This document defines and describes different types of catering: welfare catering provides food and beverages to fulfill social obligations like in hospitals, schools, and prisons at minimal cost without the goal of profit. Industrial catering provides subsidized food to workers on-site or through contractors. Institutional catering similarly provides subsidized food to students to fulfill responsibilities rather than for revenue. Transport catering provides food before, during, and after journeys on trains, planes, ships, and buses. Specific types of transport catering mentioned are airline catering which feeds passengers in-flight and at airports, railway catering which provides meals on trains and in stations, and ship catering which feeds cargo crews and cruise passengers with facilities depending on class

1. Welfare Catering

2. Welfare Catering
• The provision of food and beverages service to
people to fulfil a social obligation is known as
welfare catering.
• It includes catering in hospitals, schools, colleges,
staff canteens, armed forces and prisons.
• It is mainly about providing food at minimal costs.
• It does not serve the purpose of generating profit.
• It does not promote a lucrative food menu.
• Mostly follow a Cyclic Menu that is good enough to
fulfil the nutritional requirements of a human body.

3. Industrial Catering
• It is the provision of food and beverages to
‘people at work’ at subsidised rates.
• Catering may be undertaken by management
itself, or may be contracted out to
professional caterers.
• Depending on the choice of, contractors
undertake to feed the workforce for a fixed
period of time at a predetermined price.

4. Institutional Catering
• The provision of food and beverages to students in
teaching institutions at highly subsidised rates is
called institutional catering.
• It is the responsibility of the institutes to provide a
balanced diet to their students.
• The concept is not to earn revenue but to serve
their own social responsibility.
• Catering may be undertaken by management itself,
or may be contracted out to professional caterers.
• The cyclic food menu is mostly based on the
seasonal availability of ingredients.

5. Travel & Transport Catering
The provision of food and
beverages to passengers, before,
during and after a journey on trains,
aircraft and ships and in buses or
private vehicles is termed as
transport catering.

6. Airline Catering
• Catering to airline passengers on board, as well
as at restaurants situated at airport terminals
is termed as airline catering.
• Modern airports have a variety of food and
beverage outlets to cater to the increasing
number of air passengers.
• Catering to passengers en route is normally
contracted out to a flight catering unit of a
reputed hotel OR to a catering contractor OR
to the catering unit of the airline itself.

7. Railway Catering
• Catering to railway passengers both during
the journey as well as at railway stations is
called railway catering.
• Travelling by train for long distances can be
very tiring; hence the concept on-board meal
services helps to make the journey less
tedious.
• Luxury trains are also operated by IRCTC. Eg.
Palace on wheels and Maharaja Express

8. Ship Catering
• It is catering to cargo crew and Cruise
lines.
• Ships have kitchen(Galley) and
restaurants on board.
• Quality of service and facilities offered
depends on class of the ship and price
the passengers are paying.
• It offers regional and international
cuisines