Dorchester Collection Head Waiter

About Dorchester Collection

Dorchester Collection operates hotels including The Dorchester in London, Hôtel Plaza Athénée and Le Meurice in Paris, and The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles County. Its properties hire across rooms, restaurants, kitchens, engineering and guest services.

Role & Responsibilities

• Motivate and lead the team, set an example through dynamism and composure, and ensure the restaurant operates rigorously in accordance with established standards.
• Verify the dining-room plan with the section leaders and hosts.
• Check the cleanliness of equipment and service stations.
• Set up the dining room with the section leader.
• Check table linen cleanliness and alignment, and verify the overall setup.
• Check the alignment of tables and chairs.
• Check sofa cushions and ensure banquettes and chairs are clean.
• Inspect staff uniforms, including white shirts, polished shoes, clean suits and Dorchester Collection badges.
• Check technical elements, including bulbs, lighting, music, furniture and carpets.
• Welcome guests on arrival with eye contact and a smile, and use their name when known.
• Maintain comprehensive knowledge of the menu and wine list and practise upselling.
• Ensure orders specify the sequence in which dishes are to be served.
• Monitor guest requests on the micros.
• Serve dishes with the section leader or commis.
• Apply LQA and Forbes service standards.
• Follow and enforce service and clearing protocols.
• Oversee the section, including replenishing bread, clearing crumbs, pulling out guests’ chairs and accompanying them to the facilities.
• Follow service sequences, systematically offering aperitifs, mineral water, wine, starters, main courses, cheese, desserts, hot drinks and digestifs.
• Systematically check bills with the section leader and sommelier to prevent billing errors.
• Ask the host to prepare the cloakroom when the bill is presented or do so personally if the host is occupied.
• Ask whether guests require a taxi or would like their car prepared.
• Inform the restaurant manager or, if necessary, the management attaché of any incident during service, whether in the kitchen or dining room.
• Conduct opening and closing procedures.
• Perform cash-register checks and close the day’s accounts at closing.

Qualifications

• Professional, punctual, motivated, honest, trustworthy, rigorous, personable, organised, well-presented, detail-oriented, conscientious, passionate and welcoming.
• BAC PRO.
• Several experiences as a section leader; experience as a first section leader or assistant maître d'hôtel in comparable establishments is preferred.
• Fluent English; another language is preferred: Italian, German, Spanish or Russian.

Skills

Experience

Several experiences as a section leader; ideally, experience as a first section leader or assistant maître d'hôtel in comparable establishments.

Education

BAC PRO

Benefits

13th-month salary; health insurance with 75% employer coverage and provident insurance; 95% reimbursement of public-transport passes upon proof of purchase; preferential rates at the company restaurant; training and individual support throughout the career through DC Academy; a dedicated training service for all employees; opportunities for mobility across the hotels; a sustainable development service; housing-access assistance and a social worker; round tables, general assemblies, workshops introducing métiers d’excellence, and visits to museums and exhibitions.

Culture

Each hotel has its own kitchens, service teams and history. In Paris, for example, a sommelier at Le Relais Plaza works at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, while the pastry team at Le Meurice prepares work for a different house.

About Cerulean

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