FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE
1. The Food Service industry
1.1. Sectors of the foodservice industry
The international foodservice industry provides millions of meals a day in a wide variety of
types of operation.
l Food can include a wide range of styles and cuisine types. These can be classified by country,
for example, traditional British or Italian; by type of cuisine, for example, oriental; or a
particular speciality such as fish, vegetarian or health food.
l Beverages include all alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic beverages include wines
and all other types of alcoholic drink such as cocktails, beers and cider, spirits and liqueurs.
Non-alcoholic beverages include bar beverages such as mineral waters, juices, squashes and
aerated waters, as well as tea, coffee, chocolate, milk and milk drinks and also proprietary
drinks such as Bovril.
Figure 1.1 Multiple food outlets at the Trafford Centre, Manchester (image courtesy of FCSI UK and I)
Within the foodservice industry there are a number of different industrial sectors and these
are categorised according to the type of customer demand being met. To help you identify the
nature of demand being met within each sector, Table 1.1 provides a list of industry sectors and
identifies the prime purpose of the foodservice operations within them. An historical summary
is also given together with an identification of both UK and international terminology. This
identification of sectors also provides a framework for those studying the food and beverage
service industry to which further studies and experience may be related.
Each sector described in Table 1.1 (see page 4) may be further analysed by considering a set
of variables that exist in the different sectors (Table 1.2). These variables represent elements
that vary in particular sectors and thus provide a basis for examining the different types of
foodservice operations within specific sectors. They enable a comprehensive picture of industrial
sectors to be compiled and also provide the basis for the comparison of the different sectors.
There are many different industry sectors such as hotels, independent and chain restaurants,
popular catering, pubs and wine bars, fast food, leisure attractions and banqueting. There are
also sectors where food and beverages are provided as part of another business. These include
transport catering, welfare, clubs, education, industrial feeding and the armed forces.
Some sectors provide food and beverages for profit, whereas others work within the constraints
of a given budget, often called cost provision (for example, welfare catering and industrial
catering). In addition, some sectors provide services to the general public whereas others
provide them for restricted groups of people.
It is useful to define these different types of market as follows:
l General market
l Non-captive: customers have a full choice.
l Restricted market
l Captive: customers have no choice, for example, welfare.
l Semi-captive: customers have a choice before entering, for example, marine, airline, trains,
some hotels and some leisure activities. The customers could have chosen alternatives to
these but, once chosen, have little choice of food and drink other than that on offer.
Taking these definitions into account, a general summary of sectors may be drawn up as shown
in Table 1.3. Defining the nature of the market in this way helps us to understand why different
methods of organisation may be in operation. For example, in captive markets customers might
be asked to clear their own tables, whereas in non-captive markets this is unlikely to be successful.