Virtual Booth

Table setting is a compulsory skill that all culinary arts students from vocational colleges in Malaysia have to master. Table setting is a technical term used in the food service industry to set the tables for all dining occasions formal or casual with complete flatware, cutlery, glassware, dinnerware and napkin. All students have to be competent in placing the correct utensils according to the menu served; either table d'hôte or a la carte. One of the students’ weaknesses in learning this skill is they have difficulties in memorizing the arrangement in the correct order. To deal with the problem, a teaching aid made out of a thick cardboard known as TS-Board is designed in order to aid students in memorizing the arrangement of the utensils and dinnerware pieces for the table setting in the correct order. The TS-Board works as a template of the actual table setting layout. It has the outlines of the utensils and dinnerware pieces used for the table setting that varies for each occasion. Each outline is labelled with the name of the utensils and they are numbered in the correct sequence. Students will have to place each utensil and dinnerware piece on the outlines of the template in the correct order as labelled. From the observation, 100% students were able to acquire the skill faster when using the TS-Board in the process of teaching and learning. This proves that the TS-Board is helpful for students to become competent in the skill of table setting. This innovative product can be commercialized using a more durable and easier to handle materials for example high density polyethylene, aluminium and stainless-steel board. TS-Board can be widely used for all levels of students not only in the vocational colleges but also in higher institutional learning and any related food service industries.