food cost how to optimize continuous data sheets in the foodservice industry?

Most consumption discrepancies are due to errors in measurement during the preparation of a dish, or to a technical data sheet that doesn't take into account all the steps involved in processing the material. Here are our tips for continuous optimization!

Why are recipe cards crucial for managing food cost ?

Technical data sheets ensure the quality and consistency of dishes, while contributing to profitability. Their impact on food cost is decisive for restaurateurs. Thanks to precise, comprehensive technical data sheets, you'll be able to :

• ‍Transmittingoperational know-how : The technical data sheet ensures that dishes are consistent across all the brand's establishments. The challenge for head office is to easily communicate its technical sheets, which evolve according to the menu, and to ensure that ingredient proportions are followed by preparers, cooks and franchisees.

• Anticipate and organize your stock: With a management solution like Inpulse , recipe sheets centralize information. Based on sales forecasts, Inpulse's AI calculates raw material requirements, enabling better inventory management.

• Check food cost and the consumption ratio: By defining a theoretical food cost , they enable you to check the production cost per dish and identify discrepancies due to waste, over-consumption or ingredient price increases. Inpulse gives you access to the actualfood cost per dish and per establishment , to check whether there is any overconsumption, loss, theft or price increase of an ingredient that would impact your margin. Approximations can have a significant impact on margins.

"We used to wait over a month to compare the theoretical food cost that I had defined when designing the recipes with the actual food cost . The time it took to get the data out, to get together, we weren't very responsive. With Inpulse, we can manage our menu with a real vision of costs, we have a food cost per product and per restaurant. This means we can make specific decisions to target actions." Matthieu Monzat, Revenue Director at Street Bangkok11 restaurants.

Precise technical data sheets are the key to calculating AND maintaining the cost price of your dish. So how do you create and maintain effective technical data sheets?

7 Tips for optimizing your technical data sheets

1. List all ingredients, even those in small quantities

Include every ingredient, even the smallest ones, in the data sheet, for accurate tracking of foodstuffs. We tend to concentrate on the main ingredients, but it's necessary to quantify even those used in very small quantities. Every gram counts in the management of food cost, so even a few coriander leaves or peanut powder need to be weighed and included in the recipe sheet in order to measure all the raw materials used.

2. Distinguish between gross and net weight

It's important to distinguish between gross and net weights in order to estimate the correct proportion in your recipe card. The difference can be considerable, and this is an error to be avoided. Gross weight represents the total quantity of an ingredient before any preparation or processing. The net weight, on the other hand, is the actual quantity of the ingredient that can be used in the recipe once it has been prepared, cleaned and, if necessary, stripped of any non-edible parts.

For a sushi platter, for example, you need to take into account the weight of the uncooked rice. 

3. Evaluate material losses during processing

Gram losses during raw material processing can be caused by a variety of factors. For example, when cutting or preparing ingredients, residues or pieces may be lost unintentionally. Take, for example, the cutting of vegetables or salmon: parts may be eliminated for aesthetic reasons or because they do not meet quality standards.

What's more, certain processing stages, such as cooking, can cause ingredients to lose weight, particularly when the water evaporates. Even small variations in processing methods or cooking techniques can result in gram losses which, accumulated over many preparations, impact food cost.

Taking eggplant parmigiana as an example, between cooking and cutting, we go from 1 kilo of raw eggplant to 500g of ready-to-assemble eggplant.

4. Define gram equivalents for each measuring utensil

To facilitate assembly in the kitchen, and to control the quantity to be used for each dish, we recommend the use of a ladle or measuring spoon. These utensils make it easier to keep to the correct weight without slowing down preparation time. In this case, it is necessary to foresee the gram equivalence of the quantity used with these measuring utensils.‍

For example, a ladleful of cooked mushrooms corresponds to 80g of raw mushrooms in the technical data sheet. 

5. Train teams to comply with recipe sheets

Once the recipe sheets have been precisely optimized, everything must be put in place to ensure that they are followed up in the field. Given the high turnover in the foodservice industry, it is essential to facilitate the transfer of knowledge. Thanks to the detailed technical data sheets on the Inpulseplatform, preparers can follow each step of the preparation process, accompanied by illustrative visuals. This enables new staff to be trained quickly. 

To ensure ongoing training of teams, restaurant managers or network coordinators can carry out spot checks by weighing each ingredient to verify compliance with technical data sheets. 

6. Check actual consumption

Between two inventories, Inpulse enables you to check the theoretical consumption of your ingredients, calculated from the quantities on the technical data sheets, against the reality of your sales. If actual consumption is higher, this indicates overconsumption or undeclared losses. This allows you to adjust purchases from your suppliers and reduce unit and total costs.

Inpulse allows you to declare losses and analyze discrepancies in just a few clicks, so you can quickly identify malfunctions in all your restaurants.

"We've reduced our salmon losses by 45% in 1 year, even though the price has soared this year. With Inpulse, we can better anticipate our raw material requirements and measure consumption variations. With this in-depth analysis of markdowns, we can implement corrective measures" Emmanuel Taib , Founder of Côté Sushi75 restaurants.

7. Update technical data sheets to keep up with price trends

price lists are constantly evolving, and have a direct impact on food cost. The cost of production considered at the time of recipe creation will evolve over time.

Thanks to Inpulseyou can access your food cost based on your automatically updated recipe cards and price lists . In this way, you can regularly monitor increases in the cost of raw materials, and make decisions based on the actual food cost of your dishes. You have access to reliable data in real time, enabling you to react quickly: modify ingredients or proportions if necessary.

To explore this subject in greater depth, we have published a white paper outlining 11 strategies for controlling your food cost in the face ofinflation. Find out how retailers such as Pitaya, Columbus Café, Franks Hot Dog, Côté Sushi and Gruppomimo are optimizing their profitability. Download free of charge here.

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