F & b production methods

FOOD PRODUCTION METHODS
In examining food production methods currently in operation,
reference must be made to the traditions of catering which have
had a profound effect on the production methods in operation
today.
Food production methods in the catering industry evolved
over a period of time when there was an abundance of labour.
The design of the traditional kitchen, first introducedinto the UK
in the latter half of the 19th century, grew up around the division
of tasks into parties (similar tasks with numerous foods were carried
out by a particular group of people). This was the development
of the partie system. The rigid demarcation between the
sections meant that the staffing ratio was high in comparison
with the number of meals served.
During the fi rst half of the20th century there was little or no
technical change in the kitchens of hotels and restaurants. Most
managers and chefs had been trained in the old traditional
methods that gave reasonably satisfactory results, and to them
there seemed little reason to change. It is only during the last
thirty years that changes in the old traditional methods have
evolved. These changes were slow to appearand started in the
manufacturing industry rather than in the kitchens of hotels and
restaurants.
The major firms of food suppliers did technical research and
their products slowly became accepted by the catering industry,
as skilled catering staff began to be in short supply. This was further
encouraged by the rising costs of space that was necessary
for a traditional kitchen. Traditionalkitchen tasks were beginning
to disappear at increasing speed. In 1966 the first cook freeze
operation in the UK began, and from this derivatives have
evolved from both cook-freeze and cook-chill methods. The following
represents a study of the main food and beverage production
methods currently in operation. It is important to note
that all food processing comes under the Food Safety Controlof
Temperatures Act 1990.

Conventional methods
Traditional partie method • • •
In the conventional partie method, the majority of food is purchased
raw, very little falling into what we now call the ‘ convenience
foods ’ category. Facilities are provided for the receipt and
storage of goods, the preparation, cooking, holding and service
of food, and for dishwashing facilities (see Figure7.4 ).
During each day the use of labour is intermittent, rising to
a peak just before the service of each meal. The same situation
exists with the cooking equipment, good utilization for short
periods, but overall poor utilization of capital plant. This in
turn leads to poor use of electricity and gas appliances which
are often turned on in the morning and left on during the day,
althoughonly efficiently utilized for a few hours. Altogether it is
an expensive way of running a kitchen; expensive because of the
manpower needed to operate it, and its space, equipment and
energy requirements.
Conventional production with convenience foods • • •
Convenience foods may be introduced into a traditional production
kitchen. Conventional production using convenience foods
may rangefrom a partial to a virtually complete reliance on the
use of the wide variety of convenience foods now available.
However, the best use of such convenience foods can only be by
means of a planned catering system.
It is basic to the systems approach that the operation be considered
as a whole, taking into account the effects that a change
in one part of the system might have on another part.Therefore,
if convenience foods are to be introduced into a traditional
kitchen previously using all fresh produce, the effects upon
labour, equipment, space, and more important, the customer,
should all be considered
Centralized production methods • • •
Centralized production methods involve the separation of the
production and service components of the food flow system
either by place...