by Caroline Cooper, August 19, 2010
Last weekend I took a walk though arable land and couldn't fail to notice
that all was not well with the wheat crops. I suppose it's not surprising;
I only have to look at my own garden and see the effects of the recent
dry (UK) weather.
The impact, of course, for the hospitality sector is more food inflation.
Not helped by the potential banning of grain exports from Russia, floods
in Canada, India and Pakistan. And the poor cereal crops have a knock on
effect on meat prices as well as bread and pasta, and there are predications
of price increases on soya, palm oil and cocoa too.
So is it time to check on the basics on keeping control of your food
costs?
Hopefully your head chef or kitchen manager has all these things in
hand, but in case not here are my 25 essentials to controlling food costs
I'm sure there are many more ideas, but these are the basics�..
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Plan menus around seasonal availability
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Create costing cards for every menu item, and update ingredients costs
as they change
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Include methods for all recipes, train chefs and provide the right tools
to follow these methods
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Establish yields of all recipes, and check these are being achieved though
production and sales controls
-
Check suppliers prices before ordering, and adapt the menu if costs jeopardise
your margin
-
Only ever order what you need - chef will only be tempted to use more if
it's there, and the excess goes to waste
-
Negotiate drop discounts with your main suppliers - if they can save on
delivery costs they might be willing to negotiate
-
Only ever buy products on offer if you know you can incorporate into the
menu without it affecting your sales or margins
-
Check invoice prices against list prices
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Don�t accept expensive substitutes for out of stock items
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Check all deliveries are complete, adequate shelf life and in good condition
- never accept anything which is not to standard
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Keep stores tidy, with everything having its own place - it's far easier
to control
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Keep stores locked, with access only from those who need it
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Ensure stock rotation to avoid spoilage
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Take stock regularly, weekly if possible, but as a minimum monthly - to
get accurate stock consumption figures (this also encourages low stocks
and good rotation)
-
Keep your menu choice limited to avoid low stock turnover - customers usually
perceive a low turnover of stock anyway with very extensive menus
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Keep records of patterns in menu popularity to help planning and ordering
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Batch cook as orders come in to meet demand
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Check what comes back on plates - and ask if wastage is due to poor quality
or too big a portion?
-
Keep a wastage book to track all wastage - you'll be amazed how much goes
in the bin and for avoidable reasons
-
Investigate the cost of a blast chiller if you don�t already have one -
it could pay for itself in a short space of time
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Ensure all chefs/service staff are trained in portion control
-
Supply the right size serving equipment for a standard portion - if a portion
of chips is 8 oz and you provide a 10 oz scoop that's 25% over and your
margin gone
-
Educate staff in the budgets and margins involved in the businesses - if
they think you make a fortune on each dish they wont respect food costs
-
Have guidelines for staff meals and what they can and cant eat or drink
�.And a bonus point�
26. Accidents do happen - but ask staff to let you know when there
has been anything out of the ordinary to affect wastage
Caroline
Cooper is a business coach with over 25 years in business and management
development. She is the founder of Zeal Coaching, specialising in working
with hospitality businesses, and is author of the 'Hotel Success Handbook' |
.