Anexos
1. La lectura labiofacial
Understanding the impact of current trends in both dining customs and eating pat-terns in today’s society is an important skill for every catering manager to develop.
The catering service market is highly competitive and requires an ability on the part of management to respond to customer needs, often before they are indicated.
Major trends in today’s society center around healthy dining. Catering serv-ices need to recognize this by offering menus that are both interesting and healthy. Fried foods, heavy sauces, high levels of salt, and rich desserts are dis-couraged by healthy dining programs. Menus that concentrate on broiled or grilled foods, salads, fruits, and low-fat food items respond to current customer demands. The menu in Figure 5.18 features a healthy catering menu.
Awareness of Customer Needs
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. Figure 5.17 , SEASONAL CATERING MENU, SUMMER
(Courtesy of American Culinary Federation, Inc. © 2001)
APPETIZER
Maryland Crab Cake with Marinated Crab Claws and Jalapenõ Tartar Sauce MAIN COURSE
Honey Glazed Quail with Shrimp and Cornbread Dressing and a Port Reduction Served with a Garden Fresh Vegetable
DESSERT
Fresh Blueberries Baked in a Flaky Pastry Crust Served with Cream Cheese Vanilla Ice Cream from the Kitchen
. Figure 5.18 , HEALTHY DINING MENU
Minestra Primavera Mesclun Salad, Balsamic Dressing
Poached Fillet of Atlantic Sole Lemon Sauce
Risotto Tomate Broccoli Florettes Rye and Wheat Breads Fresh Seasonal Berries Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries Decaffinated Coffee, Tea, and Herbal Teas
The flexibility of the menu program determines management’s ability to re-spond to customer needs and change overall menu pricing. Each item is reviewed by both catering management and the kitchen for content, quality, and inter-changeability with other menu items. The portion size, garniture, and cost for each item are listed on a printed format called a banquet specification form, as shown in Figure 5.19.
Banquet specifications outline each menu item individually so the selection on any given menu can be changed in order to adjust the price up or down. The use of banquet specifications assures management that the actual food cost of the total menu reflects the desired food cost and produces a quality product for the guest. The application of banquet specifications to customized menu item pricing is discussed in Chapter 7.
Creativity and flexibility are attitudes and skills that encourage caterers to adapt to new and unique ideas for catering functions. Catering menu specifica-tions, flexible kitchen formats, creative menu planning, and the ability to com-municate with both staff and customers can provide a catering operation with a leading edge in today’s highly competitive market.
. Figure 5.19 , BANQUET SPECIFICATION FORM
MENU ITEM PORTION SIZE COST PER
APPETIZERS
Fruit Cup 6 oz mixed fresh and canned fruit .93
Melon 1/2 fresh seasonal melon 1.02
Marinated Shrimp 6 oz baby shrimp papaya slice 1.10
Consomme en Tasse 6 oz consomme .51
2 cheese straws
Clam Chowder 6 oz New England .37
SALAD
Caesar Salad 6 oz greens with dressing .59
Marsailles Salad 6 oz mixed greens with dressing .72
Marinated Vegetable 7 oz mixed vegetable .90
ENTREES
Stuffed Breast of 8 oz breast stuffed 3.75
Chicken/Boursin
Poached Salmon 6 oz fresh 3.20
Prime Rib 12 oz prime rib 5.28
Roast Sirloin of Beef, 8 oz sirloin 3.60
Sliced wild mushroom sauce
DESSERT
Chocolate Mousse 3 oz chocolate mousse whipped cream .55
Key Lime Pie 1/6 slice of pie .80
Bombe Marie Louise frozen bombe .83
. Summary ,
The catering menu program includes a series of menus that reflect a variety of catering services and meals. Factors that influence the success of the menu pro-gram are table-service style, price range, cuisine orientation, food-production ca-pabilities, customer awareness, and the ability to be creative and flexible with function planning as well as menu development and pricing.
Basic menu formats for dinner, luncheon, and breakfast outline the course presentation of items for catering service. Each format is adaptable to the needs of individual customers. The actual number of items offered in a menu format depends on the style and service of the catering operation.
The style of table service selected by a caterer reflects staff capabilities and the level of cuisine being served. The styles of table service most appropriate for catered functions are Russian service and American service. Buffet service combines aspects of several methods of table service, food production, and presentation.
Menu item selection is based on the need to provide high-quality food prod-ucts in large volumes. These items should be available for purchase year-round at a price that allows the caterer to meet the desired overall food-cost percentage for the menu.
Caterers who offer a variety of cuisines can flexibly respond to customer needs. Ethnic and regional items, as well as diet and health-related foods, can easily be incorporated into menus.
The ability of both service and kitchen personnel to produce required menu items is basic to the success of the menu program. It is important that manage-ment accurately access the production capabilities of both labor and equipmanage-ment when selecting menu items.
A successful menu program is flexible and open to new unique ideas in menu development. Competition for catering service business requires that op-erators be able to adjust their pricing structure and production capabilities to meet the demands of both business and social customers.
. Questions ,
1. Define the factors used to identify menu items for catering operations.
2. What impact will the factors that influence the selection of service style have on French, Russian, American, and buffet service?
3. Identify the basic purchasing requirements for selecting catering menu items. Discuss how each of these requirements affects the production of a catering menu.
4. Discuss the options for the development of seasonal menus. Identify the benefits of each option for a catering menu program.
5. Banquet specifications provide the basis for what activity in the menu program?
Questions