The Eight-Step Approach to Controlling Food Costs

Because food-service profit margins are so thin, restaurant managers must carefully control every cost and eliminate all possibility of waste. Chief among the sources of cost and waste is food, which can represent up to 40 percent of food-service costs. This detailed training program is designed to show managers how to control their costs, but it goes beyond that to create a focus on cost control and waste prevention throughout the food-service operation. The eight steps are ordering, pricing, receiving, storage, issuing, production, portioning, and cash collection. Building on these eight steps, managers learn how to engage their employees in controlling costs, with a goal of improving revenues and, ultimately, customer service. The eight steps apply to any type of restaurant, although specific techniques may apply only in certain types of food service. The materials for this program comprise a trainer’s guide, a participant’s guide, and a self-coaching workbook, which participants can use to facilitate further development and promote the transfer of training to the workplace. This program involves two phases. The first phase uses the participant’s guide and trainer’s guide and involves four formal sessions that cover the eight core steps. The sessions can be completed on the job or in a classroom setting and incorporate a variety of learning methods. The second phase, which uses the workbook, consists of four weekly feedback and coaching sessions that should be conducted immediately after phase one has been completed