Operations
Plated service
Also known as: Seated service
Definition
Plated service is the style in which every guest receives a pre-plated course at their seat.
In practice
It's the most staff-intensive form of service, because a table has to receive its course together: as a rule of thumb, one waiter per fifteen to twenty guests. It's the expectation at a seated gala dinner or wedding. Attempted with buffet headcount, the last table gets cold food.