proper sequence following the order by which
course will be served.

5. Aesthetic Appeal
o The whole setup looks presentable.
o Presidential and buffet tables are skirted for banquet functions.
o Appropriate color combinations are used.

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 o No eyesore, such as dirty linens, stacks of extra tables and chairs, are seen
in the dining area.
o Appropriate centerpieces and other decors are used.

6. Timeliness
o Setup is completed on time at least 30 minutes prior to the start of
operations or banquet functions.

Table Setting

Table setting refers to the way a table is set with tableware for serving and eating.
The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. The arrangement varies
across cultures. The rules for laying a table are not rigid. They are followed to facilitate
dining and make the table neat.

The following are the basic rules for laying the tables:

1. Table linens have to be laid properly. A white cloth is preferred but not mandatory.
The only rule is to make sure that linen pattern and china patterns do not clash.

2. Chargers or dinner plates should be placed on the table first. Chargers are
decorative elements that are placed under the plates to add color or texture to the
table. Each plate should be set at the center of the place setting. The rest of the
components used to set a formal table will be set with the dinner plate in mind. If a
charger is used, soup and melon bowls will be placed on top. The charger will
generally be removed just before the main course.

3. Napkins. Linen napkins should be folded elegantly and placed at the center of the
dinner plate.

4. Silverware is to be placed in order of use. The first course will use silverware
farthest from the dinner plate, while the last course will utilize the silverware closest.
Place all silverware an inch from the table’s edge.

5. Set knives on the table to the right of the dinner plate. Only one knife is used in
cutting meat. However, up to three knives can be placed on the table in order of
use. Blades should face inward towards the table setting.

6. Forks are to be set to the left of the dinner plate in order of use. There are usually
three: one for seafood, one for the main course, and one for the salad. When dining
formally, salads are generally served at the end of the meal. Cocktail forks are
placed on the right side.

7. Spoons are set to the right of the knives in order of use. If there is a melon course,
the spoon will be set closest to the plate with the soup spoon on the end. If there
is a dessert spoon, it will be set above the plate. Coffee spoons are set on the
saucer when it’s time for dessert.

8. Glasses are set above the plate to the right in order of use. From left to right: water
glass, red wine glass, white wine glass, and champagne flute (if ordered).

9. Dessert plates and coffee or teacups will be set out after dinner. If a fork is to be
used with dessert, it will be placed on the dessert plate. A dessert spoon should be

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 placed above the dinner plate. Coffee spoons should be placed on the saucer.
Coffee or tea mugs are not used in a formal dinner.

Table Setup Procedure

A. Basic, Casual, and Formal Table Setting

1. Basic Table Setting Instructions:

o Lay the placemat on the
table.
o Put the dinner plate in the
middle of the placemat. Lay
the napkin to the left of the
plate.
o Place the fork on the napkin.
o To the right of the plate, place
the knife closest to the plate,
blade pointing in. Place the
spoon to the right of the knife.
(Note: The bottoms of the
utensils and the plate should all be level.)
o Place the water glass slightly above the plate, in between the plate and the
utensils, about where 1 p.m. would be on a clock face.

2. Casual Table Setting Instructions

o Lay the placemat on
the table.
o Put the dinner plate in
the middle of the
placemat.
o Place the salad plate
on top of the dinner
plate.
o If you’re starting with a
soup course, place the
soup bowlon top of the
salad plate.
o Lay a napkin to the left
of the charger.
o To the left of the plate, place the fork on the napkin.
o On the right of the plate, place the knife closest to the plate and then the spoon.
o Directly above the knife, place water glass.
o To the right and slightly above the water glass, place the wine glass or an
ordinary glass for another beverage.

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 3. Formal Dinner Table Setting Instruction
o Lay an ironed tablecloth on the
table.
o Set a charger at each seat.
o In the center of the charger,
place a soup bowl.
o Place the bread plate to the
top left of the charger
(between 10 and 11 p.m. on a
clock face).
o Lay a napkin to the left of the
charger.
o On the left of the charger,
place the salad fork on the
outside, and the dinner fork on the inside. You can put the forks on the napkin,
or for roomier settings, directly on the tablecloth between the napkin and the
charger.
o On the right of the charger, place the knife closest to the charger (blade facing
in towards the charger) and then the soup spoon. Note: All vertical flatware
(salad fork, dinner fork, knife, and soup spoon) should be spaced evenly, about
half an inch away from each other, and the bottoms of each utensil should be
aligned with the bottom of the charger.
o Place a butter horizontally, blade facing inwards on top of the bread plate with
the handle pointing to the right. (Note: In all place settings the blade will face
inwards towards the plate.)
o Directly above the charger, place a dessert spoon (a teaspoon) with the handle
pointing to the right.
o Directly above the knife, place a water glass. To the right of the water glass
and about three-fourths of an inch downward, place the white wine glass. The
red wine glass goes to the right of and slightly above the white wine glass.
(Note: Since people traditionally drink more water than wine during dinner, the
water is kept closer to the diner.)
o If using individual salt and pepper shakers for each guest, place them above
the dessert spoon. Otherwise, place them near the center of the table, or if
using a long, rectangular table, place them in the middle of each end.
o If using a place card, set it above the dessert spoon.

Proper Storage of Equipment

Proper storage and handling of cleaned and sanitized equipment and utensils are
very important to prevent recontamination prior to use.

Breakages are caused by the following factors:

1. Mechanical impact results from an object-to-object contact. To avoid mechanical

impact, observe the following rules:
• Do not stack dishes too high.
• Avoid handling glasses in a bouquet (holding several pieces in one hand at
the same time)
• Never put cutleries into glasses.
• Do not overload bus pans.
• Do not dump glasses into sinks.

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 2. Thermal Shock is the abrupt exposure of breakable equipment, such as crystal
glasses, chinaware, from a sudden change in temperature, resulting in crack or
breakage. To avoid thermal shock, observe the following:
• Never put hot water in a chilled or cold glass and vice versa.
• Allow chilled or cold bowl, china, or glass to warm up at room temperature
before heating them in a microwave oven.
• Never put hot water in any glass or container that is not heat resistant.

3. Improper handling and misuse of equipment is the use of equipment for a

purpose other than what it is intended for. Among the malpractices that should be
avoided include:
• Scooping ice with a glass. An appropriate ice scooper must be used.
• Using knives for opening cans. The can opener must be used for such
purpose.

4. Improper racking and stacking of glasses and tableware. Some precautionary

measures include:
• Instead of stacking glasses, place them in appropriate racks to prevent
mechanical impact.
• Stack tableware using the decoy system.
• Tableware of the same kind and size should be stacked together for even
stacking.

5. Inattentiveness or absent-mindedness. It occurs when the service personnel

are absent-minded or inattentive while executing service especially when they
carrying heavy trays and breakable equipment.

6. Improper bussing. Busboys and waiters must observe the following:

• Make sure that the trays or bus pans are not overloaded.
• Observe the 3S in bussing: Scrape, Stack, Segregate
• Use appropriate trays such as a bar tray with heavy items placed at the center.
• Carry trays, supporting it using the palm rather than fingers.
• Make sure that the bottom of the trays is clean and free from oil and dirt.
7. Environment factors. The following measures must be observed:
• Make sure that the floor is neither wet nor slippery. Food, water, and beverages
that spill on the floor must be cleared immediately.
• Any broken tile must be immediately repaired as it can cause falls or accidents.
• Use doors that open both ways and with a glass panel to see people coming in
and out of the door.
• Check for other safety hazards and take corrective action to prevent accidents
and injuries.

Tips on How to Store Equipment

1. Clean and wipe dry all equipment before storing them.

2. In sorting:
• Scrape all leftover by hand
• Sort dishes according to size
• Stack dishes in a separate pile
• Invert cups and saucers when placing them in racks
• Pre-soak silverware, glass cream servers, and warm servers

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 3. In racking:
• Rack dishes according to size
• Do not overcrowd dishes. Overcrowding results in poor cleaning and
increases the possibility of breakage.
• Rack silverwares in special containers with their hand per compartment
• Stack trays evenly and wash them separately.
4. Handle dishes by the edge cups, silver by the handle, stemmed glasses by the
stem, and tumblers by the base.
5. Keep the dish storage area clean at all times to protect from pest infestation.
6. Keep a dish or rack away from the exit end of the machine.

Practice Task 1

A. Direction: Identify what is being asked in the following items by filling up the
missing letters in the following items.

A _A C_ _ _E C_ _ER 1. In this type of cover, the cutlery and flatware to be used

are laid before the course in which they are needed.
C_ V _R 2. The space where one place is set. This place includes a
linen, silver, china, and glass. It measures about 24
inches by 15 inches.
T_BL_ S_ _ _I_G 3. It refers to the way a table is set with tableware for
serving and eating.
_ A_ _E _’HÔ_E CO_E_ 4. This type of menu has a set price for a defined number
of courses
T_ _LE _I_E_S 5. A white cloth is preferred but not mandatory.

B. Enumerate the basic rules for laying the tables.

1. Linens

2. Chargers

3. Napkins

4. Silverware

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5. Knives

6. Forks

7. Spoons

8. Glasses

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