Maître d'

The maître d' (short for "maître d'hôtel," literally "master of the hotel") in a suitably staffed restaurant or hotel is the person in charge of assigning customers to tables in the establishment and dividing the dining area into areas of responsibility for the various servers on duty. He or she may also be the person who receives and records advance reservations for dining, as well as dealing with any customer complaints and making sure all servers are completing their tasks in an efficient manner. In some localities or traditions particularly small organizations like a single restaurant the post is also known as the headwaiter or host.

In large organizations such as hotels or cruise ships where more restaurants are available, he or she is responsible for the overall dining experience including room service and buffet, service quality and guest satisfaction, while the head waiters or supervisors are responsible for the specific restaurant or dining room they work in.

In the United States, these functions may be vested in a manager, supervisor, or cashier. The distinction between a maître d'hôtel and host is, in practice, one of nomenclature.

"Maître d'hôtel" also refers to a flavored butter or sauce made from butter, parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Traditionally the seasonings and parsley are worked into cold butter, and then the lemon juice is added a little at a time. It is typically served on meat or fish.

A Maître d' is also a term used in hotel banquets. The Maître d' is a banquet server who is the head of a given function. They may or may not serve tables based on amount of staff. The Maître d' will discuss the menu with th chef, meet with the contact, give the chef the 20 minute warning to fire food, and make sure everything is going smoothly during the function.

See also

*Majordomo
*Sommelier

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