NUSC 4272 Exam 2 Questions and Answers Fully Solved Latest Version 2025
Aesthetic factors in menu planning - Answers flavor, texture, color, shape, method of preparation
Management decisions - Answers - Food cost is a major determinant of budget
- Production capabilities (employee skills, equipment)
- Type of service (holding of food, delivery system)
- Availability of food
- What do your clients want?
Food cost - Answers - 35-40% rule of thumb commercial operations
- Cost of food/selling price (sales) ($3/$10 = 30%)
Business perspective - Answers - Restaurants are for profit, providing customers with what they want
(niche?)
- Education is not why they're eating out
Onsite (hospitals) - Answers Food service is not the primary purpose of the business! (for profit or not-
for-profit)
- Providing a service
Nutrition education/counseling - Answers Consider what state of change client is in, and then move to
educating/teaching
Consumer trends - Answers Eating out not necessarily leisurely, essential for our daily lifestyle (fast food
is trending up)
- Activity-rich (may spend more time)
- Time-poor (getting food on the table)
National Restaurant Association Trends - Answers Experiences, local culture, charcuterie boards, fried
chicken sandwiches, sriracha, globally inspired salads, sustainability, Southeast Asian, different milks,
alternative sweeteners, etc.
Implications of food consumption - Answers - Food is cultural (more than food, celebrate, entertain)
- Food is valuable (both function and value)
- Quality matters
- Real - fresh, simple & unadulterated (doesn't need to be healthy to be authentic)
,- Personalization
- Food discovery/new flavor profiles
- Flexible solutions
Flexible solutions - Answers - 72% of millennials are eating more plant-based meats
- Flexitarian diets
- Eating less sugar + red meat
- Energy drinks, matcha
Sustainability - Answers - Food production is responsible for about ¼ of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions
- Supply chain, crops, land use, livestock, processing/distribution
- Beef has highest emissions (also lamb, cheese, coffee, chocolate)
- Half of the nation doesn't follow any nutrition rules, 18% low carb, also lactose free, gluten free,
flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc.
- Younger generations following vegetarian trends (Lower income, liberal)
Plant Forward - Answers Focus on plant foods, no rules (impacts on menu planning)
- Focus on meal as a whole, showcasing plants rather than meat
Current issues - Answers Global hunger/malnutrition, unequal economic access to nutritious foods,
equity for food system workers, water shortages
Shape & Delivery Dietary Guidelines - Answers - Population level (Food based dietary guidelines)
- Institution level (Food procurement, Menu planning)
- Individual level (Nutrition education, MNT)
Menu planning process - Answers - Team Approach
- Done in advance for purchasing & printing
- Look at past production sheets for planning and forecasting
- Standardized recipes with portion sizes
Menu planning steps - Answers 1. Dinner entrees 1st for entire cycle
- balance between low & high cost items
,2. Plan lunch entrees
- don't duplicate
3. Decide on starch for each item
4. Select salads, accompaniments, & appetizers
5. Plan desserts
6. Add breakfast after lunch & dinner are complete
7. Review completed menu for duplication and flow of menu
Purchasing - Answers Acquiring goods or services to accomplish the goal of its enterprise
- Number of different people may do
- Number of things buyer needs to be aware of
Challenges with food - Answers Seasonality, volume, quantity, specification & packaging consistency,
competitive cost
What kind of food product selection? - Answers Fresh, frozen, canned, convenience
Fresh - Answers - Good quality if in season (taste, nutrition)
- Good price if in season
- More storage, more labor
- Increased spoilage
Frozen - Answers Convenient (available), low labor cost, less storage, less spoilage, lower food cost,
good nutritive value
Canned - Answers Quality (nutrient, taste, higher sodium levels in veggies), lower food cost, lower labor
cost, no spoilage, easy storage
Convenience - Answers Higher food cost, lower labor cost, look at facility, decreased storage, uniform
product, questionable quality/nutritive value, variety
Value Analysis - Answers Methodical analysis of all components of an existing product/service with the
goal and discovering & eliminating unnecessary costs without interfering with the effectiveness of the
product/service
- Looking for best buy
- Make or Buy decisions (quality, quantity, service, and cost)
, Forecasting - Answers - Estimate future needs; menu tell you what you need and forecast tell you how
much you need
- Historical records base
- Need production records (including leftover amounts, totals served, day of week, time of day, weather)
Forecasting Model - Answers Cost of model, accuracy, relevance of past data, lead time (short, medium,
long), pattern of behavior
Overproduction - Answers Increases cost of food, labor, waste; decreases quality of food
Underproduction - Answers Increases food cost bc substitute convenience foods; decreased employee
morale and customer satisfaction
Effectiveness of forecasting - Answers Best if cycle or restaurant style menu, using historical data,
consider detail/menu items to focus on, better if stable census (how many people actually partake in
meal?)
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Models - Answers - Qualitative models: looking at psychological factors, no
real data
- Quantitative models: mathematical model, assuming patterns repeat over time (considering past data,
but current numbers given more weight)
Time-Series Model (short term forecasts) - Answers - Quantitative
- Easily programmable
- Relatively inexpensive
- Types: moving average, exponential smoothing (more recent data is weighted more)
Casual Model - Answers - qualitative
- regression analysis
- much more complex and expensive
- look at several variable and the relationship between variables (selling price, packaging, # of items,
temperature)
- food processing plants
Subjective Model - Answers - Naïve model (qualitative)
- Use when relevant data is scarce or when relationships between data do not tend to persist over time
- Relies on opinions
Aesthetic factors in menu planning - Answers flavor, texture, color, shape, method of preparation
Management decisions - Answers - Food cost is a major determinant of budget
- Production capabilities (employee skills, equipment)
- Type of service (holding of food, delivery system)
- Availability of food
- What do your clients want?
Food cost - Answers - 35-40% rule of thumb commercial operations
- Cost of food/selling price (sales) ($3/$10 = 30%)
Business perspective - Answers - Restaurants are for profit, providing customers with what they want
(niche?)
- Education is not why they're eating out
Onsite (hospitals) - Answers Food service is not the primary purpose of the business! (for profit or not-
for-profit)
- Providing a service
Nutrition education/counseling - Answers Consider what state of change client is in, and then move to
educating/teaching
Consumer trends - Answers Eating out not necessarily leisurely, essential for our daily lifestyle (fast food
is trending up)
- Activity-rich (may spend more time)
- Time-poor (getting food on the table)
National Restaurant Association Trends - Answers Experiences, local culture, charcuterie boards, fried
chicken sandwiches, sriracha, globally inspired salads, sustainability, Southeast Asian, different milks,
alternative sweeteners, etc.
Implications of food consumption - Answers - Food is cultural (more than food, celebrate, entertain)
- Food is valuable (both function and value)
- Quality matters
- Real - fresh, simple & unadulterated (doesn't need to be healthy to be authentic)
,- Personalization
- Food discovery/new flavor profiles
- Flexible solutions
Flexible solutions - Answers - 72% of millennials are eating more plant-based meats
- Flexitarian diets
- Eating less sugar + red meat
- Energy drinks, matcha
Sustainability - Answers - Food production is responsible for about ¼ of the world's greenhouse gas
emissions
- Supply chain, crops, land use, livestock, processing/distribution
- Beef has highest emissions (also lamb, cheese, coffee, chocolate)
- Half of the nation doesn't follow any nutrition rules, 18% low carb, also lactose free, gluten free,
flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc.
- Younger generations following vegetarian trends (Lower income, liberal)
Plant Forward - Answers Focus on plant foods, no rules (impacts on menu planning)
- Focus on meal as a whole, showcasing plants rather than meat
Current issues - Answers Global hunger/malnutrition, unequal economic access to nutritious foods,
equity for food system workers, water shortages
Shape & Delivery Dietary Guidelines - Answers - Population level (Food based dietary guidelines)
- Institution level (Food procurement, Menu planning)
- Individual level (Nutrition education, MNT)
Menu planning process - Answers - Team Approach
- Done in advance for purchasing & printing
- Look at past production sheets for planning and forecasting
- Standardized recipes with portion sizes
Menu planning steps - Answers 1. Dinner entrees 1st for entire cycle
- balance between low & high cost items
,2. Plan lunch entrees
- don't duplicate
3. Decide on starch for each item
4. Select salads, accompaniments, & appetizers
5. Plan desserts
6. Add breakfast after lunch & dinner are complete
7. Review completed menu for duplication and flow of menu
Purchasing - Answers Acquiring goods or services to accomplish the goal of its enterprise
- Number of different people may do
- Number of things buyer needs to be aware of
Challenges with food - Answers Seasonality, volume, quantity, specification & packaging consistency,
competitive cost
What kind of food product selection? - Answers Fresh, frozen, canned, convenience
Fresh - Answers - Good quality if in season (taste, nutrition)
- Good price if in season
- More storage, more labor
- Increased spoilage
Frozen - Answers Convenient (available), low labor cost, less storage, less spoilage, lower food cost,
good nutritive value
Canned - Answers Quality (nutrient, taste, higher sodium levels in veggies), lower food cost, lower labor
cost, no spoilage, easy storage
Convenience - Answers Higher food cost, lower labor cost, look at facility, decreased storage, uniform
product, questionable quality/nutritive value, variety
Value Analysis - Answers Methodical analysis of all components of an existing product/service with the
goal and discovering & eliminating unnecessary costs without interfering with the effectiveness of the
product/service
- Looking for best buy
- Make or Buy decisions (quality, quantity, service, and cost)
, Forecasting - Answers - Estimate future needs; menu tell you what you need and forecast tell you how
much you need
- Historical records base
- Need production records (including leftover amounts, totals served, day of week, time of day, weather)
Forecasting Model - Answers Cost of model, accuracy, relevance of past data, lead time (short, medium,
long), pattern of behavior
Overproduction - Answers Increases cost of food, labor, waste; decreases quality of food
Underproduction - Answers Increases food cost bc substitute convenience foods; decreased employee
morale and customer satisfaction
Effectiveness of forecasting - Answers Best if cycle or restaurant style menu, using historical data,
consider detail/menu items to focus on, better if stable census (how many people actually partake in
meal?)
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Models - Answers - Qualitative models: looking at psychological factors, no
real data
- Quantitative models: mathematical model, assuming patterns repeat over time (considering past data,
but current numbers given more weight)
Time-Series Model (short term forecasts) - Answers - Quantitative
- Easily programmable
- Relatively inexpensive
- Types: moving average, exponential smoothing (more recent data is weighted more)
Casual Model - Answers - qualitative
- regression analysis
- much more complex and expensive
- look at several variable and the relationship between variables (selling price, packaging, # of items,
temperature)
- food processing plants
Subjective Model - Answers - Naïve model (qualitative)
- Use when relevant data is scarce or when relationships between data do not tend to persist over time
- Relies on opinions
