The Food & Beverage System - Fundamentals - Coursework Example

Name Tutor Course Date The Food & Beverage System – Fundamentals Introduction The food and beverage industry is considered as an important sector as it highly contributes to economic growth and development. The tourism industry has also experienced a major boost in terms of influx of tourists in various destinations globally. The fundamentals of food and beverage are therefore essential in relation to tourism and hospitality management in any country of destination. Food service therefore involves the preparation of various kinds of foods and beverages for consumption by consumers in either large scale or small scale. Commercial catering involves the preparation of food and beverages with an aim of maximization of profits. Hence tourism involves the process whereby the travelling public is provided with various services for instance food and beverage as a service that is provided to the tourism sector. The food and beverage sector globally consists of farming, food production, distribution, retails and catering. The paper will therefore discuss the fundamentals of the food and beverage sub sector within the tourism industry. The Food & Beverage System – Fundamentals Traditionally, most developed countries such as the United States have been considered as the major producers of food products. However in recent times there has been a shift with China, India and Russia dominating the production of food and beverage sector. The fundamentals of the food and beverage industry involve the fact that the sector should strive in terms of increasing of professionalism in the food service sector. This is done through the process of understanding of various forms of basic food production methodologies together with its culinary terminologies and the capability to demonstrate the varied food production methods (Bardi, 231-241). Within the hospitality industry hotels are well known in terms of offering the food and beverage services to guests within their facilities. These hotels are further classified based on market forces, location, function and legal criteria. A hotel is mainly considered as offering guests varied range of services such as reservations, suites, dining services, and laundry and hair services among other services. Motels are considered as offering guests a limited range of facilities or services such as reservations and swimming pools ( Gregoire, 121). According to Bardi (2010) professionalism in the hotel industry plays an important role in the growth of the sector. This is due to the fact that there is need to make analysis in terms of the nature of their customers and reasons for having the customers. There is a great emphasis in terms of management in the hotel industry. This is due to the fact that management within the front office plays a crucial role as front office managers will be fully prepared to deal with challenges in regards to operations, technological knowhow, international applications, empowerment and trainings. The exiting world of hotel operations involves various concepts and management issues that need to be emphasized for the purpose of enhancing the operations of the hotel industry (Bardi, 241-350). The hospitality industry has experienced a tremendous growth in terms of the incorporation of technology in its services. Through the use of technology such as the internet tourists are able to book for various facilities online and in advance prior to their travel arrangements to various destinations across the globe. In addition, the use of internet is further used in the hospitality industry as a method of research of career opportunities across the world. Job listings and opportunities such as hotel manager, front office manager and other prospects in the hotel industry are mainly listed on various websites where job seekers can easily access these opportunities online. Therefore the use of technology has played an important role in terms of development of various services in the food and beverage sector that is offered to guests. Reservations, in room guest check out system and other forms of services in the hospitality industry are undertaken through the advances in terms of technology. In recent times there has been an advent in terms of technology that permits various forms of alerts in relation to guests and baggage handling processes within the hospitality industry (Marc & Raymya 89-102). Within the hospitality industry the satisfaction of the guests is considered as a key concept. This is due to the fact that when the guests are satisfied they would wish to visit the facility again leading to benefits to the industry. Satisfaction therefore comes in terms of the food and beverage services offered to the guest. The fundamental aspect in the food and beverage sector involves the fact that there should be professionals who engage in the process of serving the right food and beverage to various types of guest. Thus it is important for these professionals to be fully aware of their duties in terms of food preparation and beverage services to various guests. Hence the role of the hotel manager is very crucial. This is due to the fact that there is need for a sound leadership in any facility that engaged in the production and provision of food and beverages as services in the hospitality and tourism sector. Bardi (2010) further engages in the process of description of various roles of a hotel manager and the reasons attributed to the role of a hotel manager. More emphasis is therefore laid on the management aspect of hotel managers so as to achieve and retain guests into these facilities. Therefore hotel managers play an important role in the food and beverage sector as a result of their management role that they play within the hospitality industry operations (Bardi, 312-412). Furthermore, another food and beverage services fundamentals involves the consistency in terms of quality. Many guests would prefer to visit facilities whereby they would be assured on consistency in quality in terms of the food and beverages offered to them. Consistency is therefore an important aspect that the food and beverage sector need to put into place so as to retain the existing customers and attract more customers into their facilities. A lot of guests prefer to visit facilities that offer great services in terms of food and beverages. Quality is an essential aspect that managers of hotels and other tourist’s facilities need to consider as part of the fundamental of the food and beverage sector within the hospitality industry (Gregoire, 214-287). According to Kopplin (2014) within the context of food and beverage aspect of the hospitality industry it is essential for managers to engage in the process of minimizing hazards in relation to food and beverage operations. This is mainly done by the managers stating clearly the cause of the majority of foodservice accidents. Hence both human and environmental aspects should be considered in the process of minimizing various forms of accidents in the food and beverage sector. Through the process of minimization of various hazards effectiveness in terms of preparation of food and beverage will be ensured. Therefore in the long effectiveness and quality of the food will be ensured through minimizing the hazards. Good quality food and beverages coupled with effectiveness in terms of preparation will further ensure that guests are satisfied in regards to the service offered. This will further lead to the growth of the food and beverage sector in the hospitality and tourism industry (Kopplin, 121-142). Another important fundamental of the food and beverage industry involves the applications of sanitation standards that have been set by the local authorities through the entire process of food handling. This process comprises the entire process of food handling in relation to purchasing, receiving, storing, preparation, serving to customers and the management of leftovers food and beverages. This practice will therefore go a long way in ensuring food safety in the hospitality and tourism industry. Hence in terms of food and beverage handling in the hospitality industry it is essential for the handlers to acquire the necessary clothing that will aid ensuring food safety while at the same time avoid food contamination due to poor handling procedures (IMAP, 21-51). Furthermore, the fundamentals of cost control and the demonstration of an effective method of management of food and beverage cost, labor cost and any other necessary form of expenditure in the commercial catering sector should be considered. This is important in terms of making a description of various internal mechanisms that involves standards of excellent in terms of the areas of controls. In this case job responsibilities should be defined through the process of separation of division of duties and responsibilities in related tasks. Various managers in the food and beverage sector play an essential role in regards to designing an effective food and beverage control systems in the purchasing, receiving and storage of food and beverage in a bid to ensure the safety standards are upheld as stipulated under the food and beverage control by the local authorities. In addition, a description of the regulations to be followed in terms of the reception or rejection of the food and beverages during the process of purchase should be clear to ensure that the best quality of the food and beverages are purchased and the costs of acquiring the products are minimized. Hence the proper food and beverage issuing procedures should be followed. The process of following the right procedures in the purchasing and preparation of food and beverages is essential in the ensuring high quality of food and beverages is achieved in the hospitality sector. For effectiveness in the provision of food and beverages in the hospitality industry it is important for team work to be encouraged. The managers and other staff should partake in their activities as a team in order to fully perform their roles and responsibilities in the food and beverage sector in the hospitality industry (Sian et.al. 111-132). Conclusion In the global arena the hospitality and tourism industry has undergone a tremendous growth in the hospitality industry. There are certain fundamentals that need to be followed in relation to food processing and handling so as to ensure that the safety of food and beverages is upheld at all times. Hotel managers and front office managers play an important role in the management process of tourism facilities that offers the services of food and beverages. All the stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry should therefore work as a team in the facilitation of the effectiveness and the quality of the services being offered to various guests at different destinations globally. Works Cited James A. Bardi. Hotel Front Office Management. Fourth edition. Pennsylvania: John Wiley & sons, Inc., 2007. Lim Tau Sian, Hema Subramonian, Lisa Tung, Wong Heng San, Karen Ho Kai Hui, Toney Thomas Kulampalil. TQOU I Fundamentals of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Meteor Doc. Sdn. Bhd., 2009. IMAP. Food and Beverage Industry Global Report- 2010. June 26, 2014 Kopplin, Richard. Focus on the Fundamentals to Improve Your Food and Beverage Operations. 26, 2014 Pfitzer, Marc and Krishnaswamy Raymya. The Role of the Food and Beverage Sector in Expanding Economic Opportunity. June 26, 2014 < http://www.hks.harvard.edu/m- rcbg/CSRI/publications/report_20_EO%20Food%20&%20Beverage%20Final.pdf> Gregoire, Mary.B. Foodservice Organizations; A Managerial and Systems approach, 8th Ed. Pearson Australia. ISBN: 978-0-13-296511-8 Read More