2. Introduction
Cal Dining Facility
● Green and Organic Certified
● 4 dining commons
● More about CKC
Background on menu item
● From Fish Tilapia with
Pineapple Habanero Salsa to
Tofu with Grapefruit Habanero
Salsa
3. Adapting the menu item
1. Fish Tilapia to Marinated Tofu
Plant-based; rich in protein; chewy texture
2. Pineapple to Grapefruit
Seasonality and Sustainability
3. Canola oil to GMO free 80:20 Canola: Olive oil
GMO free; Stronger in flavor; Lower smoke points;
5. Purchasing Process
1. Forecasting → most important way to reduce
food waste
2. Eatec, the time-saving, extremely efficient
system to streamline the purchasing process
7. Receiving
Eatec is an integral part of this
process as well!
Vendors:
Tofu vs. Tilapia
Grapefruit vs. Pineapple
Oil, pepper, salt
8. Storage of our Recipe Items
Onions with the dry storage
Tofu in the grab and go fridge on the top shelf →
doesn’t leak!
Habaneros in the freezer → unique way to reduce food
waste
Ergonomics and Efficiency of the Kitchen
Meat freezer is closest to the loading dock
Grab and go fridge (tofu and fruits) is closest to service
area
9. Production
Recipe adjusting and standardization - a key step for cooking with
consistent quality, nutrient content and costs.
1. Tried out 8 servings
2. Scaled up to 64 servings
3. Created a standardized recipe with help from Prep List
4. Accurate estimation of ingredients needed
10.
11. Critical control points for food quality and safety
Tofu - TCS food - HACCP
Receiving: clean and dry container, completely sealed tofu package
Storing: below 41°F
Preparing: < 4hr without time and temperature control
Using sanitizer bucket and clean towels
12. Hands on experience in production
Divided into two parts and cooked them simultaneously - Grilled tofu + Grapefruit salsa
Time saving: used ~1hr in total
Preparing ingredients and tools: ~10min
Preheating flattop: ~15min
Searing tofu: ~20min Preparing and mixing salsa: ~15min
Garnishing: ~15min
Could be more efficient after we practice more
13.
14.
15. Equipment and kitchen layout overview
Location of the flattop:
Outside of the kitchen, close to the serving
countertop
Short distance between the production
area and the service area
Enhanced the efficiency of production
flow & guaranteed the safety and quality of food
16. Equipment - flattop
Flattop: a gas-fired appliance that uses a circulating heating technology under a
piece of steel to create a cooking surface with evenly distributed heat.
Brand: Viking Model Number: Not Found Estimated Price: ~$2500
Utilization & Frequency : Breakfast Everyday(Omelette,Toast), Dinner Every Other
day(Chicken, Steak).
Maintenance: Cleaning, lubricating, calibration
Environmental Cost: Produce smoke
17. Analysis of equipment - flattop
Pros:
Versatility: different cooking forms - grilling, roasting, pan-frying, baking, etc.
Efficiency: large surface area, heating up in 10-15min
Convenience: non-sticking surface, reducing food waste from handling loss
Cons:
Using many times → Carbon accumulation → temperature inaccuracy → calibration of
temperature every time
Replacement?
Steamer - no smoke, but much lower efficiency and versatility
19. Service
Marketing
1. Post menu item on Facebook
2. Nice display of menu item
3. Food Label
--"Grilled Tofu with Grapefruit Salsa"
--Plant-based,healthy, vegetarian,and
sustainable option
--List of recipe ingredients ?
20. Service
Sanitation of Service Procedures
Tofu is TCS food
1. Cutting board and knives
sanitizing
2. Warmer cabinet
3. Heat lamps
4. Tongs
21. Service
Sample size = Half serving size
1.5oz tofu 3oz tofu
1. Too small to hold Salsa
2. Slow consumption
Change back to normal serving size!
23. Service
What if our menu item becomes a staple menu item?
--Change purchasing patterns → order Hodo Soy Tofu more frequently
--Chefs training for new recipe item
--Challenges
1. Acceptance of students
2. Food Safety
24. Conclusion
Recipe adaptation → purchasing → producing → serving =
very extensive, time-consuming process
Transforming a primarily animal-protein based menu to a
plant-friendly one requires education and marketing to
encourage customer preference change
Process was very informative and our Chef was extremely
helpful!
Forecasting is done using excel spreadsheets to determine which items are the most popular on any given day at any given time, but in a dining hall this is a difficult process as the consumer-base is constantly changing
Eatec is the most efficient database as it allows managers to input all standardized recipes, determines which ingredients are needed for the recipe, what ingredients are currently on-hand and what needs to be ordered, and calculates the cost of the recipe. This is the perpetual inventory system as it knows what is always on-hand, but there is always room for error. Cal Dining → physical inventory once a month
Why? Tofu is cheaper than fish! Grapefruit is cheaper than pineapple!
Eatec sends the vendors an order and they bring invoice to compare
Cal Dining strives for sustainability, so the Tilapia is from a supplier that falls on the good/best list of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Guide BUT Tofu is from Hodo Soy, an Oakland-based supplier! Hyperlocal
Pineapple and Grapefruit are both from Daylight foods!
Oil, salt, and pepper from BiRite Distributors
The layout of the Clark Kerr kitchen was somewhat confusing → the citrus was in the fridge with the tofu, but the grapefruit wasn’t in the box with the other citrus
There were two refrigerators → one next to the service and the other next to the freezer
The one closest to the service had the easy grab and go fruits and tofu
The one next to the freezer had prepared produce and proteins marinatining
The freezer was the closest to the loading dock as the meat orders are the most heavy, which reduces the risk of harming the workers and creates an efficient work place.
shuhan
Cici
After doing some research by ourselves and discussing with Chef Daniel
Emily: Viking no longer manufactures the original Flat Top, CKC has had this flat top for the past 10 years and needs an update for greater energy efficiency
1. Marketing played an important role in engaging students to try our new item.
2. Chef Daniel helped us post our menu item on CalDining Facebook and we shared the post via our personal social media.
3. When we were ready to serve students, we put a label with name and picture and a very nice display next to samples.
4. We told students that we transformed "Grilled Fish with Pineapple Salsa" to "Grilled Tofu with Grapefruit Salsa", which was a healthy, sustainable, and vegetarian option.
5. But we didn’t put a list of ingredients in the food label. We noticed that several students asked questions about the ingredients.
6. So we realized that providing a list of recipe ingredients is necessary for those who had special dietary needs or food allergy, especially when you are introducing a new menu item.
7. Tofu was TCS food and required strict control during production and service processes.
8. We cleaned our cutting boards and knives with sanitizer before and after preparing grilled tofu.
9. We displayed our samples in clean trays under heat lamps with clean tongs.
10. When we started cooking tofu we grilled a great amount of tofu at one time to save energy. But Chef Daniel pointed out that preparing a lot was not appropriate because consumption might not be fast and the excess would be out of temperature control.
11. So we decided to put excess tofu in a warmer cabinet.
12. In our sample test, we tried to make sample size a very nice bite for students. We made sample size half of our serving size.
13. However, we found that our sample size was too small to hold salsa especially we have grape tomato in the salsa. Another problem is we had many tofu leftovers. So we decided to keep its original serving size to improve the overall appearance and boost consumption.
75% of our consumers expressed interest in eating a full-serving!
14. 75% of our consumers expressed interest in eating a full-serving!
15. Some of the negative comments were that the product was “too spicy” or could use a “better texture.” Doesn’t like fish.
16. Customers were open to tasting a unique dish and gave thoughtful, honest feedback.
17. Overall, our adaptation was a success.
18. What if our menu item becomes a staple item in the future? Since Cal Dining feeds thousands of students everyday, taking a new staple menu item requires a lot of labor, training, and marketing techniques.
19. Firstly, Cal Dining would have to change their purchasing patterns and order Soy Tofu more frequently
20. Secondly, Chefs would need training to learn a new recipe item,
21. As we mentioned before, acceptance of students and food safety issue such as food allergy concern are challenges we are facing.
22. But the pros outweigh the cons!
I don’t think budget will be an issue since our dish is less expensive than the original tilapia dish! I think food safety would be a larger issue than this since soy allergies are huge
But the pros outweigh the cons!
