Minimizing Food Costs for Your Restaurant

Minimizing Food Costs for Your Restaurant

by | Sep 30, 2016 | Business Toolkit, Management

Whether you’re a brand new restaurant that’s just getting started or an established restaurant with a long history of success, controlling food costs is one of your top priorities. You don’t want to deliver anything less than the quality your customers have come to expect. On the other hand, you don’t want to overspend, either! Try some of these tips for minimizing food costs while still providing the excellent quality that every customer expects from your restaurant.

Know What Your Menu Items Cost

Have you ever taken the time to evaluate what each item on your menu actually costs you to create? Check out the individual cost of the ingredients and add them up in order to determine how much you’re really spending on each dish. Some of those premium dishes may end up costing you more than you think! Knowing how much you’re spending on each item will help you determine how you need to change your restaurant spending.

There are some things that are worth offering discounts on, even if the restaurant makes little or nothing on them.

Check Out the Menu

Do you have items on your menu that simply aren’t selling? Are there ingredients that you must purchase on a regular basis, but which often go bad before anyone orders meals that contain them? If so, it’s definitely time to change your menu.

You should also take food costs into account when developing your menu. Are there dishes that are above the regular price point for your restaurant? There are some things that are worth offering discounts on, even if the restaurant makes little or nothing on them, but you should be sure to evaluate the actual use of each of these menu items.

Evaluate Portion Sizes

Portion sizes can have a huge impact on the cost of each dish. If your dish is designed to have four ounces of meat, but the chef often tosses six ounces in arbitrarily, you’re wasting food. Make sure that you have a standard portion size for each dish. It won’t just help slice food costs; it will also help customers know what to expect every time they order their favorite menu item.

You should think outside the box and find ways to use as much of the food you’ve ordered as you can.

Control Your Inventory

Ordering food that ultimately goes bad is one of the biggest wastes of your restaurant’s food budget. Keep an eye on what’s coming in and what’s actually going out. Don’t let yourself run out of key ingredients, which could cause a problem for customers, but don’t over-order, either! Instead, create an inventory system that keeps the right amount of food coming in for your restaurant.

Watch the Waste

There’s a lot of potential for waste in many restaurant kitchens. From careless prep work that results in perfectly good food being thrown away to dishes that use only a portion of a meat or vegetable, then fail to recycle it for later use, you can find yourself throwing food away quickly – and throwing money away along with it. Look for creative ways to use as much of every piece of food as possible.

That doesn’t mean that you should attempt to use things that aren’t typically edible, but it does mean you should think outside the box and find ways to use as much of the food you’ve ordered as you can. Monitor the employees performing prep work to make sure they understand how to use the food properly.

Reducing food waste, controlling your inventory, and changing your menu to reflect the desires of customers and the needs of the restaurant will all help keep your restaurant running smoothly on a lower budget. The more attention you pay to the way you prepare your food, the lower your food costs will be. Often, that means that you can charge less for key dishes, keeping your customers happier, too!

You might also like…

Experience Sirvo for yourself

Sign up now to find hospitality jobs and hire top industry talent.
Sign up
Where to Look for Restaurant Reviews Based on Your Personality

Where to Look for Restaurant Reviews Based on Your Personality

by | Sep 28, 2016 | IndiNews

Sorting through restaurant reviews and navigating the best-of lists can be maddening; finding one that fits your personality and tastes often takes more time than necessary. So we’ve broken it down to help you navigate restaurant review sources based on common personal preference. 

For the Food Nerd: Opinionated About Dining

Steve Plotnicki, formerly an executive in the music industry, began the first ranking for amateur food maniacs in 2012. The list taps into the expertise of a community of globe-trotting food fans to create the annual list.

Plotnicki says he came up with the system because he didn’t care for the way other rankings like Gault et Millau, Michelin, and Zagat did things. The list no longer consists of a global ranking, but rather it focuses on the U.S., Japan, and European regions.

For the Francophile: La Liste

This list began with support from the French government in 2015. Since then, it has become its own independent commercial entity under its founder Philippe Faure, former owner of the Gault et Millau restaurant guides.

It uses an algorithm to crunch the numbers from around two hundred published sources and create a list of the top thousand best restaurants on the planet. Businesses from Japan and France dominated its very first list. There are plans to add an additional nine thousand restaurants from around the world that were previously unranked.

For the Early Adopter: Food & Wine

After announcing its first class of Best New Chefs in 1988, Food & Wine now boasts some of the biggest names in American cooking (Daniel Boulud and Tomas Keller, among others).

While the publication reviews restaurants regularly, it also releases its list of Restaurants of the Year as well as Best New Chefs which features some of the best rising chefs who have run their restaurant for no more than five years. The magazine’s editor says everyone who works on the list thinks of themselves as talent scouts – and so far, they’ve been pretty accurate.

For the All-American: Eater

Eater came onto the scene a couple of years ago after receiving corporate funding from Vox Media. It follows national food critic Bill Addison as he travels the country in search of “essential” restaurants. 2015 saw the first publication of “National Eater 38,” which favors established restaurants over the new ones. Every summer Addison also puts out a list outlining the best new restaurants around the nation.

For the Scorekeeper: The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

The World’s 50 Best has been around for a while – since 2002. It started out as a minor feature in Restaurant Magazine from Great Britain and has since become a go-to list for millions. It seeks to highlight various regions around the world that either go unranked or do not receive sufficient consideration by other lists and guides.

Recent locations that have garnered a lot of attention include Peru, Spain, and Denmark. The ranking is decided by a group of more than nine hundred anonymous voters who work in the food industry or write about it for a living. There are also smaller branches of the list that focus on restaurants in Latin America and Asia.

For the Hipster: Bon Appétit

After taking over the magazine in 2011, editor Adam Rapoport made some changes to the annual Best New Restaurants list. The focus of the September issue is now almost solely on the year’s top ten and includes recipes from each one.

Two editors spend months at a time traveling to find hidden gems, often searching for those independent restaurants that have something unique to offer. A few weeks before the top ten list is published, fifty nominees are listed online.

Happy eating!

You might also like…

Alcohol Goes Rogue: The New Era Of Drinking

Alcohol Goes Rogue: The New Era Of Drinking

The relationship between alcohol and consumers is not straightforward. In fact, it's highly complex, dependent on variables upon variables many of which can't be controlled. But what is straightforward is that the relationship is changing. 'The Drinking Code' The...

read more
Kitchen Hacks Part 2: Dairy Done Right

Kitchen Hacks Part 2: Dairy Done Right

Last week, we shared some tips about ingredients; this week's hacks are all about saving time with dairy. Freeze soft cheese before grating. For easier grating, place softer cheeses (such as fontina and Monterey Jack) in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes beforehand....

read more
Kitchen Hacks Part 1: Get The Most Out Of Your Ingredients

Kitchen Hacks Part 1: Get The Most Out Of Your Ingredients

When it comes to your daily meals, cooking is the cheaper, and healthier, option, but it’s not always the most convenient. For those who know this all too well, we're publishing a 4-part Kitchen Hacks series to make you a better, faster cook. Part I is all about...

read more

Experience Sirvo for yourself

Sign up now to find hospitality jobs and hire top industry talent.
Sign up
How to Avoid Surprise Health Inspections at Your Restaurant

How to Avoid Surprise Health Inspections at Your Restaurant

by | Sep 26, 2016 | Business Toolkit, Management

A restaurant can be a dangerous place, filled with razor-sharp cutting utensils, slippery floors, super-heated liquids and bodies moving at lightning speed in a confined area. It’s the type of hazardous environment that is a magnet for health inspections conducted by both the Occupational Safety and Hazards Administration (OSHA) and other workers’ compensation authorities. 

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. The key is to think safety, starting from senior management all the way down to the people bussing tables. It also comes down to something as simple as the design of the restaurant itself. Here are some suggestions, courtesy of Restaurant Hospitality and OSHA, on how the design of your restaurant can go a long way in reducing workplace injuries.

In the kitchen:

  • Buy countertops and cutting surfaces that can be adjusted to the right height for different workers.
  • Install dumbwaiters to transfer food products between floors.
  • Install sinks that are at the height of most workers’ hips. This helps prevent strain in dishwashing.
  • Buy thick rubber mats for use when kneeling.
  • Make sure that all the equipment, utensils, pots and pans needed in the kitchen are within reach of the shortest worker.

In the front of house:

  • Install coat racks at chest height.
  • Install hip-height bar sinks and ice storage at bars.
  • Install computer workstations for ordering that are adjustable with touchscreens.
  • Install lights at ordering computer workstations with dimmers that direct light upward, toward the ceiling.
  • Design at the bar is important, too. The distance between the bartender and customer should measure 22 inches or less.

Workers in the restaurant should:

  • Store heavy and frequently used items on racks that are no lower than hip height and no higher than chest height.
  • Limit very low and overhead storage to items not often used.
  • Rather than bending, stooping or kneeling, work at levels between your hips and chest. You should work in your power zone while sweeping the floor.

Owners and managers should:

  • Create a written safety policy in your handbook. This should address separately the hazards most frequently encountered by employees. Work rules must meet or exceed OSHA standards. Work rules need to be in writing and be distributed to all.
  • Communicate the rules to employees. Ensure management is on board and all new employees are properly trained prior to starting. Implement continued training safety and establish safety committed, view vendor demos and educate workers on most frequently encountered hazards.
  • Take steps to discover violations. Oversee safety inspections, walk-throughs and audits. Watch for hazards or rule violations. Do periodic safety self-inspections.

Eventually, health inspections will find their way to your location, preferably just on a routine inspection and not because of some catastrophic workplace injury involving hot soup. But by using the information we’ve outlined above you will survive your next OSHA visit because you will have substantially reduced your risk profile.

You might also like…

Experience Sirvo for yourself

Sign up now to find hospitality jobs and hire top industry talent.

Sign up
Best Tips to Advertise Your Restaurant’s Happy Hour

Best Tips to Advertise Your Restaurant’s Happy Hour

by | Sep 23, 2016 | Business Toolkit, Management

At the end of the workday, many people have just one thing on their mind: happy hour! They’re hungry and thirsty and as a restaurant or bar of any type, this is a real asset. The thing you need to know though is how to advertise your happy hour so you can make the very most of it. With this in mind, here are the pro-tips.

Understand Happy Hour’s Purpose

Unfortunately, many bar owners think of happy hour as a stand alone part of their day when it’s really not. Happy hour is a transitional time you should use to drive traffic to your bar or restaurant that evening.

Don’t think of a busy happy hour as a success. While it may help you break even, it’s not a success unless you have a busy lucrative dinner or evening. As such, happy hour is actually a traffic and sales driver. You want this traffic to stay for a full-price dinner, which means you need really compelling advertising for that.

Ramp Up In-House Marketing

You want to create a special place or, at the very least, have posters and signs around your establishment advertising happy hour. Make sure these show a list of the deals you’re offering. This way, even if your customers missed happy hour, they know to come in for it tomorrow.

It’s important you train your team on running a successful happy hour.

It’s also important you train your team on running a successful happy hour so they can turn it into a profitable experience. By investing in walking your guests through a happy hour to an enjoyable dinner or late night experience, you’ll bring in more business. Make sure your staff is ready to offer recommendations, talk up full-priced signature items, and, of course, answer questions about the specials.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Most bars and restaurants understand how important social media marketing is when it comes to bringing in customers. However, what many don’t understand is how helpful it is for advertising purposes, especially when it comes to happy hours.

Why? Because lots of people get antsy towards the end of the workday and start playing around with their social media feeds. By tweeting about your daily specials around 3-5pm, you’re reaching potential customers at exactly the right time – when they’re deciding where to go for that after-work drink!

Take your social media post to the next level by including an enticing image of either a food or drink special you’re offering. The visual aspect goes a long way in this respect.

Create More Deals

Since most people don’t go to happy hour by themselves, but instead go with a group of friends or coworkers, offer group deals on appetizers or pitchers. These turn your happy hour into the place they want to go.

Also, don’t forget about the power of bounce back coupons.

Also, don’t forget about the power of bounce back coupons. Giving your customers additional coupons for the next happy hour gives them extra incentive to return!

A Little Something Extra

Although cheap drinks and food are stars in their own right, they’re not exactly unique. To make your happy hour stand out in the crowd, try adding a little something extra. Think karaoke, live bands, trivia or games of some sort.

Whether it’s once a week or once a month, this will not only draw a wider crowd but also extend the amount of time, and money, customers are spending at your restaurant. Plus, it’s just another perk that you can advertise!

Offer a Special Menu

Most of the time, happy hour discounts are on drinks and appetizers that are already on the menu. However, if you spend time creating a menu just for happy hour, customers are more likely to stop by and try these offerings.

If you spend time creating a menu just for happy hour, customers are more likely to stop by and try those drinks or food.

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to happy hour, but the gist is that it should be a unique and relaxing experience for your customers that’s affordable, so they can enjoy it on the reg. Then, it’s all about spreading the word!

You might also like…

Experience Sirvo for yourself

Sign up now to find hospitality jobs and hire top industry talent.
Sign up
How to Host an Unforgettable Dinner Event, According to a Sommelier

How to Host an Unforgettable Dinner Event, According to a Sommelier

by | Sep 21, 2016 | IndiNews

Planning a dinner for clients and employees is never an easy task. These personal events can and should create lasting memories for all guests. That’s a lot of pressure! So take the time to create an evening no one will forget. A sophisticated wine paired meal with an elegant atmosphere, adventurous food, and good fun to be had by all.

Ask a Professional for Planning Help

Wine is a little world for a huge topic! Sommelier’s train for years and there is always more to learn. No one expects you to know it all right away. So, ask for help when planning a wine-centric event. Caterers, wine merchants, websites, wine forums online, the sommelier organization are all great resources for guidance in the planning stages.

Treat All Guests Like VIPs

Modern entertaining is certainly more relaxed than it used to be, but there are a few hosting rules that never go out of style. The most important entertaining ‘rule’ is that it’s the host’s job to make every guest feel special and welcome.

Be available when a guest arrives to welcome them and make sure they are comfortable right from the get go. If your event has a theme or is organized in a specific way, make sure your guests are aware and excited so that they are never lost or unsure as the evening progresses.

Some people are uncomfortable mixing socially with colleagues and clients, so make sure everyone is comfortable throughout the evening.

Some people are uncomfortable mixing socially and it’s up to the host to make sure everyone is comfortable throughout the evening. Introduce nervous guests to those you know will be welcoming, and encourage conversation about the wine and food to get your guests to relax.

Start With A Bang

Set the tone for your event by wowing your guests right out of the gate. Have a special cocktail, champagne, or apéritif ready for your guests to enjoy. Pair it with small but elegant bite-sized snacks to whet appetites and set the tone for the meal to come.

Think luxury and comfort for these initial snacks – creamy truffle mac and cheese bites, velvety smoked salmon and whipped mascarpone on a pumpernickel crouton, caviar deviled eggs. Yummy!

Take Care of the Wine

When wine is the centerpiece of your evening it’s vital that it is presented at it’s best. For both red and white wines this means paying attention to temperature. Serving white wine at too low a temperature deadens its subtle aromatics. Pull your white wines out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before they will be served.

Offering options in this way will inspire your guests to try new things and talk about the wine with fellow guests.

Inversely, refrigerate red wine for about 20 minutes prior to serving. This removes the harsh edge or finish found in improperly tempered red wine. The proper temperature for whites is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and about 65 degrees Fahrenheit for reds.

Encourage Your Guests to Have Fun

The best way to do this is to both pair wine and food and serve them in pairs. For example, serve different vintages of the same wine with differently aged cheeses. Or a New Zealand wine and a French wine of the same grape at the same time. Or even pair both a red and a white with one dish to highlight different aspects of the same ingredients.

Pair both a red and a white with one dish to highlight different aspects of the same ingredients.

Offering options in this way will inspire your guests to try new things and talk about the wine with fellow guests. Depending on your food progression you may want to offer multiple wines with each course, each one displaying intriguing differences between vintage, grape, price, location, brand, and more.

End the Evening With Thanks

Hosting a business wine dinner is so much more than event planning. It is a strategic marketing move and brand awareness tactic that presents your brand in a sophisticated and open way. Hopefully, events like these will be the beginning of strong client relationships and strengthen relationships within your company.

So end your evening with thanks. Publicly thank those who helped you, tip any waitstaff or caterers, thank clients for attending. And then, end the evening with fruit, nuts, chocolate and the last of all the wine. Sometimes these final relaxed moments are when the deals are made!

But, most importantly, have fun playing host!

You might also like…

Alcohol Goes Rogue: The New Era Of Drinking

Alcohol Goes Rogue: The New Era Of Drinking

The relationship between alcohol and consumers is not straightforward. In fact, it's highly complex, dependent on variables upon variables many of which can't be controlled. But what is straightforward is that the relationship is changing. 'The Drinking Code' The...

read more
Kitchen Hacks Part 2: Dairy Done Right

Kitchen Hacks Part 2: Dairy Done Right

Last week, we shared some tips about ingredients; this week's hacks are all about saving time with dairy. Freeze soft cheese before grating. For easier grating, place softer cheeses (such as fontina and Monterey Jack) in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes beforehand....

read more
Kitchen Hacks Part 1: Get The Most Out Of Your Ingredients

Kitchen Hacks Part 1: Get The Most Out Of Your Ingredients

When it comes to your daily meals, cooking is the cheaper, and healthier, option, but it’s not always the most convenient. For those who know this all too well, we're publishing a 4-part Kitchen Hacks series to make you a better, faster cook. Part I is all about...

read more

Experience Sirvo for yourself

Sign up now to find hospitality jobs and hire top industry talent.
Sign up