Commercial Cookery 3: Restaurant Waste and Resource Usage Report

This report, prepared for a Commercial Cookery 3 course, investigates waste management practices and resource usage within the restaurant industry. The assignment includes a question-and-answer section addressing efficiency and environmental issues like packaging disposal, food waste, and the use of non-renewable products, proposing suggestions for improvement such as recycling programs and the use of biodegradable materials. It also features an inspection checklist detailing the responsibilities of a Commis Cook, outlining work tasks, required resources (renewable and non-renewable), and relevant legislative and policy requirements, particularly referencing the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Furthermore, the report presents a resource usage log and analysis, quantifying waste from packaging containers and food leftovers, and discussing the causes of these issues, along with recommendations for waste reduction, such as customer education and self-service options. The report concludes with a question-and-answer section providing further suggestions for improvement in waste management practices.

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COMMERCIAL COOKERY
By ()
Name of the course
The name of the Tutor
Name of the university
The city and country where its located
Date

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Task 1
Part A: Question and Answer
Efficiency or Environmental Issue
Identified
Suggestions for Improvement
Disposal of packaging pallets and containers Recycling packaging pallets and containers.
The supplier of the items will help in guiding
on how to approach this.
Decomposing food leftovers and other food
products
Beginning an intricate composting program,
but in case of the absence of adequate human
resources, they ought to purchase an
automatic biodigester (Alavi et al., 2019).
Use of non-renewable products Encouraging customers and staff to use
renewable products. For instance, the
utilization of reusable cleaning cloths and
napkins
Disposing waste grease and oil and usage of
plastics and Styrofoam.
The waste grease and oil can be a business
opportunity where the commercial kitchen
should collect then render them to firms that
can turn them into biodiesel. Instead of using
plastics, the commercial kitchen should adopt
to using biodegradables (Barlan-Espino,
2017).

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Part B: Inspection Checklist
Commis Cook at a restaurant
A commis cook at a restaurant is basically the entry position for new commercial cooks. I
generally work in the restaurant kitchen assisting other chefs while still learning. Despite the
position being an entry one, I have a lot of responsibilities and duties to perform as I continue
gaining additional experience and knowledge. Some of my work task as a commis cook include;
Job Role: Commis Cook at a restaurant
Work Task Resources (Non-renewable
or renewable)
Procedures, Legislative or
policies requirements
Preparing meats and
vegetables along with
measuring the quantity of
meats and vegetables. I also
help in preparing meats and
vegetables. It can be through
marination or seasoning
steaks and other meat
products. I come into the
restaurant early in order to get
all the vegetables prepared
and chopped early enough.
Cutting surfaces, preparation
tables, counters, and slicers.
Stainless steel surfaces are
the best in order to ensure
they don’t absorb bacteria
from vegetable and meat
juices. They are all renewable
According to the Australia
New Zealand Food Standards
Code (ANZSC), chapter 4, it
generally requires that meat
should be produced and
processed in such a way that
they are not harmful to
human health (Ghosh, 2016).

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As a commis cook, it is the
best way to equip myself with
different cutting methods and
techniques.
Enhancing proper cleanliness
in my working area and the
restaurant at large. I ensure
that the kitchen area, utensils,
and equipment are clean at all
times. Keeping the working
area clean is essential in
helping in reducing the
spreading of food
contamination, and customers
will not complain of food
poisoning. I also help in
cleaning liquids and foods on
the floor in order to ensure
safety and health in the
kitchen. Liquids and foods on
the floor can result in falls,
trips, and slips in the kitchen
when the staffs are working
A dedicated handwashing
sink, commercial
dishwashing machine, triple-
sink wash station are essential
in ensuring cleanliness in the
kitchen, and they are
renewable. Soaps, detergents
are the non-renewable
products of cleaning.
A food business is always
required to maintain proper
cleanliness free from
accumulation of;
 Food waste
 Dirt
 Grease
 Recycled matter
 Garbage except in
garbage containers
Food businesses should also
maintain sanitary and clean
conditions (Grosul and
zubkov, 2018).

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Preparation of delicious and
awesome meals for restaurant
customers. This is through
ensuring that all the
ingredients and raw materials
are safe and free from
contamination.
They include sauteing pans,
knives, sheet pans, whisks,
ladles, bench scrapers,
squeeze bottles, fish, pots of
all sizes, mixing spoons,
tasting spoons, fish spatulas
and bowls of all sizes
(depends on the food type
being prepared). All these are
renewable
It is a requirement that the
final product of a food
business must not be unfit for
human consumption.
Ensuring that all items and
foods are stored properly.
Storage containers. Most
storage containers are
renewable. Cambros, hotel
pan, and liter containers form
the basis of storage items, and
they are all renewable. Tape
and sharpies are the non-
renewable items required for
storage since they help in
labeling containers. Storage
shelves and racks are also
essential, and they are
renewable
According to the Australia
New Zealand food standards
code-standard 3.2.2 all foods
should be stored in a way
that;
 The environment
circumstances that the
food is stored in
should not influence
the suitability and
safety of the food; and
 It should be protected
from any form of

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contamination
(Ghosh, 2016)
Monitoring the ingredients. In
case of an expired ingredient,
I report immediately and
checking for the shortage of
ingredients. I assist in Stock
rotation; it is an important
aspect of every restaurant in
order to ensure no food
poisoning occurs and no
guest’s stomach is upset. I
also play a part in mixing,
measuring, and weighing the
ingredients according to
personal judgments or
recipes.
Freezers and refrigerators.
This helps in ensuring that the
ingredients fresh. They are
renewable
It is a requirement that food
businesses should ensure that
they provide fresh food that
has not expired. The food
should always be fit for
human consumption (Barlan-
Espino, 2017).
Testing and observing if I
have cooked food properly
and keeping the food warm. I
use methods like piercing
with utensils, smelling, and
tasting. This helps in ensuring
A steam table. A steam table
helps in keeping food warm
for a long period of time and
at a good temperature. For the
tasting, I use tasting spoons.
Steam table and tasting
According to ANZSC, food
businesses should ensure that
they cook food that is suitable
and safe for human
consumption (Blakeney,

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that the food is fit for human
consumption
spoons are all renewable 2016).
Task 2
Part B: Resource usage log and report
Disposal of packaging pallets and containers
Restaurants produce a lot of waste in terms of packaging with containers and pallets. The use of
food containers and pallets for packaging has greatly influenced the environment since they do
not decompose easily. It should be the responsibility of all people, especially in the food business
sector to minimize the use of containers and pallets. The main cause of disposing of packaging
containers and pallets is because of lack of knowledge on how to recycle them and the producing
companies are not ready to help with a solution (Lee, Hallak and Sardeshmukh, 2016). In an
attempt to measure the log of pallets and containers, I investigated the number of packaging
containers and pallets in one of the training environment in Australia. With the help of the
manager, I was able to use their records of purchased pallets and containers in a day. They
purchased 1200 pallets and containers in a day, and approximately 60% of them were disposed
of in the environment. In total, in a week 4996 how pallets and containers were disposed which
is a great concern to our environment.
Decomposing food leftovers and other food products
Since the training environment mainly deals with commercial cookery, then decomposing food
leftovers and food products is a common occurrence. Properly composing them is advised since
they produce fertilizer for plants, food for worms, and carbon dioxide, but improper composting

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causes a landfill, which eventually generates methane gas. The causes of throwing away
leftovers are because of serving too much food, lots of menu choices, the inflexibility of chain
store management, and inadequate measures on how to convert the leftovers into important
products like manure (Sakaguchi and Potts, 2018). In trying to measure the amount of food
waste, I required the amount of food supplied in the training environment. I used a smart scale
that assisted in categorizing food waste and generating a food waste inventory that assisted in
identifying where and how much food went to waste. The inventories and continuous direct
measurement assisted me in determining how much food went into waste. Approximately 4 to 10
% of food waste is decomposed in the training environment.
Use of non-renewable products
Many food businesses continue to use a lot of non-renewable materials. Materials like reusable
napkins can be used instead of serviettes. The causes of the usage of non-renewable products can
be attributed to the fact that they are cheap and customers greatly prefer them (Hallak et al.,
2018). I used serviette and reusable napkins as my requirements to determine the use of non-
renewable products in the training environment. In an attempt to determine the usage of non-
renewable products, I consulted the manager and interviewed him and also observed the way
people requested for the products. According to the data I collected 98% of all the customers
used serviettes and the managers confirmed that they purchase more serviette than reusable
napkins.
Part c: Question and Answer
Suggestions for Improvement
1. Customers should be educated and informed on the importance of using reusable napkins

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2. Food businesses should introduce self-service where customers serve themselves the
food and weigh the portion and hence pay according to the quantity of the food. This will
help in reducing oversize foods
3. Food businesses should also strive to enhance the recycling of food containers and pallets
4. Reducing the choices available on the menu is another aspect that can help in the
reduction of food wastage (Raab, Baloglu, and Chen, 2018).

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References
Alavi, N., Eslami, A., Majlessi Nasr, M. and Masihi, N., 2019. Optimization of Biodiesel
Production Process from Restaurant Waste Frying Oils in the Presence of Homogeneous
Catalyst. Journal of Environmental Health Enginering, 7(1), pp.83-93.
Barlan-Espino, A.G., 2017. Operational efficiency and customer satisfaction of restaurants: Basis
for business operation enhancement. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 5(1),
pp.122-132.
Blakeney, M., 2016. Regulation of Food Labelling in Australia and New Zealand. In
International Food Law and Policy (pp. 939-969). Springer, Cham.
Ghosh, D., 2016. Food safety regulations in Australia and New Zealand food standards. Journal
of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 96(9), pp.3274-3275.
Grosul, v.a. And zubkov, s.o., 2018. Methodological toolkit of management efficiency
assessment of the business model of restaurant business enterprise. Financial and credit activity:
problems of theory and practice, 3(26), pp.294-302.
Hallak, R., Assaker, G., O’Connor, P. and Lee, C., 2018. Firm performance in the upscale
restaurant sector: The effects of resilience, creative self-efficacy, innovation and industry
experience. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, pp.229-240.
Lee, C., Hallak, R. and Sardeshmukh, S.R., 2016. Innovation, entrepreneurship, and restaurant
performance: A higher-order structural model. Tourism Management, 53, pp.215-228.
Raab, C., Baloglu, S. and Chen, Y.S., 2018. Restaurant managers’ adoption of sustainable
practices: An application of institutional theory and theory of planned behavior. Journal of
foodservice business research, 21(2), pp.154-171.

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Sakaguchi, L., Pak, N. and Potts, M.D., 2018. Tackling the issue of food waste in restaurants:
Options for measurement method, reduction and behavioral change. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 180, pp.430-436.