9.3.1. Service type
If the decision on cooking and serving food at the accommodation has been made,
next the type of service in the dining area shall be considered. The most common
ones are the counter service when orders are taken and food is served to the client
just across the counter and the table service when waiters take customers’
orders from menus and deliver courses to the table later. In the latter case, the
menu is very important, in terms of both meals content and presentation of the menu
card (see an example in the end of the module in Keys to the questions of section
4.Preparing and serving meals). Alternatively, in bigger establishments self-service
is possible in the style of cafeteria or buffet when the guests select and pick
up the food themselves out of a number of displayed items. The difference between
cafeteria and buffet is that in the former case the food is plated and the price
is calculated for every single dish/product, while in the latter case the uniform
price is set per person for the whole meal, regardless of the selection. Room service
(breakfast/dinner is served in the guest room for some extra-charge) is regarded
a somewhat luxurious option, usually adopted in hotels, but not in simple establishments.
