EINSTEIN ON FOOD COST
FOOD COST
I hear often the question about food cost How to arrive at it. Is simply a question of methods and procedures. Here is a short guideline.
Before you tackle food cost you have to decide on your menu…..
FOOD PURCHASING SPECS
This is a written detailed description of the items you are purchasing, Packaging is included on this since it affects the yield, live of a product etc. This is where you want no deviation
PRICE CHANGES- FLAG THEM
Once you determined the price keep that information handy.
Don’t worry about miniscule variation that don’t really affect your cost, Do worry if it will impact you
SEASONALITY- Anything develops better at the right time and most of the time they are cheaper. Do you rather eat a homegrown tomato or something that taste like cardboard.
Your customer will always know
SPECIALTIES- Here is the place to show off and shave your food cost. You can turn celery into a steak by using the right technique !! Well, you know what I mean.
PRODUCT YIELD-RAW
This includes fresh , can , dried, frozen >>>>>You need to know what you are getting out of a product. This affects your quality and cost ( yield )
MENU SPECS
Here you are deciding of size of portion . By way of recipe you are addressing cooking methods, station, plate layout, presentation specs among a few.
MENU PRICING
I do pricing after I decide on my specs. There are raw cost and prepared cost of main items. Don't forgett the accompaniments and the additives ( which is the cost of set up-brake down , waste ( not the one that goes into the trash can )
PRODUCTION FORMAT
Another essential in which you need a forecast ( as accurate as possible ) Imperative to have the right popularity index/ sales mix or you are prepping by chance. You might as well get a wiggi board. Weather, special events…… affect your numbers. Random check and reconcile what you sold against what you prep.
BANQUET COUNTS
This is extremely important as you need to prep for the guarantee but allowing for xs to comply with contract. Why cook what you won't sell and hurt your cost.
PRODUCT USAGE- There is no need just to lock the steak if you sell a few and leave the coffee out in the open ( when you use a few hundred pounds ) Pay attention to both
SECURITY
It don’t really matter if you get the best prize and the stuff disappears. Have a good key control and pre-determined hours to get what you need out.
PHYSICAL STORAGE & quality safeguard
You obviously need to mark rotate products. They need to be storage properly .Fish that is swimming in water is worthless and so is meat drowned in blood or.. Get the drift
PARS
You need to have enough food to cover your production and not more. Helps with the rotation and you don’t tie lots of $$ in inventories
INVENTORIES
You can’t order from the office. You need to take a physical inventory to know where you are and not the needed cash
EQUIPMENT
Well if your slicer is kaput, your fryer out of whack, knifes are not sharpened. Your yield is ruined. Yield is as important as price.
FOOD HANDLING
Once it leaves the storage is in someone hands .right. You have to be very specific here too or you can ruin a dinner and a customer before you even get started
ACCOUNTABILTY- From a to z someone needs to be held accountable. The z is when that food leaves the dining room
TRAINING- hard to hold someone accountable if you have not trained them > training is ongoing.
LINE AND EXPEDITING- Set up and break down are crucial. Everything you have done before comes together at this point. A la carte or banquets.
NOW- If you let someone expedite that does not have any authority all your hard work have gone to waste. This is your last check and balance. You can use assemblers to pull plates as long as you or your sous chefare there to bless the plates
CHAIR RENT-Food cost is extraordinarily important. I work with chair rent when I do my specs. In essence is a $$ contribution of every items I sell. Where do I make the most money from ? That is what I push.
ASK ME WHAT FOOD COST I RUN
My answer is whatever I need to run ( always lower )
