(Also be sure to read Part 2 in our "Improve Your Bottom Line" series: Reduce Disposables.)
I have read many articles over the last year that ranked foodservice operators’ concerns and “increased food cost” is always in the top two. I have put together four ways to extend the life of product or to reduce food waste.
1) Shortening has become one of the top food costs for many restaurants. If you are frying foods, you should be filtering your oil. Most operators that are filtering oil extend the oil life by 30-50% with no noticeable quality loss. Most chains have been filtering for years and have made filtration a requirement in battery frying. Purchasing a new fryer with a built in filtration system is the most convenient and effective way to filter oil, but also the most expensive.
Here are some ideas to filter an existing fryer at a fraction of the cost. For safety reasons, we recommend using either a hand operated or electric filter machine. Filter pots are available for under $175 but require handling dangerously hot oil and waiting for it to cool. Hand operated filter machines range from $640 -$770 and are great for a couple of fryers. Electric units range from $1000 - $2000 and require less labor. If you have a floor fryer, most likely a drain valve will be conveniently located in the front and require a one way pump. Countertop fryers and a few floor fryers do not have drain valves and require a two way pump. Most portable filter machines are also used to safely transport discarded oil. Oil treatment costs less than $1 per 30-50 lbs. filtration. Use a fryer boil-out to remove carbon to keep fryers running efficiently. This is particularly important on tube fryers because the carbon buildup around the tube acts as an insulator and reduces the fryer’s performance while significantly increasing energy usage.
2) Portion control can be the difference between a profitable restaurant and an unprofitable restaurant. A mechanical receiving scale or digital receiving scale should be used to verify your inventory is correct and you are receiving what you have paid for. High cost food items such as proteins should be measured with a portion control scale. The chart from Edlund (see links below) shows that over the period of a month, over-serving a $10/lb protein by just 1/8th of an ounce 30 times a day costs over $50. If you are weighing as you go, such as weighing each ingredient on a pizza, you need a zero/tare option. The cost of digital scales has come down over the last five years and such scales are now available for $40 -$200. When purchasing a scale, think about whether or not you want a digital display, how you are measuring product, and how you plan on cleaning and calibrating your scales. Other inexpensive portion control devices are serving dishers, batter dispensers and portion control condiment pumps.
3) If your sales have been fluctuating, your food storage probably has too. To extend the life of your product, make sure you have properly sized food storage container and food rotation policy. Use smaller containers and keep them full. This will allow less air in the container, free up refrigerated space, and require the food to be out of the refrigerator less often. Make sure the lids are still making a complete seal. Use a food rotation policy to ensure “first in, first out.” To make this easier, use a food rotation label with date. Rapi-Kools will reduce the cool down time on large batch items and extend the life of a product. Use a thermometer to keep all of your refrigerated space at the optimal temperature.
4) Behind the bar, liquor is the most expensive food product and should be portion controlled. Use a measured pourer to get improved accuracy. This improves drink consistency and profits. If your bartender is off 1/8 of an ounce per pour (or a fraction of a second free pouring) they gave away 3 drinks per 750ml bottle. Many bars use a system of color coded measured pourers to keep track of the liquor prices. Pourers with a cover keep flies out and reduce the need to dump bad bottles. Lined shot glasses are also useful, and are available with 7/8 oz lines so you can “overpour” and still serve 1 oz. The life and freshness of drink condiments can be extended with iced condiment dispensers.
In these economic times most restaurants cannot afford to mistakenly give away profits. If you have any tips or if you have tried any of the above ideas successfully, email your stories to us at servusales@servu-online.com and we will add them to this blog. Thank you for your patronage.
Sincerely,
Chad Hemming
Vice President of Marketing
Additional Links:
Frymaster & Dean: Benefits of Oil Filtration
Edlund: The Importance of Portion Control
Precision Pours: Don't Risk Overpouring
