Efficient catering for satisfied guests
Healthy food with an appetising presentation, efficient processes with maximum levels of hygiene – when it comes to food serving, the requirements are high.
But what systems, processes and products are available? What are their advantages and disadvantages and which is best for your facility or company? B.PRO, your expert partner for professional catering solutions, has the answers.
Whether in children's day care centres, university canteens, companies or retirement homes, professional food serving is increasingly becoming a challenge for many facilities. Alongside overcoming staff shortages and ever-rising costs, care must be taken to ensure that the food serving equipment also meets the needs of the specific business.
The solution is to opt for universal, resource-efficient systems, processes and products that help to save time and money – whilst still creating a positive dining experience. After all, food should be a feast for the eyes, too!
The food serving systems and their pros and cons at a glance:
Table fellowship
This concept is popular in children's day care centres. The children take their seats at the table, and the food is served on plates or in bowls in the middle. A supervisor can then share out the food, or the children are free to help themselves.
Advantages:
- Less work for serving staff
- Meal supervisors can be used to help with table service or self-service (setting the table, tidying up, etc.)
- Less food waste through child-friendly portion sizes
- Eating together at tables builds relationships and creates a sense of belonging
Disadvantages:
- More work for staff
- Higher space requirements
- Hot food cools down quicker when transferred to bowls
- Not always popular with adolescents/young adults
Cafeteria-Line
Guests take a tray and queue at the serving counter. The various meal components are presented in a line and are portioned and served by staff. Diners can also help themselves to a dessert or salad, which are usually already pre-portioned.
Advantages:
- The various meal components can be served as requested
- Portion sizes can be personalised
Disadvantages:
- The arrangement of all meal components in a line can mean long queues and waiting times
- High space requirements for the presentation of meal components
- Staff needed to stock the serving counters
Free-Flow-System
The various meal components are arranged at various stations. Diners take a tray at the entrance and can serve themselves as they please based on a free-flow concept.
Advantages:
- Self-service
- Diners are free to compile and portion their own meals
- Shorter waiting times since diners only go to the stations that have the food they want
- Ideal for combining with buffets, e.g. for salads
Disadvantages:
- Lots of different foods required
- High space requirements for individual stations and "access routes"
- Staff needed to stock the serving stations
Decision criteria
Which food serving system is suitable for my facility?
Age of diners:
Shared tables are more suitable for children's daycare centres and primary schools, whereas the cafeteria line and free-flow concepts tend to work better for older children and adults.
Number of meals:
The shared table solution is only possible for smaller numbers of diners. The tray system for the cafeteria line and free-flow solution are ideal for serving large numbers of people in a short space of time.
Self service:
Meals are compiled by the diners themselves, but can lead to longer waiting times than pre-portioned serving.
Range of food on offer:
This plays a decisive role in how serving counters are organised.
Define priorities (meal customisation for diners, costs, staffing requirements, environmental awareness, etc.) and compare them to the specific circumstances of your facility (age of diners, number of portions and available space). Use this to decide which serving system best suits your needs.
B.PRO professional tips for more efficient food serving
- Plan for increasing demand without incurring financial overheads.
- If the dining area is used for multiple purposes, a mobile serving system might be a good idea.
- Separate food serving and clearing in terms of space and time in order to maximise hygiene in your facility.
- More serving points can prevent long queues. Partial table setting can also help.
- Staggered mealtimes can reduce waiting times.
B.PRO BASIC LINE solutions – as individual as your needs
At B.PRO, we are experts in professional food serving. Whether your priority is cost efficiency and function or visually appealing food presentation, our BASIC LINE products are the ideal solution to cover your needs. Whichever food serving system you go for, the modular solutions in B.PRO BASIC LINE help you to organise your processes with maximum efficiency.
BASIC LINE is available in four versions:
BASIC LINE Smart
BASIC LINE Emotion
BASIC LINE Design
BASIC LINE Kids
Looking bright with B.PRO: The wide range of body colours helps to create a lively, cheerful dining ambience, especially for little ones. Systems with castors guarantee maximum mobility, and compact dimensions ensure optimal space utilisation.
Practical, sturdy, efficient and hygienic – B.PRO products are reliable companions for professional food serving. To find out which BASIC LINE equipment suits your needs, please feel free to use our 3D Configurator.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you need any assistance.
Automation Update 2024‘The topic of automation is gaining momentum’ - Lennart Scherf, who has been responsible for automation since the beginning of 2024, provides an overview of the current situation.
The reinvention of the canteenBalanced meals and efficient food serving with a feel-good factor are the guiding principles of tomorrow. B.PRO is actively shaping this future
"We are enablers"The B.PRO Projects department implements individual solutions in the area of food serving and food distribution. Head of Department Martin Braun gives us an insight into its daily work and explains the benefits it brings to customers.