How Do You Control Food Costs?
Posted by Jim McGinty on Wed, Dec 30, 2009 @ 12:20 PM
The best restaurant managers in the food cost control game use a playbook designed to work in pressure situations.
If
I were pressed for a single attribute these people share, I believe
they focus on issues and activities that have a major positive impact.
They constantly improve the environment and system to remove obstacles
to success.
The best advice I can give anyone trying to improve
results is simple. Buy less food and pay as little as possible. Do this
without sacrificing quality.
In the early stages of a food cost
control project, it's important to get a clear picture of the before.
It may be more important than how the picture should look after
completion. To establish goals, policies and reporting systems, you
need to have a total understanding of the current cost control
environment.
Remember the line from the movie City Slickers,
where Jack Palance tells Billy Crystal to focus on "just one thing."
His point, which is lost on Billy Crystal at the time - was that the
"thing" is different for everyone. The secret is just to have something
on which to dedicate yourself.
The same is true for food cost
control, where to begin. Over the next few weeks we will be taking a
look at some of the different ways to control food costs so check back
with us next week when we will talk about "Forecasting".
Interested in learning about how we can help you manage your food costs? Join us for a demo of our inventory system.
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