Session 5 – Catering

The following three tasks aim to get participants to think about catering requirements, from participant needs, safety, budget and equipment. This is then followed by information about planning a kitchen and food hygiene. The three tasks could be run together with a feedback session at the end, if there are adequate facilitators.

An alternative method would be to provide each group with a budget or a bag of ingredients and ask them to provide a cooked meal for their group and one member of the training team, thus allowing them to plan the whole process for real. This could be made fun by having categories to judge the meal by and prizes for the winner.

If the training is part of a residential weekend you could also ask participants to set up the catering areas for you, and give the plenary information as feedback on what they have done and highlight any causes for concern.

The programmes and cards are available in Appendix 5. The aim of the task is to get the participants to think about what meals are suitable depending on the type of residential experience and the programme they have planned. There is no right or wrong answer.

What is important is what they have considered and the reasoning behind their choices.

This task is about getting the participants to consider how much food they might need, and also the budgetary requirements, in a fun way. During the feedback session you can give the groups points for whoever gets the closest and prizes to the winning group. They need to think about how much food the young people and adults might consume. The worksheet is based on experience, and you may wish to prepare your own or use another method.

If they are planning for a real residential experience, use the time to do proper research, give them information sheets and support them in devising their food requirements and budgets.

The participants should use the scenarios they have already been given, and planned a programme for. This will help them in the progression of planning a residential experience. However the question could also be a generic one and used as part of the checklist process. If they are planning a real experience then the process can be run using the real life scenario.

In summary, cover the following points with participants:

Where and when to buy

This will depend on the availability of local stores, transport and storage capabilities, equipment and the length of the event. If it’s a short experience they can purchase all the provisions beforehand. For longer experiences they may need to plan in a shopping trip during the event.

Going shopping

The advantages of a person actually going to the shops during the event:

• quantities can be adjusted
• less likely to have wastage or leftovers
• can restock on other consumables as they run low, such as washing up liquid

The disadvantages are:

• they will need to take extra money on the experience
• one or two team members will have to go off site each time you shop
• depending on the area, the products that they want may not be available

Delivery

There are a number of options now available to shop online depending on where you are in the country and you could have provisions delivered. The advantages of this include being able to:

• work out quantities and place the order in advance
• pay online, so less petty cash is needed at the event
• keep all adult supporters on site

The main disadvantage of shopping online is that once ordered you either can’t change your mind or are limited to 48 or 24 hours before the delivery to make any amendments. Therefore if you want to change the menu or quantities you have less flexibility.

Tuck shops

Most campsites operate a site shop with plentiful supplies of the things that young people like to eat. If there isn’t one at the venue, they might want to run a small tuck shop, so they need to plan for this in the budget, communication and staffing.

Discuss with the participants the need for the highest standard of cleanliness and hygiene at all times if they are handling food, and cover the following points.

This is an unpleasant gastric illness, which usually occurs within a few hours to a few days of eating contaminated or poisonous food. Symptoms develop in a few hours or up to three days later.

The symptoms of food poisoning may include:

• vomiting
• diarrhoea
• fever
• nausea
• stomach pain

The main causes are waterborne viruses, bacteria, insecticides or chemicals and poisonous plants.

Bacteria can be transported to food by:

• unwashed hands
• dirty utensils
• dirty dish cloths
• rubbish
• cross contamination
• undercooked food
• incorrectly stored food
• rats and other vermin

This is why cleanliness and regular hygiene-related routines are so important.

High-risk foods are those generally intended to be eaten without any further cooking, which would destroy harmful food poisoning bacteria. High-risk foods include cooked meat and poultry, cooked meat products, egg products and dairy foods. The ways of reducing risks include:

• keeping food covered wherever possible
• not using damaged or dirty equipment
• cleaning and sanitising with anti-bacterial spray all work surfaces, before and after use
• handling food as little as possible
• keeping raw and cooked foods separate at all stages of preparation (separate chopping boards), storage and distribution
• preventing insects, animals and birds from entering or living in food preparation or storage areas
• good personal hygiene - washing hands, covering wounds and not wearing jewellery
• ensuring waste food and refuse is removed from food preparation areas regularly
• do not allow dried foods to become moist, as this will encourage the growth of bacteria and moulds
• destruction of bacteria within food can be achieved by thorough cooking

All food must be kept covered to prevent contamination or access by vermin. All food containers need to be kept raised off the ground. Dry food stores should be dry, cool, well lit, clean and ventilated. Food should always be stored off the floor. Refrigerators should be clean, not overloaded and kept at a temperature of between one and three degrees.

Ensure an efficient layout to reduce risks from the cooking equipment. Adequate ventilation is vital together with precautions against fire and carbon monoxide such as fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors. The cooking area should be away from the general walkway to prevent others coming into contact with hazards such as boiling water, knives and fire

Good hygiene practice during food preparation is important in the prevention of food poisoning the handling of food should also be kept to a minimum. Work surfaces should be clean and tidy, spillages and waste food must be cleared away promptly.

Thorough cooking of food is important to destroy harmful bacteria. Food should reach a temperature of at least 70C in the centre. After cooking, the food should be eaten as soon as possible and if food is to be refrigerated after cooking, it should be cooled as quickly as possible and then placed in the refrigerator. Re-heating of pre-cooked dishes should be avoided where possible. If food is to be re-heated, it must be heated through, achieving a minimum centre temperature of 70C.

Participants should ensure that the washing up is done in hot water and that the water is regularly changed as it gets dirty and cold. A good supply of clean tea towels will be necessary.

Suitable receptacles should be provided both inside and outside food premises for the disposal of waste food. Dustbins must have a close fitting lid, in order to prevent access by vermin and flies, and to prevent the spread of smells. All refuse containers must be emptied and cleaned regularly.

They will need to find out what the rules of the venue are for disposing of food waste, and if there are no facilities, they will have to take it home with them.

Where there are recycling facilities on camp every effort should be made to recycle as much as possible in the way of bottles, tins, plastic etc.

Greasy waste needs to be disposed of carefully. They could place it all in a waste container and take it to a main drain if available. Alternatively they could make their own grease trap.

Regular checks of the kitchen and storage areas must be carried out to ensure that they are pest free. Dispose of any food that shows signs of pest damage. Pest control is important to prevent the spread of disease, wastage of food and to comply with the law. The easiest way to avoid pest problems is not to leave any food or rubbish where it may attract them.

It's important to know where the water supply comes from. Sites served by a private water supply, which has been subject to recent excessive rainfall, may give rise to contamination.

On lightweight camps, they will need to think about obtaining water on the move, so inform participants of where to find guidance on how to do so safely. When in doubt about water quality or source, always boil water for drinking.

To summarise, let participants know that in this session they have demonstrated how to plan the requirements needed for catering for a residential experience and they have looked at the different elements they need to consider when thinking about the catering hygiene on a residential experience.

Take any questions the participants may have and conclude the session, by signposting them to appropriate places or people, such as the Nights Away book, that can give them further information, especially on things like the costing menus.

This part of the session has been written as trainer input as several tasks have been completed throughout the rest of the session. Alternatively Food Hygiene and Safety could be run as a task or a quiz. Ask participants to split into groups and to discuss the following topics: food hygiene and food poisoning; storing, preparing and cooking food; kitchen hygiene and waste disposal. During the report back any information can be covered and questions answered.