“I noticed a real difference in how the servers approached their tables. They seemed much more confident and had a sense of professionalism and warmth that wasn’t there before.”
Courses
Service 101 – The Fundamentals of Service
Service 101 covers the fundamentals every server needs, plus advanced service know-how, the language to speak confidently about food, and practical techniques for delivering hospitality at every step of the dining experience.
Lessons include:
- Workplace “Common Sense” – Understanding the unspoken rules that apply across restaurants.
- Appearance & Perception – How your appearance and body language shape guests’ perceptions of you and your restaurant.
- Learning the Menu – What to know about each menu item and tips for remembering it.
- Dining Styles – Different dining styles and how service changes with each.
- Taking Charge – How to establish yourself as a professional through your words and actions.
- The Spiel – Why your spiel matters and how to develop one of your own.
- Anticipating Guests’ Needs – Staying a step ahead and recognizing what guests need before they ask.
- Sales – Selling in ways that add value to the guest experience without being pushy.
- Handling High Volume – How to manage being seated with two, three, four, or even five tables at once.
- Catching & Handling Problems – Spotting problems before guests do and knowing what to say and do when something goes wrong.
Learn from the people who do it
Hear directly from restaurant professionals about the traits they look for in servers, and from servers sharing mistakes they made as beginners and later in their careers. Watch hands-on tutorials on opening a bottle of wine and carrying multiple plates, and learn cooking vocabulary and preparation methods from industry-recognized chefs—giving your team the knowledge to speak confidently about food.
Lesson Previews
Cocktails & Spirits 101
Cocktails & Spirits 101 covers what every server needs to know to work in a restaurant with a bar. Certified servers will understand the main spirits, their differences and categories, common brands, and popular cocktails. We teach the basic principles behind how cocktails are made, so servers can make sense of them without having to memorize endless recipes. This helps prevent ridiculous orders or modifications, especially on a busy night. Lessons also cover glassware, why different glasses are used, and the different ways spirits are ordered and served.
Interviews with bartenders give servers a better understanding of their perspective and how to work together smoothly. By the end of the course, servers will know how to interpret cocktail orders and modifications, ask the right follow-up questions, and relay orders clearly to the bar.
Lessons include:
- Spirits & Their Categories – Vodka, gin, rum, tequila, brandy, whiskey, and liqueurs, including their categories and subcategories.
- Common Brands – Familiar brands for each type of spirit.
- Common Cocktails – Cocktails commonly ordered in restaurants and bars, organized by spirit.
- How Cocktails Are Made – Understanding when drinks are built in the glass, shaken, stirred, or blended.
- Glassware – Different glasses, including martini, coupe, rocks, double rocks, and Collins glasses, and when each is used.
- The Martini – What a martini is and the many ways guests can order one.
- Sours – Understanding the structure of a sour and its influence on other cocktails.
- Garnishes – Recognizing classic pairings and understanding why different garnishes work with different drinks.
- Liqueurs – What liqueurs are and how the different types are used.
Certified servers will know how to upsell spirits, understand guest preferences when it comes to things like single malt scotches, and avoid expensive mistakes, like ordering Hennessy X.O. instead of V.S. in a Hennessy and Coke. They’ll also have a better understanding of how cocktails are made and served, and know enough bar lingo not to put in ridiculous orders like “whiskey neat, tall” or a “virgin dirty martini.”