How can you optimize portion sizes for food cost management?

Portion sizes are a key factor in food cost management, as they affect both the profitability and the customer satisfaction of your food and beverage operations. If you serve too much or too little, you may lose money or customers, or both. How can you optimize your portion sizes to balance quality, quantity, and cost? Here are some tips to help you.

1 Analyze your menu

The first step is to analyze your menu and determine the food cost percentage of each item. This is the ratio of the cost of ingredients to the selling price. You can use a simple formula: food cost percentage = (cost of ingredients / selling price) x 100. Ideally, you want to keep your food cost percentage between 25% and 35%, depending on your type of cuisine and service. You can also calculate the contribution margin of each item, which is the difference between the selling price and the cost of ingredients. This shows you how much profit each item generates.

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Alexandra Leung Gibb

Founder of Monogic | Restaurant Consultant | Business Columnist
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To figure out if the food you're selling is priced right, start by checking how much you spend on the stuff to make each dish compared to how much you sell it for. You can use an easy math trick: take the cost of the stuff to make the food, divide it by the price you sell it for, and then multiply by 100. This gives you your food cost percentage. You'll want to aim for a food cost percentage that's between 25% and 35%. This number can change a bit depending on what kind of food you serve. Also, find out the profit for each dish by subtracting the cost of making it from the selling price. This tells you how much money you make from each thing you sell.

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2 Standardize your recipes

The next step is to standardize your recipes and ensure that they are followed consistently by your staff. This means that you have a clear and detailed specification of the ingredients, quantities, methods, and presentation of each dish. You can use tools such as scales, measuring cups, spoons, ladles, scoops, and portion control devices to ensure accuracy and uniformity. Standardizing your recipes not only helps you control your food costs, but also improves your quality and consistency, which are essential for customer loyalty.

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Pierandrea Falchi

Cost Controller at Swire Hotels
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The crucial aspect is attaining economies of scale for the flagship items featured on the menu. When it comes to standardizing recipes and operations, a choice must be made regarding whether to establish a centralized production kitchen or maintain production within each individual store while conducting frequent audits. Opting for the first alternative enables larger-scale production with greater consistency, but it may compromise quality and distinctiveness. On the other hand, the second option may result in variations in quality, where the food at one store surpasses that of another, and it requires allocating additional funds for staffing since each store handles production independently.

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3 Adjust your prices

The third step is to adjust your prices according to your food cost percentage, your contribution margin, and your market demand. You may need to increase or decrease your prices depending on the changes in your costs, your competitors, and your customers. You can use strategies such as value pricing, which is setting your prices based on the perceived value of your products and services, rather than on your costs. You can also use psychological pricing, which is using numbers that appeal to your customers' emotions, such as ending your prices with 9 or 5.

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4 Monitor your waste

The fourth step is to monitor your waste and identify the sources and causes of food loss. You can use methods such as waste tracking, which is recording the amount and type of food that is thrown away, and waste auditing, which is analyzing the data and finding ways to reduce or prevent waste. You can also use techniques such as inventory management, which is keeping track of your stock levels and ordering only what you need, and cross-utilization, which is using the same ingredients for different dishes or menus.

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PRABIR BANERJEE

Chef with 23 plus years experience and proven track record
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Waste management is the most important aspect of food cost and play a key role in maintaining a healthy food cost. Also it is the very important for all of us as hoteliers and human being to follow thr principles of zero waste or minimal wastage. In the world today food wastage is something we cannot afford. As chefs I feel we should find ways to reduce the wastage and be more creative.

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Pierandrea Falchi

Cost Controller at Swire Hotels
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Efficient waste management is crucial for reducing the environmental impact, managing costs, and promoting sustainability within your organization. In addition to the points above, I recommend tracking: 1. Production/prep time: This helps identify products that require excessively long preparation time without significant variation in quality. Consider shifting or reducing the purchase of such items to optimize operations. 2. Cutting the tail: Identify and eliminate menu items or products that have low sales and do not provide value to your customers. Consider their cost and cross-utilization to further streamline operations and minimize waste.

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5 Train your staff

The fifth step is to train your staff on the importance and benefits of portion control and food cost management. You can educate them on how to follow your standardized recipes, use your portion control tools, handle and store your ingredients, and minimize waste. You can also motivate them by setting goals, rewarding performance, and providing feedback. By involving your staff in your portion control and food cost management efforts, you can create a culture of quality and efficiency in your food and beverage operations.

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6 Review and revise

The final step is to review and revise your portion sizes and food cost management practices regularly. You can use tools such as menu engineering, which is a method of evaluating the profitability and popularity of your menu items, and customer feedback, which is a way of collecting and analyzing the opinions and preferences of your customers. You can also use metrics such as food cost percentage, contribution margin, food waste percentage, and customer satisfaction rate to measure your performance and identify areas for improvement. By reviewing and revising your portion sizes and food cost management practices, you can adapt to the changing needs and expectations of your customers and your market.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you optimize portion sizes for food cost management?

1

2

3

4

5

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1 Analyze your menu

2 Standardize your recipes

3 Adjust your prices

4 Monitor your waste

5 Train your staff

6 Review and revise

7 Here’s what else to consider

Food & Beverage Operations

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How can you optimize portion sizes for food cost management?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Analyze your menu

2 Standardize your recipes

3 Adjust your prices

4 Monitor your waste

5 Train your staff

6 Review and revise

7 Here’s what else to consider

Food & Beverage Operations

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