Employment growth in the food service industry will be spurred by increases in population, household income, and leisure time that will allow people to more often dine out and take vacations. In addition, the large number of two-income households will lead more families to opt for the convenience of dining out.

Chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers prepare, season, and cook a wide range of foods – from soups, snacks, and salads to entrees, side dishes, and desserts – in a variety of restaurants and other food services establishments. Chefs and cooks create recipes and prepare meals, while food preparation workers peel and cut vegetables, trim meat, prepare poultry, and perform other duties such as keeping work areas clean and monitoring temperatures of ovens and stovetops.

Chefs and head cooks also are responsible for directing the work of other kitchen workers, estimating food requirements, and ordering food supplies.

Executive chefs and head cooks coordinate the work of the kitchen staff and direct the preparation of meals. Chefs tend to be more highly skilled and better trained than cooks.

The specific responsibilities of most cooks are determined by a number of factors, including the type of restaurant in which they work.

Most fast-food or short-order cooks and food preparation workers require little education or training; most skills are learned on the job. Training generally starts with basic sanitation and workplace safety subjects and continues with instruction on food handling, preparation, and cooking procedures.

Large corporations in the food services and hospitality industries also offer paid internships and summer jobs to those just starting out in the field. Internships provide valuable experience and can lead to placement in more formal chef training programs.

Some chefs and cooks may start their training in high school or post-high school vocational programs. Others may receive formal training through independent cooking schools, professional culinary institutes, or 2 or 4 year college degree programs in hospitality or culinary arts. In addition, some large hotels and restaurants operate their own training and job-placement programs for chefs and cooks. People who have had courses in commercial food preparation may start in a cook or chef job without spending a lot of time in lower-skilled kitchen jobs.

Important characteristics for chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers include working well as part of a team, having a keen sense of taste and smell, and working efficiently to turn out meals rapidly. Personal cleanliness is essential because most States require health certificates indicating that workers are free from communicable diseases. Knowledge of a foreign language can be an asset because it may improve communication with other restaurant staff, vendors, and the restaurant’s clientele.

Workers who perform tasks similar to those of chefs, cooks, and food preparation workers include food processing occupations, such as butchers and meat cutters, and bakers. Others who work closely with these workers include food service managers and food and beverage serving and related workers.

Waiters and waitresses, the largest group of these workers, take customers’ orders, serve food and beverages, prepare itemized checks, and sometimes accept payment. In coffee shops serving routine, straightforward fare, such as salads, soups, and sandwiches, servers are expected to provide fast, efficient, and courteous service. In fine dining restaurants, where more complicated meals are prepared and often served over several courses, waiters and waitresses provide more formal service emphasizing personal, attentive treatment and a more leisurely pace.

Bartenders fill drink orders either taken directly from patrons at the bar or through waiters and waitresses who place drink orders for dining room customers. They prepare mixed drinks, serve bottled or draught beer, and pour wine or other beverages. Bartenders must know a wide range of drink recipes and be able to mix drinks accurately, quickly, and without waste. Bartenders should be friendly and enjoy talking with customers.

Hosts and hostesses welcome guests and maintain reservation or waiting lists. They may direct patrons to coatrooms, restrooms, or to a place to wait until their table is ready.

Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers assist waiters, waitresses, and bartenders by cleaning tables, removing dirty dishes, and keeping serving areas stocked with supplies.

Counter attendants take orders and serve food in cafeterias, coffee shops, and carryout eateries.

Food processing occupations include many different types of workers who process raw food products into the finished goods sold by grocers or wholesalers, restaurants, or institutional food services.

Butchers as well as meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers are employed at different stages in the process by which animal carcasses are converted into manageable pieces of meat, known as boxed meat, that are suitable for sale to wholesalers and retailers.

In animal slaughtering and processing plants, slaughterers and meatpackers slaughter cattle, hogs, goats, and sheep and cut the carcasses into large wholesale cuts, such as rounds, loins, ribs, and chucks, to facilitate the handling, distribution, and marketing of meat.

Bakers mix and bake ingredients in accordance with recipes to produce varying quantities of breads, pastries, and other baked goods.

Other food processing workers – such as food batchmakers; food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders; and food cooking machine operators and tenders – typically work in production areas that are specially designed for food preservation or processing.

With the extent of growth in the industry of food service, managers are going to be in high demand. Management positions in the food service industry are diverse. Succeeding in the industry takes drive, ambition, and the desire to please people as the food service industry is about customer service. It also requires a lot of energy, an outgoing personality, and the ability to be comfortable working with a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds. You also need to be a risk taker and have the ability to solve problems quickly.

The college degree gives the foundation on which to build the management career. And, if your course work included financial and management classes it’s even better. Your degree will enable you to start as an assistant manager instead of an hourly employee.

Employers will be looking for evidence that you are interested in the field and understand its demands; experience is your evidence. Ideally, you’ve served an internship or apprenticeship for a food service employer, but summer and part-time jobs as a waiter, hostess, or cafeteria worker will also show employers that you understand the industry.

Josh Stone
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/a-variety-of-rewarding-careers-in-the-food-service-industry-91643.html

Right?

they are in the business of making money, they will advertise for anybody that has the cash

What if I told you that our health is the most important asset we have. Would you believe me? Why is it today that everybody seems to be plagued with bad health.

You can make a stand and try incorporating these health tips into your everyday life and see if they make a difference to your total health.

Lets have a look:

Don’t Smoke – One of the main reasons why people decide not to give up smoking, and sadly, the reason why some people take it up is the effect smoking supposedly has on you weigh gain or loss. It is true that smoking has been associated with an increase in metabolism it is a drug!!

However it is a dangerous, addictive drug and surely the tiny effect it has on your metabolism is outweighed by the huge risk of dying from lung cancer.

Interestingly in regards to weight gain and loss, although smoking over 25 cigarettes a day can increase your metabolism by up to 10% overall, smokers have been found to be fatter than non – smokers!!

Take In More Water – You can live three weeks without food, However you can only live for three days without fluid, just think 3 days and its all over, one could suggest that fluid is fairly important!

Your body is anywhere between 60 and 70 percent fluid. The fluid in your body is responsible for helping to keep every system of your body in good working order, including all of your metabolic processes.

De-hydrate and everything slows down. The fluid in your body will also ensure that you can move well and be active.

If you start to dehydrate, your body’s ability to do basic activities will slow down and your ability to exercise effectively or even enjoy exercise will be reduced. You will feel tired, lethargic and will probably get a headache.

Eat A Variety Of Foods – For protection from the majority of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer you need a variety of foods that deliver that mix of nutrients and minerals.

Aim to eat different coloured fruits and vegetables. Try to eat a different food each month. Eat an apple a day as the apple pectin cleanses the body’s digestive system by removing toxins and therefore preventing degenerative health problems such as cancer.

Relax For 20 Minutes a Day – Relaxing for at least 20 minutes a day will go a long way to reduce blood pressure and your reactions to stress. Sit or lie somewhere comfortable, Breathe slowly in and out of the nostrils breathing deeply into your abdomen. Say HAM as you inhale and SA as you exhale.

These suggestions are charged with positive energy and will help you control your emotions. Try once a day for fantastic results.

Floss Every Day – Flossing your teeth every day is the best way to prevent gum disease and protect your heart. Gum disease, which is left untreated, can lead to inflammatory reactions in the body that can trigger heart disease and stroke.

Drink More Tea – Try drinking more tea instead of coffee to help protect your body from damaging effects of free radicals. Tea is a rich source of antioxidants that play a big role in protecting against some cancers and cardiovascular disease.

Get Active – Aerobic activity not only burns calories but also increases your metabolism and can keep it elevated for several hours after a workout. You don’t need to spend hours each day on the treadmill or bike to reap the benefits.

Exercising aerobically for as little as 20 minutes, three to five days a week will make a big difference. Extra movement throughout the day is also essential, take the stairs instead of the lift, lose the remote and move at every opportunity you can.

Get More Sleep – Lack of sleep changes your hormone levels and capacity to metabolise carbohydrates so less sleep = slower metabolism.

Studies have revealed that deep sleep causes cell repair and cell growth, which will speed up the metabolism and burn calories. So aim to get at least eight hours sleep a night.

Eat More Protein And Boost Your Energy Levels – Protein stimulates the major brain chemical dopamine which keeps us alert, try chicken or tuna salads for lunch. Go for complex carbohydrates rather than white flour and sugar, as they will provide a sustained energy source as opposed to a quick hit.

Another reason to leave simple carbohydrates out of the diet is that they have a negative effect on your skin and how it ages. The more sugar that is in the body the more you force a chemical reaction causing sugars to attach to proteins and this is very detrimental to your skin.

So go ahead and introduce these tips into your everyday life, I am sure you will reap the benefits as you go forward.

Gary Matthews
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/tips-on-health-132534.html

High-energy food is good for boosting your immune system and for
preparing your body for doing physical activity. Essentially,
our bodies need high-energy food everyday in order for our
bodies to be able to perform our daily routines.

When pursuing high impact sports, such as aerobics, running and
swimming, high energy food should be consumed in larger
proportions. Through establishing an understanding of
high-energy foods and how to determine the proportions that you
require for your weekly activities, you will be capable of
maintaining a balanced diet.

Important high-energy food to be aware of includes food from the
five main food groups. The main five food groups include fruit &
vegetables, dairy, meats, grains and pasta. To ensure that you
gain the maximum benefits from high-energy food, you should try
to choose food from all five of the essential food groups.

When searching for high-energy food amongst fruits, you should
look for the banana, pineapple and strawberries. Among the
vegetable group, the most important high-energy food is green
leafy vegetables, such as spinach and cabbage. A good balance of
these two food types is highly desirable.

Dairy foods that contain fats offer the best high-energy foods,
however, it must be stressed that you should only eat dairy
foods with a high fat content if you intend to be very active.
Generally, red meats are high in energy, while white meats will
sustain your levels for normal daily activities, such as walking
to the train station, or doing your housework.

Wheat and Barely are rich in high-energy nutrients and anything
that contains these products can be considered a valuable food
to eat to replenish lost energy levels. Pasta has long been
regarded a staple food and can supply your body with much needed
energy. Of course, you should only eat proportionate quantities
in relation to the level of exercise you intend to pursue.

Establishing a healthy and balanced high-energy diet might take
a little time to perfect, but once you understand the basics and
that a high-energy food diet can be quiet diverse, you can
experiment and create some fun and delicious meals.

Another fun way to maintain a high-energy food diet is to create
high-energy drinks. One of the most effective high-energy drinks
includes bananas, honey, eggs and milk. The bananas, honey and
eggs are what give your body the high energy, while the milk
helps mix it together to make a delicious ‘milkshake’ like
drink

Peter Vermeeren
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/highenergy-food-1389.html

The juice from a pomegranate offers some of the worlds most powerful antioxidants. In fact, studies show that pomegranate juice has more antioxidants than other known antioxidant drinks such as red wine, green tea, blueberry juice, cranberry juice and orange juice.  In addition, there are some studies that suggest pomegranate juice my help in the treatment of prostate cancer and may prevent some brain injuries in babies. Not bad for a fruit that many people are not that familiar with.

The Cancer Research

After skin cancer, prostate cancer is next as the cause of cancer death among men in the United States.  A recent study at UC Los Angeles found that drinking pomegranate juice helped fight prostate cancer.  The study was performed on 48 men with recurrent prostate cancer.  Half of the men drank 8 ounces of pomegranate juice a day and the other half did not drink any pomegranate juice.  The men that drank the juice were able to go 37 months before symptoms reappeared, the non-juice drinkers only went 15 months without symptoms.  This study was small and is certainly not the final word on the subject.  However, the
research is promising and certainly warrants giving some consideration to adding pomegranate juice to your diet.

Brain Injury Research

A new study on mice conducted by the University of Washington School of medicine in St. Louis could hold promise for expectant mothers at risk of premature birth.
Pomegranate juice may help their babies resist brain injuries from low oxygen and reduced blood flow associated with premature birth.  The phenomenon, which is called hypoxia ischemia, causes brain injury in approximately 2 of every 1,000 full-term human births.

In this latest study, researchers temporarily lowered brain oxygen levels and brain blood flow in baby mice whose mothers drank water mixed with concentrated pomegranate juice, their brain tissue loss was reduced by 60 percent in comparison to mice whose mothers ingested other liquids.

What is a Pomegranate?

The pomegranate is a native fruit of the Mediterranean regions and has been grown there for thousands of years. The tree was brought into California by Spanish settlers in the late 1700′s.  It’s primarily grown for fruit production in the drier parts of California and Arizona. The actual fruit is pink to bright red in color and is the approximate size of a softball. For those of you on a diet, one pomegranate is approximately 100 calories.  When you open up a pomegranate there are little fruit sacs inside that look a  little like vitamin E capsules (except they are red).  The fruit is held together by a white, spongy, bitter tissue. Try not to eat the tissue as it does not taste very good.  You can get the actual fruit in supermarkets from about October thru January, for the remainder of the year you will need to buy the juice.

How to Eat a Pomegranate

Pomegranates can get really messy when you open them up. Be careful as they stain.

1.      Cut off the ends

2.      Slice into sections like you would an apple

3.      Place sections in a bowl of water and let soak for about 10 minutes

4.      Separate the fruit sacs from the white spongy tissue

5.      Throw away the white tissue and drain the fruit.

6.      Eat and Enjoy

If this is your first time eating a pomegranate you may find the fruit a little bitter and tart.  It reminds me a little of cranberry.  Give this fruit a chance as you will learn to love it.

Michael Brooks
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-power-of-the-pomegranate-3488.html