Cook-Chill Foodservice System was a new alternative foodservice system in the 1960s. Food items in Cook-Chill Foodservice Systems are prepared and chilled in advance of service, stored in inventory, and then rethermalized before consumption. The purpose of this research was to evaluate Cook-Chill Systems from the foodservice manager's view. The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify effects, advantages and disadvantages, and decision making factors for selection Cook-Chill Systems as perceived by managers, and (2) determine if the demographics influence managers' assessment. A survey questionnaire was used to collect current information of Cook-Chill Systems. One hundred thirty-four surveys were mailed nationwide to foodservice managers with 95 (71%) valid responses. Data were analyzed from the 74 respondents who currently used Cook-Chill Systems. The results indicated that the perceived meal quality, quantity control and personnel satisfaction was equal or better, and labor cost was decreased and equipment cost increased were most often reported by managers in comparing Cook-Chill Systems with prior systems. Managers identified seven advantages: good working conditions, high productivity, labor savings, consistent quality food, good quantity control, nutrient retention, and safety. One perceived disadvantage was high capital cost of equipment. The five most often cited factors for selection of Cook-Chill Systems were labor savings, good working conditions, consistent quality food, safety, and high productivity. Factors most often cited for not selecting Cook-Chill Systems were the limited menu and types of products produced, complaints of bad food, and high capital cost. Most Cook-Chill Systems have been installed in the past ten years with previously centralized production flow. Cook-Chill Systems accommodated small to large numbers of meals with both blast chiller and tumbler chiller equipment and many reheating methods. Half of the managers were involved in choosing, designing or implementing Cook-Chill Systems. Four significant outcomes were: (1) microbiological control was the highest of meal quality contributes; (2) manager satisfaction was higher than customer and employee satisfaction; (3) meal quality and personnel satisfaction differed among reheating methods; and (4) management experience for design or implementation influenced managers' willingness in choosing these systems again. Four recommendations were drawn from this research. Recommendations were: (1) studies to identify factors contributing to success of reheating methods, (2) standard models for cost recording, (3) approaches to analyze capital cost, create menu items, and find causes of food quality complaints, and (4) a Cook-Chill Information Center to share knowledge and support the further development of Cook-Chill Systems. / Graduation date: 1991

Every hospital, private or public, profit or nonprofit, no matter the size, has the task of feeding its patients three times a day plus nourishments. The meals must be served during a short period of time to patients in their rooms which are spread throughout the hospital. The meals must be therapeutically balanced, attractive, the hot foods hot and the cold foods cold, and they must be nutritious. The meals in a hospital differ from those served in restaurants in that all of the courses are served at one time which means that there is greater importance placed on temperature maintenance. Considering that most hospitals offer a selective menu, the task is quite unique and challenging. Hospitals, profit or non-profit are conscious of cost, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. Therefore, the selection of a system to assemble and deliver meals to the patient is of the utmost importance. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare assembly and temperature maintenance and delivery systems currently available; in order to make available information for those who are planning systems and for those who are learning about these systems.

Campus foodservice has experienced drastic changes over the twentieth century. Its cafeteria style service has some major advantages in catering the needs of the clientele: speed of service, convenience in food selection, and range of price, and so forth. As enrollments in colleges and universities have been continuously increasing during the past few years, campus foodservice operation is gaining its importance in the foodservice industry. Additionally, it serves as a part of the marketing mix with an appeal to increasing number of students. The campus foodservice administrators are facing increased pressure of cost containment. Therefore, how to improve operational efficiency and productivity has been a major concern among foodservice managers. However, this is difficult to achieve due to the numerous variables likely to influence productivity with interrelating factors, such as policy and standard, employee and management skills, efficiency of facility layout, and so forth. There is a lack of published reports that single out these variables and provide in-depth analysis as to their impact on productivity. Efficiency of kitchen equipment and workplace layout has been identified as a variable that influences labor productivity. It is the objective of this study to utilize the variables inherent in meal production of campus foodservice operations to assess the efficiency of kitchen equipment and workplace layout and determine their impact on with labor productivity. Case studies were conducted in Owens Food Court, Shultz and Dietrick Dining Halls on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Work flow analysis and process time analysis of kitchen employees was utilized to collect data in describing work flow and utilization of labor time in meal production among the dining facilities. Ten entree items were purposively sampled from each dining facility. The Product Process Gross Charts, often used in industrial engineering, were used as a major data collecting tool. A total of 150 charts, which included Move Charts, Distance Charts, Travel Charts, Description of By-pass, and Worker Process Time Charts, were utilized extensively for data collection and interpretation. The differences in work flow variables and utilization of labor time variables among the dining facilities were studied. An analysis of the influence of work flow variables on the utilization of labor time was conducted. In addition, the differences in the functioning of work flow variables in affecting utilization of labor time among the dining facilities were also analyzed. The results showed significant differences in absolute travel distance and percentage of time spent walking and (or) for delays among three dining facilities. Further more, collapsed information indicated that absolute travel distance was positively related with percentage of time spent walking and (or) for delays; and that percentage of backward movement was also positively related with percentage of time spent walking and (or) for delays. Based on the findings, it is recommended by the researcher that a smooth work flow should be achieved in kitchen design, and some major equipment and workplace should be located within the direct line of flow. Equipment and workplace should be organized into different "functional clusters". It is also recommended that further research would be useful in identifying additional variables which would account for a great percentage of variance in the utilization of labor time. / Master of Science