All our waiting staff and bartenders have a valuable hands-on experience in working at private house parties in London. However, as our staff will most likely visit your property for the first time, there are certain things they will need to be aware of to ensure that the event runs smoothly and everyone is having an enjoyable time. In this post we’ve developed some suggestions on how to get the most out of your waiting staff at a private party.
Allow extra time for preparation
For house parties we generally recommend that waiting staff arrive one hour before your guests. This will give you time to talk to our waiters and bartenders, tell them what you expect from them and and which tasks you want them to perform. At the same time it will give them enough to time to set up, familiarise with the suroundings and ask questions.
Information is key
Show your waiting staff where the glassware, crockery, cutlery, food and drinks are. If you hired anything please show where everything needs to go back to and whether it needs to be cleaned or not. Don’t forget to let staff know where to clear, whether you recycle and where rubbish goes.
Brief on the event timings
Tell waiters and bartenders how you think the event will run.
For a typical Drinks & Canapes reception an example would be:
- Guests will arrive at 7pm and I would like you to collect coats and serve a drink
- Canapes will be served from 7.30pm to 9pm
- At 9pm we will serve the last drink
- At 10pm we expect all guests to leave
For a Private Dinner an example would be:
- We will serve an aperitif and some canapes in the garden
- I would like you to serve this guest first and then go cloakwise or please serve all the ladies first then the men and then me.
- We would like a swift service/relaxed service with 10 minutes in between course
- We will serve this white and this red, then this dessert wine with the puddings. If you need extra bottles they are/we only have 3 bottles if we finish them please come and see me.
Delegate, Relax, Enjoy!