Introduction Professional Cookery - Theory

Introduction to Professional Cookery

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Introduction to Professional Cookery

PART I

Professional cookery refers to preparing or cooking food for others, and that cooking is compensated by the client or customer. This would be a commercial activity that will generate revenue for each of the respective sectors of cookery (Walsh & Walsh, 2015). Four prominent commercial cookery sectors include hotels, restaurants, airlines, catering. The career growth opportunities and development tracks are specific to these sectors. Professional or commercial cookery is meant for large quantities usually.

Commercial cookery can take many forms in terms of customers’ requirements and satisfaction. These cookery forms lead to constitute separate sectors within the industry. Hotels meet the requirements of customers who have housing and lodging needs also besides food. Cooking in a hotel entails a menu that is planned for a week usually. A hotel menu differentiates from that of others in the sense that it offers a variety of cuisine and related items, which can be substituted by other items in case of unavailability (Bondzi-Simpson & Ayeh, 2017). In the hotel sector, the jobs have been structured as to provide all the services in an efficient way. There are managers, accountants, hotel/executive chefs, general cooks, concierges, hotel staff working at the front desk, staff working at guest services and relations, receptionists, porters, bartenders, housekeepers, administrative assistants, waiters, baristas, etc (Boella, 2017). The managers supervise departments under their supervision. The accountants manage all transactions of customers especially, and also prepare financial statements for the hotel company to present the current financial situation to the stakeholders and higher management. The executive chef is responsible for overseeing the preparation of food to assure it is made according to the standards given by authorities (Wan, Hsu, Wong, & Liu, 2017). The catering manager has a team of chefs and catering assistants to lead.

The restaurants, airlines, and catering companies have the staff that have somewhat similar roles but different scopes and orientations. In hotels, the customers come for a multipurpose stays. In restaurants, people have requirements of fast-food, takeaway, dine-in, or fine dine-in. Therefore, to meet their varied needs, the management sorts out respective methods. The airlines food services have the main concern regarding food safety and timing. The prepared food should have to be delivered oven-fresh to the airlines storage unit in time (Ko & Chen, 2016). The catering companies provide services to events, offices, units, and so on. Their major concern is to prepare orders as requested by the clients. They have to follow the deadlines, and arrange required materials, recipes, and resources to complete the orders and deliver them to the clients in time.

The four sectors affect the careers of their workers as per the course of work they follow. Individuals working in hotels have to build strong relationships with customers, and have more experience in customer care. The restaurant workers work on a fast pace, treat customers courteously, and have a short experience with the customers. Their careers grow as they get more experience working at relevant sections in a restaurant (Lee, Hallak, & Sardeshmukh, 2016). The airlines staff is multitalented, as they have to meet the challenge of fulfilling customers’ different needs under one roof. They are skilled in first-aid, catering methods, and presentation techniques. Their jobs are craved for by many youngsters.

Sector of Commercial Cookery

Role

Responsibilities

Remuneration

($, Avg., per Annum)

Hotel

Executive Chef

Sous Chef

Main Dishes Chef

Dessert Chef

Side Dishes Chef

Commis I

Commis II

Commis III

Food Runner

Waiter

Dishwasher

In charge of entire kitchen

Second in command

Main course in charge

Desserts specialist

Side Dishes expert

First level cook

Second level cook

Third level cook

Connect kitchen to waiters

Serves the customers

Cleans dishes

124000

105000

72000

68000

62000

40000

36000

26000

26000

22000

16000

Restaurant

Head Chef

Sous Chef

Chef de Partie

General Cook

Food Runner

Waiter

Dishwasher

Responsible for kitchen

Second in charge

Section in charge

Section cook

Link kitchen and waiters

Serves food to customers

Cleans dishes

90000

90000

74000

30000

24000

20000

14000

Airlines kitchen/catering

Head Chef

Hot Kitchen Chef

Cold Kitchen Chef

Pastry Chef

Commis

Trainee

Servicing Staff

In charge of the kitchen

In charge of hot food

In charge of cold food

Specializes in desserts

General Cook

New hire

Airhostesses

83000

52000

50000

49000

32000

42000

Catering Company

Head Chef

Banquet Chef

Banquet Cook

Trainee

In charge of all cookery

Main recipe giver

General cook

New hire

72000

64000

32000

Sector of Commercial Cookery

Management Role

Responsibilities

Performance Indicators

Hotel

Hotel Manager

Food & Beverages Manager

Procurement Manager

Manages all activities

Manages F&B

Purchases materials

Profitability, goodwill

Cost-control, quality

Cost-effectiveness

Restaurant

Restaurant Manager

Procurement Manager

Manages entire work

Purchases materials

Revenue vs. target

Cost-control

Airlines kitchen/catering

Food & Beverages Manager

Supply Manager

Procurement Officer

Manages F&B

Delivers prepared items

Purchases materials

Quality, Cost-control

Efficiency Measure

Cost control

Catering Company

Catering Manager

Catering Coordinator

Responsible for all things

Connects between different functions

Quality & Cost control

Efficiency, Customer satisfaction

Each sector has defined roles and their respective responsibilities. The new candidates have many opportunities in these work sectors. People are more attracted to these professions, and competition is becoming tough (Lashley, 2018). The growth in each profession is different. The workers in hotels have a steady growth based on competitiveness. Restaurant workers usually keep changing their workplaces and tend to be more active in finding new and challenging jobs. Airlines jobs are highly competitive, and offer attractive career paths. Catering careers base on the productivity of personnel.

PART II

Hygiene refers to carrying out certain practices and measures that prove conducive to health and prevention of diseases. The three main hygiene areas that must be addressed within a commercial catering organization are: personal hygiene, food handling, and food storage. FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) has established standards for all important issues related to food hygiene. The catering organizations have to follow their instructions as an integral part of the work.

Personal hygiene is meant for cleanliness of all employees. Persons at work should be clean as well as their clothes. Nails should be cut regularly, employees must have hair-cut as well. This is important as they work day and night engaging with food to be served to the customers. Just a single mistake can cause serious damage to the company’s reputation. Dress code must be observed, with clean and properly pressed clothes (Ma & Tung, 2017). The impression of workers reflect the quality of catering organization.

Food-handling is the key operational activity. All workers almost, from head chef to cleaner, are involved in the handling of food. From receiving of raw food to storage to cleaning and cutting to preparation and delivering, all steps must be designed and developed in a way that ensure food safety. Food gets contaminated crosswise when raw and prepared food come in contact and remain the same way for a certain period (Carruthers, 2017). Staff makes mistakes mostly in storage of food. They keep sacks of raw food on floor, keep different types of frozen items together, and use things for more than the designated time.

FSANZ gives guidelines to regulate work within catering organizations to make food safety ensured. It gives regulations for keeping storage, service areas, and work environment clean. It prohibits keeping or using any hazardous foods in the premises. Time constraints must be implemented in the usage of foods. Food processes must be up-to-date, and efficient technologies must be used. It gives useful guidance of how to take care of food, cook meals, cool after cooking, and store safely (May, 2015). It suggests the use of pest control in catering business.

The staff is responsible for implementing these standards within organizations. The Manager and Head chef is responsible for ensuring all principles are properly implemented. The line managers and chef de parties are responsible for their respective products and sections. Stewards and head cleaners are responsible for maintain cleanliness. General cooks, food runners, and waiters are responsible for proper food handling and storages.

Works Cited

Boella, M. J. (2017). Human resource management in the hotel and catering industry. Routledge.

Bondzi-Simpson, A., & Ayeh, J. K. (2017). Serving indigenous dishes in hotels: An inquiry into the conative response of menu decision makers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 67, 115–124.

Carruthers, S. (2017). Food safety... From paddock to patient. Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses, (175), 24.

Ko, W.-H., & Chen, F.-R. (2016). A Study of the Factors on Menu Design for Airlines Catering. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 4(2), 88–105.

Lashley, C. (2018). Education for hospitality management. In Innovation in Hospitality Education (pp. 33–48). Springer.

Lee, C., Hallak, R., & Sardeshmukh, S. R. (2016). Innovation, entrepreneurship, and restaurant performance: A higher-order structural model. Tourism Management, 53, 215–228.

Ma, Z., & Tung, D. L.-Y. (2017). Food Safety in Restaurants and Catering. Food Safety in China: Science, Technology, Management and Regulation, 419–438.

May, P. (2015). Revised food standards code. Food Australia, 67(3), 27.

Walsh, S., & Walsh, C. (2015). Commercial cookery. Pearson Higher Education AU.

Wan, T.-H., Hsu, Y.-S., Wong, J.-Y., & Liu, S.-H. (2017). Sustainable international tourist hotels: The role of the executive chef. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(7), 1873–1891.