Food Cost Control: Preparation and Cooking

Accurate preparation of food is essential in controlling food costs. Over- and under-production both cost money.

The most important tool for accurate preparation and production is recipes quantified to the proper amount. If 85 servings of beef stew are needed, the recipe should be quantified to 85. It is not likely that the cooks will take the time to accurately quantify the recipe to the proper amount. If the recipe is for 50, they will probably just double it which will lead to overproduction.

Recipes not only need to be available, they need to be followed each and every time they are used. If 22 pounds of beef are needed, 22 pounds should be used. Rounding up to 25 will affect costs and quality. Rounding down to 20 will affect the nutritional status of residents and quality. If this leads to increased supplementation, the cost will be much greater than 2 pounds of beef!

The second essential tool is the production sheet. This tells the employee all the items that are needed and the amounts. This is important for production and for pre-portioning items such as salads and desserts.

If the employees do not have the tools they need to accurately prepare food, or do not follow them, costs cannot be controlled. Not using recipes and production sheets leads to wasted food which equates to wasted money.