What is Institutional Food Service Management?
An issue that really needs more publicity among the foodie set is that culinary school gives you more than just the skills to work in a restaurant. When you learn about food, cooking, and how everything works together to create a meal or diet, you also learn a lot about the science, nutrition, and the politics going on behind the scenes.
If you're interested in food but not interested in the life of a traditional chef, all that knowledge could still be useful to you in an array of other situations. One of these is institutional food management, which sounds similar to restaurant management but is different in key respects.
What Counts as an Institution?
An institution, in food service terms, is an entity or organization that serves a specific group of people. It's not a private club, but rather a place like a school cafeteria, hospital dining service, or other place where people are eating not for fun but as part of a scheduled break at that institution. These institutions are often non-profit, but not in every case; for example, a for-profit private hospital would still be an institution in food service management terms. But the cafeteria or food service within the institution is not looking to make a profit like regular restaurants are.
Benefits of Institutional Food Service Management
Institutional food service management does offer some distinct benefits for those who hold the position. The hours are a lot more regular, often typical weekday business hours, and not the round-the-clock cloud of stress that is managing a regular restaurant. There may be more office work and paperwork involved in institutional food service management.
Difference Between Restaurant Management vs Institutional Food Service Management
A major distinction between the two involves menu planning. In a typical restaurant, the manager may help the chef plan a menu that adheres to the restaurant's main cuisine or special holiday plans. In an institution, the manager may have to pay more attention to special diets, such as nutritionally complete diets for schoolchildren or menu plans that adhere to federal guidelines for specific programs.
Managers in these institutions also have to keep their eyes on tight budgets that aren't always set by the manager and chef -- many times it's the institution's budget office that gives the food service an amount to work with. This can be one of the trickier aspects of the job, as there have been a number of attempts to change how certain institutions, especially schools, create their menus. Not only do the managers have to work within budget and ensure there will be food that is at least nutritious, but they have to keep in mind the appearance of their menus to outsiders.
Food Fads Don't Matter That Much
Institutional food service managers are less susceptible to the pressures of the latest hot thing in the food world. While new awareness of health problems can certainly affect the menu, it won't really matter whether a particular cuisine becomes hot or not. What the institutional manager cares about is creating a menu that provides diners with balanced nutrition.
Professional Education Is Vital
Institutional managers benefit greatly from professional culinary education because this is not a role you learn on the job. Certainly, there will always be a learning curve specific to a job that a manager won't know about until they actually start working, but the basic knowledge remains the same for most institutional food service offices. In addition, there is really no time to learn everything on the job. Someone who wants to be a chef may be able to start as a dishwasher and work up, using everything learned on the job, but institutional managers need that nutrition knowledge and budget savvy already in place, before starting work.
Are you interested in life as a food service manager? If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management, ECPI University’s Culinary Institute of Virginia offers this course at an accelerated rate. For more information, connect with a knowledgeable admissions advisor today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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