Pre-Event Preparation and Setup
Personal Safety
Personal safety is a broad category that includes the regulations and practices related to protecting oneself from harm.
In hospitality settings, personal safety focuses on:
Maintaining proper personal hygiene
Using proper lifting and carrying techniques
Using proper pushing and pulling techniques
Using clear phrases and protocols to prevent accidents and/or injuries
Personal safety also relates to job safety, such that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines are marked below.
Common habits to maintain proper personal hygiene include:
Regular handwashing.
Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
Wash hands:
Before putting on gloves
After removing gloves
Before/after handling food
After handling pets
After using the restroom
After changing diapers or handling waste
After personal grooming
After touching high-contact surfaces or your face
Before/after assisting guests with personal items
Do not wash hands while wearing gloves.
If soap/water aren’t available, use hand sanitizer with ≥60% alcohol.
Keep handwashing/sanitizing stations stocked: soap, paper towels, waste bin, sanitizer.
Disinfecting & Cleaning (as assigned). Service professionals may be asked to clean or sanitize service equipment such as chafing dishes, carafes, coffee service equipment, and other tools, using venue approved products and protocols and completing this work between service windows or away from exposed food/guests.
Disposing of Waste Regularly. Service professionals must dispose of waste properly, ensuring bags are not overfilled and are removed regularly and promptly.
Using PPE Correctly. Service professionals must use necessary personal protective equipment, e.g., gloves, when handling food and waste.
Engaging in proper stocking, pushing, and pulling techniques includes:
Stocking items, racks, or carts properly. Service professionals must ensure they are not too full, not prone to tipping, and are not vision-blocking.
Maintaining awareness. Service professionals must ensure a clear line of vision and an awareness of terrain, anticipating movements around corners or obstacles.
Gripping properly. Service professionals must maintain a strong grip on the item, racks, or carts. If gripping a rack, keep hands at chest height, and if gripping a cart, keep hands on the inside of the cart.
Positioning properly. Service professionals must keep the back straight, brace the feet, and bend the knees.
Request assistance. If necessary, service professionals must request assistance.
Using phrases and following protocols to prevent accidents and injuries includes:
Saying “Corner!”: This alerts both BOH and FOH members that a service professional is turning a corner or navigating a space with obstructed visibility (e.g., an obstacle, door, screen, etc.).
Saying “Behind!”: This alerts both BOH and FOH members that a service professional is passing behind them.
Saying “May I?”: This alerts a guest a service professional is planning to reach to retrieve an item from a table.
Saying “Excuse me, these are hot”: This alerts a guest a service professional is placing a hot item on a table.
Organizing Items. Service professionals must retrieve and return items to their proper place. They should never leave items in passageways, walkways, or stairways.
Remaining Aware. Service professionals must remain alert to any misplaced items, tripping hazards, moving furniture (e.g., guest chairs), slippery glassware or tableware, and/or overfilled containers. They must also remain aware of any broken facilities equipment (e.g., lights), the location of facilities services like the first aid kit and fire extinguishers, and the acceptable pace of moving around BOH and FOH areas.
Keeping Clean. Service professionals must clean as they go, ensuring all spills and broken items are cleaned immediately.
Using Equipment Properly. Service professionals must never use improper equipment to perform a task (e.g., using glassware to retrieve ice, a rack to
Food Safety
Food safety is a broad category that includes the regulations and practices related to sourcing, treating, handling, preparing, and storing food items. Food safety practices preserve the quality of food and reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
As a service professional, two of the most important aspects of food safety include properly handling, preparing, and storing food and remaining attentive to allergens.
Properly Handling, Preparing, and Storing Food
Safe food handling as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration involves four aspects: cleaning, separating, cooking, and chilling.[1]
Cleaning includes:
Personal Hygiene as mentioned above.
Surface Cleanliness. Anyone handling food must wash surfaces, including countertops and cutting boards, with warm, soapy water before and after they come into contact with any food item. This includes drying these surfaces with towels, whether these are clean cloth towels or disposable paper towels.
Equipment Cleanliness. Anyone handling food must wash or sanitize equipment such as tableware, utensils, blenders, processors, or other relevant appliances.
Produce Cleanliness. Anyone handling fruits and vegetables must ensure they are properly cleaned or rinsed, including those with skins and rinds.
Canned Good Cleanliness. Anyone handling canned goods must ensure that they clean the lids of the cans prior to opening to opening them.
Remaining Attentive to Allergens
An allergen is a substance that produces an immune response in the body. These responses vary in timing, such that they may occur within minutes or hours. They also vary in degree, such that some responses are minor (e.g., hives, itching) and others are severe (e.g., anaphylaxis). Even minor contact with small amounts of allergens can produce a response. Service professionals must be aware of common allergens, with general steps to ensure guest wellbeing, and with how to maintain safety in different service styles.
Common Allergens
The FDA indicates that there are over 160 allergens that can produce immune responses. However, there are nine major allergens:
Milk
Eggs
Fish
Crustacean Shellfish
Tree Nuts
Peanuts
Wheat
Soybeans
Sesame
Symptoms of an Allergic Reaction
The appearance of hives, rashes, and/or flushed skin
A tingling or itching sensation in the mouth
The Swelling of the face, tongue, throat, and/or vocal cords
Abdominal pains including cramps
Gastrointestinal effects including diarrhea and/or vomiting
Coughing, wheezing, struggling to breath
Dizziness, lightheadedness, and/or loss of consciousness
Drops in blood pressure
General Steps to Ensure Guest Wellbeing
Ask the Bar Staff and Culinary Team. The service professional (and ideally the captain) should check with the bar staff and culinary team to clarify the presence of any allergens in beverage or food offerings.
Confirm Alterations and Alternatives. The service professional should confirm possible alterations and/or alternative beverage or food offerings.
Ask Guests. The service professional should asks guests if they have any dietary preferences or restrictions if and when they take a beverage or food order.
Responding to an Allergic Reaction of a Guest
Confirm Allergy. If possible, the service professional should confirm with the guest that they have an allergy.
Seek Medical Treatment. The service professional should seek immediate medical support, calling 911. If the guest is experiencing anaphylaxis, the service professional or medical support should immediately administer an EpiPen (epinephrine). Because an EpiPen wears off with 15 to 20 minutes, at that time a medical professional should determine whether or not he, she, or they should administer a second pen.
Maintain Safety in Different Service Styles
There are six different kinds of service styles with respect to events: drop-off service, coffee service, conference service or buffet service, cocktail service and/or passed hors d’oeuvres service, plated service or American service, and hybrid service.
Drop-Off Service. The service professional should ensure allergens are clearly marked on food and beverage offerings.
Coffee Service. The service professional should ensure allergens are marked, paying close attention to coffee additions (e.g., creamers, milks).
Conference Service or Buffet Service. The service professional should know allergens included in each food offering so he, she, or they can communicate this to the guest (if serving from the buffet) or mark this on a card next to the offering.
Cocktail Service and/or Passed Hors D'oeuvres Service. The service professional should not only know the allergens included in each beverage and food offering but also be particularly attentive to the possibility of cross-contamination when switching between passed offerings. If at any time a guests asks a service professional a question about allergens that he, she, or they do not know, the only appropriate response is, “I am not sure, but I will promptly check with the chef.”
Plated Service or American Service. The service professional should ensure guests communicate information about dietary restrictions or preferences. They should confirm these restrictions or preferences when taking an order.
Hybrid Service. The service professional should follow recommendations for both cocktail service and/or passed hors d’oeuvres service and plated service or American Service.
Properly Handling, Preparing, and Storing Food
Safe food handling as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration involves four aspects: cleaning, separating, cooking, and chilling.[1]
It is rare that service professionals (and FOH more generally) will be responsible for BOH-style food prep sanitation (e.g., washing produce, sanitizing cutting boards, managing raw proteins, or monitoring cook temperatures), as this is normally a BOH duty. For captains and service teams, “food safety” is primarily about allergen control and cross-contact prevention, safe holding temperatures at stations/buffets, and basic hand hygiene (especially after touching shared surfaces, clearing plates, bussing, handling trash, or switching tasks).
If FOH is asked to clean or sanitize equipment/stations (e.g., chafers, coffee service, buffet rails, bar surfaces), it should be done between service windows or away from exposed food and guests, following venue-approved products/protocols (chemical details and dwell times are covered in the sanitation-focused course).
Cleaning includes:
Personal Hygiene.
Surface Cleanliness. Anyone handling food must wash surfaces, including countertops and cutting boards, with warm, soapy water before and after they come into contact with any food item.
Equipment Cleanliness. Anyone handling food must wash or sanitize equipment such as tableware, utensils, blenders, processors, or other relevant appliances.
Produce Cleanliness. Anyone handling fruits and vegetables must ensure they are properly cleaned or rinsed, including those with skins and rinds.
Canned Good Cleanliness. Anyone handling canned goods must ensure that they clean the lids of the cans prior to opening to opening them.
Separating involves dividing produce, meat, poultry, seafood and eggs when:
Purchasing Items. Anyone handling food during shopping must ensure foods are placed in different bags.
Transporting Items. Anyone moving food between carts, baskets, grocery bags, coolers, and refrigerators must divide foods.
Positioning and Handling Items. Anyone handling food on surfaces must prevent cross-contamination by e.g., using separate cutting boards for produce and seafood, placing both raw and cooked foods on different surfaces, etc.
Treating Marinades. Anyone handling marinades that have contact with raw foods must ensure these marinades are boiled if they are to be reused.
Cooking includes attention to proper temperatures, remaining aware of indicators, such as:
Proper Temperature. Anyone cooking meat, poultry, and seafood must use a food thermometer to ensure all food is cooked to the proper internal temperature such that there is the destruction of harmful bacteria.
Correct Color and Texture. Anyone cooking eggs must ensure all aspects of the egg are firm, which demonstrates that it has been cooked or heated thoroughly. Note the only proper way to measure temperature is with a thermometer.
Cooking Time. Anyone cooking with a microwave oven must cover the food and regularly stir or rotate to ensure even cooking. Provide time for the food to stand and complete cooking. Measure temperature with a thermometer.
Liquid Temperature. Anyone working with liquids, such as sauces or soups, must ensure it is brought to a boil when reheating.
Heating Temperature. Anyone serving food using equipment like chafing dishes or sternos should ensure hot foods are kept at 140°F (60°C) or higher. Anyone serving food from refrigerators or ice baths should ensure cold foods are kept at
40° F or below.
Chilling includes attention to proper temperature when refrigerating, requiring:
Prompt refrigeration or freezing. When food is being delievered or dropped off, it’s important to maintain it’s temperature, cold or hot. Ensure upon delivery or reciept of this type of food that it is properly stored immediately.
Remaining Attentive to Allergens
An allergen is a substance that produces an immune response in the body. These responses vary in timing, such that they may occur within minutes or hours. They also vary in degree, such that some responses are minor (e.g., hives, itching) and others are severe (e.g., anaphylaxis). Even minor contact with small amounts of allergens can produce a response.
Service professionals must be aware of common allergens, with general steps to ensure guest wellbeing, and with how to maintain safety in different service styles.
Common Allergens
The FDA indicates that there are over 160 allergens that can produce immune responses. However, there are nine major allergens:
Milk
Eggs
Fish
Crustacean Shellfish(e.g., shrimp, crab, lobster)
Tree Nuts(e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios)
Peanuts
Wheat
Soybeans
Sesame
Symptoms of an Allergic Reaction
Respiratory Symptoms (The Airway — Priority 1)
Shortness of breath, wheezing, or persistent coughing
Tightness or a "lump" in the throat, or a hoarse voice
Swelling of the tongue, uvula, or throat
Difficulty swallowing or breathing
Cardiovascular Symptoms (The Circulation — Priority 2)
A severe drop in blood pressure represents the body entering anaphylactic shock.Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting (syncope)
A weak, rapid, or irregular pulse
Pale or clammy skin
Sudden drop in blood pressure
Gastrointestinal Symptoms (The Gut — Priority 3)
Systemic allergic reactions often trigger the digestive system aggressively.Severe abdominal cramps or pain
Nausea and persistent vomiting
Diarrhea
Integumentary Symptoms (The Skin — Priority 4)
While highly visible and usually the first sign people notice, skin reactions are actually the lowest threat to life on their own. However, if they appear alongside any of the above, it indicates a systemic emergency.Generalized hives (urticaria) or an itchy rash
Flushed or reddened skin
Swelling of the lips, face, eyelids, or hands
Tingling or itching sensations in the mouth
General Steps to Ensure Guest Wellbeing
Ask the Bar Staff and Culinary Team. The service professional (and ideally the captain) should check with the bar staff and culinary team to clarify the presence of any allergens in beverage or food offerings.
Confirm Alterations and Alternatives. The service professional should confirm possible alterations and/or alternative beverage or food offerings.
Ask Guests. The service professional should ask guests if they have any dietary preferences or restrictions if and when they take a beverage or food order (if applicable).
Responding to an Allergic Reaction of a Guest
Emergency Response Protocol: Anaphylaxis
Identify the Emergency (Immediate)
Recognize the signs of anaphylaxis (such as severe respiratory distress, throat swelling, or a sudden drop in blood pressure accompanied by hives).Administer Epinephrine Immediately (Seconds count)
Any service professional on the scene must immediately administer the epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen) into the guest's outer thigh. Follow the simple visual instructions printed directly on the device. Do not delay administration to wait for emergency services or a manager.Call 911 (Immediately after administration)
Direct a teammate to call 911 immediately, or make the call yourself if you are alone. Clearly state to the dispatcher that a guest is experiencing a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and that epinephrine has been administered.Monitor the Guest and Prepare a Second Dose (15–20 min window)
Keep the guest calm and do not leave them unattended. Because the effects of epinephrine wear off within 15 to 20 minutes, monitor them closely. If symptoms return or fail to improve and emergency medical services have not yet arrived, prepare to administer a second dose.
Team Execution Note: In an emergency, these steps should happen simultaneously if multiple team members are present. While one service professional administers the EpiPen, another immediately calls 911.
Source Credit: Emergency response protocols, symptom prioritization, and administration timelines are adapted from the official Anaphylaxis Emergency Action Plan guidelines are established by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
Maintain Safety in Different Service Styles
Drop-Off Service. The service professional should ensure allergens are clearly marked on food and beverage offerings.
Coffee Service. The service professional should ensure allergens are marked, paying close attention to coffee classifications (i.e., caffeinated or decaffeinated) and coffee additions (e.g., creamers, milks).
Buffet Service. The service professional should know allergens included in each food offering so they can communicate this to the guest (if serving from the buffet) or mark this on a card next to the offering.
Cocktail Service and/or Passed Hors D'oeuvres Service. The service professional should not only know the allergens included in each beverage and food offering but also be particularly attentive to the possibility of cross-contamination when switching between passed offerings. If at any time a guests asks a service professional a question about allergens that they do not know, the only appropriate response is, “I am not sure, but I will promptly check with the chef.”
Plated Service or American Service. The service professional should ensure guests communicate information about dietary restrictions or preferences. They should confirm these restrictions or preferences when taking an order.
Hybrid Service. The service professional should follow recommendations for both cocktail service and/or passed hors d’oeuvres service and plated service or American Service.
Equipment Safety
Equipment safety refers to the regulations and practices related to preventing harm with respect to equipment and supplies. Common equipment includes the usage of appliances, sternos, and fire extinguishers.
Appliance Usage
Appliances include devices or machines used to perform a specific task. Proper appliance usage involves:
Ensuring service professionals are aware of the location, handling, and proper protocols for the usage of the appliance.
Placing the appliance on a dry surface with proper ventilation.
Checking appliance cords to ensure that they are removed from wet, rough, sharp, hot, or greasy areas and that they are grounded in a 3-prong plug.
Fire Extinguisher Usage
A fire extinguisher is a portable device used to extinguish small fires. Proper fire extinguisher usage includes:
Ensuring service professionals are aware of the location, handling, and proper protocols for the usage of the fire extinguisher.
Understanding the P. A. S. S. method:
P: Pull the pin
A: Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
S: Squeeze the handle to release the extinguishing agent
S: Sweep the extinguisher from side to side at the base of the fire until the fire is fully extinguished
Requesting assistance if the fire is not extinguishable (by, e.g., the fire department) and, if necessary, performing an evacuation
Evacuation
Performing an Evacuation
An evacuation involves directing and/or transporting a group of people away from a source of danger. Sources of danger may be fires, severe weather, active shooters, or other life-threatening situations.
Service professionals, and specifically the captain, should be knowledgeable in terms of how to perform an evacuation during an event.
Evacuation Protocols
Preparing for a Possible Evacuation
Ensure service professionals, and specifically the captain, are familiar with evacuation protocols.
Check that exits are marked with visible signage, free of obstructions, and sufficiently wide.
Determine assembly points, points where the team and guests will gather after evacuating to remain safe from danger and debris.
Performing an Evacuation
Sound the alarm to initiate the evacuation process or (in lieu of an alarm) make an announcement over a public address system or communication device.
Direct the team and guests to exits in an orderly fashion that avoids crowding. Attend to individuals who may require extra assistance, including children, elderly guests, pregnant women, or individuals with disabilities.
Maintain communication with the team through communication devices to monitor the evacuation process, coordinate efforts, and update the team.
Oversee the operation, acting as the last individual to leave the building.
Accounting for the Team
Use the staff list to confirm the team evacuates the venue and arrives safely at the assembly point. Ensure the staff list includes an emergency contact for each team member (including, e.g., a phone number).
Inform relevant emergency responders immediately of any missing team members or guest so they can conduct a search and rescue operation
Report the Incident
Document relevant details about the emergency and evacuation.
Complete an incident report form. This should include:
Date of emergency
Time of emergency
Nature of the emergency
Actions taken in response to the emergency (e.g., evacuation procedures and decisions made)
Outcome of the emergency (e.g., injured team members or guests)