2. Subsystems
• Menu planning •Transportation
• Purchasing •Regeneration
• Storage •Service
• •Dining
Pre-preparation
•Clearing
• Production
•Dishwashing
• Holding
•Storage of leftovers
3. Types of Foodservice Systems
• Vary with regard to:
– Where food is prepared
– What types of food are purchases
– How foods are held and for how long
– Labor and equipment required
– Whether food is transported
• Most foodservice operations use more than one
type of these systems
4. Conventional (Cook to Serve)
• Many restaurants, cafeterias
• Foods are purchased, transformed into final
products for service and held at serving
temperature until served
• Production and service occur on same premises
• Many foods purchased raw/unfinished state,
although some convenience items used
• Menu items prepared as close to service time as
possible
• Traditionally has been the most widely used
system
5. Conventional (Cook to Serve)
• Advantages
– Food quality can be high (depends upon time
held—usually only 1-2 hours)
– Any food can be produced if it can be held as
serving temp for short time
• Disadvantages
– Less time flexibility
– More labor, unevenly distributed work load
– Limit to how long you can hold the food
6. Commissary (Satellite)
• School systems, airline catering
• Foods are purchased and produced in large
central production kitchen
• Delivered in bulk to satellite/remote serving
areas for final production and service
(frozen, chilled or hot)
• Most items completely prepared from raw
state in central facility
• Best when large volumes are being
prepared
7. Commissary (Satellite)
• Advantages
– Cost savings from lower food cost and lack of
equipment duplication
– Decreased labor costs
– Limited peaks and valley is work load
– Uniform products
– Do not have to cook at meal time
8. Commissary (Satellite)
• Disadvantages
– Food safety is a concern (holding and
transporting)
– Quality can deteriorate during holding; some
items don’t hold well
– Reliable transportation method needed
– Requires a large kitchen; does not pay for itself
unless preparing large quantities
9. Ready Prepared (Cook/Chill or
Cook/Freeze)
• Many foodservice operations use along with
others
• Foods are prepared on the premises and then
chilled or frozen for later use
• May be chilled/frozen in bulk or in individual
portions
• Chilled foods must be used within 102 days;
frozen foods can last up to several months
• Hot foods undergo two heating periods;
adjustments in cooking times
10. Ready Prepared (Cook/Chill or
Cook/Freeze)
• Advantages
– Workload is evened out; can prepare foods
during down time
– Variety may be increased with large inventory
of chilled or frozen items
– Can transport food easier than hot
– Can hold foods for longer than hot
11. Ready Prepared (Cook/Chill or
Cook/Freeze)
• Disadvantages
– Large refrigerators/freezers needed (high
energy costs)
– Food safety can be a problem
– Some foods do not freeze or chill well
– Quality may suffer during holding
• Freezer burn
• Textural changes
• Separation of emulsions
– Need reheating equipment
– If power goes out, a lot of food can be lost
12. Convenience (Assembly-Serve)
• Already prepared foods are purchased and
then assembled, heated and served
• No food production required
• Can be purchased in bulk or individual
portions
• Convenience stores, fast foods, special diets
in hospitals
13. Convenience (Assembly-Serve)
• Advantages
– Less labor and less skilled labor needed
– Minimal investment in equipment
– Can purchase preportioned items for a la carte
menu
– Portion control easier, less waste
– Mostly an advantage for small foodservices
14. Convenience (Assembly-Serve)
• Disadvantages
– Menu items limited by market availability
– Food cost substantially higher
– Quality may not be equivalent to fresh
– A lot of freezer/refrigerator space needed
15. Food Delivery Systems
• Centralized Delivery-Service System
– Prepared foods portioned and assembled for
individual meals at a central location in or
adjacent to the main kitchen
– Completed orders then transported and
distributed to the customers
– Fast food, restaurants, banquet services,
hospitals, long-term care facilities
– Close supervision, control of food quality and
portion size, less labor required
– Span required for service can be excessively
long
16. Food Delivery Systems
• Decentralized Delivery-Service Systems
– Bulk quantities of prepared foods sent hot or
cold to serving galleys or ward kitchens located
throughout the facility
– Reheating, portioning and meal assembly take
place in remote locations
– Dishes returned to central kitchen for washing
– Facilities where there is a great distance
between the kitchen and the consumer
– Foods travel better in bulk than plated
– Large hospitals, medical centers, school
districts, hotels
17. Choosing a Distribution System
• Type of foodservice system
• Kind of foodservice organization
• Size and physical layout of facility
• Style of service
• Skill level of available personnel
• Economic factors
• Quality standard to food safety
• Timing required for meal service
• Space requirements
• Energy usage
18. Kind of Food Service
Organization
• Number of people?
• How quickly do they need to be served?
• Groups served?
• In what environment?
19. Size and Layout of Facility
• High rise or low and highly spread out
• Elevators, conveyor belts
• Equipment available in different areas
20. Style of Service
• Self-service
– Guest carry own food from place of display to a dining
area
• Cafeteria style
– Traditional: employees are stationed behind counter to
serve guests and encourage them with the selections;
may be straight line, parallel, zigzag or U shaped;
customers follow each other
– Hollow square, free flow or scramble system: separate
sections of counter provided for various menu groups;
provides speed and flexibility
21. Style of Service
• Machine Vended
– Often contracted to outside company to keep
machines filled
– Drinks, snacks, sandwiches, microwave items,
frozen foods
– Supplement to other styles of service
• Buffet
– Numerous options, eye appeal important
– Foods should hold up well with long sitting
time
22. Style of Service
• Drive Thru Pick-Up
• Tray Service
– Airlines, hospitals, nursing homes
– Delivered to floor pantry by foodservice or
directly to patient
– Need cooperation between foodservice and
nursing; quality and food safety issues
– Many hospitals turning to style more like
restaurant service
23. Wait Service
• American service
– Host or hostess greets and seats
– Servers take orders and serve to customers
– Each plate prepared individually for each
customer
– Busers may help with dish removal and checker
makes sure food taken to customer corresponds
with order
– Plates transported by cart, by hand or on trays
– All guests at one table served before proceeding
to next table
24. Wait Service
• French service
– Portions of food brought to dining room on
serving platter and chief server completes at
table (carving, boning, making a sauce) while
another server delivers plates to customers
• Russian
– Food completely prepared and portioned in the
kitchen
– Adequate number of servings for each person at
table placed on serving platter, served to
individuals at table
– Banquets
25. Economic Factors
• Different amounts of labor and equipment
needed for various types of service
• Cost of inputs and outputs
• Transporting foods can be expensive
• Duplicating equipment can be expensive
26. Food Safety
• Managing time/temperature relationship
• Can you meet standards to temperatures
with current equipment or should new be
purchased?
• How long will delivery take?
27. Timing Required for Meal
Service
• Does everyone need to be served at once?
– Banquet, school foodservice,
• What is acceptable time span?
– 1-2 hours
– Hospitals, staggered lunch periods
29. How is Food Actually Delivered
to Patients?
• Heated cart
• Covered plates
• Divided trays
• Heated surface under plate, covered
• Variety of systems and costs
• Quality can be a problem with all
30. Delivery Service Equipment
• Fixed or Built In
– Planned when facility is built
– Automated car transport or monorail
– Alternative if power failure
– Elevators, manual or power driven conveyors,
dumbwaiters
31. Delivery Service Equipment
• Mobile
– Delivery trucks for off premises
– Movable carts for on premises
– Heated/Refrigerated
• Portable
– Pans with lids
– Hand carriers
32. Delivery Service Equipment
• Pellet Disc
– Metal disc is preheated and at mealtime is
placed in a metal base
– Individual portions of food plated and placed
over the base and covered
– Keeps the meal at serving temp for 40-45
minutes
33. Delivery Service Equipment
• Insulated Trays with Insulated Covers
– Dished put on tray and covered
– Trays generally stack
– Designed to create “synergism”, when stacked
properly the hot and cold sections work
together to maintain the proper temperatures
– No special carts are needed
– Some foods hold heat better than others
• Ex. Beef stew better than green beans
