Remember the controversy around the Polish Plumber in France, it now seems that the UK has to rely more and more on the Polish Waiter (and other eastern Europeans) to do the job.
This is the message I got from English lose the appetite for a career in waiting (Martin Hickman, The Independent).
In a survey by Square Meal, customers seem to blame poor service on this new breed of waiters.
Some long time professionals also lament the changes,"My profession is at a miserable point, bemoaned Silvano Giraldin, maitre d' at Le Gavroche, the two Michelin-star outfit in Mayfair, central London. We can't get English people to wait – one out of 20 people in my brigade is British. We can hardly get French people to wait. So, of course, we have to import from eastern Europe and, of course, there is a language problem."
On the other hand, Chef Tom Aikens thinks that "The English feel they are too good to wait tables – it's not seen as a serious profession," he told Square Meal. "Frankly, if we didn't have the staff from eastern Europe we would be in the shit."
To close on a practical note, I noted that 'Le Gavroche' requires men to wear a jacket.
The restaurant offers 13 reasons why you should pay them a visit including their large wine selection quoted at 60,000 bottles.
Do you think service is worse in UK restaurants than elsewhere?
Where did you get you best and worse experience?
Related: Hard Headed Sommeliers...Listening, Blindness and Plain Stupidity
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