Foodservice systems Flashcards
What differentiates foodservice from a production?
What are some similarities?
Differences:
- demands for food occur at peak times (breakfast, lunch and dinner meals)
- demands for food vary depending on the time of year and competitive events so production must be notified accordingly
Similarities:
- labour intensive
- skilled and unskilled labor is needed
- due to food being perishable, it must be handled properly: before, during and after prep
- menu changes daily so production changes daily as well
What are some challenges for foodservice systems as a consequence of unique characteristics to food production and service?
- challenges in scheduling employees and production
- difficulty staffing
- high labor and food costs
What characteristics does a conventional food system have?
- demands for food occur at peak times (breakfast, lunch and dinner meals)
- demands for food vary depending on the time of year and competitive events so production must be notified accordingly
- labour intensive
- skilled and unskilled labor is needed
- due to food being perishable, it must be handled properly: before, during and after prep
- menu changes daily so production changes daily as well
What is the role of food service directors?
look for ways to reduce or eliminate impact of the unique characteristics
What is the purpose of alternative foodservice systems?
to offer solutions
Describe a commissary foodservice system.
They centralize the production process-> which allows for economies of scale, reducing the costs of food production
Describe a ready-prepared foodservice system.
They separate production and service where food is prepared and stored in either frozen or chilled for later re-thermalization and service
-> removes peaks and valleys of production that occur when production is planned around service -> more cost effective foodservice system than the conventional system
Why is it important to understand the flow of food?
- to determine the system that best meets your needs
- develop an effective HACCP program
What are the 10 possible processes that food flows through? (include the case of centralized food production)
menu planning-> purchasing -> receiving -> storing -> preparing -> cooking -> holding -> serving -> cooling -> reheating
*if food service system is centralized: transporting process must be added
What is the continuum of food processing that might be done prior to purchasing?
none to complete
- if food is purchased at the “none” end of the continuum, you purchased the ingredients for a product
- if food is purchased at the “complete” end of the continuum, the food product you purchased is ready to heat or serve (perhaps even no prep or rethermalization)
Give an example of the food purchase continuum you might find in a school food service.
make: Italian bread
possibilities:
-purchase ingredients (yeast, flour, sugar, shortening and salt) to make own bread from scratch
no prior processing = at the “none” end
-purchase frozen bread dough, proof it, bake it = purchasing at the mid-range end of the food precessing continuum
-purchase form the complete end of continuum = purchase Italian bread already bakes and you just need to serve
How do purchasing decisions differ?
depending on the type of foodservice system that is in place
Give an example of centralized food production and its purchasing decisions.
- more likely to purchase from the left end of the continuum “none” = little to no processing
- the processing will be done in the centralized kitchen
- represents substantial cost savings = one goals for centralized production
What is the relationship between food costs and labor costs? Compare centralized kitchen vs. assembly-serve foodservice system.
inversely related (usually) -as one goes up the other one goes down
Centralized Foodservice System:
-if quantities of food produced are very high, (seen with large central kitchen), productivity (meals per labour hour) increases = so labor costs are more reasonable
Assembly service food service system:
- if food is purchased at the “complete” end of the food processing continuum, food costs are high but less labor is require so labor costs decreases
What are the 4 types of foodservice systems in the literature?
1- conventional
2- commissary
3- ready-prepared
4-assembly serve