title: Comparison of conventional, cook-chill, and cook-freeze foodservice systems.
abstract: Although the conventional system remains the predominant choice for hospital foodservice, alternative systems such as cook-chill and cook-freeze are prevalent as well. Many foodservice directors have reported improvements in operational and financial indicators when switching from a conventional to one of the alternative systems. Objectives for this research included determination of parameters of operating costs in conventional, cook-chill, and cook-freeze systems and comparison of costs for the three foodservice systems. Operational and financial data were collected for 33 conventional, 22 cook-chill, and 11 cook-freeze hospital foodservice systems. Results indicated little difference among the three systems for most operational and financial variables, suggesting that, in general, managers of conventional, cook-chill, and cook-freeze systems are employing similar resources to achieve their objectives. The number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) was found to be the strongest predictor of operating costs in all three systems. Data suggest that installation of a ready-food system may not lead to savings in costs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management and Dietetics,Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Greathouse
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Gregoire
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Spears
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Nassar
mesh_terms: D003296:Cooking; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005511:Food Handling; D005521:Food Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires