8065-04 Unit 309: Supervise food production

Supervise
Food Production
Operations
Introduction

Understanding food production is one thing,

being able to implement it effectively is
another.
Many chefs know the basis of good
production guidelines but are unable to
perform it effectively.
Planning the required resources to cover
business requirements and ensuring
processes to achieve the desired outcomes
are only part of the solution. Direct
supervision and reinforcement of standards
at service points is essential.
Resources for Food Production

Equipment is like stock and whilst you need to have sufficient equipment to serve the number of seats
available in the restaurant it is easy to over cater and tie up money in unnecessary equipment, cutlery
and tools that may sit in the store room.
Associated costs of equipment such as maintenance, repairs and replacement also must be considered.
Consider the total amount needed, expected level of theft and breakages and allow for ongoing
replacement as part of the budget. Contemplate the number of covers that you are likely to do each
night, think about the time between resets and what cutlery and crockery will be cleaned in between. For
example; if you have a 50 seater restaurant you may need only 50 entrée plates as not all people will
have starters. You can also utilise the plates for dessert, but must allow for washing up in between.
Food also needs to be calculated carefully as you need sufficient to cover the daily needs but you want
to ensure no food is wasted or going off. Taking stock after each service period allows for extra orders
from suppliers. Good communication between kitchen and service staff is essential. Relationships with
suppliers are also important to ensure they can supply when needed. Beverages such as wine and
spirits are used to flavour stocks and sauces. Monitoring usage is important as they can affect costs
considerably
Chemicals are easier to order and calculate as they do not have a short lifespan. Once again a regular
stock take is advised as you do not want to run out of detergents in the middle of service.
Note: Applying minimum and maximum stock levels is an excellent way to protect cashflow and ensure
sufficient supplies.
Resources for Food Production

Human resources must be used to the optimum due to the high cost factor. Many establishments offer
service from breakfast through to dinner or supper and this means that staff must be planned in to cover
the required preparation and cooking of mise en place as well as having sufficient staff during service to
finish dishes and clean up cutlery, crockery and other equipment such as pots.
Balancing the skill level requirements and wages is a delicate task. The following key points highlight
this:
Outsourced preparation – simple tasks such as pre-cut vegetables, peeled or turned potatoes, bulk
jus or glace, sponge or other dessert bases and ice cream establishes a fixed cost but means less staff
and equipment requirement
Kitchen hands are on a lower pay scale and can prepare food also if trained properly. This frees up
higher income chefs to focus on more complex skill requirements such as sauces, desserts etc.
Apprentices are cheaper on an hourly base but need supervision. In their second and third year their
productivity and quality level can benefit the business. Training attendance must be calculated as part of
their wage cost
Commis, partie chefs and head chef costs must be assessed as a return on revenue basis and
overall wages reflected as a percentage of revenue
Note: Applying staff cost to revenue assist with calculating the selling price. Ensure to take all on-
costs into account!
Portion Control

Standard recipes are a key tool for managing costs. Focus on:
 Portion control – you must be able to calculate the desired weight of each portion. With
steak and portion controlled cuts it’s easy as you order in as required. When you prepare
your own meat from primal you must calculate your trimming loss for steaks and cooking
loss for roasts. Sticking with raw and cooked weights is crucial for achieving the desired
food cost
 Portion guides – list the serving size as part of the standard recipe and provide overall
guides e.g. 100g cooked rice or a specific timbale or ladle, 6 medium prawns per salad or
120g, 200g steak before grilling, 140g cooked meat for roast beef etc.
 Costing food – without portion control you will never be on top of the food cost. Food
costs include all items used in the production of the dish. Recipes should therefore list
purchasable weights not trimmed weights for accurate costing. Key oversights can be the
omission to cost stocks or sauces that are part of the dish. Just pricing items based on the
restaurant next door is the best way to go broke!
 Profit – this must be determined not just by the food cost but also the other costs within
the business such as staff and other overheads. Even with profit the cashflow is a crucial
component of the business as it is no good to make profit but have $10K of stock sitting in
the wine fridge and you can’t pay the wages!
Documentation

Systems for food production rely heavily on appropriate documentation. This ensures that
processes can be adhered to and are understood by all staff:
Rosters – these need to be posted regularly and can be in writing, via email or even sms.
Award regulations must be taken into consideration. Rosters apply across kitchen and support
staff and must balance casual and full time staff and be based on service requirements and
projected customer numbers
Menus – all menus available for the premises must be recorded often using word
processing software. The various service times and relevant menus are covered as are
function and catering menus off-site. These must be backed up with standard recipe cards and
costing
Standard recipe cards – these are developed for all menu items and software may be used
to streamline the process. Costs are then established per serve and selling price derived from
there
Food orders – for smaller premises these are designed and dealt with directly by the head
chef with direct contact with suppliers. Larger establishment have stores that order in all items
and then distribute these based on requisition sheets keeping track of the usage of individual
cost centres and possible transfers
Cleaning and maintenance schedules – these ensure that records exist for HACCP and
continued maintenance
Food Safety

Legal requirements exist for all food premises but varies form country to country. Providing guidance and
training and appropriate documentation are a key part of a successful food safety plan. Keeping records
is essential to assess compliance. The following key areas must be addressed in guidance and training ;
all relevant records must be kept:
Training – sessions and content plus any assessment results records

Organisational policies and procedures – accessible manuals including food safety legislation policies

Sickness – register and record including doctor’s certificates

Accidents – register stating incident and any resulting risk assessment changes

Cleaning schedules – daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly schedules

Pest control records

Visitor policy and register – sign in and sign out

Complaints – reason for complaints and response

Equipment – temperature logs, malfunctions and impact on food safety e.g. broken fridge

Stock rotation records – log of purchases and usage minimum and maximum levels of stock
Food Safety Policy

Compliance

Whilst a clearly documented food safety policy is valuable, it is important to ensure compliance:

 Policies and procedures must highlight how the enterprise ensures personal hygiene practices –
measures could include spot checks, provision of clean uniforms or uniform policies, reporting to
supervisor at beginning of shift etc.

 Measures that are undertaken to ensure compliance with policies and procedures – measures
could include targets for specific areas e.g. OH&S incidents to be under a specific number per
annum

 Compliance with food safety legislation can be assured through accurate record keeping and
spot checks by managers against processes. Key processes such as hand washing or
protective clothing must be measured
Risk Assessment and Management

As described in the other PowerPoint presentation in this unit risk assessment is a key strategy
applied by business to manage risk appropriately. Risk assessment can be used for OH&S, hygiene
and security.
 Conduct risk assessment in all areas under supervision
o Loading dock, stores, garbage disposal
o Kitchen cleaning areas, wash up area, preparation areas
o Production kitchen and banquet kitchen
 Health and Safety focuses on manual handling, slips, trips and falls, tools and machinery,
electricity and gas and personal hazards

 Emergency procedures must be implemented and assessed

 Food hygiene measures must be applied and measured including HACCP

 Safety measures must include external and internal measures:

o Premises security

o Security of patrons and staff including privacy

o Theft and pilferage prevention and cash handling processes

Food Production and Time Scales

As described in the other PowerPoint presentation in this unit time scales required for production and
service depend on the menu and number of clients during each seating period. To manage optimum
production you must establish clear mise en place lists and ascertain the time required for production
of it. A typical applied roster for a medium restaurant may be as follows:
Cold kitchen
o 1 chef de partie or demi-chef during each service period
o 1 commis and 1 apprentice
o 1 kitchen hand to assist with salads
Hot kitchen
o Sauces, roasts and fish
 Sous chef or partie chef during each service period
 2 commis and 2 apprentices
o Vegetables and soups
 Chef de partie or demi-chef during each service period
 2 commis and 2 apprentices plus 2 kitchen hands to prepare potatoes and vegetables
Desserts
o 1 chef de partie or demi-chef during each service period
o 1 commis and 1 apprentice
Food Production and Time Scales

This could then be broken down further as follows:

 Cold kitchen
o 1 chef de partie or demi-chef 8am-2pm and 6-10pm
o 1 commis 8am-2pm and 6-10pm and 1 apprentice 2pm-10pm
o 1 kitchen hand to assist with salads 9am-12noon
 Hot kitchen
o Sauces, roasts and fish
 Sous chef or partie chef 8am-2pm and 6-10pm
 1 commis and 1 apprentice 8am-2pm and 6-10pm and 1 commis and 1 apprentice 2pm-
10pm
o Vegetables and soups
 Chef de partie or demi-chef 8am-2pm and 6-10pm
 1 commis and 1 apprentice 8am-2pm and 6-10pm and 1 commis and 1 apprentice 2pm-
10pm
 Desserts
o 1 chef de partie or demi-chef 8am-2pm and 6-10pm
o 1 commis 8am-2pm and 6-10pm and 1 apprentice 2pm-10pm
Food Production and Quality Assurance

Quality assurance of product occurs at key stages of production and service. HACCP records are
kept throughout. Checks are carried out throughout production and just before service and on the
pass during service. This final QA mechanism has strong motivational impact for staff.
Cold kitchen
o Preparation
 Check preparation of all meat, poultry and seafood including storage
 Check salad preparation and dressings
 Check terrines and pâtés for flavour and consistency
 Check other cold foods for freshness and correct preparation
 Check quality of all other sauces and garnishes e.g. cocktail sauce, lemon wedges
 Check station is cleaned and set up correctly before service
o Service
 Check all plated meals for appearance and standard including temperature

Note: The final check should always be on the returns to the kitchen. Did customers eat all of the
meal? Did they compliment the meals? Did they complain? Is there too much leftover?
Food Production and Quality Assurance

 Hot kitchen
o Preparation
 Check sauces preparation and consistency
 Check roasts, poultry and pre-cooked seafood in regards to degree of doneness and
standard
 Check vegetable and starches preparation and finish
 Check soups in regards to taste, consistency and colour
o Service
 Check meals are finished according to menu e.g. MR
 Check all plated meals for appearance and standard
 Check that meals are served using correct crockery at correct temperature
 Desserts
o Preparation

 Check pastry and dessert preparation and finish including all sauces and fillings
o Service
 Check meals are finished according to menu, set standard and correct presentation and
temperature