Recession-proof your kitchen
No day goes by without more alarming news on the economy, and the real estate bubble in the Middle East that burst to kick off this crisis is unlikely to reinflate quickly. With stock markets plunging, nest eggs are cracking and retirement dreams are slipping away.
Now more than ever it is time to give your food service operation a check up if you have not done so already. But don’t hit the panic button yet, with a solid strategy there is hope for success.
The cost of goods and labor are your two highest variable expenses. Here is my 39 point checklist of things to avoid. I have used it over the years, reaping results in keeping the cost of goods in check and the bottom line positive:
1. Purchasing too much product
2. Purchasing for too high a cost
3. No detailed specifications—quality, weight, type
4. No competitive purchasing policy
5. No cost budget purchasing
6. No control of invoices and payments
7. Dishonesty
8. No system of credits for low quality, damage, or goods not received
9. Lack of storage and/or no scales
10. Perishables left out of proper storage
11. Foods improperly stored (e.g., eggs, milk, near strong cheeses, fish, etc.)
12. Storage at wrong temperature
13. No daily inspection of stored goods
14. Poor sanitation in dry and refrigerated storage areas
15. Prices not marked in storeroom
16. No physical or perpetual inventory policy
17. Lack of single responsibility for food storage and issues
18. No control or record of foods issued from storeroom
19. Permitting forced or automatic issues
20. Excessive trim of vegetables and meats
21. No check on raw yield22. Overproduction#
23. Wrong methods of cooking
24. Cooking at wrong temperatures
25. Cooking too long
26. No scheduling of foods to be processed (too early, too late)
27. Not using standard recipes
28. Not cooking in small batches
29. No standard portion sizes
30. No standard size utensils for serving
31. No care of leftovers
32. No record of food produced and leaving production area
33. Carelessness (spillage, waste, cold food)
34. Food taken out of the establishment
35. Unrecorded sales and incorrect pricing
36. No effective menu engineering or comparison of sales and inventory
37. No sales analysis to identify and track trends
38. Poor menu pricing practices (not timely)
39. Employee meal costs—overproduction of unauthorized meals
Now more than ever it is time to give your food service operation a check up if you have not done so already. But don’t hit the panic button yet, with a solid strategy there is hope for success.
The cost of goods and labor are your two highest variable expenses. Here is my 39 point checklist of things to avoid. I have used it over the years, reaping results in keeping the cost of goods in check and the bottom line positive:
1. Purchasing too much product
2. Purchasing for too high a cost
3. No detailed specifications—quality, weight, type
4. No competitive purchasing policy
5. No cost budget purchasing
6. No control of invoices and payments
7. Dishonesty
8. No system of credits for low quality, damage, or goods not received
9. Lack of storage and/or no scales
10. Perishables left out of proper storage
11. Foods improperly stored (e.g., eggs, milk, near strong cheeses, fish, etc.)
12. Storage at wrong temperature
13. No daily inspection of stored goods
14. Poor sanitation in dry and refrigerated storage areas
15. Prices not marked in storeroom
16. No physical or perpetual inventory policy
17. Lack of single responsibility for food storage and issues
18. No control or record of foods issued from storeroom
19. Permitting forced or automatic issues
20. Excessive trim of vegetables and meats
21. No check on raw yield22. Overproduction#
23. Wrong methods of cooking
24. Cooking at wrong temperatures
25. Cooking too long
26. No scheduling of foods to be processed (too early, too late)
27. Not using standard recipes
28. Not cooking in small batches
29. No standard portion sizes
30. No standard size utensils for serving
31. No care of leftovers
32. No record of food produced and leaving production area
33. Carelessness (spillage, waste, cold food)
34. Food taken out of the establishment
35. Unrecorded sales and incorrect pricing
36. No effective menu engineering or comparison of sales and inventory
37. No sales analysis to identify and track trends
38. Poor menu pricing practices (not timely)
39. Employee meal costs—overproduction of unauthorized meals
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