Water, Wine, Coffee and Tea Service

The owner has chosen a Chablis for the fish and a Bordeaux for the beef. Eight guests, one pregnant, one driving the tender later. After dessert they move to the aft deck and ask for coffee — three different orders, and nobody has told you who takes decaf.

Water first

• Water is offered and poured before anything else, as soon as guests sit.
• Ask still or sparkling, note it, and remember it for the rest of the charter.
• Pour from the right, into a glass on the table — never lift the guest's glass.
• Keep glasses topped up without being asked, to roughly two-thirds, never to the brim.

Opening a bottle of wine

1. Present the bottle to the host, label facing them, and state the wine and vintage.
2. Cut the foil below the lip so no wine touches it, and pocket the foil.
3. Wipe the neck and cork top.
4. Draw the cork smoothly and quietly with a waiter's friend — no pop on still wine.
5. Wipe the neck again; place the cork discreetly beside the host.
6. Pour a taste (about 25–30 ml) for the host and wait for approval.
7. Serve the table, then top up the host last.

Sparkling: chill it properly, keep a thumb on the cork from the moment the cage is loosened, hold the cork and turn the bottle, easing it out with a soft sigh — never a bang, never pointed at a guest. Pour in two stages to control the mousse.

Pouring

Coffee and tea

• Serve from the right; cup handle at 3 or 4 o'clock, teaspoon on the saucer.
• Milk, sugar and sweetener reach the table before the coffee does.
• Offer decaf and a milk alternative as standard. Note who takes decaf — serving caffeine to a guest who asked for decaf is not a small mistake.
• Tea: black (offer milk and lemon), green and white (cooler water, shorter brew), herbal tisanes for anyone who wants to sleep.
• Milk is a high-risk food. Steamed milk is not sterilised: never re-steam it, never top up an old jug, and refrigerate what you carry back.
• Digestifs go in the correct glass, poured small, with petits fours.

Onboard Notes

• Never pressure a guest to drink. Give non-drinkers a well-made alternative, poured with the same ceremony.
• Alcohol service is a duty of care. If a guest is intoxicated, or about to drive a tender or jet ski, tell the chief stew or the officer of the watch.
• Hot drinks are a scald hazard on a moving boat: never overfill, use non-slip on the tray, watch the deck ahead of you.
• When guests move, the service moves with them. Do not make them come back for a top-up.
• Beverage depth — decanting, tasting, pairing — is GUEST Unit 05, Advanced Food & Beverage Service. Get the mechanics faultless first.