second year notes- INDENTING

INDENTING :                                                                                                                 MARKS : 5%

·         PRINCIPLES OF INDENTING FOR VOLUME FEEDING

·         PORTION SIZES OF VARIOUS ITEMS FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF VOLUME FEEDING.

·         MODIFYING RECIPES  FOR LARGE SCALE CATERING

·         PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES WHILE INDENTING FOR VOLUME FEEDING

Principles of indenting for volume feeding

The success of any food service operations is dependent on how the raw ingredients are procured, processed, cooked, and then served to the customer to generate profit. For volume catering establishments the principles of indenting would be based on the number of people an establishment is catering to.

1. Yield of a product: -The yield of a particular commodity has a huge impact on the indenting for volumes.  All the recipes should be updated with the yields, as we need to indent for the net weight in a recipe and not for the usable weight.

2. Type of event: - The type of event for which the food is required also plays a major role in the indenting of food.  When the variety is more, the quantities consumed will be comparatively less as most of the guests would like to taste most of the varieties.

3. Regional influence:-Regional food also plays an important role in deciding the indenting for a particular item.  People from Bengal would love to eat seafood, while people from north India would prefer chicken.

4.service style:- The style of service, whether buffet or a la carte, also determines the indenting and portion size of a dish.

PORTION SIZES FOR VOLUME FEEDING :

Strict control has to be exercised on portions. Prices of the food on a menu are based on the size or the quantity of a meal.

There are many factors that influence the portion size of the food.

1.      Type of establishment:  food of airlines will be controlled in terms of portions as compared to an a la carte order. Heavy worker takes bigger portions. Children take less food.

2.      Type of menu :  portion size of thali is small as compare to a la carte order. An adult can consume 400 – 500 gm of food along with liquid intake.

3.      Quantity of commodity : the quantity of the supply available in the market also plays a major role in  portioning and pricing of the food.

Portion control of food :

PORTION CONTROL:

Portion control means the amount of size of a portion of food to be served to a customer.

Food costing and portion control are complementary and the need for this form of control comes both sides o the business- from the caterer and customer.

Methods of monitoring portion control :

·         Ordering the right quantity.

·         Preparing food under direct supervision

·         By checking the service of food

·         Comparing the requisition of each department with the issues.

·         By sales analysis.

Purpose of portion control:

1.       To ensure fair portions of food for each customer

2.       To control wastage

3.       To ensure standard costing is as accurate as possible.

Portion control techniques:

1.       Aids to portion control :  use right equipment for right portions

Examples:

a.       Automatic portion control equipment – tea dispensers, coffee making machines, milk dispenser etc.

b.      Utensils used in portion control- ladle, dariole mould, scales, serving spoon, pie dish etc.

c.       Serving dishes that help in portion control – glasses, coupes, sundae glass, entrée dish etc.

       

2.       Portion sizes : portion sizes varies form hotel to hotel.

For examples-------

Hors doeuvre	Fruits juice Fruit cocktail Smoked salmon Caviar	75-110 ml 120  gm 35-40 gm 30 gm
Farinaceous dishes	Any pasta Rice	60 gm 120 gm
Egg dishes	Boiled/poached	2 large number
Meat	Steak Chops Stews Hamburger	120-240 gm 240 gm 100 gm 120 gm

3.       Visual aids : a portion control sheet can be used for costing various items of food or complete dishes.

4.       Standardized recipes – it provide all necessary information for portion size etc.

MODIFYING RECIPES FOR VOLUME CATERING :

Modifying a recipe for volume catering would encompass many oher things apart from just changing the quantities on a standard recipe card. The recipes would also be modified on the type of operations.

Guidelines on the modification of a recipe for volume catering :

Legend	Modification
Recipes	The recipes are made on the basis of 50 portions so that it is easy to calculate how many times the recipe should be multiplied to cater to number of guests. The effect of fresh ingredients in a recipe should be assessed.
Equipments	The selection of equipments plays an important role for volume catering. Large banquets prefer to put the food in gastronome trays and arrange in large convection ovens that one can reheat the food or even cook.
Method of cooking	Method of cooking is modified for bulk food. Most sauces and gravies are prepared in advance. For making flavored rice, tadka is mixed with precooked rice.
Service	The dishes made for volume catering should be presented in a way that is easy and quick to serve.

CHALLENGES OF VOLUME CATERING :

 Food and beverage control tends to be more difficult than the control of materials in many other industries:

1.       The perishability of produce:  perishable item has a limited life.

2.       The unpredictability of the volume of business: sales instability is typical of most catering establishment.

3.       The unpredictability of the menu mix:  most establishments like a give a variety of food to customer.

4.       The short cycle of catering operations

5.       Departmentalization ; many catering establishments have several production and service departments, offering different products and operating under different policies.