1.Traditional 2. commissary 3. assembly serve 4.ready to prepare

2. Types of food
service and
Categories of food
service
JAZNA NAUSHAD
II MSc. FSMD

3. Introduction
A food service system is defined as an
entity composed of several systems
designed and functioning together to
accomplish specific objectives
Simple definition- “Provision of food and
drink ready for consumption away from
home”

4. Advantages
Entire food service is “one body” and several
subsystems work together for the system to function
Employees and management work together as a team
Problems are easily located
Cost control and budgeting can be facilitated
Multiple chain-type operations is easier to plan and
evaluate
Training programs can be developed for knowing each
members performance
Easier to control and monitor activities within the
systems

5. Categories of Food Service
SystemThe systems differ in “Where the food is
prepared” in relation to “where it is served”,
the “time span” between preparation and
service, the forms of foods purchased,
methods of holding prepared foods and “the
amount and kind of labor and equipment
required”
It is classified into 4 types:
1. Conventional service
2. Ready – prepared service
3. Commissary
4. Assembly/ Serve

6. I. Conventional/
Traditional Food Service
Traditionally used
Menu items are prepared in kitchen
and held for short time until serving
time
Earlier, it was prepared in the
premises hence kitchen included a
butcher shop, bakery and vegetable
preparation units

7. Gradually the modified
conventional system has
evolved where foods with
varying degrees of processing
are used, hence customers
food is prepared on same site
Typically used by smaller food

8. Usually found in restaurants:
Call order/ À la carte
Table d'hôte system

9. In a health care facility, the patient service is a complex
distribution process and involves:
1. Centralized meal assembly
Time between production, assembly and distribution is
minimal
Trays are assembled at a central location
Trays are distributed to patient units using carts(heated/
refrigerated)
Advantages:
Activity takes place in one location
Allows standardization of portion
Uniformity in presentation
Waste reduction
Less time of staff

10. 2. Decentralized meal assembly
Foods are produced in one location and
transported to various locations for assembly
at sites near patients
Equipment to maintain proper temp. is
provided at each location
To difficult-to-hold foods, cooking equipment
is available in service units
Advantages:
Less time needed
Group services are easy

11. Advantages
Quality control is considered
Achievement of individuality and standard
of quality is desired
Not dependent on availability of frozen
entrées
More adaptable to regional, ethnic and
individual preference
Greater economic flexibility
Less freezer storage space and
distribution costs

12. Disadvantages
Conventional system produces an uneven,
stressful day
Workloads vary depending on change of
menu
Skilled workers are supplemented by
non-skilled workers
2 shifts of employees are required
Scheduling of workers are difficult

13. II. Ready – prepared food
service system
Menu items are produced and held for
service
Packed in bulk, in individual portions or
combination containers
Its distinct feature is the separation
between time of preparation and service
Food is not for immediate use
Foods are prepared on site, however place
of preparation is not place of service
Adopted by in-flight caterers

14. Distribution equipment needed by
ready prepared operations depends
on whether foods are in bulk
quantities or individual portions and
have 3 main technologies mainly:
Cook – chill process
Cook – freeze process
Sous-vide (vacuum packing)

15. (i) Cook – chill process
Acc. To Cusins.J.et.al, “It is a catering
system based on normal preparations
and cooking of food followed by rapid
chilling, storage in control of low temp.
above freezing point and subsequently
reheating before consumption”

16. Cook - chill process
Chilled down for final storage (3˚C)(90 mins)
Can be achieved by blast chilling
–Blast chillers use conventional
refrigeration techniques (cold air
circulation) or cryogenic methods (use of
gases to reduce temp.)
Stored for 5 days
 When not in chilled storage, all handling is
carried out in environmental room
 For consumption, food is heated 2hrs at 70˚C
 10 ˚C- critical safety limit for chilled foods
 During distribution, if temp. exceeds 5˚C food
has to be consumed within half hrs

17. Advantages:
• Can be applied to most food stuffs
• Can be applied to both individual meal or bulk-meal
production
• There is no apparent effect on meal palatability after 3
days although some meat dishes may deteriorate after
4-5 days
Disadvantages:
• Additional investment required to meet new standards
• Critical and narrow temp. requires high operational
standards
• Nutrient and vitamin loss occurs during chilled storage

18. (ii) Cook Freeze Method
Specialized food production and distribution
system that allows caters to take advantage of
longer life thru’ blast freezers (-18 to -20 ˚C)
and store up to 3 - 6 months
Blast freezer or cryogenic freezers are required
for this purpose
It follows the below steps:
Preparation
Freezing (blast freezer)
Storage (deep freezer -18 ˚C)
Transport of frozen items
Regeneration (convection ovens)

19. Advantages:
Maximum shelf life of 3 months
Easily handled in frozen state without any
spoilage
Greater flexibility in use
Disadvantages:
Not all dishes can be frozen
Recipes may require modifications
Low temp. storage requires greater
energy use

20. (iii) Sous – vide (vacuum
cooking)
Most recent and innovative approach for
dish preservation
Includes vacuum packing of foods in plastic
bags that can be raw or semi-cooked
Chilled storage is required and shelf life is
extended to 21 days hence suited to
individual meals
Requires more investment and time
Used in restaurants and not used in large-
scale

21. Advantages:
Long shelf life
Meals are produced in advance
Can be mixed with cold storage without
risk in contamination
Reduce labor cost
Texture and flavor is retained
Inexpensive regeneration
Disadvantages:
Extra cost required
All portions in one batch must be
identical

22. Advantages:
Reduces the “peak and valleys” of workloads
Production labor cost is reduced
Improved quality and quantity control
Lack of worry about delivery
Disadvantages:
Need for large cold storage and freezer units
Blast chiller or blast freezer is required
which is expensive
Control of food safety is essential

23. III. Commissary (Central Production
Unit)
It is described as a large central
production kitchen with centralized
food purchasing and delivery of
prepared foods to service units
located in separate areas for final
preparation and service
Prepared using large sophisticated
equipments
Airline caterers, large city schools,
chain restaurants etc

24. Advantages:
Cost of process is less
Reduced duplication of labor
Sophisticated equipment and expert makes work easier
Quality can be maintained in all outlets
Disadvantages:
Employment of a food microbiologist is required hence
costly
Chances for theft is more
Fluctuations of customers occur
Food must be loaded and transported in correct temp. for
safety and quality
High cost of purchase, maintenance and repair of equipmen

25. IV. Assembly/ Serve
Pre-prepared foods are purchased from food
processing industry and reconstituted in
premises
It can be frozen or boil-in-the bag type
Used in fast-food industry usually health care
institutions, hospitals and restaurants
In cafeteria style of serving of foods it need
to be heated before serving and is done in a
service unit using the “ready prepared
operation”
Usually single-use disposal tableware is used

26. Advantages:
 Built in labor savings
 Less purchasing time
 Less pilferage
 Quick service is possible
 Equipment and space requirements are minimal
Disadvantage:
 Higher costs for these prepared food
 High cost for operating the duplicate heating
equipment
 Additional freezer space is required
 Recycling or disposal of tableware must be of
concern

27. TYPES OF FOOD SERVICE
Table service and counter service are the most
common forms
A hostess/ host is responsible for seating the
guests
Principles that a waiter must know:
Food is served onto guest plate from left
If food is pre-plated, then service is thru’ right
Soups are served from right
Ladies are always served first and rest are
served clockwise
Fresh cutlery and crockery is served thru’ right
Soiled plates are cleared from right
Never reach across a customer

28. 1. English service
Often regarded as “host
service”/ “family style”
service
Host plays an active role
Usually found in coffee
shops, family restaurants
etc

30. Process involves:
Food is brought on platters by waiter,
shown to host for approval
The waiter then places it on table
Either host portions the food and
serves to guest or portions it and
allows waiter to serve
Usually the main dish is meat
Vegs. and potatoes are placed in centre
for guests to help themselves while
sauces are served by waiter

31. Advantages
Fast
Inexpensive
Requires no special equipment
Disadvantages
Less showmanship
Reduced personalized attention to
customer

32. 2. French service
Its not very common
Usually seen at upscale clubs and
restaurants
Involves Personalized service
The waiter has a fancy cart for
carrying foods
The table is already made and
waiter just have to serve carefully
and neatly
Sometimes foods are cooked in
front of guests
Guest serve themselves

34. Advantages:
Allows guests to see the food before they
decide
Proportioned acc. To guest’s wish
Chance to make additions before it is served
Disadvantages:
Cannot be opted for certain dishes
Time consuming
Expensive
Space required for moving carts

35. 3. Guéridon service
Guéridon means “ trolley”
Here food is partially prepared from
kitchen and is fully cooked at guest’s
table side
Here cooking is done on Guéridon
trolley
The waiter should be a showman as
well as a good cook, He should carve
a joint, fillet a fish, prepare coffees
etc

36. Advantages:
It is a visual display to customers
An opportunity for waiter to show his skills
Helps increase popularity of restaurant
Disadvantages:
More space required
Safety concerned
Skilled staff required
Expensive
Innovation of recipes required

37. 4. Russian Food service
Fairly elaborate silver service
much on lines of French service
with use of Guéridon trolley
Waiter pre-portions food (whole
joints, fish)and serves onto guest
plate and places the plate in front
of the guest
Display and presentation is of
concern

38. Advantages:
Only one waiter is required
Elegant and entertaining
No extra space
Guarantees equal portions because food is pre-cut
Gives personal attention to guests
Disadvantages:
Initial big expense in silver equipment
Since one platter is used for serving the last guest
may see a less attractive display
In party’s the waiter must hold a heavy tray

39. 5. American/ pre-plated service
It is pre-plated from kitchen itself
and is normally found in restaurants
with large guest turnover
Portion is predetermined from
kitchen
the waiter ensures accompaniments
are already placed on table with
right table cover

40. Advantages:
• Saves time
• fast
• Cost efficient
• Nutrition information is easily accessed by
nutrition label in menu
• Casual dining
Disadvantages:
• Choice of portion size cannot be predetermined
• Some ingredients can be annoying to guests
• High in fat and energy
• Allows little recipe modification

41. 6. Silver Service
All food is presented in silver
dishes with elaborate dressing
Here the waiter serves the food to
guests at the table
The table is set for hors d’oeuvres
Food is portioned to silver platters
from kitchen and is placed at
sideboards with burners

42. Before service, waiter ensures if
the food is served onto guest’s
plate in a stylish manner
The waiter then picks the platter
from hot plate and presents it for
host approval
Service is done using a spoon and
fork
the course is done in an organized
way hence the courses follow one
another at proper intervals

43. Advantages:
• Elegant
• Faster than French service
• Hot food is served at table
quickly
Disadvantages:
• Skilled waiter is required
• Capital investment on silver

44. 7. Buffet service
Self service where food is displayed on
tables
The guest either takes his place a stack
at the end of each table or requests the
waiter to serve him
For sit-down buffet service, tables are
laid with crockery and cutlery
For fork buffet, seating arrangements
does not exist, guest uses fork and eats
standing

45. Advantages:
Food is displayed in an attractive
manner
Less service skill required
Servers can attend to many guests
at one time
Disadvantages:
Careless in handling food
Less personal attention to guests

46. 8. Cafeteria Service
Menu is fixed and displayed on large
boards
Coupons have to be purchased in advance
or indicate their choice of selection to
counter attendant at the time of purchase
Food is pre-plated and served along with
cutlery
Guests take the seats provided by the
establishment
Industrial canteens, colleges, hospitals
etc

47. Advantages:
Minimal staffs are required
Does not require any special
equipment
Last minute changes can be made
Disadvantages:
Choices are limited
Foods are not prepared acc. to
order

48. 9. Counter service
Developed in units where
customers have limited
time for meal
Tall stools are placed for
guests to have their meal

49. Advantages:
• Fast
• Lower costs
• Less service skill needed
• Customer has his own choice of
selection
Disadvantages:
• Less food safety
• Time consuming

50. 10. Room Service
A 5 star international hotel should
provide 24/ 7hrs of service
Highest level of service is considered
3 types of room services are as follows:
Centralized room service
Decentralized room service
Mobile room service

51. Here the task of order taking plays an
important role because:
Order is made thru’ phone
It improves the image of the hotel
It increases the revenue sale of food and
beverage
It makes the guest happy and converts him
to a repeat clientele

52. 11. Grill room service
• Here various meats are grilled in front
of the guests
• Meats are usually displayed behind a
glass partition hence guests can make
their choice of selection
• The food comes pre-plated

53. Conclusion
Food service system hence
plays a major role in
preparation, cooking,
serving etc. and is a form
of exhibiting cultures