INFLUENCES ON THE MENU

INFLUENCES ON THE MENU

According to Lillicrap and cousins (2010:97) fashion and food trends are still influencing the menu’s content. Consumers demand is affected by the understanding of:

·         Health and eating
·         Vegetarianism
·         Cultural and religious influences
Such influences have created an emphasis on offering alternatives and also they affected cooking ingredients and methods, with light cuisine and alternatives for non-meat eaters developing again by Lillicrap and cousins (2010:97).

Health and eating
More customers are looking for options which will make them achieve a balanced diet. Hence why consumers are asking specific information on cooking methods used (Lillicrap & cousins, 2010:97). Jones (2002:145) states although customers want healthy foods, they do not always know what is healthy or not, but their concern is more about food safety.

vegetarianism

More influences is reflected by the food and beverage industry in its provision of vegetarian option, as stated by Jones (2002:145). Vegetarianism may come from cultural, religious, ethical considerations (Lillicrap & cousins, 2010:98) so it is important that food are correct.

Vegetarians: semi	Do not eat red meats, other than poultry, all meats diet will include fish and may include dairy produce and other animal products
Vegetarians: lacto-ovo	Do not eat meat, fish, poultry but may eat milk products and eggs
Vegetarians: lacto	Do not eat meat, fish, poultry and eggs but may eat milk products
vegans	Do not eat foods of animal origin. Diet consists of vegetables, vegetables oils, cereals, fruits and seeds
Fruitarians	Excluded are all foods of animal origin together with cereals. Diet may include raw and dried fruit, nuts and olive oil.
	(Lillicrap & cousins, 2010:99)

 Cultural and religious influences

Many believes have different necessities with regards to dishes that may be eaten and these requirements sometimes involve preparation methods and the way food is cooked (Lillicrap & cousins, 2010:98) for example Hindus do not eat beef and rarely pork, Jews only clean animal may be consumed and Sikhs keep to vegetarian diet.

Reference

Jones, P. (2002) Introduction to hospitality operations. 2nd edition. South-western Cengage learning.
Lillicrap, D & Cousins, J. (2010) Food and Beverage service. 8th edition. United Kingdom.

IMPLICATIONS OF SERVICE IN THE FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY

 

Service is the main factor in the food and beverage industry, as it’s the platform for the industry. Due to people going out looking for service; if not they would just easily stay home. Clients are more than happy to pay a little more for the service they are getting as well as for the meal price

But when times are hard, customers get money conscious about spending. Dinning out is seen by some customers as indulgence than a must. Hence in tight economic periods people want quality for their money. In order to satisfy money conscious customers, food service providers should try to exceed their customers’ service expectations.

Although that is an issue, restaurants cannot do anything to change the way customers perceive the restaurant, no matter how good the food is. If they do not like or view your service is of quality, they will not come back. But if they enjoy the restaurant’s service they will return no matter the price.

Food and beverage operators are finding it difficult to provide or improve their service as customers judge the service they are provided with, giving the operators no chance to correct it. As customers do not complain rather they leave and do not return.

Many people are in employed in different areas in the food and beverage industry, both in the service area which at the restaurant (waiters) and in the food preparation area (kitchen). An issue that some staff members do is they do not see their job as a job that needs to please customers or need to care about customer care, which is maybe due to lack of training. Instead they find customers irritating rather than seeing them as profit providers for the restaurant which pays their salaries. For example if a customer arrives few minutes before the shift ends for the waiter, will enable the guest to receive a hurried service. Resulting in unhappy customer who might not return to the restaurant, this only solidifies fact that service varies as time goes. (Rande 1996, P. 28-29)   

 REFERENCE

•    Rande, W. L. (1996) Introduction to Professional Foodservice. New York. John Wiley & Sons, INCmemorymokuroverwa.blogspot.com

Hospitable city

Vienna

According to airbnb website Vienna is the firth most hospitable city in Europe. Vienna also known as the imperial city is the capital and largest city of Austria, and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna offers all kinds of good reasons for you to pull out your camera.  Sightseeing in Vienna means that you’ll make the best vacation photos, but believe it should be the most hospitable city because of its splendid old buildings, imperial stories, sentimental carriages and cozy coffee houses, Vienna oozes romance all year around.

 

Vienna’s beauty

 The numerous palaces and buildings must also be part of any Vienna sightseeing: Schloss Schönbrunn Gardens, the Hofburg, the Vienna State Opera House, the Rathaus and many more.

Schloss Schönbrunn Gardens

 

The beautifully tended gardens of the palace are a symphony of colour in summer and a combination of greys and browns in winter, all seasons are appealing in their own right. The grounds, which were opened to the public by Joseph II in 1779, hide a number of attractions in the tree-lined avenues.

The splendid belvedere palace  today houses the Österreichische Galerie (Austrian Gallery) displaying the largest collection of works by Klimt and Kokoschka, as well as famous paintings by Schiele.

Vienna has more museums and galleries of international reputation for example, the museum of fine arts with the world’s largest collection of Bruegel paintings, the Museum of Modern Art, Architekturzentrum (Architectural centre) all ranking among the city's most important cultural venues.

Vienna credits its international fame to many celebrated composer who lived and worked here including Straub, Mozart, Beethoven. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s best, the Staatsoper one of the world’s leading opera houses.

In Vienna, the old coffee house culture  and wine taverns stand alongside top restaurants and shops, time-honored events alternate with internationally-acclaimed extravaganzas (life ball) to create a unique and very special ambiance. Another special feature of Vienna are its many greenspace and recreational areas such as the Wienerwald, the Prater and the Danube Island. 

Vienna State Opera House

 

References

• Wagle(2013) Europe's most hospitable cities. [online] Available at: http:/www.airbnb.com. (Accessed 17 February 2014)
• lonelyplanet(2014) sights in Vienna[online] available at: http:/www.lonelyplanet.com/austia/vienna. (accessed 17 February 2014)
• Austria arrive and revive(2014) Vienna Austria. [online] Available at: http://www.ausria.info/uk/about-austria/vienna-1137987.html
•  Nora & Ted(2012) the sound of music. [ online] Available at: http://frameup.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/the-sound-of-music
• memory mukoroverwamemory mukoroverwa