The objective of Kitchen Management is to lead, organize and control the means of Production and service of food.
To manage the kitchen, the kitchen Manager / Chef de, Cuisine should have a sound Practical knowledge and should have the ability to organize labour, delegates and responsibility to appropriate staff who communicate well. The persons handling the machines should be able to follow the persons handling the machines should be able to follow the correct procedure for assembling, use and cleaning.
Safety precautions have to be observed such as
a). Gas pilot light must be lit before turning on the main jet.
b). The liquids should never be stored above eye level.
c).The port handles sticking and should never be placed over the edges of the stoves or sides of the tables .
d). Sprinkle flour on hot lids and pans.
e).If fat or liquid is spilt on the floor , it should be cleaned and salt sprinkled on top immediately.
f).Hot fritures should not be carried.
g).Knives, if carried, should Point downwards.
h). Sharp instruments should never be left in sinks.
Controlling of labour needs great tack and ability, their comfort, skill, work and welfare has to be seen to- A strict disciplinarian is respected by many, provided he has a good judgement in dealing with matters and understand people.
A good management will see that food cost is controlled and the people working in the kitchen will be content in their jobs and the work gave is comparable with their ability, staff should be trained on the job and if the performance is good, incentives, increments or promotions should be given if need be. Certain factors such as budgetary control, Portion Control cost control proper Purchasing Control of Production and service, control of waste etc., Play an important part in managing the kitchen. Proper layout of work areas in the kitchen contributes to a successful catering establishment which will not only satisfy customers but also the staff will contend. Cramped and lack of Proper kitchen delay food preparation and service certain points have to kept in views before planning such as the types of meals to be served, no. Persons to be served. Forecast of peak period, ventilation, proper drainage etc., It is important that the kitchen should be close to the restaurant to facilitate service efficiently.
FOOD PREPARATION PREMISES
By law, no food business is allowed to be carried on in any unsanitary premises. A well-planned layout largely depends on :
1). Receiving Supplies(checking quality and weights)
2). Storing of food Properly
3).Food Preparation. Mise-en-place
4).Cooking
5).Servery
6).Scullery (Pan Wash)
7).Scullery (Crockery, Cutlery Wash up)
The intelligent placing of machinery, sinks and work tables are a contributing factor to the total daily. Kitchen mileage of food and unnecessary travelling by the kitchen staff. A perfectly planned kitchen is one, where raw and cooked materials need the minimum of movement and requires only to cover the same route once.
KITCHEN PLANNING
Along with the restaurant, the kitchen determines the no. of customers be dealt with during service period, Kitchen areas vary according to the type and number of meals provided and if allowance is to be made for special functions.
Knowledge of Peak load is essential and intelligent forecasting the area maybe 40% of the restaurant’s area. However, the modern school of thoughts flavour smaller and more compact kitchen premises, 3 sq.ft per head, is now considered adequate.
This is the space recommended for labour saving equipped and work studied Premises.
The floor is subjected to much traffic, so durability must meet the demand of the particular premises.
The floor shall be impervious to moisture and not affected by grease, salt vegetable or fruit acid and Preferably non-slip even when wet. There must be no joints or crevices where dirt. Pests and Vermin may accumulate and live in. The walks should be tiled to the ceiling or at least five feet. The woodwork should be glass painted as this is easy to wipe clean. Doors should be self-closing and they should has easily cleaned kick Plates and finger plates. Natural light should be properly fitted and shadows should be presented Canopy over Cookery equipment and range should be connected by ducts to Extractor fans, The ducts should be sufficiently high and the Exhaust fan should have a strong pull for maximum Extraction.
MEAL PRODUCTION
Food preparation is the term Employed to denote cookery. The Budget Committee is formed for the purpose of Preparation, coordination, review and revision of budgets. The budget made is period wise break up or annually. The Seasonal character of the business is taken into consideration.
The first step in preparation is giving management objectives for the forthcoming year and giving a Performa to be used in Preparation of budgets.
PURCHASING
Buying, quality and freshness of supplies and Portion control are of the utmost importance for the operation of a successful business. Large establishments will employ a Purchase Manager, as he can concentrate and get the best supplies.
Requisition for supplies are placed with the stores/kitchen stewarding dept. at a specified time. The storekeeper will forward his requisition to the supplier’s Knowledge of buying is very important for the Purchase in charge. The Purchasing Mgr/ in charge should have a reasonable technical knowledge in Catering as he will be able to follow the requisition properly and understand the importance of delivery times, size, quality and specifications.Selection of a Supplier. Instructions to Supplier along with the order of supplies.
STORE CONTROL AND FOOD CONTROL
Food Control begins when the order is placed, it ends when the ultimate cash takings and banked.The store should be close to the preparation area for smooth flow of the items. The stocks should be taken at least once a month. The best system of according is a card index comprising of a separate card for each commodity and all issues supported by related documents.
PREPARATION AND COOKING
From Purchasing and the acquiring of the raw commodities, we come to the next stage in the Catering Cycle, the preparation and processing. Again the operation must be planned and controlled and a knowledge of the menu together with a clear indication of quantities regd, are essential.Preparation means preparing food for Cooking.Cooking is a technical skill knowledge is regd. to decide how to prepare the food and process it.
Cookery brings all the senses into Play :
Sight: In the recognition of commodities and the eye appeal in the presentation of dishes.
Smell: In the testing of the freshness of food and identifying the various cooking smells.
Taste: An important field and one allied to small, testing for flavour cooking smaller.
Touch: In the whole field of manual density, the use of the hands, in sampling or testing of food for freshness, texture and other factors.
Hearing: In Communication and listening to food being cooked, recognizing if the cooking process is too fast or slow.
Kinesthesia: It is the sixth sense.A general term involving the coordination of sense in Performing a task.The Know and the recognition on an unconscious level, this being achieved by proficiency. The preparation of dishes involves a mode of procedure which we know as a recipe.This is cooking to a formula.A recipe is defined as a statement of ingredients and procedure for a dish. To a recipe, there are three operations the list of ingredients, the method and the Presentation of the dish for Service.
MENU PLANNING
A menu is a list of Prepared dishes which are available to a customer .The chef should try to compile menus with new dishes from time to time and see the likes of the customers visiting the Catering Establishments .The recipes should be standardized to that the cooling of the dishes could be accurate.
COST CONTROL
The Costs of meal fall naturally into three distinct sections , the first being the cost of the food and second the cost of the over heads , which includes fuel , light , heat , water , staff uniform and laundry, social security Payments, super annuation Contributions, Printing & Station , cleaning materials, advertising , telephones and Postage flowers, etc., The third Section is labour , the salaries and wages. The problem of any management control system is to make sure that after a pre-determined food and wage cost % has been decided this figure will take in all aspects of Expenses .The final trading results will show that a correct return has been made to obtain this the following information will be studied.
1). All purchases must be controlled .
2). Details of all items received must be recorded as well as when issued.
3). Any over production of food must be checked and of course reused in the best and most economical way.
4). Production Control
5). Check of sales with direct numbers catered for.
6). An efficient system of cash control.
7). Sales of any kind checked with cash receipts.
8). A record of cost for each section must be made be compared .
9).A weekly summary of all the relevant details must be made
10) The trading Profit & loss account is prepared.
MATERIAL COSTING
There are three basic methods of cost control
a). Quantity
b). Selling Price
c). Cost Price
Quantity Control
The Control of quantity consumed ensures that everything consumed has been accounted for. It does not ensure profitability but provides a needful supplementary check and in a simple to operate.
Selling Price Control
This method is also most suitable for establishments with a limited range of items on the menu, especially when each item contains a small no. of standardized ingredients. It can be used in Conjunction with quality control.
Cost Price Control
This system is most Practical and best understood.It allows for a certain elasticity and provides the chief with a margin for ar development meant.The kitchen % entails the application of the following simple formula.
Gross profit x 100
———————-= rate Percent of gross Profit or kitchen percentage.
Takings
Gross Profit = takings (on any particular date or day) Purchases.
NET PROFIT
All Expenditures can be classified as M.C, LC and overheads , it follows that the
difference between total revenue and the total of these costs in the net profit before tax.
GROSS PROFIT = TOTAL INCOME – COST OF MATERIALS (M.C)
= L.C. + over heads + net Profit.
Portion Control
“Portion Control means the amount of size of a portion of food to be served to a customer.
There is a natural tendency for clients to eye one others Portion when they are served and if one is thought to be slightly larger than the others, there is apt to be resentment and a reaction detrimental to the good name of the establishment, only exact portion control can eliminate this.
Methods of Monitoring Portion Control is by direct supervision, by sales analysis and by comparing the requisitions of each department with issues.
Purpose of Portion Control
1).To ensure fair Portions for each Customer.
2). To see that each department utilizes purchases to the full.
3). To control waste.
4). To ensure that standard costing are as accurate as possible.
Methods of Monitoring Portion Control
1).Ordering the right quantity and quality and suppressing when receiving it.
2).Even Preparing the food in the Production area doing direct supervision.
3).By Proper checking of the service of food.
4).Comparing the requisitions of each department with issues.
5).By sales analysis .
1).Aids to Portion Control
It is assisted by equipment and utensils as for example a scoop (ladle) used mainly for ice
cream , can also be used for mashed potato as a portioner for mixture.
a). Automatic Portion Control Equipment include- Tea dispenser , Butter Pat machines.Bread slicing and buttering machines gravity feed slicers coffee making , milk dispensers.
b). Utensils used in Portion Control include- ladles wire servers , Pie dish , Scales, baking tins , measures.
c). Serving dishes that help in Portion Control – glasses, Casseroles, Coupes, Tureens, Sundae glasses, sauce boats, soufflé cases. Vegetable dishes, Cocottes.
2). Portion Sizes
As Portion sizes vary from one establishment to another between table d’hote and a la Carte service , It is difficult to definite average Portion sizes . A few examples are.
- Hors d’ oeuvre – Fruit juices -75ml to 110ml
- Fruit Cocktail -120 gms
- Smoked Salmon – 35 gms to 40 gms
- Caviar – 30gm.
- Salami – 45 gms
- Farinaceous dishes – Spaghetti/ Macaroni – 60 gms
- Rice -120 gms
- Egg dishes
- Boiled / Poached / fry – 2 large ones
- Omelette – 3 large
- Meat
- Steaks – 120 – 240 gms
- Chops – 30 gms – 150 gms
- Stews -100 gms raw weight
- Hamburger – 120 gms.
3). Visual aid Sheets : A Portion Control sheet can be used for costing various items of food or complete dishes. The object is to ascertain the total yield of a given commodity after Preparation and processing’s.
4). Standardized Recipes
They assist in food Costing and Portion Control by taking the guess work away and substituting more exact approach, by listing the ingredients and methods in a readily understood form as the result will be uniform every time it is featured. The food cost can also be known in advances if a Price column is introduced Providing it is kept up to date with any price changes.
