Glossary
Hospo words: E
25 terms you'll hear on shift.
- E. coli O157
- A dangerous bacterium that can cause severe illness; its risks led to strict separation of raw and cooked food in UK guidance.
- Early arrival
- A guest arriving before standard check-in time, often waiting for a room to be cleaned.
- EBITDA
- Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
- EHO
- Environmental Health Officer.
- Ejection
- Removing someone from a venue. Best practice is calm, proportionate, recorded and caught on body cam or CCTV.
- Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023
- The Great Britain law requiring employers to pass on all tips to workers without deductions and to allocate them fairly, with a written policy.
- Employment Rights Act 1996
- The main UK statute setting out employee rights such as unfair dismissal protection and redundancy pay.
- Emulsion
- A stable mix of two liquids that would normally separate, such as oil and water in mayonnaise or hollandaise, held together by an emulsifier like lecithin in egg yolk.
- En primeur
- Buying wine, classically Bordeaux, while it is still in barrel, a year or more before it is bottled and released.
- Entrée
- In the UK and France, a starter or middle course; in the US, the main course. A common source of confusion.
- Entremet
- A layered modern French dessert cake of mousses, inserts and sponges, often finished with a mirror glaze.
- Environmental health
- The council department responsible for food safety and hygiene inspections.
- EPOS
- Electronic point of sale.
- Equality Act 2010
- UK law protecting people from discrimination, including in employment and access to services.
- Espagnole
- The brown mother sauce, made from brown stock, a brown roux, mirepoix and tomato. The base for demi-glace.
- Espresso
- A short, concentrated coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee under pressure, usually around 9 bar.
- Evening buffet
- Food served later at a wedding or party for evening guests, often bacon rolls, pizza or a hog roast.
- Event hospitality
- Packages at sports and cultural events including tickets, food and drinks.
- Exclusion period
- Staff with vomiting or diarrhoea should stay off work until 48 hours after symptoms stop.
- Exclusive use
- Hiring an entire venue so no other guests are present, common for weddings.
- Executive chef
- Chef overseeing multiple kitchens or sites.
- Expo
- Expediter who coordinates dishes at the pass.
- Expressed peel
- Squeezing a strip of citrus peel over a drink so its oils spray across the surface, then garnishing or discarding it.
- Extraction
- How much of the soluble material is dissolved from coffee grounds. Under-extracted tastes sour; over-extracted tastes bitter.
- Extraction canopy
- The hood that removes smoke and grease from cooking, with filters that need regular cleaning.
Hospodality