CONTROL YOUR COSTS

Poor management of your food operation will drain cash from your business and damage your profitability. Food operations are particularly vulnerable to the following problems:

• food spoilage;
• wastage;
• over-portioning;
• improper stock rotation;
• theft and unauthorized consumption;
• cooking errors;
• stock breakage;
• unrecorded sales.

Good controls need to be in place to ensure that your food operation is correctly managed and costs are minimised. Some of the key areas for controlling costs are discussed below:

Portion control

Careful control of the amount of ingredients you use in each dish is vital if you are to stick to your profit margins. The objective here is to ensure that the same dish is produced for the same cost each time it is prepared. Once you have established your dish cost (including spices, garnish, vegetables, rice etc), you need to be able to replicate the dish using the same ingredient quantities. The easiest way to do this is to use standard sized measuring scoops and ladles to serve up each dish.

The following types of food supplies are more costly to buy but have the advantage of cutting down on preparation costs, making portion control simpler and cutting wastage:

• pre-portioned items such as butter and sauces;
• pre-prepared foods such as peeled vegetables;
• pre-cut meat and fish;
• convenience meals.

It is also to be remembered that better quality fresh food usually means a better yield than more inferior food. For example, low quality meat will require more trimming to remove excess fat than better quality meat.

Portion control maintains dish consistency in the eyes of your customers, at the same time as helping you keep a firm control over dish costs.

Stock control

The perishable nature of food makes good stock control even more important. This makes sense from a financial point of view as well as from a food hygiene stance. Here are some important things to remember when dealing with food stocks:

• Stock is no more than a cost until it is sold. Excessive food stocks tie up your cash flow and increase the chances of wastage, spoilage and theft.
• Manage stock in line with food laws (see the section, ‘Food Safety Management – HACCP’, below).
• Make sure your monthly stocktake includes food stock (check that your stocktaker has the skills to undertake food stocktaking).
• Set clear rules about staff consumption of food and make sure that you and your family abide by them too.
• Ensure all staff are correctly trained to prevent wastage, cooking errors and breakage.

Staffing costs

Staff should be appropriately skilled for the job they are required to do and you need sufficient staff to maintain the levels of service and standards you have set for your business.

The biggest staffing cost in a food operation tends to be the kitchen staff. They need to be of a standard appropriate for the type of food served and style of operation. Qualified chefs are often very expensive and may not be required for many smaller catering operations. Many pub food operations benefit from less expensive, good quality cooks who can competently handle duties in a pub kitchen. Kitchen staffing costs can also sometimes be reduced by using catering college staff or other students whose wages may be subsidised by the government in exchange for the work experience you provide them with. Contact your local colleges to find out if they run such a scheme.