Knowledge in Food
Taking Orders and executing them in a restaurant.
Taking OrdersTaking orders from the customer or guests is a two way communication process. Let us say there are two persons, the guest and the server. The guests prefer to place order to a knowledgeable or qualified server. The server must −Be aware of basic food preparation, recipes of various food items on the menu.Have an eye for detail and accurate in recording the order.Know the slang/local words used by the customers.Be able to describe preparation in words shortly.Know the time required to prepare menu items.Know what accompaniments go well with each menu item and which menu items complement each other.Know the prices for each item offered on the menu.Be polite and friendly; but not casual.Not assume anything about the customer even if the customer is a frequent visitor.The customers often ask questions about the preparation of the food, serving size in case of beverages, pizza, and otherwise, filling and cooking types in case of sandwiches, subs, and pizzas, and toppings in case of pastries and ice creams. The server must record every detail by communicating with the guest clearly.Executing OrdersThe server manually hands over the order in the kitchen to begin preparation of the dishes. Once the order is in hand, the team work shows up in execution.The Chef de cuisine, the sous chef, the line chefs, runners, and other staff; all need to work harmoniously in the kitchen. They need to communicate clearly to avoid any unwelcomed outcomes in the process of food preparation as well as service of food.To avoid communication loopholes, each member of the kitchen staff must −Understand the role and responsibility of oneself as well as other team members.Be willing to share information and experiences with each other. It is important especially when the duty shift changes.Must know all the areas in the kitchen and the places of preparation equipment, serving equipment, and ingredients store.Be willing to support less-skilled or new staff member.Be able to deliver the best results in the least possible time.
Vineet Kaushal
Introduction to Cookery
Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.…Wolfgang Puck, American Chef, Restaurateur, and Occasional Actor.Food Production and its related operations are integral elements of hospitality management, hotel management, and restaurant businesses. It requires a skilled staff who can produce a wide variety of quality foods.In addition, the culinary staff of a hotel or a restaurant is also required to produce food in a large quantity. Let us start with understanding the basic term ‘Cookery’ in detail.What is Cookery?Cookery is an art and science of preparing food for consumption by using heat. Cookery is an age-old practice. A primitive human must have found a piece of meat or vegetable cooked in the bushfire by chance. He must have found it edible, chewable and easy to consume. Probably, he even must not have cooked deliberately until he knew how to create fire.The simplest method of cooking was holding a piece of meat or vegetable in the fire directly, which is still in practice, with a little sophistication. From the age-old cooking practices to cooking for fine dining, cookery has come a long way with the evolution of humans, their skills, diverse cultures, and the equipment. Today, cookery is an inseparable part of our lives that rules our tongues and hearts.Why Cook Food?We can have some foods in the raw form too, such as salads and fruits but we need to cook certain foods such as beans and meat to make them edible.In addition, if we eat some vegetables without cooking, they can transfer harmful bacteria or substances into our bodies. For example, uncooked beans contain anti-digestive enzymes. Uncooked capsicum (Bell Pepper) contains Capsaicin that can create burning of stomach lining. Cooking helps to destroy unwanted substances present in the food and unwelcomed effects of consuming it.There are many reasons behind cooking food. Some of them are −To make the food digestible.To kill any harmful bacteria present in it.To make appearance of the food pleasant.To change its physical and chemical form.
Kitchen Staff (Brigade de Cuisine)
The responsibilities of kitchen staff are as follows −S.No.Role & Responsibilities1Chef de CuisineMain cook. Overall management of kitchen and staff, supervising, creating new recipes, and training apprentice.2Sous ChefDeputy cook. Takes charge in the absence of Executive cook.3Chef TournantHas skills and knowledge of every section. Takes charge as and when required.4Chef Grade ManagerPrepares all cold savory food.5Chef SaucierPrepares sautéed items.6Chef PoissonierFish and Seafood cook. Prepares sea food dishes.7Chef PatissierPastry cook. Prepares cakes, breads, and pastries.8Chef EntremetierHot appetizers cook. Prepares soups and stocks.9CommisJunior cook.
Aish Merahrah (Egyptian Flatbread)
Aish MerahrahAish Merahrah is an Egyptian flat bread madewith 5-10% ground fenugreek seeds and maize.It is part of the traditional diet of the Egyptiancountryside, prepared locally in village homes inUpper Egypt.Aish Merahrah is similar to markouk, a Lebanesebread. The loaves are flat and wide, and usuallyabout 50 cm in diameter. The bread is made ofmaize flour that has been made into a soft doughthat is fermented overnight with a sourdoughstarter, shaped into round loaves that are thenallowed to rise or "proof" for 30 minutes beforebeing flattened into round disks that are thenbaked.They can be kept for days in an airtightcontainer. The addition of fenugreek seedsincreases the protein content, storage length anddigestibility of the bread.
Appam (Bread)
Appam is a type of South Indian pancake madewith fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It isa popular food in South Indian states of Keralaand Tamil Nadu. It is also very popular in SriLanka where it is commonly referred to by itsanglicized name as Hoppers. It is eaten mostfrequently for breakfast or dinner. It is calledChitau Pitha in Oriya, Paddu or Gulle Eriyappa inKodava. It is known as Appa in Sinhala andArpone in Burmese.Appam ingredients may differ according to thedish like Plain hoppers (Vella Appam),Kallappam, Egg hoppers, Milk hoppers(Palappam), Honey hoppers, String hopper(Nool Puttu), Pesaha appam, Achappam,Neyyappam, Vattayappam.
Blue Cheese
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow'smilk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses thathave had cultures of the mold Penicillium addedso that the final product is spotted or veinedthroughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-greenmold, and carries a distinct smell, either fromthat or various specially cultivated bacteria.Some blue cheeses are injected with sporesbefore the curds form and others have sporesmixed in with the curds after they form. Bluecheeses are typically aged in a temperaturecontrolled environment such as a cave. Bluecheese can be eaten by itself or can be crumbledor melted into or over foods.In the European Union, many blue cheeses suchas Roquefort, Gorgonzola and Blue Stilton carry aprotected designation of origin, meaning theycan bear the name only if they have been made ina particular region in a certain country. Similarly,individual countries have protections of their ownsuch as France's Appellation d'Origine Contrôléeand Italy's Denominazione di Origine Protetta.Blue cheeses with no protected origin name aredesignated simply "blue cheese".The characteristic flavor of blue cheeses tends tobe sharp and salty. The smell of this food is dueboth to the mold and to types of bacteriaencouraged to grow on the cheese: for example,the bacterium Brevibacterium linensresponsible for the smell of many blue cheeses,as well as foot odor and other human bodyodors.
bleu du vercors-sassenage cheese
Bleu du Vercors-Sassenage is a mild pasteurizednatural rind cow's milk blue cheese originallyproduced by monks in the Rhône-Alpes region ofFrance in the 14th century. Now made in theDauphiné area, the cheese has been a protectedAppellation d'origine Contrôlée since 1998.As a requirement, the cheese has to becomposed of milk from Montbéliard, Abondanceor Villard cows. The cheese is unpressed anduncooked and contains the mold Penicilliumroqueforti. In Larousse Grand DictionnaireUniversel of the 19th century, King Francis isdescribed as being quite fond of the cheese.
Bagoong Monamon (Fish Sauce)
Bagoong monamon, bagoong monamon-dilis, orsimply bagoong and bugguong munamon inllocano, is a common ingredient used in thePhilippines and particularly in Northern Ilocanocuisine. It is made by fermenting saltedanchovies ("monamon" or "munamon" in ilocano)which is not designed, nor customarily used forimmediate consumption since it is completelyraw. Therefore it is used as a cooking ingredient,upon when it is cooked alone, it can be used asan accompaniment to traditional food dishes. Tomost Westerners unfamiliar with this condiment,the smell can be extremely repulsive.Bagoong is however, an essential ingredient inmany curries and sauces.This bagoong is smoother than bagoong terong,however, they are similar in flavor. The odor isunique and smells strongly of fish. Fish sauce,common throughout Southeast Asian cuisine, isa by-product of the bagoong process. Known aspatis, it is distinguished as the clear refined layerfloating on the thicker bagoong, itself. Patis andbagoong can be interchanged in recipes, depending on personal taste and preference.Bagoong is used as a flavor enhancing agent, inthe place of salt soy sauce, or monosodiumglutamate. It is used in creating the fish stockthat is the base for many ilocano dishes, likepinakbet, or as a dressing to greens in the dishcalled kinilnat or ensalada. Bagoong is also usedas a condiment, in many cases, a dipping saucefor chicharon, green and ripe mangoes, or hardboiled eggs.It is similar in taste and smell to that of anchovypaste.Bagoong monamon is marketed either with bitsof fermented fish (which is often used to makeflavorful soups, especially in the locano"Dinengdeng;" or it can be fried for a quick meal)or without (marketed as "boneless" bagoongmunamon, usually stored in bottles). Boneless bagoong, if left undisturbed for quite some time,will settle to the bottom of its containerseparating the clear patis from the solids, aspatis comes from bagoong.In other areas of the Philippines, this type ofbagoong can be named for the locale they camefrom, e.g. bagoong balayan (which is produced inthe coastal town of Balayan in the Province ofBatangas).
Classification Of Eggs
Classification of EggsEggs are staple non-veg food. They are used in baking and preparing desserts like mousse. There are many varieties of labelled eggs in the market. Let us understand what those labels mean.Omega-3 EggsThe hens are fed with omega-3 fatty acid sources, such as flax seed. The hens are enclosed in cages, and are kept away from accessing litter, perches or nests.Nest-laid EggsThis means the hens can access their nests or perch within their cage.Eggs of Cage-free HensCage-free hens are not confined to a cage, however, that does not mean they have access to the outdoors.Eggs of Free-run HensFree-run hens can wander around a confined open space, perch, access their nests, but may not access outdoors or natural light.Eggs of Free-range HensUnder good weather conditions, the free-range hens are permitted to wander in open-range barns, and access their nests, perches, litter, outdoors, and natural light.Organic EggsThe hens are fed with 100% organic feed. They are always provided with clean, fresh water. These eggs are most costly.The hens with white feathers and white ear lobes lay white eggs. The ones with brown feathers and red ear lobes lay brown eggs. There is zero nutritional difference between the two eggs.Eggs SizesEggs are sized according to their weight. There are various sizes of eggs such as: between 53 - 63gm are Medium, between 63 - 73gm are Large, and the ones weighing more than 73g are Extra Large.
Red Meat.
Meat comes from cattle and poultry. They are raised at farms with proper feeding and care. The meat from cattle is more commonly known as red meat. There are various types of meats.Red MeatsRed meat can be of the following types −Beef − It comes from cattle over 12 months old. This meat is dark red in color with a thick layer of white fat. The meat is hard and thick.Veal − It is the meat of cattle less than 3 months old. It is deep pink with medium layer of white fat. Veal is lean and tender as compared to beef.Pork − It is the meat of domestic swine (pig). The meat is light pink in color with a thick layer of creamy-white colored fat.Ham − It is the meat of pork leg.Bacon − It is the tender meat of pig’s belly.Pork ribs − It is the meat around pig’s ribs.Lamb − It is the tender meat of sheep or goat aged less than one year. It is light red and soft as compared to mutton.Mutton − It is the meat of sheep or goat older than one year. It is maroon-red colored meat, harder than lamb meat and gives strong flavor.Game Meat (Venison) − It is the meat of any animal that is hunted for food instead of raised in the farms. It includes the meat of Rabbit, Pheasant, Wild duck, deer, or sometimes a bigger animal like bison. It has strong flavor. The game meat is widely consumed in Africa.Meats take longest time to cook in non-veg cookery. Shelf life of meat is 3 to 4 days in refrigerator or a couple of months in freezer.
Poultry
PoultryIt is the meat of domestic fowls such as chicken, duck, goose, or turkey. Good poultry meat comes from well-fed hygienic hens. The poultry must be with well distributed fat and blemish free skin. The dressed poultry is slaughtered, de-feathered, and ready to roast whole bird without head and clamps. Poultry gets cooked faster than red meats but quicker than fish and shell fish.SausageThe sausages are cured and uncooked meat rolls. Sausages are prepared by blending any ground or minced meat with breadcrumbs, starch or flour, and spices, and filling the mixture into casings of various diameter and lengths. At the time of consumption it is cut into slices, often called salamis.
Classification of Sea Food
The sea foods mainly is divided into two categories −Fish − They are fish with fins and internal skeleton. For example, Tuna, Mackerel, and King fish.Shell Fish − They are fish with shell but no internal bone structure. For example, Crabs.Let us understand more about Fish.FishFish can be cut for cooking in the following form −Complete − As caught.Dressed − Fins, tail, scales, and head removed.Drawn − Viscera removed.Steak − Cut into cross section slices, each slice containing a part of bone.Fillets − Boneless sides of fish; with or without skin.Tranches − Pieces of fillets.Butterfly Fillet − Both sides fillets kept naturally joint while cutting.