KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

End-Semester Examinations

BHTM
(February – June 2020 Session)

SUBJECT : HTM 214 - Food Production III TIME : 180 Min

YEAR : III SEMESTER : I
F.M. : 50
Please read the questions carefully and write the answers in your own words. Answers should not be
direct copy of any book and text, but it should be your original reflection and analysis. Please keep track
of the timing so that you will be able to write answer, scan it into pdf and send to the given link within the
time.

File name MUST BE your Examination Roll No. & Subject Code OR Registration No. & Subject
Code otherwise examination will be cancelled.

In your first page of answer sheet don’t forget to write following information

Registration No :
Examination Roll No :
Subject Code and Name :
Date :
No of Pages :

Attempt any FIVE questions.

(5 Q × 10 = 50 Marks)

1. You have always dreamed of owning your own restaurant someday. Your first job was washing
dishes as a teenager. The long hours and hard work did not discourage you. You started taking
career exploration classes in high school that led to a firm commitment to your goal. You continued
working in a variety of types of establishments, learning much by observing the successes and
failures of management. You chose to continue your education in college and worked your way up
the managerial ladder following graduation. Supportive family members and loyal customers
believe in you and are willing to invest in you. One of your potential investors is a Realtor who has
a location in a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood that is currently in the process of
gentrification. The building is on the edge of this development, close to a major road. Residents of
the area are a mix of elderly, long-time owners, young professional couples, and singles and a
segment of impoverished public-housing projects with a population that is unemployed or making
minimum wage. The ethnic mix is a mirror of what the United States is predicted to be in 30 to 40
years. Incomes vary from minimal to upper middle class. Competition includes a quick-service
Mexican restaurant and an old-fashioned 24-hour Diner, as well as a white-tablecloth fine-dining
Asian-Italian fusion restaurant that is open for dinner only Tuesday to Saturday. A farmers market
thrives on the weekends, drawing in a variety of visitors. One office building rents to a variety of
up-and-coming professionals and a social service agency.

a. Design a menu for your market. Include hours of operation, meal periods, prices, and physical
layout. (6 Marks)
b. Explain the assumptions that your concept is based on. (4 Marks)

2. Italian cuisine is known for its regional diversity, especially between the north and the south of the
Italian peninsula. It offers an abundance of taste, and is one of the most popular and copied in the
world. It influenced several cuisines around the world. Italian cuisine is also well known (and well
regarded) for its use of a diverse variety of pasta. Pasta includes noodles in various lengths, widths,
and shapes. Explain in detail the characteristics of Italian cuisine and describe the various types of
Pasta used in Italian cooking?
3. In the unforeseen absence of a supervisor, a young chef feels sufficiently confident to order the
salmon required for the following day's function. The function is for 100 people and the salmon is
the main course dish. He phones the fishmonger direct and places the order for fresh salmon,
knowing that he requires approximately 125 g per head. He therefore orders 100 X 125 g = 12.5 kg
of fresh salmon. The fishmonger dully delivers and the chef diligently prepares and portions the fish
correctly, yet find that he is a considerable number of portions short.

a. In what ways did the young chef act incorrectly? (3 Marks)

b. What procedures should have been in place to prevent this occurrence? (3 Marks)
c. Exactly why was the young chef short of portions and what should be his future course of
action for re-ordering to prevent a repetition of the shortfall? (4 Marks)

4. Best in Taste (BIT) is a busy restaurant on Main Street in Kathmandu city which caters to students,
officers, shoppers throughout the day. The restaurant is popular for pizza, hamburger, sandwiches,
and grilled tandoori items and has a salad bar and beverage counter. The restaurant has small pantry
where sandwiches are assembled and beverages are prepared and a kitchen with tandoori oven for
cooking. Business has increased rapidly in the past few years but there is no scope for expansion of
the premises since it is in the heart of the town. The owner has done good investment on the
restaurant, the decoration in the restaurant is beautiful, the dining hall is attractive, outside premise
is built nicely but not built well designed kitchen. The restroom and cloak room facilities are
inadequate and often overcrowded staff always occurs to be in hurry and if there is queue at the
handset basin, they rust back to work without washing their hands after using W/C. Very often the
report for work in their uniform or service attire and use the dish cloth for wiping perspiration,
drying their hands etc. The washing up area and drinking water coolers are grossly inadequate. The
atmosphere is airless because there is lasting smell of smoke and food and upholstery smell.Of late
there has been drop in sales and loss of productivity. Staffs have been complaining of health,
headaches and respiratory infection and have often been as leave without any prior notice. The
management is at loss to understand the sudden fall in profits and the dissatisfied. They are
concerned with the present setup and need the service of a consultant urgently. If business has to
pick up or they may be forced to shut down.

a. Why there is staff absenteeism from work? (2 Marks)

b. If you were the employer how would you improve the indoor air quality of restaurant and
kitchen? (3 Marks)
c. Prepare one layout for this restaurant (kitchen and dining hall) and show the sections where the
things need to be located (5 Marks)

5. Sally is the Executive Chef of one of the best restaurants in town, known as The Pub. As usual, at
6:00 p.m. on a Friday night, there is a 45-minute wait. The kitchen is overloaded, and they are
running behind in check times, that is, the time that elapses between the kitchen getting the order
and the guest receiving his or her meal. This is critical, especially if a complaint is received because
a guest has waited too long for a meal to be served. Sally is waiting for her two head line cooks to
come in for the closing shift. It is now 6:15 p.m. and she receives phone calls from both of them.
Unfortunately, they are both sick with the flu and are not able to come to work. As she gets off the
phone, the hostess tells Sally that a party of 50 is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 p.m. Sally is
concerned, knowing that they are currently running a six-person line with only four cooks. The
productivity is very high, but they are running extremely long check times.

a. How would sally handle the short-staffing issue? (2 Marks)

b. What measures would sally take to get the appropriate cooks in to work as soon as possible? (2
Marks)
c. What would sally do to ensure a smooth, successful transition for the party of 50? (3 Marks)
d. What should sally do to ensure that all the guests in the restaurant are happy? (3 Marks)
6. One month ago, Tom was promoted from line cook to kitchen manager. It was a significant step up
in his life. He felt that his promotion was well deserved, as he had always been a hard worker. Tom
never had a second thought about going the extra mile for his employer. He felt that since he had
seniority in the kitchen and was friendly with everyone in the back of the house, he would be sure to
get the respect he deserved from everyone for whom he had responsibility. About three weeks into
his new position, Tom found that this was not the case. Several back-of-the house employees had
become careless about their responsibilities after Tom were promoted. They were coming to work
late, wearing unlaundered uniforms, and becoming more and more sloppy with their plate
presentations. Every day at work, Tom was becoming more frustrated and upset. He knew that the
employees were never careless about these matters with their previous supervisor.

a. What are some possible reasons for the back-of-the house employees’ carelessness? (3 Marks)
b. How should Tom assess the current situation? (3 Marks)
c. If you were Tom’s supervisor, what advice would you have given him before he started his new
position? (4 Marks)