Table of Contents
A Journal of a Fast Food restaurant visit
ABSTRACT
Fast food restaurant or a quick service restaurant is a type of restaurant characterized by fast food cuisine and limited sitting space. Food sold in fast food restaurants is typically meant to be consumed quickly and is offered on a restricted menu. The food is prepared in bulk stored hot and packaged according to customer wishes. Though limited table service may be provided, fast food restaurants mostly sale food on take away basis. Fast food restaurants are operated as a chain of restaurants or franchise that sell standardized edibles with uniform ingredients. Examples of fast food restaurants in America include McDonalds, Burger King, and A&W restaurants.
ARTICLE BODY
I went in one of the branches of King Burger fast food restaurant in the United States. The restaurant was crowded with people who seemed to be in a hurry. Their cuisine had an assortment of edibles ranging from burgers to pizza. However, one thing was common with the food in this fast food restaurant. The food was highly processed and prepared in bulk. The restaurant use standardized ingredients, production, and cooking methods and equipment to prepare food.
The food is mostly served in bags, cartons, or plastic wrapping to minimize cost of operation and for quickly identification. Menus where made from processed ingredients prepared from a central place and then transported to individual outlets. Once in the destination restaurant, the food is finally cooked through grill, microwave, or deep fry for a short time to meet the ever-surging customer demand. Pre cooked food is constantly evaluated to root out stale or overstayed food products. Food at fast food restaurants is mostly characterized by high amounts of fat, high sugar content and less fiber i.e. highly processed. King Burger's food had a characteristic flavor, aroma, mouth feel, and texture. Their products included chicken nuggets, pizza, sandwiches, and hamburgers.
Customers check in any time of the day either for a bit or for a take away. The customers mostly were young people and a few old busy people who wanted to crab some food while on their chores. Young people in a particular prefer fast foods because they are cheap. Food is packaged in a group and sold at a considerably cheap prize. The restaurant also had a value meal; this is a case where a collection of menu items is sold as a whole at a low price that would be individually sold. This arrangement attracted youths especially school going children who kept streaming in looking for either a hamburger or chicken nuggets to eat.
To cope with high customer demand, the restaurant had a hospital point of sale system. This enabled kitchen crew to view orders placed at the counter and prepare them in real time. The system also ensures speed and accuracy in service delivery. Consumer spending was very high, for the time I was there the restaurant made sales amounting to $100000. It was evident that most Americans still prefer fast foods compared to cooking a meal at home.
CONCLUSION
Despite the calls that fast foods are unhealthy and pose many health risks, most people still prefer to eat fast foods as opposite to a health meal. Fast foods are prepared with many additives, salts sugars, flavorings, and preservatives that limit the nutritional value of the final product. Most restaurants in include samples of organic foods to enrich their food but still this is bellow the recommended standards. Fast foods are more appealing because they are cheaply priced with irresistible tests, this makes fast foods everybody's choice despite their health implications.
A letter to a parent
Dear parent,
It is evident that many children today consume fast food at a high rate. Fast food cannot be termed as an awful meal, but has negative effects when taken in large amounts. Mostly, fast food is prepared with ingredients that contain saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium. These contents contain detrimental effects to the body when they accumulate. Therefore, it is wise to make proper choices of options that contain adequate vegetables. It is advisable to take pure water after consuming fast food in a restaurant. Many people especially children opt to take beverages such as soda. Soda contributes numerous calories that are harmful to the body.
Excessive fast foods cause diseases such as heart disease and obesity. Obesity is common among children due to consumption of fast foods. Children are highly exposed to contracting heart diseases and blood pressure at a tender age due to high consumption of fast food. Children get addicted to fast foods due their sweet taste. This sweet taste is contributed by the excessive addition of sugar. It adds more calories in the bodies of children. Such food should be offered to the kids minimally. Therefore, constant preparation of food with vegetables especially salads inhibits the risk posed by sugary fast foods to young children.
The parent should be keen on the food that the child consumes in the restaurants. In order to inhibit the detrimental effects of fast foods especially those that contain a high level of cholesterol, minimal amounts should be consumed. Many children consider consuming fast food daily, which is very injurious to the health of the kid. Therefore, it is imperative to inform children on the jeopardy of consuming excessive fast food. Awareness should be created among children on the effects of fast foods, and recommendable habit of consumption.