1. The Food Service industry

1.2. 1.2 Food and beverage operations

Food and beverage (or foodservice) operations in the hospitality industry are concerned with
the provision of food and drink ready for immediate consumption (but excluding retailing and
food manufacturing).
Foodservice operations are concerned with:
1 The consumer needs and market potential in the various sectors of the foodservice industry.
2 The formulation of policy and business objectives that will guide the choice of operational
methods that will be used.
3 The interpretation of demand to make decisions on the range and type of food and beverages
to be provided, as well as other services, and the service levels and prices to be charged.
4 The planning and design of facilities required for the food and beverage operations and the
plant and equipment required.
5 The organisation of provisioning for food and beverages and other purchasing requirements to
meet the needs of food production, beverage provision and the service methods used.
6 Knowledge of the operational and management requirements for the food production, beverage
provision and service processes and methods and decision making on the appropriateness of the
various processes and methods, together with the management and staffing needs in order
to meet the requirements of the operation.
7 Control of costs associated with the operation of food production, beverage provision and
other services and the control of revenue.
8 Monitoring of consumer satisfaction to continually check on the extent to which the operation
is meeting customer needs and achieving customer satisfaction.
The eight elements in this sequence may be referred to as the foodservice cycle as re-presented in
Figure 1.2. This summarises what food and beverage (or foodservice) operations are concerned
with and illustrates that it is not simply about food production, beverage provision or food and
beverage service.
Figure 1.2 The foodservice cycle
1 Consumer
and market
2 Formulation
of policy
3 Interpretation
of demand
4 Planning and
design of facilities
8 Monitoring
of consumer
satisfaction
7 Control of
costs and
revenues
6 Production
and services
5 Provisioning
The foodservice cycle can be used as a basis to analyse and compare how different foodservice
operations work. It provides a standard template or checklist so that information about a
specific operation can be collected and organised in a specific way. This can then be compared
with the same information collected on other foodservice operations.
The foodservice cycle is also a dynamic model in that it can be used to help understand how an
individual operation works. Difficulties in one element of the cycle will cause difficulties in the
elements of the cycle that follow. For example, difficulties with purchasing will have effects on
food production and service and control. Similarly, difficulties experienced under one element
of the cycle will have their causes in preceding elements. For example, difficulties experienced
in food and beverage service are often caused by factors such as poor purchasing, inadequate
stock control, equipment shortages, poor room layouts or staffing problems.
Types of foodservice operations
Food and beverage (or foodservice) operations include various types of restaurants (bistros,
brasseries, coffee shops, first class/fine dining, ethnic, themed), cafés, cafeterias, takeaways,
canteens, function rooms, tray service operations, lounge service operations, home delivery
operations and room service operations for hotel guests.
Table 1.4 Examples of types of food and beverage operations
Type of operation
Description
Bistro
Often a smaller establishment, with check tablecloths, bentwood chairs, cluttered
decor and friendly informal staff. Tends to offer honest, basic and robust cooking
Brasserie
This is generally a fairly large, styled room with a long bar, normally serving one
plate items rather than formal meals (though some offer both). Often it is possible
just to have a drink, coffee or snack. Service provided by waiters, often in traditional
style of long aprons and black waistcoats
New wave brasserie
(gastrodome)
Slick modern interior design, coupled with similar approaches to contemporary
cuisine and service. Busy and bustling and often large and multileveled
Coffee shop
Similar to brasserie-style operations, often themed. May be open all day and serve
all meal types from breakfast through to supper
First class restaurant
Usually formal fine dining restaurants with classical preparation and presentation of
food and offering a high level of table (silver, guéridon and/or plated) service. Often
associated with classic/haute cuisine
Restaurant
Term used to cover a wide variety of operations. Price, level and type of service,
decor, styles, cuisines and degree of choice varies enormously across the range of
types of operation. Service ranges from full table service to assisted service such as
carvery-style operations
International
restaurant
Indian, Oriental, Asian, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Creole and Cajun are just some of
the many types of cuisine available, with establishments tending to reflect specific
ethnic origins. Many of the standard dishes are now appearing within a range of
other menu types
The list of operations in Table 1.4 identifies types of operations but not necessarily the type
of customer demand being met. For example, cafeterias may be found in motorway service
stations, in airline terminals, at railway stations, in retail catering and in industrial or welfare
catering. Therefore, throughout the foodservice industry similar types of operation are found
in different types of industry sector.
Variables in foodservice operations
The different operations described in Table 1.4 (see above) indicate very little in terms of
methods of organisation adopted and their management. In a similar way to the identifying
variables for sectors described in Table 1.2 (p.3), variables can also be identified for different
foodservice operations. These variables have been identified from a variety of published sources
as well as from experience and can be divided into three groups:
1 organisational
2 customer experience
3 performance measures.
These different groups of variables enable the systematic examination and comparison of types
of food and beverage operations. Profiles of differing types of operations can be drawn, based
upon the examples of variables identified in Table 1.5. The foodservice cycle also provides
a useful checklist when gathering information about a foodservice operation. It helps to
organise the information as it is collected and also helps to identify where there are gaps in the
information being collected.
Performance measures are further dealt with in Section 12.8, p.423. Customer experience
variables are discussed in Section 1.3. The remainder of this book presents further information
on a variety of organisational variables.