INDUCTION (part I)

(1) WHAT IS THE PROFESSIONAL HOTEL KITCHEN?

• It is the area of the hotel which provides the food services and products to the guests and the the employees. In its operation the kitchen is similar to an orchestra where each participant excels in his part and the chef unites and gives direction to the work of the team. The hotel kitchen is each small part working together to contribute to making an end product that gives the guest 100% satisfaction. Below is a typical "organizational chart" for a medium to large sized hotel. The entry level is of course at the bottom, but as you can see the place to go is up, and you will get there by acquiring the skills and experience gained from hard work.
  
  

• We can define "cooking" as the application of heat to food for the purpose of making it more digestible, safer to eat, better looking and more palatable. Is making a soup cooking? By our definition, yes it is cooking. Is making a salad cooking? By our definition no, it is not cooking, but it is the part of the Professional Kitchen we will refer to as "food preparation or cookery".

• The professional cook is a person who is trained and skilled in the culinary techniques of the kitchen and in the use of the tools of the kitchen. The cook's business is food. This person has the capacity to work and be productive in any one of the hotel's kitchens with a minimal amount of training and direction. The professional cook knows the basics of the butchershop, the garde manger, the hot kitchen, and the bakery and pastry shop. When needed, this person can filet a fish or fabricate a pork chop/ prepare canapes or make mayonnaise, prepare a soup or sauce as requested by the chef, or bake a cake or a loaf of bread.

• PERSONAL
• Grooming
  People are judged by their appearance. If they appear neat and clean they make a good impression, and likewise, a slovenly appearance is usually associated with sloppy work habits. Your presentation is very important in the workplace. When reporting to work you must be clean shaven and have your hair kept cut to a moderate length. Your hands should be clean. Your cleanliness and wholesomeness will be reflected in your work...it will be better organized tend to have a better presentation, reflecting your own presentation and attitude to your work.


• Clothing
  Kitchen personal, cooks and chefs, work in a special white uniform referred to as "kitchen whites". This uniform includes pants, jacket, apron and hat. Not only does this uniform aid in your presentation but it also serves a sanitary function as well, and for these reasons you must report every day in a clean and pressed uniform. By changing from your street clothes, you leave behind in the locker room the dirt and bacteria of the street which can cause a health hazard when handling food.In this fashion the "kitchenwhites" function as do "hospital whites" of persons who work in hospitals, in helping to maintain a hygienic enviroment. You should leave jewelry and watches at home. These types of items pose a risk of chipping and ending up in the food or catching on a piece of equipment and causing anaccident. If your uniform is too loose fitting it too can "catch" on something in the kitchen and cause you an injury.Make sure your shoes have an enclosed toe for added protection...sandals are not permitted in the kitchen!


• Smoking
  This one is easy; smoking in food preparation and handling areas is prohibited! If you must smoke, do so only in designated areas and make sure to wash your hands before handling food again.


• Hands
  Your hands are a frequent food contact area therefore they must be kept clean at all times. Body temperature is the ideal for bacterial growth, therefore we always attempt to minimize hand contact with the food and to make sure that the hands are clean when handling the food. At times, certain foods will be prepared with the use of disposable plastic gloves. If you have open cuts or sores, check with the chef to see if you may be permitted to work. Wash your hands with hot water and soap every time you use the toilet facilities(your body wastes are highly contaminated); before reporting to work; after contacting anything that is dirty such as the floor or a garbage can; sneezing into your hand; wiping your hand through your hair; etc.


• Checklist for reporting to work
  Hands and body clean, shaved and hair trimmed/ uniform complete and clean/ all necessary tools for work/ proper shoes/ side towels/hotel Identification Card/ meal card.

• INTRODUCTION TO EQUIPMENT
• Chef's Uniform
  hat/jacket/pants/apron/proper shoes/side towels.


• Knives
  
• pairing knife; for small work and cleaning of products
• cook's knife; for medium heavy work e.g., dicing and slicing of vegetables, cleaning of fish, trimming of meats
• chef's knife; for heavy duty work, e.g., chopping of root vegetables, cutting large blocks of cheese, slicing large pieces of meat


• Small tools
  
• vegetable peeler; cleaning carrots, potatoes, celery, etc.
• parisian scoop ; melon balls,vegetable pearls,
• channel knife ; decorating cucumbers,lemons and limes
• food disher ; scooping ice cream, salads, mashed potatoes
• spatula ;turning hot foods like hamburger, eggs, pancakes


• Cutting Boards
  
• plastic or hard finished wood:
  Using unfinished plywood is dangerous because the bacteria cannot be removed by washing and there is the danger of wood splinters entering the food because the wood is so soft. Make sure the board is clean, and be careful what combinations of items you cut on it e.g., onions and then fruit will give the fruit an onion flavor. To keep the board from sliding put a flat damp cloth under it.


• Pots and Pans
  An introduction and demonstation of the various types of pots and pans and what they are used for:
• stock pot-
  Large, high sided pots with loop handles for easy moving on and off stove; used for boiling and simmering as in the making of soups and stocks; can range from 5 to 40 gallon capacity/sometimes come with drain spout which is especially good for the production of consommes.
• sauce pot-
  Similar to stock pot but sides are lower to allow stirring of the ingridients; range in capacity from 2 to 15 gallons.
• brazier-
  Similiar to the above but of smaller capacity and much lower walls; heavy duty to resist warping when searing meats; this is a very useful pot to have in the kitchen for stove-top cooking; capacity ranges from 12 qts. to 30 qts.
• saute pan-
  One handled with sloping sides,shallow, usually used for quick frying of small amounts of food; size ranges from 5" to 14".
• egg pan-
  One of the smaller saute pans;preferred to be teflon coated for non sticking.
• roasting pan-
  Rectangular pan with medium high sides; fold down handles for easy movement in or out of ovens; is also very good to use on the stove top; comes with removeable lid.
• hotel pan-
  Also called food (transport) pan,chaffing dish insert,this pan comes in a variety of standardized sizes & depths; this pan is not used for cooking butfor the heating & or holding of foods; this is the standard chaffing dish insert and steam table insert; one of the most used pans in the kitchen.
• sauce pan-
  Smaller version of the sauce pot; has a single handle; used the same as larger version but for smaller "on line" quantities; capacity from 1 qt. to 12 qts. Here we will give a brief explanation of the theory of "function & shape" of pot and "the right size pan for the amount of material"


• Ladels, Spoons, Tongs and Spatulas
  Introduction and demonstation of the various types of ladels spoons, tongs & spatulas that are used in the kitchen....why the different sizes and what each is best used for. This section will familiarize the new employees to some of the numerous hand tools of the trade, and give them advice on how to use them. Misuse of atool or a piece of equipment is an "almost guaranteed" accident.
• spoons-
  May be slotted, perforated or solid and are used accordingly; used to dish up food.
• ladels-
  May be slotted or solid/solid is most often used; comes in sizes ranging from .5 ozs. to 72 ozs.; used for dishing up liquids/soups, sauces, etc., very important to use the proper size ladel for the type of function involved to control portions.
• skimmers-
  Flat ladel with small holes for removing scum from stocks or soups, or removing items from deep fryer or boiling water; come in all sizes and shapes
• strainers/colanders/
  Used to drain items such as wash vegetables, cooked pastas, rice, etc; come in a variety of shapes/ with & without legs.
• China cap
  Cone shaped perforated strainer with long handle and hook; very strong usually used to strain sauces or first "pass" for stocks; one of most often used kitchen utensils.
• tongs
  Come in many lengths/spring action "V" shaped for the handling of food without hand contact and used to handle and turn hot foods that are being sauteed or grilled.
• pastry bag
  Usually nylon with removeable tip; mainly used in pastry shop, but also used in hot and cold kitchens for "piping" mashed potatoes, purees, canapes and other forms of decorations; comes in a large variety of sizes.
• whips
  Flexible beater made of stainless steel; come in variety of sizes; used to hand whip/beat items such as whip cream or to work and stir sauces when thickening.
• whisks
  Same as above, but stiff instead of used for the same purpose as above but with heavier and thicker items that would not be workable with the lighter weight whip.


• Gas Equipment
  Introduction and demonstation of the various types of gasfired equipment in the kitchens. This section will cover ovens, ranges, broilers, grills, salamanders, deep fryers, chinese wok ranges; how to use them, how to control the temperature, how to light them up if needed, safety precautions to observe when using gas equipment.
• guest speakers
  Bring in supervisor of the hotel's maintenence department.


• Electric Equipment
  Introduction and demonstation of the various types of small and large pieces of electrically driven kitchen equipment. In this section the apprentices will be exposed to bar blenders, industrial sized blenders, mixers of all sizes, foodprocessors, vegetable processors, juicers, slicers, grinders, butcher's table saw, dough sheeter, dough mixer.
  More detailed instruction in the use of these pieces of equipment will come during the employee's rotation thru the specific department when the piece of equipment is located.
• guest speakers
  Bring in the chief steward to explain how to care for the equipment and what to due in case of a break-down.


• Refrigeration Equipment
  Introduction to the various types of pieces of refrigeration equipment that exist in the kitchens, e.g. reach-ins, walk-in refrigerators and freezers, ice cream freezers, roll in refrigerators.
• How to treat the equipment; keeping doors closed, blocking air circulation
1. pack food looosely to allow circulation of cool air.
2. cover food to prevent dehydration or contamination, or flavor mixing.
3. discard items not needed or spoiled to avoid overcrowding
4. rotate stock and put new items to the rear/respect the rule of "last in last out".
5. keep the box clean/inside,outside,mechanically.
• How to store material in the different types of boxes.
• Stress to always be alert for malfunction be temperature sensitive and report immediately any questionable situation
• Most of the refigerators and walk-ins have thermometers/ get used to using them to check the temperatures
1. pack food looosely to allow circulation of cool air.
2. keep lights turned off in the walk ins.
3. keep boxed locked if required and indicated
4. try to always keep the same items in the same.
5. guest speakers Maintenence Department.

• INTRODUCTION TO HYGIENE and SANITATION

We can consider the problem of hygiene and sanitation in the kitchen to be controlable in two basic divisions;
• Personal (Hygiene)
  
• Health
  Must be good, persons ill or with open sores, flu, etc, cannot be allowed to handle food.
• Uniforms and Clothing;
  Clean, complete, sanitary, changed daily.
• Hands
  By the vigilant use of soap and hot water, the most important and frequent food contact area can be maintained clean. Clean hands are more important than clean floors walls, etc.
• GUEST SPEAKERS
  Dr. Faxis (microbioligist); and Economics Labs representative.


• Work Area (Food Handling)
  
• Food Contact Surfaces;
  Table tops, cutting boards, refrigerator shelving, slicing machines, mixing machines,blenders, etc. All these must be regularly cleaned, especially the cutting boards/ surfaces should be smooth, clean, and in good repair. If you want to use a piece of equipment and it is not clean, clean it yourself or find a steward to do it, but don't use it until it has been cleaned. The cutting board is an area that must be constantly cleaned with hot water and bleach to kill developing bacteria. e.g., preparing chicken for roasting on a cutting board and then cutting up lettuce without sanitizing the board could produce salmonella poisoning in persons eating the salad.
• Small Tools and Knives;
  The same dangers apply here as that they are essentially food contact surfaces/knives should be throughly cleaned at the end of you shift, and wiped down often during work.There should be no trace of corrosion evident.
• Floor;
  The floor is a complete health hazzard and no food products of any type should come in contact with it / likewise the same applies with your hands and if you pick something up off the floor wash your hands!
• Sinks;
  They should have soap dispensers mounted over them and you should use them often/dry your hands with disposable paper towels if possible, it does no good to wash your hands and then dry them with a dirty contaminated rag!
• Garbage Containers & Airborne Bacterias;;
  Waste food material should be disposed of in clean garbage containers which have snug fitting lids. In tropical areas the danger of "airbone" bacterias infecting food products is much greater than in the temperate areas. Therefore it is very important to utilize these containers, and to make sure that the lids are in place at all times. This will also serve to help reduce the attraction of flies to the workplace. If these cans are leaking liquids or are not being emptied regularly, inform your supervisor; they should be cleaned and disinfected inside and outside daily.
• Produce;
  All produce entering the working refrigerators must be prewashed to remove dirt and bacteria
• Spoiled foods;
  When encountered must be disposed of. Consult with your supervisor.
• Wrapping and Storage;
  all food going into refrigerators need to be wrapped to prevent contamination and to preserve quality. Many perishible items like fish and meat will dry out in the refrigerator environment if not sealed with the wrapping material. Plastic cling film is the best kind of wrapping material to use. In production areas like the butcher shop or banquet kitchen, it is a good idea to label and date each item being wrapped.
• Raw Food over Cooked Foods;
  dripping blood or juice from a raw piece of meat or seafood can very easily contaminate a piece of cooked food. If this item is to be eaten cold and therefore will not be reheated this will pose a very definite health hazzard and could be leathal. NEVER store raw foods over cooked items for this reason. If all items are properly wrapped as indicated in the preceeding item, the danger of his type of food poisoning is reduced to almost zero.
• Side Towels;
  Your side towels should be kept dry and clean and not be used for wiping down work areas and surfaces. For this, each area should have assigned to it a plastic bucket that contains a solution of water and bleach to sanitize the towels used to wipe down food contact surfaces. Using clean side towels to handle food or hot equipment, and using the wet ones that have soaked in a sterilizing solution, to clean up food work surfaces will greatly reduce the possibility of cross contamination.
• Hazzardous Substances;
  A source of frequent accidents and contamination offood products. These substances should be clearly labeled and kept out of the food preparation areas. When using a container that you yourself have not opened take an extra minute to examine it and make sure that container that is marked "peanut oil" is not really full of insecticide or grease remover.
• THE DANGER ZONE;Temperature Awareness
  There are very definite critical food temperature levels that are involved and are important in handling food and controlling bacterias and therefore, are important in the controlling of food contamination. The "thermometer chart" that follows should give you a very good idea of what the most important temperatures are. Generally, hot foods should be kept at 140oF or higher and cold foods refrigerated as quickly as possible; RULE: get cold foods over 140 degrees F. as quickly as possible and keep them there or above/get hot foods cold as quickly as possible and keep them below 40 degrees F.Large quantities of soups or stocks must be cooled completely before refrigerating because their centers often retains heat and can allow bacteria to reproduce even in the refrigerator. Putting the stock pot in a sink with running water to cool it down faster is a traditional and a recommended method to cool this item quickly and completely. Once bacteria has formed, refrigerating it does not kill it. Therefore it is very important that you be aware of the important critical food handling temperatures and to be likewise aware of the temperature of the area you are working in, in order to handle the food properly and in a sanitary manner. Food poisoning can result from one of two general causes:
  (1) UNWHOLESOME FOOD:
  (2) CONTAMINATION from the OUTSIDE introduced from hands, clothes, or equipment that are dirty, open sores, airborne or waterborne bacterias, sneezing or coughing over the food, fly or rodent contamination.
  Remember, the range in which the food will become bacteria infested is 40 degress F. to 140 degrees F. THE DANGER ZONE AVOID THIS RANGE or get your material out of this range as quickly as is possible.
• Defrosting Techniques
  Frozen food items should ideally bedefrosted slowly in the refrigerator. If time does not permit, defrosting in cool running water is an alternative. However much flavor will be lost doing this. Avoid refreezing defrosted foods. One thing to never do is defrost under hot running water. This is TABOO!
• Working Techniques
  Work with small amounts of material exposed to the ambience and remember never allow any item to stay more than 4 hours accumulated time, while processing, inside the danger zone range.
• GUEST SPEAKERS
  Dr. Faxis (microbioligist); and Economics Labs representative.

• ON THE JOB SAFETY

The Rules, they are always changing to meet your operational requirements.
• No Running Anywhere, Anytime
  
• Knife handling
• Never carry your knife with the point up or out and never run with a knife in your hands. Always exercise extreme caution when moving with a knife in your hand, and remember it is best to sheath yourm knife before moving off the line or out of your work area.
• cut away from your body and other people
• when drying a sharp knife, keep the edge away from you
• don't leave them in a sink or any other place where they cannot be clearly seen
• if your knife falls do not try to catch it! let it fall!!
• pick up or pass a knife by the handle not the blad
• do not misuse your knife/ it is for cutting not opening can
• keep your knife sharp, it is easier to use and therefore safer to use. You will be shown the proper way to sharpen and hone you knife/ practice the technique.
• Lifting and Carrying
• In hotel kitchens, often times you will be required to move or lift objects or material of considerable weight. To avoid injury and accidents you should always ask for assistance and help. Do not try to lift a heavy stockpot by yourself.
• An aid to lifting large pots: slip your sidetowel through the handle and then grab it with both hands/// in this way the strain on your back is equally distributed.
• When lifting, keep your back straight and lift with your legs
• remember that there are two & four wheeled carts to help move and transport material; you should use these as much as possible.
• when handling anything of weight, make sure the floor area where you will be working is dry and free of grease spills, // if it is not, advise your supervisor.
• pick up or pass a knife by the handle not the blad
• do not misuse your knife/ it is for cutting not opening can
• keep your knife sharp, it is easier to use and therefore safer to use. You will be shown the proper way to sharpen and hone you knife/ practice the technique.
• During Service
• During peak hours, remain calm and listen for orders from your supervisor.
• Do not argue with fellow workers; cooks or service personal
• Using a glass to drink from is prohibited because they are easily knocked over and broken, the result is broken glass in the mise-en-place
• Kitchen Layout
• It is important to know where all steps and floor changes are to help prevent tripping accidents. become aware of the physical characteristics of the floor in the area in which you work.
• keep the floors clean and dry/ clean any spills up quickly
• Food Preperation Equipment
• Because of the potential to cause accidents, broken or incorrectly operating equipment should be reported to your supervisor.
• make sure that you know how to use a machine properly before you use it.
• before adjusting or cleaning any machine make sure it is turned off, or better, unplugged.
• due to the powerful motors involved, make sure the machine is turned off when you plug it into the outlet.
• use proper attachments for "tamping or or pushing" when using the meat grinding attachment.
• Accidents
• hotel policy concerning the reporting of on-the-job accidents; know what the policy is and follow it.
  The most common accidents are >>> CUTS/BURNS/FALLS
  
• PREVENTION
• CUTS;
  Use knives properly; pay attention when using a knive; use a glass for drinking, not scooping/ the same goes for china.
• BURNS;
  Learn how to operate steam kettles, and how to uncover pots of boiling liquid/ steam burns quicker than water, and penetrates deeper; handle all hot objects with a dry sidetowel; keep handles of pans turned inside and away from passing persons; ask for help when moving large amounts of hot foods; assume all pots and pans are hot; do not put wet foodstuffs into the deep-fryer
• FALLS;
  Known the floor characteristics of your area; wipe up any spills quickly; when moving, walk, and keep your eyes open; keep passageways clear; when moving with hot food make sure you use the traditional kitchen call of "HOT" as you go to warn everybody in the area; use the proper techniques when lifting heavy objects.
• Ice
• scooping ice, never use glass or ceramic because if it should break all the ice in the bin will have to be thrown out. Use a clean, stainless or plastic utensil.
• Fire safety
• report any fire no matter how small immediately!
• know where fire extinguishers are located and how to use them
• report any grease buildup on equipment to your supervisor
• a grease fire is different than a normal fire and needs special care in extinguishing so as to not make the fire worse; be familiar with the methods of extinguishing grease fires.
• the disposal of old and/or hot grease and fat requires special care and handling; know where to dispose of this material and exercise great caution when handling hot grease.
• The use of the stoves, ovens, and deep fryers require special information and care; Learn how to regulate the temperature and then use that information. If an oven or deep-fryer is not lighted, make sure you have checked to see that the gas is shut off any you vent it for a few minutes before you attempt to light it, failure to take this simple precaution has resulted in many singed heads and arms. If you smell gas or are at all unsure of what to do, ask your supervisor to request assistence from maintenence.
• GUEST SPEAKER
  Head of Industrial Safety, Central Romana Corporation.