Cost Control
Cost control is where service meets arithmetic: standard recipes, portion control, food cost percentage, yield, waste and the monthly calculation of what was actually consumed.
Core tools
- Standard recipe: fixed quantities, method, portion size and cost per portion. Without it no figure is comparable.
- Portion control: scales, ladles, scoops and counts. Over-portioning is the biggest silent loss in most outlets.
- Yield (EP vs AP): edible portion after trimming and cooking loss. A 10 kg beef consignment yielding 7 kg edible is a 70 % yield, and portion cost must use the edible figure.
- FIFO/FEFO in stores so stock is used before it spoils.
- Requisitions and transfers: everything leaving the store is signed for, so wastage can be separated from pilferage.
Monthly food cost
Food cost = opening stock + purchases − closing stock − staff meals − transfers out. Food cost percentage = food cost ÷ food sales × 100. Compare it with the standard cost built from recipes; the gap is variance, and it points to over-portioning, spoilage, theft or unrecorded staff meals.
Worked example. Opening stock KSh 40,000; purchases KSh 160,000; closing stock KSh 36,000; staff meals KSh 4,000; food sales KSh 480,000. Reasoning: 40,000 + 160,000 − 36,000 − 4,000 = KSh 160,000. 160,000 ÷ 480,000 = 33.3 %. If the standard cost is 30 %, the 3.3-point gap is roughly KSh 16,000 of unexplained loss to investigate.
Traps
Forgetting staff or complimentary meals in the calculation; comparing an as-purchased price with an edible-portion cost; ignoring cooking loss in yield; treating a high-sales month as proof of good control - volume hides percentage loss.