For nearly 70 years, Food for Fifty has been used as a resource for students in quantity food production and food production management courses, and for persons employed in foodservice management positions. The book is designed to provide food professionals with quantity recipes that they can prepare, confident of quality outcomes, and with information that will make their jobs easier. Since the book's origin, revisions have been made to keep abreast of the changing foodservice industry. In this twelfth edition, new recipes have been added that reflect current food preferences and modern eating styles, including meatless and vegan recipes. In addition, a longtime goal of Food for Fifty is to provide basic standardized recipes that can be adapted to produce foods similar to those shown in popular magazines, home-size cookbooks, and trade publications. The basic recipes and straightforward production guides will assist production staff in making an endless variety of food products. New and expanded food production information includes food safety guidelines, food evaluation forms, discussion about the basic foods used in food preparation, and food production fundamentals. Knife use and care, and information about equipment is included. Color visuals in the basic foods section add to Food for Fifty's usefulness as a teaching text and foodservice resource.

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK

Food for Fifty is divided into three major sections. Part One, "Planning the Menu and Planning Special Meals and Receptions," offers guidelines and procedures for planning meals, with special consideration given to different types of foodservices. Planning and serving special foodservice events such as receptions, buffets, and banquets are discussed, and guidelines for planning are provided.

Part Two, "Food Production Information," is a guide to planning and preparing food in quantity. This part has four sections. In Section A, the guidelines and tables are useful for developing, constructing, and adjusting recipes. Directions for increasing recipe yields are helpful when adapting recipes given in this book to different yields and for increasing home-sized recipes for quantity production. Suggestions for reducing fat, sodium, and sugar are useful for providing food choices that help clientele meet the dietary guidelines for Americans. Section B provides a comprehensive table of amounts of food needed to serve 50 people and information for making food substitutions and weight and measure conversions. Section C includes tables for weights and measures, and cooking and baking temperature guides. Section D has many food safety guidelines that are useful for developing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans. This section also includes a discussion of basic food products and production fundamentals such as kitchen readiness, production scheduling, cooking methods, and food evaluation. Knife care and descriptions for basic knife cuts will be helpful for teaching inexperienced food production staff or students. A visual description of small equipment used in food production is in this section.

Part Three, "Recipes," includes a wide variety of tested recipes given in yields of approximately 50 portions and many suggestions for variations of the basic recipes. Recipes are organized according to menu categories. Most recipe chapters begin with general timetables and cooking guidelines for preparing the recipes in that chapter.

At the back of the book is a list of menu planning suggestions and garnishes (Appendix A) and a glossary of menu and cooking terms (Appendix B).

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE BOOK

Food for Fifty has been recognized for many years as a dependable resource for students and food production managers. Part Two is considered by many to be an indispensable reference for food production information. The various tables are helpful for menu planning and purchasing, and when making food production assignments.

Dietitians, foodservice managers, and faculty members have, for many years, depended on the standardized recipes in Food for Fifty. Recipes are written in an easy-to-read format with standardized procedures that allow quality products to be prepared consistently. Suggested variations for many of the recipes increase the value of the recipe section. In this revised book, recipes now include new foods on the market and foods appropriate for helping clientele meet their dietary standards. This new edition serves to increase Food for Fifty's value as a resource for a broad variety of recipes. The nutrition information will be helpful in planning and preparing foods for clientele with different needs. Food production, service, and storage procedures will be useful for developing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans.

Menu planning information is given in concise terms in Part One. The discussion of planning procedures and the menu suggestion list in Appendix A are helpful to students and to foodservice managers whose responsibilities include menu planning. Many foodservices are called upon today to provide food for special events such as holiday meals, buffets, and coffees, receptions, and teas. Part One offers suggestions for menus, organization, and service of these functions.

Many four color pictures present the reader with attractive photo inserts of breads, meats, produce, and salads. The pictures are provided to generate ideas and offer creative food production and service suggestions. Other color photos used in the book will help describe food products.

USING THE BOOK

Food for Fifty is written for many users. Students in quantity food production and foodservice management use the text as a resource for learning the standards, skills, and techniques inherent in quality food production. Instructors find beneficial the basic menu planning and food production features that equip them with the tools necessary for designing teaching modules and supervising laboratories. The reliability of the recipes, tables, and charts in the book allows instructors to make assignments with confidence of a quality outcome. Additionally, the text provides a resource for instructing students on how to plan and serve special foodservice functions. Foodservice administrators, managers, and supervisors are also users of the text. Food for Fifty is a comprehensive resource for quantity recipes and technical food production information. The book serves as a foundation for the food production system.

The uses for Food for Fifty as both an instructional text and food production resource are unlimited. We believe the following examples of how the text can be used address many of the book's strengths.

• Amounts of food to purchase may be easily determined. Accurate calculations are achieved by using the purchasing and yield information in Part Two and the standardized recipes in Part Three.
• While the recipes yield approximately 50 servings, they can be adjusted easily for other yields by using the recipe extension procedures in Part Two.
• Menu planning is simplified by the lists of food item names, by menu categories, in both Appendix A and the Index. Food for Fifty also provides a comprehensive file of standardized recipes that can support the menu plan. General information on writing menus for various kinds of foodservices is included in the text.
• General descriptive and purchasing information about the basic foods used to produce recipes, descriptions for cooking methods, and knife care and use will be helpful resources for a variety of users.
• Mise en place discussion and production scheduling techniques will help students understand and apply kitchen readiness principles.
• Recipes and ideas from trade and popular food magazines and cookbooks can be produced in quantity by adapting the basic standardized recipes in Food for Fifty.
• Variations are included for most recipes. Users are given suggestions for producing food products consistent with contemporary eating trends.
• Quality standards for food products may be established by using standardized recipes that produce a consistent quality product. Specific standards are available for some product categories. Evaluation forms are available for students to use as guidelines for evaluating food quality.
• Food costs are easily established for recipes. Each recipe includes specific portion size information and instructions for ensuring accurate yields.
• Efficient labor procedures were considered for all recipes. Students and foodservice operators may use the recipes as a model for making products using the minimum amount of labor.
• Standardized recipes assure that accurate nutrition values can be assigned to serving portions. Users of the book can review the recipe's nutrient values and make adjustments, if required, for a specific population.
• Food for Fifty can be used for planning teas, receptions, and special functions. Part One brings together general information and guidelines useful for organizing events. Parts Two and Three support the planning function with food production information.
• Using Food for Fifty as a resource to direct accurate food production techniques is intended in the design of the recipes. Each recipe can be used for communicating the techniques necessary for producing a quality product. In addition, the material prefacing each recipe category and Chapter Three provides general text information that supports the standardized techniques specified in the recipes.