Chapter 6: Food and Beverage Sector

Photo source: DART Consulting

Objective
At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:

∙ trace the history of the food and beverage industry;

∙ describe the different types of restaurants;
∙ explain the importance of franchising to the restaurant industry;
∙ explain the role of the menu in restaurant’s success;
∙ differentiate airline catering from restaurant catering; and
∙ discuss restaurant promotion.
I. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION

History of the Food and Beverage Service

In early history, there was much evidence that certain groups of people cooked together
in big groups and that the early inns provided a crude menu. In the Roman era, there were
some establishments that offered sausage or roast meat, bread, and a cup of wine. The
forerunner of the modern restaurant that provides hot food and drink developed in Rome. Many
of the early restaurants were in the cities, near temples and government buildings. After the fall
of the Roman Empire, the manorss and castles provided food to large numbers of people. The
early inns provided bread and wine to travelers.

In 1200, public cook shops were opened in London which offered precooked takeout
food. The Royal families of Europe introduced cutlery, table linen, crystal glasses, a new foods
such as turkey and potato, and the roadside tavern. In the sixteenth century, British inns and
taverns began to serve one meal a day at a fixed time and price and at a common table. The
meal was known as ordinary and the dining rooms were called ordinaries. The most famous
ordinary in London was the Castle and Lloyd’s which was the meeting place of merchants and
ship owners. In the seventeeth century, the ordinaries became fashionable clubs and gambling
places as well as the center for political activities. The word ‘’restaurant’’ was used in the late
eighteenth centure for a Paris dining room serving light dishes.

An example of old taverns

Image taken from: Pinterest

In the United States, tavers and inns were very similar to those in England. A famous
tavern in New York was Fraunces Tavern. In 1834, the famous Delmonico’s was opened in New
York. In the early 1900s, several events that were significant to the food industry occurred. The
hamburger was first served in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair. The first root beer stand was
founded by Roy Allen and Frank Wright.

An image of Fraunces Tavern

Image taken from: Pinterest

The Second World War brought many changes to the American public. People became
richer, the automobile made them more mobile, and they shifted to the suburban areas of cities.
In the 1960s, fast-food establishments emerged.

At present, modern popular cuisine including French, Chinese, Mexican, and Japanese
have become common in most cities. The role food plays in tourism may not be a direct but an
indirect attraction.
Types of Restaurants

1. Family or Commercial Restaurants

Image taken from: HospiBuz

Family-restaurants offer a wide menu of ‘’meat and potato’’ selections with a price range
that appeals to an average family income. They serve beer and wine if they have a liquor
license.The operating hours are usually from early evening to midnight.

2.Coffee Shops

Coffee shops are characterized by a fast-food

service. The decor is simple and prices are relatively
low. It is usually located in an office building or
shopping mall. The rent is high. The staff are often
minimally trained. The peak periods of a coffee
shops are lunch and coffee breaks. Operating hours
are from early morning to early evening.
Image taken from: Medium

3. Cafeterias

Cafeteria are usually loacated in shopping

centers and office buildings. Self-service is typical
with limited menus of soups, entrees, desserts,
and beverages.

Image taken from: TripAdvisor

Cafeteria often require a large preparation

area. Their staff are minimally trained. Beer and
wine may be offered. Fast service is necessary to
handle the traffic volume. The operating hours will
depend on the location as school, office building, airport, or highway.

4. Gourmet Restaurants
 Gourmet restaurants generally
require a higher initial investment than
other
types of restaurant because they
require an
expensive ambience and decor. They
cater
those who want a higher standard and
are
willing to pay the price.
Image taken from: Spot.ph

The prices are higher at gourmet

restaurants because of the high investment
required. The menu and wines are carefull planned and the staff are highly trained.
The evening period is the main emphasis. The locacation is important but may not be
critical since discriminating diners look for quality gourmet restaurants. Word-of-mouth
advertising and repeat business are keys to success.

5. Ethnic Restaurants

Image taken from: Like A Local Guide

Ethnic restaurants feature the food of a specific region or country. They can be Chinese
or classical French cuisine. The décor usually has an ethnic motif.

In order to be successful, ethnic restaurants must serve authentic cuisine of the region
or country they are featuring and those who prepare the food must be well-trained and
knowledgeable. Prices range from budget to high. Beer, wine and liquor may or may not served.
The initial investment is high because of the décor and staff training. The location is variable.
Operating hours are in the evening.

6. Fast-food Restaurants

Fast-food restaurants have

increased in the past 20 years as people
have become more mobile. Franchising is
common in this type of restaurant. The
 menu is limited with low prices. Because
fo low prices, many customers patronize
fast-food restaurants.

Fast-food restaurants operate for long hours and generally for seven days a week.
Alcoholic beverages are not offered. A well-trained staff is required for franchise fast-food
operation in which the franchisor sets standards of service and food quality that must be
maintainted at all times.
7. Deli Shops

Deli shops provide delicatessen food service,

combining traditional delicatessen cold meats sand
cheese with takeout sandwiches, salads, and similar
items. Some deli shops have limited seating capacity.
They are usually located in shopping areas or office
buildings and are open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Capital
investment is low. Deli shops have low labor costs
because only one or two owners and employees are
involved.

Image taken from: TripAdvisor

8. Buffet Restaurants

Image taken from: The Balance Small Business

Buffet restaurants are established on a completely self-serve basis. However, if liquor,

beer, and wine are offered, table and service for these beverages are provided.

The food buffet is usually an ‘’eat all you can’’ hot and cold food for one price.

9. Transportation restaurants

There is a natural link between transportation

and food service. Several restaurants are generally
found along auto and bus transportations routes.
They are also found at bus, rail, and transportation
buildings, as well as on transportation vehicles as trains and ships.
Image taken from: Alamy.com

Some transportation restaurants cater to tour groups, particularly bus tour groups. These
restaurants can be quite profitable if the market can be maintained. They require special
cafeteria or buffet-type facilities so that arriving groups can be served quickly and continue on
their journey.

Franchising

Image taken from: Entrepreneur.com

Franchised restaurants are a major component of the food service industry, particularly
in the fast-food sector. The reason for the popularity of franchising in the restaurant industry are
very similar to those in the hotel industry. Franchises are beneficial to the franchisees because
they provide operational, training, layout and design assistance, location assistance, managerial
expertise, group purchasing power, and most importantly, the identification of a well-known
brand supported by regional, national, and international advertising and promotion. Franchised
restaurants can easily get financing from lending institutions than independents.

Franchised restaurants include fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Kentucky, Fried

Chicken, Pizza Hut, A&W Root Beer, and Burger King.

Menus

The menu is the basic planning document for a

successful restaurant. Several aspects of the
restaurant’s operation depend on the menu. The
menu contains what the restaurant offers, the range
of offerings, as well as the selling prices. The menu
must portray the style and theme of the restaurant.
Thus, the menu’s design, printing, size, and colors
are important. Image taken from: Bangus Restaurant
The menu also determines the equipment
needed and the investment required. In general, the
more extensive the menu is, the more varied the
needed equipment will be. If a restaurants sells only
hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and soft drinks, its required
equipment will be less compared to those of restaurant with 20 or 30 menu items which require
different cooking methods and more specialize equipment.

Airline Catering

Airline companies spend billions of

dollars every year for food purchases. The
average cost per airline passenger is
between 1 dollar and 7 dollars depending
on the length of the journey. The amount is
less for shorter trips, since passengers may
be offered only a non-alcoholic beverage
and a light snack. For longer trips in which
two or three meals may be offered including
free alcoholic beverages, the amount is
higher. Around 3 to 4% of an airline’s total
costs is spent on food.

Image taken from: Jobseem.com

Food Quality

The main problem of airline companies is to cook the meal on the ground and serve it
several hours later in an extraordinary dry cabin atmosphere, seven miles high, to different
groups of people with their own food preferences, and whose main motivation is to travel rather
than to eat.

In 1992, airline passenger were served a sandwich and coffee from a vacuum flask on a
flight from London to Paris. At present, particularly on long flights, passengers expect hot meals.

Logistics

To produce hot meals, the airline companies have to prepare specifications fir recipes,
ingredients, cooking methods and labor for each flight. These require a forecast using the actual
passenger reservation for each flight including an allowance for standbys and last-minute
reservations in order to have the correct raw materials, equipment, and food production staff for
each shift. Preliminary meal counts are usually prepared from 24 to 72 hours ahead so that food
supplies can be bought.
Menus must be carefully selected for each flight to avoid serving the same meal to a
passenger on two succeeding segments of a trip or on a round trip. In addition, trays and
serving utensils and supplies must be in the kitchen when the meal is prepared.

Airplane Galleys

The first airplane galley was designed in

1936 by Douglas for its DC-3. Meals prepared on
the ground were kept hot or cold in insulated
containter on the aircraft. After World War II, the
 introduction of larger airplanes enabled them to
have ovens and refrigerators onboard in their
galleys. The removable ovens are filled with hot
food in the ground flight kitchen, moved to the
aircraft, and then plugged into electrical outlets.

Image taken from: istockphoto.com

Flight Kitchens

Image taken from: Arabian Business

The first airline flight kitchen was opened in the late 1930s near Washington D.C. Hoover
Field airport by a gentleman named Marriott. He had a restaurant near the airport. He noticed
that passenger would go to his retaurant to eat before boarding their flights because no meals
were served in the airplane. He approached Eastern Air Transport, now known as Eastern
Airlines, and offered to prepare lunch boxes in his restaurant for Eastern’s passengers. Eastern
agreed, so the first flight kitchen was established. At present, Marriott In-Flite Services has
approximately 100 flight kitchens around the world which cater to 150 different airlines and
serve 100 million meals a year.

There is ongoing trend at present in which Flight Kitchen operators lease their dining
equipment from other firms.
Some airline companies have their own flight kitchens while others contract with other
airline companies that are equipped with their own kitchens. Most of the airline companies turn
over their catering services to outside caterers because airline kitchens are not large and
efficient.

Difference Between Airline Catering and Restaurant Catering

Airline catering is different from restaurant catering because in the latter, the cooks can
make last-minute adjustments. For example, a steak might be prepared in the flight kitchen to
be accompanied by a sauce and vegetables to be served two hours later. During this time, it
must be kept hot. If there is flight delay of one hour, the steak will be stringy, the sauce will be
congealed, and the vegetables will be mushy. In an ordinary restaurant, a meak like this will not
be served but on an airline, the serving crew usually has no other choice but to serve it.

In airline catering, the logistics are very complex but airlines exert great efforts to serve
good meals to the passengers. They even respond to the needs of passengers on special diets
if given enough notice.

Restaurant Promotion

Image taken from: Upserve.com

Many restaurants advertise their menu on newspapers. Local newspaper

advertisements are used by most restaurants as a major form of external promotion. Several
restaurants advertise in the yellow pages of the local telephone directory; some use local radio
or television stations. Most popular restaurants and national restaurant chains advertise in
airline in-flight magazines, consumer travel magazines, and travel trade publications.
II. SUMMARY

There is a considerable evidence in early history that primitive inns provided a crude
menu. The forerunner of the modern restaurant developed in Rome. Most of the early
restaurants were established in cities, near temples and government buildings. After the fall of
the Roman Empire, manors and castles provided food to large numbers of people. In the
sixteenth century, British inns and tavers served a meal known as ordinary and dining rooms
were called ordinaries. In the eighteenth century, the word ‘’restaurant’’ was used for a Paris
dining room that served light dishes. In early American history, the tavern was the birthplace of
the American hotel, industry. It was important in the evolution of the American food industry. In
the early 1900s, the first hamburger and root beer stands were established United States. In the
1960s, establishments selling fast-food became popular. At present, they are moving oversees
in large numbers.

Restaurants are classified in different types. These are the family or commercial
restaurants, coffee shops, cafeterias, gourment restaurants, ethnic restaurants, fast-food
restaurants, deli shops, buffet restaurants, and transportation restaurants.

Franchising in the restaurant industry is popular nowadays because franchises are

advantageous to the franchisees. Many benefits can be obtained by the franchisees such as
operational, training, layout and design assistance, location assistance, business advice and
councel, national and international advertising, and an established and widely recognized name
and image. In addition, franchised restaurants can easily get financial aid than independents.
Franchised restaurants include fast-food chains, table-service restaurants, as well as buffet style
restaurants.

The menu is not only a list of offerings with the selling prices. It is a basic planning
document that determines the success of a restaurant. It is important in many ways. It
determines the theme of the restaurant, the labor cost, personal needed, cost of staff training,
the image of the restaurant, as well as the food preparation and service.

The popularitty of airline catering was brought about by the establishment of airline
galleys and flight kitchens. Airline catering is different from restaurant catering in food quality
and logistics. Logistics in airline catering is extremely complex compared to restaurant catering.
Food quality in airline catering is more difficult to control than in an ordinary restaurant.
Several restaurants use newspapers, radio, television, magazines, and telephone
directories for promotion.