Food and Beverage Notes

INTRA-DEPARTMENT RELATIONSHIP No individual department in any hotel can work in isolation. To achieve positive moments of truth in any service provided to the guests, no specific department can be responsible: in fact it should be a collective responsibility of all the departments concerned. Each department is equally important for proper functioning of hotel. The food and beverage service department is one of the major selling points of the hotel. All sections under the umbrella of the F&B department coordinate and cooperate with each other to achieve objectives of the department that are customer, management, and employee focused. The following shows the intra –departmental relationship between sections. 1. Food Production In a food and beverage outlet, the F&B production has the most important role to play. Items prepared/dressed here are the ones that the service personnel sell. To be successful in its operations, it coordinates with the other F&B Sect...

ATTRIBUTE OF FOOD SERVICE PERSONNEL The personnel who wishes to progress in service industry must attain certain standards. The quality of service staff in any establishment reflects the quality of the establishment itself. No matter how good the food and ambience are, poorly trained, untidy or rude staff can antagonize customers. On the other hand, if the staff is well-trained and efficient, they can, to a certain extent, make up for other shortcomings in the services provided. It is most important that the service staff create a good impression on the customer. The following points will help him in achieving these standards. 1. Attitude   Attitude is a buzzword nowadays. We wear an attitude, which is something that we own and are responsible for. It comes from within and can be positive or negative based on ones experiences.  Key attitudes required in Food Service Operations. Joy for serving people A cheerful attitude Cooperation Pride in one' work ...

WAITER Waiting staff/wait staff, are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers supplying them with food and beverages as requested promptly and pleasantly. The waiter is popularly known as a Steward or Commis-de- Rang. A female who "waits" on tables is often called a waitress. The gender-neutral server and collective waitstaff can also be used. The duties of waiting staff include preparing tables (table setting) for a meal, taking customers' orders, serving drinks and food, and cleaning up before, during and after servings in a restaurant. He must have knowledge of proper rules and etiquette in order to furnish working service in either a formal or informal sitting. Other task of a waiter includes: Reports to Senior Captain / Captain to receive necessary instruction for the shift and for any menu changes. Has to attend briefings conducted by Senior Captain. Sets the assigned tables and ensures that the services area too is well-stocked w...

STATION WAITER Station Waiter is known as the Captain. He is responsible for the actual service of food and beverage. He is responsible to maintain his own station and side-boards. He is responsible to settle the bill before the guest departs. He is responsible for the clearance of his tables and side-boards. He is responsible to receive and give a proper hand-over from the preceding to the following shift respectively. He is supposed to carry-out the additional responsibilities which are allotted to him by the senior captain. The steward is supposed to carry out the maintenance of stock of cutlery, linen, crockery at all times in a shift. The steward is supposed to suggest a food and beverage dish to a guest and/or when required.

BANQUET MANAGER The banquet manager supervises the banquet operations, sets up break-down service according to the standards established by the hotel. He co-ordinates the banquet service in conjunction with other departments involved and prepares weekly schedules for the banquet personnel. From the time the bookings are done till the guest settles the bill, the banquet manager is in charge of all aspects of banquet and conference operations. He supervises the work of the banquet sales  assistants, who do the banquet bookings and the captains and waiters who perform the food and beverage service activities under his guidance. He is responsible for organizing everything right down to the finest detail. The banquet manager projects the budget of the banquets, and works in close coordination with the chef in preparing menus. He is responsible for making an inventory of all the banquet equipment and maintaining a balance between revenue and expenditure. Banquet ma...

ROOM SERVICE MANAGER The room service manager reports directly to the food and beverage manager and is responsible for the room service outlet. The room service manager checks that the service rendered to the guests conforms to the standards set by the hotel. He also monitors all operational aspects of the outlet such as service, billing, duty charts, leave and absenteeism, in addition to attending to guest complaints regarding food and service. The room service manager is also in charge of the sales and expenditure budget. The room service is most liable to have problems. The room service manager should ensure coordination among the room service order taker, the captain and the waiter. It is necessary for the room service manager to be present in the outlet during peak hours to interact with other departments of the hotel and to take regular momentums of all the equipment used In the event of the hotel offering valet service and the room service manager takes charge of that se...

HEAD WAITER( Maitre’ De Hotel) Head Waiter also known as the   Maitre’ De Hotel He is in charge of the restaurant operations. He is in charge of the whole restaurant in absence of the restaurant manager. He prepares the duty chart of the staff with the approval of Restaurant manager. He looks after the leave and weekly off of the staff. He conducts the daily briefing before the commencement of a shift. He prepares the indent to be picked up from the stores by the steward. He is in charge of the restaurant inventory. He allocates the stations and tables to the captains and stewards. Supervise food service with a view to ensure speed, quality of service and personalization. Motivate staff through fair leadership.

RECEPTION HEAD WAITER He is the man with tremendous responsibilities. He has complete knowledge of the floor plan. He is responsible to maintain and update all different registers like the cover register & sales register. He also maintains a separate register for staff absentees and sends it to the personal department from time to time. He welcomes the guests at the entrance. He informs the staff during the briefing about the possible arrival of VIP’s/celebrity persons. In the absence of the restaurant manager and the head waiter (Maitre’ de Hotel), he is in charge of the restaurant. He presents the menu to the guests. In the absence of the restaurant manager, he is responsible for the public relation activities of the restaurant. In a formal banquet he decides the seating arrangement on the main table. He maintains the guest comment card.

RESTAURANT MANAGER Restaurant Manager is responsible for directing and supervising all activities pertaining to employee relation, food production, sanitation, guest service and operating profits. The restaurant manager is either the coffee shop manager, bar manager or the specialist restaurant manager. The restaurant manager reports directly to the food and beverage manager and has overall responsibility for the organization and administration of a particular outlet or a section of the food and beverage service department. The restaurant manager's job includes:  Setting and monitoring the standards of service in the outlets. Administrative duties such as setting duty charts, granting leave, monitoring staff positions, recommending staff promotions and handling issues relating to discipline. Training the staff by conducting a daily briefing in the outlet. Playing a vital role in public relations, meeting guests in the outlets and attending to guest complaints, if any. Fo...

ASSISTANT FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER The assistant food and beverage manager assists the food and beverage manager in running the department by being more involved in the actual day-to-day operations. This position exists only in large organizations. An assistant food and beverage manager's job includes: a) Assisting section heads during busy periods. b) Taking charge of an outlet, when an outlet manager is on leave. c) Setting duty schedules for all the outlet managers and monitoring their performance. d) Running the department independently in the absence of the food and beverage manager.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER The food and beverage manager is the head of the food and beverage service department, and is responsible for its administrative and operational work. Food and Beverage Managers direct, plan and control all aspects of food and beverage services.  Food and Beverage Managers require excellent sales and customer service skills, proven human resource management skills, and good communication and leadership skills. Desired knowledge for this position includes knowledge of the products, services, sector, industry and local area, and knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations, as well. Hence it is said That food and beverage manager is a Jack-of-all-trades, as the job covers a wide variety of duties.  In general, food and beverage manager is responsible for: 1 Budgeting: The food and beverage manager is responsible for preparing the budget for the department. He should ensure that each outlet in the department achieves the ...

WELFARE CATERING This category of catering is done not for the objective of making money but as a welfare measure for the target group. One of the major factors in such kind of catering is the consideration of the cost. Since this kind of catering is done as a welfare measure and no profit is expected, so cost becomes a very important factor. Non-commercial operation include catering services in institution such as prison, schools, hospitals, and industries, colleges, universities and old age homes . Among the different branches of welfare catering , the following are the most important ones: Industrial Catering Institutional Catering Service Catering 1 Industrial Catering This branch of welfare catering is carried out in the industrial units or manufacturing units. In the manufacturing industries food is cooked for three levels of employees. They are the shop floor level workers, the supervisors and the managers or executives. While the menu is planned for the s...

Marine/Sea Catering  It is referred to marine catering and it is divided into two major parts, Cruise Line Catering Cargo Ship Catering 1 Cruise line Catering Here the catering is done to the passengers travelling in the cruise ships. The modern day luxury cruise liners have a very high. They are equipped with facilities like restaurants, ballroom, discotheques, casino, swimming pool, laundry, etc. on board. The quality of service is exclusive compared to the f&b standard of a five star hotel. The passenger’s meal price is included in the price of the ticket. All the meals during the journey are taken care of by the cruise liners . The highest standard of F&B as well as service is provided here. All the necessary ingredients are picked up from the part of origin including water to cover up the requirement for the entire duration of the cruise and some extra stock for 3-4 days in case of any emergency. All the necessary ingredients are supplied by a contract...

AIRLINE CATERING Unlike the other transport system like the rail or ocean liners, air transport carry pre-plated food on board as there is no facility available on airline for cooking or presentation. Most airlines design or plan flight-catering establishments or kitchens to meet their requirements. The system was to continue until the country was nationalized and was divided into two separate corporations, one for domestic route and the other for international. Modernization and expansion increased the carrying capacity of passengers in both airlines. It was necessary to increase and expand the catering services with a standard compatible to the cost of airline ticket. To cope with the need of international airline carrier several flight kitchens were established in Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta (Kolkata) and Chennai. Air India started a subsidiary company called the HCI (Hotel Corporation of India) with a view to operate flight kitchens and accommodate passengers i...

RAILWAY CATERING Catering to passengers during the journey and at halts at stations is called railway catering .In the mid 19 th century the railway network began in India with an operation that was to extend the length and breadth of the vast subcontinent. With travel made easier, people who traveled from one part of the country to the other required food, drink and route. At most of the larger stations catering refreshment rooms were opened. The trains would halt for an appropriate length of time so that the passengers could get a simple meal. Passengers unable to afford the luxury of eating in the refreshment room could get snacks from numerous vendors on the station platform. Railway companies went to the extent of setting hotels attached to the stations so that the passengers who were travelling from one region to another could get some comfort. The luxury of sleeping cars and restaurant cars were a much later development. At the turn of the century the railway mi...

TRANSPORT CATERING This category of catering involves service of food and beverage in the various modes of transport. This kind of catering has become very professional and developed nowadays. This branch of catering constitutes a significant part of the entire world of catering. Transport catering comprises of the following categories: Railway Catering Airline Catering Sea/Marine Catering

 NON-RESIDENTIAL CATERING This category includes catering establishments, which provide the facility of food and beverage. No accommodation is provided. The main examples are as follows: Restaurants Pubs Bars Night clubs Discotheques Kiosks Fast food outlets Cafeteria 1 Restaurant These are into the business of serving only food and beverage to the customers. They do not provide the facility of accommodation. They can be attached to a hotel or independently existing. A restaurant can be either a multi-cuisine or a specialty restaurant. Specialty restaurant normally operates for lunch and dinner. Specialty restaurant can be attached to a hotel or can independently exist. Multi-cuisine restaurant are traditionally stand –alone or independently existing. Specialty restaurants are comparatively more expensive than the multi-cuisine restaurants. Specialty restaurants serve one type of cuisine like either Chinese or Indian or Italian or Mexican, etc. each and every...

RESIDENTIAL CATERING This category involves organization, which provides the facility of accommodation. They may or may not provide the facility of food and beverage. The different examples under this category are, Hotel Motel Resort Floatel Lodge Guest House Circuit House 1.Hotels Hotels are establishments or business premises, which provide the basic facility of accommodation as well as food and beverage. An establishment cannot be called as hotel if any one of the facilities is absent. Depending upon the additional facilities offered by the hotel, they could be classified into one star, two star, etc up to five star. The hotel can be categorized into various types depending upon factors like location, type of clientele, length of stay, type of plan, etc. on the basis of location, hotels can be divided into downtown hotel, suburban hotel, motel, transit hotel & inn group hotel and business hotels, etc. 2.Motels The term motel has been derived from th...

Commercial Catering Commercial catering involves doing the business of catering for the objective of making profit through customer satisfaction. The main objective of concern is to make money. Money cannot be made without the achievement of customer satisfaction. At the same time the existence of the business concern is also not possible without profit. So from a commercial establishment’s point of view both the profit and customer satisfaction are equally important and one cannot be prioritized over the other. Commercial catering can be divided into two main categories. They are, Residential Catering Non-Residential Catering

THE ROLE OF CATERING ESTABLISHMENT IN THE TREVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest and most profitable industries in most countries. While on one hand, increased stress levels are forcing a lot of working professionals to take regular breaks and holidays throughout the year; on the other hand , there has been a remarkable change in people’s mindsets which encourages people to go on vacation and appreciate the cultures and environment of different places. One of the aspects of hospitality service is catering. It means professionally organizing the supply of food and beverage, rooms and managing social events. In the 1940’s the term “ hotel and catering industry ” was coined to include the economic activities of undertaking whose aim was to satisfy the demands of food, drink and accommodation away from home. The industry has expanded rapidly in the last few decades. It is established that one in every four meals is planned, prepared a...