Appropriateness of the food production and services system
My place of work is at the Wembley football stadium, where I work as a waiter in one of the boxes. Usually, a single chef is normally assigned to one box. In addition, one waiter is also expected to take care of a single guest room, and help with the service of the guests. My nature of work therefore is that of a waiter in a busy football stadium. The main consumers that normally frequent the stadium are mainly those of the age bracket between 15 years and 45 years.
Nevertheless, there are still those who are out of this age bracket. The needs and preferences of this age bracket of customers is both complex and complicated. The demands and preferences shall often be dictated by their purchasing powers, as well as the influences that they get from friends and relatives.
In terms of needs, these fans usually go for ready-to eat meals, deserts, and soft drinks. Nevertheless, there are also the sports official and a handful of other guests that usually prefers a full course meal. At the Wembley stadium the menu planning is such that a main course meal is served, followed by deserts, and soft drinks. As for alcohol, a customer needs to pre-order and pay for it in advance. Besides, no guest is permitted to bring with them their own drinks in to the box.
All the alcohol has to be drunk at the lower level. In order to fulfill the needs of the customers therefore, a system of cook and serve is usually practiced at the Wembley stadium. This system is especially suited to such foods as the frozen and chilled foods, ice cream, frozen pies, and desserts.
In addition, the eating times are usually varied at the Wembley stadium, with the peak hours usually reaching a few hours into the start of an event. Nevertheless, the food choices that are made by the customers are based on what they select for the menu.
Additionally, the nature of the requirements that a system with reduced time of holding from when food is prepared to when it gets consumed, greatly appeals to this food and beverage establishment. Nevertheless, this system also calls for an extensive and prior preparation of the ingredients to be used.
Energy conservation methods applicable in the hospitality industry
At the department of food preparation, the staff ensures that the controls for oven thermostats are in a working condition. Moreover, the doors to the oven are not usually opened longer than is necessary. Also, the cookers and oven that are not in use usually gets turned off. The panswitch lids and pots are also normally covered while the cooking is going on.
At the restaurant, light gets turned off whenever they are not needed. Also broken windowpanes are normally replaced immediately, to ensure that air ingression does not occur. The laundry department ensures that the washing machines always get operated when fully loaded. This is because whether partial or fully loaded, the amount of water that the machine may require shall always be the same.
Use is also made of cold water detergents, as these tend to greatly reduce the consumption of energy. Insulations to the hot water piping are always ensured that they are repaired and replaced whenever they breakdown. In an attempt at reducing charges due to peak demands, the machine operations always get rescheduled.
Storage and control methods for both food & beverage production services
For perishable foods that are often purchased by for example restaurants, these are often stored depending on their moisture contents, as well as their natures. In the case of meat, this has to be stored in the cold stores that are often maintained at a temperature below 5 degree Celsius (Baker et al 1995). This is with a view to inhibiting the actions of pathogens such as bacteria that will lead to deterioration.
Moreover, the position of such foods as meat in either a refrigerator or cold storage, matters a lot. Usually, they are stored at the bottom of the storage facility, in order that the juices that ooze out due to temperature difference may not be a source of contamination to the other foods stored (Cousins et al 2002).
On the other hand, such foods as onions, bananas and potatoes may not be stored in a cold room, as there are undesirable reactions that occur, thus deteriorating their quality (Ekinci 1999). Potatoes may undergo browning reaction, and bananas darken. Onions are stored in special nets with ventilations.
For the foods that have been prepared ready for consumption, desserts could be covered with aluminum foils to avoid contamination. In the case of ice cream, this should be stored at refrigeration temperatures. The same case goes for beer and soft drinks. Pies on the other hand, desire a frozen condition to retain their aroma and freshness. Baked products once cooled do well at room temperatures (Davies et al 1998).
Storage and control methods
Standardized portion sizes are normally used in the restaurant, as this has proved to be an easier way of controlling the beverages. However, the method is usually not practiced with all kinds of foods. Such beverages as orange juices for example, are just drained into the glass of a customer (Dittmer et al 2005). In the case of alcoholic drinks such as the spirits, there is a need to measure these before they can be sold to the customers.
As such, the measurements of these become the basis on which they are sold. Additionally, standardized glassware is also used, with a view to controlling the portion sizes of the drinks that are served at the restaurant. Moreover, an automatic machine for the dispensing of beverages has also been installed at my place of work (Drummond 1998). This machine measures and dispenses a pre-set portion of a drink.
According to research findings, this method has been found to provide more reliable and efficient way of controlling beverages in a sales outlet. In addition, the practice of metering each one of the drinks that are served also ensures that there is a control in term of inventory (Dittmer et al 2005).
A lack of control of the beverage and food products served shall often translate into poor inventory of sales. As such, a restaurant manager may not know by how much they are making losses. Additionally, it would also be difficult to pinpoint and track down the areas that are causing such a loss. Moreover, a lot of the ensuing losses also tend to go unaccounted for (Dittmer et al 2005). Besides, there occurs a lack of consistency in the inventory taking, and this is a source of risk for a business.
Purchase specifications
Before food can be purchased, it is important for the management of a food and beverage establishment to determine first the nature and kind of foods that they wish to purchase. This helps them to make a purchase that is well calculated regardless of whether or not the food is perishable.
One of the purchasing specifications for the hospitality industry is the quality assessment of the food purchased. Since foods, unlike other products tends to deteriorate more rapidly, it is therefore important that their quality and by extension, the set specifications be high.
The reason behind this is so as to ensure that at least the desirable quality is able to reached, in line with the requirements of the customers. The quality assessment of food ought also to be carried out on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the assessment shall often be governed by the varieties of foods that have been made available on the menu (Cousins et al 2002).
It is worth noting the actual practice of developing a full list of foods to be purchased, and also including the desirable characteristics, tends to be both complex and time-consuming (Dittmer et al 2005). Nevertheless, the practice is a necessity that greatly facilitates the control of purchases effectively.
If at all a food establishment is to maintain a consistent quality of its products, then it is important that the raw materials be also of a higher quality. The establishment of quality standards is yet another purchasing specification that could be utilized for the purchase of food and beverages products (Dittmer et al 2005).
This means that the management has to have their own internal standards, besides those that have been set by the government, regarding the purchase of raw materials for the food and beverage industry. Quality standards are the yardstick through which an establishment can be able to judge the quality of the foods and drinks that would eventually be served to their customers.
At the same time, the establishment of quality standards ensures that a food and beverage establishment is conforming to the set standards; in as far as the purchase of raw materials is concerned. It is another proven way of having repeat customer purchases (Cracknell et al 2000).
Problems for not using a specification
When specifications on the products to be purchased have not been issued, it often becomes difficult to assess the actual requirements in advance. In addition, the actual practice of menu planning gets compromised. There could also be a misunderstanding between fro example, purveyors and stewards, in the absence of specification fro purchase of products (Faskett et al 2003). Moreover, the practice of inspecting food that is being delivered usually becomes complicated.
Key aspects of health and safety in the kitchen department of a food & beverage establishment
Statistics shows that close to a third of all the accidents normally reported from the catering department are attributed to trips, slips and falls. In light of this, it is important to take into account the cleaning of the floor, as well as ensuring that the waiters come to work wearing the appropriate footwear (Dittmer et al 2005).
Further, a contact with either harmful substances or even hot surfaces has been shown to contribute to 16 percent of all the accidents that are reported. In this regards, a consideration of the causes behind scalds and burns ought to be investigated.
Safety thus becomes a major concern here. As such, those workers in the kitchen handling say, hot fat, should do so with utmost care (Ekinci 1999). The same goes fro the steamers operators. In addition, a lot of the cleaning agents have been known to causes serious burns, especially to the eyes. For this reason, the purchase specifications for such cleaning detergent should be reviewed for conformance with the requirements of the hospitality industry.
A further 12 percent of the reported accidents in the catering department have been attributed to being hit by objects. In this regard, knives have been shown to be the worst culprits. It is important that they be handled safely (Baker et al 1995). Also, they should be kept clean and sharp, and have their scabbards replaced when they are not being used.
Knives should never be left on either the drains or sink. It is important that the equipments hazard be also considered. The issuance of clear instructions becomes necessary, such as not letting workers operate a machine they are not familiar with (Dittmer et al 2005).
Some of the other hazard control that is applicable in a kitchen establishment would often include the cleaning routines, and ensuring that the floor is not slippery. Thus, there should be a thorough rinsing of these (Ekinci 1999). The walkways should be clear to, and free of such equipments as trolleys. Furthermore, there is a need to have the workers trained on health and safety regulations in order to mitigate the occurrence of hazards.
Conclusion
The management of food and beverages in the hospitality industry demand that there be specifications fro these products in order for an establishment to remain competitive. In addition, there is also a need to have purchase specifications of the raw materials. The storage methods, and the control procedures for the foods and beverages should implemented with a view to meeting the needs of customers. These are some of the daily procedures that are undertaken at the Wembley stadium restaurant.
When proper control is not exercised, then it becomes difficult to attain such a goal. In addition, there is a need of ensuring that the health and safety specifications in the hospitality industry are followed and practiced always. This helps to mitigate the occurrences of accidents and hazards.
Bibliography
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