Operations

1
Operations

• The Menu
• Equipment Requirements
• Layout and Design

2
The Menu

• The menu and menu planning are front and center
  in the restaurant business.
• Food quality is what patrons consider the most
  important factor when choosing a restaurant.
• The menu is the most important part of the
  restaurant concept.

3
The Menu

• Factors to consider in menu planning
• Needs and desires of guests
• Capability of cooks
• Equipment capacity and layout
• Consistency and availability of menu ingredients
• Price and pricing strategy
• Nutritional value
• Contribution theory
• Accuracy in menu
• Type of menu
• Actual menu items
• Menu analysis
• Menu design and layout
• Standard recipes
• Food cost percentage

4
The Menu

• Needs and desires of guests
• The restaurant concept is based on what the
  guests in the target market expect, and the menu
  must satisfy or exceed their expectations.
• Capability and consistency
• The capability of cooks or chefs to produce the
  quality and quantity of food necessary is a basic
  consideration.
• The menu complexity, number of meals served, and
  number of people to supervise are also elements
  that have an effect on the capability and
  consistency of the restaurant kitchen.
• Equipment requirements
• In order to produce the desired menu items, the
  proper equipment must be installed in an
  efficient layout.
• Menu items should be selected to avoid over-use
  of some equipment and under-use of other
  equipment.

5
The Menu

• Availability
• Are menu ingredients readily available?
• A reliable and consistent source of supply, at
  reasonable prices, must be established and
  maintained.
• Price
• Price is a major factor in menu selection.
• The customer perception of the price/value
  relationship and its comparison with competing
  restaurants is important.
• A value-creating strategy needs to create a
  higher perceived value than that of your
  competitors.
• Two basic components of value creation what you
  provide and what you charge for it
• To build perceived value, you need to (a)
  increase the perception of value of what you
  provide, (b) lower the price you charge for it,
  or (c) both.

6
The Menu

• Factors that go into building perceived
  price/value
• Amount of product (portion size)
• Quality of the product (dining pleasure)
• Reliability or consistency of the product
• Uniqueness of the product
• Product options or choices (including new
  products)
• Service convenience (such as type and speed of
  service)
• Comfort level (such as courtesy, friendliness,
  and familiarity with the business)
• Reliability or consistency of service
• Tie-in offers or freebies included with purchase

7
The Menu

• The selling price of each menu item must be
  acceptable to the market and profitable to the
  restaurant
• Questions to ask when making this decision
  include
• What is the competition charging for a similar
  item?
• What is the items food cost?
• What is the cost of labor that goes into the
  item?
• What other costs must be covered?
• What profit is expected by the operator?
• What is the contribution margin of the item?
• Menu pricing strategies
• There are three main ways to price menus
• A comparative approach analyzes the competitions
  prices and determines the selection of
  appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Individual
  items are then selected and priced. The cost of
  ingredients must equal the predetermined food
  cost percentage.
• The second method is to price the individual menu
  item and multiply it by the ratio amount needed
  to achieve the required food cost percentage.
• The third (and best) method is a weighted average
  approach, whereby food cost percentage,
  contribution margin, and sales volume are
  weighted.

8
The Menu

• Calculating food cost percentage
• Cost of food varies with sales (variable cost).
• When stated as a percentage of sales, food cost
  provides a simple target for management to aim
  for.
• However, food and labor cost together must be
  considered.
• Restaurateurs use a concept called prime costs,
  which is the total of food costs and labor costs,
  typically 55 to 65 of sales.
• Method for calculating a simple food cost
  percentage
• Opening inventory purchases ending inventory
  cost of food consumed
• Food costs/ food sales food cost percentage
• Opening inventory 10,000
• Purchases 66,666
• Total available for sale 76,666
• - Ending inventory 10,000
• Cost of food consumed 66,666
• If total sales for the month were 200,000, the
  food cost of 66,666, divided into 200,000 would
  produce a food cost of 33.

9
The Menu

• Nutritional value
• The trend is toward more consumer awareness about
  the nutritional value of food.
• Contribution margin
• The contribution margin is the difference between
  the selling price of the item and its cost. This
  is the contribution available to cover fixed
  and variable costs of operation.

10
The Menu

• Menu Types
• Static menus a menu in which the same menu
  items are offered every day.
• Cycle menus a series of menus offering
  different items each day on a weekly or bi-weekly
  basis. May also be changed on a seasonal basis.
• Single use menus special menus prepared for a
  special day or occasion.
• Most commercial, for-profit restaurants use a
  static menu that may be changed from time to time
  to reflect changing trends in the market.

11
The Menu

• Menu design and layout
• The menu is the primary sales tool of the
  restaurant it lists the products for sale buy
  the establishment.
• The menu is also a merchandizing tool it
  influences the guests decision about what to
  order.
• Standardized recipes
• Standardized recipes are necessary for
  consistency of food quality and control of costs.
• Standardized recipes contain ingredients to be
  used, preparation methods to be followed, portion
  sizes, etc.

12
Equipment Requirements

• Factors to consider when planning a kitchens
  layout

13
Equipment Requirements

• The objective of layout planning is efficiency
  ensuring the smoothest flow of raw materials
  through the production process using the least
  amount of effort.
• Types of kitchen layout
• Traditional separate areas for pre-production
  and production
• Open kitchen used as a marketing tool
• Categories of equipment
• Receiving and storing
• Fabricating and preparing food
• Preparing and processing food
• Assembling, holding, and serving food
• Cleaning up and sanitizing the kitchen and
  kitchenware
• SmartDraw - Software available for layout and
  design

14
Equipment Requirements

• An overall objective of layout planning is to
  minimize the number of steps taken by wait staff
  and kitchen personnel.
• If the layout is not efficient, wait staff and
  kitchen personnel will alter it through makeshift
  accommodations.
• This diminishes the value of the design and
  decreases the efficiency of the operation.

15
Equipment Requirements

• Traditional kitchen layout
• Circular ideal but impractical
• Square similar to circular but usually wastes
  space in the center of the serving area
• Rectangular (kitchen entrance on short side)
  foods must be carried longer distances waiters
  at various stations may obstruct traffic
• Rectangular (kitchen entrance on long side)
  preferred layout, shortened paths to each work
  station

16
Equipment Requirements

• Open Kitchen Layout (sometimes called exhibition
  kitchens)
• Growing in popularity
• Highlights the kitchen as a form of
  entertainment often highlights a piece of
  equipment (such as a wood-burning pizza oven).
• The open kitchen is reserved for what is
  glamorous shiny ladles, stainless steel, copper
  utensils, etc.
• Noise levels have to be considered.

17
Equipment Requirements

• Dimensions for commercial foodservice kitchens

18
Equipment Requirements

• Selecting equipment common questions
• Of the equipment available, which will be the
  most efficient for the menu?
• What is the equipments purchase cost and
  operating cost?
• Should the equipment be gas or electric?
• Will the equipment produce the food fast enough
  to meet demand?
• Is it better to buy a large unit or two smaller
  units?
• Are replacement parts and service readily
  available?
• Is used equipment available?

19
Equipment Requirements

• Categories of Kitchen Equipment
• Receiving and storing food scales, hand trucks,
  refrigerators, freezers, etc.
• Fabrication and pre-preparation breading
  machines, can openers, cutters and slicers, knife
  sharpeners, mixers, peelers, etc.
• Preparation and processing broilers, cheese
  melters, ovens, microwaves, fryers, steamers,
  griddles and grills, etc.
• Assembly and holding coffee brewers, hot
  serving equipment toasters, shake mixers,
  infrared warmers, etc.
• Cleanup and sanitation compactors, dishwashing
  equipment, disposals, glass washers,
  water-heating equipment, mop sinks, etc.

20
Layout and Design

• Obviously, layout and design will be much easier
  with new construction.
• When leasing space layout and design must be
  adapted to the space under consideration.
• Consideration must begin initially with where the
  dining rooms, kitchen, and bar will be located.
• Once again, the primary consideration in layout
  and design should be efficiency and smooth
  traffic flow to provide maximum satisfaction to
  guests and adequate preparation times and service
  times.
• One consideration in dining room design is to
  avoid good table locations versus bad table
  locations.