food and beverage model

1. Assignment
On
Zen Japanese Cuisine Restaurant

2. Introduction
Zen Japanese cuisine Restaurant Located at UE square river valley road (A sister outlet of EN Japanese
Dining Bar) is a 130 covers restaurant as its name suggest, is a mean to reaching a calm and tranquil sense
of being. Reflecting this philosophy in the food culture, executive chef, Masashi Yasui hailing from
Kyoto, combines the traditional with a touch of modern to create some of Zen‟s hugely popular signature
dishes. Following closely to its Zen theme, the interior is an order in design between space, form and
function, representing the quest for tranquility and balance. It is free of clutter and offers soothing and
earthen toned expressions of rustic green, grey and red to reflect a harmonious palette of possibilities.
Think minimalism combined with modernistic beauty. The restaurant also has a separate bar area with
two private dining areas. Dining experience both suitable for business dinners as well a casual gathering.1
The restaurant has won award for the Singapore‟s best Restaurant by UXE dining.com in 2010 and Top
restaurant by Simply Dining Singapore in 2009 respectively.
En Group of Japanese Restaurants
En Holdings Pte Ltd was established in February 2000 with the birth of its first outlet, En Japanese
Dining Bar in Singapore. Brothers Raymond & Peter, together with Mayumi Matayoshi a native from
Okinawa, they have expanded with outlets dotted throughout Asia, not only show casing Okinawa
food, but also traditional and modern Japanese treats as well. The group has Restaurants in Singapore,
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jakarta, Macau and Okinawa.2
1 http://www.endiningbars.com/profile/
2 http://www.endiningbars.com/profile/

3. Part 1: feel the differences in their Restaurant Management style and analyze the
components that lead to their success
Restaurant and Assistant Manager
Management style can have a lot to do with the success in running a restaurant some management styles
are as follows3:
Employment /Development of crew: As manager in the competitive food service industry, the greatest
3.1
success only if manager actively hire and retain most qualified, talented and motivated employees. In
milieu, the Zen restaurant manager spent more time training employees by conducting menu tests in an
effort to enhance the staff‟s product knowledge. The manager and assistant manager collaborate every
two months for the purpose of conducting service training which addresses the following points:
complaint handling, effective guest listening, and suggestive alcohol sales. The Zen Restaurant manager
and assistant manager demonstrate skills that teach their employees methods to conduct their jobs more
efficiently. Finally, the restaurant manager conducts daily briefings before all staff members to highlight
preferred sales projections and special reservations
Supervision of shift Operations: The challenge of restaurant management supervision observes service
3.1
staff members during hours of peak operation. During my observation of this period, I observed that
assistant managers were taking orders from guests when other staff members were preoccupied with the
needs of various tables. In order to ensure a smooth flow of customer service, the restaurant manager
picked orders from the kitchen and distributed them to guests at their tables.
3
Restaurant management by Robert Christie Mill Prentice Hall

4. I observed the effective communication among managers, staff supervisor, and other team members are a
central aspect of restaurant management.
One distinguishable aspect that I noticed is that the restaurant manager and assistant manager would ask
about the quality of the food from the guests. In addition, both the restaurant and assistant managers
would extend welcoming phrases that stated: “I hope that you are enjoying your experience at our
restaurant today.” This practice enhances customer feedback and reduces the potential of negative
experiences. During my interview with the restaurant manager, I was told about the shortcomings of
supervised shift operations during peak hours which were due to staff shortages.
As a result, staff shortages created order delays which lead to negative experiences of the guests.
Additionally, the restaurant manager indicated that such situations create extended pressure which leads
service personnel to give discourteous treatment to the guests. In spite of these challenges, the
management of the Zen restaurant demonstrated efficient and effective service operation.
Recommendation: A true evaluation of a restaurant‟s efficiency can be evaluated during peak hours of
operation. It is imperative to increase the availability of service personnel and to provide advanced
training which educates a workforce concerning how to effectively handle the pressures of a restaurant‟s
peak operation. In the interest of staff efficiency, personnel can be trained by an independent customer
service organization that educates each staff member about proper professional conduct in the restaurant
industry.
Motivating the Employee: Managers are responsible for providing a climate within which employees
are motivated to perform. 3.2 In relation to Zen restaurant being an observer I attended the shift briefing
and noticed the manager appreciated good customer feedback when reviewing the service performance of
the last shift. The Zen restaurant has established an “employee of the month” program which recognizes
above average performances and awards each recipient with a fiscal prize. Staff crew has overtime
advantage. With such schemes not only motivates employees but it builds relationship between a
company and a member of staff as we humans are social being we need witnesses to validate our good
work.
Recommendation: since Zen restaurant operations may be stressful during peak hours for service
personnel, it is imperative for the managerial structure to maintain consistent level of motivation for front
line employees.
Components that lead to the success of a Restaurant are as follows:
Food and Drink: food and beverage offering will play a considerable part in influencing the
customer‟s perceptions of the product.4 The culinary essence is authentic Japanese cuisine
with a strong creative element. Delightful creations like grilled asparagus with bleu cheese
dressing, or an indulgent choice of Kani (Crab) cream croquette & Tori Kousou Yaki, a
roasted number of herb chicken wrapped in bamboo leaf, amongst many. Or simply sushi and
Sashimi that features live abalone and premium favorites. Restaurant offers extensive
selection of sake wines and French wines. Food and Drink create a uniquely dining
experience and a value for money.
4
Food and Beverage Management ,Pearson custom Publishing

5. Lunch Set Dinner A‟LA Carte Buffet
Level of service: Service is an interface between the product and the consumer. The level of the
4.1
service can have a considerable influence on the success of restaurant. In context with Zen
restaurant the service personnel have well developed social skills, exhibits professional behavior
and the ability to work in the team. Service personnel are consistent and timely. Service crew
greets guests upon arrival. Most importantly they fail to connect with guests through small
converse. During my interview with the manager he admitted the shortfalls within the level of
service during peak hours because of lack of communication with kitchen. It is recommended that
they should overcome the shortcomings within the level of service and maintain healthy relations
with kitchen and staff needs. service staff can help to solve the problem of food delay by
checking with the chef, most importantly serve crew need to give quick response to the guest
regarding food delay if food order is taking more time then service crew can offer some
complimentary sushi by offering complimentary sushi, service crew is able to prevent guest
waiting for the food and at the end lead to deterrence of complaint.
Well Groomed Service Crew.
Cleanliness and Hygiene4.2: Dining out is a treat to body and soul.5 Cleanliness and hygiene
issues are relevant to the premises, equipment and staff. Atmosphere development leads to the
creation of emotion. It is created through the combination of number of factors such as design,
décor, lighting, furnishes, acoustics, the attitude of the staff. 6 In relation to Zen Restaurant staff
is neatly groomed, staff uniform is clean and ironed properly, chefs at sushi live counter wear
5
http://www.helium.com/items/406844-hygiene-and-cleanliness-in-restaurants.
6
Remarkable service culinary institute of America, John wiley and sons ,Inc.

6. chef caps, and live kitchen is well organized. Restaurant remains spick and span during the
operation hours, furniture and fixtures appear mechanically good, room temperature is
comfortable. The menu book is not clean with lots of amendments, most importantly I observed
one service crew was wearing sleepers such effects can really hamper the appetite of the guests.
Zen restaurant has its own hygiene and cleanliness policies and manager himself trains the service
staff regarding basic fundamentals of hygiene. The overall cleanliness and hygiene are up to the
mark despite some drawbacks.
Recommendation: It is imperative for the management to reinforce new policies of the
cleanliness and hygiene at regular intervals.
Execution: Employees are the key to execution of the concept. This involves finding the right
kind of people and training them to provide the level of service demanded by the customer. 3.3 It
is imperative for the management of the EN group to ensure that employees have the skills to
perform to a standard and provide wide range of employee‟s activities for instance: handbook of
customer handling, written job description and training manuals. This will help the staff and
management of Zen restaurant to give excellent service.
Part 2: look into the different types and styles of F & B services and operations. Investigate and
evaluate quality standards, maintaining and monitoring the health and safety issues in food and
beverage operation.
The type of service offered at a restaurant is determined by the menu, the skill and training of personnel,
the ambience, and the market the restaurant trying to reach. Each form of service is designed to meet the
specific needs and demands of distinct circumstances. Any combination of these styles may be used at
different times if consistent with the restaurant„s concept. 6
Restaurants can be divided into three basic styles:
Fine Dining: fine dining establishments offer luxurious and comfortable surroundings, usually including
tabletop, silver, china, linen and crystal. A typical menu offers many choices of food and wines. The
service staff attends to every detail of the guests experience in a fine dining restaurant. 6.1
Bistro: The most common type of dining in American cities today, bistros is referred to any simple, cozy
restaurant. Service is polite, attentive, and efficient in this level of restaurant. 6.2
Casual/Family: This category of restaurant encompasses family-style restaurants, diners, many theme
restaurants. The principles of good service apply here as well. The menu is relatively extensive and has a
fixed menu and fixed price. 6.3
Ethnic Restaurants: They offer a cuisine and theme that combine to provide a gateway experience. The
most popular ethnic restaurants continue to be Japanese, Indian, and Italian. Ethnic restaurants have long
been dominated by independent but are now seeing the proliferation of chains as well. Zen restaurant is
under the category of ethnic restaurant it offers wide variety of authentic Japanese cuisine food with
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incessant customer service.
7
Management in the Hospitality Industry by Tom Powers and Clayton W.barrows John Wiley &Sons, Inc .

7. Types of Food and Beverage service:
French service: The most elegant service is French service consisted of three or four table setting, with
each setting accommodating number of courses. Guest would sit down and eat all the courses for a given
setting.. Modern French service is performed from a cart called Guẻridon, meats, poultry may be cooked
in kitchen, but they will be carved or deboned on cart. For some food, preparation must occur in kitchen,
and only service is done from the cart. Salads, desserts and other foods may be prepared completely at the
guẻridon from raw foods. Employees who perform French service will be more numerous and more
8
skilled than in any other service.
Chinese Service: The setting for Chinese service is quite tradition. Japanese and other Asian culture
service is based on Chinese service. The amount of labor used is minimal, but amount of ware used is
extensive since food is usually served in individual dishes. Chopsticks are used for almost all foods,
except for soup and dessert spoons. Food is dished into large platters, bowls, and other containers and
brought to the table where guest select their own food. Many Chinese food operations set a circular wheel
in the table centre so guest can rotate it and share food. 9Zen Japanese restaurant falls beneath the
synthesis of Chinese style of service Waiters use tray to bring foods to the table and guest receives fully
cooked, hot food served in swift and tasteful fashion by the servers of Zen restaurant. As a guest finishes
a dish, especially soup, the servers will remove the empty dish and replace it with fresh one. Wine cups
9.1
however are not removed.
Russian Service: Russian service is mostly used for banquets, is less showy than French service, but it is
quicker and no less elegant. In Russian service ,all food is fully cooked and artfully arranged and
garnished on large platters in the kitchen and guest may choose portion size and server may exhibit skills.
6.4
English Service: In English service the method of serving private dining room or restaurant food in
which a waiter or waitress serve each guest from a large dish, starting with the host or hostess (or a guest
of honor if any) at the head of the table. In a more formal version (requiring a high degree of skill and
showmanship), the host or hostess carves the meat and dishes out vegetables on each plate which the
waiter or waitress serves first to the guest of honor (if any) and then to other guests. 6.5
American Service: American service is usually found in bistros and casual restaurants in American
service, all cooking and plating of food is completed in the kitchen. A waiter picks up the plated food,
carries it to the dining room, and set in plates in front of the guests from the right hand side this allows
two three plates to be held in the left hand side and arm while serving the right. American service is less
formal, more accessible and fast. 6.6
Quality Standards Quality standards need to be developed in two areas procedural and convivial.
Procedural Aspects: The procedural aspects consist of what is involved in getting in the products and
services to the customer and consist of: 3.4
8
Management by Menu Lendal H.KOTSCHEVAR and Diane Withrow, John wiley and Sons,Inc.
9
Presenting Service Lendal H.kotschevar and Valentine Luciani – John Wiley & Sons,Inc

8. Incremental flow of Service: Ensuring that there are no obstacles in any part of the restaurant3.5.
Recommendation: Zen Restaurants needs to set standards to prevent delays in service during peak hours.
Guests can be seated in alternative sections, ensuring even spread of people throughout the restaurant
during peak hours.
Timeliness: It means giving guests they want when they are ready for it. This involves setting standards
as relative how long guest should wait before being greeted, before being seated, and before a food and
beverage order is taken and delivered. 3.6 Zen Restaurant service personnel maintained timeliness by
following the standards of timeliness.
Anticipation: Anticipation ensures that customer never have to ask for something –that service provided
before customer request it. 3.7I observed in the Zen restaurant that guest arrived with little children;
booster chair was offered by the server automatically.
Communication: The provision of top notch service requires accurate, complete, and timely information
3.8
is required. Between servers, bussers, chefs and manager ..Apparently during zenith hours
communication between chefs and servers lacks in the Zen restaurant as some times servers picks wrong
orders. It is recommended that proper coordination among chefs and servers is requisite for the smooth
flow of the operations.
Customer feedback: To determine whether or not customers are satisfied with the level of service
3.9
provided, it is necessary to get reaction from them. For instance when the server delivered the food to
me in the restaurant the first mouthful of food has barely been chewed when the server comes in a
perfunctory way to inquire about the food. Such activity ensures that how important is customer feedback
to the Zen restaurant staff.
Convivial Aspects: The convivial dimension of service is made up of the following:
Attitude: Refers to way people act, think, or feel and is expressed through the way they act and the things
3.10
they say. A smile is a visible manifestation of positive attitude. When I entered the Zen restaurant a
pulchritudinous girl smiled at me and wished me “good evening” on the other hand I noticed that other
service personnel lacked smile. Thus standards could be set that in all exchange of glances with guests
employees should exhibit smile.
Tone of voice3.11: Zen restaurant has already set standards to ensure that their servers communicate in an
enthusiastic, friendly, and talk softy.
Suggestive Selling: The server‟s job is to expose customers to items that might enhance the experience of
the meal3.12. Every employee is a sales agent for the Restaurant. Staff must be trained to refer and
recommend sake wine, desserts and other specialty items. Ironically, while having dinner at the Zen
restaurant, not a single staff member approached me about wine promotions or the exotic Japanese dessert
special. Recommendation: in spite of Restaurant management claim that they train staff about suggestive
selling but I notice none of the staff practicing suggestive selling technique. It is imperative for the
manager and supervisor to constantly check their staff is performing what they are being trained.
The setback in quality standards in Zen restaurant is that service staff is not fluent in English language.

9. Maintaining and monitoring the health and safety issues in food and beverage operation.
Health and safety is the legal requirement for every food service organization. Many laws governing food
safety are administrative laws established by food and drug administration. Food and drug administration
regulates everything from food processing and labeling to packaging. In order to be protected from
lawsuits, the food preparation should be inspected regularly to ensure no hazards exist. For example,
Hamburgers should be cooked to 160degrees to kill bacteria. Salmonella bacteria is found in beef and
poultry cooking meats until all juices run clear can prevent spread of salmonella bacteria. The duel
responsibility of the employers and employees at work is to ensure that the premises and equipment are
safe and that they are kept safe to prevent accidents. All receive training in accident prevention. All
potential hazards should be reported. Good management involves stimulating staff interest and motivating
employees to set goal to achieve the higher standards of hygiene and safety within the organization. Risk
assessment, food hygiene policies, hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) Food hygiene
audits and first in first out are the mechanisms that can help the food and beverage operation to maintain
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appropriate health and safety.
In relation to the Zen Restaurant they have a very basic health and safety policy like: hand washing,
wearing disposable gloves for ready to eat foods, chiller and freezer maintenance, hazard analysis and
critical control point (HACCP) and personal hygiene and habits in kitchen. Apparently they don‟t employ
color coding labels for chopping boards which can result to cross contamination. I observed mosquitoes
inside the restaurant. It is evident for the management to revise their existing health and safety consistent
with the advanced ones.
The complexity of the observed subject matter can lead to further inquires is explained below:
The tent was strained beneath the alfresco seating area.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Fan is incorrectly installed and making strains on the cloth.
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Remarkable service the Culinary institute of America, John Wiley and Sons ,Inc

10. Figure 3
fan making strains on the tent.
Figure 4
Poorly arranged employees lockers visible to the guests
The above pictures exhibits that Zen restaurant management is enable to monitor the maintenance aspect
of health and safety. Maintenance is the most decisive aspect and normally takes time to repair and
sometimes costs are high. It becomes imperative for the management to address the maintenance issues
promptly so that guest may experience incessant service not only from food and service crew but from the
health and safety aspect as well.
Conclusion
From the above, it can be concluded that Quality standards, Maintaining and monitoring the health and
safety issues, type, and style of service play a pivotal role in overall success and failure of the restaurant.
Zen restaurant has shortcoming in respect to health and safety issues and level of service it is imperative
for the Zen restaurant is to employ an appropriate training programme for the employees and guarantee
that all staff complies with those policies to maintain high standards of hygiene and level of service. Zen
Restaurant demonstrates the capability of executing the strategic mandate for making money while
responding to the needs of their guests through revitalized food and beverage.
Alfresco seating

11. References
1. http://www.endiningbars.com/zen/about/
http://www.endiningbars.com/profile/
2.
3. Restaurant management by Robert Christie Mill Prentice Hall.
4. Food and Beverage management, Pearson custom publishing.
5. http://www.helium.com/items/406844-hygiene-and-cleanliness-in-restaurants
6. Remarkable service the culinary institute of America, John Wiley and sons ,Inc
7. Management in the Hospitality Industry by Tom Powers and Clayton W.barrows John Wiley
&Sons, Inc.
8. Management by menu Lendal H.KOTSCHEVAR and Diane withrow ,John wiley and sons,Inc.
9. Presenting Service lendal H.kotschevar and valentine luciani – John Wiley & sons,Inc
10. Hotel management operations by Denny G Rutherford and Michael J O’Fallon John Wiley &sons ,
Inc.