Food cost affects the profitability of restaurants big time. The average food cost percentage is between 28%-32%. That's huge. These are 9 proven ways to keep food cost down for single and multi-outlet fast-casual restaurants, hotels and casual dining restaurants.

1. 9 ways to
reduce food cost
without giving in on quality

2. Food cost affects profitability -
BIG TIME
And let’s face it, the basic equation of food purchases
divided by check average simple doesn’t cut it in a highly
competitive restaurant industry.

3. 1. Know What You Are Spending
It’s hard not to stress the importance of food cost
monitoring. You need a system. Knowing what you are
paying is crucial. If you aren’t sure what a portion costs,
how are you ever going to know if you are making any
profit at all?

4. 2. Portion Control
If you’re looking to reduce food cost, portion control is
massively important. When the portions you serve differ
from the portions costed in your recipes, there is no way
to compare actual and ideal food cost. In other words,
you’ll never know if you have food cost under control.

5. 3. Pre-portion In Mise en place
When organising mise en place, make sure recipes are
followed religiously. It is the only way to guarantee quantities
are respected throughout production. Pre-portion
ingredients before service starts. It ensures quantities are
maintained, even when pressure is high.

6. 4. Keep Menus Focussed
Don’t offer more menu-items than your customer base
demands. Keep track of your sales mix and regularly
evaluate whether or not a dish is worth keeping. The more
menu-items you have, the higher the risk of over-ordering
and wasting. So keep your menus focused. Propper menu
engineering tools will save you a lot of money.

7. 5. Buy At The Best Price & Be Creative
Convenience is an easy trap to fall in: ordering the same
products from the same supplier over and over again.
Prices vary constantly. Better stay vigilant. Convenience is
the enemy of profitability.

8. 6. Love Your Supplier
Knowing your suppliers have your best interests at heart
will save you time and money. If suppliers know you are
committed to working with them, they, in turn, will be more
invested in your business. Do ask to re-negotiate prices.
Specifically when your business is growing.

9. 7. Is working From Scratch Worth The Effort?
Monitoring costs is crucial throughout the entire food
process. Milling your own flour and churning your own
butter is amazing, and can reduce food cost down to 10%,
but labour costs will skyrocket. Talk to your local supplier.
They might be doing a better job and offering a great price.

10. 8. Reduce No-Shows
Reservations help you plan mise en place and
procurement. No shows, however, ruin the party. A no show
rate of 10 per cent is realistic in the restaurant industry. An
effective strategy that reduces no-shows, even if it’s just by
1%, lowers your food cost percentage immensely. It’s simple,
don’t prepare food for guest who aren’t comming.

11. 9. Waste As Little As Possible
Food waste is driving food cost through the roof. Working
to prevent food waste can cut costs by 2 to 6 per cent
PER OUTLET. Make sure to monitor spoilage,
over-ordering and over-stocking. Use everything you
purchase. Understand why and when waste occurs and
optimise workflows to minimise the associated costs.

12. www.apicbase.com
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13. www.apicbase.com
Apicbase is software to
streamline, automate and monitor
all your kitchen operations.
For single and multi-unit
restaurant businesses.
Keep costs down,
quality up and
your team happy.