BANQUET

WORKSHOP
WHEEL OF BANQUETS

Banquet department as we know is the

major revenue producing department in a hotel.
60% of the Food & Beverage revenue comes from
Banquet Operations. Banquet Operations need to
be very systematic, so as to reduce the
complaint level & hence increase guest
satisfaction.
Every staff in Banquets has to have a sense of
guest orientation. Each & every staff should
know the importance of pre-empting or
anticipating guest needs & giving them the
service before they even ask for it.
For a Banquet function to be a success, every
department of a hotel has to give its support to
the operations. The support can be in the form

of flower arrangements, fused bulbs, food etc.

Banquet department just assembles all these
functions & presents it to the guests in a
dignified manner. Let us list all departments
which provide support functions to banquets &
how do they provide?
 Food & Beverage Production

 As per the function prospectus received

from the Banquet Office, the Kitchen
prepares the food, keeping in mind the special
instructions from the office & the guest.

 The function prospectus has all the

information regarding the function. Sample
enclosed for reference.
Kitchen stewarding

 This department is a part of the Kitchen, but

comes directly under the control of the Food &
Beverage Manager.

 The Kitchen Stewarding Manager receives a

copy of the function prospectus & starts planning
the functions. This department is responsible for
giving all equipment like chauffing dishes, special
crockery, special cutlery or glassware etc &
anything not in the inventory of the Banquets.
 In larger hotels, the Stewarding department
is supposed to even put in the chairs & tables
for the service staff.

 They are also responsible for the washing &

wiping of the hollow ware & flatware.
 They are responsible for keeping the areas
clean & filling up the fuel for the chauffing
dishes.

 The month end reports are done by the

Stewarding department for service. For
example – breakage, inventories etc are
calculated by the Stewarding & submitted to
the Food & Beverage Manager.
Housekeeping

 Besides the normal routine of giving the staff

clean & pressed uniforms, the linen room gets a
linen requisition for the next days function. This
has to be signed by the Banquet Manager & the
time for pick up specified. The time is usually the
same time as the rest of the outlets pick up linen.
After the function is over the linen is counted &
again given for wash. This process continues.
 All departments get a function sheet
everyday at about 1800 hrs. The function
sheet gives the basic details about the
function for example timing, the name of
the hall, the nature of the function, the
name of the function as in the function
board & the number of guests attending the
function.
This gives a guideline for the Housekeeping to
send staff for cleaning the hall depending on
the time the function gets over & the time
when the next function starts. This also helps
Housekeeping for keeping staff ready for
cleaning the toilets during the functions.
 Housekeeping is also responsible for flower
arrangements in the hall. The Banquet Manager
sends a requisition to the Housekeeper
specifying the type of arrangement required for
the function & the time required. Accordingly,
the Housekeeper gets the flowers organized.

 Housekeeper also organizes for special linen

& special uniforms for special events after she
receives a requisition from the Banquet
Manager.
 In case new linen is required or to be
budgeted for, the Housekeeper along with the
Food & Beverage Manager plans the colour
scheme for napkins, uniforms, linens etc. this
might be depending on the halls.

 This department is also responsible for pest

control in the hotel, the timing & the date is
coordinated with the HOD & done.
Engineering

 By looking at the sheet they know, where

the function is & which hall needs to be
checked for fused bulbs, lose electrical
sockets, additional power supply or extension
boxes etc. these are all provided by the
Maintenance department.

 The air conditioning requisition is sent by

the Banquet Manager specifying the duration
it has to be switched on & is accordingly done.
 Audio/visual requirements are sent to the
Maintenance from the Banquet Manager in a
printed form, which will specify the nature of
equipment required & the time required.

 In case anything special is required like

electrician, recording facility, disco lights etc
is all coordinated by this department on the
request of the Banquet Manager.

 Maintenance is responsible for the upkeep

of all equipment. The Engineer & Banquet
Manager for all the equipment in use work out
preventive maintenance schedule.
Front office

 It is important for all Front Office staff

to know what are the functions in the hotel,
so that they can guide the guests to the
respective halls.

 Incase of important telephone calls for

the guests the operator knows which hall is
the guests attending the function & can put
the call through.
Accounts & Food & Beverage Controls

 After the function is over, the bills have to

be sent to Accounts for collection &
settlement. This is after the guests sign the
bills. In case the guests are not in the credit
list the letter from the person who has
authorised the credit is attached & sent to
Accounts for collection.
 Controls play a very important part. The
function prospectus is sent along with the bills
to Accounts & the Kitchen FP also reaches
Controls, then the Controller starts to match
the bill & the FP just to tally if everything has
been charged or no. The Controls & Accounts
play a back role to support Banquets or any
other Food & Beverage outlet.
Security

 Security Manager should know about

Banquet functions so that he can organise car
parking facilities or valet parking in case of
full Banqueting.

 He can pre-empt in case of a problem &

post security guards accordingly in
consultation with the Banquet Manager.
General Manager’s Office & Sales Managers
Office

The General Manager/Sales Manager

should know what functions are on for the
next day as he gets direct calls from clients
asking for bookings. All these calls cannot be
put to the Banquet Manager, but a few
important clients have to be handled directly
by the General Manager/Sales Manager.
 Plus the General Managers copy of the
function sheet has rates for each function.
This will let the General Manager decide
whether the rate for a particular function
needs to be re-looked into as the company is a
future prospective client & may give more
business.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONFERENCES &
THEIR SETUPS

ROAD SHOW/EXHIBITION

This is basically a display of a particular product.

This maybe from the same company – different
types, for example range of Akai TV’s or maybe
different company TV’s displaying their range of
products. The set up for all road shows or
exhibitions will differ from product to product.
In this sort of an event a hall hire is charged
to the concerned as guests keep coming &
going. Their will be an add in the newspaper
regarding the timing of the road show & guests
will choose a convenient time to visit. The hotel
might organise a coffee tea service for all the
guests who come in.
For example –

1. An exhibition of sarees will require a

platform or a stage in each stall to display the
entire saree with lot of spotlights so that the
colour is not hidden. They will also require
tables behind to store the sarees. One man per
counter from the company as a salesman
displaying.
2. A computer road show will require stalls as
in cubicals with spotlights highlighting the
product & a display table with focus light to
display the catalogues of the product. They
would also require lot of extension cords to
operate the computers & printers & a three
phase power supply available at all times.
In these sort of road shows no one speaks, but
each stall has a salesman who takes care of
getting the addresses of the guests who are
interested to buy the stuff. These guests are
approached at a later date by the company for
sales.
PRODUCT LAUNCH

This type of a function mainly is for

company who has just launched a new product in
the market. This will mainly consist of a
presentation regarding the product to the
dealers. May it be a medical product,
toothpaste or a computer or a new toffee.
The presentation will be done by a single
person who knows the product well & is
confident of handling the questions which may
come up by the dealers.

The seating will necessarily be a theatre style

with a visual aid. After explaining the product,
the product is displayed for the guests to see.
Spotlights will highlight the product. The
dealers can go see the product & take samples &
ask the company representatives questions
regarding the product. A cocktail & dinner will
follow this.
This is a very prestigious function for any
company. No compromises are generally made
on the quality of the hotel & the food. Usually
the best is chosen, as this is a time for the
company to create an image about itself.
Bigger the product, the bigger the type of
function & the greater the product awareness
in the market.
SEMINAR
These are basically lectures given
regarding a subject. After the researchers do
research on a particular subject, they present
the results & what they have found during the
research to the other people in the same field.
For example, a seminar on ‘Cancer’ will
necessarily have doctors, journalist &
druggists attending it. Doctors & druggists
for sharing the knowledge & the journalist for
bringing it to the rest of the world.
This also involves a lot of visual aids & the
seating will be either theatre style or classroom
style. In this sort of a conference, there will
be a panel of guests who will be pioneers in the
subject & will sit on a stage waiting to present
their papers regarding the subject. Each one
of them will present what their views are on the
same subject & then answer to the questions
asked by the audience.
PRESS MEET

This is done if a company is making its

shares public or a new company is being
launched, so that the press can be called & the
vital statistics of the company can be
discussed so that the company is projected
through newspapers to the public.
This is a very good way of advertising. To call the
press & let the press spread the word around
through newspapers to the other residents of
the country. This is a theatre style of seating,
but very small gathering. This might involve a
visual presentation to the press & followed by
question answer session by the press directed to
the board of directors of the company.
POLITICAL PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION
MEET
This happens when a parliamentary
delegation meets the top officials of a
Government concern or of a company. For
example – Parliamentary Delegation of Railways
will necessarily have the Railway Minister of
state & the other Cabinet Ministers & the
members working for the railway. They usually
meet for a tea meeting or a luncheon meeting.
The seating is usually two I shapes facing each
other. One I shape for the ministers & the
other one for the railways. Each member of the
ministry will have a mike & the proceedings will
be recorded. It is a very high profile function
with name cards for each member present in
the I shape. The hotel coordinates with
organisers regarding the names & the itinerary
of the entire function.
 LIST OF ALL POSSIBLE GOOF UPS IN
BANQUET FUNCTIONS

CONFERENCE/THEME DINNERS/ COCKTAIL PARTIES

Banquet office

The Banquet Office takes down the

wrong dates at the time of blocking the
function. The kitchen is prepared with the
food, but since the dates are wrong the next
doesn’t turn up.
This surely a negligence on the part of the
Banquet Office. These mistakes can create a
revenue loss for the hotel, an increased food
cost & an embarrassment for the guest & the
hotel & of course the disorganized way of
running Banquet Office Operations.
 If the Banquet Office for some reasons
haven’t confirmed the function through a
confirmation letter & they haven’t received any
return confirmation letter from the guest
confirming the function.
Suppose if the number of persons attending
the function according to the office are 50, but
only 25 turn up, the guest can always say that
he never asked for a minimum guarantee of 50
as there is no letter confirming the same.
 If for some reasons known to the hotel
staff only, the Banquet Office shifts the
function into another hall & doesn’t keep the
guests informed. Even though the hotel does
everything to communicate the change in
venue to all the guests on arrival, but it is
very important for the hotel to keep the
guest informed about the change in venue. If
not done, will lead to embarrassment to the
host in front of his guests.
 If the Banquet Office does not fill in
the function prospectus in detail & misses out
a few important points, the function can go
on the course of a failure. The function
prospectus is a very important document for
the Banquet Office to prepare & for the
operation to adhere to.
 If the company is offered credit by
the Banquet Office without cross checking
the credit list & its name doesn’t feature in
the credit list of the hotel. This can cause a
very odd situation to arise for the guest at
the time of bill settlement. In such cases,
the person who has authorised the credit has
to give a letter to the Credit Manager, thus
offering the credit facility.
 The Office has to guide the guests to
perfection. They cannot afford to supply
wrong information to the guests in the terms
of size of the hall, seating capacity, the
quality of food. They should also be able to
plan menus & educate the guests in case they
have a problem in choosing the menu.
 Due to the slow follow up of the
Banquet Office, a particular function gets
confirmed very late. Due to shortage of time,
the kitchen & the operations might not be in a
position to give whatever has been promised
to the guests.
 Due to the slackness of the Office,
the Office forgets to pass on the function
prospectus to the kitchen. Though it is in the
function list, the FP is ready in the Office,
but not sent in time for the Chef to prepare
food.
Banquet Operation

The Manager forgets to take a menu

briefing in the morning for the next days
functions & the Banquet Office has missed
out a few points in the function prospectus
to be cleared with the guests which can lead
to disaster in the function.
 The staff comes in late as the result
when the guests walk in the hall is not ready
as per the specifications of the guests. The
frilling of the tables is just being done &
there is no proper supervisor manning the hall.
The guest always want a supervisor in the hall
to handle the function. The banners are not
pressed & are not put up as specified, the
water is still not poured etc.
 The hall is locked. This can be very
irritating for the guests as this shows that
the hotel is no where prepared for the
function.

The board in the lobby does not have

the name of the function. The operations
have forgotten to put up the name.
 The name of the company is spelt wrongly
in the board which can be very irritating & can
put off the guest.

The audio/visual aids are not checked

properly by the Manager/Supervisor & when
the guest comes in they don’t work as the
quality is bad or the extension cord is missing
or the equipment is not what the guest had
asked for. This leads to a delay in starting the
conference.
 The Supervisor does not meet the guest
on arrival due to some reasons. Therefore he
does not check the itinerary of the function,
the tea time, lunch time etc. Suddenly the
conference breaks off asking for tea & there
is an obvious delay as the service staff & the
kitchen staff is not ready for the service. This
again goes on to irritate the guest.
 Chef changes the menu on his own
without consulting with the Manager or the
Banquet Office.

The food is not ready in time & the

quality of food is not good. The Chef needs
to check the quality of food personally while
the food is being picked up. Every dish needs
to be tasted for quality & presented well.
THEME DINNERS

Beside the above factors, in case the

theme offered during the time of booking for
which the guest pays an extra amount is not as
specified during the time of booking. The
Banquet operation should know what has been
promised to the guest & the office should have
a fair idea about the theme.
In large hotels, it has been noticed that the
Banquet Manager usually handles theme
dinner bookings.

 Another possible goof which could happen

is that the entertainers have been told a
different time & the function started.
 LIST OF ALL POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
THAT WOULD OCCUR IN AN
INTERDEPARTMENTAL AFFAIR

BEFORE THE FUNCTION STARTS

KITCHEN

A few ingredients are not available & the

dish needs to be changed.

The chef hasn’t received the FP.

HOUSEKEEPING

The flowers don’t come in time.

The hall is not cleaned & the toilets are

not opened in time.

MAINTENANCE

The audio visuals are not working

properly.

The hall is leaking very badly due to the

excessive rains in the city.
The air conditioning plant has blown off.

The extension cords are not in proper order

or are not enough in number.

The power supply is not coming in the hall.

The dimmers are not working.

FRONT OFFICE

Front office has not been informed about

the change of venue for the conference. All the
guests are diverted into another hall where
another conference is scheduled to start.

The guest tells Front Office the change in

the signboard matter which is not communicated
to the Banquet Captain.
 The guest asks the bellboy to take the
stationery up to the hall & he takes it to some
other hall.

The guest has handed over the banner

to Front Office who has not handed it over to
the Banquets.
DURING THE FUNCTION
KITCHEN

The food is not ready in time. The change in

time has not been communicated to the Chef by
the Banquet staff.

The food runs short & a particular dish has

to be replaced with another.

Delay in picking up the food from the

counter.

The guest asked for an egg less cake, but

Chef has forgotten to pass on this information to
HOUSEKEEPING

The napkins for the function are not ready

in time.

There is a guest who has vomited in the

toilet. The Housekeeping hasn’t send anyone to
clean the same after getting repeated
reminders.

The toilets are not cleaned after every

session of service.
MAINTENANCE

The temperature is too cold in the hall &

there is no regulator to control the
temperature.

The power supply suddenly goes off.

The electrician responsible for recording is

suddenly missing.

The mikes make a cooing sound.

Renovation sounds coming from outside the

hall, thus disturbing the function.
AFTER THE FUNCTION

KITCHEN

Banquet Office has sent an amendment

form for the reduction of the number of
persons for the function. The Chef hasn’t
received it. Hence the food has been prepared
for the original amount. Thus leading to
wastage & increase in food cost.
 After the function, the guest comments
that the food was not up to the mark. The
food fell short, one dish was changed.

The food is not cleared in time & the

waiters are eating food from the buffet.
HOUSEKEEPING

The napkins are just thrown without

making bundles of 10.

The tablecloth has been bundled with all

the food particles & has been stained very
badly.

The tablecloth is burnt due to the solid

fuel falling on it.

The frills are sent for wash as they were

dirty but with pins in it.
MAINTENANCE

The Banquet staff forgets to inform the

Maintenance that the function is over & the
air conditioning has to be switched off. Or it is
informed, but the Maintenance staff don’t
switch off.

The mikes & the visual aids are not

cleared in time.

Maintenance staff eating the food

remains after the function is over from the
buffet. The Manager catches them & raises a
bill.
SECURITY

One of the guests is high on liquor and is

misbehaving in the lobby. He is taken into the
custody of the Security Officer.

There is a theft in the hall & the guest,

bring it to the notice of the Duty Manager
before leaving.

Staff is consuming liquor after the

function. The liquor has been given by the
guest, but the staff are not supposed to
consume it in the hotel premises.
PLANNING FOR A 250 COVER OUTDOOR
DINNER

Planning for the function starts 4-5 days

in advance. The outdoor site needs to be
visited by the Manager & the Captain who will
be handling the function.

In the site the Manager & the Captain

discuss with the guests where the food
counters are going to be put & how many
numbers.
 The complete itinerary of the function is
written down after consulting with the guest.
The menu is discussed again in detail & any
changes are incorporated & informed to Chef
through an amendment form.

The guest is asked important questions like

– the entrance & exit gate so that the kitchen
etc can be planned out, the water points for the
kitchen to be setup & the wash up to be set up.
 The seating is discussed with the guest,
the position of the bar counter (if cocktails are
there) is discussed. The complete plan is
finalised.

Now the Hotel planning starts. The

Manager & the Captain decide exactly on a
paper where the bar, buffet counters are to be
placed. Where the kitchen is to be placed,
where is the stewarding area (preferably near
the water inlet) so that washing is not a
problem.
 Ideally the Captain who accompanies for
the seeing the site takes care of the function
with his team of stewards.

The mise-en-place has to reach the

outdoor site a day in advance.
 All orderings are done where necessary. If
lights are required, if tables are required,
chairs, canopies for the buffet counter & the
bar counter, music organised etc.

All contractors are given the outdoor

address & are told to report directly at the
site at a particular time.
Checklist for the work to be done on the
previous day

Crockery list to be kept ready. Washed,

wiped & stacked in plastic tub & ready to be
picked up.

Cutlery to be wiped & stacked in tubs.

Glassware to be wiped & stacked in glass

rack with the list accompanying it so that there
is no confusion at the time of pickup.
 The required tables & chairs if not
ordered from the contractor to be kept ready
& stacked in the van for transportation.

The FP is checked & stewarding is

informed to get the ranges, cylinders for the
kitchen ready in consultation with the Chef.
 The flowers are ordered through
Housekeeping for the next day pickup.

The linen is picked up. That is dinner

napkins, cocktail napkins, tablecloth & frills.
A list is made for the other equipment
which are important: -

Saunf & supari tray with tooth pick stand.

Salvers & salver mats
Water jugs
Chef cards & stands
Lime cordial/sugar syrup & lime slice in the
list but to be picked up the next day & bar
mise-en-place.
Snack platters
Cocktail sticks for snack service
Paper napkins
Buffet laddles & under liners
Vegetarian & non-vegetarian boards
Katories if required
Pickle tray
Cruet set
Salad elevations
Board pins for frilling
Wine opener & bottle opener
Tin opener
Salt pepper for the cocktails
Canned juices
Banquet challan copy with carbon.
 All the above mise-en-place is kept
ready, the items which cannot be picked up
this day can be picked up the next day. This
means that the outdoor checklist needs to
be kept handy till the outdoor is not over.

The items are loaded & the van leaves

for the setup along with the Captain & the
staff designated by the Manager to handle
the function.
 On reaching the site, the Captain meets
the guest & starts to set up the physicals or
whatever work can be done on that day.

Comes back to the hotel to brief the

Manager. In an outdoor the planning is very
important part. Every staff should be clear
what his job is & the goal of the entire team
has to be the same.
On the day of the outdoor

The checklist is again checked & the

items which were missed out are picked up &
the staff leave for the site.

The setup starts in the site. Every action

which is done should have a deadline for the
Captain set by himself. He should allocate
four boys for the buffet set up.
Two boys for the bar set up, two boys for the
chairs, snack counter & the back area set up.
This covers the entire set up. The Manager
comes once during the day to check on the site
& the progress in the work. He comes to meet
the guest so that the guests gets a sense of
satisfaction to know that the Manager himself
is taking care of the function & nothing can go
wrong.
 The Captain calls & tells the Chef, the
timing for the food pick up. The Chef
prepares the food & organises with the help
of the stewarding & the Manager to bring it
down to the outdoor pickup area.

The service staff waits for the food to

arrive & as soon as it does arrive, help the
production staff to set up the kitchen.
 The stewarding sets up the washing
area & then a briefing is taken by the
Manager & the Captain to tell everyone the
flow of service.

After the briefing the guest is met by

the Manager & the Chef just to tell them
that the hotel is ready for service.
 During the briefing, the Manager allocates
the staff on bar counter, bar service, buffet
pick up etc. every staff is clear on what jobs
are to be performed by him & act accordingly.

The guests start coming in & the service

starts. The liquor flows, the snack start.
Special attention is given to the host & his
important guests. The Manager marks all of
them with a waiter to see that they are happy.
 When the party is in full swing, the
Manager checks with the host regarding the
timing of the dinner & accordingly, Chef is
kept informed.

Chef starts the buffet pick up along with

the banquet staff, once the buffet is ready, it
is informed to the host. The communication
with the host is very important. From time to
time, the Manager must keep talking to the
host to see if anything is required & in case
the party is going in the wrong direction.
 Once the buffet is ready, the Manager
checks the buffet & the service starts. The
Manager/Captain allocates boys for clearance
& water & replenishment. Once everything is
over the bar extras are charged to the bill &
the challan is raised which the host signs &
writes his feedback regarding the quality of
Food & Beverage.

All the guests leave, the host signs the

bills & also leaves.
 Now the Captain & the Manager takes a
deep briefing to tell the staff about the
guest comments & to discuss how the
operations can be improved. The staff is
allocated duties again for clearance & the
clearance procedure starts.

Three boys are put on bar clearance,

three on food & the rest help Chef to get the
food loaded in the van with their equipment.
Chef leaves with the left over food & the van
is returned back for the rest of the
clearance.
 All the rest of the service equipment are
loaded in the van & the Captain goes in for the
final check of the place to see if anything has
been left out. The stewarding finishes off the
washing & the crockery, cutlery is stacked
back in tubs. The contractors clear off their
stuff in the night itself.

 On return from the site, the Captain

makes the challan into the bill & submits to
the night auditor. Writes the feedback in the
register for the Food & Beverage Manager to
see in the morning.
 POSSIBLE DIFFERENT COMPLAINTS
WHICH CAN ARISE FROM FOOD
PRODUCTION & SERVICE

SERVICE

The staff is not very helpful or cordial.

They do not have a helping attitude. They are
not guest oriented.

The body language of the staff is

negative. They are not open to suggestions or
ideas.
The staff doesn’t maintain a sense of hygiene
while serving. They have black nails, body odour,
ill fitted & unpressed uniforms, wear too much
of jewellery, wear too strong perfumes etc.

The sense of understanding the guest is

lacking. They do not anticipate guest needs,
everything has to be asked for.
 No care for the guest.

Don’t listen attentively, but just react &

do the wrong thing.

Listen & don’t react at all. Or take too

much of time to react.

Never in the hall when required to help

out the guest either in re arranging or
organising a requirement.
 Delay in replenishment of food & in
tea/coffee service, water etc & the food
served was not hot.

Delay in doing any kind of errands for

the guest, which suggests that the
commitment towards the guest is lacking.

Changing the venue of the function

without informing the guest.
 Communication gap between the office &
the operations for transporting the details of
the function. All details not written properly &
lots missed out.

Bad equipment & bad food quality not

liked by guests. Stained tablecloth, torn
napkins, wobbly tables, stained chairs, poor hall
décor & maintenance etc.

Too much of noise from outside the hall.

The staff laughing & joking with each other &
their voices carrying inside the hall can cause a
lot of disturbance to the conference.
PRODUCTION

The Chef has not tasted or was not there

when the pickup of the food was done for the
function & hence the quality of food s not up
to the mark.

The chef has changed a particular dish at

his own discretion without consulting with
either the banquet office or the manager if it
can be changed. Hence leading to another dish
being served which was not asked for.
 If proper instructions are not followed in
the FP for example – the food to be less spicy
or oily or food should be without onion & garlic
etc.

Hair in the food, or a glass piece in the

food etc.
 The food fell short & the dish had to be
replaced with another one. This can only
happen if the chef hasn’t planned properly for
the number of pax expected.

The food is not hot enough. This

complaint goes to the chef too as he is
responsible for the temperature in which it is
served to the guest. He has to check once in a
while if the fuel is burning & if the food is at
right temperature.