Food Cost-cutting Tricks from Insiders

[isaac]

this is a topic that needs more ideas. you either make it or brake it with food cost. here is my 2 cents:

soups: they are the basis for utalization in kitchens. dont think of throwing anything away until you think of using it in your soup first

stocks/broths: making stocks and broths, i think, is the most important thing in a restaraunt or hotel, not only for the quility that it brings but you can utalize alot of things and put them inside your stock or broths. if you have bones, you can make that stock and before you throw those bones away, make a remoulage (sp?)

speicals: this is very important to move iteams that are not selling so well.

menues: when you make a menue, i think that it is important to utalize things. incorperate dishes that use one or more of the ingrdetns in other dishs

pates and terrines: this is good for meats and fish and veggies that arnt moving so well. use these and make an app or something.

butchering: as said before, butchering is very important. you pay so much to get things broken down. do it yourself and utalize the bones and scraps. NO WASTE.

growing herbs: grow your own herbs and veggies. as around to other emplyees and see what they grow

cook within the seasons: why buy pineapple when it is not in season? it will cost you an arm and a leg, plus the flavor will **** . buy within the season and it will be cheaper.

change menues often: this will ensure that the iteams not seelign will be deleted from the menue.

monitor price changes: i think the worst idea is to have one vender. i think it is important to have a few of them. this will allowyou to compare costs

monitor the loading dock: it is important that you check in the order right. weigh everythingf and make sure the proce matches the recpiet. this will allow you to refuse bad produce, ect. it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

monitor what is coming back: monitor that plates that are coming back and see what people are not eating. this will allow you to deleate iteams that are justing being wasted.

monitor the garbage: take a look on what emplyees are throwing away. most people dont really care if they waste things but it iwll add up

have stander recipes: this is really important. if one person is using a cup of somethign and the other is usiing 2 cups of something when they shouls be actually using 2 T then that is money down the drain.

monitor your staff: this goes for the front and back of the house. in the back, monitor what they are doing and wasting. also monitor what they are eating. if they are making steak for themselves every night then that is money out the door. watch the front of the house and see wha they are eating and drinking. pop even costs money.

when slow, let people go: when it is a slow night, let people go home early. you dont want to pay them for doing nothing. send them home.

watch the time cards: some employees are sneaky (like me) and will come in early and go home late. that means extra overtime. watch the time cards.

lower end iteams: it might be useful to have lower end iteams like a pasta in which you can use those left over veggies for.

portion control: watch this closely. it will make or brake you.

wheel and deal: most of the time, if you shop at the farmer markets, you can wheel and deal and get lower prices. you might want to try this.


hope this helps.

[kuan]

Most chefs can keep a handle on food costs. Many managers can also keep labor costs to right around target. FWIW, I've never had our in house PnL's agree with corporate, I'm sure many of you would agree as well. A charcuterie "department" works well if you have the proper staff and restaurant (read hotel). The bulk of us have to work with mediocre low paid staff and a fairly unenlightened management team.

Depending on the type of operation, you can save $$ by bidding on the top 10 items. If half your food cost is beef and you spend 120k a year on PSMO's then by George you better be bidding on beef. A lot of people try to belittle you by saying that's a rookie thing to do and more experienced managers don't need to do that kind of thing, but trust me, it works.

So get the top 10 items which make up the bulk of your purchases, make a grid with the supplier's names and make them do work for your business!

Kuan

[ShawtyCat]

I'm not sure if this was the post you referenced Kuan but it did give me a wealth of information on controling food costs. Now if someone could start a thread on the management side of the restaurant biz....or maybe I shall compose a question. Hmmmm.....

Jodi

[chefboy2160]

I am very fortunate in the area of money ie food costs , labor costs and supplies . I was trained by Swiss and German chefs and this part of the business was hammered into my head so as to be second nature . For food I find it very simple , use the real thing , fresh and at its best and cheapest . The less you use of convienience items the better the food and the lower the costs .
Each property you work at will have different storage , and different equipment . Do the most you can with what you have got . Also Train your staff to take care of proper storage and rotation , this will save waste from spoilage . Last and not least , give the back of the house employees a meal and the leftover scraps at the end of the shift . This will save you from theft .
Of course these are just my opinions but I have found them to be usefull . Doug ......................

[Jim]

Great input! So now, especially with Isaac's voluminous listing, where do we all draw the line between the teatering scale of balancing food cost vs. labor cost? For instance, butchering meats... do we pay somebody 'x' dollars per hour (plus benefits, etc) or do we buy meat cuts fabricated? Or chicken base vs. scratch chicken stock? Certainly there is a quality trade-off, but dollars are dollars, at least to the 'higher-ups'.

[isaac]

well, i think it all depends on what sorta restaurant you are working at. if it is a place that can afford labor, then more power to ya.

see, i look at it like this.... when i worked at a small restuarant, we bought our meet and broke them down. now, if you think about it, it was a small place which menas only like 2 people in the back of the house. so if we were to hire an extra person, we would actually be wasting money. why? becasue yo uare just not paying your employees a certain wage... you are paying for a lot of other things through paperwork, time, training, etc. HOWEVER... when i worked at a hotel, we had the staff and the money to make our own things from scratch like braking primals down, making stocks, etc.

so there IS room for convience iteams taking into consideration the type of place you working... if you CAN afford the labor or not.

even at the hotel, i saw a lot of things being waster or that could be utalized. its a scary thing really once you think about it. i remember in school when we learned to fill out the P and L statement and figuring out the bottom line and it wasent much at all. TO MAKE A PROFIT IN THIS BUISINESS... WE CAN NOT WASTE A THING. it IS a strugle... heck... it is up road battle.

[Shimmer]

When I was growing up, the rumors were that applesauce was added to the ketchup and TVP to the hamburger in the school cafeteria....



Where I work, we use the freezer a lot. This way the labor cost doesnt' go up necessarily, if business is slow you can do a lot of backup (cakes, pie crusts, pies) and not have to work longer on busy days.

Not innovative, but I thought the applesauce idea was. Can applesauce truly be cheaper than ketchup?

~~Shimmer~~

[isaac]

so i have a thought. i went to a restuarant last night and today and as i was sucking down my 6th 7-up (ya ya ya ... i know they arent good for you) i was thinking of how much they are lossing on each drink. do you think it is a lot? i know over time it must be. then i got to thinking about the soda machines at fast food places. i love to fill them up many times... ya think they loose money on it?

just a thought.

[ShawtyCat]

I don't know We have a soda machine at our place, we offer free refills and we charge 1.25 for our sodas.

Ok....I took a little break and called my hubby and asked him. He explained it to me.

It costs us 20c a glass to make the soda (which is actually a syrup that is mixed with seltzer water Im told). We offer free refills on our soda, and Ive noticed that most of our customers either decline the refill or limit themselves to just 2 glasses of soda. Rarely do we ever see anyone go over 2 glasses. So if they are having 2 glasses of soda that is costing us 40c we are still making a profit since we are charging 1.25 for 1 glass.

I hope this answers your question....

Jodi

PS

I think what most businesses do is see what the trend is on soda, (i.e. are people asking for lots of refills) and price their drinks accordingly. If they are too many refills being bought then maybe they should discontinue the free refills, put the refills at half price or charge 50c for them.

Jim, in 1941, my Mom discovered ways to achieve some unique food-cost cutting tricks/ techniques that would blow our present day minds! And thank goodness, passed them on to me!

What to do so as to not sacrifice quality?

1. Cook from "scratch" using a recipe.
2. Choose a basic entree meat with a good gravy
3. Select entree accompaniments that are "in season" or frozen
4. Serve a "healthy" portion of starchy vegetable
5. Offer a tasty dessert: Fruit Cobbler; Apple Pie etc.

Best wishes to you; hope the above helps out.

[chefbk]

I agree with chefboy in the sense to make sure that your staff is thoroughly trained in storage and label and dating all food products. To cut the amount of waste will greatly reduce your cost. Also I was raised on a farm so I believe in using the freshest ingredients and meats, and I also cut as much meat as I can in house.

Chef B

[isaac]

i remember sometime down the line, someone told me that when making a menu, one thing to consider is to put things on the menu that utalizes the equipment that you have in the kitchen. also, looking at your staff and figuaring out what THEY can handle making. the last thing we want is for us to be in the kitchen 24/7.

when i was a tad younger, i remember sitting down with my chef from the first restaurant that i worked in and he told me that menu making is all about cross utalization. he is right...

[freddychef]

Cape Chef--hello---you mentioned veal but I was wondering if you have any ideas on the following--I work at a small inn and we use our own lamb and beef--we are getting ready to butcher and I am trying to come up with ideas for a la carte items from beef besides tenderloin, strip...in the freezer I found rump and I slcieed it and grilled it--I used the short ribs as a braised appie....any ideas as to other cuts for the next butchering session where I can utilize other cuts for steak style menu service---also the same goes for lamb aoutside of racks and chops??? fredychef

ps--we do not swerve lunch so a few items and ideas are negated there....