FOOD SERVICE AREAS (F & B OUTLETS)

Specialty Restaurants

A specialty restaurant is one where the entire atmosphere and décor is geared to a particular theme, normally related to a regional cuisine e.g. Chinese, India, Japanese, French. Indian restaurant have the following features:

·         Indian motifs on the wall

·         Indian artifacts

·         Staff will wear Indian costumes

·         Music if recorded will play Indian music.

·         Crockery, cutlery, glassware will have an Indian design.

Coffee Shop

The coffee shop is a concept borrowed from the United States, coffee shops have replaced the erstwhile dining rooms of old hotels therefore it is an all purpose restaurant. The coffee shop is distinguished with the following features and styles:

·         Food is pre-plated from the kitchen. The portion sizes are fixed but adequate in quantity to the average guest.

·         The restaurant ensures quick service because the food items are offered can be made in a quickest method.

·         The restaurant has a casual atmosphere. This means that the guest can come in casual wear. The tables will have place mats.

·         Coffee shops menu have quite light and simple and include popular dishes like fish and chips, fried chicken, club sandwiches, burgers etc.

·         The coffee shops are operated 24 hours and are the only restaurant in a hotel that serves food at any time of the day and night when other restaurants in the hotel are closed.

·         Coffee shops are located mostly off the lobby or beside the swimming pool.

·         The big hotels today are providing elaborate multi-cuisine buffets in the coffee shops and prefer to call the outlet ‘all day dining restaurant’ or a ‘24 hour restaurant’.

Cafeteria

Cafeteria are restaurants meant for volume patrons round in school and college food programmes, residential halls, industrial canteens, defense messes, hospitals, etc. they produce in quantity and serve the food as self service counters. The staff passes along a long counter to take the food in compartment trays. Common long tables and light chairs are provided to staff to sitting and eating. Essential feature of cafeteria are:

·         Bain Marie to keep food warm

·         Fixed menu

·         Self service

·         Common tables & chairs

Fast Food (Quick Service Restaurants)

The name itself explains the theme of this type of restaurant and distinctly an American concept. These restaurants provide ready to eat food in minutes after it is ordered. Some are provided instantly while others are finished through quick cooking. This is possible when the food is pre heated and kept warm burger, patties on a griddle. Big names in these restaurant categories are Mc Donalds, Burger King, KFC etc. the main features of fast food restaurant are:

·         A cashier counter where food orders are placed paid for and received for consumption either on a tray or in a packed form to take away.

·         The restaurant is casual.

·         The menu items are displayed through colourful transparencies behind the cashier.

·         The service is done through trays.

·         Food is normally dry finger food.

·         It does not usually require the traditional cutlery and flatware.

·         Each food &beverages are individually priced.

·         Fast food is processed in an industrial pattern in volume.

·         The fast food operation is driven by standardized food, preparation methods, flavours, portion sizes and procedures.

Another version of fast food service is the ‘drive through’ which allow customers to order and be instantly provided food in their cars through a window.

Grill Room

This is a restaurant that specializes itself in grills and roasts of different meats, fish and poultry. The features of this type of restaurant are:

·         A glass partition that separates the kitchen from the seating area so that guests can see the grill preparation of their choice.

·         Casual in atmosphere, some of them may have pool tables and indoor sports.

·         Grill room can be sophisticated casual too with fiber crockery and linen.

Banquets
A banquet is a food & beverage service at a specific time and place, to a given number of guests, to an agreed menu and price. Banquets are special functions for social, professional and state occasions.

Banqueting is a business of selling space to hold functions. Banquet requires large halls with attached kitchens to provide quantity foods and a banquet brigade who are skilled in the art of handling large bodies of people. Banquet halls are found in medium to large hotels, where banquet business is a part of an overall revenue strategy. Banquet halls can be partitioned into smaller function rooms as a smart practice to optimize space, enabling multiple functions at the same time. The partitions are sound proofed to give exclusively to each function. 

Bar

A bar is a facility that dispenses alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages, cocktails and mocktails. There are two types of bars public bars and service bars. The public bars are independent facilities exclusively dedicated to the service of alcoholic beverages. These bars are also called pubs, taverns, discotheque bars, and cocktail lounges. The service bars are the one that dispenses drinks to servers who serve the beverages to guests. Service bar are found in restaurants, banquets, room service. The bar dispenses wines, liquor, spirits, juices, aerated waters, cigars and cigarettes. Restaurant food service professional will coordinate with the bar for beverage orders.

Vending Machines

Vending machine may be defined as selling by automation. It is a form of automatic retailing using one of the following methods of payment:

·         Coin

·         Banknote,

·         Money card

·         Token.

Vending can be used to provide either services and facilities or consumables. For example: Hot and cold beverages, Meals, Confectionery, Tobacco, Alcoholic drinks.

Advantages of foodservice vending

The machines themselves may be used in conjunction with the conventional kitchen production. At the same time they relieve some of the pressure of work on the counter hands and cashier by taking some of the customers away from the counter and to the machines. This is especially true where only hot or cold beverages are required together with a limited range of snacks for a certain percentage of those being catered for. Other advantages are:

·         24-hour service: Automatic vending machines can provide a 24 hours service.

·         Low cost: Automatic vending machines are cheaper to operate than conventional methods of service.

·         Food cost control: This is a great advantage because automatic vending allows strict portion control.

·         Economy of labor: Results in a reduction in the food service wages bill.

·         Natural tea break: With the advent of these machines the fixed tea breaks has given a way to the natural tea break, which can increase staff productivity.

·         Fresh beverages: Wile a main meal may be served, if beverage is available by machine then they are fresh and taken as and when required.

·         Variety: These machine offer a wide variety of hot and cold snacks and beverages, all contained within a space considerably smaller than would be necessary for conventional forms of production service.

·         Reduced wastage: As long as the customer demand has been correctly gauged, wastage can be reduced to minimum.

·         Ease of maintenance: A member of the permanent staff should be trained to replenish and clean the wending machines daily.

Discotheque

It is a restaurant which is principally meant for dancing to the recorded music. Its distinguishin g features are:

·         The music is driven by a qualified and experienced disc jockey (DJ) who creates or responds to the moods of the guest.

·         Special lighting to give psychedelic effects.

·         A dance floor.

·         A bar which is the main feature.

·         Light meals and finger snacks.

·         Entry charge to ensure that the right crowd enters. Other may permit only couples to ensure the right balance of men and women.

·         The term discotheque has been replaced with a generalized term ‘Night Club’ today.

II ANCILLIARY DEPARTMENTS
A. Pantry
B. Food pick-up area
C. Store
D. Linen room

Kitchen stewarding

The department is primarily concerned with the storage, maintenance, cleanliness and issue of cutlery, crockery, hollowware, chinaware and glassware to the restaurant and kitchens. It is responsible for the cleanliness of kitchens and the washing of pots and pans. It procures, installs and service gas connections and coal supply for cooking. The department would ideally have a large store for kitchen and service equipment; dishwashers and pot washing section. Many hotels may give the responsibility of the staff cafeteria to the kitchen stewarding. Kitchen stewarding is also responsible for the pest control activity of a kitchen. Food service staff coordinates with this department to deposit soiled dishes for washing at dishwashers and to receive fresh supplies of crockery, cutlery, flatware, and glassware and service ware. The kitchen stewarding will remain an integral part of food service operations.

The organization chart of kitchen stewarding: