Introduction

Preparing, cooking and serving food for service is what cooks and chefs do for a living; this is where the training of all those individual skills and techniques are brought together for the benefit of the customer. Every one of these functions is an exacting task requiring thought and practice, ranging from creating the menu and allocating activities to kitchen staff, to receiving and storing goods and ingredients, issuing and preparing ingredients, developing dishes and serving these dishes to customers.

Alongside these activities, the organisation of the kitchen support has to be well managed. This involves washing, cleaning, administrative work, purchasing and ordering stocks, receiving and storing them, maintaining equipment and so on. Efficient management of the kitchen requires experience, dedication and strong organisational skills. A skilled cook or chef correctly interprets the menu, completes all the tasks on time, with maximum efficiency and to a consistently high standard.

The food service cycle revolves around what happens before, during and after the service period. An efficient food service is the sum of a range of activities that require careful thought and planning. In order to prepare successfully for service, a number of activities will need to be determined and carried out, ranging from organising and preparing ingredients, cooking and presenting dishes for service from a pre-determined menu, to closing down the section at the end of service and preparing for the next service period.

Preparing for food service

A well-composed menu that responds to the expectations of the enterprise and the customer is a good starting point to plan for service.

The Australian culinary scene has changed significantly over the past 20 years or so. Meal arrangements in the home, extended working hours that spill over to the evening and weekend, the diversity of leisure and sporting activities, an ageing population and the acceptance of Asian and other cuisines have influenced our approach to commercial cookery.

Only rarely do we see raw vegetables and carcass meat coming into even the largest kitchens. Basic preparation often is completed in dedicated food-processing plants and boning rooms. Standardisation of size, weight and quality is readily available. Sauces, pre-mixed ingredients, par-baked and pre-portioned meat cuts are accepted and available even to the retail market.

In the past the hotel and catering industry comprised residential hotels and restaurants, industrial catering, hospitals and institutions. Today, industrial catering has all but disappeared and the food-service industry includes many businesses that provide meals away from home, such as coffee shops, licensed clubs, event catering, bakery cafés and service stations. It contributes to books and magazines, participates in television entertainment and recognises celebrity chefs. It organises its own exhibitions and national competitions, and has a significant influence on the population's food choices and nutrition.

It is against this background that young (and not so young) chefs will start their training and enter the food service industry. Everyone knows about cooking, but not so many acquire the depth of knowledge of ingredients and flavours and understand the chemistry and physics of food preparation that the aspiring chef must achieve.

Introduction

No mealtime will pass in a commercial kitchen without at least one or two sauces being prepared. Good sauce preparation still forms the basis of good cookery, so the trainee chef needs to learn this well. Many convenience sauces are now available and, while they are quick to prepare, they require the same care and attention in their preparation as traditional sauces. Recipes for savoury sauces are provided in this chapter. For sweet sauces, see Chapter 24.

Sauce making is not difficult. It requires an understanding of the ingredients and how they react, and clear intentions about the results you wish to achieve. For example, if you poach fish and use the stock for a velouté you should regulate the poaching liquid so that all of it may be incorporated into the sauce. If stock is left over, the flavour in that part of the stock is lost because it is not used. Furthermore, the stock may be weak because the fish fillets have been ‘drowned’. Generally, it is better to add a little water to a strong cooking liquid than to reduce a weak solution by boiling, in an attempt to concentrate the flavour. Some sauces, however, are reduced to concentrate flavour and improve consistency.

It is important to select the right thickening agent. There are many to choose from; sometimes two may be used in combination. Thickeners rely on starch (flour) in one form or another (see Table 14.3 for a summary). A common fault in sauce making is producing a sauce with a floury taste; this can be avoided by using correct cooking procedures.

Introduction

The term ‘buffet’ is used very broadly. It may be a simple presentation of cold sandwiches, or an elaborate presentation of decorated foods set out on tables. Large breakfast and lunch buffets have become important in international hotels and conference centres. Considerably more than half the guests who stay overnight choose a buffet breakfast because of the time-saving service, informal seating arrangements and the wide choice of dishes. Buffet service is favoured by conference organisers and large groups as they provide opportunities for networking.

Sometimes, for big gatherings, buffets will be set up in a similar way to a food court in a shopping centre. The cold dishes are displayed in the middle of the eating area and hot food is cooked to order on the perimeter.

Planning a buffet

To ensure the success of a buffet, a function order must be completed. This order will record:

• client details, including the number of guests, price per head and arrangements for payment

• date, time and venue (function room or site)

• special dietary requirements

• menu as agreed by the client

• themes, decor and centrepieces (if any)

• details of beverage service and budget for drinks.

Good coordination between the function department and the chef will ensure that the following points are taken into consideration:

• the capacity of the cooking equipment needed to prepare the buffet

• the availability of service equipment such as platters and dinner-ware, ham stands, chafing dishes, table-top bain-maries and carving stations

• the expertise of the kitchen staff to set up and decorate the food for the buffet

• the seasonal availability of ingredients and how this will influence the menu

• the selection of items that can be bought in from food processors to supplement food prepared in-house.

Introduction

Cheese adds variety to a menu and has become increasingly popular to serve in Australia. Cheese can be served as an appetiser, an entrée, a stand-alone meal, after the main course, as part of the dessert course, or on a cheese trolley or buffet. Wherever it appears on the menu, exclusivity comes from seeking out lesser-known cheeses produced by individual or family cheesemakers and serving them at their peak condition.

Cheese is an expensive kitchen commodity so care is required from purchase to service. It is important for a chef to understand the correct storage, handling and serving requirements of cheese and to be able to identify the differences between cheese types, their individual characteristics and their suitability for an intended purpose.

This chapter has been compiled with the cooperation of Dairy Australia.

Cheese-making regions in Australia

The main regions producing Australian cheese are:

New South Wales: Bega Valley, Hunter Valley, Riverina and coastal regions of the state

Victoria: Gippsland, Western Victoria and Murray Valley

South Australia: Fleurieu Peninsula and Murray Bridge

Western Australia: South Western tip, particularly the Margaret River area

Queensland: Atherton Tablelands, far North Queensland, coastal and south-east regions

Tasmania: North and central regions and King Island

The cheese-making process

There are several distinct stages in the cheese-making process. Depending on the exact cheese being produced, the process outlined below may vary slightly.

Introduction

In addition to acquiring the ability to season food appropriately and to develop a palate for taste, the most important skill a chef needs to master is an understanding of the principles and methods of cookery.

The chef needs to understand the effect that the method of heat application and the type of heat applied to food has on the finished product. A dish may fail miserably simply because an inappropriate method of cookery has been employed or has been executed poorly. Therefore, the skill involved with cookery is not only concerned with recipes, but also with the ability to control the amount and intensity of heat to a wide range of foodstuffs. If you are able to master the principles and methods of cookery, you will be able to prepare any recipe to an acceptable standard.

Food is cooked for several reasons: to make it more digestible, to make it safer to eat, to make it more palatable and to change its appearance. The chef needs to be constantly aware that the selection of the method of cookery will have a direct bearing on the techniques used in the preparation of ingredients.

The amount and intensity of heat applied to food items must take into account the following:

• the density of the food – whether the food is hard or soft

• the type of food – whether the food is of animal or vegetable origin

• the size and thickness of the food being cooked

• the combination of ingredients being used

• the type of heat to be applied

• the quality of the equipment being used to cook the food – thin-bottomed frying pans and saucepans transfer heat unevenly, and can result in poorly cooked food.

Introduction

Seafood is a term used to describe all edible animals harvested from the sea and from fresh water. Seafood offers variety and interest to the menu and is extremely versatile. It can be used in canapés, as appetisers, starters and entrées, as a main course or in soups, stews and even sandwiches.

Seafood is a high food-cost commodity that has a comparably short shelf life. It should be purchased in amounts that can be used within two days. Before considering what seafood to purchase, consider the restaurant's menu pricing policy, how well the item is expected to sell, how long the menu will run, the seasonal availability of the seafood, how the seafood will be purchased – whole fish or in fillets – the cost of labour in preparation, possible utilisation of trim, bones, shells etc., available storage facilities and opportunistic purchase price.

The best option when purchasing seafood is to buy it yourself, directly from the market. Not only will the seafood be at its freshest but you will also be able to assess its quality. In addition, you will also develop your own knowledge and awareness of new species of seafood as they become available, and will be able to take advantage of pricing specials as they arise. If you are unable to purchase directly from a market, choose a wholesaler that has a high turnover of product, and develop a relationship with that supplier. This supplier will become your eyes at the market and can inform you on what is seasonal, freshest and best value for money at any time.

Introduction

The importance of the menu in a catering establishment cannot be underestimated. The menu is the blueprint by which the food-service operation organises its food and beverage procurements, daily production and service.

The menu is the tool the food business uses to dictate the levels and types of activities that will provide an acceptable return on investment. As with all industries, food-service operations are complex businesses that need to have planning systems in place in order to provide systematic approaches to the management of their operations.

The food-service operation, be it a restaurant or other catering establishment, can identify three distinct elements in the daily production cycle: input, output and method. The content of each element needs to be carefully considered and constantly evaluated in order to establish consistently successful outcomes. Input relates to capital, materials (food and beverage), labour and the professional skills available. Output is return on investment (profit), sustainability, customer satisfaction and market recognition. Method is the manner by which the inputs are being engineered to produce successful outputs and outcomes for the establishment.

The menu forms the focal point for any food-service operation. It is at the heart of the system of management and control. It determines levels of staffing and experience required, plans meals and the purchasing of goods and services, receiving and storage systems, and dictates the accounting systems to manage it all. The menu brings these elements together to provide consistent outcomes for the business. It can be used as a tool for communication, marketing, merchandising and operating the business.

Introduction

Australian bush food (bush tucker) refers to any foods that are native to Australia, and includes both animal and plant foods. In this chapter plant foods are introduced, including information on their properties, usage and storage. Refer to Chapter 20 for information on Australian native animals – crocodile, emu, guinea fowl, kangaroo, mutton bird (yolla), possum, brush tail and wallaby.

Initially used for their novelty value, native bush foods have become a vital part of modern Australian cuisine because of the growing number of products now commercially available for use in the food-service industry. There has also been a growth in the number of chefs throughout the world who use Australia's indigenous ingredients in their menus. The range of convenient bush foods available to the chef includes chutneys, cordials, colourings, dressings, drinks, dried herbs, flavourings, fruits, jams, jellies, nuts, oils, pastas, pickles, relishes, sauces, seeds and spices. The most common usage of bush foods is in the flavouring and seasoning of sweet and savoury sauces.

Another bush food is the witchetty (witjuti) grubs – wood or ghost moth larvae that live off the dissolved sugars in the sap of the trees they infest. Several different types of grub are available. The taste of witchetty grubs varies from fried eggs, bacon and pork crackling to mildly spiced salami. They are 6–10 centimetres in length and take 2–8 years to reach maturity, depending on weather conditions. Commercial quantities are only available frozen. They should be cooked from this state as they will turn dark when thawed.

Introduction

The desserts described in this chapter are preparations that are served warm, cold or frozen. As they are usually the last course on the menu they can confirm a positive impression of the meal experience. Some diners do not order dessert, and thus an opportunity is lost to increase the average meal bill. The cost of producing desserts is low when compared with other courses on the menu, and their sale helps to keep the food costs within budget.

It is easy to give the impression that desserts are an after-thought. The presentation of a separate dessert menu after the main course supports this view. If the desserts are not listed on the main menu, the dessert menu should be presented to the diner at the start of the sitting and presented again at the right time after the main course.

Be aware of dietary concerns when planning the menu. Select light and indulgent desserts from the wide range of options available. Consider which items could be displayed in view of the diner and which ones need to be finished to order. Ensure that the dessert menu lists interesting choices and at the same time is manageable and avoids waste. The dessert chef (chef pâtissier) should have good knowledge of bakery ingredients and sugar cookery, and should display flair and imagination in presentation.

Use fresh ingredients, particularly fruit in season. Take into account the time of the day, the season, weather conditions and the type of function.

Food handlers and food hygiene

A person who takes a job that is in any way involved with the preparation and service of food in the hospitality industry cannot avoid responsibility for keeping a high standard of personal hygiene and for serving clean, safe food.

Food is easily contaminated. Patrons rarely have the opportunity to inspect the kitchen, so they take it on trust that the food served will be clean and wholesome. Our contemporary lifestyle, which includes the transportation of food over long distances, a mobile population and frequent eating out, tends to increase the risk of food contamination.

Safe food is food that is free from visible contamination or spoilage. Quality safe food must also be free from ‘invisible’ contamination. By this we mean microbes such as bacteria and mould, which can cause illness or produce dangerous spores or toxins. We refer to these organisms as ‘micro-organisms’. There are many types of micro-organisms, including bacteria, moulds, viruses and parasites. Bacteria are the main micro-organisms responsible for food poisoning. Other contamination sources include physical hazards and chemical hazards.

Microbial food contamination

How does food become contaminated with bacteria and other micro-organisms that cause food poisoning? Contamination is always caused by poor food-handling procedures at some point in the food-processing system or kitchen operation. It is estimated that 97 per cent of food-poisoning outbreaks involve food-handling errors. In Australia, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, known as FSANZ, has identified that most food poisoning is the result of the causes shown in Figure 3.1.