BHM 1203: INTRODUCTION TO FOOD & BEVERAGE

SERVICE

1.1 Sectors of the Foodservice Industry

1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations
1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations
1.1 Sectors of the Food Service Industry

The Food Service Industry

 The international food service industry
provides millions of meals a day in a wide
variety of types of food service operations:
 Food: includes a wide range of styles and cuisines
classified by country, e.g. Indian; type of cuisine
(e.g. oriental), or a particular speciality, e.g. fish,
meat, or vegetarian.

 Beverages: include all alcoholic and non-alcoholic

drinks.
1.1 Sectors of the Food Service Industry

 Alcoholic beverages include wines and all other

types of alcoholic drinks such as cocktails, beers,
spirits and liqueurs.
 Non-alcoholic beverages include bar beverages
such as mineral waters, juices, squashes and
carbonated drinks, as well as tea, coffee,
chocolate, milk and milk-based drinks
 There are different industrial sectors within
the foodservice industry, categorized
according to the type of customer demand
being met.
 1.1 Sectors of the Food Service Industry

 This categorization identifies the nature of

demand being met within each sector; and
the major purpose of the foodservice
operations within them
 The identification also provides a framework

for studying the food and beverage service

industry (for full list of industry sectors and descriptions, refer to
Lillicrap, D.: Food and Beverage Service, 8th Ed.)
 Industry sectors are many, including:
 Hotels, Independent and Chain Restaurants;
 Popular catering, Pubs and Wine bars;
 Fast food, Leisure attractions and Banqueting
 1.1 Sectors of the Food Service Industry

 Other industry sectors are those where food and

beverages are provided as part of another
business. This includes:
 Transport catering;
 Welfare, Clubs, Education;

 Industrial feeding and Armed forces

 Some sectors provide food and beverages for

profit, whereas others work within the
limitations of a given budget (cost provision)
 Additionally, some sectors provide services to the

general public while others provide to restricted

groups of people.
1.1 Sectors of the Food Service Industry

 The different types of markets are defined as:

 General Market
 Non-captive – customers have a full choice
 Restricted Market
 Captive – customers have no choice, e.g. welfare
 Semi-captive – customers have a choice before
entering, e.g. marine, airline, trains, some hotels
and some leisure activities. Once in, customers
have little choice of food and drink, except what is
offered
 Based on the above definitions, sectors of the
foodservice industry can be summarised as
below:
 1.1 Sectors of the Food Service Industry

 Summary of Sectors in the Foodservice Industry:

Profit-Oriented (Public or Private Ownership) Cost Provision
(Foodservice as main or secondary activity)
Restricted General Market: Restricted
Market: Market:
 Transport  Hotels/restaurants o Institutional
Catering  Popular Catering catering
 Clubs  Fast-food/take away o Schools
 Industrial  Retail stores o Universities &
(Contract)  Events/Conferences colleges
 Private Welfare  Exhibitions o Hospitals
 Leisure attractions o Armed forces
 Motorway stations o Prisons
 Pubs and Wine bars o Industrial (in-
 Off-premises catering house)
1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations

 Food and beverage (foodservice) operations in

the hospitality industry are concerned with
provision of food and drink ready for
immediate consumption. Operations are
concerned with:
a) The consumer needs and market potential in
various sectors of the foodservice industry
b) The formulation of policy and business
objectives that will guide the choice of operational
methods to be used
c) The interpretation of demand in order to decide
on the range and type of food and beverages to be
provided; service levels and prices to be charged
1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations

 Foodservice operations are concerned with:

d) The planning and design of facilities required
for food and beverage operations and the plant
and equipment required
e) The organization of provisioning for food and
beverages and other purchasing requirements
to meet needs of food production, beverage
provision and service methods in use
f) Knowledge of operational requirements for food
production, beverage provision and service
processes and methods
1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations

 Foodservice operations are concerned with:

g) Control of costs (materials, other costs)
associated with food production, beverage
provision and other services; and control of
revenue
h) The monitoring of customer satisfaction to
continually review the extent to which the
operation is meeting customer needs and
achieving customer satisfaction
 The elements in the above sequence form
what is can be referred to as the
Foodservice Cycle – see below.
1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations

 The Foodservice Cycle

a) Consumer b) Formulation c) Interpretation

and Market of Policy & Objectives of Demand

h) Monitoring of d) Planning and

Consumer Satisfaction Design of Facilities

g) Control of Costs f) Production e) Organization

and Revenues and Services Of Provisioning
1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations

Importance of the Foodservice Cycle:

 The Foodservice Cycle summarises what food
and beverage operations are concerned with
 It can be used as a basis for analysing and

comparing how different foodservice

operations work
 It provides a standard template or checklist

for collecting and organizing information

about a specific operation in a specific way
 1.2 Food and Beverage Service Operations

Importance of the Foodservice Cycle:

 It is a dynamic model in the sense that difficulties
in one element of the cycle will cause difficulties
in the elements of the cycle that follow or precede
 For example, problems in purchasing will

negatively affect food production and service, and

control
 Similarly, difficulties experienced in food and

beverage service are often the result of poor

purchasing, inadequate stock control, equipment
shortages, poor room layouts or staffing problems
1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

 Food and beverage (foodservice) operations

include:
 Various types of restaurants (bistros,

brasseries, coffee-shops, first class/fine

dining, ethnic, themed);
 Cafes, cafeterias, takeaways, canteens,

function rooms, tray service and lounge

service operations, home delivery
operations and room service operations for
hotel guests.
 These are summarized in the table that

follows:
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Type of Description
Operation
Bistro  A small establishment, with traditional tables
and chairs
 Cluttered décor and friendly informal staff
 Tends to offer honest, basic and robust cooking
Brasserie  Generally a fairly large, styled room with a long bar,
normally serving one-plate items rather than normal
meals (though some offer both)
 Often it is possible just to have a drink, coffee or snack
 Service provided by servers, often in traditional style of
long aprons and black waistcoats
New Wave  Sleek modern interior design, coupled with similar
approaches to contemporary cuisine and service
Brasserie  Busy and bustling and often large and multi-levelled
(Gastrodome)
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Type of Description
Operation
Coffee  Similar to brasserie style operations, often
Shop themed
 May be open all day and serve all meal types
from breakfast through to supper
First Class  Usually formal fine dining restaurants with classical
Restaurant preparation and presentation of food; and offers a high
level of table (silver, gueridon 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, décor, 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
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Type of Description
Operation
International  Indian, oriental, Asian, Spanish, Greek, Italian,
Restaurant Creole, and Cajun are 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
Themed  Often international in orientation, for example,
Restaurant Icelandic Hot Rock, or “Beni-hana” oriental
theme where food is prepared and cooked at the
table
 Also includes themes such as jungle, rainforest,
or music/opera where waiting staff perform and
serve
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Type of Description
Operation
International  Often Michellin-starred fine dining
Destination restaurants, offering a distinctive personality,
Restaurant cuisine, ambience, beverages and service
 Usually table service at various levels, but
mostly personal and highly attentive
 Generally considered as the home of
gastronomy; expensive but also full of value
Health Food  Increasing specialization of operations into
& Vegetarian vegetarianism and /or health foods (though
Restaurant vegetarian food is not necessarily healthy), to
meet lifestyle needs as well as dietary
requirements
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Type of Description
Operation
Cafeteria  Primarily self-service with the customer
making selection from a counter or counters in
varying designs and layouts
 Originally developed for the industrial feeding
market, but now seen ion a variety of sectors
Popular  Developed from table service teashops and
Catering & cafes through to steakhouses, and now
Fast Food incorporating snack bars, kiosks, diners,
Outlets takeaways and cafeterias.
 Offers modern-day burger, chicken and fish
concepts with ethnic foods being incorporated
 Meets the needs of all-day meal taking (grazing)
and ‘grab and go’ service, esp. for leisure,
industrial and travelling markets
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Type of Description
Operation
Public Houses  Licensed environment primarily for drinking
alcoholic beverages
 May be simply a serving bar with standing
room for customers or may have more plush
surroundings incorporating the offer of a
variety of foods
 These can range from simple plated dishes to
the establishment offering full restaurant
service (sometimes called Gastro pubs)
Wine Bars  Often a mixture of bar and brasserie-style
operation;
 Commonly wine-themed, serving a variety of
foods
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations

Variables in Foodservice Operations

 The list of types of operations does not indicate much
in terms of methods of organization adopted and their
management
 Variables can be identified for different food service

operations based on three categories:

 Organizational variables
 Customer experience
 Performance measures
 These groups of variables enable a systematic
comparison of types of food and beverage operations
(see a summary of these in next 2 slides)
 The foodservice cycle also provides a useful framework
when collecting info about a foodservice operation
1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations
(Variables in Foodservice Operations)

Organizational Variables
 Nature of market being met  Capacity
 Legislative controls  Staff working hours
 Scale of operations  Staff organization
 Marketing/merchandising  Staff capability
 Menu style and drinks list  Number of staff
 Range of choice  Specialized service
 Opening times/service period requirements
 Production methods  Provisioning/storage methods
 Type/capacity of equipment  Billing methods
 Service methods  Order taking methods
 Dining arrangements  Clearing methods
 Seating time  Dishwashing methods
 Number of covers available  Control method – costs and
revenue
 1.3 Types of Foodservice Operations
(Variables in Foodservice Operations)

Customer Experience Variables

 Food and drink available  Atmosphere (includes décor,
 Level of service and other lighting, air-conditioning,
services acoustics, noise, size and
 Price range/value for money shape of room, other
 Cleanliness and hygiene customers, attitude of staff)
Performance Measure Variables
 Seat turnover/ customer  Sales/profit per m2/per seat
throughput  Sales analysis
 Customer average check  Departmental profit
 Revenue per member of staff  Stock turnover
 Productivity index  Stock holding
 Ratio of food and beverage  Complaint levels
sales to total sales  Level of repeat business