Sommeliers and Waiters
Serve food and beverages in hotels, restaurants, clubs or dining establishments, and provide advice on the matching of wine and other alcoholic beverages with food menu items.
A Saturday dinner at Alba
You are a waiter at a small, popular restaurant, looking after six tables and sharing the wine service with the sommelier. It is 7pm and the dining room is full. The kitchen is running slightly slow, two tables are waiting for drinks and the sommelier is helping someone across the room.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
We are celebrating, and my partner loves a good red. Nothing too heavy, though. What would you suggest? I do not want to look like I do not know what I am doing.
Ask what they are eating and enjoy, then offer two bottles
He relaxes and picks one. His partner loves it. Asking a few good questions is how you learn what a guest really wants.
Recommend the most expensive red on the list, since it is a celebration
He pays for it, but he did not need a heavy wine and the table notices the bill. He may not come back. A good suggestion fits the guest, not the menu.
Ask the sommelier to deal with it, and move on to your next table quickly
The sommelier helps, and the wine is good, but the guest felt handed on. You could have started the conversation and brought your colleague in for the details.
This one tastes off to me. It is like wet cardboard. Are you going to tell me it is fine, or are you going to take it back?
Say the wine is fine and that is simply how it tastes, then pour it anyway
He is insulted and the table feels it. Wine can be faulty, and a guest who says so should be listened to. Arguing at the table only makes it worse.
Thank him, take the bottle away to taste with the sommelier and offer a replacement bottle
That is a respectful answer, though it takes a little longer and the table waits. Sometimes you can taste it with them there and decide quickly.
Apologise, have the sommelier check it and offer another bottle
The sommelier confirms a fault and a new bottle comes in minutes. The guest feels heard. Good service often means trusting the guest, then checking.
Table 12 is celebrating and has been here three hours. We have a booking for that table in fifteen minutes. They are having a lovely time. How are you going to handle it?
Tell them they have to leave now because the table is already booked
They leave upset and the party mood is gone. A reservation does matter, but the way you say it matters more.
Say nothing and let the next guests wait at the bar for a while
The party stays happy, but the next guests wait and are less pleased. You avoided one awkward chat and handed it to someone else.
Offer a drink at the bar, explain the booking kindly and move them
They laugh and move, and the next guests sit down without fuss. Honest, warm and early works better than hoping the problem disappears.
How it went
The last table is cleared and the candles are blown out. You read people, kept calm and fixed a few problems before anyone noticed. Waiting tables is a performance and a skill, and the best of it is invisible. Does that sound like something you could enjoy?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The guest who said whatever is cheapest
A fictional case set in a small, busy restaurant with a short, well-chosen wine list.
The situation
Ines worked as the sommelier at Alba, a small restaurant with a short wine list. A guest at table 9 said to her, quietly, that he would just have whatever was cheapest. It was clear from the way he spoke that he was celebrating, and was worried about looking foolish in front of his guests. Ines could simply have pointed to the first line on the list and walked away.
What they did
She asked what dishes the table had chosen and what kinds of flavours he liked, then recommended two bottles at different ends of the list, saying both would suit the food. She poured a small taste and let him decide. She did not mention cost in front of his guests, and she thanked him for letting her help.
How it turned out
He chose the second bottle. The table enjoyed it, and he left a note thanking her for making him feel looked after. Ines used the same approach to help new waiters start conversations about wine without sounding pushy.
What would you do?
- How do you think the guest felt when Ines asked about the food first?
- What could go wrong if she had only named the cheapest wine?
- Where do you think the line is between helping and selling?