Food Product Flow

Setting Up The Tangible Product

Food Product Flow

Overview Foodservice operators have a plethora of choices when considering how they organize the product flow. There are four systems presented. Foodservice operators use a combination of these systems to manage labor, food cost, and food quality. Goal To identify the foodservice systems and understand their usage.

Objectives
Define food service types Understand the difference between these food service types Understand the reason for preferring one over the others

Rational For Decisions

Food service operations choose to use one type over another for the following reasons.
Cost of labor Availability of labor Level of culinary skills of the labor force Cost of space Consistent food quality Lack of equipment

Types of Foodservices
Conventional/Traditional Ready Prepared Commissary Assembly/Serve

Conventional/ Traditional
Raw food products are purchased from supplier or manufactures Raw foods are held at appropriate temperatures until prepared and cooked for consumption Space is provided to hold raw foods Labor must have a culinary skill set Specialized cooking equipment is required Advanced training required in foodsafety Moderate food cost

Ready Prepared
Used when cost of labor is high or lacking culinary skills Food items are purchase cooked and held frozen or chilled until heated Cold storage capacity is high Small requirements for diversity of cooking/heating equipment Consistent product quality Moderate/high food cost

Commissary
Central production of food items Appropriate for large network of distribution Advance talent of culinary labor housed in a central location Centralized control of quality Centralized location of physical culinary plant Expenditures are required for distribution of products to the field Lowest food cost

Assembly/ Service
Most basic of labor skill set Minimum of storage capacity required Minimum of cooking equipment required Staff training is minimum High level of consistency Higher food cost

Summary
Foodservice operators have a plethora of choices when considering how they organize the product flow. Although four systems have been presented and are an option with little variability of idea, one is more likely to find that foodservice operators use a combination of these systems to manage labor, food cost, and food quality.