Role of Food And Beverages for Hospitality Industry

Characteristics of food production and food and beverage service systems

The term food production is basically referred to a planning of preparing menu, purchasing raw materials, cleaning kitchen as well as preparing, cooking and storing food. Further, food production and food & beverage service systems are usually related to single delivery system. In this context, foods from fruits to high gourmet cuisines are prepared and decorated in different ways. Further, beverages are liquid drinks to accompany the meals and they can be served either hot or cold. In this context, beverages are of two types cold or hot drinks and further the cold drinks could be non alcoholic or alcoholic drinks. The few methods of cooking are categorized in different groups which are discussed below:

Conventional method- In this method, food preparation and cooking are done on site and immediately, it is served to customers.

Convenience method- In this, food is pre-processed which could consumed easily and fast because the ready meals are generally in the form of frozen or canned. Before consuming, food needs to warn up in microwave etc. (Aung and Chang, 2014)

Centralized method- For bulk production, this method is used by the large fast food chain and in this, food is prepared in central kitchen and distributed to different places like hospitals etc.

Cook-chill method- This method includes normal preparation of food and after that they require  rapid chilling to control the temperature. This is done to keep food fresh for the long time like 5-6 days.

Cook-freeze method- Food is fully cooked by fast freezing method by storing it at -18c or below temperature. This method keeps food fresh for the several months.

Sous-vide method- In this method, temperature is around 70C and cooking of food is done in vacuum plastic bags in the by using water bath machines for many hours. This method helps to enhance the texture, flavour, moisture and tenderness of food (Farber, Crichton and Snyder, 2014).The serviceService systems which are used to serve the food and beverages are defined below:

Table service- In this service system, waiters bring the beverages and food to customer’s table. This service system includes sub styles such as English, American, Silver or French style.

Self serviceSelf-service- Customers who do not have time at their disposal, this system provides ready to eat food to them and in this, they collect their own food and beverages.

Buffet system- Variety of foods are arranged on long table which are placed in platters, dishes and hot buffet servers. This system serves foods to many customers at same time because customers can take the food according to their choice.

Cafeteria system- This system allows customers to choose their own drinks and foods which are displayed at counter and after this, they place them on tray (Mortimore and Wallace, 2013).

Factors affecting recipes and menus for specific systems

There are several factors which affect both the recipes and menus which are described below:

Skills of kitchen staff

In preparation and decoration of foods, skilled kitchen staffs are required because good appearance of dishes also satisfy and influence customers to taste it. Skilled staff members will enhance the flavour, texture and moisture of food. If the taste and decoration is not up to the mark as per the expectation of guests than lot of food will be waste (Mensah and Julien, 2011).

Nutrition value

Kitchen staff members are required to focus on both the quality and nutrition value of food. In the present time, people are aware and more conscious about their health so, nutrition value of food should be maintained.

Raw material availability

Availability of raw material also affects the menus and recipes because budget is limited according to case study and time is also required to arrange raw material in order to meet the demand of party. After selecting the recipe option, if required raw material quantity is not available to meet the demand of guests than it creates a problem. So, in this manner raw material availability also affects the recipe and menus of food and beverages (Macheka and et.al., 2013).

Availability of storage

The selection of recipes and menus also depends upon the storage facility and equipments. If in menus there are drinks and foods which should be chilled before serving. For this purpose refrigerator is required or space in existing refrigerator is required. If the storage facility is not proper than freshness of raw materials like vegetable and food may change.

Guest requirements

According to case scenario, some guests are vegetarian and few of them face diabetes issues. According to guest's requirements, recipes and menus are decided for the party in order to satisfy everyone needs. In party, children are also involved so, in preparation of menu and recipes children are also required to be considered (Trematerra, 2013).

Compare the cost and staffing implications for different systems

Manger of food and beverages has to carefully calculate the cost and also to maintain balance between the cost and staffing implications. In the cost calculation, prices on menu should be set in an acceptable manner from the customer’s point of view and prices should be also acceptable in terms of profit margin.

Suitability of systems for particular food and beverage outlets

According to suitability and convenience, the buffet service system is best for the event because it includes self service system. According to the buffet service system, food and beverages which could be hot or cold are attractively placed on the series of long table. On the table both hot and cold beverages and foods are placed together. According to case study, party is to celebrate end of term of students. The party guests are almost 60 in which 50 guests are adult and 10 are children. Among the guests 10 are vegetarians and 4 are suffering from diabetes disease. In buffet system, vegetarian food could be placed on another table which holds a banner named with “Vegetarian food”. With the help of this, 10 vegetarian guest will easily notice the table which only include vegetable food. Further in this context sugar free beverages and desserts  are also placed on other table with banner of “Sugar free food”. Through this table the 4 diabetes guests can also identify their meal. In the party 10 children guest are also expected, for the children another table with attractive decoration can be placed which holds special foods for them. Through this service system, all guests will have choice of different variety of food and beverages. In this staffing cost is low because in this requires staff could be less skilled (Griffith, 2010).

Use of financial statements in food and beverage operations

The financial statement describes the financial status of organization and it is also a formal record of all financial activities of business operations. The financial statements are basically of four types such as balance sheet, cash flow statement, retained earning statement and income statement of company. For the financial state of food and beverage operation, the managers uses the financial statements as a tool. With the help of financial statements, the manager keeps the formal record of daily transactions which are related to purchasing the raw material, kitchen equipments and beverages items. For “end of term” event, the few financial statements that are used in food and beverages operations of this event are described below:

Operating statements

The operating statement describes the final preparation cost of food and beverages. It also includes carrying cost, procuring material cost and transformation cost of material to final product. For the end of term party, he operating statements includes final cost of food and beverages with the preparation (Pomeranz, 2013).

Cost statements

It is breakdown of all incurred costs which includes direct and indirect expenses of preparation of food and beverages. This statements helps to allocate the budget for ever single dish which is presenting in the party.

Dish costing sheet

The dish costing is used to calculate the selling price of dish or menu. With the help of this costing statement, it is easy to evaluate cost of all ingredients and raw materials that are used by chefs to prepare and cook the food. In the sheet of dish costing,  each and every ingredient's costs are calculated. This costing helps manager in taking the decision of food selection for menu of end term party (Wyness, Butriss and Stanner, 2012).

Sales records

With the help of sales record, manager easily understand that what guest would like to prefer. The sales record are very essential to be maintained properly because it helps to forecast the future sales of food and beverages. The frequent purchasing of goods and services describes the purchasing pattern and preference of guests. The pub;s sales record will also help to decide the menu and recipes of end term party.

Variance analysis

With the help of variance analysis, difference between actual prices of products and planned budget are evaluated. In this context, actual prices of products which are   sold to customers by hotel or resort. This analysis tool helps manager to understand the present cost and also helps to control the future cost (Gootman, McGinnis and Kraak, 2006).

Use of cost and pricing processes

The process of cost and pricing includes various elements such as beverages, dishes, menu prices, sales mix, net & gross profits, VAT, direct, fixed, variable and indirect costs. The term pricing is related to amount of money which is needed for buying products and services. On the other side, the term cost involves the money, time, efforts, labour cost and transformation cost which are used at the time of preparing the recipes, menus and events. As per the case scenario, to decide the menu of various recipes according to the guest nature, so, it is important to spend the decided budget money in more effective and efficient way to make the event more enjoyable and memorable. For this purpose the cost and pricing process is used and required. In this context the direct cost is cost of ingredients and materials which are used to prepare the food and beverages items by the pub. Further the indirect cost are the cost which are not added in the food preparation but they are the most important part during the process of food preparation such as required equipments or oil is required to cook the food etc. The variable cost is related to the ingredients cost of food and beverages and this cost varies with the time because cost of ingredients also varies with the time. The next cost is fixed cost which remains invariant with the time and even at the growth stage of business the fixed cost remains constant (Burger, 2014).

Purchasing process

The process of purchasing plays a important role in the hospitality industries. The purchasing process is related to buying the required equipments and tools to prepare the food and beverages. It includes the raw material to prepare the final dish, utensils for serving the hot and cold food and beverages, tables and chairs which are used in buffet service system to serve the food on long tables and other things which are required to make the party successful in respect to food and beverages production and service system. It is very important of manager to manage and control the inventory level. The accurate purchasing process helps to maintain the stock of prepared food which use to meet the demand and expectation s of all guests. The purchasing process includes following steps which are as follows:

Purchasing of food and beverages- In this pub manager has to find out the requirement of material which are needed in food and beverages. With the help of previous sales record and statements, manager can determine the need.

Suitable suppliers- In this list of required material are made which have to be purchase. Further in this step, the appropriate supplier are identified who can sell the materials in lower costs as compare to other suppliers. For this purpose, pub can use the tender option for a long term contract (French, Story and Fulkerson, 2002).

Placing order- After requisition of suppliers, it is time to place the order which are essential in the food preparation.

Order receiving- In this step, after receiving the order, it is essential to check the quantity and quality of raw material because damage things can affect the taste of food.

Storing facility- After the process of checking, the raw material are required to store in data ware house to keep them safe and fresh. For the convenience, kitchen staff can store the material with the tag name (Lo, 2015).

Food and beverage menus for a hospitality event

According to given scenario, one event named end of term is celebrated in pub. The main motive at the time of serving is to satisfy the need and expectation of all guests. In party few guests are vegetarian, children and diabetes patients, according to this the food and beverages recipes are selected in the menu of pub. In the selection of various dishes, the sweet dishes are  also require to involve in menu. As per the case study the budget is also mentioned which is £1000. so, it is very important to select the dishes in menus according to the given budget.

The selection and suitability of recipes for menus

In the process of compiling, the menu of end term party takes the lots of consideration to meet the expectations of guests. In the making of menu, the nature and taste of guests are keep in mind because in the party few guests are purely vegetarian, few are children and four are facing the problem of diabetes. While considering recipes of menu factors are considered such as nutrition value, hygiene issues and balance diet for every guests (Brownell and et. al., 2009). While considering the all these factors and nature of guests, the selection of food and beverages are mentioned above in which chicken breasts with croissants, Mexican themed burger, hot dog, beer and apple pie is for the adults. Further in this context, the fresh green salad,  nachos with salsa sausages, shallow fried potatoes and mushroom, hot tea or cold coffee and green tea are chose for the vegetarian guests. The adults can also have these dishes according to their choice. For the diabetes guests, the dishes such as grilled vegetables with Russian salad and grilled fish with rice are considered. In the sweet dishes sugar free chocolate and walnut brownie are also selected for the diabetes guests. All these dishes are kept according to the diabetic people so they do not face any issues in eating and they can also enjoy the party in more effective way. The combination of rice with fish is selected because it is low in fat and it includes vitamins and carbohydrate which are good for diabetes people. For the enjoyment of children the dishes are selected such as orange juice, apple   smoothie, white pasta and spaghetti pasta with sauce, chocolate fudge and strawberry mousse cake in the menu. The adult and vegetarian guests can also enjoy these dishes because they are full healthy for all (Alliance, 2001).

Implement the planned service maintaining standards of quality and health, safety and security

It is very important to plan effectively before hosting a hospitality event to satisfy the needs of guests as well as safeguarding them from various risk factors such as food poisoning and other mishaps (Alliance, 2001). These days people who are involved in organization and management of hospitality events are increasingly getting aware of the importance of standards related to health, safety and security (Brownell and et. al., 2009). Therefore many organizations related to hospitality such as restaurants, resorts, pubs etc. lay emphasis on the maintenance of food and health standards in order to provide superior quality of food to guests (Cen and He, 2007). In addition to this, a healthy and  hygienic environment is also ensured to customers to protect them from accidents and injuries. All the hospitality organizations of UK need to abide by the Food and Safety Act 1990 (Lo, 2015). The Act is a statutory obligation that regulates the operations of food processing as well as hospitality sector where food is offered for consumption to individuals (Food Safety Act 1990, 2016). In the given scenario, the local community pub where the term end party is planned to be hosted need to implement planned services as per the food, safety and security standards to satisfy the needs of guests  
(French, Story and Fulkerson, 2002).

Before organizing the event it is very important to ensure the quality standards related to service planning, food and beverage preparation and cooking and presentation methods.  These days people pay attention to quality of  food and services of hospitality organizations (Burger, 2014). Therefore it is very cardinal to take care of quality   in every process of the service right from the purchasing of high quality raw materials from better suppliers. This is one of the crucial element of maintenance of food quality standards. Other than this, quality of preparation methods is also cardinal. The hospitality service staff need to follow guidelines laid by the Food and Safety Act 1990 to maintain the quality of food and beverage preparation and presentation methods (Food Safety Act 1990, 2016). The staff need to ensure that cleanliness and hygiene is properly maintained in the kitchen of the pub. Dirty and filthy kitchen is a favourable place for microbial growth which leads to food related infections such as food poisoning, cholera, etc. which negatively impact the health of guests. Thus proper food and health safety of guests can be ensured by maintaining proper cleanliness in the cooking and food storage area of the pub.

Other than ensuring the quality of food, it is also crucial to follow health and safety regulations  to protect customers as well as pub staff from accidents and injuries at the working environment of the pub. UK government has crafted Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to protect workforce as well as individuals at their workplaces (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, 2016). The legislation include all the organizations including hospitality sector which need to comply the guidelines of the act (Gootman, McGinnis and Kraak, 2006). In the given scenario, the pub can make organizational policies that are meant to protect its staff as well as guests. The premises and equipment need to be placed at safe locations to prevent accidents and injuries. The pub need to take extra safety measures while hosting an event for large number of guests (Wyness, Butriss and Stanner, 2012).

For maintaining security standards the pub can install security measures such as fire extinguishers to prevent the perils of accidental fires. This will not only protect guests and staff but also help in reducing the penalty cost for the pub (Pomeranz, 2013). Proper implementation of safety standards not only protect guests but also help in increasing their satisfaction level which is a key driver of growth for hospitality organizations (Aung and Chang, 2014).

Evaluate factors to determine the success of the service, making recommendations for improvement

There are number of factors that help in determining the success of the hospitality event. These include planning and organization of the event, maintenance of quality standards and satisfaction level of guests which evaluated in the following points:

Planning and organization of event

Planning is the most important part of any hospitality event that determine its success. It It can be evaluated that effective planning and organizing is responsible for elevating satisfaction level of the guests in the given scenario (Griffith, 2010). The planning is done prior to the event which include designing a diverse menu to suffice the needs of guests who have different food and drinking interests. It can be evaluated that the guests off the event have varied taste for food (Luning and et.al., 2015). Few of them are vegetarian wile other have concern for their diabetes. Besides this, children are also included in the party list. Therefore it is very important to plan and organize effectively to address the needs of the guests considering their health, safety and security (Brownell and et. al., 2009).

Maintenance of quality standards

Another factor that play important role in the success of the hospitality event in the given scenario is the maintenance of the quality  standards. These standards are associated with cooking and preparation as well as their presentation (Child, 2011). It can be evaluated that tin the given case this factor is taken into consideration for delivering superior quality of food and beverages to guests. It has been made sure that cleanliness and hygiene factor is given prime importance to prevent contamination of food items. The storage of food and beverage is done very cautiously to maintain the quality of food components. In addition to this, it is also evaluated that the staff of the pub is also well trained in storage and organization of the food and beverage items (Macheka and et.al., 2013). Apart from this, health and safety measures are also paid proper heed while organizing the party in the given case.

Satisfaction level of guests

It is the most important factor that significantly affect the success of the hospitality event. In the given  scenario,  the menu has been planned by considering the needs and eating habits of the guests (Mensah and Julien, 2011). The guest list included vegetarian and diabetic people as well as kids. Therefore the food and beverage menu consist of vegetarian food items, low fat and sugar free recipes and delightful meals to satisfy the needs of respective guests.

Cost  effectiveness and time management

Cost and time are the vital determinants that play cardinal role in the success of the hospitality event. These factors are essential for deciding the budget for hosting  party in the given scenario. While selecting the menu for food and beverages the prices of recipes as well as financial statements of the pub is taken into consideration (Mortimore and Wallace, 2013). It can be evaluated that going through financial statement will be helpful in selecting appropriate menu that include food and beverages to address the needs of guests of the event. Other than cost, time management is also taken into consideration while making arrangements for the party (Farber, Crichton and Snyder, 2014).

Recommendations

• In order to improve the quality standards, it is very important to train staff of the pub about food and safety as well as health safety acts.  
• The food and beverage suppliers need to be selected wisely to ensure the quality of the food products remain intact.  
• The cooking equipment need to be checked on a regular basis to prevent the chances to mishaps (Aung and Chang, 2014).

Conclusion

In a nutshell it can be concluded that food and beverage play very important role in the hospitality sector. These are the essential elements of the success of a hospitality event. It has been learned that effective menu planning helps in meeting the needs of guest who have varied food and drinking habits and interests. The first part of the report provide clear understanding on different food and beverage production and service systems.  In addition to this, the second part of the study develops clear understanding on the financial controls which are used in food and beverage operations such as cost and pricing processes. The final part of the study entails planning of the food and beverage service in the given scenario. It has been learned in this part that implementation of planned services requires  maintenance of quality standards related to food, health and safety aspects. It is very important for the hospitality organizations to maintain the quality of food items as well as preparation and procedures to minimize the risk of health hazards.

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References

• French, S. A., Story, M. and Fulkerson, J. A., 2002. School food policies and practices: a state-wide survey of secondary school principals. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 102(12).
• Gootman, J. A., McGinnis, J. M. and Kraak, V. I., 2006. Food Marketing to Children and Youth:: Threat or Opportunity?. National Academies Press.
• Pomeranz, Y., 2013. Food analysis: theory and practice. Springer Science & Business Media.
• Trematerra, P., 2013. Aspects related to decision support tools and integrated pest management in food chains. Food Control.
• Wyness, L.A., Butriss, J.L. and Stanner, S.A., 2012. Reducing the population's sodium intake: the UK Food Standards Agency's salt reduction programme. Public health nutrition.

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