Mise-en-place
Rules and exceptions
In prior issues I have tackled the wedding banquet topic and have already gone into the details of some aspects: the time has now come to establish some rules for a perfect mise-en-place.
The mise-en-place is different depending on the occasion but in our case, the one referring to the table of a wedding banquet, we can take into account two fundamental aspects: seated lunch and semi-seated lunch.
In the first case, the mise-en-place must be done “by the book” and must provide that the person who occupies the place at the table will never need to get up. Therefore, it must be a place set up with everything you will need, it being understood that the service will provide for replacements during the banquet.
In the case of a semi-seated lunch, however, the mise-en-place may not include a complete set-up.
The elements that make up a mise-en-place are usually: placemats, plates, glasses, cutlery, napkins. Each element has a specific position on the table according to the rules of bon ton.
Placemats and plates: besides being central to the seat, they are positioned 3 cm from the edge of the table. They are mainly three: underplate, second course dish and first course dish. The placemat, according to etiquette, should be silver, white or crystal (there are, however, many exceptions).
Also, according to etiquette, cutlery should be placed on the right and left of the plates: knives on the right and forks on the left. The knives should be positioned with the blade facing the plate and the spoon next to them if ever needed. The forks should be positioned with the tips pointing upwards and in ascending order from left to right. The one for the appetizer will therefore be more to the left of all. Smaller but no less important are the dessert fork and spoon, which must be placed in the upper part of the plate. The fork with the tips to the right and the spoon with the tip to the left.
Cutlery: observing the many variations of forks, spoons and knives, it could be thought that, to prepare a perfect mise-en-place, a practically infinite assortment of accessories would be necessary. There are over 15 different types of forks, and the same could be said for glasses and dishes. In reality, a balance between functionality, elegance and imagination should be sought. Often a good quality steel fork, bright and polished, is better than a set of weathered and unattractive silverware. The number of pieces that are placed on the table naturally depends on the menu, so we will have the respective cutlery for each course, which can already be placed on the table in advance for the entire menu (this solution is usually adopted for receptions and banquets with a large number of guests). The limit to be respected is functionality: a banquet with 8 courses (which to many will seem excessive), should in theory provide 8 forks for each diner, and it is difficult to imagine such an arrangement. Therefore, generally, 2/3 forks are placed at most for each place setting and then the waiter will replace them as they are used. The same goes for the knife and spoons, if any.
The service. The positioning of the cutlery also depends on the style of service adopted. If up to the 1960s rigid formal rules existed in this field as well, it is true that since the 1970s the restaurant has also often adopted more flexible methods linked to the functionality of the service.
French service. This is the most complex form of table service, requires the intervention of specialized personnel and is the favorite of service lovers. The food is placed on a special trolley (the gueridon), which is often used to finish the preparation of food (for example when the dish is cooked under the lamp, in front of the guests, by the maitre d'), and then portion it. The dishes are then prepared before the eyes of the guests, together with the side dishes, and then served. Today this type of service is found in hotel restaurants, especially in more traditional luxury hotels, and tends to be slowly abandoned both for excessive expenses and for the inevitable length of time needed to complete each single step. It is the preferred one only for wedding dinners with very few guests.
English service. According to this tradition, the food is presented directly on a tray, which is then brought directly to the table. The most important guest then arranges the portions and passes the dish to each guest. In more modern times, this service is arranged so that the waiter passes with the tray so that each guest serves from the tray itself. It is a very effective type of service but ideal for banquets with few guests.
Buffet service. A lunch or dinner served as a buffet is characterized above all by the speed of service and the widest choice of food available to guests, which is why it is often adopted when welcoming large groups. In this service mode, the tables are set up with a standard mise-en-place, substantially adequate for all the dishes on the buffet, while some waiters replace the cutlery and glasses used, as well as remove the dishes once the individual guests are finished with every course. The buffet with mise-en-place for all guests is called "American buffet". To streamline the service and improve the care of the guests, it is good that each buffet station is manned by waiters able to facilitate the guests and to replace the dishes that have run out in a timely manner.
Glasses are the most controversial elements of a wedding mise-en-place. They are placed to the right of the plate and never distributed from one side to the other. Starting from the left there is the glass for water, then that for red wine and white wine. There are many types of glasses: for wine glasses, they range from the tulip goblet, ideal for light white wines, to the Rhenish goblet, ideal for more structured whites, to the balloon for lighter reds, to the perfect burgundy for full-bodied red wines. The Gran Baloon is suitable for aged reds, while the flute and the cup are the right choice for sparkling wines, respectively dry and sweet. Generally during a banquet, whether it is a lunch or a dinner, the choice of wines follows the succession of dishes on the menu, combining the dish with the most appropriate wine. This, however, does not oblige to choose a different wine for each dish, which would make dinner and the succession of flavors and aromas very difficult for all guests to face. Therefore, it is good practice to identify two / three types of wines, suitable for the chosen dishes, and use them for the meal. Each wine will have its own glass, already placed on the table to the right of the plate or placeholder. The positioning of the glasses should follow the order of use: starting from the water glass (alternatively today the low water glass is used), and, following a parable that begins above the tips of the knives, the wine glasses whites, those for red wines, to finish with the flute for the toast or dessert wine.
The napkin: there are many interpretations on this, but I prefer the rule that the napkin must be immaculate, folded simply but perfectly, and absolutely not manipulated by the waiter. Avoid the idea of folding the napkin in an imaginative way or decorating it excessively (at most one ribbon, no more). It should be placed on top of the plate and must contain a part of the menu.
In conclusion: the success of a reception will not depend on the mise-en-place, because other factors will have more weight, but in general, in the grand scheme of things, you will certainly have to deal with the mise-en-place too! So this too is, after all, a fundamental aspect.
Until next Sunday
