Get the most from every dollar by calculating 3 allowable food cost controls & acknowledging that you may have a problem area. If nothing goes wrong, from your back door to your register, what will your food cost be?
With something as important as your food cost, you want to have the tools and resources available to establish standards. In other words, you need to compare actual costs with the standard base, and spend your valuable time managing the variances.
Lets cover the 3 basics,
With something as important as your food cost, you want to have the tools and resources available to establish standards. In other words, you need to compare actual costs with the standard base, and spend your valuable time managing the variances.
Lets cover the 3 basics,
- Standard recipe – includes the ingredients, amounts, menu item prep procedures
- Portion size – as the recipe is standardized, so too is the portion size, with the employees having the appropriate tools and instructions necessary.
- Standard portion cost – once we have recipe and portion standards, determine the portion cost of the menu item.
In reality, in commercial operations a menu item is not usually sold alone, it is part of a complete meal. There are many great point-of-sale systems and programs that can track and calculate daily / weekly number of portions / meals served (and the total food cost for selling, items sold, total sales income).
Even if you’re in control of the food cost management process, you still have to battle the economic turmoil of higher prices or supply shortages looming large for later in 2013.
Even if you’re in control of the food cost management process, you still have to battle the economic turmoil of higher prices or supply shortages looming large for later in 2013.
Then, there are Fred’s 7 ways to increase food cost in a restaurant, such as;
waste, overproduction, poor utilization/or selection of products, incorrect portioning, slow menu movers (dogs!), poorly trained employees, and stealing (not just your brother-in-law)
During a recent consultation, I said to the owner of a 20 unit emerging chain who claimed that all of his employees where honest and his distributor did a great job managing purchasing for his restaurants,
During a recent consultation, I said to the owner of a 20 unit emerging chain who claimed that all of his employees where honest and his distributor did a great job managing purchasing for his restaurants,
" Why is it that your waitress in Johns Creek collected for my coffee and sweet roll without presenting a guest check? I watched her closely after that and she never went near the cash register? And, I also noticed that your price of fresh cut chicken wings has not changed, even through post-Super Bowl prices are in free-fall ”
By this time in the post, you have acknowledged having a food cost or spend challenge, so why not do something about it?
The acquisition cost problem is solved by having skilled professionals contracting lower prices, recovering post-purchase income and managing the spend process; services now available in a single outsourcing plan from our firm.
The other areas of cost management requires experienced on-site management, ongoing training, control systems and world-class communication of procedures and objectives.
To Higher Profits!
Fred
Fred Favole is President of Strategic Purchasing Services (SPS), America's most experienced foodservice firm specializing in department outsourcing and spend management. Contract info: p: 912-634-0030, email: Fred@StrategicPurchasingServices.com
