Managing your food cost is closely tied to controlling your food inventory. It starts with purchasing products which are within your budget (no foie gras at Denny’s!) and then keeping control of every aspect of that financial asset (food is an asset as far as your budget is concerned) from storage to prep to tracking yield and waste to portion size and out the door.
And if you have product left then there is the whole inventory process. Just because you have it and put it on an inventory sheet doesn’t mean that you are getting proper credit for that food item. Knowing how to take inventory properly and how to verify that you have actually received proper credit for your inventory requires a lot of skill…but it is a skill which is well worth the effort it takes to learn because at the end of the day it is your name on the bottom of the balance sheet next to “food cost %.”
On the following pages you will find an in-depth discussion relating to:
- Taking inventory
- Dealing with credits and transfers
- Analyzing the food inventory sheet
- How to verify closing inventory
- Inventory turns
- Inventory software best practices
- The declining balance sheet
Suggested Reading
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Related Pages Index
- How to Create a Restaurant Financial Forecast
- Restaurant Cash Flow Management
- The Kitchen Code: Ethos of the Professional Kitchen
- Whiteboard Chef Management Series
- Managing Restaurant Productivity
- The Art of Food Cost Control | Bid Sheet | Controlling Purchasing
- Restaurant Inventory Control
- Food Safety
- Kitchen Management Alley
- How to Become a Sous Chef
- Improve Cook and Server Communication
- Role of a Sous Chef or Kitchen Supervisor
- How to Reopen a Restaurant after COVID 19 Shut Down
- Chef Leadership Skills Training
- Restaurant Food Allergy Training
- Modern Kitchen Brigade System
- Professional Plate Presentation Tips Infographic
- OpenTable: Create Covers Summary from Reservation List
- National Restaurant Cook Shortage – Finding a Solution
- Language of the Professional Kitchen
- How to Deal with Restaurant P&L Reviews
- Dealing with Murphy’s Law
- Kitchen Expeditor aka The Wheelman
- Proper Seating and Flow of Restaurant Customers
- mise en place – a Way of Life in the Kitchen
- Chef Recipes – the Purpose of a Recipe
- Chef Food Cost Bonus Program
- How To Organize Recipes
- Is It Time to 86 Tipping?
- Should Chefs Write Letters of Recommendation?
- Fond – Tidbits for Chefs
Books by Chefs Resources!
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