All good things . . .

The regional finals of a national competition sponsored by the Savoy Restaurant Trust - staged to test the cooking skills of the country's most aspiring young chefs and the serving flair and charm of talented youngsters who consider being a waiter is a profession - took place at Oxford Brookes University last month.

At stake was a cash prize of £2,000 and the rare opportunity to visit the world-renowned seven-star Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai where they would extend their training by attending a specialist course at the Emirates Academy. The grand final was held at the Park Lane Hotel in London on October 14. Chef Brett Graham and waiter Johanna Wimmer were awarded the prizes.

Being involved in something like this - I was by acting as a judge for the waiters section during the regional finals - can prove a very positive experience. By moving among a group of young professionals who see catering as a worthy profession, which offers a career to be proud of, reminded me of all those in the catering industry who sadly do not share their enthusiasms or sentiments.

There were eight of us judging the 16 waiting staff, and an equal number judging the chefs in the training restaurant and kitchens in Brookes's School of Hotel and Restaurant Management. Thanks to hotelier David Levin's generosity three years ago, when he contributed £300,000 to set up the new state-of-the-art restaurant, those competing in the regional finals did so in sophisticated surroundings similar to those in which they worked.

I was asked to examine the 'Mise En Place' section. Other judges checked the waiter's wine recognition skills, champagne service, clearing and ordering, and ability to prepare a perfect Irish coffee. Mise En Place may sound very grand, but all it really means is that everything is in its place and ready for service. The competitors were required to identify and correct at least five mistakes from a pre-set table.

This part was amusing as all 16 competitors noticed that one of the wine glasses was the wrong size and that there were marks on one of the plates. The bread crumbs we had dropped on one of the chairs was spotted by nearly everyone, and the missing side knife was soon corrected, but only a couple thought to touch the table to check that it didn't wobble and just three realised that the damask table cloth was upside down.

I then had to ask each competitor several questions. The first was to see if they had any ideas for improving the way the table looked. Most suggested alternating the colours of the chairs, and positioning them in a more comfortable way so that the customers' legs did not get wrapped around a table leg. They were also asked what type of glass they would use to serve Calvados - and, yes, they all got that right when they suggested a brandy goblet.

In the next series of questions each contestant discussed the menu they serve at their workplace. My job was to ask them about this menu, which wine they would suggest if I was eating this, that or the other, and what a customer could safely choose if he or she was allergic to a particular ingredient. That bit was really fun, mainly because of the incredible enthusiasm with which the youngsters spoke of their menu. Their eyes glowed with pride as they described their favourite dishes.

Questions asking them to describe the flavour of this, or explain how the chef cooks that, were answered with such confidence and knowledge that there was no doubt these young people were true professionals.

Then came a series of questions testing their knowledge of the law which were designed to determine how diplomatic and sensitive they were to their customers' needs.

These questions included the following:

**One of the guests believes their dish is cold. How would you handle the situation?

**A guest refuses to pay the discretionary service charge on their bill. What do you do?

**Your restaurant has a smoking section but all the tables in this area are full when a guest arrives who wants to smoke. The only free table is in the no-smoking section. What do you do?

**A guest complains of a headache and asks for some aspirin. How many do you give them?

**A guest has eaten his main course and complains afterwards that he did not enjoy it. What do you do?

**What would be the difference between ashtrays used al fresco and inside?

If you read these questions carefully it becomes obvious that apart from understanding legal aspects of service, such as not being able to dispense aspirins to customers, the professional waiter has to be a diplomat too. Most particularly when it comes to handling the smoker who will have his habit curbed during their stay at a restaurant. Although the move towards restaurants being smoke-free zones has been welcomed widely there are still some who see such a ban as an infringements on their rights. A smoker who has been asked not to smoke can become a very angry and difficult person to handle.

As I see it, one of the things that comes out of competitions such as this is the timely reminder that waiters can aspire to be skilled professionals. I accept that when things go wrong and the waiter in charge of our table adopts a "can't see that you are waiting" attitude, or doesn't seem to care if we get our meal or not, professionalism is far from one's mind. However, those who don't appear to enjoy their job are the ones who lack a pride what they are doing. The young people I met at Brookes showed a proper pride and were highly skilled too.

Published in The Oxford Times, October 25, 2002