Week 1

Hygiene and Safety

This week you will learn…..How to prevent accidents in the kitchen

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1. The prevention of accidents in the hospitality studies kitchen.An accident occurs when anything is handled in an unsafe way in the kitchen or if someone plays around and doesn’t concentrate. This usually leads to an injury.

Injuries in the food industry can be minor or very serious.

Why do injuries happen?

Due to not concentrating on your work and joking around all the time Due to running instead of walking Due to not obeying the rules of the kitchen or the class room Due to talking to others and thereby breaking their attention

Let’s look at ways to prevent the three most common injuries in the kitchen.

1.1 Burns and scalds Burns: Flames, lit cigarettes and hot electrical appliances such as iron, hot plate,

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Scalds: Moist heat such as steam, hot water or fat produces scalds.

Always use oven gloves to handle hot pots and pans. Stand away when lifting the lid of a pot to prevent the steam from burning

you. Turn the handles of pots to prevent them from protruding over the edges

of the stove. Never leave hot oil unattended. It may catch fire. If oil ignites, the flames must be extinguished immediately. Use a fire

extinguisher or smother the flames with the lid of the pot or a powdery substance like flour.

NEVER EXTINGUISH A FIRE CAUSED BY OIL WITH WATER!!!!!!!!! Always wear gloves when handling strong chemical cleaning agents to

prevent chemical burns on the hands. Always first pour in the water and then add the chemical substance to

prevent the mixture from spattering.

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1.2 Cuts Cuts: Bleeding – blood seeping out of a blood vessel after the vessel has been damaged.

Be careful with sharp equipment Always use very sharp knives to prevent the use of pressure on the

knife when trying to cut something Always cut away from your body and use a chopping board to cut on Never try to cut frozen food Never try to catch a falling knife – always jump out of the way and allow

it to fall on the floor Always store sharp equipment in the right places Always hand over sharp objects, with the blunt side facing the other

person Wrap pieces of glass in newspaper before dropping it into the dust bin Place large equipment far enough from each other to prevent grazes

when walking past it

1.3 Electrical shocks

Always first switch off the electricity at the wall before removing the plug or plugging in something

Never try to pull out the plug by the jerking the cord

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Never allow water to get close to the electric equipment Never overload electric sockets Ensure the correct wiring of electric plugs Always fix plugs or electric wiring the correct way or get the help of a

qualified electrician Never touch anyone that got shocked without using a non-conductor of

electricity, such as a wooden broom stick, or else you will get shocked as well.

1.4 Handling of the chef’s knife

Lots of cuts and accidents happen because of the incorrect use of the chef’s knife. Here are some rules to follow to ensure that you handle the chef’s knife correctly and safely.

Use the correct knife for the task at hand. Always keep knifes sharp and clean, as a blunt knife is more likely to

cause an accident because you have to apply more pressure to cut something.

Always keep knife handles free of grease. Always cut on a cutting board, place a damp cloth under the board to

prevent it from moving around. Always keep your eyes on the knife and cut away from yourself and not

towards yourself When you carry a knife always hold it with the point downwards or away

from the body and the blade facing backwards or downwards.

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When you wipe the blade clean, keep the edge away from your fingers. Don’t put sharp knifes in the sink under water, or any place where they

cannot be seen, wipe them clean immediately and put them away.

Week 2

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Kitchen and restaurant operations

Week 2

(Mise en place)

This week you will learn…..Opening Mise en placeClosing Mise en place

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1. Mise en place procedures in the kitchen

The Term “Mise en place” means to prepare or to put in place.

Each well-functioning kitchen has its “mise en place” in place. Some areas of the kitchen will have its own different “mise en place” that it has to do.

“Mise en place” may also differ depending on the menu and dishes the chefs have to prepare.

1.1 Opening “Mise en place”

This refers to the tasks a chef has to do before he can start preparing the menu or dishes. These may include the following.

Gathering of required equipment. Assembling equipment. Gathering of required ingredients. Weighing and measuring of ingredients. Wiping and cleaning of work surfaces and equipment before the

preparation of food and dishes. Reading through the recipe, to ensure that you understand it.

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1.2 Closing “Mise en place”

This refers to the tasks a chef has to do after cooking and serving the dishes, and the kitchen is closed for the day. These may include the following.

Cleaning and storing of used equipment Packing away and storing of used ingredients Cutting up of food stuffs and preparation for the next day Ordering of ingredients for the next day Cleaning the kitchen Doing a work order and time schedule for the next day.

1.3 Good rules to follow when doing “mise en place” Collect all ingredients and equipment before you start. All apparatus, equipment and work surfaces must be cleaned and

sanitised before you start. Assemble equipment before you start. Pre heat ovens and cooking surfaces beforehand. Make sure you have the correct size mixing bowls, sauce pans and

baking sheets before you start. Weigh and measure all ingredients accurately.

Week 3 – 4

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Nutrition and Menu Planning

(Special Dietary needs)

This week you will learn…..About AllergensEthnic GroupsVegetarians

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1. Special dietary needs of guests.

Food plays an important role in our daily diet. Because South Africa has such a wide variety of different cultures it is important for us to know who and for what culture group we cater for. There are also special dietary needs for guests with chronic diseases like diabetes, or allergies to certain food types.

1.1 Allergens

1.1.1 What is food Allergens?Food allergy is an abnormal response to a food triggered by your body's immune system. Allergic reactions to food can sometimes cause serious illness and death. Let’s look at 3 of the most common allergens.

1.1.2 Gluten Gluten is a type of protein found in all wheat products like bread, an allergic reaction to gluten might have the following symptoms:

Hives or skin rash Nausea, stomach cramps, indigestion, vomiting or diarrhoea Stuffy or runny nose Sneezing Headaches Asthma Anaphylaxis (less common), a potentially life-threatening

reaction that can impair breathing and send the body into shock

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Clients with gluten intolerance will not eat any food containing wheat or wheat products, luckily there is a wide variety of gluten free replacement products available in our stores today.

1.1.3 LactoseLactose is natural sugar found in milk and dairy products, an allergic reaction to lactose may include the following symptom

Hives Stomach upset Vomiting Bloody stools, especially in infants Anaphylaxis, a rare, potentially life-threatening reaction that impairs

breathing and can send the body into shock

If a client is lactose intolerant they will avoid any dairy products. Today soy milk and soy dairy products are a suitable replacement for someone that is lactose intolerant.

1.1.4 Iodine Iodine is mainly found in shellfish or shellfish products and is a natural mineral. An allergic reaction is normally triggered if someone with iodine intolerance eats any shellfish. These symptoms include:

Hives Stomach upset Vomiting

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Anaphylaxis, a rare, potentially life-threatening reaction that impairs breathing and can send the body into shock

It is very important that customers allergic to seafood should not eat any products with seafood or shellfish in it.

2. Ethnic groups

It is important to know that things like religion and belief also influences what people eat, therefore it is important to know who you are catering for, and what are the majority of belief and religion in the area you are pulling your customers from.

Let’s look at the most common ethnic groups in South Africa.

Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists

2.1 Muslims

Muslims follow the Islamic belief, and their dietary requirements are prescribed in their holy texts called the Koran. The food types that they eat must be Halal and food gets judged and determined by the religious leaders and certified by them as Halal.

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2.1.1 Guidelines for halal2.1.2 food.

Meat and poultry must be cut in the correct and prescribed method by a Muslim butcher.

Pork and pork products like ham is forbidden. All milk and dairy products may be used. Canned vegetables and vegetables that contain a sauce are

excluded. Wheat, rice, oats ect is allowed and included. No alcohol or alcohol products may be used. Vanilla with an alcohol base is forbidden.

2.2 Jews

Jewish dietary belief is based on the Old Testament in the bible. Their food types that they eat must be Kosher, and means suitable. Kosher food products are not only food prepared in a certain way, but also prescribed food products that are in line with the Judaist law.

2.2.1 Guidelines for Kosher food.

Poultry and meat that is allowed in the bible are butchered and cut up by a specialist named a shoket.

The use of blood is forbidden, before kosher meat can be eaten, all the blood needs to be drained.

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72 hours after the meat has been butchered the blood needs to be drained completely.

Meat is not allowed to be cooked in the same pots and pans as the rest of the food, thus two separate sets of cooking utensils are required.

The dishes of meat are not allowed to be washed together with other dishes, and needs to be washed separately.

No dairy are allowed to be mixed with meat. Dairy are not allowed to be eaten after meat have been eaten,

you have to wait 6 hours. Eggs, fruit, vegetables and grains are allowed to be eaten with

dairy products. Meat can be eaten after dairy products.

2.3 Hindus and Buddhist

Hindus Family Buddhist

Lots of Indian people are Hindus, where a lot of Asian people are Buddhist, though their belief and dietary requirements are almost the same. They do not always eat meat, they also stay away from foods that cause pain to animals, because they believe that pain caused to a living animal or being will return to them. These two religions follow a vegetarian diet, but are not forced to do so.

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3. Vegetarians

Vegetarians are people who do not eat meat or meat products, or any food products that come from an animal. This is out of choice and not because of religious beliefs or culture. There are different types of vegetarians and are the most common dietary requirements or choice found in the civilised world, every restaurant you visit will have vegetarian options on their menu.

3.1 Lacto vegetarian

A Lacto vegetarian is a person that eats vegetables and other dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese, but does not eat eggs. This vegetarian diet is normally followed by eastern religious groups like Hindus and Buddhists.

3.2 Ovo vegetarian

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An ovo vegetarian is a person that eats vegetables and eggs but does not consume any other dairy products.

3.3 Pesco vegetarian

A pesco vegetarian eats, vegetables, dairy products, eggs as well as fish, but no other meat products are consumed.

3.4 Vegan

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Vegans only consume vegetables and plant products; they do not eat any food product that comes from animals as it is them believe that to make these products or dairy products the animal is caused harm.

Week 5-6

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Nutrition and Menu planning

(Menu planning)

This week you will learn…..Principles of menu planningA la carte and table d’hôtel menuSpecial health requirementsOld-age homes, hospitals, nursery schools, prisons, defence force

1. Menu Planning

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Menu planning is in some terms an art form, and takes a lot of different aspects into consideration. Here are some principals in basic menu planning that you have to follow when planning your menu. A menu can consist of three or more courses.

1.1 Principles of menu planning

Vary the ingredientso Never repeat basic ingredients e.g. Tomato soup and tomato salado Do not serve too many heavy, starchy products such as potatoes,

rice, pasta bread and baked puddings.o Do not serve too many rich foods such as cream, butter and oily

foods.o Do not serve vegetables from the same family in different dishes,

e.g. butternut soup, savoury squash, pumpkin fritters. Vary the textures, serve some soft food and some crisp food. Vary the temperatures: warm food and cold food sometimes

complement each other. Vary the flavours: try not to repeat flavours. For example do not use

strong flavours like onion, garlic, certain spices and herbs in more than one course.

Vary the colours: try to create a colour contrast, e.g. grilled fish, green beans, glazed carrots instead of steamed fish, mashed potatoes, cauliflower.

Vary the shapes: try to serve different shapes, e.g. avoid serving just round shapes like meatballs, rosette potatoes and peas.

Vary the cooking methods: try not to fry or boil all the items on the menu.

Offer a sensible nutritional balance: offer a selection of food with varying nutritional content and from different food groups.

There are a lot of other factors influencing a menu that you need to consider when creating your menu like.

Keep in mind who you are designing the menu for, younger clients will need food types that gives more energy for example.

Religion and ethical issues. Preference and needs of customers. Does the customer you cater for,

want to sit down, or do they just want to grab something quick to eat on the run.

Gender: Men and Women might not always prefer the same food items.

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Job/Career: office workers might have different needs than mine workers.

Vegetarians and Diabetic must also keep in mind.

The management of a menu also plays a role in menu planning, below is some management factors influencing menu planning.

The type of establishment: a five star hotel menu will be different than a cafeteria menu.

The type of meal: is it breakfast, lunch, dinner, a cocktail party or a banquet.

The time of year: winter or summer. Availability of food types Space and equipment in the kitchen. Amount and skills of staff available. The cost of the menu. Time of preparation.

1.2 Steps in planning the menu

First choose the main dish, usually a protein dish. Plan the rest of the meal according to the main dish. The remainder of the dishes must compliment the main dish. Use fresh fruit and vegetables if possible.

Dessert is often the last item on the menu, and is determined by the other dishes. A light desert is served with a heavy main course, and a rich desert can be served with a light main course.

The starter is the first dish on the menu, but is always planned last, as it is determined by the rest of the dishes.

1.3 Writing out of a menu

The way a menu looks determines how people react to it. Therefore special care needs to be taken when designing and writing out a menu and must be done professionally.

You get two types of menus

A la Carte Table d’hôte

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Each menus design is very different to the other and is determined by the type of restaurant.

2. Table d’hôte menu and A la carte menu

2.1. Table d’hôte menu

A table d’hôte menu is a fixed menu that offers no more than two to three choices per course. Dishes are worked out to complement each other and prices are normally changed according to menu. The client pays a fixed price and does not pay per course.

2.1.1 Rules for writing out a table d’hôte menu

Do not mix languages when writing out a menu, keep the language the same.

Label dishes accurately: for example do not name the dish a veal snitzel if it is made out of beef.

Spelling: Make sure the menu items are spelled correctly, including French terms.

Do not use brand names on your menu. Give a short and clear description of each dish and specify the preparation

method, for example “glazed julienne carrots” and not just carrots. Do not write down unnecessary accompiaments, however special sauces

like chocolate and tartare sauce must be mentioned. Appearance: The menu should look neat and easy to read.

2.2 A la Carte menu

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An a la carte menu is normally found in family restaurants like spur. It consists of various dishes per course. These dishes are individually priced and it is the clients choice in what order he wants them, and when he wants them.

The same rules apply when writing the a la carte menu as for the table d’hôte menu.

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3. Special health requirements – diabetes

Special menus must be planned. Less sugar must be including in recipe or replace sugar with appropriate

kind. Use food with natural sugar in. Make sure diabetic food is label properly.

4. Old-age homes, hospitals, nursery schools, prisons, defence force

Food planned for old-age homes, hospitals, prisons use more or less the same kind of menu.

Persons not very active and low kilojoule menu planning require. Nursery schools, defence force persons need ‘n high kilojoule

menu. They are very active and growing nursery children. They need a more balanced menu.

Nursery school Old age homes

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Week 7

Nutrition and Menu planning

(Costing of a menu)

This week you will learn…..How to work out the cost price of a menu.

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1. Costing of a menu

Before a restaurant can put a price on their menu, they first need to determine how much the items on a menu are going to cost them. There are a couple of factors that needs to be considered when doing the costing on a dish and menu.

Cost of ingredients Overhead costs – e.g. cooking medium used (gas or electric), transport and

packaging (if required) Basic cost per item

First we need to work out what the ingredients are going to cost us. The easiest way to do this is to draw up a table. List the ingredients you are going to use, the amount it is purchased in, the cost of the purchased ingredients, the amount you need and the cost of the amount going to be used.

E.G. Let’s do the costing on steak egg and chips.

INGREDIENTS PURCHASE AMOUNT

PURCHASE COST

RECIPE AMOUNT

COST

Rump steak 1KG R105.00 p/kg

0.200g R21.00

Egg 30’s R65.00 1 R2.16Oil 5lt R45.00 0.025ml R0.23Potato 7kg R38.90 0.100g R0.55Barbeque sauce

2lt R18.00 0.025ml R0.23

Salt 1kg R15.60 0.005ml R0.07Pepper 500g R21.00 0.005ml R0.05Parsley 1bunch R5.99 0.005ml R0.05Total R24.34

To work out the cost of the recipe amounts we have to do some calculations. This is the formula you have to use.

PURCHASE AMOUNT ÷ RECIPE AMOUNT = X

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Then

PURCHASE COST ÷ X = COST

Let’s take the rump steak as an example.

1.000kg ÷ 0.200g = 5

R105.00 ÷ 5 = R21.00 (cost of ingredients used)

Once all the ingredients have been worked out and costed, add them up to get the total ingredients cost.

From the above table we can see that the rump steak will cost us R24.34 in ingredients.

Now we need to add overheads, (Electricity, Transport, Packaging) for this exercise we will say that the overheads amount to R25.00

So we take the Recipe cost and add the overhead costs.

Recipe cost R24.35 + Overhead costs R25.00 = R49.35

Thus we can see that to make the steak egg and chips it is going to cost us R49.35

From here we can add a percentage called the mark up percentage and that will be the amount of profit we make

E.g.

If I add 45% mark up on the cost price of the dish I will charge the customer R72.00 for a steak egg and chips, meaning that we make R22.65 profit.

This is a simple exercise for an a la carte menu. For a table d’hôte menu, you will work out each dish and just add them together at the end to get your total

cost of the menu.

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Week 8

Food Commodity

(Preserving, bottle and, label food)

This week you will learn…..Preserving, Bottling, Drying, concentrating of sugar, -salt, -acidEquipment requiredSuitable containersFood labels for home-made products

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1. Methods of food preservation

Since the earliest time humans have been preserving food. We preserve food for the following reasons.

To consume at a later stage To enhance flavour and uses To prevent oxidation or food going off To increase shelf live

There are various ways of preserving food:

Bottling / canning Drying Freezing

1.1 Bottling

Fruits and vegetables are normally used when we use the bottling technique. In order to bottle foods, you need heat. The bottling technique was developed by a French chemist in 1795 and was used to preserve food for Napoleon's army. bottling is a popular way of preserving fruits and vegetables.

Glass jars are suitable for bottling. The important thing will be to sterilise your equipment in simmering water for a few minutes (this includes lids). Then they will be ready to be filled with things like jam. After filling, place the lid on firmly, but not too tight. To finalise the process lower the jars into a pot full of water, cover and bring to a boil. Process for about 10 minutes. Pull the jars out of the hot water and let cool. They will vacuum seal as they cool. Cooking times vary per recipe.

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Jam, marmalade and chutney is the most common used for bottling.

When making Jam or marmalade, fruit pieces sugar acts as the preservation agent.

Marmalade

Peach pieces

Where with vegetables like pickled onions or curry beans, carrots ,beet root a high concentration of acid like vinegar is used as the preservation agent.

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1.2 Drying

Drying, arguably the oldest food preservation method is a great way of preserving herbs, fruits, vegetables and meats. Since the beginning of time people have used the sun and nature as a preservation technique for removing moisture. This practice is used throughout the world, for example, Southern Italy is known for drying tomatoes, while India is known for drying chilies, mangos and a host of spices using only the powerful rays of the sun. If you've ever eaten a deliciously sweet, sun-dried tomato, you'll know just how much flavour this technique can add to ingredients.

To dry herbs, simply tie them together and hang in a sunny spot away from any humidity.

To dry fruits or vegetables, set them out on a clean surface and keep them in the sun for a few weeks (this only works well in dry, warm climates). A more modern method of drying is to use an electric dehydrating machine

Biltong and dried fruit is the most common used for drying.

During drying, especially biltong a large quantity of salt is used as the preservation agent.

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Dried wors Biltong

Bokkoms/dried fish Dried Fruit

2. Labelling of preserved food

When you design a label for you food, you need to pay special attention to detail, as the label will catch the eye of the client and will be what sells the product.

Here are some guidelines to follow for designing a label.

The name of the product needs to be clearly. Date of Bottling or drying needs to be displayed. Ensure you list all the ingredients used. Ensure that your spelling is correct.

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