Menu Planning

Principles of Recipe Development

While preparing a menu and developing recipes for the growing school girls, various components are required to be kept into consideration. Children have varied choices of tastes, meals, and cuisines (Slavin and Lloyd, 2012). Along with satiating them by providing them with a wide range of products, it becomes very essential to take care of their nutritional requirements and their different cultural and religious background. To yield the maximum benefits and nourish students with quality meals, principles of recipe development are required to be fulfilled.

Variety: Children of middle age and tender age are very choosy about their meals. They always seek something new and innovative on their plate. It is very essential to inculcate a slew of dishes and design a menu, each different from the other (Seyfang, 2007).

• In the age group of 4-7, girls are at a very tender age. To make them eat their food and finish their plate is to be prepared with variety of different colorful food which appeals them. It is very essential to fulfill their nutritional requirement hence effort is made to maintain nutritional content above 20%. Fruit juices are served to them along with the mashed fruits in their diets in different meals. In the age group of 8-11 girls are in growing age. For their servings, the plate is prepared by including sufficient fats and protein content with the different forms of dishes and preparations. Shakes and other protein drinks are included to support the perfect growth of students (Seljak, 2009).
• Age 12-18 group age girls are grown-up girls. Their perception of food has been altered. Apart from considering the source of taste and flavor, they consider them as the necessities of life. Further, reaching the age of 16-18 makes them conscious about health and BMI. Keeping that in mind options are created with high nutritional values. They are less resistant to vegetables; hence preparations are made including oats meal, wholegrain and multigrain breads, and many other seasonal and regular vegetables and fruits.
• Staff members: Along with the school girls, Recipe development is done keeping in consideration the nutritional needs and preferences of staff members. For them, the meal is prepared by including food containing high nutritional value. Their preference for taste and flavor is comparatively low and more inclination is towards health. Hence, accordingly, preparations are made.

Cooking methods: For preparing meals, different cooking meals are to be adopted such as at breakfast and meals snacks, instant preparations are made. For these meals, batch cooking is adopted. In this type of cooking, food with higher sustenance of nutritional values is half cooked and at the time of preparation, it gets served. This cooking method is used for the age group of 12-18 (Robinson, 2008).

Cultural issues: While preparing food from different cultural backgrounds, it is very essential to take care of the rituals of different students. Though young girls don't know about this by seeking information from family, preparations are made. In the renowned school, students come from different parts of the world that belong to different cultures. Variations are seen in food preferences such as vegetarian and non-vegetarian, different cuisines, and special preference or resistance for particular vegetables or fruits. This is an important principle during recipe development.

Religion: People belonging to different religious backgrounds have different preferences and choices. That has to be kept in consideration to make the balanced plate. Such as some people are resistant towards the use of certain food items like girls belonging to the Asian regions belonging to the Hindu community not consuming Pork and beef. Similarly, there are some restrictions in other religions as well. Keeping that in consideration, meals are prepared.

Diets: Along with maintaining the variety and different choices of students, the core area of consideration is the nutritional diet of meals (Pollan, 2009). Meals are prepared by taking into the account nutritional requirements of girls from different age groups. For instance, small girls belonging to the age group of 4-7 are at a tender age and require balanced requirement of nutrition to give them high growth and development. The age group of 8-12 girls is growing age and their diet should include high protein. Shakes and a protein-rich diet are essential. In their meals pomegranate juice, banana shakes, and soya milk are included. Preparations made up of fish, chicken, and seafood are part of every meal.

Factors Influencing Menu Planning Decisions

While preparing the menu, many factors affect the decisions. To make it effective and nutritional in all respects, all the components are needed to be considered.

Time availability: In food service operations, punctuality is an important part that needs to be fulfilled (Peak and Ryan, 2014). Quality of services is assessed on different parameters such as preciseness and suitability of food included in meals, serving at the accurate time frame, presentation style, and the balance of nutritional value and taste. To serve the three-course meal along with snacks is a major challenge to service providers hence it is necessary to keep in mind the time frame. Such as in breakfast and snack time instant-made dishes are to be included while in lunch and dinner, there is less restriction for the duration of cooking but still, it is necessary to choose only those preparations that do not consume much time.

Seasonality: Seasonal fruits and vegetables are a rich source of nutrition hence it is imperative to include these ingredients in the diet. Moreover, the easy accessibility makes it less time-consuming and accrues many benefits. It is essential to include seasonal foods in meals due to the high value of nutrition and flavor (Park, Usher, and Foster, 2011).

Staffing: The availability of staff is an important segment of menu planning. Dishes are decided as per the competency with the number of students and staff. Chefs and cooks with intimate knowledge of the use of ingredients and nutritional requirements are needed to be appointed. Further, health is the prime concern, so it is ensured that cooks are well aware of the know-how of kitchen management with proper hygiene and cleanliness. Such as segmentation of staffing that is a nutritional expert who takes care of the nutritional needs of children and staff, a person monitoring existing and required inventory, and in charge of food and vegetables required and other related.

Budget: Making the optimum utilization of financial resources and the sum of money allotted is the prerequisite for menu planning. The management needs to take into consideration the finances and prepare the menu accordingly.

Nutritional needs of students: The menu is always made as per the targeting persons depending upon the choices and preferences, nutritional needs, tastes and flavors, availability, etc. As in the given case, the menu is supposed to be prepared as per the different nutritional requirements of girls belonging to different age groups (Munjal and Sharma, 2012). Girls belonging to the tender age of 4-7 need high nutritional value food hence along with the taste and flavor, their meals are made rich in minerals and other essentials. 12-18 are growing girls, to support their growth and development diets rich in fiber, carbohydrates, and protein are included.

Back-of-the-house management: While making a menu, other factors that affect it are the equipment, storage, inventory, and stock capabilities. An account of the availability of these factors is necessary before detailing the preparations and dishes needed to be prepared for several girls. Considering all these factors minimizes the wastage and makes optimum utilization of resources.

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Different Food Systems

Food for girls belonging to different age groups is presented by using a suitable food system.

Age group 4-7: Girls belong to the age group at a very tender age. They are supposed to be presented with food on the plates. They cannot take it on their own hence, it is required they are served on a presented plate. This method is adopted for a multidimensional reason. It is intended that they finish their meal and eat it with complete interest hence it is always intended to present in a very appealing manner. This is the first impression on kids which makes them eat it. Further, nutritional values are maintained to support them in their growth (McCaffree, 2009).

Age group 7-12: Girls are grown up belonging to this group. Meals are served in the form of counter service. In this part, they are served meals on their plate as per their choice among the different options available at the counter table. All options are made available by making the equivalent in nutritional values, as if they are selective then also their nutritional needs are fulfilled.

Age group 12-18: For the age group of 12 to 18 as well, counter service opts for its high utility. It helps in maintaining the nutritional needs of girls. Along with this they also have the option of serving food in buffet style.

Staff: For staff members of about 100 in the count, a buffet system is used by the food service providers. Buffet service has advantages of its own along with some disadvantages. It is suitable for the staff members as they are mature enough to fulfill their needs and requirements. Further, there are some drawbacks to using this method as at times it can be possible that only a single person has a significant amount of any stuff available at the counter (Moskowitz, Saguy and Straus, 2009).

Factors That Have Affected The Choice

A single method cannot be used for each age group. Girls in each group possess different traits and characteristics. As per the suitability, a system has been used such as prepared and ready-to-eat plates for small girls of age group 4-7 and counter service for girls belonging to the 7-11 age group. Buffet service is available for girls belonging to the age group 12- 18 and staff members.

Menu Development Planning

There are many stages of the structured and planned menu development. To proceed effectively it is very necessary to follow the proper structure and method. Step-by-step execution of menu development results in deriving the lucrative results and desired outcomes.

At the initial level before proceeding to the making of the menu and further planning, a complete analysis of the available resources and needs is to be assessed. For that purpose, SWOT is made.

Strengths: The school possesses a capable and efficient staff for the preparation of food for girls of every age. The school has hired a doctor to keep a check on the nutritional needs and requirements of girls belonging to different age groups. Nutrition specialist guides cooking to use different methods and process to prepare the nutrition-rich and tasteful meals (Martinez, 2010).

Weakness: Proper infrastructure for the preparation of meals is the prerequisite to providing the optimum food services. For this purpose, school management makes sure that they provide the required facility by inculcating all the needed components. Equipment with better technology is required to be installed in the kitchen area. As with the better equipment, variations in the food preparations can be made to make the plates of students delightful.

Opportunities: There is always the scope for improvement. By installing better equipment and taking the guidance of nutrition experts' better preparations can be made to help girls in their growth and development as food plays a vital role in improving the efficiency and skills of a person. Create a wider range of meals.

Threats: In the process, some factors hinder the growth but also at the same time it gives the way for development. School is required to be cautious about the hygiene and nutritional value of food (Mangels, Messina, and Messina, 2011).

Needs and requirements: It refers to the process of seeking the choices and preferences of girls in different meals. This was listed through a survey in which the management made one-to-one conversations with girls and asked about their needs and requirements concerning the menu while at the same time considering their nutritional needs.

Gathering the resources: Before processing the menu development planning, it is necessary that all the resources required for the purpose it gathered before the execution. Resources required for it are the financial resources, infrastructure, supplies, and human resources. Food service operations are financed by the school management. Chefs and other cooking staff are recruited by following the rigorous methods in which the person with perfect knowledge about cooking and nutritional needs is hired (Jaime and Lock, 2009). Both the component health and taste are given equal weightage. So compromised is made is any of the factors. Hence, the staff is recruited accordingly. Infrastructure is available at the school itself.

Factors Affecting Menu Development Planning

Many factors affect menu development planning.

Management: For the execution of any operation it must be executed in a very effective and resourceful manner. For that purpose, the efficient management is the prerequisite. All the components need to be taken care of by giving them equal weightage such as the hygiene of food, nutritional value possessed by food, punctuality in which product is presented, and optimum utilization of finances allotted to them. It includes all the segments such as the cost of production, resources available, and other related (Hippel, 2005).

Needs and requirements of students: The choices and preferences of girls are segmented into different groups. Menu development is done accordingly. Fluctuating needs and varied choices significantly impact the process of menu development. When the choices change frequently, it needs further changes in the menu. Further, the girls come from varied sections of the world they belong to different cultural and religious backgrounds (Gross, Pollock, and Braun, 2010).

Business Analysis: In any business such as in the mentioned scenario, school is taken into consideration. For that purpose, it is necessary to take into account the volume of girls to which meals are offered. Further, the technical implementation and differing value segments are assessed. Changing values impacts the functioning.

From the above factors, needs and requirements and the efficiency of management are the crucial factors that impact the menu development process. As food service operations are not executed efficiently it will directly impact the meals provided to the girls.

Assessing The Requirements of Customers

To refurbish the dining room for 8-11 years a practical menu plan has been prepared. For this, an appropriate project plan needs to be developed before producing a new dining room (Crepinsek and et.al, 2009). In this, an appropriate menu needs to be planned for the different customer groups i.e. the girls who will eat in the new dining room, their parents as well as the school itself.

Before preparing the menu research has been carried out to assess the requirements of customers effectively. For this, there are different ways through which the satisfaction level of customers can be enhanced by providing them with desired services. All three customer group people must be taken into consideration at the time of preparing the menu. To assess their requirements proper assistance will be taken into consideration. For this, a survey technique will be incorporated in which the sample of the survey should be girls, their parents, and the school itself (Clark and Fox, 2009). All of them are taken into consideration to gather their responses about their food choices and about what they will eat in the new dining room. A primary technique questionnaire is taken into consideration to assess the customer groups. With the help of an appropriate survey, the demands of all the customers can be easily assessed. It helps them in providing high-quality services to all their customers. After analyzing the findings and results of the survey it has been found that girls are highly concentrated towards Junk food and they require a wide variety of this type of fast food. Girls are very specific about their food and choice of food products. On the other hand, their parents and school have specified that they need highly nutritious food which keeps their children healthy. They are quite healthy and diet-conscious and do not need junk food. With the help of this survey, the catering manager can fulfill the needs and demands of respective customer groups and form appropriate dining rooms for them.

Development of a New Food Concept

The refurbishment of the dining room for 8 - 11-year-olds will use several options to develop a new food concept for their targeted three customer groups. In this area, girls are quite maturing age and they are just like junk food that is spicy too. As the age group of students, they might belong to different countries and have their own cultures and tastes (Caine Bish and Scheule, 2009). Due to this, they can learn more about the cuisines of different countries.

The different dining rooms for the 8-11 years age group girls should be highly focused on the different requirements of girls. Because of the high reputation of this school many of the girls come from outside the UK. Matching the tastes and preferences of all the girls is quite difficult but dishes related to fast food from different areas can be involved such as Chinese, Indian, south Indian, etc. Different Indian and South Indian dishes can be used within the dining menu. Parents will like this traditional and cultural menu as they will find it very hygienic and healthy. In addition to this, a new food concept they can take into consideration in which they add a description of all the ingredients in their menu. Through this, girls, parents, and the school itself can identify healthy factors associated with different dishes.

Review of Performance And Suggestions For Improvements

The overall work done by me in the previous section including the practical exercise, recipe development, and plans for implementation helps me enhance my knowledge and expertise in the field of food and menu planning (Bernstein, Ottenfeld, and Witte, 2008). I have applied all the concepts after the refurbishment of the dining room. I have gone through the different perception of people as well as their choices about the food. In addition to this, I have gone through thorough research within the field of nutritious ingredients. It has helped me in making the right decision and understanding the business relationship. To improve the overall performance I need to manage all the things appropriately by developing a proper catering system. I found that to acquire quality services I need to make a team of knowledgeable and expert staff (Ahn and Lee, 2012). They provide me the quality outputs for the school itself. A proper management team needs to be developed that will be responsible for giving better responses to their customer and resolving all their queries regarding food. To motivate the whole catering team there should be criteria to judge the performance of individuals. Through this, quality services can be delivered to all groups of customers.

Conclusion

Menu planning becomes an important component of type food service operations. It is the systematic and planned way of detailing the meals ahead of time. With the following structured manner of proceedings, the functions are performed in a very effective manner. With this organization is enabled to fulfill the needs and requirements of the targets along with the maintaining principles of menu planning. Further, proceeding through all the stages, the menu is developed. The present report is prepared to elucidate the operations of a school in which menu planning is to be made in complying with the nutritional values of students. The task was to prepare a menu for the girls belonging to different age groups. Hence, the needs are different concerning nutrition, taste, flavor, and considerations. For instance, girls belonging to 4-7 age groups are small hence it is very necessary to make their plates attractive. Further, for growing girls of upper age menu is prepared by including a protein-rich diet along with the required other components. Apart from this the presentation and Ford service style are also different for each group. For that purpose, styles such as counter-serve, ready plate, and buffet it adopted.

References

• CaineBish, N.L. and Scheule, B., 2009. Gender Differences in Food Preferences of SchoolAged Children and Adolescents.Journal of School Health.
• Din, N., Zahari, M.S.M. and Shariff, S.M., 2012. Customer Perception on Nutritional Information in Restaurant Menu.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.
• Ducak, K. and Keller, H.H., 2011. Menu planning in long-term care: toward resident-centred menus.Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.
• Fuller, G. W., 2011. New Food Product Development: From Concept to Marketplace, Third Edition. CRC Press.
• Garlough, r., 2010. Modern Food Service Purchasing: Business Essentials to Procurement. Cengage Learning.

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