items are to be oven-prepared, each item requiring a different  oven  temperature. The worksheet helps you plan and organize the work  to  be  performed  by  your  subordinates.  The information written in the Start Preparation, Start Cooking,   and   Instructions   columns   will   help subordinates plan their work. Careful planning avoids the problem of having too much food prepared ahead of serving  time. The worksheet helps you to supervise the work performed  by  your  subordinates.  As  a  written  directive, the  worksheet  is  your  way  of  communicating instructions concerning the preparation of the day’s menu  to  subordinates. You cannot depend on your memory nor can you expect subordinates to depend on their memory. The worksheet helps you to train subordinates who will be responsible for a galley operation in the future. Discuss the worksheet with your watch captains so that they know exactly how the menu is to be prepared. Point out the supervisory techniques you want them to use in their working relations with the crew. After each meal, meet with your watch captain and key personnel to critique the meal. This is the ideal time to discuss the acceptability  of  menu  items  and  to  record  the acceptability on the worksheet. The critique session provides  the  information  essential  to  promote  efficient operations. If your personnel are accustomed to following a worksheet, give the watch captains the experience of developing   one.    Let  each  watch  captain  prepare  the worksheet on a monthly basis, plan the day’s work discuss   premeal   preparation,   and   hold   postmeal critiques.  Delegating  the  development  of  the  worksheet to the watch captain is excellent training if the leading MS is readily available to advise, guide, and monitor discussions  and  critiques. Finally,  the  worksheet  serves  as  a  means  for establishing  control  of  (1)  issues  to  the  GMs  (the quantities posted on NAVSUP Forms 1059 or 1282 should agree with the quantities needed to prepare the number of portions specified), (2) the quantity of each menu item prepared, (3) the portion size served, and (4) leftover menu items. Completed worksheets on file provide  the  invaluable  past  history  needed  for establishing  controls.  The  acceptability  of  menu  items will determine the quantity to break out, quantity to prepare, and any change in portion size. 7-12 Acceptability Factors Customer acceptability of the menu is a major goal of the menu planner. There is no set pattern to indicate what   foods   the   patrons   will   eat   and   enjoy.   An individual’s food tastes may be influenced by many factors,  such  as  likes  and  dislikes  before  entering  the service, the foods one has learned to eat and enjoy during a service career, and the group of friends one eats with at  mealtime.  The  menu  planner  should  know  the customers  so  that  the  meals  planned  will  be  well accepted. The following are ways that the menu planner can determine the acceptability of specific foods in the mess. A food acceptance factor is one that expresses the percentage  of  people  who  eat  a  particular  dish.  To obtain an acceptability factor for individual menu items, divide the number of portions of the item served by the number of patrons in attendance at the meal. Keep  a  record  of  menu  item  acceptance  on  the Food-Preparation  Worksheet,  NAVSUP  Form  1090,  the individual recipe card, or the Index of Recipes. An acceptance factor is a valuable index of the popularity  of  menu  items  and  should  be  used  for  this purpose after an item has been tested at several meals. Acceptance  factors  for  the  same  menu  item  may  vary from meal to meal. Different combinations of foods on a  menu,  different  weather,  or  varying  appetites  may  alter the acceptance of an item. A more accurate acceptance factor  may  result  by  averaging  figures  obtained  for  a particular menu over a period of time. Another way to determine acceptability is to keep a systematic check on plate or tray waste. This should be recorded  on  the  food-preparation  worksheet.  (See  figs. 7-2 and 7-3.) Good  food  acceptance  means  less  plate  waste  and fewer leftovers to account for in planning future meals. Even popular foods may become monotonous if served too  often. Food Preference Ratings The fact that the patrons will take or accept items on the serving line does not prove that these are their preferred foods; they may take it merely because they have no better choice. Food preferences or attitudes toward foods may be determined by several approaches. One approach is to solicit written opinions from the crew regarding items or classes of foods when you have doubts about their