Janet Collins
Jason KingBanquets and the Alternate Food Drop
December 30th 2009 12:33
The Wedding Banquet
I am often surprised that a lot of people don’t actually know about the practice of the alternate food drop at formal dinners where there are a medium to large group of guests. It has been standard practice in Australia for as long as I can remember. Recently, however, I found out this is a practice that is peculiar to Australia and many people just don't understand how it works.
The alternate drop means exactly that. There may be two different meals for each course but rather than give people the choice, the meals are dropped alternately around the table. It could be chicken or beef or various other combinations.
The idea is that each person can swap with someone either side or even with anyone on the table if they have a particularly preference. Unfortunately, this seems to cause a lot of confusion and disappointment for guests on many occasions.
The reasons for this practice can be many but the most important one is for the effective running of a function such as this. For groups of 50 or more – and some even run into the hundreds - it is a far more efficient way to get a lot of food plates out at pretty much the same time, and I will even add that it is far more efficient for a restaurant or function place to ensure they have ordered the correct amount of food for each dish.
To use the example of a wedding for instance, the bride and groom have normally decided on the dishes to serve. This usually means 50/50 although sometimes it can be three different meals. If the waiters start swapping meals on request for the first tables served, it usually would end up with the last table having no choice at all and no alternative meal to swap.
At a wedding or corporate function, there are usually a lot of other things to consider that demand that food be delivered promptly to the table. There are all the formalities. At a wedding this will be the speeches, cutting of the cake, the bridal waltz and anything else the bride and groom have factored into the reception. At a corporate function, this could mean speeches and awards or presentations.
I have often found guests can become extremely obnoxious and rude when they aren’t served with their chosen dish and I find it extremely unsophisticated when a guest demands that the meal be swapped for a desired preference. The same can be said of someone who sits there and sulks because they would have preferred the alternative choice.
A banquet or a function is not the same as an a-la-carte meal which really means “made to order”. Most of the time, there is someone at the table who will be quite happy to swap. If there isn’t, it certainly isn’t the end of the world. It is simply bad manners to start arguing with the waiter who really has no choice in the matter and it can certainly make things pretty uncomfortable for the guests close by..
I have often worked on the other side of the fence and the process of having the meal cooked, plated and served for a big group is like a frantic production line. When dining at a restaurant normally, guests are often served at varying times but with a group, it is all pushed out at the one time. A lot of people don’t seem to understand that point.
There are some places that have taken to ordering individually once everyone is seated. From my experience, it often ends up pretty chaotic and the meals are extremely slow in getting to the table. This can often bite into time that has been allocated for socialising or dancing or other things and really never works as well.
So if you are invited to a reception or function for dinner, bear these facts in mind. If no-one wants to swap, I am sure the meal you do have will be satisfactory anyway.
Something else that is really good to remember if you have special dietary requirements, the event organizers, caterers or the venue that will be providing the food should be notified in advance. That will prevent any unnecessary disappointments.
And remember, you are there to have fun.
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