The restaurant offering Gueridon service has an exclusive list of dishes that are served from the trolley. These dishes are developed to suit the client profile of the restaurant.
The recipes used at the guéridon may vary from one establishment to another, but the basic ingredients of classic recipes are retained to ensure that they are easily identifiable to the guests.
One can think of serving any dish from the guéridon that involves a minimum of handling and preparation time and at the same time, involves some amount of technique to display to the guests and to impress them.
Looking at the techniques and skills involved in the making of dishes, the diners must feel that the price they pay for the dish is worth the money.
The management must train the staff to prepare the chosen dishes and standardize the procedures to ensure consistency in the products and services.
What is the Selection Criteria for Gueridon Dishes
The following should be standardized for each dish offered by the trolley:
- The list of raw ingredients required on the trolley.
- The list of cooked items to be collected from the kitchen.
- List of liqueurs/spirits required.
- Method of preparation on the trolley.
- Cooking time.
- Method of flambeing.
- Plating and presentation.
- Coordination with the other staff.
The person handling the gueridon is generally an experienced person and their success depends on the very good support from the kitchen staff and colleagues.
Gueridon service is a result of the coordinated efforts of service and kitchen staff. When food is prepared over the trolley by a senior waiter, his/her assistant may fetch warm plates at the appropriate time from the plate warmer and place them on the trolley.
If two lamp trolleys are being used, one lamp may be used for keeping the food warm. The trolley waiter, after the completion of cooking, will plate the cooked food on the trolley and his/her assistant will place it to the guest.
Gueridon service creates a lot of expectations and curiosity in the minds of diners. The ingredients required for cooking and flambéing should be kept in glass containers to make them appealing to the eye.
Its presentation itself should make the guest curious about the action at the Gueridon. It should be kept in mind that while working at the gueridon, the food is being handled in the presence of the guests and every guest at the table is watching how their dish is being handled and prepared.
