A New Hospital Food Service System

Abstract

Developments in methodology and technology of food service systems are primarily aimed to in crease productivity, and their effect is measured in various units that either constitute in part, seg ment, or total a given "productivity model."

The use of the 'integral heating system," de scribed in this article, results in advantageous factors for some foods. These are shorter cooking time, better palatability of the pre-plated meals, more attractive eye appeal, and increased vitamin retention when compared to identical meals heated in a convection oven. Moreover, the "integral heating system," which is an electrical resistance-heating process, should result in more efficient use of electrical power as the electrical energy is converted to heat on the undersurface of a special casserole dish. As it involves con trolled heat generation (the major heat transfer being conduction) it should result in speedy heat ing of the food with minimal rise in environ mental temperature.

Richard Kubach's article narrates, in somewhat episodal form, the development of various seg ments in programming and implementing the "integral heating system" on a valid test basis. The tests reported are not fully conclusive and lack some scientific data, which other publi cations do provide. Operational and manage ment problems are not fully stated, and no at tempt to quantify them is apparent. Credit is due the 3M Company, which engineered the hardware for the new reconstitution subsystem that makes it significantly different from other systems. — Fritz G. Hagenmeyer, Lecturer, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell Uni versity.

¹Beyer, Charles E., "A Hospital Converts to Ready Foods," The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, May 1971 (Vol. 12, No. 1), pp. 39-46.