controlling food cost during service and sales

OH 8-1

Controlling Food Cost during Service and Sales

8OH 8-1

OH 8-2

Learning ObjectivesAfter completing this chapter, you should be able to:

• Explain the importance of portion control to food cost.

• Explain the importance of training, monitoring, and follow-through as they relate to the service team.

• Explain the importance of product usage and waste reports to control the cost of high-cost food items.

• List and describe each payment method used by the restaurant and foodservice industry.

• Explain how to complete a daily sales report.

OH 8-3

The Major Cost Control Device in Serving

Portion Control!

Overportioning results in the restaurant’s owners being treated unfairly.

Underportioning results in the restaurant’s guests being treated unfairly.

OH 8-4

The Cost of Overportioning

Item: Corn Purchase Unit = 30 lb case Cost = $23.90 per casePortion size = 3 oz

First – how many 3oz servings can I obtain from this box?

Second – what is my cost for a 3 oz portion?

OH 8-5

The Cost of Overportioning

Portions per Case Portion Size in Ounces

Portion Cost per Serving

160 3.0 oz = the standard

$0.149

137 If 3.5 oz $0.174

120 If 4.0 oz $0.199

Item: Corn Cost = $23.90 per 30 lb box

How does this affect food cost?

OH 8-6

Preportioned Items

Some menu items come already portioned. 2 oz hot dogs

Precut steaks

Rib “slabs”

Half-pound frozen hamburger patties

Bananas

Carton or bottled beverages

OH 8-7

Items Not Preportioned

Items that are not preportioned must be carefully portioned. To control costs

To ensure consistency

To ensure a positive price-value relationship in each guest’s mind

To avoid running out of a product

OH 8-8

Portion Control Tools Scoops & Ladles

Also known as dishers

Used to portion fluid ounces and semisolid products

OH 8-9

Portion Control Tools continued

Serving spoons Slotted—used to

separate solids from liquids

Solid—used to serve solids and liquids

OH 8-10

Portion Control Dishware

Ramekins Used for small

amounts of sauces and salad dressings

Individual casseroles Typically round or

oval oven-proof dishes

Range in size from five to twelve ounces

OH 8-11

Portion Control Dishware continued

Cups Typically hold five to six ounces

Bowls Typically hold six to ten ounces

OH 8-12

Portion Scales

Are used for items portioned by weight

Must be kept very clean

Can be adjusted to subtract the weight of the container holding the product

Are designed to weigh items as heavy as thirty-two ounces

OH 8-13

Preportioning

Preportioning items prior to the start of a meal period Ensures consistency

Reduces errors in portion sizes

Speeds production times

OH 8-14

Portion Control Training

All food production and service employees require portion-control training.

Training must be ongoing.

Service personnel must be continually reminded of proper portion sizes.

OH 8-15

Portion Control Training continued

Servers must be very knowledgeable about portion sizes if they are to consistently satisfy their guests.

OH 8-16

Other training tools

Job Descriptions

Work Assignments

Station Diagrams

Menu Training

Customer Service Standards and Training

Suggestive Selling

OH 8-17

Waste Reports

Critical to food cost control

Easily completed

Should be maintained for each shift

May indicate Where training is needed

Production concerns that require attention

OH 8-18

Sample Waste Report

OH 8-19

Analysis of Waste Reports

Determine why each item had to be discarded.

Develop a strategy to prevent similar future losses.

Share findings with those who need to know.

OH 8-20

Additional Management Tasks

Monitor and follow through Visually inspect served food items as frequently as

possible.

Regularly check the sizes of scoops and ladles used for portioning.

Ensure proper plate presentation. Portion size

Item placement

Garnish

OH 8-21

Product Usage Report

OH 8-22

Portioning Reports

Product Usage reports tell The number of items

issued to the cook’s line

The number of items sold to guests

The number of items returned to inventory

Used to track high-cost items

Waste reports tell The items returned

by guests

The reasons for their return

OH 8-23

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and SalesChapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Duplicate Guest-Check and POS Control Systems

OH 8-24

Duplicate Guest Check System

Step 1 – Assign guest checks.

Assigned at beginning of each shift

Each server receives a specific allotment of guest checks.

Guest checks are prenumbered.

The checks are two-copy—writing on one copy imprints the same information on the second copy.

OH 8-25

Duplicate Guest Check System continued

Step 2 – Server writes the order. This copies the order onto the second

(duplicate) copy of the check.

Step 3 – Second copy goes to kitchen. The kitchen keeps this copy of the check

after filling the order.

OH 8-26


Step 4 – The guest is given the original copy of the guest check as confirmation of

the order and as the bill to pay.

Step 5 – Guest pays the bill. Typically, the guest pays either the server

or a cashier.

OH 8-27


Step 6 – At shift’s end, the server returns used and unused checks and all checks

are accounted for.

Step 7 – Managers collect duplicate checks from the kitchen.

Line cooks must safeguard all check duplicates (copies).

OH 8-28


Step 8 – Manager or bookkeeper matchesoriginals with duplicates. Some restaurants

Charge servers for missing checks.

Discipline servers for missing checks.

Terminate servers for missing checks.

OH 8-29

POS Systems

Cashiers and servers are assigned individual codes.

Servers enter orders that are automatically displayed or printed in the kitchen.

OH 8-30

POS Systems continued

Upon guest request, the server prints the bill.

The guest and restaurant retain one copy of the bill.

Information about check totals are printed or read at the end of each shift.

OH 8-31

Duplicate Check vs. POS System

OH 8-32

Payment Methods

Cash

Credit cards

Debit cards

Travelers’ checks

Personal checks

Other House accounts

Corp accounts

Comps

OH 8-33

Cash Handling Procedures

Before the shift Managers issue precounted bank to cashiers.

Cashiers count banks to verify amount.

During the shift All cashiers secure cash banks during their shifts.

Cashiers collect cash, checks, and charge slips from guests.

OH 8-34

Counting Back Change—Six Steps

Step 1 – Announce the total owed by the guest before accepting payment.

Step 2 – Place the currency in a place visible to the guest.

Step 3 – State the value of the payment presented.

OH 8-35

Counting Back Change—Six Steps continued

Step 4 – Verbally count the change upward, from the smallest coin to the largest denomination.

Step 5 – Place the change directly into the guest’s hand.

Step 6 – After the guest has acknowledged the correct change has been received, place the bill in the cash drawer.

OH 8-36

Cash Handling Procedures continued

At the end of the shift Manager takes cash register readings.

Cashiers count drawers and deduct the amount of the starting bank.

Cashiers report cash on hand on a “Cash Report.”

Managers prepare a “Daily Sales” report based on totals from the cashiers’ reports and cash register readings.

OH 8-37

Example of Cash Report

OH 8-38

Example of Daily Sales Report

OH 8-39

What to look for at cash registers

Some cashiers use pennies, toothpicks or other items to track funds that are in the registers, but have not been rung into sales

Cashiers who have the same coin in two different slots can be using one to track funds

NOTHING should be in/on the cashier station including purse, bag, storage.

OH 8-40

How Would You Answer the Following Questions?

1. Information about a guest’s meal that was returned to the kitchen by the guest because it was below the restaurant’s standard would be found on the (product usage/waste) report.

2. The acceptance of personal checks by restaurants is (increasing/decreasing).

3. The size of a single portion produced when using a number 8 scoop is

A. 8 ouncesB. 4 ouncesC. 2.5 ouncesD. 0.25 (or 1/4) ounce

4. A Daily Sales Report should be completed by (cashiers/managers).

OH 8-41


Key Terms:Bank An amount of money issued to each cashier that consists of coins and dollar bills sufficient to make change.Cash-handling procedure An activity that operations follow to ensure that all cash and charge transactions are accurate and accounted for.Cash report A form filled out by the cashier to report all money, checks, and charge slips collected during a shift.Credit card A card that obligates the user to pay the credit card company for the products and services charged to the card.Daily sales report A form that shows sales, cash, and charges collected, as well as any money over or short for a shift.Debit card A card used to pay for products and services in which the amount is immediately withdrawn from the cardholder’s bank account.Duplicate guest-check system A procedure that uses written records of what guests purchased and how much they were charged for the items.

OH 8-42


Key Terms continued:Gross weight The combined weight of a food item and a

plate.Menu training A list of all menu items with detailed descriptions, which teaches employees about the establishment’s offerings.

Point-of-sale (POS) system A system for controlling the operation’s cash generation, product usage, and inventory.

Nonsufficient funds (NSF) A situation in which a check’s bank account did not contain enough money to cover the amount written on the check.

Portion control The amount of food in a serving as determined by the standardized recipe or the company standard.Portion control device A device that assists in the portioning of food items, including scoops, ladles, serving spoons, serving dishes, and portion scales.Pre-portioned item A food item that is measured or weighed prior to going to the service line.

OH 8-43


Key Terms continued:

Product usage report A report that details the number of items issued to the cook’s line, the number returned to inventory, and the number sold to customers.

Suggestive selling Value-added suggestions from servers to increase the number or type of items customers purchase, often called up-selling or add-on selling.

Speed scratch Premade products that are nearly complete but lack finishing touches such as sauces and flavoring.

Table management A process of managing customer preferences, seating capacity, and available staff.Tare The difference between gross and net weight (e.g., the weight of the plate that the food is served on).Waste report A report that lists any item that had to be discarded and the reason why.

controlling food cost during service and sales

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