FOOD AND BEVERAGE

PRODUCTION CONTROL
 FOOD AND BEVERAGE PRODUCTION CONTROL
 

This has four basic stages

1. Production planning/forecasting
2. Standard yield
3. Standard recipes
4. Standard portion sizes
 When the four basic stages are practiced in a food and beverage operation,
they should aid management in controlling cost, setting standard and
achieving customer satisfaction
1. PRODUCTION PLANNING/VOLUME FORECASTING
This is forecasting of volume of sales for an establishment for a specific time
period i.e. a day, week or a month.

Food production forecasting is necessary for every meal e.g. breakfast,

lunch or dinner, because production has to meet demand.
 Aims and Objectives of Production
Planning/Forecasting
 

 To facilitate food cost control for the establishment

 To facilitate the purchasing of food stuff especially perishable items and
ensuring that appropriate stock levels are maintained.
 To reduce the problem of left overs and plan how to use them in case
they are there.
 To gear production to demand by forecasting the number of meals to be
served in a given meal.
 To enable comparison to be made between actual and potential volume
of sales and for corrective actions to be taken if necessary.
 An initial forecast is made either at the initial stage or period in
advance e. g. a month. The forecast estimates the total number of meals
to be served and the estimated cost.
If there are several outlets then a detailed estimate of each outlet
should be done. While doing this, consider the season, past popularity
of the menu item, major events which are to occur in the area, which
are more likely to attract customers and also carry out sales campaigns.
An accurate forecast should be made one or two days prior to
production.
 

Several aids or management tools may be employed by an

establishment in order to assist in the forecasting and planning of
 1. Cyclic Menus
  These are a series of menus which are repeated for a certain period. The menus
can be planned for a 3-week cycle and at the end of the three weeks it is repeated.
 Advantages
 Repetition aids in implementation of standard recipes and procedure of
production in the kitchen.
 Helps to establish training procedures and equipment utilization
 It is easy to carry out staff scheduling since production requirements are known.
 It is easy to know customer preference for certain items which further aids in
production forecasting and planning by the establishment.
 Sales analysis may give a clear picture of the popularity of certain dishes and
this may help the establishment to k now its strength.
Disadvantages
 Menu items offered may be repetitious and hence
become monotonous.
 Food cost can be high if the cycle does not change with
season to take advantage of seasonal foods.
 2. Sales Histories
These are detailed records showing actual sales of menu items
for a catering outlet. Ideally, actual sales should be recorded
alongside the forecast sales.
Sales histories should be recorded on a daily basis which is then
totaled at the end of the week in order to avoid back log of data to
be processed and also for purposes of relaying the information to
the management. Keep different sales histories for different
outlets for purposes of comparisons.
 3. Past Sales Trends
Using this too l, each menu item is analyzed separately to determine
popularity. The menu analysis can be do ne daily using menu score
forms which indicate;
a) The menu item
b) The score
c) The number sold
d) The number produced
e) The percentage of number sold out of the total product.
 NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION
Menu score form
 
Date ………………………. Completed by…………………….
Day………………………… Weather………………………….
Meal……………………….. Special function…………………
Menu Category Score Number Number sold Percentage of
produced total
       
Starters        
         
Soup ///// ///// ///// 30 15 50%
Salad ///// ///// ///// ///// 50 20 40%
 
Main meal
Roast chicken
Beef
 Menu scores can be used to prepare monthly forecast
 Weekly forecast can be extracted from monthly forecasts
 Weekly or daily forecasts are revised on the basis of any
relevant information that has changed e. g. function
bookings.
Forecasting Variables
These include such variables as:-
a) Weather- warm weather increases demand for cold drinks while cold weather
increases the demand for hot foods/d rinks
b) Special functions- e.g. sports, graduations etc. may increase demand for food
and beverage services.
c) Economic status- e.g. coffee, tea, sugar, milk payouts in farming areas
increase the community purchasing power, hence creates demand for food
and beverages services.
d) Competition- this influences customer demand.
e) Left overs- if left over food is properly handled, it can be used, hence
reducing the quantity of similar item to be cooked.
2. STANDARD YIELDS
When food is being prepared there is always wastage. Wastage can
be defined as the amount of material lost during storage, preparation,
cooking and serving, shrinkage during cooking, evaporation, boning or
cutting. Yield of the other hand is the amount of the usable product of
an item after it has been prepared, cooked and served.
 Wastage can occur because of carelessness, because of unusable parts
of the food, loss of weight during cooking, loss of weight after coo
king due to evaporation, curving or
Portioning process.
Development of standard yields for an establishment has a number of advantages:-
 Standard yields determine the size/weight to buy of a particular commodity.
 They assist to determine quant it y of raw materials to buy.
 They act as double checks for purchasing department- quantity bought should
yield known number of portions and the chef can detect any abnormality when
quantity /quality in not correct.
 They act as safe guard s against pilferage or wastage occurring in the kitchen
as actual and potential yields can be compared.
 They aid in accurate food costing because the cost of food can be established.
To come up with standard yields, yield test forms can be developed as below
 The calculation of standard yield is based on strict adherence to the
organizations’ two standards, namely:
a) Standard purchase specification and
b) Standard recipe
Yield is used for:-
 Calculating the standard cost of one portion of the menu
 Setting the selling p rice of one portion
 Adjusting the “As Purchased” (AP) cost of the menu and determines the
“As Served” (AS) cost of standard portion
 Controlling product waste.
  It should be noted that yields are influenced by grade of a product, while
management supervision is essential to enforce the standards.
 Calculating yield
  Example
Original plucked and prepared weight of turkey is 5.2kg
Giblets 0.3kg
Weight after cooking 4.4kg
Weight when cooled 4 .3 kg
Sliced weight 2.2k g
Yield = Usable Weight ⁄ Original Weight X 100%
  = 2.2/5.2*100%
  = 43.31%
  Number of Portions = Usable Weight ⁄ Required Weight per Portion
  2.2 ⁄0.14 = 15.71 portions
Cost per portion of useable food is the cost of food as first purchased
Cost per portion = Cost AP ⁄Useable Portions
Example
The following information regarding the leg of a lamb
Original weight as purchased 4.6kg
Price paid 250/= per kg
Total weight lost in cooking is 14%
Weight lost in boning and slicing is 1 .1kg Calculate:-
a) Percentage yield
b) Number of portions at 0.14kg per portion
c) Cost per portion at 0.14kg per portion
d) Cost per portion at 0.125kg per portion
 3. STANDARD RECIPES
This is a precise written formula for preparation and cooking of a menu. It
 

should include:-
a. Name of the menu item
b. The pan size
c. Yield (number of portions)
d. The portion size
e. Portion utensil
f. Cooking time
g. A sequential list of ingredients
h. Quantity of each ingredient
i. Any special equipment needed
j. Garnish
 Example

Name: Roast Chicken/Bread Crumbs Standard recipe NO. 615

Pan size: Sheet Pan Yield : 25 portions
Temperature: 350ºF Portion size: 6 oz
Portion Utensil: Spatula Cooking time: 3 0min

Ingredients Quant it y Method

Capons 7 ½ kg 1. Coat chicken with bread crumbs and cheese
Cooking oil ½L 2. Place on baking sheet
Bread crumbs (dried) 24 oz 3. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, 24 oz 4. Roast in Ho t oven 350ºF for 30 min
grated 1 oz 5. Serve with sauté potatoes and garnish with
Salt 1 oz parsley.
Pepper

 
Advantages 
 Accurate food costing can be determined for particular dishes and from this, cost per
portion may be calculated.
 Nutritional value of the dish can be calculated from the quality of ingredients
 They aid in internal and external requisitioning. Using standard recipes, the chef can
calculate the requirements for the following d ay and requisition for the food materials
from the store.
 They are used for training and remedies to staff of the preparation procedures
 They ensure that the customer will always get a standard product.
 They may be used as a basis for compiling standard portion sizes.
 They are used as an aid to menu planning.
 They assist new staff in preparation and production of standard products.
 Example 2
Standard recipe no. 23: chicken pie (4 portions)

Ingredients Quant it y Cost

Chicken 1.25kg  

Button mushroom 125g

Onions Chicken 90g
stock Streaky bacon ¼L
Egg 125g
Salt , pepper & parsley 1
Puff Pastry To taste
225g

     
Method
1. Bone out the chicken, cut into pieces 3 by 2 cm
2. Wrap each piece in bacon and p lace in a pie dish
3. Slice the mushrooms and chop the onions
4. Add all the ingredients and cover with stock
5. Cover the pie with puff pastry
6. Cook for 10 minutes in a hot oven to the set the paste
and for 1 hour more in a moderate oven.
 Take the following costs
 AP Chicken 200/= per kg
 Mushroom 400/= per kg
 Onions 50/= per kg
 Streaky bacon 500 /= per kg
 Egg 10/= per piece
 Salt, pepper & parsley at 10/=
 Puff pastry 100/= per kg.
Calculate
i. The total cost and cost per portion
ii. The selling prices/portion to achieve a gross profit of
a) 65%
b) 50%
c) 45%
 
 Example 3
i. Transfer the following ingredients for steamed sponge pudding to a standard recipe sheet (4 portions)
 100g caster sugar
 2 eggs
 10g baking powder
 100g margarine
 500g flour
 Milk 50 ml
 

ii. Calculate the cost of each ingredient required by the standard recipe using the following price list
 Caster sugar 100/= per kg
 Eggs 10/= per piece
 Baking powder 20/= per 100g
 Milk 30/= per Litre
 Margarine 150/= per kg
 Flour 60/= per kg
 

iii. Calculate the total dish cost for the recipe

iv. Calculate the cost per portion of the recipe
 4. STANDARD PORTION (PORTION SIZE)
A standard portion is the quant it y o f each menu item served for the stated menu price.
Standardize portions are listed for each menu item on the standard recipe form.
Standard portion sizes may be described on the basis of either
a) Count e.g. 10 deep- fried chicken legs or
b) Weight e.g. cooked rice 4 o z.
 

Standard portion sizes are important in controlling costs and maintaining customer satisfaction.
They help ensure consistency in a foodservice firm.
Portion control means controlling the size or quant it y o f food to be served to each customer.

The size of portions should be exact- not too much or little. A portion which is too small will
receive complaint s from customers but one that is too large will cost more to prepare. If it is sold
for the normal size, this may result in a loss being made.
 For example, in a stud y carried out, it was found that 0.007L of milk was
being lost per cup by spilling it from the milk jag. If 32,000 cups are
made, then 224L of milk was being lost daily and if one litre of milk is
20/= then the loss is 4,480/= per day.
 

The amount of food served to the guest depends on the following

a) Type of the customer and the type of work that the customer
does
b) Quality of food- poor quality food may give fewer portions
c) Buying price of food- this should depend on the quality of the food.
Portion control equipment include the following
a) Scoops- ice creams, mashed potatoes, ugali, rice
b) Ladles- for soups
c) Butter pat machines
d) Fruit juice glasses
e) Soup plates or bowls
f) Milk dispensers and tea measuring machines
g) Individual pie dishes, pudding basins
h) Moulds
The End