What is silver service?

Also known as ‘service Anglais’, silver service originated in the upper-class country manors and esteemed estates of 19th Century Britain. Traditionally, waiting staff were given the Sunday evening off to be with their families and so the butler would fill in. Instead of laying plates on a table, the butler would go around the table, serving food to guests from a silver platter.

Today, the practice is still used to add a touch of class to formal proceedings. After all, when your guests are enjoying the very best food, only the most special service should do.

Here’s our guide to silver service:

Serving

There are a number of particular rules that a silver service waiter or waitress must abide by:

• Food must be served from silver service platters
• The person to the right of the host should be served first
• The host should be served last
• Waiters shouldn’t lean across the guest 
• Service should then be performed clockwise around the table
• Food should be served from the guests’ left and cleared from their right
• The platter must be held flat and as close to the guest’s plate as possible
• Ideally, a waiter wouldn’t touch a guest’s plate, instead using a cloth to lay it down and pick it up
• Drink should be served from the right and cleared from the right
• Glasses should be laid triangularly, with the water glass closest to the diner, the white wine to the water’s right and the red above the water 
• A bottle opener must be on the waiter’s person at all times
• Glasses should be filled to no higher than two-thirds full 
• Water should be poured after wine

Silver service is best for right-handed waiters or waitresses. That’s because the waiter will hold the platter with their left hand and serve with their right.

They will hold a serving fork above a serving spoon and use them pincer-style to pick up and transfer the food to diners’ plates. As you can imagine, developing this skill takes some time!

Hygiene

As you’d expect, maintaining a stringent level of hygiene is essential to the silver service experience. Plates, platters and service cutlery must be spotless and waiting staff should be clean shaven, with hair tied back securely and wearing uniform that’s without blemish.

And of course, alongside sparkling hygiene, a friendly, professional demeanour is essential.

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