Food Service Areas | F&B Outlets

[1st Semester F&B Service | UNIT 3.1 BHM112 | IHM Notes]

SPECIALITY RESTAURANT

A catering establishment which offers a particular cuisine like Indian, Japanese or French etc, in a hotel. These restaurants in a hotel cater to the needs of the overseas tourists, in-house guests as well as a sizable number of local clientele.

The bill of fare or Menu must include internationally known and accepted dishes of the particular country or region. It may include a fusion with the local flavours of the city.

The prices should range from moderately expensive to reasonable to attract a wide spectrum of patrons. The ambience should be as per the tradition and culture of Culinary Region. It should exhibit the flavour and ethnicity of the region chosen. The timings of the restaurant are mostly from 3pm to 12pm.

A see-through barbecue or Open kitchen which promotes impulsive buying or reflex purchasing, is in vogue.

The table laying of these restaurants is complex, covering up for at least three courses of meals.

The menu offered is mainly A la carte. However, to boost sales often the management decides to spread an economy buffet.

The management also organises special entertainment events like a live band performing, solo singers etc to create an enjoyable experience for the guests.

COFFEE SHOPS

Coffee Shop is the main dining room of lodging properties. It is perhaps the largest restaurant in a hotel. Its multi-cuisine nature makes it possible to incorporate a variety of international dishes which are hit among food enthusiasts. The food served is nutritious, colourful and wholesome without being monotonous and complicated. It attracts people from all walks, i.e. hotel’s guests, local pleasure diners, shoe string budget individuals as well as package deal guests.

The coffee shop provides an A la Carte menu as well as an elaborate buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is called a Coffee Shop since it is open 24*7 i.e. throughout the day.

Coffee shop requires elaborate service and a fine-dining table layout. The staff requirement is also very extensive since it involves non-stop operations.

The opening and closing duties have to be done during the operation in front of the guests. Thus, all the work has to be carried out in a tactical way.

The service has to be prompt and the staff should be on toes and alert for any guests’ needs or requests. Since the table turnover or repeat customers on the same table is often very rapid, a large number of covers should be ready beforehand for replenishment. Also, the cutlery and crockery inventory should be fairly high. The equipments used should be reasonably priced, as chances of breakage and pilferage are more.

CAFETERIA

Working class spend most of their active time at their place of work and perhaps with the exception of dinner, most people eat out of their homes. The responsibility to feed a vast number of people at their place of work lies primarily on the proprietors who also see in it a moral gain in providing tasty, wholesome meal decently served in a hygienic way. This improves efficiency in work, less health problems and keep the staff, satisfied and happy.

The other aspect is for those who work in smaller organisations and the agents, suppliers, visitors, a large number of buyers and sellers who cannot afford the luxury of eating in a restaurant, served by waiters, for lack of time and money, yet who want to eat good home-like food and in neat and clean atmosphere; for them the answer is a cafeteria.

The service constitutes food on display on warmers or chillers, as the case may be. The dinners are supposed to collect their trays, cutlery etc and pick up food themselves from display or offered by servers from behind the counter.

There is usually no payment but a monthly deduction from the staff salary is made under Staff Meal expense.

The cafeteria has a comfortable and hygienic seating arrangement but is nowhere close to any luxury arrangement.

FAST FOOD RESTAURANT [QUICK SERVICE RESTAURANT/QSR]

A fast food restaurant, also known as a quick service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast food restaurants is typically part of a “meat-sweet diet”, offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available for take away, though seating may be provided. Fast food restaurants are typically part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels.

Variations on the fast food restaurant concept include fast casual restaurants and catering trucks. Fast casual restaurants have higher sit-in ratios, offering a hybrid between counter-service typical at fast food restaurants and a traditional table service restaurant. Catering trucks (also called food trucks) often park just outside work sites and are popular with factory workers.

Fast food outlets have become popular with consumers for several reasons. One is that through economies of scale in purchasing and producing food, these companies can deliver food to consumers at a very low cost. In addition, although some people dislike fast food for its long preserving tactics, it can be reassuring to a hungry person in a hurry or far from home.

There is a long history of fast food advertising campaigns, many of which are directed at children. Fast food marketing largely focuses on children and teenagers. Popular methods of advertising include television, product placement in toys, games, educational materials, songs, and movies, character licensing and celebrity endorsements, and websites. Advertisements targeting children mainly focus on free toys, movie tie-ins and other giveaways. Fast food restaurants use kid’s meals with toys, kid-friendly mascots, vibrant colours, and play areas to draw children toward their products.

GRILL ROOM

Grill Room is usually a smaller section in the Restaurant be it a Specialty Restaurant or a Coffee Shop. The whole idea of this area is to promote the showmanship of the Chef. It bewilders the psyche and the eyes of the customer or guests. It draws the attention of the guests and increases the sales volume.

In this area, various vegetables and meats are displayed for better view and choice. The counter is decorated with great aesthetics. It is made very presentable and captivating.

The guest can select meat or vegetable of their choice and get back to their tables. The guest is served their desired food with accompaniments.

BANQUETS

Banqueting is the term used to describe the service of special functions in an establishment which is separated from the normal dining or service area found in the various restaurants within the Hospitality sector. It involves service in special functions for a specific group of people at specific times where food and beverages are pre-selected or determined under a specified budget.

Functions take place within banquet rooms (or outdoors) and are under the supervision and responsibilities of the F&B Department. The Banqueting Manager has the administrative control of all functions (applies to larger Hotels/Resorts).

Banquet rooms consist of the actual functional room and may also feature pre-function areas for registration or coffee breaks etc. Banquet rooms are suitable for both business and leisure groups to hold; meetings, seminars, balls, weddings, anniversaries, etc.

Banquets can be very profitable and are a major revenue generating part of the hotel. In addition, successful banquets have an impact on the property’s community relations and can influence the number of rooms it sells to corporate accounts.

Banqueting allows great flexibility in pricing. High-volume food preparation assists to save money and can reduce food and beverage cost. Moreover, food can be purchased on an “as needed” basis; therefore, excessive funds are not tied up in the inventory.

BAR

A bar is a retail business establishment that serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such as mineral water and soft drinks and often sell snack foods such as potato chips (also known as crisps) or peanuts, for consumption on premises. Some types of bars, such as pubs, may also serve food from a restaurant menu. The term “bar” also refers to the counter top and area where drinks are served. The term “bar” is also derived from the metal or wooden bar that is often located at feet along the length of the “bar”.

Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Bars that offer entertainment or live music are often referred to as music bars, live venues, or nightclubs. Types of bars range from inexpensive dive bars to elegant places of entertainment, often accompanying restaurants for dining.

Many bars have a discount period, designated a “happy hour” to encourage off-peak-time patronage. Bars that fill to capacity sometimes implement a cover charge or a minimum drink purchase requirement during their peak hours. Bars may have bouncers to ensure patrons are of legal age, to eject drunk or belligerent patrons, and to collect cover charges. Such bars often feature entertainment, which may be a live band, vocalist, comedian, or disc jockey playing recorded music.

The term “bar” is derived from the typically metal bar under the counter top under which drinks are served. Patrons may sit or stand at the counter and be served by the bartender. Depending on the size of a bar and its approach, alcohol may be served at the bar by bartenders, at tables by servers, or by a combination of the two. The “back bar” is a set of shelves of glasses and bottles behind that counter. In some establishments, the back bar is elaborately decorated with woodwork, etched glass, mirrors, and lights.

VENDING MACHINE

A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes etc to consumers after money, a credit card, or specially designed card is inserted into the machine.

Various types of food and snack vending machines exist in the world. Food vending machines that provide shelf-stable foods such as chips, cookies, cakes and other such snacks are common. Some food vending machines are refrigerated or frozen, such as for chilled soft drinks and ice cream treats, and some machines provide hot food. Some unique food vending machines exist that are specialized and less common, such as the French fry vending machine and hot pizza vending machines, such as Let’s Pizza.

A full-line vending company may set up several types of vending machines that sell a wide range of products. Products may include candy, cookies, chips, fresh fruit, milk, cold food, coffee and other hot drinks, bottles, cans of soda, and even frozen products like ice cream. It has an advantage to the vendor because it virtually eliminates the need for a bill changer. Larger corporations with cafeterias will often request full line vending with food service.

DISCOTHEQUE

A discotheque, nightclub, music club or club, is an entertainment venue and bar that usually operates late into the night. A nightclub is generally distinguished from regular bars, pubs or taverns by the inclusion of a stage for live music, one or more dance floor areas and a DJ booth, where a DJ plays recorded music. The upmarket nature of nightclubs can be seen in the inclusion of VIP areas in some nightclubs, for celebrities and their guests. Nightclubs are much more likely than pubs or sports bars to use bouncers to screen prospective club-goers for entry. Some nightclub bouncers do not admit people with informal clothing or gang apparel as part of a dress code. The busiest nights for a nightclub are Friday and Saturday night. Most clubs or club nights cater to certain music genres, such as house music or hip-hop.

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