I read the Berea Magazine that Boone Tavern had a renovation work long time ago, as I want to start to put all my college memories into words, I start to refresh my mind and search over Internet to see the new Boone Tavern, I got this from YouTube about the kitchen of Boone Tavern:
the size of kitchen didn't change, but with a lot of new equipment, I can remember the same location of the walk-in refrigerator and cooler. The hot station and the cold station had changed the location though.
Though we worked in the restaurant, we had a very close relationship with the kitchen staff and the chefs.
My early task in Boone Tavern was serving spoon bread. This bread is very famous in the area, many people came over because of the bread !!!
Comparing with the tasks of the waiter/waitress, it was a very easy job, I just needed to make sure to serve all the guests the famous spoon bread- we served this only for dinner, not for lunch time, some people were disappointed about that.
I still remember that I could finish the bread very quick and I usually immediately went back to kitchen to get another hot one from the oven. I worked very hard.
Usually, they were gone very quick, as many people liked to eat it. After that, I would help my buddies to clear the table, served coffee or set the tables etc.
As time passed, I started to learn to serve table.
It took times, I needed to take orders from the guests, who usually liked to ask a lot of questions from the menu ( at that time, we had different menu for every meal, therefore at the beginning, I really had difficulties to explain, but later on, it went well)....I also need to remember their starters, main course, drinks, desserts...
After taking orders, it was our busy time. Since all the guests came at the same time, each waiter/waitress might need to take care 8-12 guests at one time (it depended whether it was week day or weekend).
We needed to go back to kitchen to prepare the cold drinks/soups, and key in the register their orders, so that the chefs started to prepare the dish.
Learning the location of the table was also a new thing to me, they didn't directly label the table with number ( I think traditional high class hotel either).
We divided the restaurant into two areas - south and north, then the right hand side and the left hand side of each room. This was the location, then we gave the number - the first number would indicate the sequence of the table, the second number indicate the size of the table ( serving number of people). The label of the table was not put on the table, but we needed to key in the register correctly, otherwise, the food would be sent to the wrong table.
I remember I usually served the golden tables(4-5 tables near the window). When the guests waited to be seated, These tables were assigned to be filled first - LS14,LR12 ,LS26, LS24 etc etc.
We should not wait in the area to check the progress, but once in a while, went to the area to clear their dishes, and then sent their main course ( or dessert at the end) to their table. It was a matter of time management skills, we should keep distance of the customers, but served as they needed, especially the coffee ( regular or decaf). People would not rush for the dinner as the price was quite expensive, guests were requested to dress up to eat in the restaurant.
Thanks for the guidance of my seniors, even though I had hard time at the beginning, to learn every new thing in the restaurant/kitchen, I could overcome and became head waitress in few months later. For most of my shifts, I was usually assigned as the number one waitress, to serve the window table customers. I worked for all the thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Easter, Mother's Day, Graduation meals, I also learned a lot and experienced a lot of the American Eating cultures - e.g. doggier bag - I think it is a good habit, not to waste the food!
After one semester, in four months' time, my first February in Berea, I obtained an award as Freshman of the Month in the Hotel. It was a high honour, and my name was put on an golden plate which placed on the wall near the entrance of the Restaurant.
Actually, I think I learned a lot of hotel management skills there too, and I also applied some techniques to help me to serve the guests better, some of them were also picked up by my buddies.
I always took the order according to the seating sequence, this went well, and I would never mixed up who ordered what, their food were 100% correct, people said that I had a good memory, actually, I just put them on the ticket :)
The restaurant manager (Mr. Steward ) was a nice man, he sometimes talked with the guests in the dining room, and checked with the expectation.
At that time, the restaurant supervisors were Margaret, Delois and James. They also worked on shifts, among them, Delois was the coolest one, she always worked for lunch. Overall, they were nice. They taught us how to serve customers - e.g. put the dish from the left hand side; for drink, right hand side, we should walk around the table and serve beside the customer.
I usually got good compliments from guest and they told me that they had a wonderful eating time served by me. Several guests also sent me postcards/ letters, I was so happy and appreciate all the encouragement.
At the end of my freshman year, I spent my first(also the only one) summer vacation in Berea, and I worked in the restaurant for 8 weeks.
It was about end of June, one morning, I work for breakfast shift, and I got the chance to serve an old lady who was an alumni and came back for the summer reunion. I was a little bit surprised that two weeks later, she sent me a nice thank you card with a check of USD 50 to appreciate my service and wished me good luck in Berea. I was really moved by her generosity.
Side story : she wrote my name correctly, and she sent the card to the only female dorm (during summer break, the college only opened one dorm for the international students). The post office re-direct the mail to my mail box !! In return, I sent her a thank you letter. I just wondered whether she is still alive today, she told me she was a musician.
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