The principle for cooking in quantity is to look at the menu as a whole and not each dish separately. The ingredients for a recipe for volume production are always calculated in fifties hence it becomes easy to multiply it .The approach to recipes for volume production is slightly different to that for an a’la carte kitchen.
The main principles of Quantity or volume indenting an be summarized in the following points
· Yield of the product
The yield of a particular commodity has a huge impact on the indenting for volumes. All recipes should be updated with yields, as we need to indent for the net weight in a recipe and not for usable weight. Similarly, when a product is ordered for a particular recipe, the cuts listed in the recipe must be strictly followed to adhere to the cost and quality. Also, if one has to order 20 kgs of fish for a party, there could be various combinations available in the market such as:
-20 pcs weighing 1kg
-10 pcs weighing 2 kgs
-2pcs of fish weighing 10kgs
The procurement of the fish would depend on the usage of the product as well as the maximum yield that one would get out of the product with regards to the costs and quality. The cheapest now might turn expensive if the final yield of the product is low. So it is better to buy Pre-Portioned meet to gain consistency in product quality and cost.
· Type of Event
The type of Event for which the food is required also plays an important role in indenting the food. A wedding function would have a huge range of menu catering to up to 1000 people or sometimes even more. When variety is more the quantities consumed will be less as most of the guests will try to taste more varieties. But in case of conference menu is limited, a good judgment based on experience would determine the right quantity to be produced.
· Regional Influence
Regional food also plays an important role in indenting of the food. People from Bengal would love to eat fish and seafood, while people from north India would prefer chicken. The type of dish also plays an important role deciding the quantity to be produced. For example, batter fried fish would be consumed more than fish curry and rice, and similarly the consumption of chicken kebab would be more than curry with bread or rice.
· Service Style
The style of service, whether buffet or a’la carte, also determines the indenting and portion size of the dish. It is easy to predict the quantities for a fixed portion size the challenge arises when the food is laid out on a buffet for self- service. In many institutional caterings a buffet is controlled by the catering managers and strict portion control is exercised over expensive food items, but in a hotel the food on the buffet cannot be controlled, hence there is a requirement of a skilled experienced [professional to manage the show.
PRODUCTION, PLANNING PRE-PREPARATION
DEVELOPMENTS
In quantity food production, planning is the first most important step, once the menu for the day is known, the plan of work should be worked out so as to have the necessary work completed in the required time.
It is also important to plan, the number of persons required for each job, the type of skills required for each job so that be assigned to the right person or persons.
Exact procedures to be followed while cooking in bulk, alterations made to normal recipes to suit mass catering requirements, time and labour saving techniques should be panned out and explained before commencement of work so as to facilitate case of operations during actual production.
Pre-preparation generally takes up 40-50% of production time, and though it usually is the unskilled job in the production operation, it is nevertheless very important as there can be no preparation without pre-preparation. This part of the proceedings should be planned in such a way as to get ready items or ingredients which will be required first in the production procedure, going on to those items or ingredients which will be required later or last. Final production of food can be begun once pre-preparation is well progressed. The finishing of foods should be well time so that each dish is ready as and when required and also s that the prepared dish is not kept ready to much ahead of time because holding the food till service time may spoil the dish. Care must be taken in the production of vegetables and cereals like rice, the preserve appearance. Batch cooking may be necessary in such cases to get best results. Quantity of food required must be calculated on the basis of allowance per person, depending on the number of items on the menu, and the variety offered.
Basic Inventory Procedures
A key component in effective kitchen management is inventory control. By knowing what supplies are on hand at a given time, the manager will be able to plan food orders, calculate food costs since the previous inventory, and make menu item changes if needed. By keeping an eye on inventory, it is possible to note potential problems with pilferage and waste.
Managing inventory is like checking a bank account. Just as you are interested in how much money you have in the bank and whether that money is paying you enough in interest, so the manager should be interested in the value of the supplies in the storeroom and in the kitchen.
An inventory is everything that is found within your establishment. Produce, dry stores, pots and pans, uniforms, liquor, linens, or anything that costs money to the business should be counted as part of inventory. Kitchen items should be counted separately from the front of house and bar inventory and so forth.
Regardless of the size of your operation, the principles of inventory control are the same. In larger operations there will be more people and sometimes even whole teams involved with the various steps, and in a small operation all responsibility for managing the inventory may fall on one or two key people.
Effective inventory control can be broken down into a few important steps:
· Set up systems to track and record inventory
· Develop specifications and procedures for ordering and purchasing
· Develop standards and procedures to efficiently receive deliveries
· Determine the frequency and processes for reconciling inventory
· Analyze inventory data and determine any areas for improvement
· Setting Up Systems to Track and Record Inventory
One of the reasons you take inventory is to determine food costs and to work out cost percentages. There are several procedures that simplify finding the value of goods in storage. These techniques are based on keeping good records of how much supplies cost and when supplies were purchased.
The temptation in small operations is to treat inventory control casually. Perhaps there are only one or two people doing the purchasing and they are usually aware of the supplies that are on hand. This doesn’t eliminate the need to track purchases against sales to see if you are managing your costs as well as you can.
Almost all inventory control procedures are time consuming. Moreover, such records must be kept up-to-date and done accurately. Trying to save a few hours by cutting back on the time needed to keep inventory records may be money poorly saved.
The simplest method for tracking inventory is using a spreadsheet. A simple spreadsheet might list all of the products that are regularly purchased, with the current prices and the numbers on hand at the last inventory count. The prices can be updated regularly as invoices are processed for payment, and a schedule can be set to count the product on hand.
In large operations, the systems need to be more sophisticated as there are more people involved. Purchases might be made by a separate department, inventory records might be kept by a storeroom clerk, and the tracking and counting of inventory might be tied to a system using scanners and barcodes, which in turn may be linked with your sales system so that there is always a record of what should be in stock.
No matter the depth of detail used, having a system to track inventory gives managers a good idea of supplies on hand and a tool to use to manage costs.
Incoming Inventory
The primary reason for establishing a consistent method for accepting ordered goods is to ensure that the establishment receives exactly what has been ordered. Errors frequently occur, and unless the quantity and quality of the items delivered are carefully checked against what was ordered, substantial losses can take place. When receiving procedures are carefully performed, mistakes that could cost the restaurant time and money are avoided. In addition, an effective receiving method encourages honesty on the part of suppliers and delivery people.
Invoices
The most important document in determining if the goods received are the goods ordered is the invoice. An invoice is an itemized list of the goods or products delivered to a food preparation premise. An invoice shows the quantity, quality, price per kilogram or unit, and, in some cases, the complete extension of the cost chargeable. Only by carefully comparing and checking can you be sure that the information on the invoice tallies with the products received. This comparison may require that items be weighed and/or counted.
Whenever possible, the receiver should check the invoice against the purchase order or purchase request slips. This will ensure that the quantity and price of the goods shipped match those listed on the order form. If the invoice is not checked against the purchase order when the goods arrive, there is the potential that you will be missing products you need or receive products that were not ordered or are in incorrect quantities.
In addition, the quality of the goods should be determined before they are accepted. For example, boxes of fresh produce and frozen foods should be opened and inspected to ensure quality.
When you are satisfied that the delivery is in order, sign the invoice. In most cases, the invoice is in duplicate or triplicate: you keep the original and the delivery driver retains the other copy or copies. Once you have signed, you have relieved the delivery company of its responsibilities and the supplies now belong to your company. You may, therefore, become responsible for any discrepancies between what is on the invoice and what has been delivered. It is good practice to bring any discrepancies or errors to the attention of the driver and have him or her acknowledge the mistake by signing the invoice. If a credit note is issued, that should also be marked on the invoice by the driver.
Do not sign the invoice until you are sure that all discrepancies have been taken care of and recorded on the invoice.
Take the signed invoice and give it to whoever is responsible for collecting invoices for the company.
The receiving of deliveries can be time consuming for both the food establishment and the delivery service. Often the delivery people (particularly if they are not the supplier) will not want to wait while these checks are done. In this case, it is important that your company has an understanding with the supplier that faults discovered after the delivery service has left are the supplier’s problems, not yours.
Once the invoices have been signed, put the delivered products in the proper locations. If you are required to track incoming inventory, do so at the same time.
Outgoing Inventory
When a supply leaves the storeroom or cooler, a record must be kept to track where it has gone. In most small operations, the supplies go directly to the kitchen where they are used to produce the menu items. In an ideal world, accurate records of incoming and outgoing supplies are kept, so knowing what is on hand is a simple matter of subtraction. Unfortunately, systems aren’t always that simple.
In a smaller operation, knowing what has arrived and what gets used every day can easily be reconciled by doing a regular count of inventory. In larger operations and hotels, the storage rooms and coolers may be on a different floor than the kitchen, and therefore a system is needed that requires each department and the kitchens to requisition food from the storeroom or purchasing department, much like a small restaurant would do directly from the supplier. In this model, the hotel would purchase all of the food and keep it in a central storage area, and individual departments would then “order” their food from the storerooms.
Requisitions
To control inventory and to determine daily menu costs in a larger operation, it is necessary to set up a requisition procedure where anything transferred from storage to the kitchen is done by a request in writing. The requisition form should include the name and quantity of the items needed by the kitchen. These forms often have space for the storeroom clerk or whoever handles the storeroom inventory to enter the unit price and total cost of each requested item.
In an efficiently run operation, separate requisition forms should be used by serving personnel to replace table supplies such as sugar, salt, and pepper. However, often personnel resist using requisition forms because they find it much easier and quicker to simply enter the storage room and grab what is needed, but this practice leaves no record and makes accurate record keeping impossible. To reduce the possibility of this occurring, the storage area should be secure with only a few people having the right to enter the rooms, storage freezers, or storage refrigerators.
Not only does the requisition keep tabs on inventory, it also can be used to determine the dollar value of foods requested by each department and so be used to determine expenses. In a larger operation where purchases may be made from different suppliers at different prices, it may be necessary to tag all staples with their costs and date of arrival. Expensive items such as meats are often tagged with a form that contains information about weight, cost per unit (piece, pound or kilogram), date of purchase, and name of supplier.
Pricing all items is time consuming, but that time will soon be recovered when requisition forms are being filled out or when the stock has to be given a monetary value. In addition, having prices on goods may help to remind staff that waste is costly.
Inventory Record Keeping
There are two basic record keeping methods to track inventory. The first is taking perpetual inventory. A perpetual inventory is simply a running balance of what is on hand. Perpetual inventory is best done by keeping records for each product that is in storage, when more of the product is received, the number of cans or items is recorded and added to the inventory on hand; when some of the product is requisitioned, the number going out is recorded and the balance is reduced. In addition, the perpetual inventory form can indicate when the product should be reordered (the reorder point) and how much of the product should ideally be on hand at a given time (par stock).
In small operations, a perpetual inventory is usually only kept for expensive items as the time (and cost) of keeping up the records can be substantial.
The second inventory record keeping system is taking a physical inventory. A physical inventory requires that all items in storage be counted periodically. To be an effective control, physical inventory should be taken at least monthly. The inventory records are kept in a spreadsheet or in another system reserved for that purpose.
The inventory sheet below can list the items alphabetically or in the order they will appear on the shelves in the storage areas.
In addition to the quantity of items, the inventory usually has room for the unit cost and total value of each item in storage. The total values of the items are added together to give the total dollar value of the inventory. This is also knows as extending the inventory. The total value of the inventory is known as the closing inventory for the day the inventory was taken. This amount will also be used as the opening inventory to compare with the next physical inventory. If the inventory is taken on the same day of each month, the figures can be used to accurately determine the monthly food cost.
The physical inventory is used to verify the accuracy of the perpetual inventory. For example, if 15 whole beef tenderloins are counted during a physical inventory, but the perpetual inventory suggests that there should be 20 tenderloins on hand, then a control problem exists and you need to find the reason for the variance.
Computerized Inventory Control
Most people today use computerized systems to calculate, track, and extend inventory. These systems enable the restaurant to have a much tighter and more accurate control over the inventory on hand and the costs of that inventory. Having access to information such as ordering history and the best price paid is just one of the benefits of these systems. They can also help the purchaser predict demand levels throughout the year. These programs in many cases are also integrated with the point-of-sale (POS) system used to track sales, and can even remove an item from a computerized inventory list when the waiter registers the sale of any menu item on the restaurant terminal. That is, if a customer orders one chicken dish from the menu, all the items required to make one portion of the chicken are discounted from inventory. This provides management with an constant up-to-date perpetual inventory of most inventory items.
Smaller operations will use a spreadsheet application to manage inventory, so you should also be familiar with a program like Microsoft Excel if you are responsible for ordering and inventory. The information required for the program to do the calculations properly is available from the invoices received with your supplies. That is, the quantities and prices of the goods you most recently received should be entered into the computer program either by you or by the restaurant’s purchaser. These prices and quantities are automatically used to calculate the cost of the goods on hand. This automated process can save you an enormous amount of time and, if the information entered into the computer is accurate, may also save you money. In any inventory system, there is always a possibility for error, but with computerized assistance, this risk is minimized.
Pricing and Costing for Physical Inventory
The cost of items purchased can vary widely between orders. For example, cans of pineapple might cost $2.25 one week, $2.15 the second week, and $2.60 another week. The daily inventory reports will reflect the changes in price, but unless the individual cans have been marked, it is difficult to decide what to use as a cost on the physical inventory form.
There are several different ways to view the cost of the stock on the shelves if the actual cost of each item is difficult to determine. Most commonly, the last price paid for the product is used to determine the value of the stock on hand. For example, if canned pineapple last cost $2.60 a can and there are 25 cans on hand, the total value of the pineapple is assumed to be $65 (25 x $2.60) even though not all of the cans may have been bought at $2.60 per can.
Inventory Turnover
When accurate inventory records are kept, it is possible to use the data in the records to determine the inventory turnover rate. The inventory turnover rate shows the number of times in a given period (usually a month) that the inventory is turned into revenue. An inventory turnover of 1.5 means that the inventory turns over about 1.5 times a month, or 18 times a year. In this case, you would have about three weeks of supplies in inventory at any given time (actually 2.88 weeks, which is 52 weeks/18). Generally, an inventory turnover every one to two weeks (or two to three times per month) is considered normal.
A common method used to determine inventory turnover is to find the average food inventory for a month and divide it into the total food cost for the same month. The total food cost is calculated by adding the daily food purchases (found on the daily receiving reports) to the value of the food inventory at the beginning of the month and subtracting the value of the food inventory at the end of the month.
That is, average food inventory = (beginning inventory + ending inventory)/2
cost of food = beginning inventory + purchases – ending inventory
inventory turn over = (cost of food)/(average food inventory).
CHALLENGES IN BULK COOKING.
· High Volume Production Cooking
While there are benefits to having a central kitchen, it’s also important to consider their challenges.
· High set up costs: space and warehousing
The space required for high production cooking is large and that means the price of a central kitchen venue can be high, especially in land-scarce cities.
· High set up costs: equipment and maintenance
Equipment and maintenance of central kitchen facilities are large investments. Consider this flow chart for a point of reference of what is needed.
Maintenance for the central kitchen and equipment is important and an ongoing task. Preventive maintenance plans for the facilities need to be included in the operating budget.
Managing human resources
· Training of employees for the central kitchen is important because:
It eases employees’ apprehensions about change and improves their ability to adapt to change.
Equipment and procedures used in a central kitchen will be different, thus initial training on equipment use is essential.
· Ensuring job satisfaction is key because:
Each person’s role is highly specialised and strict compliance to standards and rules are necessary.
Employee morale needs to be carefully managed.
Managers need to be aware of the possibility of boredom from repetitive motions and act pre-emptively to improve morale.
· Employee safety is crucial because:
Work is often more physically demanding, often with heavy lifting.
Repetitive motions may result in boredom and loss of concentration when operating dangerous machinery.
Provide regular breaks for employees to rest their minds and bodies.
Remind staff of the dangers of such equipment and have safety signs installed.
Ensuring quality and food safety
· Maintaining quality in mass produced food
There is often a perception of food quality loss when cooking is moved to a central kitchen and produced through automated systems. The key to maintaining quality is to:
Develop and test standard recipes for mass production.
Ensure that standard recipes are followed.
Invest in equipment that help maintain freshness.
· Maintaining food safety
Ensuring consistent food safety at a larger scale is even more important. Consider the following food safety precautions:
Ensure temperature of chillers and freezers.
Regular checking to maintain high levels of cleanliness.
Remind staff to keep up hygiene standards.
Invest in state-of-the-art machinery.
You can also learn more about food safety challenges in the module Food Safety.
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