The Spike Pub & Liquor Store - ABLE BC

product at the bottom is as good as the items on
top. Delivery drivers should be required to correct
any deficiencies before they leave, reducing the
time managers must spend addressing these
problems. Improved receiving will result in less
waste and consistent product yields.
Pre-Portioning
Mistakes and shortcuts are more likely during busy
meal periods when staff are rushing to produce
and serve dishes. Cooks often deviate from recipes
and over portion ingredients in haste, resulting in
higher product usage and costs. Pre-portioning
ingredients in advance of meal periods allows
employees to accurately follow specifications in
a controlled environment. Ramekins of sauces,
portion cups of shredded cheese, and preset plate
garnishes are simple examples of items that can be
portioned ahead of peak meal periods.
Control Employee Consumption
Providing management and staff with
complementary food and beverages while they
are working is a common practice. Most operators
have little or no idea how much employee
consumption costs them. If a pub has an average
of eight employees working each day, and each
employee consumes an average of $3 worth of
food and beverage, at cost, the annual cost to the
pub of this benefit would be just short of $9,000!
This amount is even more shocking when you
consider the amount of product employees take
but don't consume, eventually ending up in the
garbage or poured down the drain. Setting limits
on what items employees can consume, charging
staff discounted prices to cover product cost, and
prohibiting snacking while on duty are simple
ways of reducing excess employee consumption
and hence reducing costs.
“Cooks often deviate from
recipes and over portion
ingredients in haste…”
Reduce Waste
Begin tracking waste by having all employees
record any product that must be discarded, and
that the pub receives no revenue for. Analyze the
waste tracking sheets daily and calculate the value
of product wasted. This will provide managers
with information about the common causes of
waste and the extent to which waste is inflating
food cost. Strategies can then be implemented to
address the source of the problems and reduce
product waste.
Some common strategies to reduce waste include
finding legitimate uses for previously discarded
items, such as making croutons from day-old
bread, dicing tomato ends to make bruschetta,
and using vegetable and meat trimmings for soup
stock. Maintaining proper equipment repair and
calibration will improve quality and also reduce
unnecessary waste.
Next Issue
the
Publican
Involve Staff
• Utilizing Social Media
• Credit Card Fraud & Counterfeit Cash
• Product Diversity & Organization
• Training Cooks
Following many of these suggestions will be
difficult without the support of the entire
culinary team. Providing opportunities for staff
to become involved with the development
and implementation of these new programs
will enhance their understanding of food cost
issues. Allowing employees to take ownership
of these initiatives will increase their buy-in and
adherence to the programs, resulting in stronger
performance and cost efficiency.
Providing an enhanced food program is becoming
a necessity for the future viability of pubs, but will
require operators to be more rigorous with their
cost control activities. The benefits, however, of
these control efforts will be an improved bottom
line, higher quality, and more consistency in their
operations.
David Swanston is a Hospitality and Foodservice Consultant, Principal
of Focused Industry Training Seminars and is an instructor at major
Canadian university business schools. Since 1997 he has helped a wide
variety of organizations develop and launch new concepts, turn around
troubled operations, and improve sales, profits, controls, and efficiency.
To learn more about how he can help you improve your sales, profits,
and performance, contact him directly at 905.331.6115 or contactfit@
fitseminars.ca.
Winter2010
The winter issue is also
distributed to buyers at the
BC Hospitality Industry
Conference & Exposition.
Call 1-800-667-0955 to book your ad by October 1.
24 The Publican