A guest room floor configuration in which rooms are laid out off a single-loaded corridor encircling a multistory lobby space; also the multistory lobby space, usually with a skylight.

Au gratin (oh-grah—tan) - Foods with a browned or crusted top; often made by browning at food with a bread-crumb, cheese and/ or sauce topping under a broiler or salamander.

Aus Jus - A French phrase meaning served with natural juices or gravy without a thickening agent.

A French phrase meaning to cook until dry.

A ratio that shows rooms sold over a fixed period of time as a percentage of total available rooms in a property over the same period of time.

A ratio that shows the average number of paid guests for each room sold. Calculated by dividing number of paid room guests by number of rooms sold. Measures management's ability to use the lodging facilities.

Back of the house: The functional areas of the hotel in which employees have little or no guest contact, such as the engineering and maintenance department, laundry room and so on.

Back to back: Describes a heavy rate of checkouts and check-ins on the same day, so that as soon as the room is made up, a new guest checks into it.

Single-celled micro-organisms, some of which can cause diseases, including foodborne diseases.

Bain-marie - Hot water bath used to gently cook food or keep cooked food hot. An example is a container for holding food in a water bath.

Bake / Baking -  To cook food by surrounding it with hot dry air. similar to roasting, the term baking is usually applied to bread, pastries, vegetables and fish.

Baked - Cooked by dry heat in an oven.

Baking Powder- A mixture of sodium bicarbonate and one or more acids, generally the cream of tartar and/ or sodium aluminium sulfate, used to leaven baked goods; it releases carbon dioxide gas if moisture is present in a formula. 

Baking Soda - Sodium bicarbonate, an alkaline compound that releases carbon dioxide gas when combined with an acid and moisture; used to leaven baked goods.

Barbecue / Grilled - To cook food on a grill or spit over hot coals or burning of hardwood/hardwood charcoals or in an enclosed pit. A tangy tomato or vinegar based sauce used for grilled foods, and depending upon the type of barbecue the item may be seasoned or marinated before cooking.

Bard / Barding - To cover a piece of meat with salt pork or slices or bacon prior to cooking. Example tying thin slices of fat, such as bacon or pork fetlock, over meats or poultry that have little to no natural fat covering in order to protect and moisten them during roasting. This method then adds additional moisture and flavour to the cooked food.