NABTEB Catering Craft flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Hospitality industry

The broad service sector covering food and beverage, accommodation, travel and tourism, and events. Catering is its food and beverage branch, serving guests on or off premises.

Contract catering

A service where an outside company supplies meals on a client's premises, such as a hospital or factory canteen, under a written agreement and often a subsidy arrangement.

Brigade de cuisine

The kitchen hierarchy organised by station: executive chef, sous chef, chef de partie, commis chef, and kitchen porter. Each role has defined duties and reporting lines.

Off-premise catering

Catering in which food is prepared and served away from the operator's fixed kitchen, typically at weddings, conferences, or outdoor events using mobile equipment and transport.

Gelatinisation of starch

The process where starch granules absorb water and swell when heated, thickening the liquid. It explains why rice softens and sauces thicken during cooking.

Collagen to gelatine

Long moist cooking converts collagen, the main connective tissue in tough meat cuts, into soft gelatine, which tenderises the meat and enriches the cooking liquid.

Pulses and legumes

Dried seeds such as beans, cowpeas, lentils, and groundnuts. They supply inexpensive plant protein and need soaking to shorten cooking and reduce nutrient loss.

Oily versus white fish

Oily fish like mackerel and sardine have fat throughout the flesh and spoil quickly. White fish have lean flesh and little connective tissue, so they cook fast.

Mise en place

French term for having all ingredients measured, washed, cut, and arranged before cooking starts. It keeps service fast and prevents errors during peak periods.

Colour-coded chopping boards

Boards assigned by food type, such as red for raw meat and green for vegetables, to stop bacteria moving from raw foods to ready-to-eat items during preparation.

Conduction, convection, radiation

Three heat transfer methods: direct contact with a hot surface, movement of heated air or liquid, and infrared waves. Most cooking uses one or more of them.

Maillard reaction

Browning that occurs when amino acids and sugars react under dry heat, producing colour and flavour on roasted meat, toasted bread, and fried foods.

Braising

A combination method where food is first seared in fat, then cooked slowly in a covered pot with a little liquid. It suits tough, collagen-rich cuts.

Poaching temperature

Poaching cooks food gently in liquid held between about 82 and 96 degrees Celsius, below simmering. It suits eggs, fish, and delicate fruit.

Cover

One seated guest in a food service operation. Covers per service and spend per cover are standard measures of restaurant volume and revenue.

Table d'hôte menu

A menu offering a set meal at a fixed total price, usually with limited choices per course. It contrasts with à la carte, where each dish is priced separately.

Russian versus French service

Russian service plates food in the kitchen and carries it to the guest. French service finishes and serves dishes at the table from a guéridon trolley.

Danger zone

The temperature range of roughly 5 to 63 degrees Celsius, or 41 to 145 Fahrenheit, where bacteria multiply fastest. Food should pass through it quickly.

Cross-contamination

Transfer of harmful bacteria from raw food, hands, or dirty equipment to ready-to-eat food. Separate boards, utensils, and storage prevent it.

HACCP

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, a seven-principle food safety system that identifies hazards, sets control limits, monitors them, and records corrective actions.

Fat fire response

Never use water on burning oil, which spreads the fire. Cover the pan or use a fire blanket or dry powder extinguisher, then switch off the heat source.

Energy-giving foods

Foods rich in carbohydrate or fat that supply the body with calories, such as rice, yam, maize, bread, and cooking oil. They form the base of most meals.

Complementary proteins

Combining plant foods with different amino acid profiles, such as rice with beans, to supply all essential amino acids in one meal.

À la carte menu

A menu where every dish is listed and priced separately, allowing guests to build their own meal. It requires more kitchen flexibility than a set menu.

Gluten development

Kneading hydrates flour proteins into an elastic network that traps gas. Strong bread flour forms more gluten, giving bread its structure and rise.

Lamination in puff pastry

Repeated folding of dough around a fat block creates thin alternating layers. Oven steam pushes the layers apart, producing the characteristic flaky rise.

Creaming method

Beating fat and sugar until pale and fluffy, then adding eggs gradually and folding in flour. It traps air and gives cakes a light texture.

Tempering chocolate

Controlled heating and cooling that stabilises cocoa butter crystals, giving finished chocolate a glossy surface, a clean snap, and resistance to bloom.

Food cost percentage

Cost of food sold divided by food sales, multiplied by 100. It shows how much of each sales unit is spent on ingredients and guides menu pricing.

Cost of food sold

Opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock, adjusted for staff meals and transfers. It is the ingredient cost used in food cost calculations.

Break-even point

The sales volume where total revenue equals total cost. In units it equals fixed costs divided by selling price per unit minus variable cost per unit.

Edible portion cost

The true cost of a usable portion after trimming and waste, calculated as purchase cost divided by yield percentage. It supports accurate menu pricing.