Club Mahindra Organises 11th Menu Management Programme

EH&C Staff - Ooty

Club Mahindra organised a three-day menu management programme for the 11th time at Ooty. The theme for the programme was 'prepare for new trends in cuisine'. The main objectives of the programme were developing an understanding of the latest trends in menu management, enhancing knowledge with a practical and technical food and beverage programme. The course guru for the programme was Chef Soundarajan, corporate chef, Club Mahindra.

The various modules of the workshop were principles of menu planning, menu compiling, menu writing along with descriptions, occasion / event specific menu planning, menu engineering, menu location and sequence, commonly made errors in menus, 200 original menus from an international bouquet, practical explanation of menu terms, menu planning for basket cookery and menu ideas for culinary contest

Practical production and tasting sessions of several cuisines, 75 topics, a sample base of over 200 top international menus, 25 exercises, role plays, group discussions, comprehensive evaluation of individual participants were the highlights of the programme. As for the training methodology practical demonstrations, role-plays, visual exercises, tests, group discussions, impromptu presentations and interactive sessions were utilised.

The three-day workshop was conducted from the September 17-19, 2004. The participants were provided with complete food and accommodation for the workshop, a menu directory comprising of 100 menus of famous international restaurants and a complete training kit and workshop material.

Several institutes such as IHM, Christ College and Acharya Institute of Management Studies from Bangalore, Vel's Institute of Hotel Management, Sevaroys College from Yercaud, MGR (IIHMCT) from Chennai, Sri Maruti (IHMCT) from Theni, Hindustan College from Coimbatore participated in the event.

According to BG Sathyanarayanan, assistant manager, operations, Club Mahindra "This programme will prove to be very beneficial for the future students. Every student requires the practical exposure and a programme like this as it will definitely give them the required amount of practical exposure. The students gained more knowledge on various aspects of menu management."