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Food and beverage service is a major factor in hotel operation. In some large hotels, the income derived from this source actually exceeds income from room rental. The food and beverage income in many hotels is increased by providing service for banquets and conventions. Virtually every modern hotel offers some form of food and beverage service. In some, facilities are available only for a continental breakfast - that is, a light meal of bread or rolls and coffee, while others have a small coffee shop or restaurant on the premises. Because of the large proportion of income contributed by a hotel's bars and restaurants, the food and beverage manager is a key member of the management staff. He has the overall responsibility for planning the food and drink operation and purchasing the hundreds of items that are necessary for the restaurants and bars. Because food can spoil quickly, ordering supplies is a daily routine. In a very large establishment, two people may be assigned to this task: one to order food and the other to order wines and spirits. The purchase and care of some items, such as table linens, or napery,or aprons for the kitchen help, must be closely coordinated with the housekeeping department.
The food and beverage manager's staff may also include a storekeeper,who stores and issues food, beverages, and restaurant and kitchen supplies. The kitchen itself is a separate kingdom within the hotel. The head cook, who is almost always called by the French word chef, is the boss of this area. The chef is responsible for planning the menus (the food that is being served on a particular day), and for supervising the work of the other chefs and cooks.
In very large or elaborate setups, the head cook is called the executive chef,and his responsibilities are largely those of a manager. He plans, purchases and frequently coordinates the operation of several restaurants.
Depending on the size of the establishment, several assistant chefs report to the chef. These include a sauce chef, a salad chef, a vegetable chef, and so on. Under the chefs are the cooks who actually cook the food and then place it on the plate for the waiters to pick up.
Under the cooks' supervision are the kitchen helperswho peel potatoes, cut up vegetables, and bring food from the storeroom to the kitchen. The kitchen staff also includes dishwashers, even in a kitchen equipped with electrical appliances, since pots and pans usually need special attention, and someone must load and unload the machines.
In the restaurant, as well as in the kitchen, there are also different kinds of jobs. The person who seats the guests is called a captainor maitre d' (short for maitre d'hotel), or a hostess,if a woman. In restaurants with a very formal style of service, the captain also takes the guests' orders. The meals are served by waiters or waitresses. In less formal restaurants, the waiters and waitresses take orders and serve the meals. Most restaurants also employ busboys,who pour water, clear and set tables, and perform other similar chores.
In an elaborate restaurant, there is often an employee called the wine steward, or sommelier,who takes orders for wine and sometimes for other alcoholic drinks.
Finally, there are cashiers who receive payment or signed bills from the guests. When the guest puts his restaurant bill on his hotel account, this information must be passed along to the accounting office as quickly as possible. 
In additional to a restaurant, most hotels also have a bar or cocktail lounge where drinks are served. Bartenders work behind the bar which is a long counter. Note that the word 'bar' is used both to denote the room in which the drinks are served and the counter itself. They mix drinks and serve them to the customers at the bar. Additional waiters or waitress are needed to serve customers who are seated at tables. In a very busy bar, one bartender may fill orders only for the waiters and waitresses while others take care, of the guests at the bar.
The bar or cocktail lounge may also offer food service, although it is usually simpler than the food served in the hotel dining room. Fast food, such as sandwiches or hamburgers, is customary.
Providing meals and drinks in the guests' rooms is another service extended by most hotels. Room service is ordered by telephone from a menu that is placed in each room. The menu itself is some cases is the same as the one for the dining room, but more often it is simplified to make for easier preparation and service.
Special employees take the orders and special waiters carry them to the rooms. To cut down on orders for ice and soft drinks, many hotels nowadays have machines on each floor to dispense these items.
Room service in most hotels closes down at the same time the kitchen does, normally ten o'clock and midnight. Some hotels, however, are prepared to provide sandwiches even during the late-night hours. Some luxury hotels have small kitchens or pantries on each floor that are used either for warming food or for preparing breakfasts. More room service orders are for breakfast than for any other meal. In some hotels, the guest can order breakfast before he goes to bed by filling in a slip which he leaves outside his door. The meal is then served at the time the guest has specified.
Even in hotels with more than one restaurant, there is usually just one central kitchen. The special types of food served in the various restaurants are normally prepared by different chefs and cooks rather than in separate kitchens.
Like the housekeeping department, the food and beverage department needs additional space for storage of the many items that must be kept on hand for the restaurants and bars. These items include not only the food and beverage themselves, but items such as table linens, dishes, knives, forks, spoons, plate warmers, trays, ashtrays, aprons and dish towels.
One food and beverage facility that is often not connected with the main hotel kitchen is the snack bar.
The snack bar is a small unit that provides fast-order food and drink service to guests who are using the hotel's swimming pool or some other recreational facility. Snack bars are a prominent feature of resort hotels. Where the recreational facilities are in great demand, the snack bar often has its own staff of cooks, usually of the short-order variety, and waiters and waitresses. Hotels generally employ a large number of workers in proportion to the number of guests. The restaurant business as a whole is one of the most labour-intensive of all industries, and this is true whether the restaurant is in a hotel or not.
Much of the activity in connection with food and beverage service is invisible to the guests, but many of the employees in the department have frequent contact with them. These especially include the dining-room and room service personnel. They must adhere to the same standards of hospitality and courtesy as all other employees who meet and talk with the guests in the hotel.
Answer the questions:
1. How is room service different form providing food in a restaurant?
2. How is it usually arranged?
3. What do luxury hotels provide for their guests?
4. How many kitchens are needed to meet all the requirements of the guests?
5. Why does the food and beverage department need additional space?
6. What is a snack bar?
7. Why are they a prominent feature of resort hotels?
8. Why is the restaurant business labour-intensive?
9. Why do employees in the restaurant business have to be friendly and polite?
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