Food & Beverage is all about serving customers when they are hungry. However, food and beverage stores offer a typical selection of foods based on customer demand, type of operation, location, etc.
There are eight most important meals in the hotel industry; these are explained below.
Different Types of Meals in Hotel industry
Early morning tea
Most often, these orders are placed with the room service, which consists of a choice of tea and coffee served with cookies or biscuits.
The service is expected to be fast, and the timing of this meal is from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
Breakfast (Petit déjeuner)
Breakfast is the first meals in the hotel industry. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the prior night.
Breakfast is the first meal eaten after waking up from sleep, usually early in the morning before the day’s work is done.
Many nutrition experts consider breakfast the most important meal of the day.
Breakfast, lunch, high tea, and supper are considered the subsidiary meals of the day, whereas lunch and dinner are the two main meals. Breakfast is considered one of the most important nutritional meals.
At the hotels, the free breakfast in the restaurant is served as a buffet with a wide range of options; however, à la carte breakfast menus are also available.
The current trend is that most of the hotels are offering breakfast as a complementary service (bed and breakfast tariff). Normally, hotels serve the following types of breakfast in restaurants:
- Continental breakfast (simple or light breakfast)
- American breakfast (medium breakfast)
- English breakfast (heavy or full breakfast)
- Indian breakfast
- Buffet breakfast menu
You may also like Meal plan in Hotel: American, Continental & Europeans
Brunch
The word “brunch” comes from a combination of breakfast and lunch.
It refers to a heavy meal eaten during the late morning to early afternoon by guests who wish to skip lunch or those who hate missing breakfast.
Generally served from 10 a.m. up to 2 p.m. and regularly has some form of alcoholic drink (most usually champagne or a cocktail) served with it. Alcoholic drinks are optional with brunch.
Brunch originated in England in the late 1800s, was served as a buffet, and became popular in the United States in the 1930s.
Brunch is often served to a group of buffet guests during an event, particularly a wedding, birthdays, sporting events, etc. Nowadays, brunch has become very popular in cafes and multi-cuisine restaurants and is particularly widely marketed these days.
Elevenses
It is a short break taken at around 11 a.m. to consume a drink or snack.
Afternoon tea
Afternoon tea is a light meal typically eaten between 3.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Beverages are served first. An afternoon tea pastry stand is often used as part of the service for full afternoon tea.
Order of service for afternoon tea
- A hot beverage (usually tea)
- Assorted tea sandwiches (shrimp & cucumber, tuna & tomato, kipper & cheese)
- Sliced bread/fruit bread/multigrain fruit with butter & preserves
- A hot toasted item (teacake or croissant) with butter and preserves
- Scones with clotted cream and preserves
- Cakes and pastries
Lunch
These are the main meals of the day. All F&B outlets cater to these meals. The variety of service differs from buffet and pre-plated in coffee shops to silver service in multi-cuisine restaurants.
Dinner
Served in most food and beverage outlets, and service takes place between 7:30 p.m. and midnight.
Supper
Supper was originally a lighter evening meal. It is a light evening meal, mostly taken before dinner during evening social events. It is also served late at night and is popular in Europe. The menu for supper varies according to the time of the night.
It is usually offered in nightclubs, casinos, coffee shops, and late-night entertainment venues.
It is usually an a la carte menu containing hot and cold dishes that are lighter and less elaborate than those served at dinner. Dishes may contain sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, salads, soups, light stews, fruits, beverages, etc.
Midnight snacks
This are the last types of meals in hotel industry usually, coffee shops and room service outlets provide some selected snacks that are available throughout the night.