CHAPTER-1

The Larder (Garde Manger)

Introduction of Larder Work

This is a section of Food Productions department responsible for the storage
of perishable foods, both raw and cooked, and where foodstuffs such as meat,
fish, poultry and game are prepared and made ready for cooking. In this
department, all ‘Cold Elements’ found on the menu, such as the horsd’oeuvre,
cold fish or meat dishes, all salads, cold sauces and dressings & presentation
of all types of cold buffet are prepared.

Definition
Larder or the Garde Manger is the department in the hotel that is responsible
for storage of perishable foods – raw or cooked, preparing and storage of all
types of meat (butchery), forcemeat / sausages and cold work such as
preparation for salads, cold sauces, dressings and cold buffets.

Equipments found in the Larder

 Mincing Machine - These two machines have an important function in the
Larder. This includes the mincing of raw meats for sausages, hamburgers,
bitoks, meat loafs, mincing of fats prior to rendering for dripping and other
minced meat preparation.

 Gravity Slicer - This machine is used for cutting slices of cooked meats
such as ham or tongue, or any other joint of meat that must, be boneless.
It is also used for cutting bacon or gammon rashers. It is also used in
slicing of vegetables etc for garnishes.

 Scales and Weighing Machines - Large platform scales for weighing large
joints of meat or other heavy weights are obtainable. For lesser weights
there are smaller scales.
 Butcher’s Blocks - These are used for all butchery work: dissecting,
jointing and cutting meat, as well as cutting fats, breaking and chopping
bones, etc.

 Bone / Meat saw – To cut large joints of meat along with bones e.g. steaks.
Use frozen meat. Always wear safety gloves while handling.

 Chopping board and knife sanitizers – This is important as most cold meat
platters have a salad green which is raw served with meats. This is also
required in cutting / butchering meats before vaccuum sealing.

 Buffalo chopper – A commercial machine used for heavy loads of food

serving all the functions of a food processor.

 Other Larder Tools

 Saucepans and Lids
 Tables, Counters
 Serving spoons and ladles
 Sieves -For sieving various foods
 Colanders -For draining foodstuffs
 Conical strainers -For straining sauces, etc.
 Meat presses -For pressing joints etc.
 Pie moulds -For pork or veal and ham pies
 Whisks -For whisking and stirring food
 Egg slicer -For slicing hard-boiled eggs
 Steel basins Containers, etc.
 Graters -For grating foods
 Cutlet bat -For flattening cuts of meat
 Trussing needles -For poultry trussing
 Larding needles -For larding cuts of meat, poultry, etc.
 Larding pin -For larding joints, etc.
 Lemon zesters -For scraping of lemon peel
 Lemon decorators -For channeling lemon skin
  Vegetable scoops -For shaping vegetables and potatoes
 Butcher’s hooks -For hanging joints etc.
 Skewers -For skewering meat, etc.
 Brining syringe -For pumping brine into joints
 Brinometer -For measuring density of brine

Layout of typical Larder

For these departmental functions to be effectively carried out, it is essential

that:

(1) The room is separate from the kitchen, and located in a cool place. At the
same time, it must be close to the kitchen to avoid undue running about
between departments of the kitchen, which are all closely interrelated.

(2) It should be light, airy and well ventilated, and sufficiently spacious to
allow the staff to carry out their duties in a clean and efficient manner. It must
also be able to store prepared foods and buffets in a cool and hygienic manner.
(3) It must be equipped with the necessary fittings, plant, machinery and
tools, in accordance with the volume and/or quality of the trade of the
catering establishment in which it is situated.

Larder Control:

Importance – The larder deals with all perishable products. All the meats are
processed through larder. Also most exotic vegetables, sausages, cheese and
fruits are processed in Larder This involves major capital investments. Hence
if this department is to be run efficiently and economically, it is essential that
the Chef Garde-Manger should exercise the strictest possible control over the
foodstuffs received and stored in the department.

Essentials – This involves:

 The indenting of raw material should be monitored carefully. No over or
under stocking should be done.

 Checking the quantity and quality of all goods delivered to the larder.

 Ensuring that all foodstuffs are stored at the right temperature and that
they can be easily checked.

• Ensuring that the food is protected from contamination by vermin. No

cross contamination.

• Ensuring that portion control is rigidly carried out, e.g. a given weight of
fish, poultry, meat, should always produce the required number of
portions.

• Ensuring that food is not overstocked and stocks of food are regularly
turned over.
• Making every effort to maintain the highest possible standard of hygiene
and to prevent any deterioration in the foodstuffs under his control.

• Taking every precaution to discourage pilferage or wastage.

• Following Standard Operating Procedures. Training the new recruited staff

to ensure quality and quantity control.

• Ensuring (and this is imperative) that a simple daily stock sheet be kept
by each section within the larder and handed to the Chef Garde-Manger at
the end of each day’s business to enable him to write out his order for the
following day.

The Daily Stock Sheet

The stock and order sheets should be made as simple and easy to keep up to
date as possible. A complicated stock sheet, requiring too much writing, will
defeat the whole object of the exercise, as it will be neglected during busy rush
periods, the very time it is most needed.

Department: Larder Section: Horsd’oeuvre Date………….

INWARDS
Items Unit Stock Unit Price Cost

PICK-UPS

The keeping of the stock of food sent in and returned by the Cold Buffet
can be complicated and time-wasting, if one has to measure every gram or
mm. Therefore, it is necessary to accept some rule of thumb, providing this is
well supervised. Note that an experienced Chef du Froid or Chef Garde-Manger
should be able to tell at a glance the weight, or number of portions of a given
joint or cold dish, within very narrow margins.
The Butchery department also presents some problems and the stock
sheet for this department needs careful consideration. Fish, salad vegetables,
canned foods and dairy produce, on the other hand, are comparatively easy
to control.

The kitchen transfers most cooked items that are leftover from buffets
to garde manger. The larder chef in consultation with the head chef reuses
them for decorations, garnishes or made-up dishes to the best possible extent
to avoid wastages.

Liaison with other departments –

Larder and main kitchen:
 Chef Garde-Manger, are responsible for the ordering, storing and
preserving of perishable stores, keeping stocks up to date, and accounting
for such items as meat, fish, poultry, game etc. which pass through the
department on their way from the suppliers to the kitchen. The bulk of
such foodstuff needs dissecting or cleaning, dressing, cutting into the
required joints or portions, and generally preparing for cooking.

 The kitchen transfers most cooked items that are leftover from buffets to
garde manger. The larder chef in consultation with the head chef reuses
them for decorations, garnishes or made-up dishes to the best possible
extent to avoid wastages.

 Preparation of item such as bacon rashers, stuffings, forcemeat, dressings

and cold sauces and savoury butters.

Larder and bakery: Pastry for pies or puddings, and various savouries served
from the Larder department, are best prepared by the Pastry staff, who will
be more skilful in such work, and who are equipped with the necessary
apparatus and tools for producing such items. Savoury fillings as are required
by the Pastry chef for such items as sausage rolls, patties, or pasties, ravioli,
etc., will be prepared in the Larder and transferred to the Pastry department
as and when required
YIELD
Yield is defined as the edible usable part of a food item / raw material,
which is available after preparation / pre preparation and cooking.
A standard yield is the yield obtained when a raw item is processed as
per the particular standard methods of preparation, cooking and portioning
of an establishment.
OBJECTIVES
 To establish a standard for the quantity and number of portions
obtainable from a specific item of food.
 To establish a standard for comparison with operating results and
thereby measure the efficiency of the production departments.
 To establish an objective method of further evaluating standard
purchasing specifications.
 To establish a standard cost factor for the item of food.
 To assist in menu costing and pricing.
 To assist in converting forecast requirements into raw material
requirements.

IMPORTANCE OF YIELD:
Yield testing and yield factors are important for an establishment for the
following functions:
 To determine product pricing.
 To set purchase specifications and receiving standards.
 To forecast purchase quantity and ordering levels.
 Establishing standard recipes and portion size.
 For setting control standards.
 Comparison of vendor prices and quality.
 Monitoring the usage of raw materials.
 YIELD PERCENTAGE / FACTOR:
Yield percentage or yield factor is defined as the percentage of the whole
purchase unit of an item that is available for portioning after any required
processing has been completed.

Yield percentage = number of portions x unit portion size x 100

Purchase quantity
YIELD TEST
A yield test is performed on each item with respect to the product that
needs to be made from that item.
For example – a yield test may be done for pineapples for pineapple juice
and for slices separately.
Yield testing is a very time consuming but an important process as it
helps the establishment to set its own standard yields for each of the item
purchased. This helps to decide whom to purchase from, determine
accurately what output each item gives and set standards for purchase for
each item.
Yield testing is defined as a technique to determine the number of
portions produced after the required processing has been performed. These
processes may include trimming, butchering, cutting, cooking or some
combination of these. During these processes fat, bone and other inedible
or unnecessary parts are removed. Also in some cases (roasts, for example)
fat is removed by melting during cooking process.
All these processes result in weight loss and thus the quantity available
for portioning / serving weighs less than the quantity originally purchased.
For effective yield testing, it is important to weigh the item after each
set of process is completed. The two important parts of yield testing are –

BUTCHER’S TEST: The butcher’s test, as the name states is mainly done
for meats, fish and poultry purchased as wholesale cuts.
Butcher’s yield: Weight of the meat after butchering (cutting, trimming,
deboning etc) x 100
Raw purchase weight of the meat

COOKING LOSS TEST: No yield testing is complete without determining

the weight of the item that is available for serving or otherwise called the
salable weight. Many items are portioned after cooking. Also there is a
considerable amount of weight loss during cooking in terms of loss of
moisture and fat. Thus the primary purpose of cooking loss test is to
determine the standard final yield and thus determine the standard
portion size and cost.

Cooking yield:
Weight of the food ingredients after cooking x 100
Weight of the food ingredients before cooking
Also, cooking loss tests may be used to compare the results of cooking
several pieces at different temperature or for different lengths of time or in
different methods so as to maximize the yield keeping the quality standards
in consideration.

Once the weight and the value of the salable portion is known, the
standard portion size, the prize and the cost can be determine and the
standard can be established.
Factors that are involved in yield testing –

 Purchase weight – the weight of the raw material as purchased to a

known standard and as per specifications.

 Usable weight – that weight of the item that is available for cooking
or further processing after all the unusable and inedible parts are
removed. Mainly applies to meat, fish, and poultry and in some
cases to fruits and vegetables.
  Cooked weight – weight of the item after it has been cooked as per
standard procedure.

 Saleable weight – the unit weight / quantity which is served.

Hierarchy of larder staff

Chef de cuisine

Chef de Garde Manger

Chef de froid Le Boucher Chef De

hors’doeuvres

Commis I, II, III and apprentices under each section

Sub-sections of Larder:
a. Butchery - The work includes:
 Cutting, weighing, marking (meat tags), storing and issuing of
variety of meats and sea food such as poultry, lamb / mutton, beef,
fish monger, seafood such as crabs, prawns etc.
 Preparation of sausages, forcemeats, cold meats for cold buffet items
etc

b. Storage of perishables: This department is responsible for storage of all

perishables in the hotel such as: Vegetables, Dairy products, meat
products, canned products etc.

c. Commissary or cold section: This section is responsible for preparation

of :
  Horsd’oeuvres / Appetizers
 Salads and their dressings
 Cold starters such as hummus.
 Crudites with dips
 Canapés
 Fruit and cheese platters
 Non-edible and edible displays such as fruit and vegetable
carving, tallow work etc

Duties & Responsibilities of larder Chef

 Efficient running of the Larder department and for the co-ordination of the
work of its staff.
 Training and discipline of larder staff
 Keeping a record of perishables stored and record of issues to kitchen or
other departments.
 The Chef Garde-Manger must study the menus in advance, so as to be able
to order meat, fish, etc., in time for the foodstuff to be prepared and cleaned
and made ready for the kitchen in time for it to be cooked.
 The Larder Chef is responsible for the efficient storage of food to avoid
deterioration and wastage and for cleanliness and hygiene in the
department, to avoid any danger of contamination and possible food
poisoning.