ORGANIZE FOOD AND BEVERAGE OPERATION IN AN ENTERPRISE

Plan and Develop Standards for Food and Beverage Operation and Service

Introduction

A key requirement in organizing food service operations is to plan the menu to be prepared and served.
This section explains why this stage in the planning process is so important and presents examples of
range of occasions which may need a menu to be prepared and names people who you may involve in
menu planning and identifies basic menu options/types.

The Importance of Planning the Menu

A menu is a list of the dishes which will be offered for a particular service session. It is a basis of planning
and control mechanism for all food sessions. Everything that happens in the kitchen and in terms of food
production service flows from and is based on the dishes listed on the menu. It is important to plan
menus for every food service and/or event/occasion in order to:

 Meet customer expectations and satisfy any identified needs of the customer (especially for
functions and special events) which may relate to:
 Religious needs
 Dietary and health-related needs
 Cultural requirements
 Age-specific preferences- especially for children and the elderly
 Identified gender-related preferences
 Provide a basis for placing orders with suppliers for the food/ingredients required
 Check the required ingredients are available or are “in season”
 Verify the venue has sufficient and necessary equipment (physical resources) to produce the
menu items and different dishes/cooking methods require different cooking equipment. There is
need to avoid cooking all dishes using the same cooking style and piece of equipment.
 Confirm the dishes can be effectively and efficiently served to customers after the food has been
prepared/cooked.
 Ensure staff (human resources) can produce the required menu items which may relate to their
experience, the need to practice dishes and the necessity to provide training and/or need to
employ sufficient numbers of workers
 Generate standard recipes for all identified dishes
 Make sure the food cost for the menu is acceptable in accordance with the venue requirements
where applicable such as for functions or customer constraints.
 Include local ingredients so to support the local area and promote local products
 Balance the menu so if commonly there is need to balance a menu in terms of achieving an
appropriate blend of:
 Primary ingredients
 Cooking styles
 Textures
 Tastes
  Colors
 Nutrition
 Salads and vegetables
 Sauces
 Choices available between courses.

Occasions Requiring a Menu to Prepared

You may be asked to plan menus to address the needs of a variety of different requirements such as:

 Normal day-to-day operation of food outlets in the venue.

 These operations may cover a range of traditional and/or modern dining/food options such as:
 Dining rooms
 Bistro
 Café’
 Take away
 Rooms service
 Breakfast, lunch, dinner
 Morning tea, afternoon tea and supper.
 Special occasions-these may include:
 Functions-for small or large groups such as birthdays and wedding receptions, private parties
and cocktail parties
 Events- including catering required to support MICE
 Religious festivals and events
 Cultural festival and events
 Ceremonial occassions