As restaurants face rising food prices, energy costs and labour shortages, we have put together a list of tips on how to keep costs down during this challenging time.
Are you concerned that increasing your menu prices might scare off customers? What do you think your customer would prefer, you skimping on ingredients that could change well-loved flavours or a slightly higher price point? The hospitality business is now facing a number of financial pressures, especially rising food prices. If your customers ask, be honest about wanting to maintain the quality they love for a slight price increase.
Are you able to adjust the portions of elements in your dish, e.g. slightly reducing the meat and increasing non-meat proteins, vegetables and other accompaniments? This might not be suitable for all dishes but it can make a considerable difference if thoughtfully applied, with the customer still feeling satisfied.
Do you have a large menu or dishes requiring many processes? Was your answer, yes? Then you probably have to buy lots of ingredients and have multiple pieces of equipment to cook these dishes. There's also a risk of food waste, meaning loss of profit, with a larger inventory. Take a look at which dishes are slow-sellers or require multiple cooking processes. Keep only your best-selling, easy-to-prepare, and high-profit dishes on the menu to simplify the kitchen team's work and speed up food delivery. Can’t quite let go of some of your old dishes? Serve them as daily or weekly specials instead.
Optimise your commercial kitchen management by installing intelligent cooking equipment. Smart ovens and cooking systems are easier to operate, which helps ease pressure during staff shortages. The RATIONAL iVario Pro can replace virtually all conventional cooking appliances, with the capability to boil, fry, deep-fry and pressure cook without checking or supervision. It also requires up to 40% less energy and saves a huge amount of space compared to needing multiple cooking appliances! It also uses ConnectedCooking , a digital kitchen management tool to simplify workflows, roll out and manage recipes, and keep the software on your cooking systems up to date.
Satisfied customers will come back. Cooking gorgeously presented, high-quality food served in a welcoming atmosphere will keep your customers smiling, and they'll recommend you to their friends.
These quick tips will help you lower operating costs without sacrificing customer service. Want to know more? Register your interest with the RATIONAL team today to learn more about how our cooking systems can help control your food service costs.