DEFINITION & INTRODUCTION OF LARDER KITCHEN
The word larder came from the word
LARD meaning pork (pig) fat. The name was given to the place in kitchen used as
the cold storage for perishable items like meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk.
It is a department set aside for the storage of both raw and cooked and where
food stuffs such as meat fish poultry and game are prepared and made ready for
cooking.
In this department all cold food
items found on the menu such as Hors d’oeuvre cold fish or meat dishes, cold
sauces, salad dressings are prepared and dressed. One particular special
duty of this department is the preparation and presentation of all types of
cold buffet, which are nowadays a feature of so many functions.
This department is also known as “Gar
de Manger” meaning “station of eatery”
For these various functions to be
carried out it is essential that :
1.
The larder kitchen should be separated from the main kitchen and located
in a cool place. At the same time, it must be close to the kitchen to avoid
undue running about between two departments which are closely interrelated.
2.
It should be light, airy and well established and sufficiently spacious
to allow the staff to carry out their duties in a clean and efficient
manner. It must also be able to store prepared foods and buffets in
a cool and hygienic manner.
3.
It should be equipped with the necessary facilities fitting, machinery
and tools. In accordance with the volume and/or quality of the work of the
catering establishment in which it is situated.
PLANNING THE
GARDE MANGER
Layout: The Garde Manger department is unique in its operation. On a daily basis
the Garde Manger department may handle its own butchery, its own bakery, its
own sauce making ,its own frying , smoking of fish and cold meats , all the
decorating including tallow and ice sculpture , Plus a complete line on
charcuterie products such as galantines and pates.
The Garde Manger department can
relate to a food service facility in two ways:
- on a pick up Basis.
- on a distribution basis.
When a Garde Manger department
Executes food order on an ala Carte basis, this is known as Pickup .This system
operates in an unpredictable fashion ,Since the number and timing of orders is
not known in advance. Work load is set depending upon the dishes listed on the
menu.
When the Garde Manger department
Executes food orders in advance for a known quantity, to be delivered at a
certain time (Parties, banquets) this is known as the distribution basis.
Layout of the
larder kitchen
BREAKDOWN OF WORK
In the larder kitchen, the work is broken down into various fields such
as Hors d'oeuvre, Salads, Butchery, Poultry, Cold Buffet etc, and in effect, in
large busy establishments each of these functions or duties are carried out by
one or more men, who specialize in the work of that particular sub-department.
These various duties are allocated by the Chef Grade Manager, who is in
overall charge of the department, to commis or assistant chefs, and they are
known as Commis Grade-Manager, whatever duties they are assigned to. Naturally,
the busier the establishment, the more Larder work it entails, therefore more
is required to man the department. The smaller the volume of trade the fewer
commis required, and so on. In many establishments the Chef Grade-Manager is
single handed and carries out all the various functions himself.
The focus of this kitchen is more on quality rather than quantity.
EQUIPMENTS FOUND IN THE LARDER
Heavy:
·
Refrigeration equipment including refrigerators, walk-ins, reach-in,
pull outs, deep freezers, bottle coolers, ice machines, coolers and chillers.
·
Food Processors with attachments for grinding, pureeing, kneading,
mixing, Buffalo choppers, bone saws
·
Gas range, boilers, heaters (if required)
·
Weighing scales - Electronic and manual
·
Steel tables, cupboards, storage racks and sinks
Light:
Mixers, juicers, Butchers block,
Storage bins and shelves, Slicers, Blow torch, Pots, pans, stockpots, larder tools such
as serving spoons and ladles, sieves , Colanders , Conical strainers and Chinois,
heat Presses , Pie moulds, whisks, egg slices, steel basins and graters
Miscellaneous:
Frying and flat spoons - Assorted
knives (Butchers Boning knives ,butcher’s steak or cutting knives , Butchers saw
(Tenon), Butchers saw(Bow), Butcher’s choppers and cleavers, Butchers chopping
Knives, Cook’s 30 cms (12 inches) Knives, Cook’s 20-24 cm (a/7 inches) knives,
Cook’s 6-8 cm (4 inches) knives, Cook’s 14-20cm(7 inches) filleting Knives
Tranchelard Knives, Palette Knives) - Butchers saw ( Butchers chopper -
Filleting knives and palette knives - Piping bags and assorted nozzles –
Peelers - fancy cutters - mandolin slicer - Wooden spoons and mushrooms (wooden
mushrooms are used for pressing food stuffs through sieves) - Cutlet bat and
steak hammers (for flattening cuts of meat) - Larding and trussing needles and
pins(for larding and trussing joints of meat and poultry) - Lemon zesters &
decorators (for scraping and channeling lemon peel) - decorating knives and
vegetable scoops (for shaping vegetables & potatoes) – Skewers - butchers
hooks (for hanging joints) - Brining syringe (for pumping brine solution into
joints) – brinometer (for measuring density of brine solution) - assorted
thermometers - Assorted trays for storage of food.
DUTIES OF GARDEMANGER CHEF
1. Checking the quality and quantity of all food received in the
department.
2. Ensuring that all food stuff is stored at the right temperature and
that they can easily be
Checked
3.That the food is protected from contamination by vermin.
4. That portion control is ensured.
5. That stock is regularly turned over.
6. That food is not over stocked.
7. A simple daily stock sheet to be maintained by each sub department.
8. Every possible effort is made to ensure the highest standard of hygiene.
9. Pilferage (theft or burglary) is discouraged and controlled.
3.That the food is protected from contamination by vermin.
4. That portion control is ensured.
5. That stock is regularly turned over.
6. That food is not over stocked.
7. A simple daily stock sheet to be maintained by each sub department.
8. Every possible effort is made to ensure the highest standard of hygiene.
9. Pilferage (theft or burglary) is discouraged and controlled.
10.He is responsible to the Executive chef for the smooth running and
operation of his department.
11. He is also responsible for co ordination between his staff and has
to make sure that they have understood the work required from them and the
production schedule, either daily or weekly.
12. Training is another important function he has to carry out. The work
of the larder is of a highly skilled nature and involves a lot of expensive
ingredients, procedures and equipment It is therefore imperative that the staff
is well trained.
13.The larder Chef is also responsible for staff scheduling and duty
rotas.
14.He is also required to co ordinate with the other departments like
the kitchen and the bakery. A lot of pre preparation is done in the larder for
the other departments and satellite kitchens. Their requirements must be made
available well in advance.
15.He also has to maintain registers to record the receipts and dispatch
of the foodstuff.
16.He is also responsible for maintaining hygiene and sanitation
standards in the department. A lot of the foodstuff being processed here is in
the raw sate and susceptible to contamination and possible food poisoning.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF
GARDEMANGER CHEF
1) Butchery (including the fish)
2) Marinated Products
a. Salads
b. Pickled Products –
Vegetables, Fruit, Fish and Meats
c. Brines / Cures –
Smoked Products.
3) Cold Soups and
Sauces
4) Appetizers and Hors
d’oeuvres
5) Forcemeat products
Pâté, Galantine, Terrine, Sausage, Quenelle, etc.
6) Gelatin Products
Aspic, Mousse, Aspic jelly coating, Colle, Chaudfroid, etc.
7) Cold Fish and Meat
– Roasted, Poached
8) Pièce Montée
(Centrepiece)
Ice-carving, Tallow/Butter Sculpture, Salt Dough, Vegetable & Fruit
Carving
9) Specialty items –
Cheeses, Caviar, Foie gras, etc.
10) Food Garnishes
11) Overseas pantry
station
COMMON TERMS USED IN THE LARDER & LARDER CONTROL
Aging: Holding meats in coolers under controlled conditions to allow natural
tenderizing to take place.
AP required: As-purchased amount necessary to yield the desired EP weight. AP
required is computed as EP required divided by yield percentage.
Antipasto: Italian Hors d’oeuvre
Beginning inventory: The dollar value of all products on hand at the beginning of the
accounting period. This amount is determined by completing a physical
inventory.
Bin card: An index card with both additions to and deletions from inventory of a
given product. To facilitate its use, the card is usually affixed to the shelf
that holds the given item. Used in a perpetual inventory system.
Canapé: An hors d’oeuvre consisting of a small piece of bread or toast, often
cut in decorative shape, garnished with savoury spread or topping.
Carpaccio: Very thin slices of meat or fish, served raw.
Carryover: A menu item prepared for sale during a meal period but carried over for
use in a different meal period.
Casing: A synthetic or natural membrane used to enclose sausage forcemeat.
Caul: A fatty membrane that covers the stomach of a pig; used for wrapping
meats for cooking and for lining terrines.
Chitterlings: Pork intestines.
Coulis: A vegetable or fruit puree, used as a sauce.
Crepinette: A sausage patty wrapped in caul.
Crudités: A raw vegetable served as a relish.
Daily inventory sheet: A form that lists the items in storage, the unit of purchase, and the
par value. It also contains the following columns: on hand, special order, and
order amount.
Edible portion (EP): This term refers to the weight or count of a product after it has been
trimmed, cooked, and portioned.
Ending inventory: The dollar value of all products on hand at the end of the accounting
period. This amount is determined by completing a physical inventory.
First-in, first-out (FIFO): Term used to describe a method of storage in which
the operator intends to sell his or her oldest product before selling the most
recently delivered product.
Forcemeat: A mixture of chopped or ground meat and other ingredients used for
pates, sausages and other preparations.
Garniture: Garnish; the act or process of garnishing.
Inventory turnover: The number of times the total value of inventory has been purchased and
replaced in an accounting period.
Lard: The rendered fat of hogs; to insert strips of fat into meats low in
marbling.
Last-in, first-out (LIFO): Term used to describe a method of storage in which
the operator intends to sell his or her most recently delivered product before
selling the older product.
Par level: A system of determining the purchase point by using
management-established minimum and maximum allowable inventory levels for a
given inventory item.
Requisition: When a food or beverage product is requested from storage by an employee
for use in an operation.
Shelf life: The period of time an ingredient or menu item maintains its freshness,
flavor, and quality.
Tripe: The muscular stomach lining of beef or other meat animals.
Waste percentage: This formula is defined as product loss divided by AP weight and refers
to product lost in the preparation process.
Working stock: The quantity of goods from inventory reasonably expected to be used
between deliveries.
Yield percentage: This formula is defined as 1 minus waste percentage and refers to the
amount of product available for use by the operator after all
preparation-related losses have been taken into account.
Yield test: A procedure used to determine actual EP ingredient costs. It is used to
help establish actual costs on a product that will experience weight or volume
loss in preparation.