Wrap up of the course

Costing, something that chefs and managers dread the most but as you can see, is a necessity to ensure a profitable business. Understanding your costs is one of the most critical aspects of running a business, if you do not control costs, they will run away with you, and you probably will no longer be in business.

In this short course on Food Costing, we looked at the basic elements of cost, food costs, labour costs, overheads, and net profit. We explained that if you take your food cost away from your selling price you would get your gross profit.

First and foremost, controlling your food cost is important, this will ensure that you achieve the food cost percentage that you have planned. You would do this by undertaking thorough costing of recipes (use technology if possible), preparing standardized recipes, and implementing portion control. This means that you know exactly what the contribution to your costs your food is making.

Next is to understand your overheads, fixed and variable costs which can be controllable or non-controllable. Fixed costs are those costs that do not change over time and variable costs do change based on the business volume (these you can do something about).

Once you have a handle on your food cost and your overheads, you can decide if you need to cut back on costs so that you can generate a better net profit, essential for a profitable business.

I hope that you have enjoyed this short course with me and that by digging deeper into food costing it will help you in your job or your business.

Culinary regards

If you would like to explore further learning opportunities with us, please click here to learn more and register your interest.