Food & Beverage ReportReport on the catering operations in Dundrum Shopping Centre

03/10/2011DT413/2Ms. Brona Raftery

Paul Kenny

Ciaran Henderson

Food & Beverage Report

Executive Summary

Aims- The authors’ aims are to carry out a research project on the catering establishments in Dundrum shopping centre, learn about the current food and beverage trends, discover how international brands influence Irish consumers/retailers & present this in a professional way.

Research- The authors carried out preliminary desk research on the internet in order to plan their primary research. For their primary research they planned to have a meal in one of the eating establishments, survey all the eateries while observing the atmosphere.

The Meal Experience- The authors had their meal experience on the 02/11/2011 in TGI Fridays. They graded is using the 5 different criteria of Location, Service, Food, Atmosphere and value. They each gave a score out of 5 for each criteria which totalled to an overall 86% satisfaction rate.

Summary of Eateries- The authors defined each type of catering establishment they discovered in Dundrum and briefly discussed each. They discovered 6 types- Restaurant, Café, Fine Dining, Takeaway, Fast Food and Gastro Pubs.

Survey & Categorization of Eateries- The Authors surveyed all the eating establishments in Dundrum shopping centre, noting each ones name, type & location. He then organised each into its appropriate category and briefly commented on each of the different sections of the shopping centre.

Influence of International Brands- The authors determined that international brands influenced many Irish catering establishments (e.g. Supermacs) to set up initially from their good example, but when the international brands arrived here, they pushed out the Irish catering establishments & has forced chefs & managers to rethink their strategies.

Key Trends- The authors identified 4 key trends effecting modern Irish Food & Beverage establishments- Value for Money, Fast Food, Healthy Eating & Convenience which they believe intermingle & relate to one another as consumers demands change.

Conclusions- The authors have discovered the hospitality industry is very competitive especially internationally, as foreign goods put pressure on Irelands catering establishments.

The authors have discovered that the trends have emerged because of socio-economic reasons; some trends have been carried on from the Celtic Tiger era, some have materialised because of the recession and they are just reacting and trying to cope in the most effective way possible resulting in certain trends.

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Food & Beverage Report

ContentsExecutive Summary...............................................................................................................................1

Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4

Background to the research & how it was carried out..........................................................................4

The Meal Experience.........................................................................................................................5

Summary of the different types of Catering Establishments.................................................................6

Survey & Categorization of Different Catering Operations....................................................................7

The Influence of International Brands Providing Food and Beverage....................................................9

Key Trends in the Food & Beverage Operations..................................................................................11

Conclusions..........................................................................................................................................12

Personal Contributions........................................................................................................................13

Paul Kenny.......................................................................................................................................13

Ciaran Henderson............................................................................................................................14

Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................15

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Food & Beverage Report

IntroductionThe purpose of this report is to carry out an investigation into the different types of catering establishments in Dundrum Shopping centre as part of the authors’ coursework.

The main aims of this report is to-

Demonstrate the authors’ ability to carry out investigative research & present professionally. Learn more about the different food & beverage trends in affecting modern Ireland. Discover how international brands influence the Irish consumer and catering establishments. Use teamwork & work together as a group in the investigation & manufacturing of the report.

Background to the research & how it was carried outDesk Research- Internet Investigation

The authors decided to carry out some brief background research on Dundrum shopping centre which included-

The most effective way to travel to and from the shopping centre. The opening and closing times of the centre and of the various catering establishments. The location of each of the different catering establishments.

Field Research- Visit to Dundrum shopping centre

On Wednesday 02/11/2011 the authors decided it was necessary to carry out a site visit to the Dundrum shopping centre to carry out the following tasks-

Have a meal experience in one the eating establishments taking note of the different elements and how they affect dining overall.

Take note of all the different catering operations including any restaurants, pubs, & cafés. Get a feel for the atmosphere in or around these eating establishments and observe the

location of these eateries.

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Food & Beverage Report

The Meal ExperienceThe Authors decided to have a meal in one of the eating establishments in Dundrum as part

of their background research and keep notes on the different elements that are involved. They decided to have their meal experience in TGI Fridays at 5.45pm on the 02/11/2011.

Location- TGI Fridays is located in the cinema building on the second floor, unless planning to go for something to eat you wouldn’t know it was there meaning impulse purchases for this catering establishment is most likely low. However it is easy to access with escalators and elevators leading to the entrance. 5/10

Service- TGI Fridays defines what service with a smile is all about, the servers are very friendly and made the authors feel welcome and at home. They also ensured that everything went very smoothly and if we needed

anything extra there was always someone around to assist us. 10/10

Food- The food was brought out in a timely fashion with nice short breaks between courses allowing the authors to socialize and for their food to settle. The quality of the food was superb with everything served tasting exquisite and piping hot; the only negative is that there was a bit too much food in each serving. 9/10

Atmosphere- With its classic American theme, TGI Fridays achieves a buzzing atmosphere with its interesting memorabilia on the walls, the enthusiastic staff, flairing barmen and overall attention to detail ensured a complete dining experience for the

authors and created an urge to dine there again. 9/10

Value- the authors took advantage of the restaurants 2 course special offer. This allowed the authors to choose a main and either a starter or desert each for €15. The authors found this to be excellent value considering the high quality of service, food & atmosphere. 10/10

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86% SATISFA

Food & Beverage Report

Summary of the different types of Catering EstablishmentsBelow the authors have summarized the different styles of catering establishments that the

discovered in Dundrum shopping centre.

Casual RestaurantAccording to Hayse (2006) a casual restaurant is one that creates a relaxed and friendly

atmosphere, but still must have care and pay attention to detail with signature food menus, creative bar menus and a unique design that draws patrons back for repeat business. In the authors opinion TGI Fridays is a very successful casual restaurant as they excel in creating a meal experience with the whole atmosphere including their unique uniforms, friendly staff, interesting surroundings & décor and of course their excellent food & beverage.

CaféIs a small catering establishment that serves light meals and refreshments, especially coffee,

as café in French literally means coffee. (oxforddictionarys.com, NA) This is one of the most commonly found catering establishments in Dundrum because it satisfies so many of the factors that influence food choice, namely speed, convenience & taste.

Fine DiningRestaurant expert Lorri Mealey (2011) tells us that fine dining offers patrons the finest

quality in three main areas: the food, service and atmosphere, yet it is also the most expensive to both run, and dine in. The menu offers unique and interesting food & beverage, the customer service is much more attentive than a casual restaurant and the fine surroundings such as music, lighting and beautiful décor tie everything together in an almost theatrical fashion of the highest quality.

TakeawayOxforddictionarys.com (NA) tells the author that a takeaway is a meal that you buy

prepared, cooked and ready to eat from a catering establishment to eat somewhere else. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the classic fish & chip type establishment as many businesses diversify in the current climate to open new revenue streams, for example Pizza Hut now offers a takeaway option too.

Fast FoodAccording to Jakle (1999) fast food is any food that can be quickly prepared and served,

although any meal with a low preparation time could be referred to as fast food, typically it refers to food served in a catering establishment with preheated or precooked ingredients and served to the customer in a packaged form that can be eaten-in or taken-out.

Gastro PubThese are pubs that have a focus on restaurant quality food and beverage usually set in a

relaxed atmosphere. They often offer beers and wines that complements the dishes on the menu and have well trained staff that will be able to advise customers on their choices. (Lookupapub.co.uk, NA)

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Food & Beverage Report

Survey & Categorization of Different Catering Operations

Below are the results of the authors’ survey of all catering operations in Dundrum. They noted their location and what type of establishment each of them were. There were a total of 35 different establishments of which 13 were restaurants, 11 were cafés, 4 fine dining restaurants, 3 takeaways, 2 fast food establishments and 2 gastro pubs.

After the survey was conducted the authors then classified each catering operation into its most suitable category, for the purpose of this assignment the authors assigned one category to each eating establishment however many of these establishments could fit into multiple categories.

Level 1:

Butlers café-Café revive, Marks & Spencers-Ruairi Maguires-Winters Bar-Cortinas- MexicanMilano- ItalianNandos- PortugueseThe Counter- Burger The Port House Ibéricos- SpanishWagamama- Asian Yo! Sushi- JapaneseMcDonalds- Fast FoodAussie Ice- Ice cream takeawayL’Officina Dunne & Crescenzi- Fine Dining

Observing level 1 it was noted to be one of the areas with the largest footfall which may account for the large number of catering establishments in this particular area, with a huge selection of restaurants with different ethnic backgrounds patrons are truly spoiled for choice.

Level 2:Starbucks-Brambles CaféBagal Factory-Ananda- Fine DiningDouglas & Kaldi- RestaurantTreet!- Takeaway

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Café

Gastro Pub

Restaurant

Food & Beverage Report

Level 2 is more relaxed with calm cafés dispersed throughout the floor along with Douglas & Kaldi’s family friendly restaurant while in contrast Ananda’s spicy Indian tones can be picked up throughout.

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Food & Beverage Report

Level 3:Café Libro-Café Mimo at house of fraser-Frangos World Cuisine- Fine DiningRainbows- Ice Cream Takeaway

The authors notice as the levels rise, the footfall tends to drop and this is reflected in the number of catering establishments. On Level 3 there are only a handful of eateries, one being the famous fine diner- Frangos. The atmosphere around these eateries is very cosy especially with Café Libro- a hip trendy Café hidden in a tranquil corner of the shopping centre.

Cinema Building:Dantes Pizza- ItalianEddie Rockets- AmericanPizza Hut- AmericanTGI Fridays- AmericanShake Shop- TakeawayKFC- Fast Food

The catering establishments in the cinema building are a reflection on the majority of the cinemas customers with many family friendly restaurants that appeal to a wide audience, especially children.

Town Square:Brambles-Café Mao- CaféHarvey Nichols Café-Roly Saul- the restaurant- Fine DiningSiam Thai- Thai Restaurant

Adjacent the beautiful fountain the authors discovered the elegant Roly Saul’s along with a collection of Cafés, perfect for sipping cappuccinos after a long day of shopping.

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Café

Restaurant

Food & Beverage Report

The Influence of International Brands Providing Food and Beverage

The small island of Ireland home to the humble potato, the pint of Guinness and the ‘Jumbo Breakfast Roll’, yet when we take a closer look at the food beverage industry in Ireland we can see the influence of foreign foods and international brands in our homes and restaurants. Dundrum, Dublin’s largest hotspot for business and entertainment outside of the city centre has a number of restaurants providing customers with a unique selection of international foods and beverages.

Food and beverage is part of the Hospitality Industry, which competes on an international level.

“Businesses today find themselves competing in a world economy for survival growth and profitability.” (Cousins and Lillicrap, 2010)

Large corporate giants such as Yum! Brands that represent chain stores such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, two of which are in Dundrum. These are American style fast food restaurants that have been successful on an international level and have influenced Irish entrepreneurs in the Hospitality sector to open such restaurants as Supermacs. Yet these corporate giants have prevented Supermacs from setting up shop in Dundrum Town centre, showing that the average Irish consumer favours these foreign brands.

With Thai, Chinese, Indian, Mexican and Italian restaurants setting up shop in Ireland, has forced chefs and managers to rethink their strategy.

Frango’s World Cuisine restaurant on the 3rd floor in Dundrum town centre is a clear example of the influence of international brands has on Irish restaurants. Frango’s provide a tasty selection of classic international meals from all over the world, available from the one restaurant. Frango’s international menu has proved a success from the authors experience from dining at this restaurant, providing a healthy menu that meets the current trends in dining out.

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“My team and I have been busy sourcing the best local produce and ingredients, and we have developed a brand new menu inspired by hearty and wholesome dishes from around the world.” (Peter Oppermann, Head Chef).

Food & Beverage Report

The key to running a successful restaurant is providing a healthy balanced menu and being aware of the factors, which affect customer choice.

Dietary Requirements Cultural and Religious influences Vegetarianism Ethical influences

Ireland, particularly Dublin is a multicultural city with people from all over the world living here. This international community has a variety of needs and different tastes especially when it comes to food. Muslims for example have Ramadan, a religious month where a Muslims diet is very strict and what he can eat is limited, outside Ramadan Muslims will not eat meat. Jew’s have to have kosher (clean) food; this has led to specialised sections in shops providing kosher food and uniquely prepared meals added to restaurant menus.

This presence of ethnic and cultural diversity in Ireland has led to an increase of international brands in our super markets. For example Kosherireland.com is an online service that provides a delivery service to travelling Jews in Ireland.

International brands not only affect food but beverages as well. Diageo an international provider of alcohol such as Guinness and Smirnoff, has such a renowned reputation that it attracted popstars like Madonna to endorse this years marketing campaign. “This years 6 million campaign is fronted by Madonna” (Lara O Rielly, 2011).

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Key Trends in the Food & Beverage Operations

-Value for MoneyIn hunts speech at the “A Flavour of the Future” conference he discusses

the amount of choice consumers now have, due mainly to advances in technology and intense competition in the market. This leads to consumers looking for value for money and this is very evident in the food & beverage industry and is especially prevalent in the catering establishments in Dundrum.

In nearly every catering establishment you find some kind of pricing strategy employed to try & entice the patrons to spend money & dine. Whether it be a café- €3.50 for a coffee & a muffin, or in a restaurant- €15 early bird 2 course meal. The wise consumer nowadays will consider all the options before choosing what the best value is for money and which establishment they dine in.

-Fast FoodAlthough there are only 2 stereotypical ‘fast food’ outlets in Dundrum shopping centre, I

believe that the majority of the cafés and restaurants could also be classed as fast food as they prepare food very quickly. The author believes that consumers’ expectations and demands have changed dramatically over the years and has affected their food choice; people expect what they want, where they want it and fast.

As Duane (NA) points out there are “countless independent burger bars, pizzerias and snack bars…along with the thousands of pubs that now serve food of this kind.” As a result of this people started to become very unhealthy, Muldoon (2010) tells us during the Celtic Tiger years people spent more money on “greasy, fatty foods and sweets” and in an ironic twist the recession has forced families to improve their eating habits as they become more economically aware.

-Healthy EatingAs consumers slowly shift away from fast food, they are becoming more and more aware

about how important healthy eating is for their families’ future health. According to ihf.ie (NA) “1 in 5 Irish children are obese” and this figure increases by 10,000 children each year. This results in consumers searching for healthier options when dining out. Deloitte (2011) agrees about Irish consumers becoming more health conscious, but argues that the Irish are price sensitive and although we demand the best, we also want it as cheap and conveniently as possible.

-ConvenienceShare (2011) believes that Ireland used to be a “Jumbo Breakfast Roll” society; everyone was

too busy and didn’t have the time to sit down and enjoy a proper meal, specifically referring to the building industry, however I believe that the Irish people never lost their demand for convenience foods and this is reflected in the sheer amount of eating establishments in Dundrum, with a staggering 13 restaurants and 11 cafés!

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Consumers are looking for the best possible value out of the money that they spend” Hunt (2011)Consumer Trends

Food & Beverage Report

On a final note, the author does not believe that these 4 trends are individual or that they are isolated to Dundrum. He believes they all intermingle to create a combination of demands from todays’ consumers for cheap, fast, healthy and convenient food.

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Conclusions

-The Influence of International Brands Providing Food and Beverage

The authors have discovered that the Hospitality Industry is highly competitive on an international level. With international goods becoming more readily available pressure has mounted on catering establishments in Ireland to have a variety of foods prepared for sale that meet the current trends.

-Key Trends

From the research carried out the author has discovered that these trends have emerged as a result of socio-economic effects. As some of these trends have been carried over from the busy Celtic Tiger era, many trends have been influenced by the current economic climate that businesses and consumers find themselves in today as they try to cope effectively.

The authors believe they have achieved their objectives in this report as they have-

Presented a clear, concise and well referenced professional document. Learned of 4 current trends; value for money, fast food, healthy eating & convenience, the

huge influences behind their conception and what affects they have on catering operations. How the international brands originally influenced Irish brands, but are now heavily

dominating the Irish market and pushing them out. The two authors worked very well together as a team and were able to manufacture the

document co-operatively and in a fair way.

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Food & Beverage Report

Personal Contributions

Paul KennyWorking on this assignment was a unique experience for me. As a potential event manager and

having been studying it for the past year, the food and beverage operation was something different for me to try. I selected this module because I thought a better understanding of culinary skills would be beneficial for future events I may organise. The in class lectures have proved informative and the chance to do field research for my assignment has been a breath of fresh air compared to the long hours cramped in the library rummaging through books.

My assignment was to investigate the catering outlets in Dundrum Town centre. Ciaran and I had set a date to visit Dundrum to investigate the various outlets but unfortunately the whole area was flooded due to heavy rainfall. So in light of this Ciaran and I agreed that we should visit Dundrum once it was drained, to carry out the survey, for the meal experience in one of the restaurants and to experience the atmosphere among the other catering outlets. Also we liked the idea that eating food was helping us with our college work.

We kept contact outside college hours via email and text. We also met up over the reading week to compile our work together making full use of Aungier Street Library. Originally we thought it would be a lot of work and that we’d be at a disadvantage as there were only two of us instead of three but on the contrary we worked well together and decision making was quick since it was just the two of us.

From this assignment I have learned the value of field research and that there is a lot more to learn about the culinary arts and the whole meal experience, than just what you can get from a book.

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Food & Beverage Report

Ciaran HendersonI found working on this assignment was very enjoyable as it gave me a chance to take the

theoretical aspects I had been studying in the lectures and apply them to real world situations. I found it pleasantly surprising at just how much of the class material could be practically applied in day to day culinary situations.

As an event manager this experience was very useful as I can apply this to any future events I may hold. The meal experience was especially useful as I had never analysed a meal from a different perspective before, however when I broke it down into individual components it really helped me conceptualize it from a business point of view.

As Paul mentioned we had planned to visit Dundrum and it had then unfortunately flooded, however we re-arranged and visited Dundrum and TGI Fridays on the 31/10/2011 to carry out the survey and to have the meal experience. I found the survey very useful as it gave me a taste of doing primary quantitative research, while the meal experience could be regarded as qualitative research neither of which I had ever carried out before.

I have worked with Paul on assignments in the past and always get on very well with him and we work very well together as a team. At the very we divided up the work so we each knew exactly what each of our responsibilities were. We kept each other updated, kept in communication and sent each other different ideas using Facebook, Email and text messaging while not in college and I found this worked very effectively and we managed to complete the assignment in a timely manner.

Overall I found working on this assignment a very useful, painless and actually enjoyable process and I believe I have learned a lot from the experience that I will be able to apply both practically at any future events I work at and from an academic point of view in my upcoming exams. I have also gained a much stronger interest in the food and beverage side that many events present and would am looking into getting some work experience in this area.

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Food & Beverage Report

BibliographyImages

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Lillicrap, D. and Cousins, J. (2010) food and beverage service, 8th edition, London: Hodder education

Lillicrap, D. and Cousins, J. (2010) essential food and beverage service. London Hodder education

Mahmood A.Khan. (1991) food service operations and management. 2nd edition New York: Wiley

E- Books

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<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coI00M6766M&feature=relmfu>[Accessed 20/10/2011]

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Websites

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Lookupapub.com.uk, NA, “Pub Food” [Website] Available at: <http://www.lookupapub.co.uk/pub_food.asp> [Accessed 06/10/2011]

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Hayse, M., 2006, “Casual Dining Concepts” [Website] Available at: <http://www.maxeyhayse.com/casual_dining_concepts.html> [Accessed 12/10/2011]

Ihf, NA, “The Facts: Obesity in Ireland” [Website] Available at: <http://www.ihf.ie/news/foodforkids/obesity.htm> [Accessed 12/10/2011]

Deloitte, 2011, “Food and Beverage 2012, Something to Bite Into”, Available at: <https://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Ireland/Local%20Assets/Documents/ie_CB_Foodandbeverage2012-IrishReport_Sept08.pdf> [Accessed 16/10/2011]

Oppermann, P. (2011) , Frangos world cuisine <http://www.dundrum.ie/stores/frangos-world-cuisine/ > [accessed on 8-11-11]

Lara O Rielly, (2011) Diageo, Marketingweek Online <http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/brands/Diageo/ > [accessed on 8-11-11]

Online Newspapers

Muldoon M., (2010) “Boom Times Brought Bad Eating Habits for Irish”, IrishCentral.com, [Online] 21 August, Available at: <http://www.irishcentral.com/news/news_from_ireland/Boom-Times-Brought-Bad-Eating-Habits-for-Irish-101221504.html> [Accessed 11/10/2011]

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