What is an a la carte restaurant in a hotel? How not to sign up for a’la carté restaurants What are a la carte restaurants

When organizing breakfasts, lunches and dinners, various service methods are used:

A la carte service;

- “a part”;

- "table d'hôte";

Buffet;

Buffet service;

Hotel room service;

Catering.

A la carte service. Guests choose what they like best from the food and drink menu card. The order is transferred to the kitchen and the preparation and serving of the ordered dishes and drinks begins immediately. With this type of service, the guest has the opportunity to receive advice from the waiter, and the waiter, for his part, actively participates in the selection of dishes and drinks.

In this case, it is appropriate to talk about suggestive service (suggestion - suggestion). The ability to instill in a guest the idea of ordering a particular dish or drink is a powerful way to increase a restaurant’s profits. Elements of suggestive service do not offend clients at all and, on the contrary, clients are happy that the waiter advises them something, trying to please their tastes and preferences. Often the waiter may recommend trying some dish that the guest has simply never heard of and does not know what it is. Advice on what wines to pair with the dishes ordered by guests is always received with gratitude, since few people are knowledgeable about such things. The goal of suggestive service is to turn service personnel into skilled sellers of restaurant services who know their product perfectly.

Despite the fact that the “a la carte” method is considered the most labor-intensive, it is currently the most common method of service in restaurants, as it best suits the wishes of the guests.

“A part” (a part). With this method of service, guests, having previously made an order, are served within a set period of time. Very common in holiday homes and resort hotels.

The waiter collects orders early in the morning and places them on a board or sideboard in order according to the time specified in the order. Breakfast is served on a tray or from a trolley. The tray is covered in advance with clean white napkins and the dishes are placed on them according to the request. At a certain time, the ordered dishes are delivered to the customer’s room on a trolley.

"Table d'hote" It differs from “a part” in that all guests are served at the same time and according to the same menu. Service begins when all guests have gathered at the table. Often used in boarding houses, holiday homes and other accommodation facilities where production capacity and kitchen capabilities are quite limited. The non-Russian word table d'hôte means that in a restaurant you will be assigned a certain place, and you will sit there. The waiter will bring you what you choose from 3-4 items, or what the chef has made. And don’t blame me here. Most often you will have to pay for wine. It is bought in bottles, and if you haven’t finished it, the waiter will write down your table number on the label and serve you the same bottle next time.

Buffet. Offers a wide selection of snacks and dishes with free access: you can take whatever you want from what is offered and displayed. It can be a rather meager set (jam, bread, butter, 2-3 types of sausage and cheese, one type of juice, tea, coffee), or a truly plentiful table with numerous dishes. It all depends on both the hotel category and the country.

This service method has a number of advantages:

Increases the capacity of the restaurant hall;

Speeds up the service process;

Requires fewer qualified personnel, etc.

Buffet service. The buffet is a wonderful form of self-service. Food stands or lies in plain sight, and every hungry guest has every right to wander from frying pan to frying pan or from dish to dish, filling his plate at his own discretion.

The service staff replenishes the assortment of dishes and snacks, brings additional portions, gives guests advice on choosing food, opens bottles of drinks, prepares tea or coffee, and removes used dishes and cutlery. The range of buffet products depends on the conditions of its preparation and distribution and can be very diverse: soft and hot drinks, bakery and confectionery products, lactic acid products, fruits, all kinds of sandwiches, etc.

Service in hotel rooms. This requires special training of personnel. A waiter working in a room must know not only the rules of table setting, the sequence of serving dishes, and service techniques, but also the rules of behavior in the room.

Hotel guests place orders by telephone directly to the head waiter, as well as to the maids, who maintain constant contact with the head waiter.

The specificity of a hotel restaurant, as opposed to a city one, is that its work is closely linked not only with the restaurant service itself, but also with all departments of the hotel.

The organization of catering services is most often carried out outside the premises of the catering establishment. The most typical examples of such services are the organization of picnics, banquets, receptions, weddings and other events, when professional managers are invited to organize and conduct them. By the nature of the relationship, this type of service corresponds to the traditional comprehensive service in Eastern Europe (cooking, table setting, assistance in holding an event, etc.) outside a catering establishment by a universal cook or a group of nutrition specialists, involving them on the basis of a personal contract , or a contract with a catering company.

Catering can be divided into many different categories depending on the service that is provided to customers. However, it should be noted that many of these categories are somewhat similar. In general, the catering industry can be divided into five main categories: on-premises catering, off-premises catering, custom catering, road catering, and retail.

In 1978, two little-known producers, Tony Hendrick and Karin Hartman, working for the music corporation Hansa International, conceived a project for a disco girl group. After all, it was girl groups that were especially popular in Europe in the late 70s. Among others, Arabesque (Germany), Baccara (Spain), Maywood (Holland), Luv (Germany) especially stood out. The appearance of another group - A LA CARTE, which translated means “A la carte dish”, was not accidental.
and this “dish” consisted of three pretty girls. While Southeast Asia and, above all, Japan were musically conquered by the Arabesque trio, the A La Carte trio conquered the discos of Europe. The style and manner of performance and even the history of development and repeated replacements of participants are practically no different from Arabesque. It is completely unclear why Europe gave preference to them and not to Arabesques...
The first A La Carte single, “When The Boys Come Home,” was released in March 1979. The song is performed by three attractive girls from London Patsy, Julia and Elaine.
The single becomes popular, the group is invited to film in the popular TV show Musikladen. The sale of the single was quite successful and already in October of the same year the second incendiary single “Doctor, Doctor, Help Me Please” was released and the group firmly gained a reputation as one of the best disco girl bands. In 1980, the first change took place in the group and 2 new girls already participated in the recording of the new (third) single. Both names begin with “D” and the third from the original lineup simply takes a pseudonym and as a result, A La Carte is already three “D”: Jenny, Josie and Junid. With this lineup, a new single was released in March 1980 - a cover version of Manfriend Mann's super-hit of the 60s “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, followed by the release of their first album “Do Wah Diddy Diddy Round”. Among the arrangers who worked on the album is the name of Michel Cretu. In September of the same year, another single was released - “Ring Me, Honey” (“Call me, honey”).
In January 1981, after another replacement of two participants, a new single “You Get Me On The Run” (“I’ll get you on this little journey”) appears. 3 more singles are recorded before the album Viva (“Long live!”) is released. This time Michel Cretu already takes part in the creation of 2 songs (“Wanted (Jean Le Voleur)” and “In The Summer Sun Of Greece”) as the author. The last song - “In The Summer Sun Of Greece” is later released as a single and on its cover another replacement of another girl is obvious. No matter how hard the producers tried to hide this fact, the replacement of blue-eyed blonde Linda Daniels with a brown-eyed stranger is obvious. In July 1982, only one new single, Ahé Tamouré, was released and the group’s work was summed up - the first compilation was released - the album “The Wonderful Hits Of A La Carte”. The album includes almost all the famous A La Carte hits, such as “When The Boys Come Home”, “In The Summer Sun Of Greece”, “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, “Ahé Tamouré”, “Viva Torero” and others.
In January 1983, the mysterious single “Radio” was released, containing 2 new songs, which for some unknown reason did not end up on any of the albums. The band's next album, “Rockin' Oldies,” was released almost simultaneously with a new single, “On The Top Old Smokie,” in September 1983. Later, in 1984, one single, “On the Top Old Smokie,” was released. Jimme Gimme Reggae" which is a new version of a previously released song from the first album plus a completely new song - "Lightyears Away From Home" ("Several light years away from home" after the release of this single, the group disappears from the scene almost simultaneously with the Arabesque group). Perhaps this is due to the fact that producers Karin Van Hartman and Tony Hendrick had a new “brainchild”, the growing group BAD BOYS BLUE, which started in 1984 with the single “L.O.V.E. In My Car”. groups dropped noticeably while, on the contrary, the demand for men's bands appeared. In addition to the one mentioned above, sexy disco-girl bands were replaced by such duets and trios as Modern Talking, Joy, London Boys, Silent Circle, Pet Shop Boys...
In 1989, the famous European DJ Mingo Jerry attempted to revive A La Carte. 3 young girls were found who recorded the single “Dancing In The Summertime” and the album “Sun Sun Summertime”, which is a collection of the most popular hits of the mid and late 80s. x in non-stop mode. The attempt was probably unsuccessful, because after the release of this album the group disappeared from the musical Olympus...
Ten years later, in 1999, against the background of a surge of interest in disco music of the early 80s, the return of former popular singers to the stage and the reunion of old forgotten disco groups, the Hansa International concern released a new album A La Carte “The Very Best” in which, following the fashion, contains the group’s forgotten hits in a modern arrangement, once again reminding the world that this music was once very, very popular...

“A la carte” is the French term for a regular menu. Fernand Point, the founder of modern French cuisine, quite clearly and very succinctly described its mission: it is pleasing to the eye, awakens the appetite and makes it clear to the visitor how much he will have to pay for the pleasure received.

According to archaeologists, the first menu-like items were found in Egypt. They were clay tablets covered with hieroglyphs of dishes that were prepared and served at that time.

Later historians came to the conclusion that “a la carte” was present in France under Charles IX, where it was specially performed for a court celebration. Under Louis XIV, the menu was already in the form of note cards made of thick paper. They were used to record the king's wishes and orders regarding dishes for lunch, dishes for pleasure, etc.

But only in the 19th century did the menu “emerge” from the walls of royal palaces and began to appear in cafes. This is where everyone started. The menu was placed on a special table. It was installed in such a way that a visitor entering the room would immediately hold his gaze on it until the moment he went to the cloakroom or restaurant hall. This was very thoughtful and correct. Now this is accepted in almost all decent establishments for which reputation and good reviews from guests are important.

What restaurateurs did not do to make the menu pleasing to the eyes of visitors! Artists were often invited to design it. At that time, this activity was not considered humiliating, rather the opposite. The menu was drawn for regular breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Holiday events would not be complete without it. As a rule, these were small brochures beautifully bound with hand-drawn covers listing the dishes and drinks offered. However, it should be noted that menus designed in this way were offered only to especially honored guests.

At the beginning of the last century, with the advent and development of the printing industry, lists of dishes and drinks became more colorful and accessible to the general public who wanted to visit restaurants and cafes. In some establishments, the menu has turned into ordinary price lists, while in others, historical traditions have been preserved to this day.

No matter what country you are in, an a la carte restaurant is an establishment with a high level of service. Often you need to reserve your seats in advance to visit them. In some cases, additional payment or advance payment is required.

Each dish you want to try must be ordered separately using the menu provided. The waiter will definitely answer all your questions about the preparation and composition of the dishes presented.

If you decide to relax abroad and stay in a hotel with an “a la carte” food system, then be prepared for the fact that this is far from a “buffet” with its variety and queues, as well as all the ensuing consequences. In addition, try to remember key phrases and expressions for the corresponding section of the language, because There may not be Russian-speaking waiters everywhere. Don't forget to leave a tip.

When choosing a tour package, travelers rely on their requirements regarding accommodation, food, entertainment, etc. For many, it is especially important how and what they will be fed during their stay in a particular hotel. The ultimate dream for an ordinary Russian tourist, of course, is “all inclusive”, that is, “all inclusive”. However, there is a category of vacationers who want to eat in a la carte restaurants. What does this mean? You can find out by reading this article.

The meaning of the term "a la carte"

As you may have guessed, this concept is of French origin and means choosing dishes from a menu or card according to your own desire. At the same time, the customer clearly knows how much lunch or dinner will cost him, because the cost of one serving is written down in front of each dish. In a word, “a la carte” is the most ordinary restaurant. Similar establishments exist in almost all cities of the world. However, in the hotel and tourism business, the term “a la carte” refers to one in which the eater can order a meal of three dishes included in the menu: hot with a side dish, salad and dessert. In addition, he can choose a side dish for a meat or fish dish at his own request.

A la carte restaurants

Establishments of this type, which operate in hotels or hotel complexes, are often created in addition to the main restaurants that operate on an all-inclusive basis. So, if a person has bought a tour package in which the food system is noted, then very often, as a bonus, he gets the opportunity to use the services of an a la carte restaurant once or even several times, that is, to order three dishes from the menu that he likes. If the vacationer prefers to eat this way throughout his stay at the hotel, then the services of the a la carte restaurant remain paid for him.

When choosing a tour package, be sure to inform the agent that you are refusing to eat at a buffet restaurant in favor of à la carte dishes. Such catering establishments are mainly thematic, that is, they can serve exclusively fish, vegetable or national cuisine of a particular country, for example, Italian, Mexican, French, Chinese, Japanese, etc. In expensive hotels or hotel complexes where they operate There are several different a la carte restaurants at once; vacationers are given the opportunity to try dishes in each of these themed restaurants.

Advantages and disadvantages of this power system

Many Russian tourists prefer to eat in buffet restaurants. There is a huge selection of different dishes: first, second, desserts, appetizers, salads, etc. You can take a small portion of each dish and thus diversify your meal. The disadvantage of these restaurants is that the dishes are almost always repeated, and only occasionally something original and extraordinary is prepared. Therefore, during a long stay in a hotel, guests simply get bored and want to eat something unusual and delicious. That's when they decide to visit the a la carte restaurant.

The menu in these establishments is not as extensive as at a buffet, but they are all more than original and prepared by the masterful hand of the chef. The great advantage of these restaurants is also a wide selection of drinks of higher quality than in the main establishment operating according to the system. The only drawback is that you have to wait a long time for the ordered dish. However, if visitors are not in a hurry and just want to enjoy a pleasant evening in a good restaurant, then this, of course, cannot be a hindrance for them.

Etiquette

To visit such a restaurant, vacationers choose the most presentable of their outfits, because, in contrast to the democratic buffet, which can be visited in light beachwear, and even in shorts, the chic interior and high-quality service in the a la carte restaurant are conducive to that so that visitors have a desire to match all the solemnity of the atmosphere. Well-trained waiters will serve you with such correctness and attentiveness that this will further enhance the feeling of the holiday.

B-B-Q

Recently, many resort hotels have opened a la carte barbecue restaurants. They are intended for those tourists who love to grill kebabs themselves. By the way, they are usually located in the open air. Visitors are offered a huge assortment of meat preparations (butchered and marinated) for barbecue.

Eaters first choose the product they like, and then go to fry it at their tables. Naturally, this is rather an Asian rather than a European idea, which is often implemented in resort areas of Turkey, and the French would hardly call such an establishment an “a la carte” restaurant. The tour operator, however, is well aware that it is Europeans, in particular the Germans, who are big fans of this culinary fun. Therefore, when compiling tour packages, they include a clause about visiting such a restaurant.

What is A la carte (A la carte) and what food system does this concept apply to? In this article we will reveal the full meaning of the term A la carte.

A la carte translated from French (as you wish, wish). Older people probably remember, at the end of the 80s, a popular musical group from Western Germany, performing “pop” in English with the same name A la carte. But that's a completely different story.

Today we are interested in A la carte - like a food system. In a broad sense, this is service in themed restaurants based on a menu. That is, guests choose the restaurant they want, for example: Mexican, Italian, Japanese, and so on (there are a lot of them), pre-book a table and have dinner or lunch, ordering dishes from the menu. Appetizers and salads are often served without choice, buffet style.

As a rule, the standard of A la carte restaurants is higher than usual. High or premium drinks are available at an additional cost. Such restaurants are more often found in all-inclusive hotels. Often these are 4- and 5-star hotels that have several restaurants - buffet (buffet) and several a La Carte restaurants (à la carte). While staying in such hotels, guests can visit A la carte restaurants in a limited number, for example: once or twice per vacation. But some high-end luxury hotels, such as Rixos, offer their vacationers unlimited meals in A la carte restaurants. There are also paid restaurants A la carte for VIP guests, the menu of which may include black caviar, fine wines, Cuban cigars, expensive desserts from chefs, and so on.

There are also A la carte barbecue(A la carte barbecue). The meal usually takes place outdoors, the waiter still brings drinks to the guests, and the visitors themselves take a direct part in preparing the dishes. Guests independently select fish, seafood or raw meat from a refrigerated display case and take it to the chefs, who prepare the dishes before their eyes. There is also provision for self-cooking on individual, mobile barbecues, located either on tables or nearby (Germans love to fry themselves). Salads, appetizers and sweet dishes are available at the buffet.

And a few more words about the menu. It is worth noting the main types of menus, here are some of them:

A la carte- the most common catering option. Guests place an order from those dishes that are presented in the full menu. For each dish, information about the composition, weight and price of this dish is indicated.

Table D'Hôte— guests choose one dish from each category presented on the menu (Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Main courses, Desserts, etc.) Moreover, the cost of the order is fixed and does not depend in any way on the guest’s choice. Drinks are not included in the price.

Prix Fix— guests are offered a specific set at a set price, usually without the opportunity to choose. For example, the business lunch, which has long been part of our everyday life.

Tasting(tasting menu) - small portions of various dishes, at the chef's choice, usually served with wines that match them. Often in addition to the main lunch.

A la carte (A la carte) at the hotel