Introduction

Everybody eats. It’s a simple fact of life. There is not one person who doesn’t eat. It’s also true that the vast majority of people who eat go out to eat on a regular basis. By extension, almost everybody eats out.

This book is meant to serve dual purposes. For those of you who have ever served in the food and beverage industry, this book will be full of anecdotes and laughs that have you nodding along, saying, “Yes, yes!!!”

For those of you who have never had the pleasure, this book is meant to be a lighthearted but informative manual of etiquette. It’s a set of guidelines meant to serve as edutainment. There are a lot of things we in the industry wish we could say while we are nodding and smiling and gritting our teeth and in this book I hope to say these things in a way that brings you along with us and includes you in our family. Some of these things may seem like common sense. Others may offend you. I apologize for any offense and do not set out to offend anyone. I simply wish to open some eyes to some behavior that many people feel is appropriate to exhibit towards strangers and servers.

The book is broken down into different sections. The first section deals with what we call the “Front of House” area. This section tackles servers, hosts, restaurant behaviors, and do’s and dont’s of dining out and answers some unasked and frequently mis-answered questions. Ever come in about 5 minutes before closing and tentatively asked, “Are you guys still open?” I bet they smiled and said yes, right? Keep reading, because this book is for you! Lest you think it’s merely meant to pick on bad guest habits… There’s also a section on guest standards because, believe it or not, there are times when servers screw up in a big way. Hopefully, this will make server-consumer relationships run smoothly by setting reasonable expectations on servers while eliminating common annoyances and miscommunications in both directions.

The next section handles the “Back of House,” better known as the kitchen. In this section, we will break down the line, how your food is made, where your food comes from, how it gets stored, and the different pieces of health inspections. It will highlight some need-to-know information regarding allergies, modifications, and pairings. It will also set clear and average expectations regarding how long you should wait for your food and which dishes to order or avoid if you’re in a rush!

The final section will encompass general restaurant information. It will delve into the dynamics between the Front and Back of House, talk about how these pieces work together, and offer general information such as restaurant vocabulary, typical personality types, and even a fun Personality Quiz to examine which personality you are most like!

So without further ado, let’s eat!