Cold Food preparation

Cold Food preparation Assignment 612

Aims for today • Identify information needed for end of unit tests

Cold Food preparation • Cold food can be an important part of a meal occasion. • There are a range of different skills that you will need to learn to be able to produce and present cold food correctly.

Meal occasions • Cold food can be served at a number of meal occasions: • Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Afternoon Tea • Buffets • Parties • Special receptions • Snacks

Cold Food preparation • There are a number of dishes that can be produced as cold food: • Raw ingredients: Salads, vegetables and fruits • Pre-prepared ingredients: Smoked fish, meat products, bread products, cheese • Cooked products: Meat, Fish/Shellfish, vegetables, pasta/rice

Sandwiches • Very popular and nutritious cold food enjoyed by millions of people on a daily basis. • Can use a range of fillings, different types of breads and can be closed/open topped. • A closed sandwich is made using two slices of bread and has the filling through the centre • An open topped sandwich is made with one slice of bread which is laid flat and has the filling/topping placed on top

Sandwich fillings • Sandwich fillings can be unlimited but there are a classic number of fillings that are very popular: • Egg Mayonnaise • Ham and Tomato • Beef and Horseradish • Smoked Salmon • Cheese and Pickle • Tuna and Sweetcorn • Cream cheese and chive • Cucumber

Hors D’oeuvres • This is a French word to describe food that is served before the main course and is also known as a starter or first course. • Single Hors d’oeuvres are usually a single main food item, served as a starter • Assorted Hors d’oeuvres consist of a range of dishes which the guest will be able to choose from

Single Hors d’oeuvres • Smoked fish • Pate • Fruit: Melon, grapefruit and orange cocktail • Smoked/Sliced meats • Prawns: Cocktail, potted

Assorted Hors d’oeuvres • These are the ingredients that can be used: • Fish • Meat • Vegetables • Pasta • Rice • Eggs • Poultry • Fruit

Considerations • When preparing Hors d’oeuvres, there are a number of things to think about when choosing food items: • Colour • Flavour • Texture • Availability • Cost • Time • Variety • Special diets

Grapefruit and Orange cocktail • When you made this dish for your skills test, what were the important points that you were looking for?: • Neat segments • Even sized, whole segments • No pith, pips or membrane

Salads • Salads fall into two main categories: • Simple salads: • Basic Salads containing one or a small number of ingredients • Composite (Compound) salads contain a number of different ingredients and are usually bound together with a dressing/mayonnaise

Salad examples • Simple salads • Mixed leaf salad, Beetroot salad, Tomato salad, cucumber salad • Composite (Compound) salad • Coleslaw, Waldorf salad, Mixed vegetable salad, Nicoise salad, Meat salad

Serving cold food • It is important to present cold food correctly as the customer will often make a decision based on first impressions. • Examples of equipment to use when presenting cold food could be: • Plates • Trays • Silver platters • Bowls • Packaging

Good practice when serving cold food • Handle as little as possible • Keep all the food stored at the appropriate temperature for as long as possible • Use clean service equipment to transport food items from bowls/dishes to plates • Keep food covered until the last moment • Label all food items accurately • Replenish/re-arrange food as it is taken by customers to ensure presentation stays at a high standard.

Examples of presentation • Silver Service; Neatly on tray, portioned individually for service, garnished to enhance dish • Finger buffet; Correct size of food, individually accessible on plate, food that can be picked up (on a base/ stick) • Plated; Standardised presentation for each • portion, consistent portion size, appropriate garnish

Cold Food preparation • The maximum time a cold buffet can be left for presentation at room temperature is 4 hours

Cold Food preparation