New-York tribune., 1901-01-13
HOW A BIG HOTEL IS RUN
THE VARIOUS CHANNELS THROUGH
WHICH A RESTAURANT ORDER
PASSES FROM TABLE
TO KITCHEN.
TO KITCHEN.

Il wonder how many people know how the big
hotels rum" said few days ago. Il
refer to the hotels uptown, which cater to fash
ionabe people. Some time ago, being out Of
job, l went TO an entrance of one of these hotels
and asked 10 the steward. The entrance
guarded by man, it always is twenty hours
out Of twenty-four. ! managed to get by him and
then passed through number of quarters in which
porters. chambermaids and scuions were eating
Then l passed carpenter shop, trunk room,
a room filled with glass, another with china.
kitchen. long of closets. another kitchen.
bar-which surrounded with cases and bar
rels of wne-an oyster counter, a filled with
silver another room Of closets and finally large
engine room.
There / entered an elevator and went 20 the
floor above, where I found the steward seated at
large double desk. The desk was covered with
samples of food wine etc. A number of assistants
were near it. To these the steward was giving
orders. / told him what l wanted, but he was too
busy TO give me any attention and told me to come
back some other day. When 1 did come back
the only thing he could do for me to offer me
a place checker. To make a long story
short. 1 accepted the place, learned its require
nents and doing the work attached 70
II. My hours from o'clock to 11:3 o'clock
in the morning and from $50 o'clock to o'clock
In the morning day; and from IL 80 O'Clock
In the morning to $50 o'clock in the evening on
the next. Every third week was reserve week and
then my hours were shorter and / had Sunday
10 myself. The schedule I have just mentioned
applied to all the head walters, officers etc. It
was arranged in order to concentrate the working
forces together for the busiest times of the day;
that is, the luncheon, dinner and supper hours.
There were number of restaurants in the hotel
in which worked. Each one of the restaurants
was controlled by head waiter and a captain,
who, with the walters, looked after the guests. AS
soon a guest seated the waiter, VINO by the
way, generally had two tables assigned him,
went 10 the cashier for a check which called
a kitchen check. Upon this check, which was NUM-
bered, the waiter wrote the guests order, with the
wines always the bottom. The wines desired
were announced 10 the checkers. OF which l was
one, by the waiter on his way to the kitchen for
the rest OF the order. At the time the waiter
gave his na~le and the number of his table. The
checker entered the order a cashiers check.
which, like the kitchen check was numbered, and
then added the number of the table which
being waited The checker then issued an order
on the bar for the wines, which were delivered TO
an omnibus, who placed II on the table. the num-
ber OF which was on the order. Thus the wines
the kitchen
Each checker had to attend to the orders Of
occupied at once the checker had TO be quick
etc. The checker had to have the prices Of things
at his finger ends. all errors, matter of what
three hundred orders OF food and over two hun
dred orders OF wines. and with these the checker
had to be thoroughly familiar, as he had no time
IF this system goes we'll it goes very well; but
il 1t goes bad it is almost unmanageabIe. After
had learned the business and duties of a checker
in one hotel was sent to another hotel There
The walters announced their orders for wines all
IN one breath and the omnihuses were slow The
walters wrote out their orders in careless man.
ner, too. One order for 'srlon with mushrooms
read white cocks Walters against whom COM
plants were made were only mildly scoded
spite Of appearances; the methods of running our
big hotels are quite intricate"