Indenting (Major factors affecting Indenting)

 

Indenting

 

The basic fundamental of a food operation is to turn a raw food item into an edible product by applying or extracting heat from it. The success of any foodservice operation is dependent on how the raw ingredients are procured, processed, cooked, and then served to the customer to generate profit. If there is a flaw in any one of the steps, it will affect the profit margin of any organization. Also, for volume catering establishments the principles of indenting would be based on the number of people an establishment is catering to. In volume cooking, one has to look at the menu in totality and only then can he/she write a detailed product list that needs to be prepared.

 

Indent is a document stating the requirements of goods with the quantity required along with its specification. It is sent to the store department, which in turn procures the items, and dispatches the same to the department on the day specified.

 

 

Major factors affecting Indenting

 

1)      The yield of a product The yield of a particular commodity has a huge impact on the indenting for volumes. All the recipes should be updated with the yields, as we need to indent for the net weight in a recipe and not for the usable weight. Similarly, when a product is ordered for a particular recipe, the cuts listed in the recipe must be strictly followed to adhere to the costs and quality.   The cheapest item might prove to be expensive if the end yield of the product is low. Some suppliers now even sell pre-portioned meat so that the buyer gets an advantage and there is a consistency in the product quality and cost.

2)      Type of event The type of event for which the food is required also plays a major role in the indenting of food. A wedding function would have a huge range of menu catering to up to 1,000 people or sometimes even more. When the variety is more, the quantities consumed will be comparatively less as most of the guests would like to taste most of the varieties.

3)      Regional influence Regional food also plays an important role in deciding the indenting for a particular item. People from Bengal would love to eat seafood, while people from north India would prefer chicken. The type of dish (dry or gravy) also plays an important part in deciding the quantity to be produced.

4)      Service style The style of service, whether buffet or a la carte, also determines the indenting and portion size of a dish. It is easy to predict the quantities for a fixed portion size, but the challenge arises when food is laid out on a buffet for self-service. In many institutional caterings a buffet is controlled by the catering managers and strict portion control is exercised over expensive food items, but in hotels, the food on a buffet cannot be controlled.

Other factors

5)      The number of persons to feed; the larger number of people the lesser the indent quantity becomes.

6)      Number of items on the menu

7)      Choice provided on the menu

8)      Number of non-veg items on the menu and its vegetarian alternatives

9)      Number of vegetarians

10)   Beef, mutton, chicken eaters

11)   Whether or not Indian bread is there or only rice is included

12)   Choice of desserts provided

13)   Selling price of the menu

14)   Mise-en-place to be maintained

15)   Par stock and closing stock