Sheffield Hallam University: MSc: Hospitality Assignments  

HOSPITALITY QUALITY MANAGEMENT Assignment 2 - Case Study - Sous Vide

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Background *

Sous . Vide The Method *

US - FDA derived Holding Times at Specified Temperatures. *

Factors of production or service cooked to implement the cuisine sous vide. *

Critical analysis and evaluation of customer’s attitude towards the technique *

Any potential risk and control systems taken in consideration *

Raw Materials and suppliers. *

Staff *

Process *

Distribution, reheating and consumption *

Conclusion *

References *

Background

This case study refers to a Spanish organisation. The company owned a number of hotels and had a very large catering business division serving around 100,000 menus daily in total. In January 1992, this organisation won the competitive tender ussued by the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games Committee to feed all the volunteers and the policemen who worked for the games. The organisation was required to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to 3,000 people a day for the 29 days from the 2 to 31 July 1992.

The company not only had sufficient experience to manage this contract but it also had qualified staff to carry out this important project with success.

However, the president of the company and the managing director, knew that it would be impossible to prepare such a large number of meals for such a long period of time through the traditional method of cooking. They wanted a method of cooking which allowed the company to cook in advance a large quantity of food but ensuring, at the same time, total hygienic safety.

Taking into account these requirements, they chose the cuisine sous vide. For them, it was the best method to supply tasty and safety food to the volunteers and the policemen and to the company business catering, to the Hotels and to the supermarkets as well.

The Method

The sous vide cooking process was developed in France during the early 1970s by a French chef and a university food scientist as a method for improving the cooking of foie gras.

Sous vide is a unique and gentle method of cooking, which allows the cellular structure of food to remain intact. The foods’ natural moisture and juices are retained, preserving its flavour, aroma and nutrients. Natural flavours are so enhanced that far less seasoning, especially salt, is required. Natural fibres soften and dissolve, leaving proteins, such as beef, tender enough to cut with a fork. The food is not only improved in taste, it retains its nutritional content, a fact that is very important in today’s health conscious society. The food’s organoleptic conditions remain intact.

Snyder (1998) says "After the food is placed in bags and sealed, the bags are loaded into steam ovens or into water bath cook tanks. The heat is turned on, and the food is heated (cooked) to a center temperature of 130F and above, depending on the desired doneness (sic) of the food, and held at the temperature for sufficient time to assure pasteurisation. A temperature control probe is inserted into the largest package of food, and held at the temperature which is placed in the center of the mass of being cooked, This probe is used to control the pasteurisation process. The food is heated (cooked)to a desired end-point for a time that always exceeds pasteurisation requirements. When the designated temperature is achieved, if it is cooked in a hot water tank, the hot water drains from the cook tank, and tap water at about 60F fills the tank. The refrigeration system in the cook tanks turns on, and the food and the water cool so that the center of the package of food is less than 40F (4.4ºC) in about 5 hours. Smaller packages of food cooked in a steam oven are transferred to refrigerated rooms and cooled in less than 6 hours to 41F (5ºC)"

If pasteurised-chilled foods are kept at less than 38ºF there is absolute no hazard. Spores of C. Botulinum, types A y B and E, and B.cereus, and C. Perfringens will not outgrow or produce toxins at less than 38ºF

In the same way, the two mayor pathogens, L. monocytogenes and Yersinia entecolitica, begin to multiply at 29.3ºF. Therefore, it is critical that they be destroyed by the pasteurised process. The pasteurisation values for these organisms, indicate if the food is given 10-5 Salmonella spp reduction, these pathogens will also controlled to a safe level.

The products will be safe and of acceptable quality for 14 days to as long as 180 days, depending on the severity of heating process, level of spoilage micoorganism and refrigeration storage temperatures.

US - FDA derived Holding Times at Specified Temperatures.

Temperature		Safe Storage Time
F	C	Days
55	12.8	1.7
50	10.0	2.4
45	7.2	4.0
41	5.0	7
40	4.4	7.5
35	1.7	19.3
30	-1.1	123.8

Factors of production or service cooked to implement the cuisine sous vide.

As it has been indicated above, the high volume of menus served daily by the company in its catering business, plus those served in its hotels of around 100,000 menus in total and the contract by the Olympic Committee to provide food to the volunteers and the policemen, were the ideal conditions to install the sous vide cook-chill process.

In first place, the company knew that with the sous vide, the cooks could manage their time and their work much better. Chefs cooked to order, and that could lead to a reduction in their work timetable and perhaps in staff costs. The food would be tasty, with high quality ingredients and the risk of poisoning was minimised.

One of the most important objectives in installing the sous vide process was the possibility to avoid the risk of a outbreak of food poisoning. The company knew that its prestige, which was the result of many years of good work, could disappear in seconds if food poisoning existed in any of its businesses. The Department of Quality Control was absolutely in favour of installing the new method to cook. Every week, this Department conducted a full bacteriological analysis of the food (salad, main course and dessert) and all of the staff’s hands and noses. Anything which could minimise the mentioned risk, was very welcome.

Secondly, the contract of the Olympic Committee was a challenging job which needed the most advanced technology which was not widely known by many members of the Olympic Committee.

The company also thought that once the Olympic Games finished, it could introduce the sous vide system into its catering business and its hotels because one of the benefits claimed for the cook-chill system as Sprenger (1998) says, was "in the cost-effectiveness where savings were possible because:

a) centralisation and better utilisation of equipment.

b) centralised purchasing and accurate portions results in less wastage

c) careful design and planning can reduce energy consumption

d) less floor space is required

e) fewer staff are required in both central production and satellite kitchens.

f) reduction in overtime. Careful planning results in a steady workload instead of through and peaks throughout the day

g) better staff conditions and less work unsociable hours. Staff turnover is usually reduced.

h) flexibility- orders for meals can be accepted at much shorter notice

I) improved quality and palatability compared with meals kept hot, above 63ºC for long periods. Complaints of dried-up and overcooked food should not occur. Meals are also more consistent."

All the staff in charge of the sous vide process were very motivated to learn about the method and they did their best to do anything necessary to implement it.

They knew as Sprenger (1998) explains "cook-chill demands considerable management and supervisory skills and the equipment failure and abnormal temperature reading can lead to difficult decisions and high losses. Increased complexity of equipment demands increased expertise from both managers and maintenance staff."

It was also decided to introduce sous vide products into supermarkets. After some preliminary market research, the results were found to be quite positive.

For all those reasons, the Company took the risk and invested a substantial amount of money to redesign and refurbish all the premises in its central kitchen to adapt them to prepare and cook cuisine sous vide.The work finished four months after it was initiated.

Some of the firm’s cooks were sent to Belgium to learn everything about the sous vide, not only its technology but also the hygiene measures required for the process. Other staff who were to work in the sous vide also received the necessary training.

Critical analysis and evaluation of customer’s attitude towards the technique

In Spain seven years ago, unlike in other countries at that time such as Belgium, Germany or Norway, it was not possible to buy food cooked sous vide in any supermaket, because almost nobody there was aware of this method to cook food.

Spain used to be a very traditional and conservative country, especially in food. Spanish people like Spanish food and cook in the conventional way. Generally they do not like to try foreign food and, at the same time, they are very reluctant also if they know that the food is cooked through a different non-traditional process.

However, as it has been said before, the company invested a lot of money in the project and in staff training.

The menus prepared and served in the Olympic Games were varied, tasty and safe. The Olympic Committee as the company’s first customer in food cooked sous vide, was satisfied. Nevertheless some volunteers and policemen complaint about the strong taste of certain dishes such as "Tortellini with spinach" or "Salmon with herb".

For the Olympic Committee and also for the company, much more important than the variety and the taste of the food, was the quality of the raw products and its hygienic conditions during the process and in the final product. Everybody’s big concern, was to avoid an outbreak of food poisoning. And the company succeeded in this.

But the company’s attempt to sell the sous vide concept to the own catering business managers and its hotel management failed because their line management argued that the sous vide system compared with traditional cooking methods was expensive. The profit in the catering business was very small and if they should buy sous vide there would be no profit at all. The line managers advised Head Office that there was a clear choice - profit with standard quality or high quality without profit.

For the line managers, the cuisine sous vide would be very convenient for outlets which did not have enough staff. But this, was not the case for the majority of them. They had the personnel necessary to cook in the traditional way. But if the food came almost ready to serve, the catering business and the hotels would lose money, because they should pay the staff and the higher price of the sous vide.

In spite of the positive market research results, the first attempt at introducing sous vide in high class supermarkets, was quite disastrous. The company thought that the major problem for potential purchasers was not the taste of the food but the way that it was cooked. After considerable explanation about the process, promotions and product testing, people started to buy cuisine sous vide. But not in the necessary way to amortise the investment and to gain profit.

Any potential risk and control systems taken in consideration

The sous vide process is a technology which needs special skills to prepare food perfectly and safely. Whatever small mistaken the process, since the raw product is delivered until the moment which the food is eaten, could be funest: Massive food poisoning with its terrible implications.

The Department of Quality Control had as part of its team a Medical Doctor specialising in food health. He knew the importance of the correct temperature standards and established rules to check the temperatures. This control was carry out through additional highly sensitive recording thermometers. They were placed in all the units. Furthermore, to avoid health hazards a strict system of Quality Assurance was implemented, involving the use of hazard analysis and monitoring and control at all points to control food safety.

As Sprenger (1998) explains, the controls which were implemented to check the sous vide process, were the following:

Raw Materials and suppliers.

To ensure quality the microbiological quality of the raw material was checked through bacteriological analysis. Raw products should be stored at an appropriate temperature and humidities should be monitored. The purchasing contracts should be modified to include product specifications and suppliers monitored to ensure compliance.

Staff

The highest standards of hygiene required that the staff is trained adequately, especially in personal hygiene which must be observed throughout all the stages of preparation, cooking, storage and rehating.

As cross contamination must be avoided, the personnel must also be trained in the preparation of raw materials which must be in areas physically separated from cooking and post-cooking areas. Personnel handling raw food should be confined to the raw material area. Separately identifiable equipment should be used for raw products. Moreover the importance of cleaning and disinfecting all the utilities and food´containers must be stressed.

Personnel should wear white uniforms with caps and boots.

Process

The process of cooking should always be supervised not only by the Chef but by the manager who rigorously should check:

the raw food temperature before cooking

the temperature and time achieved in the product core to ensure the destruction of bacterias

the temperature to which the food is portioned and chilled

clear labels which should be placed in the containers, indicating stock rotation, type of food and reheating time

the temperature of the refrigerated store, which should maintain the food between 0ºC and 3ºC and should be only used for cook-chilli products

the temperature of the food during storage and distribution and before reheating

the date of production of the food

Distribution, reheating and consumption

The vehicles which distribute the food should be refrigerated and the containers insulated and chilled before use. The food´ temperature before, during the distribution and before rehating should be between 4ºC and 7ºC. If the temperature exceeds 10ºC during the distribution and before reheating, it should be destroyed.

Once the food in the catering business or in the kitchen of the hotel, the food should be kept in the fridge at constant temperatures. The food should be reheated as soon as possible after removing from the chill cabinet and never longer than 30 minutes..

Reheating is preferable through the use of infrared units, forced air and steamer convention.

Service of food should commence as soon as possible and within 15 minutes of reheating. Temperatures must not be allowed to fall below 63ºC. Unconsumed, reheated food must be destroyed.

Conclusion

Despite of the fact that the President and the Board of Directors decided to install the cook-chill, thinking that it was the perfect solution not only for the 1992 Olympic Games but to supply to the firm’s own catering businesses and hotels, the acceptance of this food on the part of the company line management was very poor. Furthermore, the sous vide products were not sold successfully in super markets.

Considering the substantial investment made by the company and all the work and effort done by workers and staff, the cook-chill system was not the great success that everybody expected.

References

Anon, Scriptographic Publications Ltd. "About BS EN ISO 9000" (1996)

Burchell, John, "TQM: FAD or FUTURE?" (March1999) HOSPITALITY, The Journal of the Hotel & Catering International Management Association. March 1999.

Halliday, Stephen "BS5750: Never mind the quality" (undated).

Munro-Faure, Lesley Munro-Faure, Malcolm & Bones, Edward "Achieving the New International Quality Standards." (1995) Munro Associates. Pitman Publishing.

Page, Christopher " SIutcliffe "Catering’s Approach to Continuous Improvement" (1994) International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol 06 Issue 1 Date 1994 ISSN 0959-6119

Snyder Peter Jr. "Safety of Pasteurised-Chilled Food" ( 1998) Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management.

Sprenger A. Richard "Hygiene for Management" (1998) Highfield Publications

Swaelens, G.J. "ISO 9000 quality standards in 24 questions." (1992) ISO 9000 News. International Organisation for Standardisation. CompuServe number 100112,3376. (G.J. Swaelens, Editor of "ISO 9000 News)

Thomson, Elizabeth L. & Thomson, C. Stuart "Quality issues in nine New Zealand hotels: a research study". The TQM Magazine, Vol 07 Issue 5 Date 1995 ISSN 0954-478X

Sheffield Hallam University: MSc: Hospitality Assignments