Assistant Waiter Questions & Answers for Cruise Ship Job Interview

In today’s article, we look at the most frequently asked questions  on an Assistant Waiter Cruise Ship job interview at Carnival Cruises on HireView and sample answers.

1. Name mother sauces 

• Béchamel, or white sauce
• Velouté
• Espagnole, or brown sauce
• Hollandaise
• Tomato

2. Pasta sauces 

• Marinara Sauce
• Alfredo Sauce
• Bolognese Sauce
• Pesto Sauce
• Vegan Tomato Pasta Sauce
• Carbonara Sauce
• Truffle Cream Pasta Sauce
• Ragu Sauce
• Amatriciana Pasta Sauce
• Arrabbiata Sauce

3. What traditional sauce do you serve with?

• *Lamb* – Lemon butter, Mint, peppercorn, garlic & rosemary
• *Turkey* – Cream sauce, shallot and mustard, BBQ, mango chutney
• *Fish* – Lemon butter, lemon garlic, creamy parmesan, pepper, apricot, mustard

4. Which roast meat goes with the following sauces?

• *Roast turkey* – Cranberry sauce, currant jelly
• *Roast goose* – Applesauce, cranberry sauce
• *Roast beef* – Steak sauce, mesquite sauce
• *Roast chicken* – Lemon & herb, BBQ, garlic & herb
• *Roast pork* – soy ginger, mustard cream, onion gravy

5. Types of steak

• Ribeye Steak
• Strip Steak
• Rump
• Sirloin
• Tenderloin Steak
• Porterhouse Steak
• Hanger Steak
• Skirt Steak
• Short Ribs
• Flap Steak

6. Wine regions 

• Italy
• France
• United States
• Spain
• Australia
• Argentina
• China
• South Africa

7. Types of pasta.

• Spaghetti
• Penne
• Fettuccine Pasta
• Lasagna
• Macaroni
• Shells
• Tagliatelle Pasta
• Ravioli
• Linguine
• Rigatoni
• Farfalle
• Fusilli
• Cannelloni

8. Food pairing

Most Famous Flavour Combos! 

• Peanut Butter and Chocolate
• Burger and Fries
• Pizza and Beer
• Bacon and egg
• Peanut Butter and Jelly
• Salted Caramel
• Ham and Cheese
• Cinnamon and apple
• Butter & Popcorn
• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Apple Pie and Ice Cream
• Raspberry and Chocolate
• Pizza and Beer

9. Define the following:

• *Vegan* – a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal product

• *Vegetarian*– a person who does not eat meat or fish, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons

• *Pescatarian* – a person who does not eat meat but does eat fish.

• *Diabetic person*– One whose body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should

10. What does gluten free mean?

• A gluten-free diet is an eating plan that excludes wheat, barley, rye and choosing substitutes that provide nutrients for a healthy diet

11. Allergies. If someone is allergic to gluten which food is not supposed to be served to him/her?

• Beer, ale, porter, stout (usually contain barley)
• Breads, cakes & pies
• Bulgur wheat
• Cereals
• Cookies and crackers
• Croutons
• French fries
• Imitation meat or seafoods
• Pastas
• Hot dogs and processed lunchmeats
• Salad dressings
• Seasoned foods
• soup mixes, gravies, and sauces (including soy sauce)

12. What is halaal, kosher?

• *Halaal* – denoting or relating to meat prepared as prescribed by Muslim law.

• *Kosher* – Food preparation according to the requirements of Jewish law.

13. If client tells you about Allergies who do you tell?

• When a customer announces that he or she has a food allergy, the information should be noted immediately on the ticket.

It should then be conveyed directly to the manager.

Many people with food allergies call ahead to confirm that a restaurant can accommodate them.

14. What is your role as a waiter?

• Server’s responsibility is attending to diners before, during, and after their meals by helping them place, receive, and pay for their orders.

They also ensure the timely delivery of food and beverages by checking on their tables periodically throughout the service time.

15.What is a Buffet?

• a meal for which several dishes are displayed on a table so that guests can serve themselves

16.Describe or set up a full dinner table

  5 Types of table set-ups

• Formal Table Setting
• Casual Table Setting
• Buffet Table Setting
• Breakfast Table Setting
• Pizzeria Table Setting

17. What meal do you serve with white wine? 

• With a dish that contains white protein such as chicken and fish
• Starters, cheese

18. Which traditional food would you serve a scone with?

• Clotted cream & jam
• Grated cheddar cheese

19. What is a cocktail?

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink.

Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavoured syrup, or cream.

• Margarita
• Mojito
• Martini
• Gin & tonic
• Rum & coke
• Piña Colada.
• Daiquiri
• Mimosa
• Gin & Tonic.
• Cosmopolitan.
• Screwdriver.
• Tequila Sunrise.
• Whiskey Sour.
• Irish Coffee.

20. What order do you serve a table with kids, man, woman and an elderly person?

• Elderly, kids, woman then man

21. Restaurant capacity of previous job as compared with the cruise ship’s dining. It’s a 1,000 sitter.

• Both hotels I’ve worked for used to host big functions like weddings, Christmas lunches, matric balls, birthday parties etc. which gave me the experience of dealing with big numbers

22. How do you make a finger bowl?

A finger bowl is a bowl of water that dinner guests use for rinsing their fingers.

In a formal meal, the finger bowl is brought to the table at the time of the dessert course of the meal, and guests set it aside for use after the last course, just before leaving the table.

A finger bow is made of hot water, ice cubes and lemon.

23. What would you serve with the finger bowl?

Ribs, chicken wings & sometimes prawns.