What the two-day programme covers
1. More than a meal — creating the dining experience
Participants explore what customers remember beyond the food and identify important moments from arrival and seating to dining and farewell. They examine how small details and personal touches create positive impressions.
Practice activity: Complete Design the Perfect Dining Experience, mapping the customer journey and identifying behaviours that can make the visit memorable.
2. Service with style — mastering the customer service flow
Participants practise welcoming and seating customers, taking orders, delivering food, checking tables and clearing at appropriate times. They also explore payment, appreciation and a positive farewell.
Practice activity: Complete the Service Sequence Challenge, arranging service actions in order and demonstrating the flow through a table-side simulation.
3. Know it, recommend it, serve it
Participants develop confidence in explaining menu items, ingredients and preparation. They practise asking simple questions about preferences and suggesting relevant items, beverages, accompaniments and alternatives without hard selling.
Practice activity: Complete Menu Matchmaker, recommending suitable choices for different customer profiles and explaining the reasons naturally.
4. Reading the table — the art of attentive service
Participants learn to observe body language and table behaviour to recognise when customers need assistance or space. They practise choosing the right moment to approach, check back or respond.
Practice activity: Complete Read the Table, identifying cues such as readiness to order, a need for privacy or frustration over waiting, then selecting an appropriate response.
5. One team, one table — service coordination during peak hours
Participants practise coordinating between service crew, kitchen, bar, cashier and host. They learn to communicate order changes, special requests, delays and customer priorities while supporting colleagues.
Practice activity: Take part in the Restaurant Rush Simulation, managing multiple tables, delayed dishes and competing priorities while maintaining the customer experience.
6. When service goes wrong — recovering the dining experience
Participants learn to recognise service failures, take ownership and respond sincerely and professionally. They practise offering appropriate solutions and following up to restore satisfaction.
Practice activity: Complete Save the Table Challenge, handling situations such as wrong orders, delayed food, missing items, incorrect bills and unavailable menu items.
