INSTITUTIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL CATERING

INSTITUTIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL CATERING

Institutional and Industrial Catering

This group of establishments includes those government or educa¬tional institutions that have their own food production and service operations, thus serv¬ing employees and students. It is believed that the cafeteria of an organization is very important, as tasty and nutritious food play a huge role in employee motivation. Well-fed employees perform at their best and it inculcates a healthy work atmosphere. Some orga¬nizations (or institutes) operate their cafeterias at low profits or may charge nominal (or subsidized) rates because the aim is not to make money.
Institutional establishments offer food services not necessarily to make profits but be¬cause it is a necessity. In many places, it is a legal binding on the organization to provide meal services.

I.   TYPES
• Profit oriented- commercial canteens, restaurants, café, etc. within the premises catering to all the people (students, staff, visitors, etc.)
• Running on break even- industrial canteens, college canteens catering to staff requirements only.
• Subsidized- serving meals as a part of employee/ student welfare schemes.
Mostly Institutional and industrial catering are non-profit oriented.

II. MENU CONSIDERATIONS
• Cyclic menu for regular meals and limited choice in canteens.
• Nutritional requirements are kept in mind while planning menu.
• Reasonable prices consistent with service offered.
• Menus are relatively simple, which can be prepared by limited kitchen staff in limited time.
• Special menus are prepared for special occasion like on festivals, functions and parties.

III. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED
• Menu fatigue
• Blending nutritional aspect with taste is little difficult. E.g. porridge( is a dish made by boiling ground, crushed, or chopped cereal in water, milk, or both, with optional flavourings, usually served hot in a bowl or dish. It may be sweetened with sugar, or served as a savoury dish) is a healthy food but most of the people do not like it.
• Portion control
• People eat in varied proportions, for example men eat more than women, people doing physical labour eat more than those doing office work.
• Staff serving food finds it difficult to meet the expectations of consumers. E.g.-everyone cannot be given a leg piece of chicken etc.
• Also a large number people are to be fed in a limited time.
• High standards of cleanliness and sanitation.
• Arranging adequate facilities and managing them is a challenge, like space of dining hall, seating arrangements, food and water service, etc. 
• Chef has work within tight budgets and yet has to meet the high expectations of consumers.



Educational Institutions

Educational institutes include schools, colleges, universities, professional education institutions, hostels, etc. These can be broadly categorized into two types: Academic Institutes and Professional Institutes.
Academic Institutions (Schools and Colleges)
- The main consumers here are students. The food is made and supplied by cafeterias at very nominal rates.
- The cafeteria could have its own fully equipped kitchen, and thus prepare food or it may even outsource food. The size of kitchen and the kinds of equipment would depend on the number of meals the institution serves on a daily basis.
- The main focus is on health, hygiene, and nutrition. Since children need right kind of nutrients, seasonal vegetables are included in the meals.
- Some schools monitor closely when serving students in dining halls as the focus is also on developing good eating habits and etiquettes among children
- Considerations should be given to the physical, sociological and sociological atmosphere including both functional and aesthetic value of the Dining Hall. The location should provide plenty of light air and the place free from disagreeable odours, noxious fumes, noise, etc.
Professional Institutes
- The main consumers here are adults, and hence it is important to offer some variety to them.
- Kitchens of these institutes are referred to as 'mess', which may be run by a committee called mess committee, or it could also be run with professional help from an outside agency.
- Cyclic menus help to solve the issues of monotonous food.
- The kitchen set-up can be basic to modem depending on the type and volume of meals that the institution cooks on a daily basis.

Industrial Catering

Industrial catering refers more to shops and factories where food is made to primarily serve the needs of the employees. This is one of the most sensitive catering, as it is believed that the biggest of the union quarrels arise due to poor catering facilities provided by a company. It is important to keep employees happy by providing them tasty, nutritious, and a variety of food.
- The food is served in dining halls, often referred to as cafeterias or employee dining halls.
- In many companies, members of the senior management eat in the same dining halls along with other employees. However, in some companies, the members of senior management have food in a separate area sometimes referred to as EDR or executive dining room.
- The number of meals served may range anywhere from 30 to 2,000 or more, and this depends on the size of the organization, that is, the number of employees.
- Industrial catering is a crucial and a sensitive one too because it caters to a large group of people with multicultural and different religious beliefs.
- The food is nutritionally balanced for the type of work. Example, industrial workers performing heavy physical work need a high calorie diet.
- In India, we also have specialized celebrations done on major festivals in cafeterias, and the food cooked on such occasions reflects the specialities from that festive season.
- The cafeterias have tea/ coffee facilities, with some also having snack and beverage vending machines.


Army Mess

Catering for armed forces is also sometimes referred to as welfare catering. This service is provided to armed forces as a subsidy from the government, and soldiers posted at various locations are fed under this scheme.
- Such an operation could be a large or a small one, depending on the number of soldiers. The services could either be contracted or run by the soldiers on a rotational basis, where a person designated as mess in-charge takes care of the food and service.
- The army mess provides simple and nutritious food, and on some occasions, such as army day or any festivals, there is a lavish buffet or feast. In Indian army, bara khaana or the big feast day is celebrated with buffet for soldiers and their families.
- Some formal dining events are held for officers and their families and these too are catered by the army mess.

Hospital Catering

Hospital catering developed when it was realized that hospitalized patients need food with specific dietary requirements in order to get well soon. This too is grouped under welfare catering. With the concept of medical tourism setting in, people are travelling to those countries where certain medical treatments are cheaper compared to their own countries.
Catering in hospitals is a very specialized function, as the definition of food here is very different from that in commercial catering establishments.
- The primary responsibility of hospitality catering is towards people who are admitted to hospitals for health reasons.
- The focus is mainly on nutrition and this is very different from other institutional catering. Nutrition in hospital food translates down to minute details of amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and other necessary vitamins and minerals required by patients. The requirement of various nutritional com-ponents differs from patient to patient, and hence the food prepared for each patient is unique and measured in terms of portion size.
- In most big hospitals, qualified dieticians are appointed to determine the nutritional requirements of patients.
- Menus that are designed to provide definite quantities of various nutrients as recommended by dietician are known as Diet Menus.
- It also serves to employees working in the hospitals and visitors of the patients.
- Food service for visitors may also serve as revenue generating points.
- Catering managers ensure cyclic menus for doctors and nurses who would be eating while on duty.
- Very strict processes with focus on health hygiene and safety.
- Maintenance of hygiene in most Indian hospitals is guided by the principle of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP). This ensures zero defects right from the purchase, to cooking, to holding, and finally serving to the patients.
- The workflow in a hospital kitchen has to be very well planned. There should be a careful route chalked out for the operation so that there is no cross-contamination of the food.
- The idea is to provide the basic amenities at subsidized rates or sometimes at own cost.
- The introduction of tray service systems has been the most radical development in the field of hospital catering. The Ganymede System is based on plates with heated metal pellets that release heat into the plate over the period of delivery. Helitherm System uses special insulated trays for transporting to wards in trolleys.