By: Alexander Isaiah T. Samonte (Grade Nine)
On August 12, 2016, the Grade Nine and Grade 10 students held a joint culminating activity as a quarterly examination for the TLE subject. The Grade 10 students cooked the food, while the Grade 9 students served it in the most beautiful way possible. This joint activity helped us experience what it is like to work in a fine-dining restaurant. It widened our views of our ambitions.
Being a waiter is a big job. One is responsible for giving the customers a pleasurable time while eating. One must be open to whatever the customers want. Some may say it is really simple, but food service is more complicated than one thinks. Even before we opened up our little “restaurant”, we were already busy with the arrangement and decor of the tables and the room. These are important because this is the first sign that a restaurant serves good food. The theme of our restaurant was American, so we chose blue and white cloth for the tables and for the walls, we chose red, blue and white décor. It was like eating inside the American flag! I believe we did a good job with the design. We borrowed our plates and other things from other companies.
After setting up the place, we opened up. Ushers and usherettes greeted the customers as they come in. There were bright smiles on each of our faces. The customers listened to the voices of our singers. In the beginning, it was just a piece of cake. We gave out food and drinks. We kept repeating to ourselves, “right is beverage, left is food”. Everything was going smoothly until the customers’ requests started to multiply. Suddenly, it was as if every waiter in the room was going in all directions. We kept signalling each other.
After a while, our legs stopped shaking and we just settled comfortably into our roles. After the meals, we started to take out the used plates. It marked the end of the first batch of customers. Serving the second batch was a little harder than the first. We started to run out of a few dishes. Cleaning the dishes started to become tiring. Fortunately, serving the second batch of customers was also a success, but not like the success of the first batch due to shortages of drinks, clean plates and food.
This activity was really fun because it was like entering a new world. Now we already know what being a waiter is like. We experienced their hardships. I liked how it helped us be more social. Moral lesson? Be nice to all the waiters in the world. It takes them loads of courage just to provide you, the customer, with satisfaction. The only thing I hated about this activity is that I never got the chance to taste any of the delicious foods on the menu! I guess being a waiter involves great self-control. You may serve delicious food, but you can’t touch any of it!