FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE, AREA

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE, AREA

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE, AREA 

• Revenue Generating Areas

• Back of the House areas (Ancillary Sections)

• Types of Equipments

• Usage , Specifications, Storage

Food & Beverage Department may be divided into Revenue Generating Areas and Ancillary

Sections i.e. Back of the House (Non-revenue generating areas)

Some of the Revenue generating areas are:

1. Restaurants: Restaurants are places where Food & Drink is served.

2. Lounge: Lounges can be found in different hotels. Their main purpose is to offer Food &

Drinks in comfortable and cosy seating in relaxed surroundings. There are many kinds of

Lounges ranging from a Lounge in a Lobby, Cocktail Lounge and Cigar Lounge to Executive

and Club Lounge on special Floors.

3. Bar: Bar is a place where drinks are served. There is usually a small Snacks Menu too. The

service is fast and quick. There are various kinds of Bars ranging from Formal bars to Club

Bars, Pubs, Pool, Bars, Wine Bars, Cocktail Bars, Beach Bar to Juice Bars and many more.

4. Room Service/In Room Dining: Room Service, also known as In Room Dining .It is the

service of Food & Drink in Guest Rooms in a Hotel or a Resort.

5. Banquets: Meeting and Conference rooms together with Ball Rooms come under the

Banquets & Conference section. They are a great source of Revenue in Food & Beverage

Department usually in Corporate and City Hotels

6. Deli: Delicatessen or Deli is a place where guests can buy fresh produce ranging from

Freshly Baked Bread, Cold Meat, Fresh Salads, Cakes, Home Made Ice creams and light and

healthy drinks.

Depending on the style of operation, there may be many service areas behind the scenes, or

what may be termed “back of house”. These are required to be well organized, efficiently

run & supervised, and stocked with well- designed equipment. It is necessary for all these

factors to work together to contribute to the overall success of the food & beverage

operation.

The back-of-house service areas are usually between the kitchen & food & beverage

service areas. They are important parts of the design of a foodservice operation, acting as

the link between kitchen & the food preparation areas & the restaurant or food & beverage

service areas. They are also meeting points for staff of various depts. As they carry out their

duties, & therefore there must be close liaison between various members of staff & the

depts.

The service areas themselves are some of the busiest of a foodservice establishment,

especially during the service periods. Because of this, it is important that dept. heads ensure

all staff knows exactly what their duties are & how to carry them out efficiently &

effectively.

In general, especially in large operations, five main back-of-house service can be

identified:

• Stillroom

• Silver or plate room

• Wash-up

• Hotplate

• Spare linen store

A well designed layout of these areas is essential to ensure an even flow of work by the

various members of staff. However, the layout itself may vary with different establishments,

depending on the type of the operational; needs.

STILLROOM

This is a service area whose main function is to provide items of food & beverages required

for the service of meal and not catered for by other major

Departments in a hotel such as the kitchen, larder and bakery.

Depending on its size and the duties to be performed the staffing will be made. Normally

the still room is looked after by a still room supervisor. He/she is responsible for staffing,

ordering of supplies an effective control of these items when issued to various departments,

because of the no. of his that the still room has to remain open the staff normally works on

a straight shift basis.

Following are some of the items dispense from the still room.

a) All beverages such as coffee, tea, chocolate, Horlicks, etc

b) Assorted fruit juices/fresh & canned

c) Milk and cream

d) Sugars

e) Preserves: - Jam, marmalade, honey etc. They are normally pre-portioned for better

control.

f) Butter – it can curled or pre-wrapped portions

g) Slice and buttered brown & white breads

h) Rolls. Brioche, croissants

i) Melba toast – these are cut into triangle and put on a toast rack the sides of the slice

bread are cut off before service

j) Assorted breakfast cereals- Cornflakes, Rice crispies, Muesli (mixed of all cereals)etc

k) Pastries, Gateaux and sandwiches

l) Porridge and boiled eggs.

SILVER ROOM OR PLATE ROOM

In larger, more luxurious establishments, the silver room, or plate room as it is sometimes

known, is a separate service area. In smaller establishment it is often combined with the

pantry wash-up area.

Equipment

The silver room should hold the complete stock of silver required for the service of all meals,

together with a slight surplus stock in case of emergency. Silver for banqueting service may

be of a different design & kept specifically for that purpose.

The larger silver such as flats, salvers, soup tureens, & cloches, will be stored on

shelves, with all the flats of one size together, & so on. All shelves should be labelled

showing where each different item goes. This makes it easier for control purposes & for

stacking. When stacking silver the heavier items should go on the shelves lower down & the

smaller & lighter items on the shelves higher up. This help to prevent accidents. All cutlery &

flatware, together with the smaller items of silver such as ashtrays, cruets, butter dishes,

special equipment, table numbers & menu holders, are best stored in drawers lined with

green baize. This help to prevent noise & stops the various items sliding about the drawer

when it is opened & closed & so becoming starched & marked.

HOTPLATE

The hot plate may be regarded as the meeting point b/w the food service staff (F&B) and

the food preparation staff (kitchen). This is a place where all the crockery required for

service will be kept warm. Care should be taken to make sure that the amounts of

chinaware required are properly stacked in the hot case. In some hotels the silver required

will be placed on top of the hotplate and used as required. Normally an ‘ABOYEUR’ (a

backer) is in charge and controls the hotplate over the service periods. The hotplate is

usually gas or electricity operated and should be lit well in advance of the service to ensure

all the china and silver are sufficiently heated. Once a dish is ready to serve the aboyeur will

announce it loudly so that the respective waiter can pick it up. Once the food has been

picked up the KOT (kitchen order ticket) is put into a control box which can be operated only

by a member of the control department who for control purposes makes the copy of the

food check from the kitchen.

SPARE LINEN STORE

Another back- of -house service area that is generally found within establishments is the

spare linen cupboard or store. This is normally the responsibility of a senior member of the

service staff & it is kept locked for control purposes. This spare linen stock is held near the

foodservice area in case of emergency. The linen is changed when necessary, & usually on

the basis of the clean item in exchange for one dirty item.

DISPENCE BAR

The term “dispense bar” refers to any bar situated within a food & beverage service area

that dispenses wine or other alcoholic drinks which are served to be customer consuming a

meal or using a lounge area. However in many establishments, because of the planning &

layout, wine & other alcoholic drinks for consumption within a meal are sometimes

dispensed from bars situated outside the food & beverage service area itself- in other

words, from one of the public areas. All drinks dispensed must be checked for & controlled

in some way.