][1]When it gets to the stage that there is a national day to celebrate not wearing trousers on the Tube, it can seem as though awareness days are getting out of hand. For instance, today is National Dress Your Pet Up Day in the US. As you are no doubt aware, National Popcorn Day follows on Saturday.
Of course, it’s not all vaguely silly. There are plenty of worthwhile causes which aim to raise awareness through having their own day. No-one is going to argue with World AIDS Day.
Your blogger liked the idea of National Waiters Day – an idea which is being proposed today by Fred Sirieix at the 20th Annual Hotel General Managers’ Conference in London.
According to Mr Sirieix, the contribution of of waiters and waitresses to the British dining experience is often overlooked and National Waiters Day, scheduled for the 23rd of June, aims to remedy this.
Michel Roux
Fred Sirieix fronted up the BBC2 series Michel Roux’s Service while his day job sees him looking after guests as the general manager at Galvin at Windows on Park Lane.
His argument is that ‘Waiting (or waitressing) has a dreadful reputation in the UK. The belief is that it is a job for the unskilled, with long hours, a lot of verbal abuse and criminally low pay.
‘No wonder the hospitality industry struggles to attract young people into front of house service. We really need to change the image to show that it can be fun, that it is a skilled profession and that it can lead to a proper career progression with decent rewards.’
Waiters Race
As part of the celebration, there will be a waiters race organised in London and Sirieix is urging catering businesses around the country to set up their own races.
Apparently, the term ‘waiter’ originated in Middle English in the 1300s. Originally hand picked by royalty, waiting staff formed a crucial role in serving and defending kings and queens. Today, British waiting staff carry an estimated 4 million tonnes of food, billions of plates and billions of drinks to dining tables every year.