02 | Develop Menus & Ensure Effectiveness of Standardized Recipes
Using additional ingredients with a standardized recipe will impact the cost of the recipe. A standardized recipe helps control cost because recipe amounts and portions are predetermined. Costing a recipe without using a computer program can be time-consuming. The CDM, CFPP should decide whether to include ingredient costs on the standardized recipe. It’s best to begin with the recipes that are most expensive, such as the entreés and supplements. Then, if that is all that is costed by hand, it will be the bulk of the expense.
How to Determine the Cost of a Recipe
Regardless of whether ingredient costs are included on standardized recipes, the manager should know how to calculate the cost of a recipe.
Step 1: Create a standard recipe costing sheet such as the one in Table 2.6 and fill in the ingredient item and the as purchased (AP) amount columns.
Step 2: Enter the unit cost (AP$) and determine the total cost of the ingredient.
Total cost of the ingredient item = unit cost x the quantity/ amount of the ingredient.
Unit Cost = Total cost ÷ by number of servings per package
Example of calculating unit cost: A 2 lb. package of bacon @ $7.78/package. One slice of raw bacon weighs about 1 oz., and there are 16 ounces in a pound. Therefore, there are 16 slices of bacon in a pound of bacon, and 32 slices of bacon in a two pound package.
Cost of a slice of bacon: $7.78 for 2 pounds / 32 slices in a package = $0.24 per slice. This is the unit price on the recipe.
A salad recipe calls for 12 pieces of bacon.
Total recipe cost of bacon is: $0.24 x 12 pieces in the recipe = $2.88.
Step 3: Determine if any recipe ingredients have a different yield from the amount purchased. See the next section in this chapter to understand product yields. Calculate the Edible Portion cost.
Step 4: Total all ingredient costs.
Step 5: Divide by the total number of portions for the recipe to determine cost per portion.
Encouraging the Use of Standardized Recipes
Making standardized recipes work requires communication. Remind staff of the importance of standardized recipes by holding short in-services on this topic at least annually to review how and why to use them. Make sure that the use of standardized recipes are part of new employee orientation. If an over or under production problem occurs, follow up immediately with the cooking staff.