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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Service & Plating

Front of house

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/ˌfrʌnt əv ˈhaʊs/nounCore term

In culinary arts & cooking, front of house means: The parts of a restaurant that guests see, such as the dining room and bar, and the staff who work there: hosts, servers, bartenders and managers.

In Turkish: salon, salon ekibi, servis ekibi

How it is used

Often shortened to FOH. The kitchen and FOH must communicate well about allergies, timing and items that have run out. As an adjective it is hyphenated: front-of-house staff, front-of-house manager.

Example sentences

  1. Tell front of house we're 86 on the risotto.

  2. The briefing is at 5:30 for both kitchen and front-of-house staff.

Common collocations

  • front-of-house staff
  • front-of-house manager
  • FOH team
  • brief front of house
  • back of houseThe areas of a restaurant that guests do not see, such as the kitchen, storerooms and dishwashing area, and the staff who work there.
  • serviceThe period when a restaurant is open and the kitchen is cooking and sending out orders, such as lunch service or dinner service.
  • passThe counter between the kitchen and the dining room where finished plates are checked, often under heat lamps, before servers take them out.
  • ticketA printed or written order sent from the dining room to the kitchen, showing the table, the dishes and any special requests or allergies.

More terms: Service & Plating

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