Emma Underwood finds joy in the perfect service

When the dance of service is executed in perfect harmony, it’s a breathtaking experience, says Emma Underwood

The joy of service is something that is truly unbeatable. How we missed it in those long lockdown months as we tried to fill our time, engage our minds and support our businesses with pivots into groceries and takeaways.

The packaging of our lovingly prepared meals into foil and cardboard boxes didn’t quite carry the same thrill as our beautifully plated dishes do now, and they most certainly didn’t have as much of an impact on our Instagram feeds, which now throng once again with a wonderful rebirth of creativity and expression.

The presentation of an incredible plate of food in front of eagerly awaiting guests is one of the most satisfying parts of service, as our dishes convey upon them the merging of the skills of so many. It is the convergence of a myriad of skills and crafts. The intricate constellations of suppliers, producers, growers, designers, artists, farmers and so much more that surround and support our restaurants, all operating for the purpose of gracing our guests’ glasses and plates with the results of their long-practiced trades. Restaurants provide not only guests but our colleagues with unique chances to understand and experience the most minute details of incredible food and drink that they may never normally be exposed to.

Through service, our dining rooms are our theatres. They are the scenes for so many rehearsals, and when our performances don’t quite hit the mark, we get the chance to learn, to improve, and then to do it all again the next day with an attainment to perfection.

The flawless services are incredible. We all know them. They are the ones that pulse with the right level of adrenaline while all the elements fall perfectly into place. They dance with a rhythm of happy guests, confident teams and beautiful dishes. We perform with precision and with a discretion of movement that is barely perceptible. Subtly the tables are graced with percussions of tinkling glassware and chiming silverware all softened by immaculately folded linen. Our operations display a mastery of accuracy and exactness honed through years of experience, moving almost subconsciously as our muscle memory guides us through the long evening shifts. It’s the time our colleagues come alive and truly show their talents, held together through their own secret languages of eye contact and hand signals.

At the heart of everything is our guests. We orbit them unfalteringly to ensure the precious hours they have granted us are as special as possible. The most rewarding are invariably the ones who enter carrying the troubles of the day, whose personal stresses threaten to cloud over the leisurely experience we are intending to provide. To not only witness, but to orchestrate the change in their mood is nothing short of pure joy. For truly, we are in the business of conducting emotion. We are the providers of settings to eliminate worries, to celebrate the most magic of occasions, to fall in love over and ultimately to create memories.