Foodservice Management – By Design
Meal Service and Menu Style
Corresponds with
LEARNING PLAN 1
Objectives
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Describe different styles of service commonly used in the
industry
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Discuss the changing culture of meal delivery services
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Relate how the style of service impacts the style of menu
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Today’s Dining Service Options are
Expanding
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Senior Living Communities or Continuous Care
Retirement Communities (CCRC)
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Traditional large dining rooms
Small neighborhood concept with room service
Country club style dining rooms
Steakhouse concept
Business Restaurant Manager
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Today’s Dining Service Options are
Expanding
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Hospital Service
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Typical trayline
High end room service with specialty dining options
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Corrections
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School Foodservice
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Style of Service
Considerations to determine the best foodservice style for your facility
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Needs and preferences of
clients
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Mission and goals of the
organization
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Physical design of kitchen
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Staffing resources
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Location of dining rooms or
service areas
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Budget and operating costs
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Timing requirements for
service
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Requirements for off-site
service (if any)
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Centralized Meal Service
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Centralized Meal Service
» Food is prepared in large quantities for either satellite
kitchens or a cook-chill process
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Food is portioned onto trays in a central location
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Decentralized Meal Service
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Decentralized Meal Service
» Food comes from a production center/main kitchen for
reheating (rethermalizing) prior to service
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Food is distributed to other locations for plating
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Cook-Chill
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Cook Chill
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Prepared in advance
Blast chilled or frozen for service at a later time
Distributed for reheating in bulk (or)
Pre-plated cold and reheated prior to service
Equipment must support the service and delivery model
Temperature control from time of assemble to delivery is
critical
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Brain Break
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Food at this hospital is prepared up to two days ahead,
plated, cooled in a blast chiller, and refrigerated. On the
service day, the plates are sent via cold carts to small
kitchens on each floor to rethermalize and garnish. What
type of service is this?
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Centralized
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Cook-Serve
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Cook-Serve
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Meals are produced and served immediately
Basic temperature control systems are
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Insulated trays
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Heated base systems
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Instant heating systems
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Insulated transportation carts
(NOTE: Insulated trays, heated base systems and transport carts
are not viewed by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
as a home-like dining experience)
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Trayline Service
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Trayline System
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Most common meal assembly process in acute care and
many senior living communities
Moves through an assembly line
Trays move on a conveyor belt or skate wheel system
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Trayline Service Steps
1
• Meal ticket or trayline ID card
prepared per client
2
• Meal tickets are grouped by
dining location
3
• Staff send tickets/ID cards down
trayline for assembly
4
• Food items/supplies organized by
station on trayline
5
• Items appropriate for diet are
added to tray
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Trayline Service Delivery Options
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Bulk rethermalization system
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Tray rethermalization system
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Large pans to be heated and portioned
Hot and cold sides
Specialized rethermalization
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Requires specialized dinnerware
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Trayline Service Delivery Options
Software Advantages
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Today’s software can
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Track temperatures
Control rethermalization
Generate reports
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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Pantry Service
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Food is prepared in a central kitchen
Plated and served to clients from pantry
Can support any menu format
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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Room Service options
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Pre-defined meal for clients unable/unwilling to select their
meal
Menus selected by the client; served from a traditional
trayline (served at defined times)
Meals on demand with traditional room service concept
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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Table-Side Service
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Hot well service station in dining room where food is plated
and served directly to clients
Neighborhood concept in senior living where clients are
served from a home or residential-looking kitchen
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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Buffet Style Service
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Creates an atmosphere of choice
May require extra help for clients not able to manage walking
and carrying a plate
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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Restaurant Style Service
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Dining service staff waiting on tables
Food ordered and delivered in courses
Food plated in dining room
Specials such as sandwiches, salads, desserts offered
tableside from cart
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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Cafeteria Service
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Used in schools, employee dining rooms, commercial
feeding, or correctional facilities
May offer a scramble concept with optional food choices
Usually a cash-based operation
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options to Provide
More Home-Like Atmosphere
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C-Store
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“Convenience Store”
Often offered in today’s CCRCs
May be a coffee kiosk or sandwich counter
Multiple Venus
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Some CCRCs offer several venues such as
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Coffee bars, smoothie bars, fresh bakery, white linen steakhouse,
full-service bar
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Brain Break
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How does adding room service as an option meet CMS
guidelines?
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Provides clients with more choices
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Other Service Options
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Satellite Foodservice
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Becoming more common due to expense and space needs of
a production kitchen
Food is delivered in bulk for reheating and service such as
congregate senior meal sites
May also be used for home delivered meals for shut-ins and
elderly
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Service Concerns and Issues
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Trayline Service
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Who delivers trays to clients?
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This task may be the responsibility of either nursing or dining
services staffs
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Must be available to distribute tray
How are trays verified to reach the correct client?
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Two “patient identifiers” such as client name, medical record
number, date of birth, or photos
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Guideline from The Joint Commission (TJC) and recommended
by World Health Organization (WHO) and CMS
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Service Concerns and Issues
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How are diet changes handled?
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Who helps the client open packaging or get the tray set
up?
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How are substitutes or adjustments made?
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When and how often are temperatures checked?
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Service Concerns and Issues
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All service options require
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Training
Timing
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Review schedules to assure they are reasonable and coordinate
with client schedules
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CMS requires a maximum of 14 hours between supper and
breakfast
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Service Concerns and Issues
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Communication
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When nursing staff are involved, there may be delays in delivering
due to other clinical tasks
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CDM must communicate with nursing supervisor or administrator
to assure effective meal delivery systems
Coordination
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Between nursing, therapy, and foodservice departments
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Culture Change
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Adding new venues or moving to a different service style
may require a culture change
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Culture change begins with a change in language
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Examples
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Use elder or older adult instead of elderly
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Napkin or clothing protector instead of bib
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Individual care instead of institutional care
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Culture Change
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Culture change in dining
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Driven by regulations to implement person-centered, clientdriven dining programs
Requires communication and support from all departments
and clients
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May have some resistance
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Menu Options
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Length of menu cycle
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Depends upon length of stay
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Hospital menu cycle may be 5 days
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Senior living may be 3-6 weeks
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Odd number of weeks (e.g., 5 weeks) work better for community
and employee cafeterias
Vary the venue with grills, salad bars, etc., to eliminate
boredom with menus
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Brain Break
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Why would a two- or four-week cycle be less appealing to
long-term care clients?
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Because the same menu would be served every two or four
weeks. This may result in appetite fatigue.
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Selective Menus
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Improves client satisfaction and enhances client-centered
dining programs
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Clients have the option of making choices in advance
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Selective Menus
Types of Selective Menus
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Pre-Select
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Menu may be posted and
clients select at the dining table
Spoken
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Client may be asked prior to
service time
May be a list of standard
choices such as a sandwich in
place of the main entrée
Cafeteria
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Restaurant Variation
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Typically a printed menu with
choices for breakfast, lunch,
and dinner
Table-Side Select
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Standard choices plus daily
features
Buffet
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Often centered around a daily
feature or portion-controlled
items such as chicken breasts
or fish fillets
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Non-Selective Menus
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Typically a daily feature item such as Baked Chicken,
Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables
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Offered for those who choose not to make their own
selection
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More often occurs in nursing home or assisted living
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Accommodating Client Menu
Selection
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Need to accommodate specific diet orders; client
preferences still exist
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Establish policy for the situation where clients choose
foods that are contrary to the therapeutic diet
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Food substitutions must be equal to or similar in nutritional
content (CMS regulations)
Educate client on their medically ordered
Always refer to the clinical nutrition staff when client
preferences conflict with the diet order)
In addition, document any changes and maintain the medical
records
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1
Brain Break
According to the Figure 1.11 (Food Substitutions), name an
acceptable substitution for the following:
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Broccoli
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Pea Pods or Mashed Sweet
Potatoes
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Winter Squash
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Romaine Lettuce (1 cup) or Kale
Salad
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Fresh Tomatoes
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Coleslaw or Asparagus Spears
Food Service Management-By Design • Meal Service and Menu Style • Learning Plan 1