ControllingFoodservice Costs

Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter 8

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.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

SERVICE AND PORTION CONTROLPortion Control

Portion Control Devices

Pre-made ItemsPre-Portioned Items

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

EMPLOYEE SERVICE TRAININGTable Management

Suggestive Selling

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

PRODUCT USAGE AND WASTE REPORTS

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

CONTROLLING FOOD COSTS IN SALESDuplicate Guest-Check and POS Control SystemsDuplicate Guest-Check System

Precheck and Postcheck Systems

POS-Initiated Guest-Check Systems

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

GUEST PAYMENTPreventing Skips

Cash Handling

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Who Should Handle the Cash?

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Serviceand Sales - Summary

1. Explain the importance of portion control to food cost.

• The major cost control in restaurant and foodservice operations is portion control, or the amount of food in a serving.

• Successful food costing relies on correct portioning.

• This starts with the menu listing and is linked to the cook’s line via the use of standardized recipes.

• Portion control devices are implements that assist in the portioning of food items.

• They include scoops, ladles, serving spoons, serving dishes, and portion scales.

• Whatever portion is represented on the menu must be translated accurately into the standardized recipes and then monitored in the serving process to ensure that food cost stays in line.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Serviceand Sales - Summary

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

• Employees have to be constantly trained and retrained to use the portion control devices and to give customers exactly what they are paying for.

• Follow-through is just as important as training.

• Managers need to constantly check portions to ensure that they are exactly what they should be.

• In addition, servers need to possess knowledge about menu item ingredients and cooking methods in order to reduce customer food or beverage item returns.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Serviceand Sales - Summary

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

• Use of costly food items such as steak and seafood should be monitored carefully because these food items are more vulnerable to theft and fraudulent sales by some employees.

• Therefore, par stock and daily usage of expensive items should be monitored regularly.

• Waste reports for high-cost food items should be analyzed carefully to detect any negative deviations in food waste from predetermined standards.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Serviceand Sales - Summary

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

• There are many ways for customers to pay for food and beverages.

• Cash is universally accepted.

• Credit cards and debit cards involve a cost to the operation.

• The bank that issues the card and the credit card company charge the operation a fee that is usually a percentage of the guest check.

• Traveler’s checks are decreasing in popularity and acceptance.

• Not many operations still accept personal checks due to the possibility of receiving a “bad check,” in which case the operation is not paid for the value of the bad check.

• Organizations may also offer other means of payment, such as corporate accounts, house accounts, vouchers, and comps.

• Each organization has its own policies on these methods of payment.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Serviceand Sales - Summary

5. Explain how to complete a daily sales report.

• A daily sales report is a form that shows sales, cash, and charges collected, as well as any money over or short for each shift.

• The manager or a bookkeeper completes a daily sales report from the cash report and the register readings.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

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.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

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.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

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.

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter Images

Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and Sales

Chapter Images continued