Part 2: From Chaos to Culinary Harmony - The Journey of a Chef

A Note from the Author:

In many articles and online resources, there's often more happening behind the scenes than just menu engineering.?This method may not be the traditional approach to addressing menu engineering and overall food cost management. However, this fictional story aims to share effective methods and insights through engaging conversations, combining various aspects of cost management. To borrow from the TV show “24,” the events happen in real-time. If you are reading this today, the inventory was a few days ago, and the P&L meeting for last month will happen on the 15th.

Key Concepts to Consider:

• Why and When:?High costs prompt the need for menu engineering.
• What:?Focus on the top 40% of sales and quantity. Invoice?receiving, General Ledger.
• How:?Use Excel and adlib when systems fail.
• Who:?Define roles and responsibilities within the team.

Introduction

Recap of Part 1:?In Part 1, we embarked on the journey of menu engineering, setting the stage for transforming our restaurant into a beacon of success. We introduced the core concepts and the importance of a well-engineered menu in boosting profitability and creating memorable dining experiences.

Introduction to Part 2:?Today, we delve into the tools and technologies that will help us master menu engineering. From Excel and POS systems to RAS (Restaurant Accounting Software), we’ll explore how these technologies streamline data collection, invoice management, and overall restaurant operations. Let’s transform chaos into harmony and take our first step towards culinary excellence.

The Initial Chaos (a side story but IRL)

The sous chef said with urgency in a firm voice to the cook, "The seafood vendor will not be delivering today. That, along with training the two new hires and dealing with a no-show, will dictate our agenda today. The chef will be here within the hour. For now, let’s pair the new ones with two from the breakfast team. You and I will call our alternate vendors. I’ll take the second half, and you take the first half from vendors A through M."

The kitchen was in chaos. The familiar rhythm of a busy morning was disrupted by the unexpected (LOL everyday). Today a vendor not showing up, new team members needing guidance, and the ever-present pressure to keep costs down while delivering exceptional dishes.

Time: 10:24am

As I walked into the kitchen, I could sense the tension. The usual hum of activity was tinged with anxiety. My sous chef briefed me on the situation, and I knew we had to act fast. This wasn’t just about getting through the day; it was about setting the stage for our future success with this current team. The sous chef called out, "Meeting!"

"We're not just managing a crisis today," I said, rallying the team. "We're building a stronger, more resilient kitchen. This is our moment to show what we're made of. You are valued and key players." I looked into the eyes of the junior cooks, trying to impart a sense of importance and motivation. Then looked at the atomic timeclock for urgency. "We can do this together."

Speaking to the cook and sous, I hung my brown jacket on the hook. "Did you call Blue? Did you call Seafood? Did you call Fish? Did you call the company from last week, not that company, the other one?!"

The cook stood up. "Got one! Fish will deliver by noon."

"Okay," I said, "We need to give the butcher time to do his best.”

"Options? We open soon. I have my go-to plan, but I want to hear your thoughts," I asked the team.

The sous chef responded, “I’ll be right back!” The sous raced for the walk-in and started a rough inventory. Asked the butcher to join in. "Is this complete? When were they delivered?”

“Yesterday, and yes,” the butcher replied. The sous chef and butcher returned to me and stated, "I think we have enough to make it through the first seating. It will be close, and we might take a chance with shellfish. Remember those VIPs yesterday?” The butcher added, "When the delivery arrives, I will prioritize."

Just then, the GM walked in. "Good morning. Here is today’s menu. Any 86’es?” They said with a smile.

“Nope.” I replied and smiled, then signed the menu.

?

Implementing the Plan (Back to the theme of Menu?Engineering and other cost management)

Our immediate crisis managed, we began to focus on the broader strategy of menu engineering. We started by assigning roles and tasks:

• Yield:?Butcher - Will yield the proteins as follows: Total weight, total end weight, number of portions and weight per each portion. Total value, end value, value per portion and yield %.
• Plate cost:?Cook/Sous Chef - Costed recipes. Taking a portion price and size and combine to a total plate cost.
• POS:?Chef - Obtain POS number with description.

"Who is our best Excel person in the company?" I asked the cook and sous chef. They looked at each other and smiled. "Accounting," the sous chef said.

"Yeah, I’ll call them," I replied, smiling.

In a few minutes, I was on the phone, “Hello! We need an Excel template with the following columns: POS number, item description, quantity sold, charge/menu price per dish, extended charge/menu price per dish, cost per dish, total cost of dishes sold, dish cost as a percentage. At the bottom, we need totals for each column and an overall percentage. By the way, this is urgent if you want us to drop the COG."

While on the phone, I smiled at the sous chef, who smiled back. "Additionally, could you do us a favor and export the first four columns from POS from the past 4 weeks ending last Sunday? It will save time and complete the formulas remaining. Thanks!" Grinning at the sous chef, we both felt a surge of optimism.

Time: 11:43am

The sous chef asked, “Why aren’t we using the RAS (Restaurant Accounting Software) system instead of doing this in Excel?”

I responded, “We will be using both. However, there is old data and costed recipes in the system. We have two choices: clean the database or complete this roughly with a combination of Excel and RAS to get the data ASAP. Why don’t we print a report to screen?”

I showed them the winter menu from 2023, now halfway through summer. "Some dishes have a plate cost of above 40% and some -40ish%. Impossible. This means there are POS numbers connected to dishes no longer served. See the amount charged? When it's a fraction of a dollar amount, it means a price changed within the period of the report. Which should we tackle first: a clean database or usable data that we manage for a successful month?” To further my comment, “There is no gold star for a clean database. We will leave the cleaning for later."

Just then, I had an alert. "I gotta go to the front door." Looking at the sous chef, "Start our project!"

The Owner

Before service on marble floors and under high ceilings, I walked briskly into the front door of the restaurant to meet the owner, discussing the pressing issues. The owner asked, walking fast to the kitchen, “What's going on with the cost? I heard it's 34%. You told me it’s under control.”

I replied, "It is under control. I just got off the phone with accounting. They will provide a sheet to help me manage." I said, smiling. Laying it on thick and stoping in the dinning room, I added, “Without their help, it would take longer to get costs in alignment.”

The owner smiled too. Separately, deep down inside, all cooks want to stick it to accounting. The owner was once a cook too.

Time: 3:21pm

The Excel report arrived. The sous was behind me, looking at the computer screen from over my shoulder. I stated, “Let’s sort this report, this Excel version of the soon-to-be Menu Engineering, by dollars and by number of dishes sold from POS. I want to see the top 40% in both categories. These will be our focus. We will make three tabs. First will be a sort by dollars, second by quantity sold, and third the original report.”

"We will start with the dollar sold report. Those are the dishes that led the food cost. Let’s see how close we arrive at 34%. Oh, I forgot to tell you. The owner must have talked to accounting and that’s probably the percentage for last month. Since time is not on our side, let’s detail three dishes for an average garnish cost and see where we land. Let’s give greater attention to portion cost. Work closely with the butcher. As the numbers arrive, enter the dishes into the RAS system with the year as the first description. Then we could easily see the dishes with a search. We will take the portion cost, add to the garnish approximate cost for the plate cost.”

The sous asked, “Is this what they taught in culinary school?”

“Nope,” I stated. "This is so we have the overall view of the restaurant production as quickly as possible. If necessary, we will dive deeper. From here, we will be able to see if there is receiving or inventory error, and if which dishes are pushing cost up. Then use the high quantity sold to average out our cost. For example, if lobster has a sticker shock price and high cost, then we could use high quantity sold by” Air quote. “Adding a dollar to average down the overall ME cost percentage for the lobster price. What do you think?”

The sous smiled with relief. “This is great! I thought I was going to work a lot of overnights to get a project completed.”

"Oh, I almost forgot,” I said, still speaking to the sous and speed dialing. “Hello, Accounting? Could you scan over the last inventory physical sheets and email an Excel data version of the last inventory? Please include the item description, the unit of measure, unit price, our entered count value per count, and extended value? Lastly, could you email the general ledger for last month pertaining to food cost? Thanks!” I hung up the phone.

The sous asked, “Why did you ask for the detailed Inventory report?”

I replied, “There could be bad receiving which would affect the extended value of an ingredient. For example, if there is an item that was received because the invoice listed grams and the system has pounds for the unit of measure, then there could be an ingredient counted by the pound with a value of a gram.”

“Damn, that could happen?” asked the sous.

“Yeah,” I responded, “we receive invoice data pretty quick. Also, with the scanned invoices the conversion might be off and then there are our errors. When counting an item, we might be counting it to the scanned inventory item that was created by the system. Who knows, with a simple sort from the Excel Inventory we could easily see if the pack and price lines up.”

"And the General Ledger?”

“Because there could be invoices that are meant for another account applied to our cost.”

Conclusion and Reflection

Our hard work began to pay off. Early successes started to emerge. A particularly smooth service, positive feedback from VIP guests, and a slight improvement in food costs boosted our morale. Understanding the data an sources. Able to manage and take charge of overall cost.?

Questions for Reflection:

1. How do you currently collect and organize your data? For A: Inventory B: General Ledger and C: from ME above?
2. What challenges do you face with invoice management?

As we reflected on our journey, we felt a renewed sense of purpose. Menu engineering wasn’t just a strategy; it was a chance to tell our story, showcase our passion, and ensure our restaurant thrived despite the challenges.

As the sous walked down the empty city street, with lights above fading to black and fading to white, the sous thought, "Today was a challenge. No-shows, vendors, and new staff. I appreciated all the chef shared. I hope to cook like the chef and take these cost management strategies to a place I own someday."

End of Part 2.

Key Concepts to Consider:

• Why and When:?High costs prompt the need for menu engineering.
• What:?Focus on the top 40% of sales and quantity.
• How:?Use Excel and adlib when systems fail.
• Who:?Define roles and responsibilities within the team.