Food Service Outlets Research Articles

Investigation of the perceived components of the meal experience, using perceptual gap methodology

A differential questionnaire based upon SERVQUAL was issued to 234 customers at ten foodservice outlets. The results were subjected to factor analysis in order to identify structure within respondents' perceptions of the meal experience. In fact the complex empirical factor patterns which emerged corresponded neither with the expected SERVQUAL model, nor with two other models of the meal experience against which they were tested. Customers also appeared to perceive quality differently at different outlets. However, items concerned with food and with staff seemed to be common elements of the meal experience. The significance of these results and their value as a pointer for further research is discussed.

Licensed Foodservice Outlets on Campus:

The environment in which today's college and university foodservices exists is dynamic and stimulating. As customer demands change and intensify, foodservice operations must take a proactive stance to meeting consumer needs. Today's college and university student as well as the staff are becoming more and more brand-loyal to quick-service restaurants. As such, many quick-service companies are beginning to penetrate the institutional market This paper focuses on the licensing options provided by quick-service companies to institutional customers. This option offers the flexibility necessary for institutions to embrace this concept. The advantages of this option are explored. Additionally, the impact of including a quick-service concept into university feeding is reviewed.

A PACKAGING SYSTEM FOR PEELED WHOLE BABY CARROTS

Fresh, peeled, whole baby carrots are fast becoming the driving force in sales of fresh carrots. In 1991, 200 million tons were marketed to food service and retail outlets. “Peeled whole baby carrots” are mature carrots cut to 5 cm lengths and peeled in a modified potato peeler. Two problems have developed which are limiting the expansion of this market: 1) the product as currently packed develops a slimey rot in 10 days and 2) a “white blush” forms on the exposed surface of the product after 5 days. Tests on the atmosphere of the bag indicated that the product was generating a low O2 environment, causing the growth of anaerobic rots. Evaluations of several film materials were undertaken to find a formulation which would provide an O2 level above 5% and CO2 below 7%, a level above which some cultivars are injured. Sucrose ester and cellulose based edible films and anti-oxidants were applied to the product to help eliminate white blush, which could be the product of dehydration or lignin formation. A cellulose-base edible film supplied from the USDA and a mineral impregnated single ply low density polyethylene 1.5 mil bag were selected as the optimum packaging combination. Storage at 5C was improved to 50 days, with white blush and decay greatly reduced. Studies on the logistics of the edible film application are continuing.

Rule Out Fraud and Theft

Internal control is the set of policies, forms, and procedures that management establishes to prevent fraud and theft by employees or guests. Controlling food-service outlets presents special challenges, because a single person (the server) can control so much of the transaction. The key to effective internal control of food-service transactions is to divide these four functions among as many people as possible: (1) taking the order, (2) preparing the food, (3) delivering the food, and (4) settling the bill. Proper forms (e.g., guest checks that are accounted for by serial number after each shift) will help managers determine whether any revenue or food items are being diverted. While internal- control procedures can be used to detect fraud, the key to internal control is to prevent fraud or theft in the first place with effective and consistent policies.

Energy-thrift opportunities for operators of ‘public houses’ in the UK

Means for reducing the annual energy consumption in the UK's stock of approximately 8 × 10 4 ‘public houses’ (i.e. premises in which alcoholic beverages are purchased by the glass) are reviewed. As many of these public houses are more than 100 years old (some having been built in the Middle Ages), energy engineers face unusual difficulties when attempting to improve the energy efficiencies of such buildings and the activities undertaken therein. Furthermore, the energy requirements of these ‘pubs’ are expected to increase significantly because: (i) they are playing an increasingly important societal role as food-service outlets; (ii) demands from users for better levels of air quality within such establishments are increasing; and (iii) the legal operating hours of pubs in England and Wales are soon to be extended, from a lunchtime and an evening period of 3·5 and 6 h per day respectively, to a single period of at least 12 h per day. Therefore, a more detailed consideration of energy utilisation in the public-house sector appears timely.