Problems

Joan Thomkins

A visual aide will be developed in this problem to organize the variety of types of foodservice operations which are offered. You will be asked to consider the range of foodservice options both the consumer has and the foodservice professional may choose.

Here are some groups of interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:
 

Contract Management Companies	College and University Dining Services	Healthcare Foodservice
Independent Restaurants	Restaurant Chains	Quick Service Restaurants
Retirement Communities	School Foodservice	Military foodservice
Groceries providing MRS		Really funny WEB sites

Contract Management Companies

• ARAMARK
• Delaware North Companies
• Service Master
• Sodexho
• Wood Company (now owned by Sodexho)

• National Association of College and University Foodservice (NACUFS)
• University of Conneticut
• University of Delaware
• University of Massachusetts
• University of New Hampshire
• University of Virginia

 ASHFA

• Bacco
• Border Grill
• Charlie Trotters
• Commander's Palace
• Le Bec Fin
• Mimi's Cafe
• Tavern on the Green

Army Center of Excellence

• Bubba Gump Shrimp Company Restaurant & Market
• Chi-Chi's
• Cracker Barrel
• Harley Davidson Cafe
• Houhilan's
• Morton's Restaurant Group
• Olive Garden
• Piccadilly/Morrison Cafeterias
• Pizza Hut
• Red Lobster
• T.G.I.Fridays

• Burger King
• ChuckECheese
• Domino's Pizza
• Food Finder - An interactive source which searches for QSR which meet inputed nutritional parameters.
• KFC
• McDonalds
• Sonic Drive In
• Subway
• Taco Bell
• Wendy's
• White Castle

• Meridian Retirement Communities
• Stillwaters

• American School Food Service Association
• Santa Clarita Valley School Foodservice

Groceries Providing Meal Replacement Solutions

• Ukrop's Super Markets
• Genuardi's Family Markets
• Wegman's Food Markets

The Toxic Hamburger

In this problem you will review and recognize the sources and properties of microorganisms capable of causing foodborne illness (FBI). You should understand the factors which contribute to the growth of microorganisms and the symptoms of FBI.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful: (Thanks to Dr. Pat Luoto and Charlotte Frey of Framingham State University for collecting the information on a number of these sites indicated with an asterisk *.)

Spiders are not bad bugs. But look at the bad bug book to see some that are!

The Bad Bug Book - A listing of characteristics of many agents which cause foodborne illness.

Common Foodborne Pathogens - A listing of selected characteristics of microorganisms causing FBI.

Background - A discussion about the emergence and implications of increasing cases of infectious diseases around the world.

National Food Safety Database - A searchable data base of information related to food safety. Includes a Hot topics section.

USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) -* Provides educators with food and nutrition publications and databases. In addition there is information on foodborne illness education and food and nutrition. A "search" of the Food and Nutrition Information Center Web site is available.

USDA Index of Food and Nutrition Internet Resources -* Detailed listing of links to food and nutrition, food safety, and health information. Search of the index of Food and Nutrition Internet Resource site is also available.

In this problem you will explore methods to control and reduce the likelihood of causing foodborne illness. You will study Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - * Provides information about the CDC, Health information, Travelers' health, Publications & products, Data & Statistics and much more. A "search" of the CDC Web site is also available.

Cooper Instrument Corporation - provides a full line of thermometers and timers as a means of controlling the variables of time and temperature in the foodservice industry.

Food Safety and Inspection Service - Resource for information about HACCP.

FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition - An excellent discussion of HACCP

Iowa State University Extension - * Provides information on food safety and quality. Also provides educational materials that give people the tools they need to minimize their risk of foodborne illness.

Jack in the Box - Provides information about the Jack In the Box company including their efforts in food safety.

National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation - A source of information on ServSafe ^TM and FightBac ^TM.

USDA Food and Consumer Service -* Provides information about the FCS and links to several food and consumer programs and information. Programs and information include: Welfare reform, Food Stamps, Food distribution, Child Nutrition, WIC, Gleaning and food recovery, Team Nutrition, and much more.

USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center -* Provides educators with a foodborne illness educational materials data base. In addition, this site provides links to discussion groups and other food safety sites.

In this problem you will investigate the effect of a crisis on an organization. You can look at the company and its relationship with its customers, shareholders, franchise holders, the legal environment, public relations, or other appropriate entities external to the company. You should begin to understand that an organization must interact with the stakeholders outside of the organization over which it has no control.

Fast Quote - This is a place to find stock market quotations. Ask for the monthly chart to see how the organization has fared over the last several months. Ask for News and Company Snapshot to get more information about Jack in the Box. Stock market symbol is JBX.

Yahoo Finance - This will give stock market quotations and the most current citations about the company in the literature. Enter jbx into symbol window for current information about Jack in the Box.

Fight Bac - a partnership for food safety information

In this problem there is an unfortunate outbreak of FBI. Your task is to figure out how this happened. You should determine what went wrong in the foodservice organization and what Joe should do in the future to prevent similar situations.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

The Bad Bug Book - A listing of characteristics of many agents which cause foodborne illness.

Common Foodborne Pathogens - A listing of selected characteristics of microorganisms causing FBI.

In this problem you will explore the School Lunch Program (SLP) and understand why it was created and its value today. You will also develop menus for SLP. You should consider all of the variables which are important in designing menus including who the customer is, the mission and goals of the organization, budgetary considerations, production and service capabilities, and the availability of food.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

American School Food Service Association: Provides information about breakfast and lunch programs, menus, nutrition tips, and much more.

USDA Healthy School Meals Resource System: *This site provides training materials, data bases, and information on school meals. It includes: Menu planning for schools, Healthy School Meals Training Manual, Mealtalk Forum, USDA's School Meals Initiatives, Food Industry Partners, Community Nutrition Action Program and much more.

National School Food Service Management Institute:*Provides information, resources, and training materials on child nutrition programs and services.

Recipes and Menus for School Lunch Programs

Santa Clarita Valley School Foodservice - A school lunch program in California

In this problem you will study the variety of methods available to procure the needed food and supplies to produce the menu. You will develop specifications to be used by the purchaser to communicate requirements.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

Sysco - A full line distributor with operations throughout North America

Foodservice listings - A listing with links to a variety of distributors offering food products to large and small foodservice operations

Food buy - A site through which foodservice operations may buy products on line. Also includes a section on food trends, non-commercial foodservice, and commodity pricing.

These are a few representative samples of firms you may find in the previous site.

Ore-Ida Food, Inc - A manufacturing firm offering frozen potato products.

You will learn about the use of standardized recipes in this problem and study the effect of variations in the recipe on food cost and nutritional quality. Food production will be explored as well with an emphasis on food standards.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

Welcome to Epicurious: A site which includes recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit along with information about food and travel using Conde Nast.

Global gourmet: An electronic resource which contains good information about food, family, cooking together and other neat stuff.

Nation's Restaurant News: An industry weekly which provides much information about restaurants and non-commercial foodservice operations.

Restaurants and Institutions: An industry biweekly which provides information about restaurants and non-commercial foodservice operations.

In this problem you are asked to plan the type of foodservice to be used. You will need to consider the cost and availability of labor along with the technology which is available.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

Groen - specialists in steam jacketed kettles, combination oven-steamers, braising pans, and water bath cook-chill technology.

Servolift - a company which produces tray make-up conveyors, cook/chill technology featuring bast chillers and shock freezers, and tray-delivery systems.

What is the value of a school breakfast program (SBP)? This is the question to explore in this problem. If it has value, how could it be implemented considering a number of constraints? Would this project make or lose money for the foodservice operation?

Ray Kroc

In this problem you will explore a typical menu in a school lunch program. You will use the menu to decide on specific pieces of equipment to be purchased for a renovated kitchen. In order to decide on the correct size of the equipment you will explore forecasting to help determine the demand for the various menu items to be produced. You will develop a production sheet to be used for the future operation.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

Professor Carolyn Manning's equipment site - an introduction to foodservice equipment found in quantity foodservice operations.

Equipment manufacturers

Alto-Shaam - a company specializing in combi-ovens, low temperature ovens, smoker ovens, hot/cold dietary tray carts, quick chillers, and food display equipment.

Bunn - a company which produces beverage equipment

Cambro Manufacturing Co. - maker of trays, table service, storage, merchandising equipment, catering equipment, warewashing and storage systems.

Cleveland Range - convection and pressure steamers, steam jacketed kettles, tiling skillets/braising pans, combination steam and convection ovens, rotisseries, blast chillers and cook-chill systems, boiler-free high speed convection steamers

Cooktek Online - a company specializing in induction cooking.

Follett Corporation - manufacturer of ice and water dispensers, ice and beverage dispensers, and ice storage and transport equipment.

Frymaster - a company specializing in frying equipment

Hobart Corporation - a supplier of foodservice equipment. Food machines, cooking equipment, refrigeration equipment, dishwashing/warewashing equipment, and waste disposal equipment.

Hoshizaki America, Inc - Manufacturer of commericial ice machines and refrigeration systems.

Lang Manufacturing Company - maker of gas and electric cooking products

The Middleby Corporation - a company specializing in ovens, toasters, and ranges.

Market Forge Industries - offers steamers (convection and pressure), convection ovens, skillets, combination steamers, steam tech plus, and counter top pressure or convection steamers.

Manitowoc Foodservice Group - maker of ice machines, walkin coolers and freezers, refrigeration equipment, dispensers.

Robot Coupe USA, Inc. - manufacturers a complete line of food preparation equipment that includes food processors, vertical cutter mixers, can openers, extractors, and potato presses.

Server Products Inc. - maker of concession equipment, hot topping equipment, syrup rails and serving bars, condiment dispensers and organizers, food warmers and soup kettles, butter servers and popcorn warmers, coffee accessories.

The Stero Company - offers a complete line of warewashing systems including dishroom cleanup (tray handling systems, work tables, pulpers, warewashers and conveyor systems)

Vollrath - Steam table pans, fry pans, cookware, dishers, spoodles and tongs, kitchen utensils, buffet and table top service, dishracks, glassracks, stainless steel and plastic carts, warmers, merchandisers, induction ranges and mobile equipment.

You will be considering how to get the food to the customer after it has been produced in this problem. A hospital foodservice operation is to be renovated and decisions need to be made about how to serve all of the various customers. These include patients, staff, visitors, and people attending special events. Quality of the delivered product is a primary consideration because the food may have to travel some distance to be delivered to the customer.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

Getting food to patients - this site was created by the instructor to provide an overview of information about the options available in a patient food delivery system.

Aladdin Temp-Rite - a company which specializes in tray delivery systems.

Caddy Corporation - a company which specializes in tray makeup systems, and hot/cold support equipment. Caddy also designs and builds delivery systems, dishroom warehandling systems, and kitchen ventilators.

Cambro Company - a company which produces catering and tray delivery products.

Crimsco - a company specializing in meal distribution systems, tray delivery systems, pellet systems, cook-chill retherm systems, tray makeup conveyors, and ancillary trayline equipment especially for health care.

Dinex - a company which produces insulated products and foodservice delivery equipment for the health care industry.

Oneida Foodservice - a company which manufactures and distribues a complete range of china dinnerware, stainless steel and silver plate flatware, chafers, and urns.

Servolift - a company which produces tray make-up conveyors, cook/chill technology featuring bast chillers and shock freezers, and tray-delivery systems.

How to control food costs is the issue to be considered in this problem. You will learn to read and use a income and expense statement to identify financial difficulties within a business and industry (B&I) account. You will use inventory reconciliation to highlight the losses. Developing a plan to reverse the losses is the goal of this problem.

Ellen Jacobs

In this problem students will consider the safety standards which need to be enforced in a foodservice operation.  In addition, the impact of not addressing these standards will be validated.

Here are some interesting Internet sites which you may find useful:

Occupational Health and Safety Administration

Henry Carnish

Conducting a value analysis for the purpose of determining whether to make or buy a product is developed in this problem.  Is a new piece of equipment useful to the organization is also considered.

Janice Henley

Customer satisfaction may be affected by the portion size which is served.  In this problem customers perceived that they are not getting their money's worth.

Roast Beef Run-out

Poor production control can negatively impact many aspects of the delivery and service of food.  What happens to a patient tray line when there isn't enough food to serve all of the patients?

Sandy Drake

Does a clinical dietetian have any responsibility for the service of good food in a health care facility?  Sandy is confronted with a bad situation.

Spring Hills Senior Center

Special events need good planning to assure that everyone is served a great meal, on time, and at the proper temperature.  This problem looks at both production and service planning.

Updated December 2003.
Send comments to lieux@udel.edu
Copyright by Elizabeth M.Lieux, University of Delaware, 1997.