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The paper aims to provide a better understanding of food service technologies, applied research and technical literacy needs in hospitality.

Reviews the applied research in food services and the technical literacy needed to interpret and benefit from it.

The summary of research is provided in the subject areas identified by QAAHE (2000): food safety management, food quality management and product development; equipment and facility layout/design; operational planning and modelling; as well as market and consumer related aspects. Underpinning scientific disciplines and operational/ strategic benefits of the described studies as well as the three tiers in the educational pathways in food production are described.

The research findings can be used as a source of competency‐building by practitioners and educators.

The paper identifies the main types of research and develops conceptual links between the scientific fundamentals of food service operations and industry practices.

The purpose of this paper is to identify technological challenges and innovative solutions in each of the food production philosophies in the food service sector, namely: industrial cuisine, fast food and fresh food.

The paper reviews industry reports on cooking equipment and preparation techniques. Conceptual links are made with possible future developments as well as operational/strategic advantages they represent.

Innovation in food preparation commands multi‐disciplinary approaches stemming from engineering and food science. Industrial cuisine would benefit from automation, units with intensive heating, robust food product design and shelf‐life extension; fast food from reduced oil absorption by food, better cooking oils, automation and short frying time; and fresh food from rapid cooking, visually appealing serving units and analytical instrumentation for testing raw produce. Future innovations may originate in the field of robotics, food engineering and laboratory equipment design including miniaturisation and portability of units. Sophistication in product development can be achieved through application of the principles of molecular gastronomy in combination with computer modelling.

Managers can conceptualise their operations in terms of the philosophies presented in the paper. Technological innovation is critical to sustain competitiveness (cost leadership and differentiation). The list of underpinning disciplines in food production can be used by educators wishing to enhance their programs with fundamentals supporting innovation.

Food preparation philosophies are presented in the light of impacts on food sensory and microbiological quality, nutritional value and operational efficiencies. The possibilities for future innovation stemming from developments in other technologically advanced fields are identified.

In the Court of Appeal last summer, when Van Den Berghs and Jurgens Limited (belonging to the Unilever giant organization) sought a reversal of the decision of the trial judge that their television advertisements of Stork margarine did not contravene Reg. 9, Margarine Regulations, 1967—an action which their Lordships described as fierce but friendly—there were some piercing criticisms by the Court on the phrasing of the Regulations, which was described as “ridiculous”, “illogical” and as “absurdities”. They also remarked upon the fact that from 1971 to 1975, after the Regulations became operative, and seven years from the date they were made, no complaint from enforcement authorities and officers or the organizations normally consulted during the making of such regulations were made, until the Butter Information Council, protecting the interests of the dairy trade and dairy producers, suggested the long‐standing advertisements of Reg. 9. An example of how the interests of descriptions and uses of the word “butter” infringements of Reg. 9. An example af how the interests of enforcement, consumer protection, &c, are not identical with trade interests, who see in legislation, accepted by the first, as injuring sections of the trade. (There is no evidence that the Butter Information Council was one of the organizations consulted by the MAFF before making the Regulations.) The Independant Broadcasting Authority on receiving the Council's complaint and obtaining legal advice, banned plaintiffs' advertisements and suggested they seek a declaration that the said advertisements did not infringe the Regulations. This they did and were refused such a declaration by the trial judge in the Chancery Division, whereupon they went to the Court of Appeal, and it was here, in the course of a very thorough and searching examination of the question and, in particular, the Margarine Regulations, that His Appellate Lordship made use of the critical phrases we have quoted.

The selection of a food service system (cook‐chill, cook‐freeze and cook‐hot‐hold) is a major strategic initiative, which involves a large capital investment. Each system has specific advantages and disadvantages and each is most suited to a particular set of operational conditions. The paper provides an inventory of data on the efficiency of the systems, identifies deficiencies as well as future needs and tools in the research in this field.

An overview of the studies supporting the decision‐making process – the identification of the need for a system, evaluation of different systems, system selection, implementation and analysis of outcomes.

The paper demonstrates the lack of up‐to‐date objective data substantiating the benefits of the systems in the commercial and institutional hospitality sectors. It suggests a conceptual framework linking food preparation technologies with the elements of strategic marketing as well as statistical techniques, which can be used in the development of a model describing these relationships. Total productivity can be used as an indicator of the overall performance of a system.

Future studies should address the need for quantitative assessment of the aggregate effect of operational and financial factors including those related to construction, menu design, productivity and food quality.

The analysis of inputs/outputs and the possible research methodologies would be of interest to researches and educators, industry practitioners and other stakeholders in the efficient food provision in the tourism/hospitality/institutional sectors.

Middleby Corporation was a designer and manufacturer of commercial food processing and food service equipment for fast food as well as high-end restaurants. During the latter half of the 1990s, Middleby became increasingly unfocused as its number of product lines increased dramatically. Margins and sales slipped. At the same time, some of the company's high-profile product development initiatives ended in failure. Although Middleby's top management recognized some of these apparent warning signs, rather than take action, they seemed eager to blame the disappointing results solely on the company's overseas operations. This inaction caused Middleby's financial performance to deteriorate further, resulting in violations of its loan covenants. To finally correct the situation, Selim Bassoul was moved from his role as general manager of Middleby's Southbend plant up to chief operating officer for the entire corporation. Bassoul had taken the underperforming Southbend plant and turned it into a star performer, correcting and improving customer service, operations, and finances and establishing a clear strategic direction. Bassoul had to craft a turnaround plan for the entire company in the areas of strategy, operations, and finance. He cut the number of products substantially, fired some key customers after a customer profitability analysis, and focused product development on innovative products that saved Middleby's customers time and money. Following these changes and others, the company returned to profitability and Bassoul was named CEO. Bassoul then decided to present a major acquisition opportunity to the board of directors.

1. Successful turnarounds require three essential elements to be addressed: strategy, finance, and operations, all under the CEO's leadership. Students will learn how each element alone and in combination work to make a successful turnaround. 2. Students will learn turnaround leadership skills and see their parallel as entrepreneurial leadership skills. 3. Students will learn that decisions on products, customers, and employee motivation all affect a turnaround strategy.

For generations, Britain has had a household delivery of fresh milk; from the days before the Great War when it was delivered by a horse‐drawn milk float, with the roundsman often bringing the housewife to the door with his cries of “Milk‐O!”. The float had a churn and milk was delivered in a small can, served out by a dipper. This was the start of the distributive trade, organised between the Wars, from which the present industry has emerged. The trade gave universal acceptance to the glass bottle, returnable for household delivery, only the method of sealing has changed. There have been many demands for its abandonment in favour of the carton, of which recent years has seen a rise in its use in the increasing sales of milk by supermarkets and stores. Despite the problems with returnable vessels, the glass bottle has a number of advantages. The milk, including the cream line, is clearly visible, and short measure is most unlikely, which is a growing problem with carton‐filled milk. The number of prosecutions for short measure with cartons must be causing concern to trading standards departments. There is nothing to indicate the offence until the carton is opened.

In the Poudre School District of Northern Colorado, USA, Fort Collins High School (FCHS) and Fossil Ridge High School (FRHS) have similar square footages, mechanical systems, and architectural capacities. While FRHS (built 2005) is leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED)‐Silver and Energy Star (2009) certified, FCHS (built 1995) is not. Despite the sustainable features of FRHS, the whole‐building electric use intensities (EUIs) were comparable for the schools. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate electricity consumption and use patterns at these schools.

To investigate whole‐building EUI and identify areas of high consumption, the buildings were divided into workspaces for which workspace‐specific EUIs were calculated and compared. Further, workspace EUIs were partitioned into their heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, plug load, food service and residual components for analysis.

Significantly, more electricity is used for lighting and HVAC at FCHS (44.04 and 33.16 per cent of total, respectively) compared to FRHS (36.90 and 29.17 per cent of total, respectively). However, plug load consumption accounted for 24.99 per cent of electric use at FRHS but only 16.35 per cent at FCHS. Component EUI analysis identified high‐wattage lighting at FCHS and high computer density at FRHS as areas for possible efficiency improvements.

Whole‐building EUI values are most useful for comparing energy performance of buildings dedicated to a single use. Workspace‐to‐workspace EUI comparisons offer improved energy performance indicators for facility managers. Component EUI analysis identifies specific consumptive activities which should be targeted for potential reduction in electricity use and expenditure.

Workspace and component EUIs provide for more insight than whole‐building EUI when comparing electric consumption of multi‐use facilities.

School business officials procure goods and services through a variety of methods to deliver educational services in a timely and cost-effective way. Recommended practices by professional procurement organizations have changed in recent years to include new technologies aimed at streamlining and cutting costs of traditional procurement methods. Little is known, however, about what procurement practices school districts adopt-new or old. To partially fill this gap, we describe results from a survey of procurement practices of New York State school districts. Our results reveal that despite the potential for new technologies to make certain practices common among all types of districts, competitive bidding laws and enrollment size dictate the procurement methods used most frequently by school districts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the microbial profile of food contact surfaces (FCS) in foodservice industry of Serbia.

The research covered 21,485 samples collected from 1,085 foodservice establishments during a period of 43 months. Results were deployed in terms of food contact materials, types of FCS and types of foodservice establishments.

Highest share of results=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² were present on plastic surfaces during Autumn, while on ceramic and stainless steel surfaces highest share were observed during the Summer season. Take-away food establishments had the highest share of results=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² for both stainless steel and plastic surfaces. Highest share of stainless steel surfaces with microbial load=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² were cutlery, dishes and knives. Plastic dishes had the highest share of results=2 log₁₀ CFU/cm² while cutting boards had the majority of results between 1 log₁₀ CFU/cm² and 2 log₁₀ CFU/cm².

Limitations of the research stem from the discussion of the nature of the FCS like porosity and other physical characteristics.

This research has a practical application in terms of establishing process hygiene levels depending on types of food contact materials and types of FCS and seasonal variations.

The findings of this study are worthy, in respect to possible correlation between seasonal variation and process hygiene requirements and can facilitate a better understanding of microbial risks associated with food preparation.

This research aims to scrutinize the negative reviews regarding the 5-star chain hotels and the e-responses on TripAdvisor, to categorize the complaints declared in the review texts, to provide better understanding of the online problem-solving methods of hotels and their corporate approach to e-complaints and to reveal the post-vacation electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) behaviours of the complaining tourists.

Within the scope of this research, 404 negative reviews and 364 e-responses are subject to an extensive content analysis. A total of 1,655 tourist e-complaints which were mentioned in the negative online reviews are categorized according to their subject matters and grouped under main themes. The e-responses of hotels and statements of e-complaining tourists regarding post-vacation experience are analysed in detail based on a qualitative research approach.

As a result of the research, 82 sub-themes within 11 complaint categories are determined, and it is found out that the e-complaints mainly focus on “food and beverage services”, “room comfort” and “hotel staff”. The hotel management mainly implemented problem-solving strategies such as “request for future patronage, a recovery plan as a result of the detailed analysis of the problem and warning to the relevant department performing poor service” as well as giving unsatisfactory “cliché responses”. Dissatisfied tourists performed negative e-WOM behaviours by using abusing expressions in review text, recommending different hotel alternatives, failing to recommend the hotel and expressing that they would not return.

Combing through negative e-reviews which include wide range of complaints of disappointed tourists and the statements which reveal post-vacation tendencies and feelings, the e-responses of hotels that are providing insight regarding the corporate approach to negative feedbacks and formation of post-vacation relations between the hotel and customers, the paper adopts a qualitative and utilitarian approach. The originality of the paper stems from its elaborative context analysis and balanced comparison of three 5-star luxury chain resort hotels located on the shores of the Mediterranean with almost similar quality standards and guest relations/public relations (GR/PR) departments that represent corporate identity. To this respect, the research is thought to be original in quality and can fill out the gap in the tourism literature. Presenting conceptual framework and practical information, the paper is predicted to guide the future studies, tourism marketers, travel consultants, PR/GR staff and managers employed in hospitality businesses.