Reference no: EM133506609

Develop menus for special dietary requirements

Assessment Task 1: Research report

Activities
Complete the following activities.
1. Carefully read the following information.
In this task, you will research a range of contemporary special dietary requirements which are part of Australian society in order to discover their:
• characteristics
• considerations in a commercial cookery environment.
You will also explore:
• the main customer groups that have special dietary requirements
• the key health and legal consequences of failing to address special dietary requirements
• the basic principles and practices of nutrition
• the role of the Australian Dietary Guidelines
• nutrients and their food sources.
2. Research and report
A Research report template has been provided. Use the template to complete your report and then submit it to your assessor.

Assessment Task 2: Develop and cost special menus
Information for students
In this task, you are required to identify the special dietary requirements of at least two groups of customers and then develop a set of six menus to address the differing dietary needs of those groups. You will also gather feedback on each menu from the customer groups.
You will need access to:
• your learning resources and other information for reference
• computers, printers and software for costing and developing menus and meal plans
• the Australian Dietary Guidelines
• recipes that accommodate a range of special dietary requirements
• your Assessment Summary Sheet

• your Dietary Requirements Template (two copies)
• your Menu Template (six copies).
Ensure that you:
• review the advice to students regarding responding to written tasks in the Hospitality Works Student User Guide
• comply with the due date for assessment which your assessor will provide
• adhere with your RTO's submission guidelines
• answer all questions completely and correctly
• submit work which is original and, where necessary, properly referenced
• submit a completed cover sheet with your work
• avoid sharing your answers with other students.

Activities

Complete the following activities.
1. Carefully read the following scenario
Successful completion of this unit requires that you demonstrate your skills and knowledge by evaluating the special dietary requirements of at least two customer groups and developing and costing six menus or meal plans that address those needs.The menus or meal plans that you develop must, whether in combination or individually, address at least six of the special dietary requirements from the following list:
• main types and culinary characteristics of special diets that are part of contemporary Australian society:
o eating regimes:
• elimination
• macrobiotic
o exclusions for allergies, contraindications with medicines or food intolerance
o fat-free
o fluids
o food preferences
o food restrictions
o gluten-free
o high carbohydrate
o high or low energy
o high or low protein
o high fibre
o lactoovo
o low carbohydrate
o low cholesterol
o low fat
o low gluten
o low kilojoule
o low sugar
o modified sodium or potassium
o modified texture
o nutritional requirements
o portion size
o substitutes:
• gluten-free flour
• yeast-free flour
• non-sugar sweeteners
o sugar-free
o type one and two diabetes.
Two of the menus or meal plans must reflect one or more cultural or religious dietary requirements from the following list:
• halal
• Hindu
• kosher
• vegan
• vegetarian.
Two of the menus or meal plans must address the special dietary requirements of different customer groups from the following list:
• adolescents
• athletes
• children
• defence forces
• elderly
• health care
• ill or injured
• infants
• international tourists
• nutritional and energy requirements due to physical condition
• people in areas affected by disaster or environmental extremes
• people from different socioeconomic groups
• people in remote areas
• those with weight problems (underweight/overweight/obese).
You are also required to evaluate each of the six menus by obtaining at least two of the following types of feedback:
• customer satisfaction discussions with:
o customers
o employees during the course of each business day
• customer surveys
• improvements suggested by:
o customers
o managers
o peers
o staff
o supervisors
o suppliers
• regular staff meetings that involve menu discussions
• satisfaction discussions with:
o customers
o allied health professionals
o dietitians
o medical specialists
• seeking staff suggestions for menu items.
It is important that you provide evidence that you have done all of these things and we have provided you with two templates to work into. You will need two copies of the Dietary Requirements Templateand six copies of the Menus template to complete this task. We have also provided you with an Assessment Summary Sheet which will help you keep track of your requirements for this unit.
You will need access to two groups of customers to complete this task. For the purposes of this assessment, your customers might be groups of fellow students, groups of the customers of your RTO's training kitchen or customers in your workplace. When selecting your customers, carefully consider the criteria listed above and read through the whole assessment to ensure that you will be able to meet all of your requirements. Your assessor will assist you to identify a suitable customer base.
What do I need to demonstrate?
During this task, you will be required to demonstrate a range of the skills and knowledge that you have developed during your course. These include:
• Identifying the menu requirements by:
o identifying the dietary and cultural or religious menu requirements of different customer groups
o assessing the contemporary dietary trends or regimes of a customer or group of customers
o liaising with other professionals to assist in identifying and confirming the customer's requirements
o using effective listening and questioning techniques to gather feedback from customers and other professionals.
• Developing menus and meal plans for special diets by:
o selecting a variety of suitable foods and meals for specific requirements
o identifying appropriate combinations of food to meet macro and micro nutrient requirements
o developing menus and meal plans that promote good health
o developing menus and meal plans that reduce the incidence of diet related health problems
o preparing cyclic menus which nutritional requirements and variety
o ensuring that menus incorporate sufficient choice and variety of dishes
o recommending food preparation and cooking methods which maximise the nutritional value of food
o assessing cost-effectiveness of proposed dishes and choosing dishes that provide high yields.
• Documenting special menus and meal plans using correct terminology
• Costing menus by:
o itemising the components of each dish on the menu
o calculating portion yields and costs
o pricing menu items to ensure maximum profitability
o using technology to cost menus.
• Monitoring the performance of special menus by:
o seeking feedback from customers and others
o using feedback to improve menu performance
o analysing the success of special menus against dietary goals and customer satisfaction.

2. Identifying the special dietary requirements of each group
Work with the customers from each of the two groups that you identified earlier to identify their special dietary requirements. Keep in mind that you will use this information to develop menus or meal plans which will meet their needs so you will need to understand:
• what their cultural or religious dietary requirements are
• whether there are any food intolerances or allergies in the group
• whether there are particular eating regimes being followed
• what their nutrition goals are
• whether there are any contraindications with medicines
• whether you require input from medical specialists, nutritionists, dieticians or other health professionals
• what the other dietary and nutrition needs of the group are.
A Dietary Requirements Template has been provided to help you. You will use the information developed in the Dietary Requirements Template to develop and cost menus in Step 3.
3. Planning, costing and developing menus
Use the information that you developed in Step 2 of this assessment to plan, cost and document six menus or meal plans. Your meal plans or menus must meet a range of dietary requirements across the two groups that you identified in Step 2. At least one of the menus must be a cyclic menu.
Note: Keep in mind that there are set criteria for the types of menus/meal plans that you must develop and cost. These are explained in Step 1 above and summarised in the Assessment Summary Sheet which accompanies this guide.
Each menu/meal plan must:
• include a variety of suitable foods and meals according to the special dietary needs being addressed
• include appropriate combinations of food and meet the macro and micro nutrient requirements of your customer/s
• promote the good health of your customer groups
• reduce the incidence of diet related health problems
• balance nutritional requirements and variety
• provide sufficient choice of dishes
• recommend food preparation and cooking methods to maximise the nutritional values of the food
• be documented using correct terminology.
You will also gather and respond to at least two types of feedback from your customer group about each menu. Methods of gathering feedback must be selected from the following list:
• customer satisfaction discussions with:
o customers
o employees during the course of each business day
o customer surveys
• improvements suggested by:
o customers
o managers
o peers
o staff
o supervisors
o suppliers
• regular staff meetings that involve menu discussions
• satisfaction discussions with:
o customers
o allied health professionals
o dietitians
o medical specialists
• seeking staff suggestions for menu items.
A Menus Template has been provided for you to use. You will need six copies of the template. You must complete the Menus Template electronically and each costing must be completed using Excel, a similar spreadsheet package or the menu costing software used in your workplace or RTO.
4. Submit your work
Email your completed Dietary Requirements Templates (two),Menus Templates (six), Assessment Summary Sheetand associated costings and evidence to your assessor. Ensure that your files are named according to the file naming conventions described earlier in this guide and that they are complete and well organised.

Assessment Task 3: Monitoring the performance of special menus
Information for students
In this task, you are required to analyse the customer satisfaction feedback provided in the scenario supplied. You will then use that analysis to make recommendations on how menu performance could be improved.
You will need access to:
• your learning resources and other information for reference
• your Ruby Village Template.
Ensure that you:
• review the advice to students regarding responding to written tasks in the Hospitality Works Student User Guide
• comply with the due date for assessment which your assessor will provide
• adhere with your RTO's submission guidelines
• answer all questions completely and correctly
• submit work which is original and, where necessary, properly referenced
• submit a completed cover sheet with your work
• avoid sharing your answers with other students.

Activities
Complete the following activities.

1. Carefully read the following scenario
Ruby Village is a small, aged care facility in Northern Victoria.Until approximately twelve months ago, the village's residents enjoyed a high standard of meals prepared by an in-house chef who had been with the organisation for approximately 15 years. Following her retirement, a decision was made to outsource meal preparation to a third-party.
Meals are now delivered, frozen, weekly and thawed/heated by the carers. While there is no doubt that the meals are meeting the nutritional needs of the residents, the feedback is consistently that there is a lack of choice, that the meals are bland and that there is no variety in flavours or textures.
Currently, residents are offered two options for lunch and two options for dinner each day. The managers of Ruby Village have agreed to add a third option to each course and have also agreed to review the menu to add variety.
Another factor to consider is that two of the residents are vegetarian and the current menu is lacking in vegetarian options.

2. Analyse the menu and make recommendations
Analyse the Ruby Village menu in the Ruby Village Template supplied with this resource. Adjust the menu based on the feedback and dietary goals expressed above.