Restaurant Field Research: A Comprehensive Analysis of Dine Time's Food Production Systems

This report delves into the intricacies of restaurant food production systems, focusing on the newly established Dine Time restaurant at Docklands Academy of London. It explores three distinct systems: conventional, convenience, and centralized, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses in the context of Dine Time's 100-cover capacity. The report further outlines a comprehensive plan for managing resources, including monitoring cash flow, cost-cutting strategies, resource allocation, and inventory management. It also examines the importance of implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for various aspects of restaurant operations, from greeting and seating to billing and feedback. The report concludes by discussing the critical role of food production monitoring, highlighting the use of technology and systems like HACCP and CCP to ensure food safety, hygiene, and overall quality.

Restaurant Field Research
1

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1: Researching Different Restaurant Systems.........................................................................4
Task 2: A Plan for Managing Resources.........................................................................................7
Task 3: Monitoring Food Productions...........................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference List................................................................................................................................13
2

Introduction
Restaurant businesses needs to manage their food production systems so that they can provide
better dishes and services to the diners. This helps the restaurant to provide better quality
services to the diners and make them more satisfied. This creates an impact on the profitability of
the restaurant, as satisfied customers are more likely to return to the restaurant, providing
continued sales and revenues for the business.
In this report, the management of the new restaurant business Dine Time will be explained in
detail. The production systems of the restaurant Dine Time is a new restaurant that will be
established by Docklands Academy of London on their academy premises. The restaurant has
100 covers for the diners on the first floor of the establishment. Three different food systems will
be chosen for explanation, along with a plan for the management of resources. Production
methods will be analysed and notes will be written on monitoring food production in the
restaurant.
3

Task 1: Researching Different Restaurant Systems
Part 1
There are wide ranges of restaurant systems that can be used by Dine Time to manage their food
production quality and provide customer satisfaction. These systems are:
Conventional System: As the name suggests, the conventional food production system is the
most commonly used method for the preparation and production of food products in restaurants.
In this system, the restaurants makes purchases of ingredients like fresh vegetables and meat
products, and then use them to prepare the product when the diner places an order. It is important
for the cooks to make sure that the ingredients are cleaned, peeled, and processed before it is
used in the cooking process. The food that is prepared for the customers are freshly made. The
processing activities are done early on during daytime, while the cooking and serving of the
dishes is done during nigh time when the customers start coming in (Marsden, 2018). The
restaurant Hazev follows this system of production, as they serve an assortment of various tea
and coffee.
Convenience System: Convenience systems are mostly used when the dish served are mainly
fast food products. The dishes that are prepared by the restaurant make use of frozen food
products for the preparation of the meal. These products are prepared ahead of time and are kept
ready for cooking when a diner places an order. This is most commonly used in the making of
burgers, where the meat and brad loafs are prepared early on during the day and is kept frozen
for cooking on demand. This helps the restaurant to save time on the entire cooking process and
deliver food products on demand to the customers.
Centralized System: In this system of production, all the food products are prepared on one
singular and centralized place. After the food is cooked and prepared there, the products are then
transported to the restaurant, where they are heated using a microwave and served hot to the
customers. This system is implemented in restaurants where the food is cooked off sit as the on -
site cooking systems have many limitations in them, or does not have a pre installed and
functional kitchen (George et al., 2019).
4

Dine Time can use a conventional system provides more satisfaction to the consumers as it
provides freshly made food products. The system is designed in a way that allows for effective
control over the quality of the dishes served. The centralized system is more relevant when the
spacing in the restaurant is an issue. Making the kitchen outside the restaurant premises will
provide more covers, but will incur more costs due to packaging and transportation. Convenience
system is useful in fast food restaurants where the customers are required to be served much
quicker.
Part 2
The principles of food production are applied to all the stored raw and processed food products
that will be used in the cooking of dishes. The principles that will be described provide an insight
into the various ethical and justified actions that will be taken by the restaurant when serving
their diners. Similar principles are followed by the restaurant Hazev.
Excellent food preparation: Hazev follows the principle of providing their food products to the
consumers with the highest level of perfection attainable. This is aimed at ensuring that the
diners are satisfied with the taste of the dishes. This will improve the level of customer
satisfaction, ensuring that the company has a good brand name in the industry. The ingredients
that are used in making the food dishes are of the finest quality and fresh. The food that is
prepared and the ingredients used are stored in clean storages, so that it does not get dirty and
stays hygienic. The Standard Operating Procedure of the restaurant in adhering to the preparation
protocol is important for moving consistency in the quality of the dishes served.
Pleasant atmosphere: The atmosphere of the restaurant is important to be considered by the
restaurant, as it will provide to be valuable in pleasing the customers. Hazev is situated away
from the busy industrial areas so that noise is reduced. The atmosphere of the cafe inside is calm
and tranquil, so that the customer can be relaxed while enjoying their meal (Hazev Restaurant,
2019). The theme of the place and the type of food served facilitates the process for creating a
more suitable and relaxed atmosphere.
Quality service: The service providing aspects of the restaurant are also required to be
maintained while providing high quality food products. The quality of the services provides can
be improved by carefully recruiting and training the staff members so that they become more
5

efficient in the service they provide to the diners. Errors can be reduced through this approach
and higher level of customer satisfaction is provided (Namin, 2017).
All these principles delve into distinct aspects of the production system in a restaurant. Dine
Time can implement these principles in their system to ensure that higher quality products and
services are offered to the customers. This will let them provide higher levels of customer
satisfaction, which will increase the sales and incomes to be generated by the firm.
6

Task 2: A Plan for Managing Resources
An efficient plan for managing resources will be required by Dine Time to efficiently utilize
them. This will allow the restaurant to lower its operating costs, and allow for more resources to
be located to all the necessary functions of the firm. This can be achieved by implementing many
methods to manage the resources of the firm.
Monitoring Cash Flow: The cash flow of the restaurant can be monitored by implementing
many procedures and limits for the transactions to take place. The objective for the spending for
the resources must be justified by assessing the potential gains that can be received by the
restaurant. This will justify the value to be gained from the expenses incurred (Gim et al., 2019).
Cutting costs: The operating costs of the restaurant can be reduced by finding cheaper
alternatives to the procurement of supplies by the firm. The organisations can do so by reducing
the expenditure that is incurred in maintaining the supply chain, so that the profit margin that can
be applicable on the products and services provided can be increased. Cheaper alternatives to the
suppliers’ base can be made so that the same quality of ingredients can be bought at cheaper
prices. Good relations with the supplier base are important in this context.
Allocation of Resources: The resources that are available to the restaurant must be efficiently
allocated so that no wastage is incurred. This allows for proper availability of resources for each
operations of the restaurant (Zhang et al., 2018). The number of cooks and waiters required
should be allocated as per the number of covers in the restaurant, which is 100 in this case.
Inventory Management: The inventory of all the ingredients required in cooking is required to
be stored and catalogues in the most simplistic yet well-structured manner possible. This will
allow for easier calculation of the resources required by the company, and will facilitate the
accuracy of the supplies required.
Several Standard Operating Procedures can be implemented by the restaurant to be more
effective in managing their resources and workflow processes. Some of these SOP’s are:
Greeting and Seating: The staff members of the restaurant are required to greet the diners and
provide them the most comfortable seating arrangements, as per their preferences. This is the
7

first priority of the staff members. This is important to be done with finesse as it will create a
long lasting first impression on the customers.
Menu Presentation and Order Placement: The menu for the dishes available to the diners must
be presented in a catalogue, along with complimentary water and beverages. The orders for the
diners must then be taken and informed to the cooks.
Delivery of Product and Service: The food must be provided freshly made and served warm to
the diners. The service providing aspects in this context include proper waiting services, and
catering to all the needs of the diners.
Billing and Feedback: The bills of the diners must be made without any bias, along with being
accurate. No hidden charges should be charged from the consumers, without their prior
knowledge. The details of the bill should also be provided instantly to the diners upon request. A
review of the food and services provided in this step can be effective for measuring the
performance of their operatives and employees. In this stage, the KPI of taking feedbacks from
the customers can be carried out. This will allow the restaurant to identify areas for improvement
in their production and service aspect.
There are many other KPI’s that can be implemented, which are as follows:
Front of House and Staff Management KPI: The performance of the front of house staff like
the receptionists can be assessed by implementing the KPI of Total Labour Cost, which is
measured against the sales and revenue of the restaurant (Ghazali et al., 2016). The expenditure
on the staff members can be lowered by removing low performing staff from employment.
Lower Total Labour Costs will be more profitable for the restaurant. Diner Feedbacks can also
be measured to test the effectiveness of the employees of the restaurant, like their cooks and
waiters.
Kitchen Management KPI: The measurement of the Production Time per Dish is important for
the firm to calculate, as it will allow them to identify the cooking procedures that require
improvement. Production times can be lowered by effective utilisation of resources and work
allocation among the staff members and the cooks, so that the dishes can be prepared quickly on
demand (De Oliveira et al., 2016). Wastage per Purchase should be measured to analyse the
8

wastage of ingredients on cooking the dishes of the diners. This should be lowered to increase
the cost efficiency of the activities of the restaurant.
The use of KPI’s by Dine Time should be put in effect in order to identify the variances that can
be achieved regarding their operations and customers can be satisfied. The quality of the
products and services provided by the restaurant can be maintained so that the customers do not
find any sort of downsides in it.
9

Task 3: Monitoring Food Productions
Food production is restaurants are monitored using various applications and technology. There
exist many systems in Hazev and other restaurants of the similar scale. These systems allow the
businesses to monitor each production aspect of the restaurant, which includes but is not limited
to food safety management and waste disposal. The system of food safety monitoring includes:
 What: This describes which aspect of the production will be monitored. This can range
from many production activities, like the disposal of restaurant waste, hygienic safety of
the food products, and management of cooks. When: The time aspect of the production is required to be monitored by the restaurant, as
it will allow it to identify the various aspects of the process that can be improved. It is
required by Dine Time to monitor their production process when the food is being
cooked, and when the inventory of the ingredients are being quantified. The amount of
ingredients available at the closing time of the restaurant will help the firm assess the
supply requirements for the next day. Constant monitoring is also required to assess the
usage of the ingredients as per the sales of a particular dish (Ebadi and Ahmadi-Javid,
2018). How: The monitoring process of the restaurant is done using many new software that
have been developed to be used through computers and the internet. Many systems like
the HACCP and CCP (Haccpmentor.com, 2019). These allow the restaurant to monitor
the safety index of their food products, so that hygienic and fresh food can be provided to
the customers. Where: Proper monitoring of the production process is required to be done on site.
However, the evolution of technology and IT engineering and software has allowed off
site monitoring processes to be used by restaurants. Hazev has implemented, many
systems that allow the specialists and the managers of the restaurants to monitor the flow
of produce even off site using computers and the internet. Who: This refers to he all the people of groups that are involved with the production
process. The cooks, chefs, and the many waiters and other staff members are all required
to be monitored with effective systems. These employees of the restaurant can be
10

monitored by the implementation of KPI’s and CCTV camera. The activities of the staff
can be monitored using the CCTV cameras, so that wrong actions are not being
committed. Their performance can be monitored by analysing the customer feedbacks,
and finding issues in it (Priuttc, 2017). The individual or group responsible for the issues
will then be monitored so that their performances can be improved. KPI’s can also be
used to measure the performance of the employees, so that low performing staff members
can be provided effective training. Record: The measurements of the performance of the employees and other relent
statistical data should be recorded by the firm. This will prove to be helpful to the
restaurant so that their current performance levels can be compared with previous
records. Doing so allows the firm to assess the effectiveness of their current production
plans and make changes in it if required. The variables of the production process can also
be assessed.
The various software that can be used to monitor the production process of the firm is mostly IT
based software. Software like CCP (Critical Control Points) and HCCP (Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Point) are used by most restaurants currently. CCP and HCCP allow the firm to
know about the various procedures in the production process that will allow the restaurant to
identify the ways that method can be improved. The improvements in the production process are
to be categorised in a way that allow for effective mitigation of health and safety risks, along
with improving the quality of the process (Tian, 2017). However, a difference between the two
can be found when comparing them. HACCP focus more on the hazardous elements that are
present in the production process while CCP concentrates in the cost effectiveness and the risk
mitigation aspects of the system.
11

Conclusion
Many systems are required to be implemented by restaurants can improve its food production
process. Various systems like the conventional system can be implemented by Dine Time to
produce high quality and freshly made food to the diners. This will allow the business to satisfy
the customers more and retain them for growth in sales and revenues earned. Various production
principles are required to be followed by the restaurant so that the ethical practices of the firm
are applied in their production process to provide safe and high quality products and services to
the customers. The firm can assess the effectiveness and performance of its systems by
implementing many monitoring techniques. These include HCCP and CCP, which allows te
restaurant to monitor and eliminate any hazardous elements in their production and risks
associated with it.
12

Reference List
De Oliveira, C.A.F., Da Cruz, A.G., Tavolaro, P. and Corassin, C.H., 2016. Food Safety: Good
Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP), Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). In Antimicrobial food packaging (pp. 129-139).
Academic Press.
Ebadi, M. and Ahmadi-Javid, A., 2018. Socio-economic design of control charts for monitoring
service processes: a case study of a restaurant system. Quality Technology & Quantitative
Management, pp.1-10.
George, R.V., Harsh, H.O., Ray, P. and Babu, A.K., 2019. Food quality traceability prototype for
restaurants using blockchain and food quality data index. Journal of Cleaner Production, 240,
p.118021.
Ghazali, N., Mustapha, R.R., Ibrahim, M.Z.F., Salim, A. and Saber, J.M., 2016. Proactiveness
approach towards independent restaurant performance. Innovation and Best Practices in
Hospitality and Tourism Research, p.19.
Gim, J., Choi, K. and Jang, S.S., 2019. Do franchise firms manage their earnings more?
Investigating the earnings management of restaurant firms. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 79, pp.70-77.
Haccpmentor.com, 2019. How to undertake food safety monitoring in your business - HACCP
Mentor. [online] Available at: https://haccpmentor.com/haccp/food-safety-monitoring/
[Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].
Hazev Restaurant, 2019. Our Philosophy | Hazev Restaurant. [online] Available at:
https://www.hazev.com/our-philosophy/ [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].
Marsden, T., 2018. Theorising food quality: some key issues in understanding its competitive
production and regulation. In Qualities of food. Manchester University Press.
Namin, A., 2017. Revisiting customers' perception of service quality in fast food
restaurants. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, pp.70-81.
13

Priuttc, E., 2017. Elaboration of an external customer feedback system in a restaurant.
Tian, F., 2017, June. A supply chain traceability system for food safety based on HACCP,
blockchain & Internet of things. In 2017 International Conference on Service Systems and
Service Management (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Zhang, T., Zhang, J., Zhao, F., Ru, Y. and Sutherland, J.W., 2018. Allocating resources for a
restaurant that serves regular and group-buying customers. Electronic Commerce Research,
pp.1-31.
14