Providing Healthy Portions for Young Hotel Patrons

Making sure that your young hotel patrons get the right amount of nutrition during their stay is one of the most important responsibilities of a hotel kitchen. Some managers think that their clients don’t get enough food at certain meals, but there are ways to make sure each person gets the right amount. Certain tools like cereal dispensers can give you a reliable and consistent measurement at every meal.

Here are some tips to help you determine how much food you should provide for your hotel patrons:

Know the difference between serving and portion size

People often confuse the definitions of serving and portion size. A serving is the specific amount of food or drink determined by common measurements such as gallons, cups and ounces. A portion size is the actual amount of food that ends up on the plate. For example, according to nutritionist Sue Gilbert, one serving of cereal for a 1 to 3 year old is 1/4 cup. A single serving for children between 3 and 6 years of age should be 1/3 cup. Setting up a cereal dispenser like the ones offered by Rosseto Serving Solutions can help you measure out the proper serving amount for every breakfast. How much you actually decide to put in the bowl is considered portion size.

Teach visualization of portion sizes

When you are away from measurement tools, use visualization techniques to help you determine appropriate serving sizes. Familiar objects like tennis balls and soap bars can act as a point of reference for certain types and amounts of food. The size of a CD cover is approximately one serving or slice of bread, a baseball-sized amount of dry cereal equates to 1 ounce or cup, and 1/4 cup of raisins looks to be about the size of a golf ball.