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How to Turn Good Recipes Into Great Menu Items
A good recipe for home cooking doesn’t always work out when you attempt to
replicate it in the restaurant. Startup restaurateurs find out quickly that a recipe intended to yield four, six
or even 10 servings might not be practical when feeding dozens or even hundreds of guests — every day.
We’ve said it once, we'll say it again: Success in the restaurant business is
often measured in pennies. Toss in
an inaccurate order here, a dash of wasted product there, and mix in a bit of
inefficient labor use, and you’ve
got a recipe for slim margins. And while your friends and family never minded
waiting an extra half-hour or so
for your famous meatballs, your restaurant guests will not be so forgiving to
slow service and inconsistency.
For good recipes to become great menu items, you must learn to make them pleasing
to both your guests and
your accountant. You must break them down into stages that assist purchasing and
inventory control, organize
prepping, reduce production time, and maximize yield. Then you must build them up
to serve dozens of covers.
We call it RecipeMapping® — a three-step process that allows you to add new items
to the menu consistently,
methodically and profitably. We hope it helps “map out” your strategy for adding
items to your menu, as well
as help you put your startup “on the map.”
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Step 1
– Add Ingredients to the Master Inventory List. Every
restaurant should maintain a Master Inventory List that includes all of
the ingredients that a restaurant must use in the preparation of their
menu items. This list can be maintained using a spreadsheet format that
includes purchasing information such as the pack, size and price of the
ingredients — information that is useful when creating other management
forms such as inventory and order forms. But to accurately calculate the
real cost to produce a menu item, the Master Inventory list should not
only reflect the purchasing cost and unit of measure, but also the
corresponding recipe cost and unit of measure. Any ingredient used in
cooking can be expressed in one of three units of measure when using it
in a recipe — weight measure (typically ounces or lbs.), volume measure
(such as tsp.,tbsp.,cups, qts. or gal.), or by piece. Many
products are purchased by weight units of measure but are measured for
recipes in terms of volume (fluid) measure. To determine a true recipe
unit cost, it can require measuring a pound of product to determine its
recipe yield.
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Step 2 – Create the Prep Stages. Here we identify parts
of the menu item that can be prepared prior to final cooking
and presentation, to reduce the time from order to
service. Even a simple, single menu item often requires
several subrecipes that are produced in batch and become
part of the routine preparation tasks. Each
subrecipe is then added to the Recipe Manual for reference
by the kitchen staff. The cost of each subrecipe
ingredient is calculated by multiplying the number of
recipe units used by the recipe unit cost listed in the Master
Inventory. The subrecipe batch is then assigned its own recipe unit and cost
based on to total cost to produce the batch and how much it yields.
Step 3 – Calculate Menu Item Cost. Finally,
the cost of
the menu item is determined by calculating the cost of
each individual recipe or ingredient needed to produce
the menu item, then affixing a selling price that produces
the desired profit. Restaurants should review their menu
item cost every three to six months to ensure that cost
expectations are accurate.
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Each month,
Restaurant Startup & Growth magazine features different menu items in the
Recipe Mapping article. Here, we have provided downloadable PFD versions of
those articles for your convenience. If you don't have it, you will need to
download a free version of
Adobe Reader to view these articles.
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Recipe Mapping: Saskatoon Buckhead & Eastlake Tavern Bowl
by Tom Bruce
This month's features were contributed by Saskatoon Buckhead, located in Atlanta, and Eastlake Tavern Bowl of Chula Vista, California. Tom Bruce, instructor, chef consultant and founder of Sacramento Food & Beverage, works with the staffs in documenting the food preparation breakdown for two featured dishes, listed respectively: Roasted Chicken with Brie and Smokin' Pizza. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Saskatoon
by Tom Bruce
Tom Bruce works once again with Saskatoon, Steaks - Fish - Wild Game in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with providing assistance in the new franchise's development, Tom also provides a cost breakdown analysis for two more of the store's featured menu items: Buffalo Lettuce Wraps and Seared Scallop Salad. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Saskatoon, Steaks - Fish - Wild Game
by Tom Bruce
Tom Bruce analyzes the cost breakdown for Buffalo Meatloaf and Pan Seared Steak Salad, two featured lunch menu items at Saskatoon, Steaks - Fish - Wild Game, a newly opened franchise store located in Atlanta. Tom, founder of Sacramento Food & Beverage, also helps Saskatoon with its franchise development. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: ChocolateBakery.com
by Tom Bruce
This month's features were contributed by Judy Parks, who along with her husband Bruce owns and operates ChocolateBakery.com, a concept principally defined by its decadent deliveries. Judy, an instructor at American River College in Sacramento, works with fellow instructor Tom Bruce, founder and chef's consultant for Sacramento Food and Beverage, to provide the cost analysis for the Moka Profiterole Pyramid and Holiday Paris Brest. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: East Village Tavern and Bowl
by Tom Bruce
East Village Tavern and Bowl is a bowling alley concept based in San Diego and featuring tavern style food and beverage. Tom Bruce works with chefs Mike Fisher of the Market St. location, and chefs Josh Hernandez and Joe Reese of their soon to open Eastlake location, to analyze the cost breakdown for two of East Village's featured dishes, Tavern Tacos and Tavern Wings. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Long Bar and Bistro
by Tom Bruce
Long Bar and Bistro of San Fransisco, California, is co-owned and managed by Alan Walsh. Tom Bruce works with Walsh and the staff to analyze the cost breakdown for two of Long Bar's featured dishes, Grilled Atlantic Salmon and Tuna Tartar. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Bullwackers
by Tom Bruce
Tom Bruce works once again with John Eales, owner and operator of Captain Bullwackers in Monterey, California, to produce Recipe Mapping for Sourdough Breadbowl Louie and Not Mom's Mac-n-Cheese. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Ramone's
by Tom Bruce
Tom Bruce introduces two Latin menu item ideas that were inspired by Salvadorian chefs Maximo Perez and Guille Saucedo of Monterey, California, and enhanced by a visit to Ramone's in Mulega, Baja California Sur, Mexico . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: The Loop Pizza Grill
by Tom Bruce
Before Mike and Terry Schneider could even think about expanding their Loop Pizza Grill they knew they had to standardize their recipes and develop operational systems to ensure each unit operated the same way. In this article, Tom Bruce breaks down the recipes to determine the cost and correct procedures for producing two of The Loop's favorite menu items. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Sacramento Food & Beverage
by Tom Bruce
This month's features have been contributed from the recipe files of Sacramento Food & Beverage. Tom Bruce, teacher, consulting chef and founder of Sacramento Food & Beverage has helped numerous operators streamline their kitchens and procedures.He has worked with several restaurants to produce previous RecipeMapping contributions. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Tres Hombres
by Tom Bruce
This month's features were contributed by Michael Thomas, owner-operator of Tres Hombres Long Bar and Grill located in Chico,California and a new location in Petaluma. Consulting chef,Tom Bruce, founder of Sacrament Food and Beverage Consulting,worked with the Tres Hombres' staff to provide the cost analysis for this month's featured menu items. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Johnnie's in the Hotel Diamond
by Tom Bruce
This month's featured items were contributed by Johnnie's, located in the newly renovated Hotel Diamond in Chico, California. Chef and General Manager, Joseph Symmes and his staff worked with consulting chef,Tom Bruce, founder of Sacrament Food and Beverage Consulting, to present the detailed costing technique for two of Johnnie's popular menu items. . . . more >>
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Recipe Mapping: Sacramento Food & Beverage
by Tom Bruce
Tom Bruce, teacher, consulting chef and founder of Sacramento Food & Beverage has helped numerous operators streamline their kitchens and procedures.He has worked with several restaurants to produce previous RecipeMapping contributions. This month, Tom has contributed two menu items from his own recipe files showing the step-by-step procedure for costing and preparation. . . . more >>
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Would You Like Your Restaurant Featured in RecipeMapping®?
We're always looking for great restaurants that want to be featured in Restaurant Startup & Growth magazine. If you have some great menu items you'd like to share, simply submit your request and we'll consider featuring your restaurant in one of our RecipeMapping articles . . . more >>
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