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.
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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?
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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
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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
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Portion Control Tools Scoops & Ladles
Also known as dishers
Used to portion fluid ounces and semisolid products
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Portion Control Tools continued
Serving spoons Slotted—used to
separate solids from liquids
Solid—used to serve solids and liquids
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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
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Portion Control Dishware continued
Cups Typically hold five to six ounces
Bowls Typically hold six to ten ounces
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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
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Preportioning
Preportioning items prior to the start of a meal period Ensures consistency
Reduces errors in portion sizes
Speeds production times
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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.
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Portion Control Training continued
Servers must be very knowledgeable about portion sizes if they are to consistently satisfy their guests.
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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
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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.
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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
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Product Usage Report
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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
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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.
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Duplicate Guest Check System continued
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.
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Duplicate Guest Check System continued
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).
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Duplicate Guest Check System continued
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.
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POS Systems
Cashiers and servers are assigned individual codes.
Servers enter orders that are automatically displayed or printed in the kitchen.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Example of Cash Report
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Example of Daily Sales Report
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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.
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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).
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Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and SalesChapter 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.
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Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and SalesChapter 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.
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Chapter 8 Controlling Food Costs during Service and SalesChapter 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.