food prices

[chefbob]

i know theres people in this forum from all over the world, but i was just wondering what kind of prices are people paying for foods. i have seen recently in the massachusetts area DRASTIC increases in the prices of food. especially Eggs, which went from .67cents to 1.13 sents per dozen in the last year. and also beef which has just about doubled in the last year.

this is a tough delema and makes food cost VERY tight! i did increase prices the first of this year and i dont know if the restaurant should take another price increase.

what do you people think??


BOB

[kuan]

What can I say? We went through this in '98 I think. Same thing happened with butter the next year, or was it the same year? I don't know. You need to have enough cash to ride this through. I don't think the market can sustain these prices. Ask for different terms from your purveyor, and bid out your big items.

Good news this year is the extra tax break on equipment. I'd have a talk with your accountant and banker to see what you can come up with. Your diminished tax burden may offset your food cost.

Good luck

Kuan

[Pete]

In the last 5-6 months beef prices, here in Wisconsin have skyrocketed. I was paying $4.50 a pound for whole ribeyes, lip-on. Now it is over $8.50 a pound. My tenderloins, portion-controlled & cyrovacced where at about $17.50 per pound for CAB. Now it is almost $30.00. With jumps like these I have no choice but to raise my prices somewhat. I can't fully recuperate my loses but at least I can lessen the blow each time I sell a steak.

[dafatpigeon]

I feel your pain, Pete.

Here in Louisiana our meat prices are similar to what you described. The hotel's restaurant increased prices, but we can't charge what we really need to. I do a lot of large banquets, and during the holiday season usually tons of steak parties, such as filet mignon for 300, 500, up to about 1200 people. Groups booking parties with us just don't seem to believe me when I tell them how much more their steak party will cost than years previous. During the summer and holidays meat always goes up, but this year is just insane. I tell them there are tons of cheaper options such as fresh fish, rack of pork, duck, etc., but everyone is sooooooo scared of not serving beef.

The cheap parties want chicken, the expensive parties want beef. Period. I wish people would let us help them expand their horizons a bit, especially in this time of beef crisis.

mike

[fodigger]

the high beef prices will continue for the near future. A couple of yrs ago, the meat market bottomed out so, ranchers cut back their stock to drive prices upwards. Not only is there a diminished supply but the animals going to slaughter are smaller so you need more ribeyes for example to do the job. We are also starting to feel the annual price rise on the cuts that get used alot during the holidays.

[RitaFajita]

Personally, I'm pretty frustrated with food prices at this point! When I opened my business over 3 years ago, sales reps were always telling me how prices "fluctuate". Every time I would complain about something going up in price, they would say, "prices fluctuate because of market conditions." They never seemed to "fluctuate" to my benefit, though. "Fluctuate" always seemed to mean "rising prices". Finally, one of my reps (my best one) said if I exclusively used the company he worked for, he would lock me into a percentage and that would help my costs. I did, and it seemed to help for a little while. But then prices seemed to go up, up, up again. I have raised my prices a couple of times - always to the irrititation of my customers. And also disproportionately to inflation. I'm in trouble again with food cost, but I don't know what to do either at this point. If I raise prices again, I'm going to start losing customers - if I haven't already. If I don't, food cost will eventually sink me. How long should one expect to weather this storm?
RF

[chefbob]

fajitarita,

thats excatatlly how i feel and what i'm going through right now...

[chrose]

From Mary Ellen Burris at Wegmans Markets:


Stampeding Beef Prices

( 11-02-2003 )


Beef prices are soaring. The supply of cattle is not enough to meet the strong demand, and prices have hit records within the last month. Our Meat Group Manager, Kevin Magliato, describes it as 'the perfect storm.' Although the cattle industry is prone to boom-and-bust cycles that I remember well, this is different because demand is so strong, coupled with unusually tight supplies.

Supply: The cattle population has shrunk 7% since 1996, as low cattle prices forced ranchers to reduce herds. Then stubborn droughts for three years spread across the Plains states, making it hard to find grass for grazing, and driving feed costs up for the final stage when cattle are fattened on grain. Beef supplies tightened even more in May when the U.S. Department of Agriculture closed the border to Canadian cattle imports after a cow tested positive for mad cow disease; last year 8% of the beef consumed in the U.S. originated in Canada. Higher prices prompt ranchers to send lighter weight cattle to market and only 40% of them are grading out as USDA Choice vs the normal 60%. Ranchers are enjoying profitability they've never seen before, allowing them to recover from very lean years.

Demand: Beef on the menu is back in favor, with credit going to low carbohydrate, high protein diets and an improving economy that is apparently leading people to treat themselves to steaks. Also, with the Canadian border closed, other countries like Japan and South Korea switched their business to the U.S.

The outlook? Thanks to the long reproductive cycle of cattle, it will probably take two years before ranchers can expand their herds significantly. At Wegmans, our commitment to Consistent Low Prices has made us very reluctant to raise prices. Within the last month though, we've had to pass on some increases such as 30 cents/pound on ground beef, and costs are still going up. What can meat eaters do? Take a look at alternatives like pork and chicken that aren't increasing too much yet. And check out our 'perfect portions' in Keeps Fresh packaging. Smaller quantities cost less per package....could be good for you too, as you strive for healthy eating.

[Peachcreek]

Closing the border to Canadian beef is wrong for everybody except the cattle ranchers. Because of ONE cow, we all will pay millions, if not billions more in higher prices. Our current regime must owe a favor to cattle producers....or is it just punishing Canada for being too liberal?

[star]

hi chef

I´ve ben faceing the same thing here ...
but the most costlee thing ring now in fresh veg and fruit

lettes has gone frome 20 $ to 50 in mich
that just to name one that I can think of ....

P.S beef in hight right now but egg´s are cheap and so is seafood

[BubbaGourmet]

Here in NC we have noted the dramatic rise in food costs as well. In fact, pork is very popular here and we produce a lot of it, but we seem to pay about 20% more than people in other states do. The farmers tell me that they aren't getting any more. The sellers tell me that their profit has dropped.
The only solution that works for us is to watch the local grocer ad inserts and stock up on things we use a lot. Example: bought whole fryers the other day at the grocery store for .29/lb. From the food service, it is .80/lb. I have learned to cut up a chicken in about 25 seconds.
We do the same for ALL our meat. We are now buying as much at grocers as we do from vendors. The vendor reps shake their heads and ask me why I am not more loyal. I told them as long as I can get it from a grocer (who doesn't know me and doesn't care)at a better price who is being disloyal? They want my business then get your prices in line.

[chefboy2160]

At the last local chefs associations dinner I heard rustelling of cattle mentioned a couple of times . I know for a fact that out here in the west that used to be a hanging offense but does anyone know if it is still used as a detrement to discourage us from obtaining pilfered beef ?
Just an option for those with nothing better to do late at night that is .

[robwill57]

You're sure right about prices going thru the roof--produce prices are at least 30% higher on average, med eggs up from less than $15 a year ago to $32 last week, and don't even mention that @#$&* beef. Only bright spot is pork--$1.55 for boneless loins--but my customers will only eat so many pork chops.

[RitaFajita]

I have to work from a set menu, so it's hard to compensate for high prices on certain items.

BubbaGourmet, I really liked your post! I found some cheese at a grocer one day (and several times later) that was cheaper than what my rep offered, and he was like, "well, it must be worse quality than ours". When I showed it to him and he could see it was the same quality, he looked sheepish. Then, he just seemed to be iritated at me for bringing it to his attention.

I've been looking at some of the more non-essential items on my invoices as well - stuff I don't order as often, anyway - and it's sad what I am being charged on some of it. Bleach is a good example. I could buy name brand bleach in the grocery store for less than I pay case price from my distributor! I'm not talking about Sam's Club prices, either (or as I like to call the Walmart empire, "Satanmart"). These are regular grocery store prices that can often beat my rep's prices.

RF

[BubbaGourmet]

Rita;
Just went through it again yesterday. Wanted some bone- in pork loin roasts to turn into crown roast of pork. Food service rep wanted $4.99 lb. Showed him a grocery ad...1.77/lb. Had to spend a precious half hour explaining keeping food costs down. His response "so if another company comes in here and they are cheaper on everything...you'll buy from them?"
My response "Yes!"