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FOOD & BEVERAGE

SERVICES NCII
Learning Module

PROMOTING FOOD & BEVERAGE PRODUCTS

Module Title

Unit of Competency
COC3- Promote Food and Beverage Products

Sector
TOURISM

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICES NCII

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 320 Hours
Contents of this Learning Module

No. Unit of Competency Module Title Code

1 Prepare the Dining Preparing the dining TRS512387

Room/Restaurant Area for Service room/restaurant area for service

2 Welcome guests and take food and Welcoming guests and take food TRS512388
beverage orders and beverage orders

3 Promote food and beverages Promoting food and beverages TRS512389

products products

4 Provide food and beverage services Providing food and beverage TRS512390
to guests services to guests

5 Provide room service Providing room service TRS512391

6 Receive and handle guests concerns Receiving and handle guests TRS512392
concerns

CURRICULUM
CONNECTION

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 Welcome to the module in FOOD & BEVERAGE SERVICES NCII QUALIFICATION.
This module contains training materials and activities for you to complete.
The unit of competency “PROMOTE FOOD & BEVERAGE PRODUCTS” contains
knowledge, skills and attitude required for TRAINEES.
You are required to go through, a series of learning activities in order to complete each
learning outcome of the module. In each has learning outcome. Then follow these activities on your
own. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask your facilitator for assistance.
The goal of this course is the development of practical skills in supervising work-based
training. Tools in planning, monitoring and evaluation of work-based training shall be prepared
during the workshop to support in the implementation of the training program.
This module is prepared to help you achieve the required competency, in “FOOD AND
BEVERAGE SERVICES NCII”.
This will be the source of information for you to acquire knowledge and skills in this
particular competency independently and at your own pace, with minimum supervision or help from
your facilitator.

Remember to:
 Work through all the information and complete the activities in each section.
 Read information sheets and complete the self-check. Answer keys are included in this
package to allow immediate feedback. Answering the self-check will help you acquire the
knowledge content of this competency.
 Perform the task sheets and job sheets until you are confident that your output conforms to the
performance criteria checklist that follows the sheets.
 Submit outputs of the task sheets and job sheets to your facilitator for evaluation and
recording in the Accomplishment Chart. Outputs shall serve as your portfolio during the
institutional competency evaluation.

A certificate of achievement will be awarded to you after passing the evaluation. You must pass
the institutional competency evaluation for this competency before moving to another competency.

RESEARCH GENERAL INFORMATION ON FOOD AND

BEVERAGE PRODUCTS
Research general information on food and beverage products

Introduction
In order to obtain product information on food and beverage products it is essential to be proactive.
You must make an effort and take action to find things out.
This section describes sources of this information and identifies the aspects of food and beverage
products about which you should obtain information.

Need for product knowledge

It is vital for every hospitality employee to have an excellent knowledge of the products and services
offered by their workplace.

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In particular, you need this knowledge so you can take every opportunity to demonstrate
professionalism, promote dishes, recommend beverages and generally assist customers.
Opportunities to promote products frequently arise during service sessions, and elsewhere in the
general hospitality environment.
These opportunities mainly occur when taking orders, and present an excellent opportunity to show-
off your skills, as well as to inform the customer of the various products or services offered by your
place of work.
‘Product knowledge’ is at the heart of providing information on food and beverages.
What is product knowledge?
Knowledge about food, beverages, the services you offer and the facilities available is called 'product
knowledge', and you can never have too much of it.
Product knowledge involves almost anything relating to the area and venue where you work.
Food waiters are expected to have detailed food knowledge, a good knowledge about the venue
generally but less knowledge about beverages.
Beverage waiters are expected to have detailed knowledge about drinks, a good knowledge about the
venue generally but less knowledge about food.
Those who are as both food and beverage waiters are expected to have a good knowledge about both.
Product knowledge is different to skills/competencies: for example, a food waiter may have
knowledge about gueridon cookery but not have the skills to provide gueridon service.
Food staff
For food staff product knowledge should include information about:
 Menu items (dishes offered on the menu - you should know what is available and what is not
 Serve or portion sizes
 Prices
 Cooking styles
 Cooking times
 Ingredients
 What is fresh and what is bought in, frozen, and or pre-prepared
 Suitability for those with certain dietary or cultural requirements
Cutlery and crockery required for service of individual menu items.
Beverage staff – drink waiters and bar attendants
For beverage service staff product knowledge should include
information about:
 The drinks/mixed drinks available from the bar –
including cocktails where applicable
 The brand names and types of spirits, liqueurs and
fortified wines available

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  The table and sparkling wines available – bottled and ‘bulk’ (‘house wine’)
 The soft drinks available – including juices, aerated waters and mocktails
 The beers available – draught and packaged
 The pre-mixed/ready-to-drink beverages available
 Prices
 Knowledge about individual beverages – such as wine knowledge, how various liqueurs may
be served, the alcoholic strength of different liquors, whether products are domestic or
imported
 Knowledge about matching menu items to menu items
 Glassware for the service of all drinks.

Venue knowledge
All staff should have general information about the venue itself, such as:
 Opening hours
 Methods of payment accepted
 Booking policies and procedures – including need for deposits
and requirements in relation to booking confirmations
 Complaint handling procedures
 Facilities and services available elsewhere in the venue
 Names of managers/owners
 Legal issues – as they apply to issues such as the service of liquor and safe food handling.
What information sources are there?
Internal sources
Within the property you can obtain product knowledge information from:
 Menus, drink lists, wine lists and cocktail lists – many of these contain descriptions about
beverages and dishes
 Taste the products – subject to whatever workplace restrictions
apply, one of the best ways to really learn about food and
beverages is to ‘experience’ them – smell them, feel them, taste
them!
 Recipes – for information on individual dishes such as
ingredients and cooking styles
 Experienced staff – such as chefs, cooks, cellar staff, senior
F&B service staff, purchasing officers, bottle shop sales
assistants, managers and owners
 Operational manuals – for details relating to the way things
should be done in the room/property

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  Policies and procedures manuals – for background information about the venue
 Wrapping and packaging material – many items are delivered in packaging that contains
information about the product
 Doing a tour of the premises – to meet staff, find the locations of departments and facilities,
and to generally learn about the property
 Talking to customers – to benefit from their experience/s, what they have learned and their
preferences.
External sources
Outside the venue you can obtain product knowledge
information from:
 Product suppliers – by asking direct questions to the
sales office or sales representatives, or by asking
them to send you product information sheets
 The media – it must become standard practice for you
to read, watch or listen to anything that relates to food
and beverages: this should include reading, watching
and listening to the general media as well as
obtaining and reading trade magazines and journals
 Books – see what your local library has, check out the newsagents, visit the local library
 Internet – loads of information is available through targeted searches: see below for some
examples
 Trade shows, exhibitions and F&B festivals – keep an eye on the media and invitations sent to
your employer. Make the time to go – many shows/exhibitions are free to industry personnel
and they are a great way to establish industry networks and keep abreast of what is happening
in the industry
 Food and cooking demonstrations – you can always learn something from these events even
where they are conducted by a company with a vested interested in promoting their range of
products
 Promotional activities – many suppliers run promotional events to advertise their products
and you should attend these whenever possible. Trade magazines, local media and invitations
sent direct to your workplace are the best sources of when and where these are conducted.
Food knowledge required
General background
Your product knowledge needs to reflect the needs of the place where you work.
This means the waiter in a fine dining restaurant will have knowledge about different things to a
person serving food from a Bain Marie in a fast food outlet.
While it is good to develop a broad and detailed level of product knowledge, it is essential to first gain
the product knowledge necessary for your nominated job.
With this in mind, food knowledge may relate to:
Appetisers
Appetisers are menu items offered for guests to eat prior to
their main course.

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They may include:
 Hors d’oeuvres
 Canapés
 Antipasto
 Tapas
 Finger foods
 Sandwiches.
You need to know what ingredients are used, what things taste and look like, what they cost, how long
they will take to prepare and cooking styles.
Soups
A traditional course on many menus, soups provide low food cost items for many premises.
Soups may be classic or contemporary, may be served hot or cold and can reflect ethnic flavours from
many countries.
Options include:
 Clear soups
 Broths
 Purées
 Cream soups
 Bisques.
Meat, poultry, fish and seafood – entrées and main courses
Meat, poultry, fish and seafood are common raw materials for all courses (except desserts) including
entrées and main courses.
As staple ingredients meat, poultry, fish and seafood can be the stand-alone ingredient for a dish (such
as steak, fillets of fish, or lobster) or they can be ingredients in other menu items such as sauces and
wet dishes.
Meat includes:
 Beef
 Lamb
 Veal
 Goat
 Pork.
Cuts and options vary between the meat items but can include:
 Steaks
 Chops and/or cutlets
 Mince
 Joints for roasting.

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You need to know the cuts being used, whether things are fresh or frozen, the type of product being
used as well as what things taste and look like, what they cost, how long they will take to prepare and
cooking styles.
You also need to know the answer to the question “Is it tender?”
Poultry includes whole birds or cuts and includes:

 Chicken  Pheasant
 Turkey  Duck
 Squab  Goose.
You need to know the cuts being used, whether things are fresh or frozen,
the type of product being used as well as what things taste and look like,
what they cost, how long they will take to prepare and cooking styles.
Options include whole birds, legs, wings and breast.
Fish may be fresh, frozen or preserved and can be obtained from the sea of from freshwater.

Fish can include:

 Flat fish and round fish
 Whole fish and fillets
 Whitefish
 Oily fish.
Seafood includes:
 Shellfish (also known as ‘crustaceans’) – generic term for seafood from a fish with a shell
(such as crayfish, crabs, lobster, prawn, shrimp)
 Molluscs – octopus, cuttlefish, squid, clams, whelks, winkles, mussels, scallops, cockles,
oysters.
You need to know the type of fish or seafood being used, whether things are fresh or frozen (a very
common question in relation to fish and seafood) as well as what things taste and look like, what they
cost, how long they will take to prepare and cooking styles.
Desserts
Desserts are served after the main course and also known as ‘sweets’.
In some properties a separate menu is used for desserts.
They can be either hot or cold – many are served with sauces - and include:
 Puddings
 Pies, tarts and flans
 Fritters – Banana fritters, or pineapple fritters
 Custards and creams
 Prepared fruit – fruit which has been peeled and cut ready for
eating

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  Charlottes – such as Apple Charlotte
 Bavarois and mousse
 Soufflé
 Sabayon
 Meringues
 Crepes and omelettes
 Sorbets
 Ice cream
 Bombes
 Parfaits.
Snacks
Snacks are light meals, commonly provided for people who are in a hurry or who are not especially
hungry.
One characteristic of a ‘snack’ is that it can often be easily taken away by the purchaser.
Snacks can include:
 Hot chips and potato wedges
 Biscuits, crisps and crackers
 Hot dogs
 Pies, pasties and sausage rolls
 Croissants
 Sandwiches and rolls
 Baguettes
 Hamburgers
 Ploughman’s lunch – cheese, greens and pickled onion.
Some snacks can also be meals – for example, a slice of pizza is a snack, but a whole pizza is a meal.
Cheese
Cheese can be made from cow, sheep or goat’s milk.
Basic cheese options include:
 Soft cheeses – Brie, Camembert and cottage
 Semi-soft cheeses – Edam and Gouda
 Hard cheeses – cheddar and Parmesan
 Blue vein cheese (such as Gorgonzola, Stilton and
Roquefort) – coloured by an edible penicillin mould.
 Cheese can be used in sauces or served on its own on a cheese platter.
Pasta

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Pasta can be bought-in as ‘dried’ pasta and re-constituted on-site, or it may be made fresh on-the-
premises.
Pasta comes in a wide variety of types (flat, tubular and shaped) and sizes and may be filled or plain.
Pasta is traditionally served with a variety of sauces but can also be used in soups and as a substitute
for potato.
Examples of pasta include:
 Gnocchi
 Spaghetti
 Fettuccini
 Lasagne
 Tagliatelli.
Noodles
Noodles are made from flour (wheat) and water, and/or eggs.
In many ways they are similar to pasta.
Vegetables
Vegetables are traditionally used as an accompaniment to a main dish.
Some vegetables can also be used in salads.
‘Root vegetables’ grow underground.
Examples of vegetables include:
 Potatoes – root vegetable
 Onions – root vegetable
 Carrot s– root vegetable
 Broccoli – green vegetable
 Sprouts – green vegetable
 Celery – green vegetable
 Peas – green vegetable
 Beans – green vegetable
 Spinach – green vegetable
 Cabbage – green vegetable
 Tomatoes – technically a ‘fruit’ but commonly referred to as a vegetable.
Fruit
A growing focus on healthy eating has seen increased up-take of
fruit in premises.
Fruit is almost mandatory with breakfasts, and supplied free-of-
charge by some properties to house (in-room) guests and/or at
reception.

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Fruit options include:
 Pieces and platters of fresh fruit – pineapple, watermelon, apples, bananas, rambutan,
jackfruit, star fruit, mango
 Fresh fruit salad – available with or without cream, yoghurt or ice cream
 Tinned fruit – such as pears, peaches and apricots
 Dried fruit – such as dried apricots, figs, sultanas, raisins and currants.
Salads
Healthy eating has also seen the rise in the popularity of salads.
Salads may exist as a stand-alone menu item (such as a ‘Warm Chicken Salad’) or as an
accompaniment to a main course dish – such as green salad or a mixed salad.
Salads may be classical or contemporary, varying in ethnic and cultural origins, served either cold,
warm or hot, and may contain a variety of cooked and uncooked ingredients.
Dressings are applied to some salads.
Salad vegetables include:
 Lettuce – various types
 Tomato – including cherry tomatoes
 Radishes
 Celery
 Onions and spring onions
 Shredded cabbage – in coleslaw (salad made with shredded/grated cabbage, onions, carrots,
seasoning and mayonnaise)
 Mushrooms
 Carrots
 Beetroot
 Peppers – red, green and yellow.
Many ‘vegetables’ can be used as ‘salad vegetables’ and many ‘salad vegetables’ can also be used as
‘vegetables’.
Pre-packaged food items
Pre-packaged food items include:
 Food items are items bought in from suppliers and sold behind the bar or in other retail areas
– they include items such as chips and nuts
 Portion control items – these are the single/individual serve units such as pats of butter and
margarine, sachets of sugar and sugar substitute, foils of jams and sauces
 Any food item bought-in and served (or sold) ‘as is’ – such as cakes and cheesecakes.
Some pre-packaged foods may:
 Require some basic preparation – such as boiling or heating

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  Be further prepared prior to service by the addition of extra ingredients and/or sauces to
enhance presentation and taste.
Specialist cuisine food items
Specialist cuisine food items commonly relate to cuisines of various cultures but can also include
specific cuts of meats, poultry and game as well as specific types of fish and seafood.
In some cases, an item which is ‘standard’ in one establishment may be regarded as ‘specialist’ in
another. For example ‘pork ribs’ might be on the menu all the time in one venue but be regarded as a
specialist dish in another.
For example, eye fillet could be regarded as a specialist cuisine item if it is not normally used but
required only for a certain dish. A steak which is cut in a butterfly cut may be ‘specialised’. The use
of a chicken leg and thigh connected to each other may be ‘specialised’.
The way the item is ‘grown’ may also classify an item as ‘specialist – for example organic vegetables
or grain-fed beef.
National dishes
It is vital you understand the traditional national dishes of the country in which you work.
Many tourists visit your country and your workplace to experience the local cuisine and you must
know:
 The names of these dishes
 The ingredients in them
 Any relevant history – (as applicable) how and when they were invented; who they were
named after
 The cooking processes used to produce them
 Their flavours and appearance
 Serve size and how they are served
 Cost.
Signature dishes
Venues may – or may not – have one or more ‘Signature dishes’.
These are dishes the venue (or the chef) is famous for.
Many visitors will come to the venue just for this possibly world-
renowned dish.
Signature dishes may be a local/regional dish or from another
culinary area.
Venues will strive to always have the Signature dishes available, all the time the venue is open.

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