| Occupation | |
|---|---|
| Names | Head waiter, host, waiter captain |
Activity sectors | Waiting staff |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Supervising waiters, welcoming guests, assigning tables, reservations |
Fields of employment | Hospitality,foodservice |
Related jobs | Manager, waiter, maître d' |
Themaître d'hôtel (French for 'master of the house';pronounced[mɛːtʁədotɛl]ⓘ),head waiter,host,waiter captain, ormaître d' (UK:/ˌmeɪtrəˈdiː/MAY-trəDEE,alsoUS:/ˌmeɪtər-/MAY-tər -)manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formalrestaurant. The responsibilities of amaître d'hôtel generally include supervising thewaiting staff, welcoming guests and assigning tables to them, takingreservations, and ensuring that guests are satisfied.[1][2] Other roles include supervising wine selections and helping chefs create menus. In North America, amaître d'hôtel is known as adining room manager.[3]
In large organizations, such as certain hotels, orcruise ships with multiple restaurants, themaître d'hôtel is often responsible for the overall dining experience, includingroom service andbuffet services, while head waiters or supervisors are responsible for the specific restaurant or dining room they work in. Food writer Leah Zeldes writes that the role ofmaître d'hôtel originated as a kind of combined "host, headwaiter and dining-room manager" and, in the past, persons with this role were sometimes responsible for such operations as tablesideboning of fish and mixing ofsalads.[4]
The role of head waiter (also known as achef de salle) can sometimes occupy a distinct role when their role is not undertaken by amaître d'hôtel. When this occurs, the head waiter is solely responsible for oversight of dining room service.[3]
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| National | |
