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Key Advantage
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Cheffy’s Food Cost Tips How to Make More Money from Your Restaurant Tips, strategies and tools vital to properly controlling food costs in your operation Working in various establishments you pick up lots of hints and tips - here's some trade secrets I've collected from various sources. Tip One 1. Strict adherence to recipe standards through the use of tools such as: digital scales and measurement cups, spoons, etc., 2. Proper food rotation practices, including the use of "day dots" etc. 3. The religious use of spatulas to scrape pans, bags, etc. Tip Two Make sure the chefs put out the correct and the best food they can! Most food cost is destroyed by reorders and food being thrown out, from chefs not reading checks correctly! The proper training of chefs and regular monitoring of waste is the key! Tip Three Menu planning--which will result in accurate food ordering. Lock the stores, only authorised personnel get keys. Accurate portion control, minimal waste. Tip Four Stock take every day (make sure that you have stock lists that you use every day and that product is in the same location every day) to make sure you order properly and prep properly and thus avoid waste. Shop for prices, despite service, every once in a while a competitor may have far better prices. Tip Five Every item on your menu should have a recipe. Recipes should be costed out at least three times a year, on products that consist of the bulk of your menu. All kitchen staff should record all food waste, for whatever reason and tell management. (this all comes with proper training). Stock control is a vital factor. Weekly stock takes of all food should be the rule and a monthly report, costed out to determine food cost must be made. Tip Six At least once a year, menu should be re-evaluated to determine its profitability. Every line employee should be properly trained to produce the product correctly. When receiving product, no matter how time consuming, each item should be checked against the invoice before signing. Every fresh product should be checked for quality and shelf life. Management should be trained in kitchen to observe if product is being produced correctly to the recipe. Waiting staff should be trained to observe any differences in the product. Over portioning hurts the restaurant and customers. The next time they visit your establishment they will be disappointed and won't return, thinking they are not getting the value for their money that they received the last time they visited. Tip Seven If by "controlling" you mean, "quantifying" I recommend that owners/managers learn the use of spreadsheets as their flexibility allows for very interesting possibilities. Tip Eight Important factor. People taking out the bins are never supervised! How easy it is to throw a case of meat under the rubbish and stick it in your car while you’re outside. Staying on top of these things will make a Tip Ten Educate employees on what each product costs, put it in terms of things that they can compare to such as a case of lettuce costs as much as a tank of petrol. Also, less visible stock. In other words, the less they see the less they tend to use. Also keep only the amount of product on hand that will be used. A director of operations I once worked with calls this the toothpaste tube theory. The end of the tube seems to last almost as long as the rest of the tube.
Key Advantage 2005 |
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Unlocking The Potential Of Your Business |