FOOD PRODUCTION METHODS

Food Production Methods

Food Production Methods

Introduction

The food service market grows on average by 5 per cent per year; it is predicted that in 2007 in the USA alone, the 935,000 restaurants and food service outlets will generate US$537 billion in revenue (National Restaurant Association, 2006). With this growth, the scale of food production is continuously increasing. However, productivity (chefs to meal ratio) significantly varies between different types of operations. For example, on a cruise ship about 200 meals are prepared by one chef. In a banquet setting, such as the Fairmont hotel in Montreal, this ratio is higher - 1,200 meals per chef (Urell, 2004); and in an institutional setting with a central production unit (CPU), such as the Anglican Retirement Villages (ARV) food services, it is even higher - about 2,000 meals per chef. Apart from the style of service, quality and price, this broad variation in labour inputs is indicative of the degree of innovation and the use of technology.(Carlin, 2000,153) Technological innovation provides foundation for the both major strategic options for competitiveness - cost leadership and differentiation. Benefits include low costs, convenience, flexibility and safety (Canjura, 1991,1639). Unlike a new marketing concept, a sophisticated technological configuration is difficult to copy or imitate. Many high profile companies with strong brand recognition but weak operations could benefit from an increase in technological/operational capability. Examples include media reports on operational inefficiencies in Trump Plaza and Trump Marina resorts (Atlantic City, USA), which generated US$1.8 billion in debt in 2004.

Discussion

The cook-chill and sous vide methods for food preparation have received increasing attention from food service and manufacturing industries for their capability to provide high quality chilled ready meals having extended shelf life (Church & Parsons 1993). The sous vide process, an improved variant of the cook-chill method, consists of vacuum-packing raw or partially cooked prepared foods in plastic pouches, pasteurizing in hot water and rapid cooling followed by chilled storage (Creed & Reeve 1998). The chill-stored products are normally consumed after reheating in food service systems to provide a time buffer and to ensure the flexibility of meal provision. The sous vide processing method was also reported to give a similar or better sensory quality compared to conventional cooking methods in the food service industry. (Canjura, 1991,1639)

Even though the sous vide method has already been applied to commercial food production in many countries, it has not yet been tested on Korean ethnic food items. During the last 10 years, there have been great changes in Korean lifestyles and concurrent growth in the food service industry (Yang & Lee 1997). These social changes have provoked the need for convenient and high quality dishes which may be satisfied by the sous vide method of food processing. (Carlin, 2000,153)

Seasoned soups are an important side dish in Korean menus and are usually served at every meal together with rice.

Those seasoned with fermented soybean paste are the most widely used. Therefore, sous vide processing of Korean food items may well begin with these food ...