Nutr 448 5/9/15 Group 1- Test Your Knowledge Chapter 4 1. How does sous vide differ from cook-chill? The process and time that food products are chilled is what sets sous vide and cook-chill apart. Sous vide falls under the category of ready serve. Special equipment and plastic pouches are utilized to seal raw, fresh food. This process is also known as “reduced oxygen packaging” because all air is sucked out of the pouches, the item is partially or completely cooked, then cooled rapidly and is able to be stored for a longer amount of time. Before the item needs to be served it can be cooked in boiling water. Cook-chill differs from sous vide simply because the process places it in the ready prepared category. Using this method, food products are “partially cooked, rapidly chilled, held in chilled storage and reheated just prior to when it is needed.” 2. Why are cook-chill and cook-freeze foodservice operations referred to as ready prepared? The ready prepared foodservice is a system is a system in which menu items are produced and held chilled or frozen until heated for serving. For example, the cook-chill method is considered a ready prepared foodservice method because menu items are partially cooked, rapidly chilled, held in chilled storage, and reheated just prior to service. In other words menu items are never cooked right before serving them instead menu items are cooked or partially cooked, rapidly chilled, then held in chilled storage for a certain period of time before they are actually reheated to provide to customers. Another method that is part of the ready and prepared foodservice system is the cook-freeze. The Cook-freeze method involves menu items that are partially cooked, rapidly frozen, held in freezer storage, and reheated just prior to service. Thus both methods are referred as the ready prepared method because menu items are cook or partially cooked, and then reheated before menu items are served. However both methods have some differences. For example, the cook-chilled menu items are rapidly chilled and held in chilled storage while in the cook-freeze method menu items are rapidly frozen and held in freezer storage. 3. Food in the local school district is prepared at the middle school kitchen, placed in steam table pans, and then transported to several elementary schools to be served to children there. Is this an example of a centralized or decentralized service? Why? This is an example of decentralized service because the food trays for the students are not assembled at the middle school kitchen, the location of production. Instead, the food is distributed in bulk via the steam table pans and the trays are later assembled for the students within their own lunchroom. Nutr 448 5/9/15 5. How and why would lighting and ventilation needs differ between the dining area and the kitchen used to prepare food in a university dining center? The need for lighting will vary greatly from the kitchen where food is being prepared compared to the dining area. First of all, the Food Code requires at least 50 foot-candles where employees prepare and handle food and equipment. This seems obvious as there are many factors an employee would need to pay attention to, to make sure they are handling food and the equipment safely. Whereas in the dining area the lighting can be manipulated to affect the mood and could have anywhere from 5 to 100 foot-candles. Ventilation will differ between the two areas as well because the needs are different between the two areas. In the areas where food is being prepared, proper ventilation is required because heat, odors, grease, steam and moisture can be produced in great quantities. The needs for proper ventilation will be especially important in areas as such, but also in dining areas to keep people comfortable. Chapter 5 1. What are the four areas in the procurement subsystems? The four areas in procurement subsystems are purchasing, receiving, storage, and inventory control. 2. How are receiving, storage, and inventory lined with purchasing? Receiving can be defined as an activity for ensuring that products delivered by suppliers are those that were ordered in the purchasing activity. After food and supplies have been received properly, they must be placed in appropriate storage, which i s holding of goods under proper conditions to ensure quality until time of use. Storage is important to overall operation of a foodservice because it links receiving and production. Inventory is a record of material assets owned by an organization. It is supported by the actual presence of products in the storage areas. 5. At the beginning of May, the foodservice operation had $95,000 of food in inventory. During the month of May a total of $210,000 in food was purchased. At the end of May, food in inventory was valued at $89,000. What was the cost of food for the month of May? Beginning inventory + Purchases = Cost of food available Cost of food available - Ending inventory = Cost of food used 95,000+210,000=305,000-89,000=216,000 The cost of food for the month of May is $216,000. Nutr 448 5/9/15 6. Using the inventory information in problem 5, calculate the inventory turnover for the month of May? The inventory turnover would be as follows: $216,000/$92,000= 2.34 times per month. Chapter 7 1. Discuss how type of production system, degree of meal preassembly, physical distance from production to service, and amount of time between production and service impact the distribution and service subsystem. Food service managers must take into consideration all of the steps when evaluating distribution options for their operation. There are two types of production systems: A centralized service involves assembling plates of food for service in a location adjacent to the preparation area. A decentralized service involves transporting food in bulk to a location separate from the production area and assembling plates of food in that distant location. As the time between the completion of production and the time of service increases and/or the distance between the two increases, the options for distribution practices and equipment also increases. Adding the transportation process necessitates having equipment designed for maintaining temperatures during transportation. 3. Explain three categories of service. Table service, counter service, and takeout service, are three categories of service. Table service occurs when there is food made in kitchen that is plated and then delivered to the customer at their table. Table service is typically associated with sit-down restaurants. Counter service is found at diners and coffee shops that look to get customers in and out of their establishment in a timely manner. Takeout service occurs when individuals purchase food from a restaurant and can then take the food to another location of their choice. References Gregoire, M. (2013). Managing Quality. In Foodservice organizations: A managerial and systems approach (8th ed., p. 206-220). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.