Ancillary Departments
These
are service areas usually acting as the link between the kitchen and the food
service areas. They are always behind the scenes or “back-of-the-house” the
service themselves are some of the busiest unit of a
catering establishments, especially over a service period.
Because of this it
is important that, department heads
ensure that all staff know exactly what their duties are and how to carry
them out efficiently and quickly.
In general, especially in
large operations from main service areas can be distinguished
1) Still
room
2) Pantry
3) Food Pick up Area/ Hot Plate
4) Linen Room
5) Store
6) Wash up/ Kitchen Stewarding
7) Silver
room / plate room
1. STILL ROOM
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 and effective control of these items when issued to
various departments.
Following are some of the
items that are dispense from the still room.
a. All
beverages such as coffee, tea, Hot chocolate etc
b. Assorted
fruit juices both fresh & canned
c. Milk
and cream
d. Sugars {different types like granulated, cube, brown
sugar (demerara)}
e. Preserves:
Jam, marmalade, honey etc (They are normally pre-portioned for better control.)
f. Butter
– it can curled or pre-wrapped portions
g. Toasted
bread Slices, Melba Toast
h. Breakfast
rolls such as Brioche, croissants etc
i. Assorted breakfast cereals- Cornflakes, Rice crispies,
Muesli (mixed of all cereals)etc
j. Pastries,
Gateaux and sandwiches
k. Porridge
and boiled eggs.
From the above list, one
can easily understand that all the items required are dispense from Still room
Some of the equipments
which are required by the still room
i. Refrigerator
ii. Tea and
coffee dispenser.
iii. Salamanders
or toasters
iv. Bread
slicing machines
v. Working
table tops and cutting boards
vi. Large
double sink
vii. Storage
cupboard-for all dry items held in stock such as paper napkins, doilies etc.
viii. Storage
space or shelves- for storing crockery, glassware and cutlery.
2. Pantry
It is used to indicate
all back area collectively. Still rooms, Pantry, washup area, store are all
collectively referred to as a pantry in a commercial operations but pantry
specifically refers to that area where mise-en-place (preparation for service)
is carried out. It is the most important area and should be given considerable
importance in planning stage.
Different activities are
carried out in this area such as:
i. Wiping
of al cutlery, crockery and glassware.
ii. Refilling
of cruet set, sauce bottle and sugar bowl
iii. Storing
out dirty and fresh linen.
iv. Storage
of stationery
v. Sometimes
briefing is also done in the pantry
vi. Ice
cube machine is placed in this area.
vii. If
there is no plate room, cleaning of silverware also takes place in this area.
3. Food Pick up
Area/ Hot Plate
This area is also known
as Hot Plate Area. The hot plate may be regarded as the meeting point between
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
barker) 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.
4. Linen
Room
Linen storage is
necessary in the F&B Department. All linen such as Serviettes, Table
cloths, Slip cloths etc are stored in the F&B department as it is very
difficult for the service staff to run to the house keeping department each
time to get fresh linen and smooth operation is hampered.
Linen is exchanged
everyday by the waiter in the Linen room (house keeping department) on a ‘one
for one basis’ which means one dirty linen is exchanged for one clean linen.
These are entered in the Linen register and if there is any discrepancy it is
also entered in the register..
5. Store
The store acts as a area
for keeping any supplies that are used during operations. These may include any
condiments, soft drinks, juices, disposable items and guest takeaways (such as
sugar sachets). There should be adequate supply of the items required during
the service and proper requisition of the item should take place, so that there
is no short fall.
6. Kitchen Stewarding / wash up Area
This is the most
important Ancillary area which influences the functioning of the outlet. The
department which is responsible for the supply and maintenance of all F&B
equipments (cutlery, crockery and glassware) and kitchen utensils is known as
Kitchen stewarding Department. Kitchen stewarding is the backbone of the F&B
department.
In Kitchen Stewarding
department, the wash up area occupies the maximum area and is fitted with
different equipments. The wash up area is further divided into two:
a) Pot wash: This
area is also known as “Scullery”. It is a place for cleaning kitchen pots, pans
and other kitchen utensils. It is usually located near the main kitchen.
b) Ware wash /
dish washing area: This section is responsible for cleaning off all
types of service equipments. It is generally located near the restaurant and
room service elevator to minimize the distance of carrying soiled equipment by
the waiter. In dish washing area, all cutlery, crockery and glassware are kept
separately (to avoid any breakage) and all food debris is put into wet garbage
bin and all dry garbage like paper doilies, paper napkin in a separate garbage
bin known as dry garbage bin.
DISH WASHING METHODS
When washing the crockery
and cutleries one must make sure that the temperature of the water being used
is around 75oC. This is done for two reasons:-
1) To sterilize the plate
and remove oil stains
2) The
china ware or crockery will dry by itself (because of high temperature) without
using a wiping cloth therefore being more hygienic
1) Manual or tank method: -
This method is used in smaller hotels where the turnover of the crockery’s and
cutleries is not very high. In manual wash, two sink method or three sink
method is used.
In the cleaning process,
washing of equipment with hot water and detergent and rinsing takes place in
first sink (in case of three sink method; washing and rinsing in separate
sinks). These are then transferred to another sink for sanitization. This
method tends to have higher breakages.
2) Automatic conveyor method
or Dish washing Machine: - This is used in hotels where turnover is
very high. To operate the machine continuous supply of water is required.
In the cleaning process,
Plates are arranged on the racks and are rinsed before placing them on the
conveyor belt, where it enters the machine. The machine comprises of three
chambers. In 1st chamber, the equipments come in contact with
water at high pressure from top as well as bottom. In 2nd chamber,
the equipments come in contact with a spray of mixture of soap and water at 85oC
from above and below and in 3rd chamber the equipments are
sprayed with hot water at 90-95oC from top and bottom and
sterilization takes place. The cleaning cycle is completed in 21/2 to
3 Minutes.
7. Plate
Room/Silver Room
The silver room holds the
complete stock of silver and other equipments required for service of all meals
along with slight surplus stock for emergency. The various types of silver
are kept here on labeled shelves, with all the service plates of one size
stacked together. Heavier items should go on the shelves lower down and
lighter items higher up. Cutlery, flatware, hollowware and other smaller items
are usually stored in drawers lined with baize, as this helps to reduce noise,
slipping and scratching.
In very large
establishments, the silver and the plate room may be two separate units, but in
the majority of places they are combined and in some cases it is a part of
wash-up area.
The service equipments in
stores should be cleaned and polished periodically. There are many methods
available for cleaning silverware:
a) Burnishing
method: It consists of revolving drum half filled with small ball
bearings. The silver to be cleaning is placed in the drum, which is then half
filed with water, detergent and is closed tightly and machine is switched on
for 10 minutes. This method is not suitable for forks and knifes.
b) Polivit
Method: In this method, Polivit plate which is made up of Aluminum is
placed in a container with washing soda and silverware is dipped in the
container, with atleast one piece touching the plate. Piping hot water is
poured to cover the silverware and chemical reaction cleans the utensils. This
method is suitable for large pieces of silverware.
c) Silver
Dip Method: In this method, the silver to be cleaned is kept in a wire
basket and is immersed in silver dip, which is a pink colour liquid. It is left
in the solution for a very short period and is rinsed afterwards. This method
is quick but may damage the silverware sue to chemical reaction.
d) Plate Powder
Method: This method is ideal for the articles that cannot be cleaned by
the above methods. In this method, plate powder (which is pink in colour) is
mixed with spirit and is rubbed over the surface of the article. Once the paste
is dry, it is rubbed with a clean cloth and is rinsed with hot water. This
method demands more labour and time and is suitable for cruet, toast rack etc.
e) Quick
Dip Method: In this method, hot water, along with crushed aluminum foil,
lemon juice and salt is placed in a container and stirred. Tarnished silver is
dipped in this solution for 2-3 minutes. It is then removed and wiped properly
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