Eight guests are seated: the owner, his wife, an elderly guest, a child of nine, and four friends. The chef has the first course at the pass. You have a colleague and a clear thirty seconds to decide who gets served first, from which side, and in what order the plates leave the pantry.
Who is served first
House standard always wins, but the conventional order is:
- Guest of honour (or the most senior guest, if identified by the host).
- Ladies before gentlemen, working around the table.
- Children — often served early so they eat while it is hot.
- Elderly or less mobile guests may be served early for the same reason.
- The host / owner is served last.
Then work clockwise around the table so nobody is skipped, and aim for all plates to land at the same moment. On a large table, serve in pairs so the table is complete within seconds.
Sides
| Action | Side | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Serving plated food | From the guest's right (common yacht standard) | The plate arrives without crossing the guest |
| Silver / butler service from a platter | From the guest's left | You need the platter over the plate |
| Clearing plates | From the guest's right | Same hand, same movement, plate away from the guest |
| Pouring drinks | From the guest's right | Glasses live on the right |
| Bread, side plates and salads | From the left | They sit on the left of the cover |
Standards differ between yachts and schools — some serve everything from the left. Learn the house standard and be consistent within a service. Inconsistency looks worse than either convention.
Working around obstacles
- Never reach across a guest. If the side is blocked by a bulkhead, a wall or another guest, go to the other side rather than reach.
- Do not touch a guest. A quiet "excuse me" and a small step back is enough.
- Approach from behind and slightly to the side, never leaning over a shoulder into the conversation.
Announcing the plate
- Place it with the plate's presentation orientation as the chef intended (ask which way is up — many chefs plate to a specific angle).
- A short, quiet announcement is standard: the dish name, one line, no monologue. "Seared scallop with cauliflower and hazelnut."
- Then move away. Do not stand and wait for a reaction.
Clearing
- Clear when all guests have finished, unless house standard says otherwise.
- Approach from the right, take the plate with the cutlery on it, and take it away — never stack in front of the guest.
- Do not scrape, do not clatter, do not carry a leaning tower through the saloon.
Onboard Notes
- Count the covers before you leave the pantry. Walking back for a forgotten plate leaves one guest sitting with nothing.
- If a plate is wrong — wrong dish, wrong guest, missing element — do not deliver it and fix it later. Go back to the galley.
- On a moving boat, carry fewer plates and take more trips. A dropped main is worse than a slow one.
- Watch the child at the table: children eat faster and often finish long before adults. Ask the parent before clearing early.