FEATURE: TABLESIDE SERVICE

It’s showtime!

Tableside service is having a revival with more venues looking to take the finishing touches out of the kitchen and in front of guests.

WORDS Amy Northcott

TABLESIDE SERVICE (ALSO known as guéridon in French) was once a big feature at fine-dining restaurants across the world. Whether it was tossing a Caesar salad; deboning fish; carving proteins; or flambéeing desserts, the final elements of a dish were often completed tableside. Here in Australia, tableside service hit its peak during the 1960s and ’70s, with just a handful of venues keeping the theatrical experience alive after it fell out of popularity. But tableside service has made a comeback in recent years and has been moulded to suit different venues and cuisines.

To find out how restaurants are bringing back tableside service, Hospitality speaks with a’Mare’s Alessandro Pavoni and Porcine’s Matthew Fitzgerald.

For Owner and Chef of Crown Sydney’s a’Mare Alessandro Pavoni, tableside presentation is about showcasing service as an artform. “It was historically such an important part of dining out,” he says. “It is so enjoyable being able to design dishes around this element of theatre and reinvigorate our front-of-house team to learn and grow these skills.”

a’Mare serves an array of dishes tableside for guests, and it’s become a signature offering for the Italian restaurant. The star of the show is a 30kg Carrara marble mortar and pestle which is wheeled out to guests on a trolley when pesto is ordered. “It is truly an immersive experience as they smell the basil and engage with the waiter,” says Pavoni.

The a’Mare team prepares a selection of pastas at the table. They also fillet fish, carve prosciutto, and make granita. Desserts also get the tableside treatment, with tiramisu al cucchiaio and gelato fior di latte both spooned into bowls tableside.

Pavoni and his team are currently working on a new menu where every dish features a tableside element. “It’s been a challenge and a wonderful change to how we work designing menus and dishes to incorporate elements of tableside [service],” he says. “We really try to think about new and exciting ways of presenting traditional Italian dishes.”

The theatre and entertainment of tableside, and showcasing the skills needed, makes for a totally different experience at a restaurant.

-Alessandro Pavoni

Porcine in Sydney’s Paddington is one of a handful of venues that serves the classic, tableside French dish canard à la presse (pressed duck). It originated in Normandy, France, in the 16th century and became a renowned element of Paris restaurant La Tour d’Argent, which still serves the dish today.

At Porcine, Co-Owner Matt Fitzgerald and Head Chef Nik Hill serve canard à la presse as part of the venue’s classic French bistro offering. Due to the dish’s complex nature, the team only offer one duck per service which must be pre-ordered in advance.

Porcine use Aylesbury-Pekin duck which is brined before the thighs, legs, and neck are removed and roasted. The duck is then transported to the table where it sits on a trolley equipped with a stovetop and saucepan, utensils, duck-shaped cutting board, and the press itself which the Porcine team purchased from France. The duck’s breasts and wings are removed before the carcass is placed in the press and crushed three times to produce a sauce. “During the second press, we add a rinse of Madeira, which helps to push through the blood and juices and flavours the sauce,” explains Fitzgerald.

The sauce and duck are then finished and served to guests, with the whole process accompanied by an explanation from a staff member. “We talk through the history and differences of the dish, along with our process and what number press they are,” says Fitzgerald. “It is quite an engaging part of the meal as we openly talk and answer questions with the guests while preparing the duck and sauce in front of them.”

The canard à la presse was always on the cards for the bistro to further enhance its French offering. “It is one thing to have a beautiful-looking and tasting dish served to you at a restaurant, but to have such a uniquely traditional dish done tableside hopefully adds a feeling of being in France and experiencing something special,” says Fitzgerald. “They [guests] can actually see the press and its mechanics, the makings of the sauce, and all the parts that make it such a unique dish.”

As expected, the intricate process required a lot of practice from Fitzgerald and Hill. “We practiced on a few chickens then ducks, read about the history, and watched videos on the classical way it has been done in France,” says Fitzgerald. “We wanted to make sure we had the practice down sharp, so it flowed naturally at the table with the guests.”

Since launching the dish, Fitzgerald and Hill have served around 210 ducks and counting. “So far, all were very happy diners,” says Fitzgerald. “There is a lot of plate cleaning with bread and frites and sometimes plate licking, which we applaud.”

People always appreciate the extra work that goes into a dish when they see part of the process happen in front of them.

– Matthew Fitzgerald

Pavoni believes tableside service generates a level of involvement and engagement from guests. “The theatre and entertainment of tableside, and showcasing the skills needed, makes for a totally different experience at a restaurant,” says the chef. “We have a lot of regulars who continue to visit us and bring friends and family.”

Fitzgerald says the canard à la presse experience has received a positive reception from guests, both from those ordering it as well as spectators. “Porcine is small, so other guests often turn around to watch the show and then book it for the future,” he says. “People always appreciate the extra work that goes into a dish when they see part of the process happen in front of them.”

A sense of enjoyment carries over to the staff for Pavoni, and he hopes it catches the attention of potential hospitality professionals. “I think a big part of it is that our team enjoy it and are passionate about what they are doing, which translates to our guests,” he says. “I hope it inspires more people to join the industry as they see how seriously we all take our careers and the training and learning it requires.”