Tamil Nadu HSE First Year Food Service Management cheat sheet

Food groups: cereals, pulses and legumes, vegetables and fruits, milk and milk products, meat–fish–egg, fats and oils, sugar, and spices/condiments.

Starch gelatinises at about 60–70 °C in water; on cooling the starch retrogrades (staling), and reheating re-gelatinises it.

Maillard browning requires a reducing sugar plus an amino acid and roughly 140 °C or more; caramelisation is browning of sugar alone above about 160 °C.

Enzymatic browning of cut fruit is caused by polyphenol oxidase; it is stopped by heat (blanching), acid (lemon juice) or ascorbic acid.

Emulsion rule: oil-in-water types are milk, cream and mayonnaise (egg-yolk lecithin as emulsifier); water-in-oil types are butter and margarine.

Collagen converts to gelatin under moist heat with long cooking; elastin is unaffected by heat and needs mechanical action such as mincing or pounding.

Water activity thresholds: most bacteria need aw above 0.90, yeasts about 0.88, moulds about 0.70 - drying, salting and sugaring lower aw.

Oxidative rancidity of fats is accelerated by oxygen, light, heat and trace metals; it is delayed by antioxidants and airtight, dark, cool storage.

Casein is about 80% of milk protein and precipitates at pH 4.6; whey proteins stay soluble and coagulate on heating.

Energy values: carbohydrate 4 kcal/g, protein 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g, alcohol 7 kcal/g, dietary fibre about 2 kcal/g.

ICMR reference values: about 2,320 kcal/day for a sedentary adult man and about 1,900 kcal/day for a sedentary adult woman.

Balanced diet energy split: 55–65% from carbohydrate, 20–30% from fat, 10–15% from protein.

Nine essential amino acids: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine.

Lysine is the limiting amino acid in cereals and methionine in pulses; cereal–pulse combinations (idli, khichdi, dal-roti) give complementary protein.

Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K require dietary fat for absorption; water-soluble B-complex vitamins and vitamin C leach into cooking water.

Deficiency map: vitamin A → night blindness; thiamine → beriberi; niacin → pellagra; vitamin C → scurvy; vitamin D → rickets; iron → anaemia; iodine → goitre.

BMI = weight in kg ÷ (height in m)²; below 18.5 underweight, 18.5–24.9 normal, 25–29.9 overweight, 30 and above obese.

Moist-heat methods: boiling (100 °C), poaching (70–85 °C), simmering (85–95 °C), steaming, stewing; dry-heat methods: roasting, grilling, baking, tandoor cooking.

Roux is equal weights of flour and fat: white roux cooks 2–3 minutes, blond and brown roux cook longer for darker colour and nuttier flavour.

Mother sauces: béchamel = milk + white roux; velouté = white stock + blond roux; espagnole = brown stock + brown roux + tomato; hollandaise = egg yolk + clarified butter + lemon.

Mirepoix is onion:carrot:celery at 2:1:1 by weight; bouquet garni is herbs tied with leek or celery and used to flavour stocks.

Deglazing means adding wine or stock to a hot pan to dissolve the fond (caramelised juices) left after searing, forming the base of the sauce.

Blanching is 30–60 seconds in boiling water followed by ice water, used to set colour, loosen skins and inactivate enzymes before freezing.

Deep-frying range is 175–190 °C: too low causes greasy absorption, too high browns the surface before the core cooks.

Vitamin C and thiamine are heat- and water-labile, so use minimal cooking water, short cooking times and never add baking soda to vegetables.

Gluten forms from glutenin plus gliadin when wheat flour is hydrated and kneaded; fat shortens the gluten strands and salt tightens them.

Yeast works best at 25–30 °C with 1–2% sugar as food and 1.5–2% salt for flavour and gluten control; above 60 °C yeast is killed.

Baking powder = sodium bicarbonate + an acid salt + a starch filler; double-acting powders release gas both on mixing and in the oven.

Pastry ratios: short crust flour:fat about 2:1; choux uses water, butter, flour and eggs with no raising agent; puff pastry depends on rolled-in fat layers.

Sugar stages by temperature: thread 110–112 °C, soft ball 113–116 °C, hard ball 121–130 °C, soft crack 132–143 °C, hard crack 149–155 °C, caramel above 160 °C.

Cake mixing methods: creaming (butter cakes), foam or sponge (whipped whole egg or egg white), rubbing-in and melt-and-mix.

Icings: royal icing = egg white + icing sugar; ganache = chocolate + hot cream; butter cream = butter + icing sugar + flavouring.

Bread faults: excess yeast or sugar gives a coarse open crumb; under-kneading gives low volume and dense crumb; excess salt gives slow proof and tight crumb.

WHO five keys: keep clean; separate raw and cooked food; cook thoroughly; keep food at safe temperatures; use safe water and raw materials.

Danger zone is 5–60 °C: hold hot food above 60 °C, cold food below 5 °C, and never leave food in the zone beyond two hours.

HACCP seven principles: conduct hazard analysis, determine CCPs, set critical limits, monitor, take corrective action, verify, and keep records.

Cooking critical limit example: core temperature of 74 °C held for 15 seconds for poultry, or 70 °C held for 2 minutes.

Hazard–food map: Salmonella (poultry, eggs), Staphylococcus aureus (hands and skin; toxin is heat-stable), Clostridium botulinum (canned anaerobic foods), Listeria (chilled ready-to-eat foods).

Colour-coded boards: red raw meat, blue raw fish, green vegetables, yellow cooked food, white dairy and bakery, brown root vegetables.

Sanitising options: hot water at 82 °C for 30 seconds, or chlorine solution at about 100 ppm for 30 seconds contact time - always clean before sanitising.

FSSAI licensing tiers: basic registration up to ₹12 lakh turnover, state licence from ₹12 lakh to ₹20 crore, central licence above ₹20 crore or for import/export.

Production systems: conventional (cook-serve), cook-chill, cook-freeze, sous-vide and assembly-serve; choice depends on volume, distance to service and required shelf life.

Cook-chill parameters: blast chill to 3 °C within 90 minutes, store at 0–3 °C for up to five days, regenerate to at least 70 °C, and never reheat twice.

Brigade de cuisine: executive chef → sous chef → chef de partie (saucier, poissonnier, rôtisseur, pâtissier, garde manger) → commis.

Menu types: à la carte (each dish priced separately), table d'hôte (fixed price, set courses), cycle menu (repeats over a fixed period), du jour (daily specials).

Service styles: silver/English, French (guéridon), Russian (platter), American/plate, buffet, cafeteria, family and room service.

A cover is one place setting; covers per hour multiplied by seat turnover is the basis of revenue forecasting and staffing.

Purchase cycle: requisition → purchase order → receiving and inspection → storage under FIFO → issue to production.

Off-premise catering types: mobile/outdoor, airline, railway and hospital therapeutic diet service, each with different holding and transport constraints.

Heat transfer in equipment: conduction (griddle, solid top), convection (oven, steamer), radiation (grill, broiler) and induction (magnetic field, ferrous pans only).

Stainless steel 18/8 contains about 18% chromium and 8% nickel: non-reactive, corrosion-resistant and food-safe; aluminium reacts with acid foods; copper vessels must be tinned.

Layout types: straight-line, L-shaped, U-shaped, parallel/island, and work-triangle arrangements linking storage, preparation, cooking and washing-up.

Work flow must be one-way and non-crossing: receiving → dry and cold store → preparation (vegetable, meat, bakery) → cooking → holding → service → dishwashing.

Ventilation: exhaust hood directly above cooking equipment, grease filters cleaned daily, 6–12 air changes per hour and hood face velocity around 0.5 m/s.

Fire classes: A solids, B liquids, C gases, D metals, F/K cooking oils; Class F/K requires a wet chemical extinguisher and never water.

Maintenance types: preventive (scheduled cleaning, lubrication, calibration) versus breakdown (after failure); thermometers, scales and probes are calibrated periodically.

Equipment selection criteria: menu type, expected volume, energy source, available space, initial versus operating cost, safety and ease of cleaning.

Food cost % = (cost of food used ÷ food sales) × 100; a commercial operation typically targets 28–35%.

Yield % = (edible portion weight ÷ as-purchased weight) × 100; edible-portion cost = as-purchased cost ÷ yield %.

Selling price = food cost ÷ target food cost %; under the markup method, price = cost × (1 + markup %).

Break-even quantity = fixed cost ÷ (selling price − variable cost per unit); contribution margin = selling price − variable cost per unit.

Prime cost = food cost + labour cost; keeping it under about 65% of sales is the usual profitability benchmark.

Menu engineering sorts items by popularity × contribution margin into stars (high/high), plough horses (high/low), puzzles (low/high) and dogs (low/low).

Statutory start-up checklist: FSSAI licence, GST registration, Shop and Establishment registration, Udyam/MSME registration, and fire and local health clearances.

Career ladder: commis III → commis I → demi chef de partie → chef de partie → sous chef → executive chef; allied roles include F&B manager, steward, dietitian, food technologist and catering officer.